Your Best "Must-Have's" Items for 1st timers

[Sailgal05]

What "must-have" items would you recommend for a couple and their 10 yr old son to take on their first cruise? I'd like to bundle goodies for them and know this is the place to find the experts! We've only been on 3 cruises ourselves and have the old standbys:duct tape, extension cord, air freshner. They are going in early March, RCCL Voyager Galveston-Cancun-Grand Cayman-Jamacia. They live in the port area, so there's no flying involved. Oh, and the best of all, this is our DD, hubby and grandson.

Thanks so much in advance!

[cb at sea]

Binoculars! And that's for EVERY cruise--not just the 1st time!

[tomko2]

You are so lucky to be going on a cruise with your family; hoping to do the same in a year or two.

I would be telling the kids the usual stuff but emphasizing sunscreen, Purell, camera, lightweight tote bag for the beach, mini-med kit (bandaids, tums, first aid cream) and hats.

Kathy:)

[cruiserbryce]

alram clock. The rooms we have always had have had only one clock, a small one on the phone that isnt lit and too tiny to be functional. We always take a small battery operated digital clock.

[Sailgal05]

Wow, what great ideas so far! Thank you all. Any thing you can recommend for the little guy? Is a diary to record his experiences too old fashioned?

[reallyitsmema]

For your grandson, I would suggest a disposable waterproof camera and a mask, fins and snorkel set if he doesn't own his own. Costco and BJ's have decent ones that come in their own carry bags. A cool pair of sunglasses is also a good idea.

 

Not sure about a journal but might be a good idea if he needs to write about his trip for school.

[Arwenmark]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the over the door shoe bag with the individual pockets, it is a must have to hang on the inside of the bathroom door to store all the incidentals.

[cruisingrightalong]

This isn't to take....but let the little guy have some $$$ to buy postcards of the places he goes or of the ship and such. Then when home help him make a "mini" book to show his buddies.

 

He can write on the back of them what he wants to describe the place...like Great! or such. You can also punch a hole in the end of the cards with a hole punch....laminate the cards and put the whole thing on a ring...that way you can scroll thru them.

 

Lou

[dfb]

Wow, what great ideas so far! Thank you all. Any thing you can recommend for the little guy? Is a diary to record his experiences too old fashioned?

 

I don't know about yours, but every ship I have been on has metal walls. You can get cheap little magnetic disks at most craft stores. Then get a rolled up large format wall map. He can put the map up on the walls (along with other stuff!) and then track your route. See his distance from home, flight route taken to get to port, etc. Bring along a Sharpie or highlighter and he can map it out on there.

[Grandpaul]

I think the camera is the most important item so the little guy can take pictures of his very first cruise. Something he will never forget. Especially if you make sure you take him to Sting Ray City on Grand Cayman.

[Neil Down]

No one should go cruising without:

Corkscrew,

Hip flask

Clothes pegs

Snorkel, mask and fins

Binoculars

Small Beach Bag to carry book, spectacles, sun glasses, hat, sun cream, water bottle

Photocopy of main passport page

Foreign Language phrase book

Lip salve

Extra small spectacles that won’t distort your suit pocket and makes you look intelligent

A fail safe cabin finder for those really good nights

(Two bottles of wine and a quart of gin, mixers are not a problem)

[denmarks]

All you need is duct tape and crazy glue. That will fix everything.

[ILoveScotland]

If you think they'll ever order room service they'll need some $1 bills for tips.

 

Some basic first aid items which have already been mentioned: bandaids, pain reliever of some sort, antibiotic ointment, tums or pepsid, and anything else like that which they could buy on the ship but are more expensive.

 

If they have a digital camera and don't have a way to recharge it, then some batteries would be in order.

 

Inexpensive, lightweight plastic ponchos in case it rains. You can get them at Dollar stores or Wal-Mart.

[lovedogs]

Based on my past cruise - you may want to bring a copies of your passport and an id, plus a list of ant credit card #'s you bring (but, it's best to keep them all locked safely in your room safe) On our last cruise, a fellow passenger we met had her purse stolen while we were in Maui. She had ALL of her credit cards, her cell phone, AND her passport with her - plus $400 in cash, not to mention her seapass card!!!! Not smart thing to do in the first place, and she didn't have a record of her cc #'s anywhere. Since she lives alone and had no relatives, she had to wait 10 days to get home to get all of her info in order to contact her credit card companies! Personally, I would never, ever carry anything worth stealing. While on an excursion - I only take an "emergency" credit card which I also register on board and even wear a "fanny pack" when I'm off the ship. I also leave my purse in the room safe the entire time.

 

Needless to say, the woman found it extremely difficult to enjoy the rest of the cruise....

 

We always bring post-it notes to leave eachother our whereabouts on the ship, if we go our separate ways for a day. My dh can lay by the pool all day - I, on the other hand, enjoy all the various activities (trivia, casino, spa, etc.)

 

They'll love RCCL - I do!

[geoherb]

The most important thing to bring is patience. I've seen way too many passengers who left that at home. It's your vacation--but the staff have other passengers they have to serve in addition to you. Chill out. Relax. Don't try to cram in every activity.

[DonMar]

I would put together a map of the Caribbean and maps of all the ports of call. This way your grandson can see where the ship is going and where it has been (track the route). He can also look at the maps of the islands and see where they are going. (Great way to provide context to the trip and locations visited.)

 

Can you tell I am a teacher? :)

[hkolln]

Another thing you may wish to bring is a nightlight. The cabins are dark at night and when you have to go the bathroom you will need something to see your way.

[UtterCaro]

They are going in early March, RCCL Voyager Galveston-Cancun-Grand Cayman-Jamacia

 

If they're going to swim with the stingrays (which I highly recommend; it's an incredible experience for all ages), don't forget a waterproof camera!

 

Caro

[Morgsmom]

Another thing you may wish to bring is a nightlight. The cabins are dark at night and when you have to go the bathroom you will need something to see your way.

 

Dag! You took my idea!! A nightlight is priceless otherwise you will end up leaving the bathroom light on especially since DS will be #3 in the cabin and likely climbing down some precarious stairs in the middle of the night! We love our nightlight!

[CruisinJazz]

I'm a first time cruiser going on a group cruise with a bunch of friends. I've put together goodie bags as Christmas presents which all were found at the Dollar Tree: clear plastic over the door shoe holder, door jam (to keep balcony door open), post-it notes, highlighters to mark the capers, pens, hand sanitizer, small first aid kit, clips to hold shower curtain down, Downy wrinkle spray and Fun Ship Dollars from Carnival.

[arlodog]

When our kids were that age we always brought a deck of cards and a couple of hand held games. Definately a disposible camera so he can take his own pictures. I would find a travel book of the carribean ports so you can read it together and decide on what excursions are of interest and also also give a little bit of history. Have a great time!

[forensic]

When we took our Grandchildren the last time they were 8 and 10, we had them both keep a journal. Each day we had they write what we all did that day. When visiting a country (island) they had never been to before we had then note what was different about the country then where we lived, climate, language, money, food, etc. We bought each of them a pin of the country flag (we have done this for every cruise we have taken and for every cruise we have taken them on; we all keep them on our cruise lanyard's) and we buy them a map of the country and/or island we visited. They actually continued the journals they had started on their first cruise with us. They really enjoy the journals and we all have a good time reading back about previous cruises we have taken together. Also, they enjoy having dinner in the dining room with the adults and they like to write about that. My grandson has fun writing about the men that do not know how to dress on formal night - he is very proud that he has always had a tux. Each time they try a new dish for dinner they also write about that - whether they liked it or not. They get more adventuresome when cruising :)

Anyway - just a thought - we encouraged it because we think children do not write enough and it turned into a really fun project!:D

[Alamogirl]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the over the door shoe bag with the individual pockets, it is a must have to hang on the inside of the bathroom door to store all the incidentals.

 

I agree - so much easier to have everything insite, a MUST HAVE!!;)

[Southbound]

I'm a first time cruiser going on a group cruise with a bunch of friends. I've put together goodie bags as Christmas presents which all were found at the Dollar Tree: door jam (to keep balcony door open)[/quote]

 

Very bad idea. Doing so will impact on the A/C system in other cabins.

[Sailgal05]

As always this site never let's you down-you are all great with your ideas! I love the tip with the maps, but, where do you look for a local Caribbean map before you depart? Any ideas? Teachers-any sites to visit? I'm sure mom & dad will appreciate any away time we can spend with our darlin' grandson;)