What Else Needs To Go In The Basket?

[goofysgal]

We don't leave until 4/14 but I've already started gathering "stuff". I put a clothesbasket in corner of the bedroom and every time I discover something else on this board that we need to take, I track it down and in it goes.

So far:

over-the-door shoe bag (found it in my daughter's closet-still new)

lanyards and waterproof card holders (bought different colored lanyards for each of us ($1 ea) and card holders ($3 for 3 pk) at REI Outdoors)

underwater camera, film

silica bags for my video camera (went through some old shoe boxes to come up with these)

"Sea Safe" lotion (found at the boating store)

power strip & extension cord (from the Christmas decorations)

travel steamer (from my daughter's college stuff)

"floatable" money/eyeglass holder (also from REI)

water shoes/TEVAs for everyone (from last summer's stuff)

"Skin So Soft" with sunscreen - from the Avon lady

collapsible cooler with pull-out luggage style handle & wheels - bought it at a close out of the local grocery store months ago

homemade autograph book for son - bought a small 4X6 spiral bound memory album with card stock pages, cropped and "framed" a picture of the boat from the DCL brochure, added a title and his name in cute "water wave" letters and "mod podged" the whole cover to protect it ( I'm particularly proud of the way this looks) (less that $5 spent and it's unique)

I-Zone sticker film

several Sharpies and 3 different colored hi-liters

rechargeable flashlite with nitelite feature (pulled from upstairs hallway)

back-lit digital travel clock (raided daughter's college "stuff" again)

What other unusual items did you take or wished you had taken that I need to include?

[mouseclick1]

I don't see Ziploc bags(large and small) on your list. They came in handy throughout the trip. They were particulary useful when we used them for bringing back wet bathing suits from excursions.

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We brought plain white pillowcases, dropped them off with some laundry markers/t-shirt markers at guest services and they had all the characters on the ship autograph them! Made a great souvenior for my dd and gifts for the neighbors who took care of our pets.

[RellingTwin]

OK...here's my 2 cents! masks/snorkels, hip pouch,hats,binoculars(a small travel type), extra film and batteries, laundry soap,sun glasses, stamps, address book or pre-addressed self stick labels, wine and corkscrew, beer, soda, and juise boxes.

[goofysgal]

Can't believe I've forgot these--Just added 1-gallon and 2-gallon Zip-Locs to tomorrow's shopping list.

Love the pillowcase idea--added to my "To Pick Up" list!.

Just put the binoculars, batteries, address labels & stamps to the basket!

Anyone else have any other suggestions on what to add?

[dianthus]

downy wrinkle releaser ( leave the steamer home- they don't want you to use them in the staterooms), dryer sheets & detergent, quarters for the washers if you need to do laundry.

[52plan4]

ME ME Please toss me in the basket ,I wanna go...or you may just want to throw in some bubbles for sail-away;)

[DizMare]

A beach bag for excursions/Castaway Cay

[pmgreene]

goofysgal

We got a pillowcase at K-Mart that had little Mickey ears on the edge piping and came in cool colors. I pinned paper inside so the pens wouldn't bleed through and I put everything in a zip loc bag with the kids' names and cabin number. I got a "new" type of Sharpie pen that specifically says it works on cloth and can be washed. It was a great souvenir!

Have you gotten entropys packing list? That is a valuable resource! We also brought along two $2 floats from Target to use at St. Martin and Castaway Cay.

[DiznyMagic]

Silly question: silica for camcorder....Please explain.

[DisneyKids]

Silica will keep your camera/video camera from getting too wet (humidity!!).

Might want to add single dollar bills for use with room service, if you plan to go that route. They also come in handy for tipping the piano players in the clubs, if you so desire.

[Skybaby]

I read some time ago about the over the door shoe bag but I did not have a cruise planned at that time. Now we are going in June and I don't know the purpose of this item. Can someone explain again, please.

[keenercam]

The over the door shoeholder was the BEST thing we packed last year. Hang it over your bathroom door and put all the things in the clear pockets that would otherwise clutter your dressers and sinks-- trading cards, toiletries, sunscreen, 2 way radios when not in use, extra film, used film, etc. etc. Our kids always knew where to find lip balm, sunscreen, combs, brushes, scrunchies, barrettes, etc.

[SC Minnie]

Also bring sandwich size baggies!!! We did St Thomas on our own and ordered sandwiches and chips from room service the night before, packed them in the baggies, and we had lunch at the beach!

[ennazus]

Here's a pretty thorough packing list:

The Ultimate Packing List (http://www.hometown.aol.com/entropym/pages/packing_list.htm)

[Limmer]

Instead of bringing a beach bag when we were in St. Maarten people were selling them on the street for $5. They were heavy canvas and I was really impressed with the quality and they had stitching on the side that said St. Maarten. This was favourite souvenir ans one of the least expensive. (At least compared to the same style of bag I bought at WDW before the cruise for $22 :rolleyes: )

[Boomerwon]

Your list looks very complete! Just a few things that I didn't see - masking tape, to tape itineraries and info to the mirror or wall; a small stapler; bunge cord, we used ours to hold adjoining-room doors open; a noise machine, can't travel without one; fold-up mesh laundry bag, it springs to life when you open it and keeps all dirty laundry together in one spot; finally, plastic ties, who knows where these can come in handy!

Happy sailing! Jody

[plutojudy]

What is Sea Safe lotion?

[4nana]

My gosh...that ultimate packing list is too funny!!!
How about ~
sticky note pad, antibacterial hand lotion and wipes,
room refreshner and Pepto-Bismol has saved more
than one evening for me :D :) :p

[mrsmouse]

i have a grocery bag, not a basket.

i don't think i saw suntan lotion, for each family member, or is that the sea-safe lotion? i'm not clear on that either.... and how how about first aid supplies? simple but necessary: bandaids, antibiotic ointment, cortaid. and i'm more of an alka-seltzer girl grew up on way too much of that pink pepto bismal! :(

found a small mickey clock at my odd job for $3.00 i'm so excited about.

i also have sharpies for patriotic mickey t-shirts on sale at my disney store for autographs, likin' the pillowcase idea, though.

i bought snorkel stuff for my dd's at kids r us to pack. they were $6.99.


OH, don't forget to print out the magical disney cruise guide! i can't find the website right now but i'm packing that for sure!

have a great time!!!

[Boomerwon]

What is the Magical Disney Cruise Guide?

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Boomerwon

What is the Magical Disney Cruise Guide?

EntropyM maintains a fantastic resource document called the "Magical Disney Cruise Guide" at his web site (hometown.aol.com/entropym). This is the most comprehensive compilation of unbiased DCL information in a single document. It's available in HTML, Microsoft Word, and plain ASCII text. We downloaded it and read it cover-to-cover.

[kshabare]

for goodness sakes don't forget the benadryl. DH broke out from the detergent I used (Purex tablets). Thank goodness someone in our party had some. DH says don't experiment with detergent - use what you use @ home! Bring the Dramamine too - worked to take the edge off on a particularly rough day. Safe for children too.

I didn't need them but I recall a suggestion about post-its, an envelope with cardboard inside for the photos you're likely to purchase, A HAT!!, sunglasses!, an open-mind.

Kim ºOº

[Joe & Joanne]

Hi Folks

For us, any trip to the Carribean would include a couple of packs of ICE. These packs are available from your local drug store, WalMart, KMart etc. They are small packages that you slap with your hands and they get cold. Great for a treat while hiking through the hot climes. Only cost about $2.00 or so and are very convenient.

[cruisnfamily]

I keep hearing about these lanyards. What exactly are they and why do you need them? What do they have on the end of them? Where do you get them and the card holder things.

Thanks for the info.

[WebmasterKathy]

Sonya, the lanyards are cords or straps that hang around your neck, with a clear plastic pocket that can hold your Key to the World card and a driver's license. Very handy, as you'll need to keep your KTTW nearby all the time. If you can't find these at home, they sell these in the onboard shops for around $6.50.

Some other things that did/would have come in handy on the Magic last week (most of these were already mentioned in other posts, but here goes anyway):

* Post-It notes (for leaving each other notes on the mirror in the stateroom)

* Power Strip (hubby laughed when I packed it, but the battery charger for my digital camera wouldn't have worked in the electrical outlets otherwise.)

* large Ziploc bags

* Closet shoe organizer (the vertical kind that hangs from the closet rod. Used this for shoes, socks, belts, hats, the other small things that usually clutter our room.)

* Hair Dryer. (I didn't pack mine, and regretted it every day. The one provided in the stateroom is very wimpy and difficult to handle. Someone else suggested this before my trip, but I didn't listen...)

* Solid Air Freshener. (It really did make the room more pleasant.)

* Large clasp envelopes. (for receipts, misc papers you want to keep, photos, etc.)

* And a big amen to the extra wire hangers!!

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, back to the lanyards. Could the kids use their pin trading lanyards? Why would the kids need the kttw card with them? Also, do the keys have a hole in them to go on a key chain kind of thing or do they have to go in a pocket? I would be afraid they would fall out of the plastic pocket and then we'd really be in trouble....especially if it happened in port and we couldn't get back on the ship. Sorry for the questions.

Also, what is Sea Safe lotion?

[WebmasterKathy]

If the pin trading lanyards have the credit card-sized pocket, they'd work great.

You use your Key to the World card to open your stateroom door, make purchases on board (sodas, gift shop, etc.), and to get on and off the ship. If the kids will be doing any of these things alone, they'll need their card. If they're so young that you'll always be with them, you might want to hold onto their cards and only use them when getting on and off the ship. If you want to disable the purchasing privileges on the kids' cards, just call Guest services once you get to your stateroom and they'll take care of it immediately.

The Key to the World card looks like a credit card with a magnetic stripe on the back. There's no hole punched in it. I would treat it just as carefully as a credit card or cash or your identification papers, especially when you are in port.

The Safe Sea lotion everyone's talking about is a sunscreen that is also supposed to repel sea lice... here's one link where it can be ordered:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/ebodyboarding/safesea.html

[cruisnfamily]

Thanks KathyTX

Now the whole lanyard thing is cleared up for me. I don't think we'll need them. The kids are 6 & 9 and won't really be off on their own.

The sea safe stuff sounds interesting. Has anybody used it? What kind of SPF is it? Would hate to get a sunburn while avoiding sea lice.

[MarkRG]

I have a much better fix for the camcorder moisture issue than using silica bags.

Right before heading outside with it, open the tape loading door, remove the tape and blow into the camcorder with the hairdryer on low for a few minutes. You need to get the internals up to outside temperature or they'll sweat just like a cold glass does in warm humid weather. No amount of silica will stop that. Did it every time last cruise and it worked nicely.

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Sonya Francisco

The sea safe stuff sounds interesting. Has anybody used it? What kind of SPF is it? Would hate to get a sunburn while avoiding sea lice.

Available in SafeSea SPF 15, SafeSea SPF 30, and Safe Sea Divers and Surfers formula for your choice of amount of Sun Protection!