Cruise Tips and Packing Hints (long!!)

[VickiQ]

These are some of the best tips I have read! Thank you so much!

 

[KJF]

I'm wanting to make a little medicine baggy with items we "might" need in case of an accident or tummy ache, etc. I'm really not wanting to go down to the medic for anything unless major emergency so I read somewhere that some people have made them..

Did you purchase singles packets or would it be best to just purchase the bigger boxes of medicine and take some out of it?

I do this - I take band-aids of assorted size, a tube of Neosporin (although I may try the "to go" pack they have now). For meds like Advil & others, I buy the smaller bottles, but not the travel packs - I usually get like a 24 or 50 ct bottle, so it's small, but enough for a week for more than one headache. For the kids, I'll take the liquids - one bottle of cold med, another for fevers/headaches.

One tip - on the ship you can get free sea sickness meds for adults at the desk, but not for kids. Found this out the hard way when we hit some rough seas & DD & I needed it. I had to buy her some in the gift shop. I will be bringing some for the kids next time.

 

[KJF]

Hello.

I'm new to this forum and I've booked a cruise for next year...

Do you Guys know if there's a limit on the amount of bottled water we can bring on board?

We are a family of 5 that drinks water a lot. Thank you.

We drink a ton also - when we went last, we stayed in Cocoa Beach for 2 nights, so we had picked up 2 cases. We put a good case-worth of it in a rolling carry-on that we had used on the plane down & used that to carry it onto the ship. It made it much easier, since you have to carry it on yourself. It was still heavy, but wheels sure do help! We only had the water in that suitcase, so if any had broken open, nothing would get ruined.

 

[tmgdownunder]

Thanks for the tip. I have a Mickey roller case that i can use for the water.

This is a very helpful thread. Really appreciate it.

 

[RxPhiller3]

Super good ideas. Thanks for the tips!

 

[garbinda]

Wow, thanks everyone for this a great list of tips! I've written many of them down (although fear I could be boarding with 5 suitcases now!! I highly recommend the cruisediva site to new cruisers as well. It's full of tons of information about packing and planning for your trip. I'm wondering if anyone has used her book and found it good (has one good/one bad review on Amazon). Or if anyone can suggest a better one? (Sorry.... off topic!!) Thanks!

Mollymom, not sure if anyone answered you but I've been loving the Passporter Disney cruise book. The most current edition is 10. It's very helpful!

 

[Piglet24]

One tip - on the ship you can get free sea sickness meds for adults at the desk.

Will you please tell me a little more about this? Is it Dramamine or Bonine, or something else? Do you mean the Guest Services Desk? I did not know this and would definitely like to be prepared. TIA!!

 

[Siliobear]

It's a generic pill called Sea-Calm, from Guest Services. We hit rough water the last night so I needed one, but left me drowsy even the next day even tho I only took one tablet (2 come in the packet).

 

[Bear3412]

Wow guys. I just skimmed the last few pages. Some great ideas/items.
Has anyone updated the list/language? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Alyt0SkiPoXmdFpfLVROdFBrbnBVcmgwbVRqSFJwdmc#gid=0

 

[WonderTwinsMom]

Wow! A big Thanks to whoever made and shared the list. It's so useful. Cheers!

 

[carissa1970]

That is a great list! Thank you!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello.

I'm new to this forum and I've booked a cruise for next year...

Do you Guys know if there's a limit on the amount of bottled water we can bring on board?

We are a family of 5 that drinks water a lot. Thank you.

You can bring onboard as many beverages (whatever variety you wish) as you feel you can handle. It must be in your carryon bags, and your room won't be ready until around 1:30. I must also point out that the water onboard the ship is processed the same as bottled water (reverse osmosis and filtered), there's really no reason to bring your own with you. That's all the water onboard, whether for preparing food, making ice, from the drink station, served in the MDRs, from the tap in your room.

Thank you...

What is the baggage limit? I've seen a 2pc limit. Any ideas about the weight??

DCL will send you 2 luggage tags per person. But you can take what you like. I've seen people with 3 or 4 pieces each. As to the weight, be mindful that the room hosts will be the ones handling your bags from dockside to your room.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Will you please tell me a little more about this? Is it Dramamine or Bonine, or something else? Do you mean the Guest Services Desk? I did not know this and would definitely like to be prepared. TIA!!

It's a generic pill called Sea-Calm, from Guest Services. We hit rough water the last night so I needed one, but left me drowsy even the next day even tho I only took one tablet (2 come in the packet).

SEA-CALM
Active ingredient

Meclizine Hydrochloride 25 mg
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=27003

 

[tmgdownunder]

You can bring onboard as many beverages (whatever variety you wish) as you feel you can handle. It must be in your carryon bags, and your room won't be ready until around 1:30. I must also point out that the water onboard the ship is processed the same as bottled water (reverse osmosis and filtered), there's really no reason to bring your own with you. That's all the water onboard, whether for preparing food, making ice, from the drink station, served in the MDRs, from the tap in your room.

DCL will send you 2 luggage tags per person. But you can take what you like. I've seen people with 3 or 4 pieces each. As to the weight, be mindful that the room hosts will be the ones handling your bags from dockside to your room.

Thank you so much. First time cruisers here so am really really excited.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

You can bring onboard as many beverages (whatever variety you wish) as you feel you can handle. It must be in your carryon bags, and your room won't be ready until around 1:30. I must also point out that the water onboard the ship is processed the same as bottled water (reverse osmosis and filtered), there's really no reason to bring your own with you. That's all the water onboard, whether for preparing food, making ice, from the drink station, served in the MDRs, from the tap in your room.

I agree with this 100%, there is no need to lug cases of water onto the ship. We take a large refillable mug, fill it from the bathroom tap and put it in the refrigerator, and we have plenty of cold water to drink. We also have our cabin steward fill our ice bucket in the morning and in the evening. The tap water tastes better than a lot of bottled waters, especially Disani.

I would not want to go to the trouble to pay for and lug cases of water on board only to find out how tasty the ship's water is.

 

[DWGal210]

Great list, thank you!!

To add: I always bring Aloe Vera gel. I tend to burn easily with the sun, so aloe is a must for me if I get too red.

 

[reevesinga]

I'd you tend to burn- google INSURANCE- it is a product made by CALIFORNIA TAN- works so much better than aloe!!!! Trust me- i have light hair, light eyes and very light skin!!!

 

[MollyMom]

I got lots of good ideas off this thread before and have written down a few more since then. Thanks everybody! I thought I'd share a pretty complete online packing list that I found. I've been rather obsessed with these, fearing I'm going to forget something... ha ha... Anyway, this one had some great suggestions, so thought others might be interested. There are about 10 lists by topic, so this is the first one: http://www.cheapestcruise.info/packing-lists/documents-and-essentials-packing-list/

 

[carissa1970]

I got lots of good ideas off this thread before and have written down a few more since then. Thanks everybody! I thought I'd share a pretty complete online packing list that I found. I've been rather obsessed with these, fearing I'm going to forget something... ha ha... Anyway, this one had some great suggestions, so thought others might be interested. There are about 10 lists by topic, so this is the first one: http://www.cheapestcruise.info/packing-lists/documents-and-essentials-packing-list/

I just read them all! Thanks!!!

 

[MelSpees]

I thought I'd share a pretty complete online packing list that I found. I've been rather obsessed with these, fearing I'm going to forget something... ha ha... Anyway, this one had some great suggestions, so thought others might be interested. There are about 10 lists by topic, so this is the first one: http://www.cheapestcruise.info/packing-lists/documents-and-essentials-packing-list/

Great list! Thank you. I have my own looong list, but this had a couple of things I hadn't thought about--like all of the photocopies and car insurance.