New Cruiser: WHat to bring... what not to bring?

[Iris1974]

Just a thought. If you aren't going to be carrying a small purse or pocketbook and you don't have pockets a lanyard to keep your ID and Key To The World Card would come in handy. http://www.amazon.comhas some really cute Disney ones with coin pouches that can hold the cards and Chapstick, some Tylenol and some sea sickness pills. You an buy them at other stores too. I just like to shop on Amazon for things. It's easier for me. Have a great cruise.

 

[xlxo]

When leaving the ship... AVOID packing the laundry bag, red pillow or one of those wave phones...

 

[godde8ss]

Airborne! It never seems to fail that cold starts to attack whenever a fun vacation begins. I once had to buy this on a carnival cruise - it held away the cold, but cost twice as much.

 

[Sunshine2U]

I packed ziplock bags, tervis tumblers with lids, and water bottles. I would put extra fruit, etc. from buffet in the ziplock to have healthy snacks in the room. Same with tumblers - juice or milk in those, kept in the refrigerator. And of course it was nice to fill the water bottles with ice/water. We drive so an extra suitcase is not a problem.

 

[cyndik1111]

for our first cruise I WAY overpacked. It was crazy. 7 suitcases for 3 people. What was I thinking? 4 pair of shorts and shirts is all that is needed for 7 day. You are only in them for like 4 hours each day- with swim suits and cover ups, dinner wear, exercise clothes etc. Khaki, black and white are your best friends. I brought 1 pair of sandals that could do double duty (pool shoes and dress up)and sneaks for exercise. One skirt for formal night/informal night. two pair of capris. 1 set of exercise clothes- that I washed out in the sink as needed. And a bunch of thin tops that can be dressed up and down.

I agree, don't do FE on your 1st cruise- although it was fun, I needed 2 suitcases for all the stuff. It kind of consumed us (we had like 30 families) and it took away from the cruise experience. Our night to hand out, we spent 2 hours running around the ship passing stuff out. I had never been on the ship and kept getting lost. The elevators are so slow so i took stairs. I was exhausted. But my daughter did get a kick out of finding things each night in her pockets. But really, they were just little trinkets (mostly) and we ended up pitching them within a few weeks of returning. In hindsight, it was too much.

You could get the same "excitement" by just putting a little thing on her pillow at night for her to find when she returns to the room.

But that's just my advise- others live and die by their FE, and who am I to judge.

I liked clothes pins- I used those like crazy. Didn't need power strip. Never used over the door organizer. I did bring those removable hooks to hang sweatshirts, robe etc, but I think those are forbidden now.

Don't worry, whatever you forget, you'll live without.

Have fun!

 

[lmhall2000]

Hi Everyone,
I have seen some of the greatest advice given out on these boards, so I am taking my question to the experts!

What exactly do you bring???

TIA!!!
Aimee

We are a family of five going on our fourth cruise, each time we pack less and less and less

Two pairs of shoes (running shoes..wear 90% of the time) and cross between dressy and casual for dinner, goes with ALL outfits.

3 Tshirts per person. (We take laundry pods and wash on the 4th day of cruise, usually a sea day...takes a total of 30 minutes to walk them there and retrieve/fold them)

3 shorts per person.
1 capris/jeans for girls/me (2 pairs of workout pants for me, I go walking most mornings)


1 pair of long khakis for men
1 jacket for men
1 dress shirt for men
1 tie for men
1 formalish dress for girls/me (must be packable and light)
1 extra dress for girls..usually a sundress

1 light sweater/long sleeve something for all..some nights might get chilly in the dining rooms/deck

1 pair of pjs per person.

Underwear/garments/socks for 4 days

1 swimsuit per person (used to bring 2, but never used them, always seemed to dry out overnight )

Toiletries/Miscellaneous:
smallish travel sizes of sunscreen, usually 10 tubes for the whole trip, all our bags are carryons so they are not nice about having bigger bottles...plus the smaller sizes mean that everyone can tote one in their pocket on excursions so we're never without.
ziplock back of bandaid/bug cream, aleve, soothing burn gel (also small size) and any seasickness meds (only needed it once so far)
Three highlighters...kids like to highlight their favorite thing to do on the Navigators..each one gets their own, but honestly, it's just my girls that mark it up, my son is go with the flow...
Fish extender gifts all in one travel duffle bag to keep it all separate, and we use that duffle to bring back the bootie Fish extender goes in here, too.
Magnets for our door...still using the same ones we made 6 years ago

Round hair brush/hair spritz/spray/makeup/toothpaste (2 tubes..one for each bathroom)/toothbrushes/closet organizer to store all the miscellaneous stuff in...that way if someone is in one bathroom, everyone can access their stuff.

Camera, but honestly, we seem to be using our phones for everything now..so may not pack one this trip. Cellphones/chargers.

Sunglasses for all, but we seem to only wear them on excursions, not on ship?

Passports and small travel bag to hold all of them/phones on our excursions. We have been making copies of each passport and taking those with us off ship...leaving passports in the room.

That's it for five...hope this helps!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

The best suggestions i ever read was, put everything you think you'll need out. Then, cut it in half.
Then cut it in half again. <--- that's what you need.

Maybe for some, but I've never agreed with this.

I'm one who would rather have packed something and not need it, than to have not packed it, and wished I'd brought it. There have been a few cruises in which we said to ourselves..."I'm so glad we brought this."

I also agree with what others have said about not doing the FE for your first cruise.

Enjoy.

 

[princessandpirate]

These are great tips! I learn more every time I get ready to pack for a cruise!

 

[mikehn]

I bring a cheap mesh laundry bag to throw all the sweaty stinky clothes in and leave them out on the balcony all week long.

 

[Suger Mag]

pirate gear for pirate night

 

[Dug720]

Maybe for some, but I've never agreed with this.

I'm one who would rather have packed something and not need it, than to have not packed it, and wished I'd brought it. There have been a few cruises in which we said to ourselves..."I'm so glad we brought this."

I also agree with what others have said about not doing the FE for your first cruise.

Enjoy.

First cruise? Heck, I'm about to go on my third and have never done an FE and honestly don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. It's NOT necessary to enjoy the cruise.

 

[muse7mom]

We did a 7 day cruise and found these were easy to pack for laundry:
http://www.amazon.com/Purex-Complet...22149540&sr=8-2&keywords=purex+laundry+sheets

No possibility of puncture/dripping. We did do laundry since we were going to WDW after the cruise.

We did not need highlighters or post it notes or lots and lots of $1 bills for room service tips.

Yes to extra sunscreen and a few ziploc bags (different sizes).

We did take some individually wrapped candies (Dove and Starbursts) as a thank you for the kid club workers. They loved that.

Yes to air freshener for the bathroom. Got a tiny one from Bath and Body Works.

I hope you guys have a great cruise.

 

[mickeyhereicome]

What I have found...

We do the laundry because we usually are on vacation for more than the 7 nights, so I bring a baggie of dryer sheets and the pod laundry detergent. I like the all in one sheets, but hard to find. Not sold in stores anymore.

We bring our Thermos stainless steel water bottles, which keep cold items cold for up to 12 hours. We fill them up the night before with ice and water from the pool deck, put them in our fridge and then we have nice ice cold water during our excursions. This was so handy during our very hot Southern. I also bring a tiny bottle of dish soap to wash the bottles, don't like using the bar soap.

One thing that I had never thought of until our last cruise is hard candy. I had a dry throat for some reason and the only thing to buy on board was Halls cough drops, which I hate and a tin can of small Disney mints which was ridiculously expensive. I tried finding something in ports, but they where for odd flavors, so I bought the ridiculously expensive mints. So now I pack some hard candy just in case.

We also love our coffee, so we pack the instant coffee by starbucks (I think they are call Via) for when I want a good cup and small French vanilla creamers, which I bring to breakfast and dinner.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

First cruise? Heck, I'm about to go on my third and have never done an FE and honestly don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. It's NOT necessary to enjoy the cruise.

I can take or leave the FEs. DH and I have done three cruises without our DD, and didn't participate. We do participate when she's with us. Agreed. Definitely not necessary to enjoy the cruise.

 

[Lluianae]

Thank you for all your ideas, since this is our first cruise I feel better about what to pack. When we do travel I tend to "over-pack" I'm liking the idea of packing everything in a back pack but what and where do I put my shoes?! I will be bringing 3 shoes (gym,flip flops and dress sandals), I will be wearing my flip flops. We have less than 2 months to go so I guess I'll do some practice packing - wish me luck

 

[Dug720]

I'm already gathering my stuff for my cruise so I can get packed over the next week. I can already tell I'm going to have to carefully check to ensure I don't overpack by one 14-pound cat who keeps trying to get into my luggage!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I can already tell I'm going to have to carefully check to ensure I don't overpack by one 14-pound cat who keeps trying to get into my luggage!

You too, huh?

 

[Dug720]

You too, huh?

This is the first time he has explored my bags. It started with my yoga bag and is expanding. Haha!

 

[TAK]

I'm already gathering my stuff for my cruise so I can get packed over the next week. I can already tell I'm going to have to carefully check to ensure I don't overpack by one 14-pound cat who keeps trying to get into my luggage!

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I keep telling him he'd hate it, but I don't think he believes me.

 

[Dug720]

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I keep telling him he'd hate it, but I don't think he believes me.

Yep. Last night I tried "But you HATE water!!" He just stared at me. (He really does love his cat sitter though. She took video when she was playing with him while I was in Alaska and he was having the time of his life.)