Question re: in-room toiletries

[sadiecatie]

I know I’ve seen that H20 products are being discontinued - are they still working their way through them on the ships? Have they switched over to something new? Any word on what will be offered instead?

And if it is still H20, how have people with more sensitive skin liked their stuff? I would like to just use what’s offered (and not pack as many toiletries) on our Alaska trip, but both my daughter and me have pretty sensitive skin. Have people used their products with sensitive kids?

 

[CisforCookie991]

I have super sensitive skin. I’ve never used the H2O lotion, but never had a problem with any of the other products.

 

[soniam]

The H2O shampoo, shower gel, and conditioner don’t bother me. However, if my hands are dry and sensitive, the lotion sometimes bothers them, but not the rest of my body. I can use some stuff with fragrance/perfume but never have issues with essential oils. It depends how sensitive you are.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

In December there was H2O products (shampoo, conditioner, and lotion). I don't like the shampoo and conditioner but I do use the lotion. I always pack my own products, just in case.

 

[kiford]

I have sensitive skin, and I like H2O products, so I don't bother to take my own with me. Though it obviously depends on what your skin is sensitive to. It's good to hear that they're still working their way through it because we're just bringing carry-on bags for our upcoming cruise and not checked baggage. The airport in Toronto is absolutely terrible right now - a colleague of mine is still waiting for a bag that she knows is in the airport and has been sitting there for two weeks. She was told that the average waiting time is 45 days. So anything I can do to cut down on what I bring is a good thing, and with only carry-ons, we are restricted in terms of how much liquid we can pack.

 

[sadiecatie]

I have sensitive skin, and I like H2O products, so I don't bother to take my own with me. Though it obviously depends on what your skin is sensitive to. It's good to hear that they're still working their way through it because we're just bringing carry-on bags for our upcoming cruise and not checked baggage. The airport in Toronto is absolutely terrible right now - a colleague of mine is still waiting for a bag that she knows is in the airport and has been sitting there for two weeks. She was told that the average waiting time is 45 days. So anything I can do to cut down on what I bring is a good thing, and with only carry-ons, we are restricted in terms of how much liquid we can pack.

Oh my! That’s not comforting to hear. You’re making me rethink our packing plans for our Alaska cruise (we’re connecting through Toronto on our way to Vancouver) - our plans right now for our family of 3 are 2 carry-ons and one large checked bag, but maybe if we can manage all carry-on we should try to do that.

 

[kiford]

Oh my! That’s not comforting to hear. You’re making me rethink our packing plans for our Alaska cruise (we’re connecting through Toronto on our way to Vancouver) - our plans right now for our family of 3 are 2 carry-ons and one large checked bag, but maybe if we can manage all carry-on we should try to do that.

Yeah, they were going from Toronto to Germany through Iceland. Their plane was an hour late leaving because the conveyor for putting luggage onto the plane wasn't working (apparently a common issue right now with not enough maintenance people). Her husband's bag didn't make it onto the plane in Iceland (hers and her kids' did) though all luggage made it TO Iceland. So his bag was sent to Munich a day late,r but when he went to try to pick it up at the airport on their way to Stuttgart, he couldn't track down anyone who would go find it. Apparently, there were other people there who had been at the airport every day for four days trying to get their luggage. So they had the bag sent back to Toronto since they were going to be ending up in Switzerland. The bag has been at Pearson since December 28th, and they returned to Toronto on January 8th. She can see it moving from place to place at Pearson (Air tags) but is still waiting. Everybody I know who has been through Pearson says that there are piles of luggage everywhere and nothing seems to be happening with them. But I also know other people who have flown in and out of Toronto, and everything was fine. Personally, I'm not taking any chances.

We're only going for a few days and will spend most of our time at the pool and casually dressed, so it's feasible, but it's also required a lot of hard decisions, pruning of items, selecting lightweight everything, making sure my colours mix and match, and wearing a fleece and rain jacket instead of packing a sweater and/or wearing winter clothing to travel. And keeping my toiletries to a minimum. Nothing that isn't actually needed - no nice-to-haves or maybe-usefuls to be packed.

You may be fine, but if you still need to take a suitcase, you might want to consider splitting everything into two smaller suitcases and dividing everything up so that you might at least get one and there will be enough to not need to buy anything. But definitely put as much as you can/need into the carry-on bags (something I always do anyway), just in case. Between the airlines and the airports, it's a you-know-what show right now with travelling.

 

[mmouse37]

No problems with the shower gel or body lotion but I can't use the shampoo as I have colored hair and find that it strips the color a bit. I bring my own shampoo and conditioner.

MJ

 

[sadiecatie]

Yeah, they were going from Toronto to Germany through Iceland. Their plane was an hour late leaving because the conveyor for putting luggage onto the plane wasn't working (apparently a common issue right now with not enough maintenance people). Her husband's bag didn't make it onto the plane in Iceland (hers and her kids' did) though all luggage made it TO Iceland. So his bag was sent to Munich a day late,r but when he went to try to pick it up at the airport on their way to Stuttgart, he couldn't track down anyone who would go find it. Apparently, there were other people there who had been at the airport every day for four days trying to get their luggage. So they had the bag sent back to Toronto since they were going to be ending up in Switzerland. The bag has been at Pearson since December 28th, and they returned to Toronto on January 8th. She can see it moving from place to place at Pearson (Air tags) but is still waiting. Everybody I know who has been through Pearson says that there are piles of luggage everywhere and nothing seems to be happening with them. But I also know other people who have flown in and out of Toronto, and everything was fine. Personally, I'm not taking any chances.

We're only going for a few days and will spend most of our time at the pool and casually dressed, so it's feasible, but it's also required a lot of hard decisions, pruning of items, selecting lightweight everything, making sure my colours mix and match, and wearing a fleece and rain jacket instead of packing a sweater and/or wearing winter clothing to travel. And keeping my toiletries to a minimum. Nothing that isn't actually needed - no nice-to-haves or maybe-usefuls to be packed.

You may be fine, but if you still need to take a suitcase, you might want to consider splitting everything into two smaller suitcases and dividing everything up so that you might at least get one and there will be enough to not need to buy anything. But definitely put as much as you can/need into the carry-on bags (something I always do anyway), just in case. Between the airlines and the airports, it's a you-know-what show right now with travelling.

Man, what a headache! I have gotten into watching packing videos on Youtube lately (what an exciting life I lead ), so I’ll just take it as a challenge to employ all the tips I’ve been learning and travel carry-on only as a family.

 

[Cheburashka]

I know I’ve seen that H20 products are being discontinued - are they still working their way through them on the ships? Have they switched over to something new? Any word on what will be offered instead?

And if it is still H20, how have people with more sensitive skin liked their stuff? I would like to just use what’s offered (and not pack as many toiletries) on our Alaska trip, but both my daughter and me have pretty sensitive skin. Have people used their products with sensitive kids?

I sailed on the Dream last week, and the H2O products were in my stateroom. I can sometimes have sensitive skin and have never had a problem with their products. I especially like the lotion- it has a pleasant scent.

 

[CisforCookie991]

Man, what a headache! I have gotten into watching packing videos on Youtube lately (what an exciting life I lead ), so I’ll just take it as a challenge to employ all the tips I’ve been learning and travel carry-on only as a family.

We’re carry-on only people. And certain airlines love to make people gate check rolling bags unnecessarily, so we’re planning on backpacks/gym bag type bags only for one short trip this summer. I’ve learned that the most space efficient method for us is to roll the clothes. I’ll roll entire outfits together - pants and clothes together, pjs and undies together, etc. Then I know I have entire outfits set up that already match. Socks and any other small miscellaneous items fill in the gaps in the bags. I also don’t like giant pumps of toiletries so I have a stash of travel size toiletries. They last surprisingly longer than you think they will. Also I always locate a Target or drugstore near our hotels or on the way to pick up any toiletries I might have forgotten. The travel ones are usually under $2 a bottle so I just trash whatever is left over if it’s not enough to warrant saving. I also make lists ahead of time and check off as I’m packing - there are certain things I know are necessities for every trip so it’s one less thing to think about. I’m a type A planner

 

[sadiecatie]

We’re carry-on only people. And certain airlines love to make people gate check rolling bags unnecessarily, so we’re planning on backpacks/gym bag type bags only for one short trip this summer. I’ve learned that the most space efficient method for us is to roll the clothes. I’ll roll entire outfits together - pants and clothes together, pjs and undies together, etc. Then I know I have entire outfits set up that already match. Socks and any other small miscellaneous items fill in the gaps in the bags. I also don’t like giant pumps of toiletries so I have a stash of travel size toiletries. They last surprisingly longer than you think they will. Also I always locate a Target or drugstore near our hotels or on the way to pick up any toiletries I might have forgotten. The travel ones are usually under $2 a bottle so I just trash whatever is left over if it’s not enough to warrant saving. I also make lists ahead of time and check off as I’m packing - there are certain things I know are necessities for every trip so it’s one less thing to think about. I’m a type A planner

I am definitely a list gal! I’m also planning to try out rolling clothes and then putting them in compression packing cubes. It will certainly be a challenge in packing strategically (we will be traveling for 12 days including pre- and post-cruise stays in Vancouver), but we’ll also plan to do laundry on the ship mid-trip.

 

[CisforCookie991]

I am definitely a list gal! I’m also planning to try out rolling clothes and then putting them in compression packing cubes. It will certainly be a challenge in packing strategically (we will be traveling for 12 days including pre- and post-cruise stays in Vancouver), but we’ll also plan to do laundry on the ship mid-trip.

I’ve tried cubes. I liked them but not enough to do on shorter trips. I’m not sure they make a ton of difference over just rolling, but definitely worth trying on a long trip. Another thing we’ve done on multi-leg trips is pack everyone’s clothes in one bag for each leg, so we’re not opening a bunch of bags every day and digging through them. So all of city A is in one bag, then if we have anything clean left, the clean stuff goes into bag B and bag A is now all dirty laundry. On one longer trip, we considered mailing some dirty laundry home in the middle of the trip. We ultimately didn’t need to, but depending on how many bags you’re taking, might save you some aggravation to look into it.

 

[princesscinderella]

The H2O products give both my daughter and myself a rash. We are gluten sensitive and wheat is an ingredient in the h2o products so we avoid them.

 

[soniam]

No problems with the shower gel or body lotion but I can't use the shampoo as I have colored hair and find that it strips the color a bit. I bring my own shampoo and conditioner.

MJ

I also have colored hair. I will use the conditioner now but not the shampoo, due to stripping. Once I got my personal shower gel and shampoo mixed up when heading to the parks early. That did strip my hair a decent amount. Mine fades anyway, even with color safe shampoo and conditioner; blue isn't a natural color and fades very easily.

 

[mmouse37]

I am definitely a list gal! I’m also planning to try out rolling clothes and then putting them in compression packing cubes. It will certainly be a challenge in packing strategically (we will be traveling for 12 days including pre- and post-cruise stays in Vancouver), but we’ll also plan to do laundry on the ship mid-trip.

In May of 2022 we were gone about 16 days and honestly I packed the same way I did for a 7 day cruise, same suitcase. We did 4 nights at Aulani, 1 night in Waikiki, 10 nights on the Wonder and then 1 night in Vancouver. I did laundry at Aulani before we boarded the cruise and I don't think I had to do it again. I definitely have a master packing list that I use that has everything I possibly need to take on vacation and then just pair it down to fit which type of vacation I am actually taking at the time.

MJ

 

[unrequited23]

My youngest and I have sensitive skin and have used the H2O products without a problem. The lotion is not moisturizing enough for our skin, so I bring a tub of cera ve cream which is also my preferred facial moisturizer. I've also found I have better luck with my fine wavy hair if I condition, shampoo, then condition again.

 

[SleepyDeb]

I got off the Fantasy yesterday and there were still H2O products In the rooms.

 

[Lizgistix]

Was on the Wish earlier this month and they still had the H2O body wash, shampoo, and conditioner in the shower. Lotion dispenser in the other bathroom, and the bar of soap.

I bring my own conditioner because picky.
I also bought a $2 loofah from Walgreens with the intention of leaving it behind when I packed up the room.