Strangest thing you HAVE to pack?

[Michellynn]

Agree on the mini flashlight too. I take one on very vacation. Those traveling wth me will sometimes chuckle that I have it....but I'll be darned if I haven't used it at least once on every single vacation. .

 

[mevans9066]

Sound machine with white noise. Night light and flameless candles for inside rooms.

That's exactly what I bring too! Plus I use earplugs on top of the noise machine - hubby is a snorer!! The battery tea lights from the dollar tree were great on our last Carnival cruise! Plus I always tie a few ribbon strings to the handle of my luggage and curl it with scissors so it's easy to spot! Like the thin present wrapping ribbon. That curly ribbon trick was perfect for our WDW trip too on our stroller! Super easy to spot! Cause there were several of the basic black Jeep brand strollers there!

 

[tyarbrough]

Sticky notes. You can leave notes for your cabin attendant ("Need ice please" or "I'm finished with this magazine. You may take it, if you like")

We can also leave notes on the door for the kids or each other. "Went to 2pm movie. Join us!" or "Talking a walk. Meet us at dinner 6pm sharp!"

 

[lozzypop]

I brought a cardboard tray (saved from a trip to a well-known fast food restaurant) to carry drinks down to our stateroom from the drink station on the pool deck. It was so much easier to carry multiple drinks with a tray. I can't tell you how many people asked me "Where did you get the tray? I need one!"

Cost = 0$
Convenience = priceless

 

[MelSpees]

That's exactly what I bring too! Plus I use earplugs on top of the noise machine - hubby is a snorer!! The battery tea lights from the dollar tree were great on our last Carnival cruise! Plus I always tie a few ribbon strings to the handle of my luggage and curl it with scissors so it's easy to spot! Like the thin present wrapping ribbon. That curly ribbon trick was perfect for our WDW trip too on our stroller! Super easy to spot! Cause there were several of the basic black Jeep brand strollers there!

We have brightly colored yarn on our suitcases. It helps soooo much.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Lysol wipes, soft soap for each bathroom, luggage scale, concentrated spray from B&B for bathroom, pop up laundry bin, clothespins, small flashlight, white eraser board, small container of Dawn dish soap, hangers with clips for wet clothes, waterproof watch with indiglo light and the most important thing for my husband is PEPSI since DCL has coke products.

 

[redsonja76]

My lap quilt. If I find that I can somehow manage to bring my quilt that I made, I do. And I spread it out on my bed and sleep with it over the top of the duvet. It's a rag quilt that I made myself back in 2011 or so. It's the perfect weight. I love it so much! If I have even more space to pack beyond my quilt I will bring my little Sweet Pea pillow, too.

I also bring my blanket that is named "Jelly bean". I bring it EVERYWHERE. I am not even playing, I'm a 38 year old woman with a blankie and I'm not ashamed lol! Naps with jellybean are the best!

 

[kbovenizer]

Love some of these ideas!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

We just got back yesterday. Here are some of the things that I had that came in handy...
- post it notes
- pair of scissors (for removing tags from stuff we purchased on board)
- glow sticks to double as night lights
- travel alarm clock for my side of the bed
- clothes pins to clip bathing suits to chairs on balcony while we were in port. (We were traveling with 4 boys and there were ALWAYS wet suits)
- 2 beach/pool bags - one for "stuff" and one for towels when we got off the ship at port
- a million zip lock bags - OK maybe a slight exaggeration, but I used zip locks for everything!!!

Some things I had packed that I never used/needed
- jackets - we were never cold
- half the clothes I took - seriously... when you think you are done packing clothes, take out at least 2 outfits!!!
- cards - we never had time to sit and play - too busy having fun

Things I didn't have, but would have used
- flashlight - the closet area is pretty dark and I would have LOVED to have an extra light over there. We did figure out that if you leave the bathroom door open and then open the closet that helps a bunch, but isn't always practical
- speaking of bathroom... take the de-stinkify spray...
- paper towel with dish detergent is a brilliant idea!
- Cup carrier is also a brilliant idea as I often found myself carrying around multiple drinks
- plastic spoons... if you like the soft serve ice cream, but would rather have it in a cup instead of a cone, it's pretty hard to find a spoon sometimes

I'll update if I can think of anything else. Thanks again for all your awesome ideas!

 

[kbovenizer]

Thought of another thing... if you are traveling with kids (or messy grown ups) pack stain stick. I've got a couple of nice shirts with some wicked chocolate stains on them. And somehow one of my boys managed to draw a line ALL the way down a white shirt with a blue pen. One of those "treat and wash later" sticks would have been used many times for my messy boys!

 

[pgroom48]

• a powerbar.... but not for a DCL cruise as they are forbidden. I hate getting up mid night to swap out my chargers

I have a TYLT battery pack that has multiple usb connections (mine has 3). DCL will let you use these. It plugs in once and then you can plug 3 phones/ipads into it. It helps to keep our electronics charged. Since it's also a battery pack, we take to CC to keep our iPod charged when we listen to music on our mini speaker.

 

[mevans9066]

We took Poo - Pourri spray on our carnival cruise this past April and us 4 adults in 1 cabin were very glad we thought to bring it if you've never heard of or tried it you gotta watch their commercials on youtube! Hilarious! ! And works fabulous!

 

[pgroom48]

Mini bottles of tide so do a load if we run low on clothes. (My kids seem to want to change 5 times a day)
Old hotel key card for the lights.
Wine Opener for the wine in the cabin
A bottle washer brush back when they were babies and dish soap
Flushable wipes

 

[3fish]

Mini bottles of tide so do a load if we run low on clothes. (My kids seem to want to change 5 times a day)
Old hotel key card for the lights.
Wine Opener for the wine in the cabin
A bottle washer brush back when they were babies and dish soap
Flushable wipes

You may want consider Tides detergent packs instead of mini liquid bottles. They're easy to store and less likely of leaking on a flight. Oxi-clean and Clorox 2 come in packs too.

 

[pgroom48]

You may want consider Tides detergent packs instead of mini liquid bottles. They're easy to store and less likely of leaking on a flight. Oxi-clean and Clorox 2 come in packs too.

That's true. We've also done the Purex Washer sheets that double as dryer sheets and they don't leak. Guess we've gotten lazy and keep refilling the same bottles. LOL

 

[TravelinCyn]

We have a 'laundry kit'- ziplock bag that we restock with several detergent packs (Seventh Generation or Dropps work well), a couple of shout color catcher sheets, Shout wipes, Tide-to-go pen, and a compact laundry bag (this one: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/travel/clothingAccessoriesOrganizers?productId=11001348&N=251 ). We're taking a significantly longer than usual cruise next year, and I'm adding a second laundry bag- so we can sort laundry from the get go and I'm not struggling to fit over a week's worth of 3 people's laundry into a bag and haul it to the laundrette!

A travel clock for the sitting area- it's where our kid sleeps, and he likes to see what time it is when he wakes up.

 

[MaleficentRN]

That's true. We've also done the Purex Washer sheets that double as dryer sheets and they don't leak. Guess we've gotten lazy and keep refilling the same bottles. LOL

Oh, how I miss these! We do carry on for 75% of our trips and they were so easy to take. I was so sad when they were discontinued.

 

[Michellynn]

We took Poo - Pourri spray on our carnival cruise this past April and us 4 adults in 1 cabin were very glad we thought to bring it if you've never heard of or tried it you gotta watch their commercials on youtube! Hilarious! ! And works fabulous!

Yep...and it is also a great item to have at the holiday big family gatherings in all the bathrooms. We are definitely packing this on our cruise.

 

[phinz]

For those who seem to think they have to bring PooPourri, those in your group who are considerate will take the short walk to public facilities before destroying the room for everybody else. There are public locations all over the place. Don't think we've ever polluted the room enough to require gas masks...

 

[AZlady]

Funny! I'm a Pepsi only gal so I get this!!!
I actually have to buy some at my airport after getting through security and it travels on my carry on!!

 

[AZlady]

Can someone explain the key card for lights? ( old gift card)?
Thanks!