what did you wish you had brought with you on first cruise ?

[missyp]

A small cross body purse. I did not bring any small lightweight purses to carry my wave phone, kttwc, time schedule page from navigator, and a few other little things so I could be hands free. On my first cruise I was shoving everything in my pockets. Second cruise I brought a cross body small little purse, best thing I brought!! I felt like I wasn't carrying anything. I guess a fanny pack would serve the same purpose, but I am not a fanny pack kind of girl

 

[EmilieK]

A fancy outfit and nicer shoes, the comfy clothes and sports sandals I had packet for the WDW part of our trip just felt out of place on the ship even if we just had a three day cruise. Ecpesially for dinner.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Any idea if they have box fans or any type of fans by request? I sleep with a fan every night.

I kind of doubt it.

I too sleep with a fan (only for the White Noise) and my wife got a "noise" APP for her IPAD and it has a "fan" noise that worked just fine!!!

 

[goofynut41]

Great tip about the Tervis Lilchief! I will be following this as I am only 6 weeks from my first Dis cruise!!

Is it ok to bring those mugs from the Disney parks?

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I overpacked, but some of the things I enjoyed having were:

• Large cup (pack socks or something in it to keep from wasting suitcase space)
• Waterproof case on a neck strap (for room key and ID/money during excursions)
• Wavephone cases (cheap sunglass cases)
• A light bag for carrying around the ship
• Door decorations

 

[jmomm]

a sweater!!! On our last cruise I thankfully wore a sweatshirt for the airport, but didn't bring any long sleeves for while on the cruise (I ended up wearing the sweatshirt EVERY night!)

 

[MickeyEarrings]

Is it ok to bring those mugs from the Disney parks?

Sure -- just remember that you must use one of DCL's paper cups to dispense the ice and soda and pour them into your cup. This is a very important step in keeping everyone healthy.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

On my first cruise I wished I had taken more money for souvenirs. Seriously.

On my last cruise (my first 7-nighter) I realized I had inadvertently overpacked because I spent so much time in my swimsuit....So take two swimsuits. Just FYI

 

[beach baby]

After a few cruises, I've figured out that I can do without a lot of what I have packed!

Things that I'll bring from now on….

1. more than one bathing suit and cover up. I swim/sun every day and hand wash them at night.

2. a few clothes pins to clip items to the balcony chairs to dry.

3. elastic waist shorts one size larger and a loose shirt for the end of the cruise! Seriously, I did this on my last cruise and I was so happy I did! Palo brunch, Palo dinner, and 7 days of all you can eat, on demand ice cream can create some problems!

You will reuse clothes so I don't pack as many now. I like to buy the Tervis on the ship as my souvenir to add to a growing collection! And I pack using a bigger suitcase than I need so I can fit the things I'm bringing home in it and won't have to deal with a bunch of bags that I have to carry off the ship.

Have a great cruise!!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I honestly wished I would've packed more comfortable clothes like yoga pants or loose pants. You're not always going to want to be dolled up. They'll definitely be in my bag next time.

I always bring several pairs of yoga pants (because they are also all I will fly in! too much swelling etc when you wear jeans), but I also live in those adorable tights that are brightly colored and you can wear them under these adorable mini dresses. They are SO much more comfy than shorts (we never get stuck to the seats), no rubbing, and never have to worry about our waistbands getting too low when we sit down etc. and they always look fashion forward but they are cheap and really comfortable (especially in hot environments!) They are all I will wear to the parks now.

Here is a cute lil mini dress I picked up on sale at Charlotte ruse and I have the hot pink tights underneath which look cute (and make my legs look tan!) and are the ULTIMATE in comfort especially in 90 degrees!

Another easy mini dress with the grey basic shorts underneath. All the photos we take always look flattering (which is definitely more than I can say for jean shorts or yoga pants...)

So yeah, even if you don't feel like you have the body image to pull off wearing yoga pants everywhere, these short dresses with the comfy tights make you at least feel like you are and they are very flattering.

Yes, I'm all about the tights... I got these great shorties at Rue21 last year but they didn't have them this year (all long and dark colors ugh!) so I ordered a bunch more for $7 off of onlyleggings.com. I also have them in brown, grey, beige, dark purple (very basic), and these hot pink, and neon green too (for a bit of pop!). With the basic colors, you can match any outfit (especially the grey.)

These are our park/cruise staples because you can pick up these easy cover up/mini dresses for like $10 or less and then have the ultimate in comfort under neath...

Btw, the loose pants comment, yikes! That makes me cringe just thinking about baggy pants in hot sweaty weather....

But I have learned that I will never bring jeans on a cruise trip! What a heavy waste of space!

 

[TAK]

Any idea if they have box fans or any type of fans by request? I sleep with a fan every night.

They did for us. We sailed on the Fantasy this past January 2014 and asked Guest Services for one. It was there within hours and we used it all week. I have no idea if they have lot of them, of course, or if we just got lucky.

 

[Zandy595]

I hate using a wet, gooey bar of soap to wash my hands, so I always take pump hand soap. I'm on the look out for a travel size pump bottle for our next cruise.

Travel size Lysol spray. Can be used as a bathroom air freshener and to disinfect doorknobs and other frequently touched (and not cleaned) things in your stateroom.

 

[Zandy595]

They did for us. We sailed on the Fantasy this past January 2014 and asked Guest Services for one. It was there within hours and we used it all week. I have no idea if they have lot of them, of course, or if we just got lucky.

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to see if I can get one on our next cruise. The fan app just isn't the same when I'm trying to get to sleep.

 

[minniemouse1]

I brought my stainless steel thermos coffee cup to keep my coffee hot. There are no microwaves to "nuke" it if it gets cold and with the 4 kids sometimes its an hour or two before I get to finish my first cup! I also brought ID single flavored creamers and truvia for my coffee. I didn't mind the coffee at the drink stations as long as I had my truvia.
I will never leave home without my Tervis either, a sweater, small bag to tote everything around in, air freshener, pump hand soap, and a "good" cork screw. we broke three on one bottle of wine in April. Still don't know if the room steward got the cork out eventually or not!

 

[lilchief27]

A swimsuit.

I'm kidding

I'm a recovering over-packer. I used to pack an outfit for every day - unnecessary! Now I (try to) pack three less outfits than the length of the cruise. So for a 7-day, I'd pack four outfits, and usually one still doesn't get worn. And I also bring more tops than bottoms, so I can re-wear shorts with a different top.

I, too, am an over-packer. Based on your new packing theory, if I pack 3 less outfits than the length of my 4-night cruise, I will wear the same outfit for the whole cruise! That will make for very light luggage. My cruise is still 100+ days out & I am already trying to figure out how to talk myself out of packing too much.

Maybe I should have brought a Tervis, too.... but honestly, I was looking for an excuse to buy one on the ship!

Ooooo, do they sell DCL Tervis on the ship??? Maybe I should forget to pack mine!

 

[Uncleromulus]

They did for us. We sailed on the Fantasy this past January 2014 and asked Guest Services for one. It was there within hours and we used it all week. I have no idea if they have lot of them, of course, or if we just got lucky.

Good to know!

My guess is there isn't an unlimited supply--

What sort of fan was it??

 

[Donna3271]

The cup holders from a fast food restaurant is GENIUS!!! Negotiating getting more than 2 drinks to your room/table is such a chore!

Looks like I will be lurking at the McDonalds drink dispenser looking for cup holders!

 

[MaleficentRN]

Gum. I chew a lot of gum. Disney does not sell gum. Thankfully, someone put it in our FE. So what did I do our next cruise? Forgot to bring gum, again!

 

[midwestpat]

a sweater!!! On our last cruise I thankfully wore a sweatshirt for the airport, but didn't bring any long sleeves for while on the cruise (I ended up wearing the sweatshirt EVERY night!)

Same here. My very first cruise was a warm weather late spring trip and the port temperatures were quite warm. I had no idea the temperature and wind would make it feel so very much colder out to sea. I was FREEZING! Our first port stop on that trip was Key West, and I still have my Key West sweatshirt (8 years later) bought immediately after disembarking the ship. I rarely buy clothes emblazened with company or location logos. Had I been a bit wiser about how cold it was at sea, I would have brought one from home and never needed that Key West sweatshirt.

 

[midwestpat]

The cup holders from a fast food restaurant is GENIUS!!! Negotiating getting more than 2 drinks to your room/table is such a chore!

Looks like I will be lurking at the McDonalds drink dispenser looking for cup holders!

Our Subway restaurant has them beside the soda machine. I think you have to ask to get one at other local fast food places (like McDonalds) around here.

And yes, power strips are banned now. We brought and used one on our last couple of cruises. Not sure how we're going to work it out this time. They say they have a limited number of DCL provided and approved power strips available for a $40 deposit (I think, maybe it was $50, can't remember).