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

[harrisb1964]

Also I wish I had scheduled a port excursion at Grand Caymans. Our TA told us for some crazy reason that the Turtle Farm and 7 Mile Beach were within walking distance from the Port. Actually, the turtle farm is 8 miles away and 7 mile beach was about as far. Also, I wish I had known that most things close on Sunday and buses and taxis rarely run. We managed to locate a van to take us to the Turtle Farm, but when we were ready to leave we waited and waited and a van never came by. A private charter driver realized we were stranded and offered us a free ride back to port. He even stopped in Hell so we could take pictures. Needless to say we tipped him well! Sad that we missed seeing the beach!
We were back on the boat by 11:00.

 

[disfunfor3]

my family brought a charging USB hub for our multitude of chargeable items. It also saves on plugs. It was less space in the suitcase too.

Beth

 

[twentytoez]

I took several pieces of paper towel and put a small amount of dish soap on them and folded them up (the soap soaked in) and put them in a zip lock bag. So every time my travel mug needed to be cleaned, I would take one piece of the paper towel, give it a good clean and toss it!

Great idea!

 

[CT Yankee]

Yankee Candle sells small cans of air freshener that are very powerful, effective and small enough for travel. It is a concentrated room freshener so a little goes a long way. I keep one in my travel toiletry kit so I always have it when we go somewhere.

 

[harrisb1964]

Helpful Tip about harassing street vendorsAlso, I learned that if you tell the vendors that are harassing you about buying from their shop, that you have no cash, they will leave you alone. At Cozumel we walked through the plaza at the Port and were approached by every vendor. When I said I had no cash, they immediately stopped bothering me. Then as we were leaving and walking through the plaza, not one vendor said a word to us because they remembered I didn't have cash. (Which was true!LOL!)

 

[joycsk]

That's genius. I never thought of that!

I've spent four cruises trying to solve this problem, and now you have! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

 

[Mousemom]

A watch: We were always trying to find a clock.
A hat: My head got so burned at Castaway Cay.
Less Clothes: I packed too much. Found I had too many shoes and dresses.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

For those considering taking aerosol air fresheners or spray on sunscreen, use caution if you're flying. Aerosol containers are banned from aircraft, except "personal care or toiletries in limited quantities." That rule is very subjective - your airline may interpret it more clearly. If you're packing it on your flight, your luggage may be thoroughly searched and any aerosols confiscated. Your luggage may be delayed / miss your flight. There may be legal issues if TSA believes that you intentionally lied on your packing declaration, which includes "no aerosol containers".

Airlines may have their own rules to enforce this safety requirement. For one of the airlines I fly regularly (Air Canada), they ban ALL air fresheners, but allow other personal aerosol containers (hair spray, perfume, etc.), each up to 500 ml / 18 oz., total up to 2 l / 72 oz. in checked luggage. Carry-on luggage may include aerosol containers up to 100 ml / 3.4 oz, in the same resealable bag with all your liquids and gels.

 

[midwestpat]

For one of the airlines I fly regularly (Air Canada), ...

You are the person who can help me! We fly out on Air Canada in less than 2 weeks. I don't seem to have much luck getting answers from them.

I am trying to find out if Air Canada will let us take Lysol wipes in our carry-on. I'm talking the little pack of 15 wipes (not a big plastic jug). They have a nice lookup feature on the Canadian TSA site, but wipes are not listed at all.

Also - I wear gel insoles because of a problem with my feet. I sent an email a few months ago and got a reply saying gel insoles were expressly forbidden, but on that same lookup feature on the TSA site it say gel bras and "similar prosthetics" are allowed. Wouldn't gel insoles be "similar"? I am wondering if I was given an incorrect answer the first time.

 

[DisGirl89]

@midwestpat - I don't know specifically about AirCanada, but I do know that the TSA won't allow you through security with gel insoles for your shoes. I traveled a few weeks ago with Lysol wipes and had no problems whatsoever. I believe they look at those as they would hand sanitizer wipes. I just stuck them in my quart size bag of liquids to declare just in case!

Back to the original topic... I wish I had taken yoga pants (or comfy pants in general) and a sweatshirt on our cruise a few weeks ago. Even though it was pretty warm during the day, the evenings were quite chilly as we sailed the high seas.

I also always travel with Lysol wipes to wipe down my hotel/stateroom.

 

[st8y]

I've spent four cruises trying to solve this problem, and now you have! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Glad to be of service

 

[tvguy]

Starbucks Via packets. The coffee is sewage.

Ah, the SECOND most controversial topic on DIS boards after taking your kid out of school for a vacation...................coffee.

Full disclosure, I am a huge Dutch Brothers and Peets fan. In our household, your example wouldn't be every helpful, Starbucks would be the sewage.

We only had coffee on board with dessert at dinner. But, we had late seating dinner, and we usually were in the dining room for 2 hours, lingering over dessert and coffee for 30 minutes. So the dessert and the relaxing environment may have improved the taste of the coffee.

 

[harrisb1964]

I wish I had purchased a cheap lanyard before boarding the boat for my Key To The World card.
Also, on our next cruise we will all have passports. Trying to keep up with birth certificates, and other paperwork was a pain. Plus after reading the posts of what could happen if you get hurt or sick at one of the ports and didn't have a passport, I realized it was worth the money to know I could fly home quickly if I needed to. Our TA did not share with me the importance of having passports in case something happened. She kept telling us that we would be fine with our birth certificates, etc. She did not tell us if something happened that we would need them to fly out of an airport outside of the states!

 

[Iamaplanner]

I wish I HADN'T brought my body wash, shampoo and conditioner from home. They were heavy and bulky and the ones in the room were awesome. I totally didn't need them. (Sorry, I know that's not exactly what you were asking but thought I'd add it).

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Ah, the SECOND most controversial topic on DIS boards after taking your kid out of school for a vacation...................coffee.

Don't forget smoking and shorts in the dining room threads!

For long hair, bring a travel size of Its A 10 Miracle spray leave in. Use before and after pools and oceans. I actually could swim and snorkel with my long mermaid hair loose and flowing thanks to that stuff, and actually comb thru it after! Amazing! It will cut down on the amount of actual conditioner you need to pack. I used to pack travel sizes of shampoos and conditioners but then I would be completely desperate for every drop of conditioner with these Rapunzel locks, so I won't dare not pack a regular (but not jumbo),size conditioner and shampoo. But the Miracle really made my hair manageable and was a big time saver getting ready. I wouldn't swim ocean or pool without it!

 

[KaryCam]

Funny thing is that I am looking forward to bringing more clothes next time. I followed all the advise about wearing shorts multiple times, etc etc on my prior cruises. To be honest, I was way overweight and didn't have that many things that I felt looked good on me. When I go on my next cruise, I will be 100 - 110 lbs lighter. One of my goals is taking cuter day clothes and a couple very nice evening dresses from years past that I WILL fit into again.

 

[RHSTigerMom]

I've never had a problem putting spray (aerosol) sunscreen in checked bags. It always makes it to the final destination.

 

[sarabguerra]

Don't forget smoking and shorts in the dining room threads!

For long hair, bring a travel size of Its A 10 Miracle spray leave in. Use before and after pools and oceans. I actually could swim and snorkel with my long mermaid hair loose and flowing thanks to that stuff, and actually comb thru it after! Amazing! It will cut down on the amount of actual conditioner you need to pack. I used to pack travel sizes of shampoos and conditioners but then I would be completely desperate for every drop of conditioner with these Rapunzel locks, so I won't dare not pack a regular (but not jumbo),size conditioner and shampoo. But the Miracle really made my hair manageable and was a big time saver getting ready. I wouldn't swim ocean or pool without it!

I've been looking for a product like this! DD10 is a super blond, competitive swimmer year round. She's in a pool 5-7 days a week. Her hair is a mess no matter what we do. I'm going to have to try this. I have long hair too, but I typically leave it braided the whole vacation to avoid the tangle.

I'm confused about the aerosol comments. We travel with 2-3 large bottles of spray sunscreen. Never had a problem. Maybe it's an international issue?

 

[Zandy595]

Funny thing is that I am looking forward to bringing more clothes next time. I followed all the advise about wearing shorts multiple times, etc etc on my prior cruises. To be honest, I was way overweight and didn't have that many things that I felt looked good on me. When I go on my next cruise, I will be 100 - 110 lbs lighter. One of my goals is taking cuter day clothes and a couple very nice evening dresses from years past that I WILL fit into again.

That's awesome! Congratulations!

 

[rentayenta]

Funny thing is that I am looking forward to bringing more clothes next time. I followed all the advise about wearing shorts multiple times, etc etc on my prior cruises. To be honest, I was way overweight and didn't have that many things that I felt looked good on me. When I go on my next cruise, I will be 100 - 110 lbs lighter. One of my goals is taking cuter day clothes and a couple very nice evening dresses from years past that I WILL fit into again.

Awesome and congrats!