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Happy 1st Anniversary!
Just went on a cruise this past August and besides the normal stuff of sunscreen, medicine etc I brought these towel clips to use on deck with the loungers and they worked so well to keep our towels from blowing around in the wind. I got them at Kohl's but I know Bed Bath and Beyond carries them too, not sure if they are a seasonal item but you could always use some clothes pins too. We had a room with a balcony and they also came in handy to clip our suits to the chairs to dry after I rinsed them out.
What cruise line are you going on? This past cruise was my first on Carnival and we where allowed to bring one 12 pack of pop or water per person in our carry on- on the ship. At first I said to my Dh husband why would we do this....but it was really nice to have bottle water for the Islands and not have to pay $4.00 per bottle on the ship.
A night light would be something great to bring, especially if you have a inside cabin. I also brought an alarm clock that takes batteries cause I need to know what time it is at night when I wake up : ) and the only place I think you could see the time was in the phone and that was on the desk area or when the TV was on.
Oh another thing I brought was a water proof pouch that I used when we went snokling and it was perfect, not too big and it hung around my neck and kept all our money and Id dry as a bone, I got it on line.... I will get the link for you if you want.
Let me think if there is anything else : )
@countrygirlatheart: wow awesome thank you! The towel clips sound like a great idea. Yes, we are going on Carnval too and bottled water isn't even something I would've thought about so thank you for that. Your other ideas are awesome!
Warm clothes: They kept our cruise ship soooo cold. I pretty much wore a cardigan or hoodie the whole time while on board.
Alligator clips for your hair: I forgot mine at home and ended up having to buy some onboard for $14! It was incredibly windy when we were at sea and my hair was a disaster.
Alarm clock/radio: We brought our iHome so that we could listen to music on our balcony. There are no clocks in the cabin so it was nice to have that to know what time it was in the middle of the night.
Extension cord & power strip: Our cabin only had like 1 outlet and it was in a very inconvenient location. Having the extension cord and power strip were lifesavers.
Clothespins: We used them to dry our bathing suits on our balcony.
Slippers: I thought I would be fine with just my flip flops but it was chilly on our balcony at night so slippers would have come in handy.
I saw the PP posted about bringing water on board. I don’t know about Carnival but on NCL, the shipboard water was better than bottled (imo) and this is coming from someone who will ONLY drink bottled water at home. I had read about it before we left so we bought 2 kleen kanteens and brought those with us. It worked out great. We filled our bottles and kept them in the mini fridge so we always had cold water when we wanted it. With all of the luggage that we had to wrangle, I can’t imagine having to deal with a case of water, too.
Do either of you have an iPhone 4 or 4s? I bought the lifeproof case for mine before we went and it was so nice to have. It completely incases your phone and makes it entirely waterproof. Our plan was to use that for all of our underwater pictures but we didn’t end up really taking any. If you’re planning on doing some water excursions, it would definitely come in handy. During our whole sailboat rescue thing, I used my phone to record it from our balcony since DH’s would have gotten completely soaked from all of the water that was hitting us.
@UpstateCait: I agree I almost always wore a sweater of some sort at dinner.
The water was fine in the dinning room....but when we first got to our cabin I went to brush my teeth and the water was coming out green! I was like what the heck gross, but after I ran it for a few minutes it was fine so I am not sure what that is all about. (never happened on any other cruise I have been on) Your idea about bringing canteens is good too!
@PitBulLover: Your welcome! If you do the water or pop thing just make sure its in your carry on that you are bringing on the ship and not your checked bag, we just got the water after we flew in to Tampa, it was very easy but then again we stayed in Clearwater for a few days ahead of our cruise so we had time to stop and pick it up.
On Carnival's web site I believe it says weather or not you can bring a power cord or extension cord.....I know they have a something about it and them being fire hazard if they not the right kind....not sure cause I did not bring one.
Also check with your cell phone carrier and see if you have the plan where it covers Roaming....not sure if this is the right term but ours did not so we shut them off when we left port and took them with us on land in case we had an emergency, we would have our families numbers and a means of communication.
If you want to have communication with friends and family while you are on board you can pay for email on the ship....or you can go to Carnivals web site and click on "Community Buzz" and then click on " Currently on board" and you can email them for free and they can email you back....the only thing is everyone can see it but I found it to be no big deal, because say you want to let your family know you are ok or to check on your dog ( if you have one ; ) you can do that for free. We went during hurricane season and a hurricane was going on but we had the most beautiful weather cause we were following it...if that makes sense.
You have to make an account thru FUNVILLE and let your family know your user name but it is easy. I did one a week ahead of time so I knew it worked.
I don't know if this is a concern of yours, but I have to iron everything I wear. I can't stand being wrinkled, especially if you're trying to dress up. Cruise ships do not have irons in room and typically do not allow you to iron at all. That said, I like to sneak a cheap travel iron in and then hide it when I'm done. So far no confiscations, yet. You can get one for under $20.
I also recommend a hair dryer! I didn't bring one because I (wrongly) assumed that it would be like a hotel and there would be a hair dryer in the room, and had to go to dinner with damp hair on a few nights. Not a big deal, but next time I will definately remember to bring my own hairdryer!! Have fun!
stretchy clothes. I hear they feed you a lot!
just kidding. are you going to dock in foreign countries that might have pickpocketers? I'd bring something safe to store a passport and money in. Pacsafe purses and bags help deter thiefs, and they're less dorky than fanny packs. (they're not super fashionable either, but I'd rather not have my passport stolen!)
I have a friend that just left on a cruise Sunday. She and her DH got a Dunkin' Donuts thing of coffee (the big box with the silver bag inside...already made coffee). They drank the coffee and then filled the bag up with rum. It worked! Just a hint on how to sneak alcohol on board. :)
Everyone already gave great advice. My onboard advice...take advantage of FREE room service!!!!
They have items on their room service menu not available elsewhere on the ship and they are soooo good. And ordering room service breakfast to be delivered is oh so awesome.
I'm SO overdue for a cruise. Sigh. Maybe when our baby is older. :D
What islands are you going to?
Oh! Water shoes from Target or something if you're planning on doing any water excursions.
hahahhaha. we did that with vodka in water bottles. ;) Ask for a little oj or coke in room service and we're all set.
@BoiledPNut: AWESOME! We are about to finish a listerine bottle so I'm going to clean it out and we're going to use that!! But I think I might also do the coffee thing!
@regberadaisy: We are going to Nassau, Grand Turk, St Thomas and San Juan PR...I Cannot freakin wait! I've been on one cruise when I was 17 but DH hasn't been one one except when he was 3 yrs old so he doesn't remember it. Thanks for reminding me about the water shoes! And I am so excited for room service. We took full advantage of room service on our honeymoon and I just told DH tonight that cruises have free room service and he got SO excited haha.
@regberadaisy: ha! wrote that down for my honeymoon! vodka in water bottles! They didn't check them?
Awesome! San Juan was a beautiful port to pull into. St Thomas had literally some of the most beautiful water I have seen, anywhere. Never been to Nassau or Grand Turk, Sooooo jealous!!!
We loved room service! There will be days where we'll head back to our room for lunch so we can order off the room service! hahahha
Nooppeee, looks just like water. ;) We bought the big 1L water bottles!
I don't know if others have mentioned this, but sometimes the dinners are really formal so you need some dress up outfits as well as casual stuff to wear during the day.
Have so much fun!!
@HappilyEverAfter54: i was wondering that too! How strict are they about checking for liquor? Can you sneak it on board from the ports too?
@regberadaisy: YES I am so happy to hear you say that. I am most looking forward to San Juan and St Thomas. I've looked up the beaches in St Thomas and they look unreal. Which beaches have you been to? Did you ever take the ferry to St. John? And I've heard they will check to see if the water bottles are sealed or not...guess that's not true?
@finnaroo: I'm so glad you mentioned that. How dressy are people getting these days? It would be a fun reason to wear an evening gown!
A watch! our cell phones didn't display the right time because we were in the middle of the ocean and we had no way of telling time. An alarm clock is also a good idea but you'll need a watch, especially when you go on excursions or just off the boat at port so you know what time to get back.
We did the water bottle thing on our first cruise. On the second one I noticed that a lot of the liqour stores were starting to automatically bring your bottles to ship before it left port. So when you purchased your booze they deliver the bottles directly to the ship. But if I remember correctly not all the shops did that.
I honestly do not remember the name of the beaches. We did a snorkeling excursion than later met up wiht my ILs at a beachside restaurant. I remember the sand being so perfect, completely white. The water was crystal clear. There were tropical fishies swimming around my feet. It was so awesome. At the time of our trip St John was actually suppose to be the port but they switched it to St Thomas due to safety reasons. Not sure if it's better now?
The Captain's dinner is def the night to wear a long evening gown! Yes, there were those in short cocktails or sundresses but they were imo under dressed from the majority. The other nights a nice sun dress would do. Dress pants and a shirt/polo shirt would be fine for your husband. A suit for the Captain's dinner.
When you go to Nassau, you must go to this little hole in the wall restaurant called Junkanoo. It's near Senor Frogs. Ask for the Sky Juice. Fantastic place...definitely the highlight of Nassau.
@regberadaisy: Thanks for the recs. I am getting more and more excited every day. I can't wait to see those fish!
@regberadaisy: Noted! I will definitely be going there. Didn't have any plans for Nassau yet so that's just perfect.
Anyone have a good recommendation about how much cash to bring? Do you use cash at all on the ships or just use that Sailaway card for everything?
I just found some fancy tricks for getting alcohol on board!
They are strict =( but I'm still going to try this!
http://www.camocaps.net/
Do not take water bottles in your carry on. Store them in your checked luggage.
Try to take water bottles in their original packaging. If you buy them in a 6, 12 or 24 pack carefully remove them from the packaging and put them back in the packaging after you’ve refilled them with liquor. Use the camo caps to make them appear unopened.
My family is from St. Thomas & St. John- we have a resort there. I was conceived in the Islands when my parents lived their as newlyweds ;)
I also recommend lots of warm clothes- and be over prepared with you chargers, hair styling tools etc!
I lovvvvvveee cruises. There was a great thread started a few weeks back, it had a great info, I'll see if I can find it.
These are a few
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/carnival-cruise-advice
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/those-things-you-forgot-and-really-needed-or-what-did-you-pack
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/cruise-packing-help
JUST A HEADS for all those that are thinking of taking alcohol on board on our cruise (this past August) we brought three 6 packs of water that where not open and still in the plastic and a 8 pack of Root Beer (allowed a 12 pack of either to bring per person) and they shook every single one of them to see if it was Alcohol...I guess one bubbles more then the other.
Also for the PP said to put them in your checked bags if they find any they will take it and have you pick it up on the last morning and that is along with irons and other things that are not allowed.
Please don't flame me but I just wanted to give the heads up coming from someone who has has been on many cruises and has seen it all.
@countrygirlatheart: THANK YOU for the heads up. I think our plan for alcohol is that we're going to pour it into a listerine bottle that is not clear so it just seems like mouthwash. I hope it'll be okay!
Can we be besties? :)
We used no cash on board. Everything onto the card that acted like a credit card and got a bill at the end.
Don't forget to tip your bartenders and wait staff separately! Ours were awesome so we tipped them separately to make sure they got it and not just the maitre'd. Our 2 wait staff literally let us tried everything on the menu. Every night for me it was a surf and turf and 3 desserts. hehe. My FIL is uber picky and our wait staff no matter what was on the menu that night would bring him a filet mignon every night. There was this bartender named Juan who knew my husband and his 2 brothers. He was a smart cookie! He found them when they were at the casino and knew our dinner table. He was nice, funny and had their drink down pat by the 2nd night. Needless to say it helped that we were all generous tippers. ;) I Love the staff on Carnival.
@Eva Peron: that is soo cool! How often do you go back? Thanks for the tip about hair things and sweatshirts. My packing list is getting longer and longer :)
When we were in one port we brought alcohol right at the port by the ship, I wanted to indulge that night, I poured the clear stuff right into my water bottle. It wasn't checked when we got back onboard...yippie.
@stewie: where are you putting them when you sneak them in?
@bklynbridetobe: I'm glad to hear that. I am going to try to sneak as much as I can! And we will definitely be bringing two bottles of wine to enjoy in our room :)
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Beekeeper
DH and I are going on our one year anniversary cruise in just a few weeks so I'm starting to make a packing list. I've been on one cruise when I was 17 so I don't remember all the details. If you've cruised before, what are some items that you are sure not to forget?
Thanks!