Booyah_and_BigJim

Friends and husband and I are traveling RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas next week, and we're trying to figure out what exactly we're forgetting to pack. What do you recommend we bring? Beach towels? Can we bring water? Any suggestions for newbies? We'd also like to try to get a *free* room upgrade, any suggestions on how to go about doing this? Thanks.

pat

Forget the beach towels. The ship has them. Forget water. It`s to heavy. I usually bring an empty water bottle. I just fill it up before getting off the ship. I put ice from the cabin in the bottle. Also, you might want to bring a big drink cup. It`s a pain to keep running back and forth to the dining area, to fill up your ice tea glass, which is very small. As far as a room upgrade, those ships are usually sold out, and if they were upgrading people, it would be people who have been on RCCL before. If you want an upgrade, just pay for it. I always bring some tape and a pair of small scissors.

sleeepy

Ok, you got me. What are the tape and small scissors for?

spur

I'd use it if my mother-in-law goes with me: she talks too much.

gail

In case the ship sprouts a leak.

bobrad

I always take my Ipod with the external speaker, The tv has to many ads and it's nice to have your own music while dressing or having a cocktail. A battery charger , for me , is a must. As is my digital cameras and extra memory chips. A note pad is always good. As is bromo and other meds.

bobrad

ooops ... as are

CFHostSue

Bring an electrical outlet strip, there is only one outlet in your cabin, most likely. Bring an over the door shoe holder from the dollar tree to put all your stuff in like shampoo, jewelry, all your little odds and ends. Don't bring a towel, you won't need it. I always take a small fan for white noise at night time, and you may want to bring a couple of extra hangers if you have alot of clothes to hang. Don't bring too many shoes, they take up too much space, consolidate!!
Sue www.cruisefools.org check us out!

Cruiser

Do NOT bring extra hangers---if you need more just ask your cabin steward. They will deliver as many as your want. Leaves more room in your luggage for shoes!!

A small flashlight is important to me especially when I book inside cabins---very dark, day and night!!

I also pack a travel alarm--wake up calls in hotels and ships sometime fail. It is good to have your own backup!

I bring my own large, insulated water jug. I fill it at the buffet with ice and water. It is great for around the pool all afternoon!

I never travel without several ziplocking bags---many uses.

I also love to travel with my own satin pillowcase--just because I like it!

Enjoy that cruise. Report back to us on how things went for you!

Bon Voyage!!

Hold

This is a good thread guys. I've cruised about a zillion times and even I picked up some good ideas from others.

Yes, do forget the towels. There are extras in your room, plenty around the pool and most lines will even supply you towels to take to the beach. Luggage space is at a premium when you pack, so don't waste it bringing towels you don't need. Have a GREAT cruise!

Suerich68

Over the door shoe bag is a great idea, thanks!

gail

But this is the time you can lighten up on the pack lightly rules - you only have to get your luggage to the ship and then it disappears and reappears outside your door. So you can bring those extra pairs of shoes if you want. However, there is limited storage space in the cabin, so don't go nuts on the shoes.

ajcolorado

We read some tips on the cruise critic forum and the things we found most useful were:

1. A highlighter to highlight the things you are most interested in on the daily schedule (called the Daily Compass). There are so many things occuring at any given time that it is just easier if your choices are highlighted. Some industrious folks bring one color for him, another for her, another for the kids etc. We just used yellow.

2. Strong suction cup hooks to stick in the shower stall to hang your wetbathing suit. There really isn't much room in the bathroom and this helps...a lot. We now take the hooks anytime we're going to a hotel w/ a pool. We bought our hooks at the $1 store - a mistake. Thankfully we had extra. But I've seen better quality ones at variety stores.

3. Zip-lock bags...Good for wet swimsuits for the flight home. We took sandwiches, cookies, etc. from the Cafe Promenade with us in an insulated cooler bag (the foldable kind)for our beach day on St. Johns and in St. Martaan. We were most interested in snorkeling - having some food w/ us was really nice. We packed ice in one bag.

4. Alot of folks swear by the spray bottle wrinkle release products for your nice things. We didn't bother - what are a few wrinkles in your dress when you're going to eat enough that you won't fit in the dress again any way.

5. Small bills to tip the luggage porters and the person who delivers room service orders. They aren't included in the tips that you probably pre-paid or are having put on your Seapass card.

6. A lot of folks recommend having a foldable duffel bag / gym bag along to fit the odds and ends you pick up a long the way.

7. A water resistant disposible camera for snorkeling - it's a lot less stress than worrying about your expensive digital camera at the beach. If you have a normal camera, bring all the film you think you'll need - it can be very expensive along the way.

8. This is huge: if you're not doing ship excursions, have a plan ready for your Ports-of-Call. You don't get enough shore time to stand on the Pier saying, "Well, Gang, what do you want to do first?" You'll end up just being hassled by cab drivers and seeing the same shops that are right by the port at every port of call.

jdbird

Pack swimsuit and change of clothes in a bag you can carry on the ship. It may be several hours before your luggage comes to your room, you'll want to be comfortable and enjoy the pools/hot tubs right away.

lusiam

Why it takes several hours before the luggage comes to your room?
Do they open the luggage and hand check them?

luv2fly

It takes a few hours to receive your luggage in your cabin. Think of the amount of luggage handled...usually 2 bags per person...can be 2500 cruisers = over 5,000 pieces on 8+ different decks. Lots of sorting to complete.

No, luggage is not opened, but most likely super x-ray'ed. Be patient and stop worrying. Enjoy your cruise.