What to pack or not to pack
 

I'm a cruise rookie. We are travelling to Cozumel via Carnival Celebration in March. What should I remember to pack and what should I leave behind?

Thanks!

On our first cruise, both my husband & I packed way too many day clothes like shorts & shirts. We were never in anything but swimsuites & cover-up clothes during the day and then our dress dinner clothes at night. Bring a large cooler cup--super handy for water, iced tea, soda (or the illegally mixed drink of your choice) etc on sea days. Cozueml is a great port stop. If you like to just hang out at the beach try Mr. Sanchos or Nachi-Cocom. Both are nice beach clubs.

It's so hard not to overpack. As a rule, for a 8 day cruise, we bring 10 shorts, 10 shirts, 10 socks, 16 pair underpants, 7 nights of dress clothes, 2-3 bathing suits. Try to match one pair of dress shoes to your nighttime clothes. Bring one pair sneakers and one pair of sandals for the day.

When I cruise for 7 nights I usually bring 1 long dress for formal night and 1 plain dressy black suit and 2 evening sweater sets, and 3 dressy tops. The suit gives me 5 outfits that look totally different.

Basketballmom - You're joking, right? I can't imagine taking all those clothes!

take less than what you think.

One thing I wish I had brought was a bathrobe.
The rooms get kinds chilly on Carnival with all the ac, even though you can adjust it. And it would have been nice over a swimsuit.
Bathrobe's can be bulky though.
And I tend to be cold more than most.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. How about "non-clothing" items? I know the obvious sunscreen, green goo for when I get a sunburn. What other odds and ends should I remember? Are earplugs necessary? Are the cabins quiet for sleeping?

Thanks!!!

I'd have to agree 10 outfits are way too much. You can always wash out underwear. The key to traveling with less is to find a color basic and build on it. If it is black, get other pieces like beige, pink or white to mix and match with. I would bring about 5 swimsuits because you really do spend alot of time in them in hot climates. I have never been on a cruise but have been to Florida several times and can't really stand to put on alot of clothes in the tropical climates.

I take two bathing suits so I never have to put a wet one back on in case we go back to the pool later in the day.

For 7 days, I would take 3 pair of shorts, and 7 shirts for daytime wear.

The cruises I've been on have 2 formal nights, and I'd take two dresses for that. For the other nights, I'ke take a less dressy dress, and two pair of nice pants with tops I could mix and match.

I hate overpacking, and don't mind if people realize that I don't have so many clothes that I never wear the same thing twice.

Sorry, I don't like to wear the same clothes twice, especially when I sweat in them. And underwear, sorry but I would be changing it twice a day so I would need that many pairs. I always fit everything (including shoes, dresses and toiletries) in one suitcase. I use ziplocks to take up less space.

If you are above or below a lounge or noisy area, you may need earplugs, but even they might not help much. I think that the purser's desk have them available at no charge. We've only been bothered by noise on one cruise. Don't forget to bring bug repellant, first aid kit, maybe binoculars, extra copy of your passport, insurance and i.d., hand sanitizer, sunglasses, small sewing kit, etc. I think Carnival has a laundry room you can use. We used one on a Carnival cruise, but it took forever for the clothes to dry, but that is an option.

Has anyone ever used laundry facilities on the Holland Lines? We are doing the Alsaka Cruise (Veendam) and then on our own to tour Alaska for an extra 7 days - so thinking I might want to start land tour with clean clothes .We lived in Alaska many years ago before it was a state - looking forward to seeing the changes - drove the Alcan before it was paved. I do enjoy this board so much and getting advice from everyone.

I've never done my own laundry on HAL, but when we went on the Amsterdam two years ago they had a special for around $40-50 that let you have unlimited laundry all week. What a bargain! We filled a bag or two each day. The turnaround time was 48 hours, sometimes less, but I went home with several suitcases filled with cleaned and pressed clothes -- much better prices than back home.

Take a nightlight - one of those with the flat screen that glows blue. We also now take tape because if the seas are a bit rought, sometimes the drawers roll open and closed all night. Even though they have little catches, if the ship rolls enough you are listening to the drawers all night.

I figured that I had thought of all kinds of "not to forget" items. I never once thought of tape! Is it all that common to hit water that rough?

Someone had mentioned to bring a jacket for the common areas. Just how chilly does it get?

HAL has self service washers and dryers on all ships except Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam. $2.00 washer $1.00 dryer. Dryer will hold two or more washer loads. HAL has been offering special deals on laundry recently including an "all you can fit in the laundry bag" wash and dry service for $12.00. Princess also offered self service laundry. Not so on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Carnival.