Spinoff: What are your MUST-HAVES for packing??

[crazy4disney]

At the risk of being too literal, our bottom-line must-have list is really pretty short:

passports

credit card

That’s it! Way back, pre-9/11, we’d talk about going to the airport with nothing else, no plan, and just go! Nowadays they seem to frown on folks who just show up with no luggage and no reservations…

More in the spirit of this topic, there are a couple of things we’ve found very useful to have along:

A small, six-outlet power strip. There are a lot of electronics in our life (2 cameras, 2 phones, laptop, tablet, sometimes more) and few electrical outlets (only one on older ships). It’s nice to get everything recharged without getting up in the middle of the night to switch plugs!

A handheld luggage scale. There’s nothing worse than having to rearrange your luggage at the airport to avoid those ridiculously high fees!

Forgot about the power strip thingy!! Can't travel without that. I have this Belkin and love it:

With 3 electrical sockets and 2 USB ports, my son and I can always keep all our stuff charged with what precious few outlets there are in a stateroom. Love that little thing! Got it at Walmart for like $16, so not expensive at all.

Jan ~ Walmart also has travel scales in the luggage section, manual and digital, in case you're ever there.

-gina-

[dmoten]

Jan, I picked up one in Target the other day when I was there. It was on the aisle with the luggage, not the travel size items.

[WeCruiseToo]

Where do I find a handheld luggage scale? I still do it the old-fashioned way - standing on a scale with my bag and subtract my weight. Which is cumbersome, inaccurate and requires 2 people because it's impossible to see the numbers on the scale holding a huge 40+ pound bag. Not to mention my back .....

We got ours at BJ’s Wholesale Club but, as others have mentioned, they should be available at most places that sell luggage. We used to do the bathroom scale subtraction method as well, but when we packed to come home we were just guessing. Between souvenirs and dirty cloths weighing more than clean, the bags are always heavier after vacation – but we are too, so I guess it makes sense…

[coloradocruisers]

WeCruiseToo, on 02 Jun 2013 - 12:03, said:

"We used to do the bathroom scale subtraction method as well, but when we packed to come home we were just guessing. Between souvenirs and dirty cloths weighing more than clean, the bags are always heavier after vacation – but we are too, so I guess it makes sense… "

Now that's funny.....but true.

[TheSkipper]

I take either a netbook or a laptop and a pair of small speakers, so we can have music in the room and use the computer or netbook for emails. We both take Nooks with us as well since we are avid readers. All of which requires us the have our power strip along as well.