I collect the bags from the hotel room. If you travel to the cruise the night before, the hotel may have that dry cleaning bag, but a trash bag or shopping bag works as well. Your stateroom attendant may have a bag available if you ask
I didn't realize the suitcases under the bed was a hack. I thought that was just where they go. Well on longer cruises anyway. On little 4-5 day cruises I sometimes don't bother unpacking anything but my evening dress shirts and leave everything else in the suitcase on the couch.
You didn't mention Emma cruises. She's the queen of inside cabins. That's pretty much all she books. All of your channels are great and informative. I use a crush light chroma in the bathroom, we turn it on before we go to sleep and it's the perfect amount of light so you can see the bathroom and not stub your toes.
Instead of a potable hamper, I just use one piece of luggage. I store that one in the closet and leave the top open so we can put dirty clothes directly into the luggage for end of trip.
We do this too! We pack an empty gym bag that we put all of the dirty clothes in, this makes room in our luggage for anything extra we are bringing and keeps the dirty clothes away from our clean clothes on the trip home.
My inside cabin hack: battery operated tealight candles. They take little or no space, and they give a nice ambience to the cabin. If you want to have it feel a little more romantic, they're perfect. Of course, you could do bigger LED candles as well, and you could do it in a balcony cabin, too.
Going to try the motion sensing night lite on the cruise and at home! Pregnant and getting up to pee a lot. Instead of a hamper, we put a pillow case in our closet and put dirty clothes in there. Then shake out the pillow case into the laundry at home and wash the pillow case.
we just leave one empty suitcase in the closet area and drop items right in. No need for a bag, basket or hamper. I also had fabric softener sheets in the suitcase to aid with any odors
We have an outlet hub that's almost identical to this, but it also has a light-sensing night light (optional - you can turn it off, on low, or on high). We love this! On low, it's just enough light to be able to navigate a dark inside cabin to get to the bathroom without disturbing sleep. AND we only have to pack one device, rather than an outlet hub and a separate night light.
You can also ask for the bed to be moved over to the side of the room instead of the middle, this lets you keep the full bed and still gives you a walkway.
For me a garbage bag is all I really need for dirty laundry. I also am not a fan of unpacking fully on a cruise or hotel. More risk of forgetting something. I just take stuff out of my luggage when needed. Probably why I never really felt space constraint in a cheap cabin.
I think outlets are often upside down in critical settings because it makes it harder to short across the hot and neutral. Like if you have a loosely plugged in device and a penny falls out of your pocket and shorts the outlet its a fire hazard. In the upside down configuration it would just hit the ground. Its usually like this in hospitals too.
Upside down is actually the proper way to install plugs. But, somewhere along the line, people flipped them over and now think "upside down" is incorrect. Our house has the plugs 'upside down' so we learned this. And, plugs stay in just fine.
"Upside down" is the new code in the US for the same reason commented above/below. If not fully plugged in and something metal falls onto the two prongs it results in a shock. When "upside down" only the ground prong would be contacted. This was changed after an incident with a ladder falling onto a plug that wasn't fully inserted but had current
Inside cabins are almost always exactly the same size as outside cabins or balcony cabins (with the exception of the balcony, of course.). Not sure why you keep saying they're small.
I will have a studio with a virtual porthole on the Bliss in April. I was thinking of leaving that screen on overnight instead of the bridge tv thinking that would stay as a “window.” We’ll see! I never saw using under the bed for luggage as a hack. I thought that’s what you always do.
We took an inside cabin cruise years ago, and we left the TV on the outside cameras 24/7 so it was like having a window. In addition, we knew whether or not it was raining when we were getting ready. 🌦
Just a note on the shower curtain hack. We pack these for our kids - you can curtain off their bunks so that they can go to sleep earlier while you potter around in the rest of the cabin with a light on without waking them up. We have 4 curtains so we can double them up and make it darker. I would say it's not so necessary if you're travelling with people who don't need to go to sleep earlier.
The outlets are not UPSIDE down. they are designed to have the ground on top. this prevents a loose plug form having something drop and hit the prongs and causing an accedental short as any object should hit the Ground which is not live. you will see this in hospitals as well.
Since I travel solo, I only need access to the bed from one side. I keep the two beds together (king size) but pushed all the way against one wall. Both small night tables are placed on the other side of the bed. In this way I am able to keep the larger bed and have addition room on the side I use to get in and out of bed.
What I found helpful when I went on my first cruise were the magnetic hooks, the charger similar to the video, a night light, a small portable alarm clock, mesh laundry bags, and a laundry bag from dollar tree. Also brought the big clips to keep beach towel from flying away. These things came in handy for me on my first cruise.
Hi Matt, thx for this. I won't travel without magnet hooks again. So helpful so keep things tidy. We used two hooks to hang our laundry basket in a corner (openings were on the side) and we loved that because it freed up floor space where we kept our day packs that were too heavy for magnets.
I put the organizer on the inside of the bathroom door ~ holds shampoo, razors, deodorant, etc. so everything isn't crowding the shower floor or the very small storage areas around the sink.
HAL has a bathroom nightlight! Also, there were 4 large hooks on the wall. Personally, I have always found a way to work with what is there without packing more stuff.
Oh I know the answer to this one! The outlets are placed upside down that way if anything happens to touch the prongs on a plug that is not all the way inserted it will touch the ground first!
If traveling with a little one, strollers also fit under the bed. We were able to fit one regular luggage, a carry on, and our full size uppababy vista (this was a frazzled, we’re rushing out to the airport mistake I would not recommend bringing this size stroller) all under the bed!
While a lot of these tips do help, many people have to watch the total weight they bring on board due to health reasons. So always ask: do I really need this item? Is it worth the space and weight in my luggage. Can I find a better solution? For example: Everyone has dirty laundry. Even cheap portable hampers weigh too much and take up too much room. I bought a set of very cheap, light weight packing cubes in various sizes. I pack my clothes in some of them and bring extra empty ones. I also bring empty plastic grocery bags. When I take off dirty clothes I fold them up neatly, put them in a plastic bag, and place in a packing cube. When packing cube is full I put it in suitcase stored under the bed. While keeping weight to a minimum and staying organized, I also am packing as I go. Saves time at end of cruise. I also use my phone at night to make my way to the bathroom. I just turn my phone on and use the screen light which I have set on a low light level. I don't use the flashlight feature, it's way too bright. No need to pack extra devices. I can also sleep with a lamp on. Another tip, bring underwear on its last legs. Once worn, just throw away.
Underware. Humm. You don’t care that your room steward and the men who dirt wash and every piece of trash onboard will be touching your ripped frazzled granny panties? I’d have to carry them off the ship to throw them out.
I have one item that helped me a ton on my last cruise. I got a Cord container. With electronics today. Each one has their own specific cord that will only work for it. Phones, cameras, etc. Well I got a cheap $20 one from Walmart and I was able to organize and separate all my cords for my trip. It helped me a ton!
We just cruised on Carnival the first week of 2023. We did take a small power strip - 3 outlets and it did NOT have a surge protector. Nobody ever made an issue of it. I think power strips are okay as long as they do not have the surge protection feature.
In addition to pop up hamper - I fold my dirty clothes before placing them into the hamper. Why? Because folded clothes are more compact, thus less space. Makes packing for debarkation easier.
Since I have both my phone and iPad when I cruise and I don’t need a clock. I take really long charging cables so if I have to plug it in across the room it can still reach my bedside table. One thing I ALWAYS do is take extra chargers and cables. One trip my cable quit working and, being in an airport with no opportunity to shop for one outside, I had to pay $30 for one. I have a case that the chargers, multi plug, and cables in.
Regarding the European adapter - be mindful of what you're using this for and make sure the voltage is compatible. If it's not and you plug your US item directly into the European outlet, you WILL ruin your item. There's a big difference between US 110 and Eur 220.
Instead of buying a laundry hamper as the clothes are dirtied ,you can fold them up and pack back into your luggage as you go day by day ,so you only pack the clothes that you haven't worn the night before and you just leave out your clothes out for the following day (departure day from the ship ) and once your dressed you put your nightwear into the suitcase and close your suitcases .
I actually do most of these every time I cruise, but one that I've been toying with is that motion sensor night light - I always think they seem like such a fantastic idea. There's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night and accidentally blinding yourself by hitting the wrong button on the wall, haha!
I use one of my larger compression cubes for dirty laundry. I brought magnetic hooks with me recently and glad I bought the 100 lb ones! (Even those slid down the wall with my backpack) I brought some square plastic containers in case of something leftover from the windjammer but never used them. I did use a couple sandwich bags for things. I also used a small battery powered travel alarm for my nightstand and a little ‘puck’ light to push on when entering the bathroom during the night.
The over-the-door hanger is my favorite hack. Especially when I'm cruising with 3 to a cabin. we put our flipflops/sandals in the bottom slots and use the others for hair dryer, curling iron, first aid items (bandaids, ibuprofen, etc), hair accessories, water bottles, pens, and more
13:47 My sister always uses a shoe hanger for toiletries. I’m thinking I might use it for…shoes. Shoes always get mixed in with clothing making it hard to find both.
We use the laundry bag provided inside the closet for dirty laundry. I also use the divider curtain so my husband can watch TV on the couch when I want to sleep without the glare .
The outlets on Mariner of The Seas were not upside down as you pointed out at 5:11. That is the PROPER way grounded outlets are supposed to be install for safety. Although the likelihood is really slim, the reason the ground is on top is in case some metallic, like a metal ruler, fell between the plug and the outlet, the ground prong will help block it from touching the live prong. As a journeyman electrician, I always install outlets ground side up ;)
As a normal person, I hate ground side up, that's just wrong and I'll fix any that aren't so. Plus I've never met an electrician that installs them like that.
We always use magnetic hooks. Message me if you want a link to strong ones. We usually just bring a mesh laundry bag, but the hamper idea is a good one. I recently bought my wife a European converter and I picked up two because they were only $9 each. My first thought was to bring one on a cruise and convert the unused European outlet into a useful one. The one I bought has one grounded outlet, one non-grounded outlet on the top, and two USB ports on the face. Message me if you want the link to that one too.
def def seperating the beds made a difference for us :) i couldnt believe the difference in the sizing it seemed to make :) when we first went into our cabin, it was made up as a queen bed, we literally had to lift our legs to climb between the wall and the wardrobe to get into bed, it was such a tiny space, so we thought wed ask for the beds to be seperate into twin beds, we could then move around the beds and cabin so much easier :) the only downfall was we werent sleeping together but space wise it was a fantastic idea :)
Just a warning: I took the shoe organizer for our last cruise and the over-the-door hooks were confiscated as a "sharp object" risk. Be sure to get something that will work magnetically. (I'm thinking of trying to loop heavy string through the eyelets and then hang the organizer from magnetic hooks.)
Great coverage , for me it was the Magnets just came off Allure and I bought large strong Magnets holds up to 50 pnds ?. from Amazon, they were great for our hat, baiting suits, robes, back packs, and we had little ones for paper items, small items. for Hamper I always take a bright colored Pillowcase , works perfect. Love the shoe rack idea, I will try that .
Outlets are installed upside down intentionally to accommodate large plug "bricks" that hang down from outlets that are plugged into outlets with normal orientation. The outlets installed upside down prevent the brick from hitting the table surface!
LMMFAO @ "The outlets are upside down for some reason on Mariner of the seas" Actually theyre not upside down, it is just every outlet other than ground side up is upside down , for a few reasons. . . 1. if the plug for whatever reason were not pushed all the way in and something conductive fell across the prongs on what we normally see , kinda like a smiley face orientation, it could short out or could start a fire, Ground side up , that couldn;t happen , isn;t even an issue . . . 2. that smiley face orientation I was talking about ? Kids love to stick things inside the smiley face holes, it is just very inviting to young children and that would not be good . that said , I am not aware of any code that states a direction for outlets , it is just much safer the ground prong side facing up. Great tips on your channel. I just got off Freedom of the Seas. Awesome ship, even though she is somewhat older, Royal Caribbean in my opinion are the best because the staff truly care and if you tell me they don't , well they sure had me fooled, they seem to go above and beyond
In your hacks for cabins, you repeated something that is wrong and misleading but also everywhere. Magnets do not stick to walls or ceils because they are "metal or "metallic". As I an engineer that wrongs with metals, I know this is confusing, Magnets will NOT stick to things made of aluminum, zinc or copper, all of which are metals. Magnets will stick to iron, cobalt, nickle and many steels. Stainless steel of the type call austenitic are magnetic because of their high iron content but many other stainless steels are non-magnetic. Fortunately most of the walls and ceiling of cruise cabins are made from low-alloy austenitic steel sheets and are magnetic. But don't say the magnets stick because they are "metal", that not true. They stick because the are mostly iron, usually inexpensive steels.
Outlets are upside down to prevent someone from dropping a metal object and it landing on the positive and negative posts. Upside down you'll only hit the ground and roll off to one side or the other. Connecting both posts can short out a room/building and may cause a fire.
Really? How much do you have to micromanage ? A cruise is a vacation not moving to a new home.and how many devices do you need for a cruise. Your phone and charger should be enough.i do like a Bluetooth speaker though.and just take enough clothes not a whole wardrobe with you.all you should really be doing in the cabin is sleeping and getting a shower. Your not going on a cruise to sit in a cabin anyway.
Too many things to pack onto the plane, only pick discriminately to minimise so much unnecessary items to bring! A plastic bag holds dirty clothes just fine, etc.
Agreed! And I use it on the inside of the door so it hold the shampoos, conditioner, baby wash, baby wash cloths, razors, etc. That way it's all within reach during showers. Plus it has our deo, sunscreen, bug spray, lotions, etc in it as well!
I haven't had any issues getting onto Carnival or Princess cruises with a travel powerstrip, including ones that are more like a regular power strip than an outlet extender. I usually bring that, and multi chargers to plug into it for whatever devices I have. I also still bring my international adapters for my CPAP. Typically at least for Princess there are Euro outlets by the bed, and CPAPs are usually capable of running off the 220s as well as the 110s. There were also some on Carnival Panorama. I would honestly, just leave my largest piece luggage out as a hamper, in fact it's what I've done repeatedly. Then on a sea day or later in the cruise during some down time, I'll take it to the laundrette and run a load or 2 through to not have nearly as much as I would otherwise when I get home. My last cruise was my first Balcony/mini-suite, otherwise I've always sailed inside. One reason I LOVE Princess, is the closet area in all of the rooms, that provides separation from the rest of the room and would let you also have the bathroom light on with less light polution through the rest of the room. Leaving the TV on is a hard pass for me, I can sleep with it one, but the random changes and being anal about not wearing tech out... I would rather just deal with and prefer pitch black darkness.
Borrowed a hack with heavy duty magnetic hooks to run cord for CPAP from outlet to bedside. It prevents tripping hazard and possible damage to electric cord.
We've always used a simple muti-plug adapter to allow both of us to plug in our CPAPs. Used it on five cruises since the restart. Last month sailing out of NJ on Oasis it was confiscated, they also gave the stink eye to my European plug adapter that has USB ports but did finally let it through. Seemed like people were mentioning their power adapters getting confiscated more recently. Makes me wonder if they have started to crack down.
We bring a clock, but we bring a small projection clock. Red LED projector onto the cabin ceiling at the end of the bed. It's just bright enough to read, so the light from it isn't bothersome.
I recently did a 7 night cruise on the Harmony of the Seas with my husband and our 2 children ages 7 and 8. We booked two interior cabins with a connecting door. I do NOT travel light and neither do my children. I cannot stand clutter or things not being in their place especially in a small space. I stored the luggage under the bed with all of our snorkeling gear in it. I used two cruise ship power strips. They were fantastic for all our devices. The over the door shoe hangers worked amazingly. I brought two. They fit in the armoire and held all of our little stuff like sunscreen, kid toys, coloring supplies, and shoes of course. I could not have handled all our stuff if it didn't have a place to go that would keep our space tidy. I brought a large trash bag for all of our dirty laundry. It was cheap and did the job. I also found the magnet hooks to be very useful. We hung up our cruise itineraries and used it to hang hats, wet swimsuits, lanyards etc. We had an amazing cruise and I never felt cramped because our cabin was organized and therefore a wonderful place to relax.
Motion lights. I got a three pack of lights off of Amazon that are motion activated and magnetic. I position one on the ceiling at the end of the bed so that it will trigger just as I lift up, then I have another one above the bathroom door. It's a perfect amount of light lighting the way but they aren't bright enough to wake anyone up.
The over the door shoe organizer does not work for us. Waste of time and luggage space. I suspect people who pack more than we do get more mileage on this hack.
I’m response to your comments about the outlets being upside down. I would imagine they are installed that way for safety. If the outlet isn’t completely pushed in and something falls into that crack it could arc causing shock and/or sparks. With all the metal walls it would be bad form for something like that to happen and electrify parts of the wall. With the ground up anything falling into the crack hits the ground prong and doesn’t arc. This is the way it is suggested to put outlets in garages and sheds etc. just an additional safety measure.
all good tips tricks and gadgets BUT if u have to tell someone to place their empty suitcase under the bed then that person should not be on a cruise much less leave home to often. lol
Use magnets all the time the hook kind. very strong and you can remove the hook we also Use them to hold up door decor backgrounds as well as inside organization. WE have had the outlet extender taken if in checked luggage, but on carry on all was good. like the idea of two of them. thanks for info and we love the ladies you made reference to!! They rock!
I bought an over the door organizer and found it really useful, however, I would never recommend it and most likely won’t ever use it again because it takes up too much space in my suitcase. I like to travel with just a roll-aboard carry on and a backpack. I’d rather put the small things in a drawer and save space in my suitcase.
I ordered the outlet extender & everything else popped up magnet hooks, etc. dollar tree has the hamper. Instead of the shoe organizer I have the jewelry one n that’s fine for me
i was on a cruise ship when this was posted and i wish i knew about the power strip. I brought one thinking I was smart to have more outlets but it got taken. My room attendant actually provided me with another power strip which was very kind. I will keep in mind this other option
Matt, thanks for these awesome tips! We just booked a very reasonably priced inside cabin. We usually book balcony cabins, but the price was just too great to pass up. These will help!
I’ve been in several inside rooms and they are also great. The nice thing about them, even though they are smaller and no view, is that they get so dark. I’ve had the best sleeps ever in them
On most ships I've cruised, in the inside cabin, you can push both beds to one side. This way you get more space but still have the big bed. As a solo traveller, I prefer this configuration.
I’ve tried the European outlet converter, the magnets & the hamper. Now I can’t see myself cruising without them. And I always throw my suitcase under the bed.
Those outlets aren't upside-down. They're supposed to be installed that way. The ground lug is supposed to be on top so if your thumb slips off while manipulating the plug, it contacts the uncharged ground lug, not the hot leg.
Okay, fine, but basically every other outlet installed in every house in the US has the opposite configuration. So, calling it "upside down" is pretty reasonable, even if it has a legitimate purpose.
For longer cruises I pack vacuum space bags and use them for returning home with dirty laundry. You can ask to borrow the vacuum from your stateroom attendant or you can manually push the air out of the bags.
