What did you forget to bring that you really needed?

[CruzMama]

My son forgot his black pants for one of the elegant nights. I had coordinated all of our outfits so we could get a nice formal pic for our Christmas card, so I was MAD! ! We just wore the outfits for the 2nd elegant night and then rented tux pants for the next one. $50 mistake The pic came out great though, !

[dude_hdt]

2 cruises ago, I forgot my suit for formal night. I put the suit on the bed thinking the wife was going to put it into the garment bag...and she thought I already did so. I did bring slacks, nice shirt and ties for other nights so that had to do for formal.

Last cruise, my wife got the packet of passports for the family from the bank safe but didn't check to see that hers was not in it. Luckily, we live 30 minutes from the port and after 3 trips home turning the house upside down to see what legal documents she can find that the Purser would accept...we were the very last passenger to board the ship. The port employees were nice enough to keep the door and 1 x-ray/metal detector open to process her thru.

Most items you forget can be purchased on the ship or at ports but NEVER FORGET LEGAL PAPERWORKS!!!!

[Dhill]

I like to take the kitchen sink and my own toliet I think alot of people over think there cruises just my opion!

[ruthlessboss]

Originally Posted by subtropic

Ipod headphones (none found on Grand Cayman) and duct tape !

duct tape . Don't leave home without it, repairs torn suitcases (I know) and in rocky seas, it keeps the doors and drawers shut.

Then there's the butane portable hair curler.

[Tlingit Eagle]

Some people are good at winging it and being OK with that, others like to skip the frustrations. It's not overthinking. It's knowing yourself and realizing that irritations do not belong on vacation. Lots of people save money and do without some things for a long time to be able to take a cruise. To have as much you can in order makes that precious time more enjoyable.
It's all to each his own. We are all different. For you, there are socks for sale at premium cost in the ship stores

[NancyB]

Clothes pins and outlet strip, but the best thing is the $5 shoe hanger that usually goes on the back of a door. Great for organizing everything.
Multiple pockets for easy access for shoes, socks, camera, hair dryer, curling iron, DH Hats, his socks and his shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen, too many thing to mention.
You can put everything in this.
Bon Voyage!!

[Fern]

I think this is either THE longest running thread or very close to it! There's so much good information here, maybe someone in charge should make it a sticky?

We always bring the shoe hanger and the duct tape!

[Henry43]

What is a sticky ?

[Master Chief]

Sticky is like a Post-It note at the top of the board. It is always there for comment. If you go to the very beginning of this thread you will see a couple of stickys.

[Beau222]

If you have a toddler, Don't forget the pull ups. Our DD was on the last size they go up to (size 5) and we spent almost two hours in Cozumel looking for anything in size 5. Actually found a pack at the last store there was to look. Talking about stress.

[JoePhotographer]

It would be great if we could get all these suggestions into one big list as a MS Word document or Excel spreadsheet!

I, for one, always need more memory cards for my cameras. I never seem to have enough. I didn't want to take my laptop on my last cruise and I took over 5000 photos on my Mediterranean Cruise, filling up all my memory cards I brought and then some. Don't buy memory cards in a port unless you're able to check them and format them before you walk out the door. I had a counterfeit SD card sold to me in a port and the card would not work. Wound up buying extra cards on the ship for way more than they were worth.

If you bring your own bar of soap, you can make your own soap on a rope from any brand by using a drill bit and a 3 foot length of nylon cord. Works great for those of us with bad knees and backs when in those tiny cruise ship showers.