How To Pack For Cruise Travel
Author: Mary Hanna
You know what you want to pack as far as your wardrobe for your cruise vacation, but here are the little essentials that you might not think about.
One very important thing to pack is a Wall Mount Power Outlet with 3 Outlets. Electrical Outlets in the cruise cabins are very stingy and if you want to dry your hair while your curlers are heating up you will have a problem.
When I pack, I put all of my clothes in Dry Cleaners plastic bags. These will keep your clothes from wrinkling. Pack anything that can spill in zip lock bags. An international power converter and a currency converter will be needed for European Cruises. Some people pack a night light for the bathroom. I have found if you leave the bathroom light on and close the door it is sufficient to guide you there in the middle of the night.
We pack a portable CD player with 20 CD's and an alarm clock. We pack "two way" radios so we can communicate when we are in different parts of the ship. I like to sleep in when we go to the Caribbean and John likes to get up and have breakfast. He quietly lets himself out of the cabin, and when I get up I call him to let him know its "safe" to come back to the room.
In colder climates you will need a jacket and some long sleeve shirts. I always pack sturdy hiking boots if we go to Europe or Alaska. (Most of the time I wear them on the airplane with slacks since they take up so much room in the suitcase). They come in very handy when touring Europe's sometimes centuries old cobblestone streets. When you go to Europe you will probably visit churches, and other religious buildings and proper attire must be worn-no sleeveless tops, no shorts and in some places a head covering. In Thailand it was necessary to remove our shoes before entering their holy places. You are in some else's country and must abide by their rules. No matter where you are headed remember that cabins are small and have little closets and drawers. This is an important fact to know when you are packing.
Bring all of your toiletries, film, in-cabin wine, lotions, medications and dental care products from home. They will be quite pricey on the ship. If you have an on going medical problem have your doctor write a brief medical history so you can supply it to the ships doctor if a problem should arise. You should also pack things like, Alka Seltzer, constipation relief, cough drops, aspirin and band aids. Make up a little first aid kit that suits your needs. Don't laugh, you will probably be trying new foods, eating more than usual, and you never know how you will react. Those items mentioned above are expensive on the ship.
A few things that are handy are clothes pins for weighing down the shower curtain (the showers are small and the curtain will stick to you when your wet. This really gives me the creeps). A highlighter is great for highlighting the activities on your daily cruise sheet. The night before highlight the events you want to participate in and all you have to do is glance at the sheet to know where you want to be and when. Tell your room steward on the first day to leave you two daily cruise sheets so each of you will have one. This way if one of you wants to go to the wine tasting and the other wants to join in the art auction you both know where and when. Then when it's over, call each other on the two way radios and meet up for a drink or lunch or whatever. Another valuable little item is "post it notes" if you don't have the two way radios. Just write on the post it where you are going and at what time and then stick on the outside of the cabin door. Presto your traveling partner knows where you are and when to expect you back. This is great for parents traveling with children.
Cruise Tip: Pack business cards with your email address on them. You meet all kinds of interesting people that you will want to stay in touch with. Some of our best friends are people we met on cruises, friends we continue to cruise with. I like to pack computer generated address labels to make it easy to send postcards.
I read this tip in several cruise reviews. Send a postcard to yourself. I have postcards from all over the world with the local stamps that I have sent to our home during each of our exotic cruises. I have a stamp from the CCCP - that was the USSR- years ago. Its fun and you will always get a chuckle when the post card catches up to you after you are home.
It is a smart thing to bring along your cell phone (which means the charger too). If you incur delays you can call your Travel Agent and have her call the cruise lines. You can make phone calls while you're leaving port on the ship, and in some islands. The islands I have found to be cell phone friendly are the Bahamas, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Grand Cayman. It's great for phoning for a cab to the airport, or getting in touch with friends when you disembark. On the islands that do provide service you won't have to wait in long lines (pay phones on the islands is where the crew keeps in touch with home). It's just a handy thing to do and would be invaluable in an emergency.
Please don't forget a good sunscreen if you are going to the Caribbean. If you are from the colder climes and have not seen the sun in awhile you will NEED it. Even in Alaska you have to wear a sunscreen.
Lastly, don't forget your camera. Put this in your carry on, do not pack it. I have a friend that went to Hawaii and video taped a wedding, packed the camera in her luggage and it was stolen on the way home. If it is digital camera take extra memory cards since you will be taking lots of pictures and the cards are more expensive once you leave home.
Follow this advice and you will have a very enjoyable and comfortable cruise.
Happy Cruising!
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/how-to-pack-for-cruise-travel-35663.html
About the Author
About the Author
Mary Hanna has traveled the world by Air and Ship while writing eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.CruiseGold.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.CruisingTips.com or contact her at mhanna@cruisepublishing
Who killed Larry Conroy?
Sergeant Harold Cash sidestepped the flipping acrobats and knocked at the trailer door marked DIRECTOR. A husky voice bade him enter.
“Mr. Birdie?” Cash asked. “Clyde Birdie? You the man who runs this circus?”
“Yes. How can I help you?”
“I’m investigating the murder of Larry Conroy, your accountant. I understand you found the body.”
“Yes. The owner hired him to go over our books. I put him up in the trailer next door and gave him all our books, bills, receipts, the works.”
“He didn’t work full time for the circus, then?”
“No way. The owner felt circus people couldn’t be trusted when it came to money, so he always hired someone with no connection to our way of life.”
“How did you come to find the body?”
“Well, while he was working, Conroy would always lock himself in the trailer. Wouldn’t open the door to anyone except a person whose accounts he was going over that day. Anyhow, last night when I walked by his trailer, I noticed the door was open. I looked in and found him slumped over his work with a knife in his back.”
“I also understand he wasn’t quite dead when you found him,” Cash said.
“Yes. I saw his fingers twitching. He was mumbling something. I called for help, but he died before anyone could get here.”
“Did you manage to hear what he was saying?” Cash asked.
“Yes. I told the other police who were here. Mr. Conroy kept saying ‘Joey’ over and over. Then he died.”
“Joey? That could be the name of his killer. Do you have anyone working for you named Joey?”
“No. And I don’t think you understand, Sergeant. Joey is circus talk for a clown. All clowns are called Joey. Mr. Conroy was going over the clowns’ expenses recently.”
“Clown, huh?” Cash thought a moment. “How many clowns do you have working for you?”
“We’re a small traveling circus, Sergeant. Lots of our people do two or three jobs. We have three part-time clowns: Giggles, Happy Boy, and HeeHaw.”
Ten minutes later Cash was talking to a tall, thin man who was feeding chunks of meat to caged lions and tigers.
“Yep. When I’m not taking care of the cats, I’m Giggles,” the man said.
“You weren’t born with the name Giggles,” Cash said.
“No, but that’s what I go by around here. Now, what would you like to know?”
“How well did you know Larry Conroy, the man hired to audit the circus’ books?”
“Didn’t know him at all,” Giggles said, moving from the lions to the tigers. “The owner hired a different accountant every year. Rubes, the lot of them. Usually we got lectures on cutting back on expenses to help out. This circus is always in financial trouble. Got to compete with tv, computer games, and special effects movies.”
“Where were you at about seven o’clock last night?”
“In my trailer putting on my Giggles make-up and costume. We had a show last night, and I was on at eight, right after the high wire act.”
Cash tracked down Happy Boy inside a huge tent, leading horses around a ring.
“Conroy?” the part-time clown asked. “Yeh, I met him once. He asked me about some bills I submitted for shoeing my horses and having a vet check their legs.”
“Your horses?” Cash asked.
“Well, not mine, really, but I’ve grown so close to them I think of them as mine. This Conroy guy had obviously never been around circuses. He asked me if those things were absolutely necessary.”
“Were they?”
“A horse’s legs are its most valuable asset, Sergeant. Especially a performing horse. If I don’t take care of them, they’ll be hurt and I’ll be out of a job.”
“Where were you at about seven last night?”
“I had just finished my act, and I was in the stalls, wiping down and combing my horses.”
“Your name wouldn’t be Joey, would it?”
“No. It’s Jake, why?”
“No reason. Could you tell me where I could find HeeHaw?”
“Probably outside tending to the elephants. He loves those big grey beasts about as much as I love my horses.”
HeeHaw was a large man who was waving a white baton in front of three elephants. With each movement the pachyderms performed a different trick, first “dancing,” then rearing on their hind legs like pet dogs.
“I never met the guy personally,” HeeHaw said in answer to Sgt. Cash’s question, “but I found a note from him on my trailer door. He wanted to see me today about some bills I submitted.”
“Was he specific about what he wanted?
“Something about the cost of feed for the elephants. He thought it was too high.”
“Was it?”
“You’re as dumb as he was. Do you know how much an elephant eats every day? And I’ve got three of them here to take care of. And I’ll tell you something: I’m not going to starve these beautiful animals just to save a couple of bucks. They not only perform, they do a lot of heavy work around here like putting up the tent supports.”
“May I ask where you were last night at about seven?” Cash asked.
“Sure. I do my clowning bit between the horse act and the high wire act. I had just finished and was in my trailer removing my make-up to get ready for the elephant routine that came later.”
“Do you know of anyone who would want to see Larry Conroy dead?” Cash asked.
HeeHaw shrugged. “Maybe somebody who had a secret he didn’t want uncovered by an audit. Don’t ask me for names– that’s about as specific as I can get.”
Sergeant Cash headed back to his car, his head spinning from the information he had gathered.
“Got to sort all this out,” he told himself. He leaned on the hood of his car and examined his notes from that day.
“Of course,” he snapped his fingers. “I know who killed Larry Conroy. Now all I have to do is investigate him a little more thoroughly.”
the acrobat
Shooting an Intruder?
My neighborhood used to be nice, but over the last 10-15 years it’s really gone downhill. There are so many vacant houses in my neighborhood, and my house is one of two on my block that isn’t up for sale. Crime has skyrocketed and on 4 different days last week there were at least 4 cop cars in the neighborhood, lights flashing and taking care of something. Car burglaries have risen dramatically and so have home burglaries. My aunt and uncle’s house was broken into on Monday and about $15,000 in electronics and jewelry was stolen, their son (my cousin)’s car was broken into, two of my OTHER cousin’s cars were broken into, and my travel trailer was broken into last week and the propane tank was stolen (we’ve got it in storage at the trailer dealership where we bought it). My neighbor scared a burglar off on Friday night with his motion light. I’m figuring it’s only a matter of time before MY house is broken into…
My dad works nights at GM (he’s a mechanic) and doesn’t get home until 6 AM (he normally leaves at 6 PM), so at night it’s only my mom (53) and myself (17) at home. We have a dog that barks if anything comes near the house, but lately hasn’t been barking at anything, even strangers walking by (normally she would throw a fit). There’s a motion light on our garage (detached, behind the house) so if anyone comes by the back door it lights up. I am starting to fear for my mom’s safety because she is not in the best of health and if she needed to get out of the house quickly or fight someone she wouldn’t be able to. I have absolutely no problem shooting an intruder in my home. I feel that if anybody is in my house that isn’t supposed to be, that they are an immediate threat to the safety of my family and I have no problem taking out that threat. I know how to handle a gun properly and have damn good aim (I’ve won 3 local tournaments) and am not afraid to shoot an intruder. We own several guns (mostly for hunting, but also one that used to belong to my great grandmother–she worked for Joe Bonanno in Phoenix and after he threatened her she kept it on her for protection), all of which are locked in a secure gunsafe in the basement (and the ammunition is locked in a separate safe).
If I wake up to hear my dog barking or by the motion light turning on, I look out the window carefully each time (barely peek out the curtains so I can see anything out there but if there’s something they can’t see me), and I can make it from my room into the room where the gunsafes are in about 10 seconds, get the shotgun out (it’s a 12 gauge), and have it loaded and ready to go in under a minute. Then if the need arises I have no problem shooting the intruder either to kill or disable.
The problem is, I don’t know what the laws of this in Michigan are. I live in central Michigan and I don’t know if the law would protect me in the circumstance that I shoot an intruder and he is wounded/killed. What are the laws pertaining to this?
Oh, and moving is not an option. My parents have worked at their same jobs for 30 years and we paid off our house in 2003. We’re not going to move. I’m going 500 miles away to college next year though…
The best way to handle your situation is to get some legal training in lethal force/self defense law. The best and most affordable way to do this is to take an NRA “Personal Protection In The Home Class.” This course devotes an entire module on just this subject. In the classes that I conduct, I have an experienced criminal defense attorney do the presentation. Not trying to offend others, but you should only get legal advice from a lawyer.
2004 ford f 140 with a tow pack?
i look on door post for tranny code it has a b in manual there is no b could it be a miss print it is a auto with over drive with auto od lock out on end of shift handel. im pulling a travel trailer dry weight of 6800 . look to see what i have and how offen to serives tranny
For a Ford F-Series Pick-ups, Lincoln Mark LT 2001-2006 I show one of four transmissions depending on the engine size and if its a 2wd or a 4wd.
TORQSHIFT
A340E
A340F
4R100
You can always call the dealers parts department and give them the VIN and they will be able to help you and as for servicing the transmission…………I always do it every two years or 25,000 miles…
craziest horse trailer experience?
What is the craziest or funniest thing that you or your horse did while loading, unloading and/or traveling on the trailer?
here is my story:
Me and my mom had just got home from a whole day of riding out at this wildlife reserve and we were getting our horses off the trailer. My mom got her horse off the back and so now it was my turn. We have a stock type trailer with the center gate and mid size side escape door so we had them separated with the gate. My mom had forgot to open the gate after she took her horse off and i had came in from the side door which not thinking didnt lock it, i just shut it. I snapped the lead line on my horse and began to turn him around but the center gate was closed so i was trying to get it open and in the mean time he had bumped the side door with his butt and it had swung open and my mom was trying to close it but he wouldnt move so next thing we know he is backing out of it. this is a 1300lb 16hd built like a tank Qh, wayyyyy to big to fit out a door that you have to bend over to go through, but he did it without a scratch, so next time we’re just not even gonna use that side door
here’s a pick of him, he’s the one in the front
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn302/JessyMcC13/schoolproject041-3.jpg
buckinfun:
yeah we are lucky this horse didnt bust his head wide open or do any damage to himself or the trailer, i was afraid he was gonna get stuck but my mom said to just let him come on through since he was already half way out, and he is a smart horse so i guess he figured he should take his time and squeeze through there instead of panic
In Febuary, 1976 I invited a friend to bring her horse along with mine to a local show about 10 miles away. I had a 5 month old 1975 King Two Horse straight load trailer. Going to the show, her horse kinda thumped around in the trailer, but nothing serious. Coming back the mare went bonkers, throwing herself against the center divider, rocking my trailer up into the campershell on my ’72 Chevy. I still to this day have that crease across the front window frame of my trailer!
By the time we finally got back to the ranch, this TB mare was BOUNCING in my new TRAILER!!!!!!!
My then 5 yr old AQHA gelding I figured was going to be a space cadet
when I went to unload him but thankfully as the trailer’s rocking, he put one foot down, then the next and quietly came out of the trailer. Granted it was a space cadet for a week afterward, but when I needed him to be sensible, he was.
When we FINALLY got the butt bar undone, the mare came flyin’ out of the trailer and landed on her side. Damage: Popped out my right side of my trailer, the trailer door, the right side of my roof and of course the window frame.
Two weeks later, same horse went THROUGH the dressing room of a new Miley!
What kind of door lock do I get for a mobile trailer?
I have a 77 trailblazer camper travel trailer and I would like to get a better security lock to keep the bum’s out… The exterior handle looks just like a normal handle on any house door lock with keyhole but the interior handle is a small right angle lever style handle with the 90 deg. twist lock that is 33 years old and barely rotates from lock to unlock on the tip of the handle just above where your thumb and pointer come together at the palm to lock or unlock the door… The door thickness doesn’t look much different and I doubt it’s mm difference from a typical door on a traditional home… I wanted to just buy a key lock exterior door handle so I went to Wall-mart and notice a mobile home deadlock… Well I looked at the dimensions and the mobile home deadlock met the same door thickness and latch dimensions as a standard exterior key lock door handle which really caught me by surprise, why have a different lock for a mobile home if it fit’s a normal house door??? Hopefully someone will have some information on the type of lock I need, I know they sell replacement’s on camper sites but if I can buy a standard exterior key lock handle and or deadbolt then I would rather do that… The tiny handle on the interior side is so small I have trouble shutting the door sometimes because I can’t get a good grip on it…
If the holes in the door are correct and the door thickness as well you can use any style lock-set/deadbolt that you wish. Key is where the bolt goes into the jamb. This is where the security comes in. Some setups have extra long screws while others have metal reinforced plates. Choose carefully. Keep in mind though, if someone wants in, they will get in. Good doors and locks only slow things up a bit. No lock is impenetrable.