Magnetic Cabin Hooks

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks Review: 14 Cruises of Hanging Everything
Cabin Organization

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks Review: 14 Cruises of Hanging Everything

Ten little steel hooks that turned a small interior cabin into a place where things have a home. Six sailings in, here is what held and what did not.

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks vs Adhesive Hooks in a Cruise Cabin
Cruise Cabin Gear

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks vs Adhesive Hooks in a Cruise Cabin

Two ways to hang a wet swimsuit in a cabin the size of a walk-in closet. One of them survives the week.

10 Reasons Magnetic Hooks Fix a Tiny Cruise Cabin
Cruise Cabin Organization

10 Reasons Magnetic Hooks Fix a Tiny Cruise Cabin

A retired librarian's cabin-tested notes on the 10-pack that has traveled on six cruises and never lost a hook.

How Magnetic Hooks Gave Us Our Cabin Walls Back
Cruise Cabin Gear

How Magnetic Hooks Gave Us Our Cabin Walls Back

Six sailings, ten magnets, and a four night interior cabin that finally stopped looking like a yard sale.

How to Organize a Small Cruise Cabin With Magnetic Hooks
Cabin Organization

How to Organize a Small Cruise Cabin With Magnetic Hooks

A retired librarian's cabin-tested routine for using ten magnetic hooks to get luggage, lanyards and wet swimsuits off the floor of an interior cabin.

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks: An Honest Review From a Retired Librarian
Cruise Cabin Gear

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks: An Honest Review From a Retired Librarian

Six sailings, ten hooks, one zip pouch, and the two numbers in the listing that do not agree with each other.

Cruise-Approved Power Strips

Cruise On Power Strip Review: A Year of Cabin Charging
Cabin Gear

Cruise On Power Strip Review: A Year of Cabin Charging

Five sailings, two security inspections, and one five-ounce splitter that has never been taken off me at the pier.

Cruise On Non-Surge Power Strip vs a Surge Protector Strip
Travel Gear

Cruise On Non-Surge Power Strip vs a Surge Protector Strip

One of these is a better protector. The other is the one that gets to come with you. After five sailings with the same little strip in my bag, here is how I would choose.

10 Reasons a Non-Surge Power Strip Works for Cruises
Power and Charging

10 Reasons a Non-Surge Power Strip Works for Cruises

A cabin-tested list from a retired librarian who has carried the same five-ounce strip through five terminal security checks and never had it questioned.

The Cabin Outlet Problem and the Strip That Solved It
Cabin Gear

The Cabin Outlet Problem and the Strip That Solved It

One desk outlet, four devices that need charging, and the small non-surge strip that ended the nightly negotiation on our last five sailings.

How to Charge Everything in a Cruise Cabin With One Power Strip
Cabin Power

How to Charge Everything in a Cruise Cabin With One Power Strip

One desk outlet, four devices, and five sailings of figuring out the order of operations.

Cruise On Power Strip: An Honest Review
Cruise Gear

Cruise On Power Strip: An Honest Review

Five sailings, one desk outlet, and the parts of this little block that never make it into the listing.

Waterproof Phone Pouches

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch Review: Pools, Tenders and Rain
Waterproof Gear

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch Review: Pools, Tenders and Rain

Four sailings, two snorkel trips and one soaking in Nassau. What a two-pouch habit actually bought me on board.

JOTO Pouch vs a Rigid Waterproof Phone Case
Waterproof Gear

JOTO Pouch vs a Rigid Waterproof Phone Case

After four sailings with two JOTO pouches, Joanne Petrakis weighs the pouch against a rigid waterproof case and picks the one that earns suitcase space.

10 Reasons to Carry a Waterproof Phone Pouch on a Cruise
Cruise Travel Gear

10 Reasons to Carry a Waterproof Phone Pouch on a Cruise

Four sailings, two pouches, and one paper towel test in the bathroom sink before every trip. Here is what actually earns a spot in the day bag.

The Day a Waterproof Pouch Saved My Phone at the Pool
Travel Gear

The Day a Waterproof Pouch Saved My Phone at the Pool

A sea day, a slipped neck strap, and the sink test I run before every sailing.

How to Keep Your Phone Dry on a Cruise With a Waterproof Pouch
Cruise Gear

How to Keep Your Phone Dry on a Cruise With a Waterproof Pouch

Five things I do with a waterproof phone pouch, in order, every trip. Four sailings in, neither phone has come out wet.

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch: An Honest Review
Waterproof Gear

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch: An Honest Review

Four sailings, zero leaks, and a camera that shoots through plastic. What the listing never tells you about the JOTO pouch.

Seasickness Bands

Sea-Band Wristbands Review: Rough Seas Over Many Cruises
Motion Sickness

Sea-Band Wristbands Review: Rough Seas Over Many Cruises

Seven sailings, one nervous husband, and two elastic bands that keep earning their spot in the suitcase. A cabin-level report on what these actually do on a rough night.

Sea-Band Wristbands vs Motion Sickness Patches
Travel Health

Sea-Band Wristbands vs Motion Sickness Patches

Fourteen cruises, one queasy husband, and a lot of time spent watching these two things work and fail. Here is which one earns its place in the suitcase.

10 Reasons Acupressure Bands Help With Seasickness
Motion Sickness

10 Reasons Acupressure Bands Help With Seasickness

Fourteen cruises, one queasy husband, and a pair of wristbands that earned a permanent spot in the carry-on.

The Rough Crossing That Made Me a Sea-Band Believer
Motion Sickness

The Rough Crossing That Made Me a Sea-Band Believer

Gus gets seasick and I do not. Seven sailings later, here is the small thing that decides whether we eat dinner together or I eat alone.

How to Avoid Seasickness on a Cruise With Acupressure Bands
Motion Sickness

How to Avoid Seasickness on a Cruise With Acupressure Bands

Five steps we do before the ship ever leaves the dock, from a retired librarian who has packed for fourteen sailings and one husband who goes green on the second day out.

Sea-Band Wristbands: An Honest Review
Motion Sickness

Sea-Band Wristbands: An Honest Review

A retired librarian's cabin-tested notes on the pair her seasick husband has used on seven sailings.

Packing Cubes

BAGAIL Packing Cubes Review: Two Weeks, One Carry-On, Two People
Packing Gear

BAGAIL Packing Cubes Review: Two Weeks, One Carry-On, Two People

Three sailings, one guest-bed packing test, and an honest answer about whether eight packing cubes can get two adults into a single carry-on for a two-week trip.

BAGAIL Packing Cubes vs Compression Packing Cubes
Packing & Organization

BAGAIL Packing Cubes vs Compression Packing Cubes

One saves space. One saves your sanity in a small cabin. Three sailings with the BAGAIL 8 set and one Mediterranean trip with a borrowed compression set, compared honestly.

10 Reasons Packing Cubes Make Small Cruise Cabins Work
Packing and Luggage

10 Reasons Packing Cubes Make Small Cruise Cabins Work

Fourteen cruises, one interior cabin after another, and the packing trick that finally made the drawers do their job.

How Packing Cubes Ended Our Suitcase Chaos
Packing & Organization

How Packing Cubes Ended Our Suitcase Chaos

Eleven cruises of digging through a suitcase every morning, and the cheap eight-piece set that finally fixed it.

How to Pack for a Cruise With Packing Cubes
Packing and Organizing

How to Pack for a Cruise With Packing Cubes

Fourteen cruises, one tiny cabin, and the ten minute unpacking routine that finally stuck. Here is the order I do it in, step by step, including the two specialty cubes and the tote you carry on board.

BAGAIL Packing Cubes: An Honest Review
Packing and Organizing

BAGAIL Packing Cubes: An Honest Review

Three sailings, six used pieces, two that live in the closet. What the listing photos leave out, and what actually changed about my mornings on board.

All Reviews

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks Review: 14 Cruises of Hanging Everything
Cabin Organization

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks Review: 14 Cruises of Hanging Everything

Ten little steel hooks that turned a small interior cabin into a place where things have a home. Six sailings in, here is what held and what did not.

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks: An Honest Review From a Retired Librarian
Cruise Cabin Gear

Neosmuk Magnetic Hooks: An Honest Review From a Retired Librarian

Six sailings, ten hooks, one zip pouch, and the two numbers in the listing that do not agree with each other.

Cruise On Power Strip Review: A Year of Cabin Charging
Cabin Gear

Cruise On Power Strip Review: A Year of Cabin Charging

Five sailings, two security inspections, and one five-ounce splitter that has never been taken off me at the pier.

Cruise On Power Strip: An Honest Review
Cruise Gear

Cruise On Power Strip: An Honest Review

Five sailings, one desk outlet, and the parts of this little block that never make it into the listing.

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch Review: Pools, Tenders and Rain
Waterproof Gear

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch Review: Pools, Tenders and Rain

Four sailings, two snorkel trips and one soaking in Nassau. What a two-pouch habit actually bought me on board.

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch: An Honest Review
Waterproof Gear

JOTO Waterproof Phone Pouch: An Honest Review

Four sailings, zero leaks, and a camera that shoots through plastic. What the listing never tells you about the JOTO pouch.

Sea-Band Wristbands Review: Rough Seas Over Many Cruises
Motion Sickness

Sea-Band Wristbands Review: Rough Seas Over Many Cruises

Seven sailings, one nervous husband, and two elastic bands that keep earning their spot in the suitcase. A cabin-level report on what these actually do on a rough night.

Sea-Band Wristbands: An Honest Review
Motion Sickness

Sea-Band Wristbands: An Honest Review

A retired librarian's cabin-tested notes on the pair her seasick husband has used on seven sailings.

BAGAIL Packing Cubes Review: Two Weeks, One Carry-On, Two People
Packing Gear

BAGAIL Packing Cubes Review: Two Weeks, One Carry-On, Two People

Three sailings, one guest-bed packing test, and an honest answer about whether eight packing cubes can get two adults into a single carry-on for a two-week trip.

BAGAIL Packing Cubes: An Honest Review
Packing and Organizing

BAGAIL Packing Cubes: An Honest Review

Three sailings, six used pieces, two that live in the closet. What the listing photos leave out, and what actually changed about my mornings on board.