Wifely questions.....

[rtread]

We are booked on Liberty in  a 2D stateroom. My wife wants to know about the following items.....what's provided, what's not, what's not allowed, etc.

Shampoo, soap, rinse. Curling iron? Hair dryer? Thanks!

[ama537621]

Shampoo, soap, hair dryer provide. Don't know what rinse is. Curling iron is no. 

[pepperandchips]

I would tell your wife to bring her own of all  5. Curling irons are allowed but clothes irons are not. The hair dryers provided in the cabins are little mini ones that you have to hold a button down on to operate, in my experience and research, so I will be bringing my own. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Bring your own. That’s all

[bhageerah]

What everyone above has said is absolutely correct!  My wife is not happy at all with anything that is provided, I have no hair but I can tell you that the hair dryer is mediocre at best.  Tell  your wife to just bring everything she needs, she will be glad she did once she is onboard!  

[rtread]

Thanks for the good information all! The list of items to take just grew....

[KathyC]

I have a lot of hair, and I don't mind the in-room hairdryers.  I don't want to lug my own, so I just deal with theirs.  They are no worse than any hotel hairdryer. 

[SpeedNoodles]

I flew carry on only so I wasn't able to bring my own shampoo, etc, but stayed in a hotel the night before, so I took the little bottles of nice shampoo/conditioner and soaps when I left and used those on the cruise (granted, only a 4 night cruise, it lasted just fine). 

[AlohaLivin]

The shampoo and condition (aka rinse) in the cabins isn’t bad, but I usually take my own since it would not be a good time to find your hair hated their’s  And definitely she needs to bring curling iron, flat iron, or any other styling tools. I go back-and-forth on the hairdryer thing. I like taking mine, it dries my hair fast; and in case no one already said this, the ones in the cabins usually require you to hold the “on” button the entire time (a total pain) But, some people take zip ties and rubber bands to get around that problem.

@SpeedNoodles mentioned the hotel issue and that’s a great point (she’s my twin, I’m not biased though ).  I save the samples that I get from purchases from Sephora, Ulta, etc. of shampoo, conditioner, face cleanser, face lotion, and about anything else to use for the hotel the night before and also the last morning of the cruise when they have taken your suitcases the night prior! I even found these great disposable toothbrushes at my dentist’s office that have toothpaste already in the bristles (Note. He has less of them now, but with 2 implants I more than covered their cost!  ). 

[JennyB]

On 3/24/2019 at 8:51 PM, KathyC said:

I have a lot of hair, and I don't mind the in-room hairdryers.  I don't want to lug my own, so I just deal with theirs.  They are no worse than any hotel hairdryer. 

same... I don't bring mine either...the one in the room works fine for my thick curly hair...that i straighten every single day of my life.  lol

[Hoski]

My daughter has those sample box subscriptions from Birch Box and two others.  She loves to use those small sizes to take on trips.  Use them up and throw away then you have extra space and weight in your bag.  Also, a hint, a flat iron doubles as an emergency iron for your clothes and is allowed.  I'm fine with the onboard products for the week.

[rtread]

4 hours ago, Hoski said:

  Also, a hint, a flat iron doubles as an emergency iron for your clothes and is allowed. 

OK....I was raised being told "It's not a dumb question if you don't know the answer". Based on that, what is a "flat iron"? 

[melski94]

4 hours ago, rtread said:

OK....I was raised being told "It's not a dumb question if you don't know the answer". Based on that, what is a "flat iron"? 

Its similar to a curling iron but straightens hair.  Instead of the round shape of a curling iron, this is actually a flat wand and a necessity when dealing with Caribbean humidity! 

[rtread]

45 minutes ago, melski94 said:

Its similar to a curling iron but straightens hair.  Instead of the round shape of a curling iron, this is actually a flat wand and a necessity when dealing with Caribbean humidity! 

Aaaahhhh ok my wife doesn't use one but I'll tell her about it. thx

[HeWhoWaits]

5 hours ago, rtread said:

OK....I was raised being told "It's not a dumb question if you don't know the answer". Based on that, what is a "flat iron"? 

The variant I use is "the only dumb question is the one you have but don't ask."

[rtread]

3 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

The variant I use is "the only dumb question is the one you have but don't ask."

True, very true! 

[JennyB]

On 4/4/2019 at 10:57 PM, Hoski said:

sample box subscriptions from Birch Box and two others.   Use them up and throw away then you have extra space and weight in your bag.

Same! 

[mellibee]

On 4/4/2019 at 2:57 PM, JennyB said:

same... I don't bring mine either...the one in the room works fine for my thick curly hair...that i straighten every single day of my life.  lol

What are the chances my diffuser piece will fit the ships blow dryer?

[pepperandchips]

7 minutes ago, mellibee said:

What are the chances my diffuser piece will fit the ships blow dryer?

I know many people have said the ship’s blow dryer is fine but if you care enough about your routine to have a particular diffuser I’d bring your own dryer if you can possibly squeeze it in. The dryer in our stateroom was... ahhh... rinky dink? That’s the most polite way I can describe it. And don’t get me started on the unspeakable pump of 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner mounted on the wall! Egads! 

[mellibee]

14 minutes ago, pepperandchips said:

I know many people have said the ship’s blow dryer is fine but if you care enough about your routine to have a particular diffuser I’d bring your own dryer if you can possibly squeeze it in. The dryer in our stateroom was... ahhh... rinky dink? That’s the most polite way I can describe it. And don’t get me started on the unspeakable pump of 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner mounted on the wall! Egads! 

Thank you so much The struggle a real lol 

[rtread]

6 hours ago, pepperandchips said:

I know many people have said the ship’s blow dryer is fine but if you care enough about your routine to have a particular diffuser I’d bring your own dryer if you can possibly squeeze it in. The dryer in our stateroom was... ahhh... rinky dink? That’s the most polite way I can describe it. And don’t get me started on the unspeakable pump of 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner mounted on the wall! Egads! 

I understand rinky-dink. That tells the whole story....

[ThyriC]

I'm really super picky about my haircare products and have super long damaged hair, so I bring my own.  They do provide, and they're decent products, but I like my old faithful.  When it comes to soap, i'm the same way.  Same with lotion.  They provide it, but I like bringing my own.   This said, I dont fly.  So I dont need to consider the liquids rule for flying.  But I do have a method to my liquids madness.  I have a packing cube I use exclusively for my liquids.  That way if any happen to spill, the spill is isolated to the liquids cube.  I keep shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, hair spray, sunscreen, and my face care products in the cube.  Within the cube I do additional isolation of liquids in quart size ziploc bags.  Hair stuff goes it their own isolation bag, body wash has its own, face stuff, etc.  

On shorter cruises I'll use samples.  I wind up with SO many freakin samples from Sephora and a cruise provides a great opportunity to thin the sample herd.  

Curling irons are not provided, but are allowed.  Hairdryers are permitted and are provided.  So its up to you if you need your super high power blow dryer, or if you're good with a hotel hair dryer quality.  Personally, I use a little extra conditioner or a hair mask, and I use nature to get my hair from wet to nearly dry.  Then I style with the in room dryer to finish the job.  But my hair is thin and doesnt need aggressive blow drying.  The in room hair dryer isnt like a high end blow dryer.  Think the cheapest blow dryer you can possibly find at Walmart, and put about 500 hours of dry time on that inexpensive hair dryer, and you've got about the quality of blow dryer onboard.  

[Andrew72681]

9 hours ago, ThyriC said:

I'm really super picky about my haircare products and have super long damaged hair, so I bring my own.  They do provide, and they're decent products, but I like my old faithful.  When it comes to soap, i'm the same way.  Same with lotion.  They provide it, but I like bringing my own.   This said, I dont fly.  So I dont need to consider the liquids rule for flying.  But I do have a method to my liquids madness.  I have a packing cube I use exclusively for my liquids.  That way if any happen to spill, the spill is isolated to the liquids cube.  I keep shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, hair spray, sunscreen, and my face care products in the cube.  Within the cube I do additional isolation of liquids in quart size ziploc bags.  Hair stuff goes it their own isolation bag, body wash has its own, face stuff, etc.  

On shorter cruises I'll use samples.  I wind up with SO many freakin samples from Sephora and a cruise provides a great opportunity to thin the sample herd.  

Curling irons are not provided, but are allowed.  Hairdryers are permitted and are provided.  So its up to you if you need your super high power blow dryer, or if you're good with a hotel hair dryer quality.  Personally, I use a little extra conditioner or a hair mask, and I use nature to get my hair from wet to nearly dry.  Then I style with the in room dryer to finish the job.  But my hair is thin and doesnt need aggressive blow drying.  The in room hair dryer isnt like a high end blow dryer.  Think the cheapest blow dryer you can possibly find at Walmart, and put about 500 hours of dry time on that inexpensive hair dryer, and you've got about the quality of blow dryer onboard.  

One thing to keep in mind is that at least with the upgraded toiletries from Lé Occitane is that the Shampoo and Conditioner are not Color Safe, so even though she liked the quality my wife had to bring her own.  

[ThyriC]

Oh definitely!  And I know ladies who get their hair colored before a cruise.  If you're not coloring with vibrants, you'll "probably" be fine with non paraben, non sulfate free hair products.  Down the line your color might fade a bit faster than usual, but on permanent color you should be OK.  However if you're using a semi permanent or demi permanent hair color, you need to stay AWAY from the parabens and sulfates.  (should probably also stay away from the pool with semi permanent hair color, especially vibrants)

How do you know if you're using a semi or demi permanent hair color?  Is ammonia involved in your coloring?  If so, you've got a permanent color.  If not, its likely a semi permanent and you need to be careful.  Also, if the color is something not naturally occurring (ie vibrants or pastels) its a semi permanent.  Semis can last a good long time but you need to care like crazy for them.  Pastels the same way and can wash out crazy fast if you're not mindful of what goes on your hair.  

 

Sorry for getting on a rant.  I love vibrant "fun" hair colors and I've made them last as long as permanent hair color with a lot of work and care.  Stay AWAY from the parabens and sulfates!!  Even some "color safe" products have these ingredients (Redken I'm looking at you!!!)

[fonemanbob]

Bring your own.  If flying get your shampoo and rinse before you board so as to cut down on luggage weight.  And your snacks and 2 bottles of wine.