Live Aboard Packing- What did you not bring that you wished you had?

[Jayfarmlaw]

I've read most of the posts I can find on the topic, and read the All Star Live Aboard blog about packing, but we are about to head out on a minor bucket list live aboard and would like to know if there is anything uncommon that you either wish you would have brought or saw someone with it and s now on your list to bring-

We will be doing Saba/St. Kitts at the end of August on the Caribbean Explorer II. I travel with the "Dive shop in a box" so I have most equipment issues covered.

Other than the normal dive travel stuff, I've gleaned-

Hardware clips for hanging stuff so they don't blow away
Power strip (we don't really need one-not a photog)
Yeti type cup/water bottle
Hoodie/sweatshirt for cooler nights or really good air conditioning
Butt paste/Anti-chaffing cream


What else? Thanks in advance for your response.

Jay

 

[BoltSnap]

Antiseptic creams for skin rashes for being wet and hot all the time.

Ear drops to prevent ear infections

Any other type of drugs/medicines you may need.

 

[DiveProKoko]

I've read most of the posts I can find on the topic, and read the All Star Live Aboard blog about packing, but we are about to head out on a minor bucket list live aboard and would like to know if there is anything uncommon that you either wish you would have brought or saw someone with it and s now on your list to bring-.......


Jay

Maybe lycra socks? With wet feet in and out of wet/damp booties multiple times a day for multiple days, hot spots may form on your toes, etc. Lycra socks help a ton with preventing this.

 

[rongoodman]

The only equipment failure I've ever had was the inflator on my wing. You can get a cheap generic replacement to bring along from Dive Gear Express for less than $20.

 

[Cali_diver]

Lycra socks are the thing I see most people regret not having. For a woman I would say conditioner. Many hotels and boats have shampoo and soap but conditioner is a must for women. I have a shampoo bar and good conditioner to cover myself. A hanging bathroom organizer has been very convenient for most lob rooms and bathrooms. I would also label all phone chargers etc. (just label everything) with your name since many people have the same chargers and most boats wont let you charge in your room anymore. I have great water proof stickers and put them on everything.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Packing for a liveaboard as opposed to packing for what? I mean, pack the same sort of diving-related things you pack when you go to Cozumel or wherever for a week of diving. On a liveaboard, one spends a lot of time in the water, but for me the time is not all that much more than I spend in the water diving from a land-based resort. So yes to the lycra socks, ear drops, and all the other things I bring on all my dive trips because I spend a lot of time in the water.

From what I have read, and from my own (limited) experience with liveaboards, a lot of people end up wishing they had brought LESS, not more.

Hardware clips for hanging stuff so they don't blow away - Okay, they are brilliant, and I brought them on a couple of trips. On one trip it turned out the boat provided clips for guests to use that were better than the cheapies I brought. Check with your boat.

Power strip (we don't really need one-not a photog) - I brought one after reading this suggestion on SB, but I'm not a photog either, and don't use electronics much on a boat, preferring to disconnect from the world for a week. I haven't bothered on trips since then. And nowadays, there is that whole fire-safety charging protocol thing, and charging anything, especially in a common area, sounds like slightly too much trouble to me to bother with.

Yeti type cup/water bottle - Bring Your Own Water Bottle seems to be standard not just on liveaboards nowadays. I don't travel without one. I have heard some boats provide a souvenir bottle for guests. Check with your boat.

Hoodie/sweatshirt for cooler nights or really good air conditioning - Sure, it's a boat. It can get windy. The value might depend on location and time of year, though. Caribbean in summer? Maybe not that useful? I did the Red Sea in January, and it was windy and cool.

Butt paste/Anti-chaffing cream - Never had this problem. But as I mentioned, I do bring Lycra socks. Bring whatever you need to remain comfortable over several days of being in the water.

Although the boat has first-aid supplies, I bring the same mini first-aid kit I bring on land-based trips, so I don't have to go begging for a little bandage (I also like the "liquid bandage" stuff).

 

[AdivingBel]

You probably already have it in your save-a-dive kit, but a nice length of thin bungee/parachute cord. You can secure stuff in your cabin if it gets “sporty”; stretch it out to hang stuff; cut it up into “snoopy loops” for clipping things off; etc. Last LOB I made a loop to hold the bathroom door open to let it “air out” during the day and it also kept the door from banging during a rough night crossing. Lol…I sound like the old SNL commercial skit selling rope…

 

[Damselfish]

More likely to need the sweatshirt in a plane or airport. It’s August. And that boat is not one with a freezing cold lounge/dining room like some - it’s barely inside, enclosed in plastic with zippered windows, and was always sticky. In theory it has AC but they never ran it when we were on the boat, and I can’t imagine it getting that cold if they did.

 

[runsongas]

hot sauce/chili sauce if the boat generally has european customers

 

[drrich2]

Ideally, plenty of Bandaids and perhaps some Scotch tape (to wrap on around and secure them, even against immersion), with triple antibiotic ointment to apply to chafed wounds on toes and feet before applying the Bandaids and tape. Protects and maintains moisture, cleanliness and promotes healing. Lycra socks make this less important, but a backup may be wise.

I like to have along an antibiotic prescription. If you get a middle ear, sinus or bladder infection, or bacterial bronchitis, or get a laceration somehow and worry about infection...not a bad thing.

I bring generics of pill form Pepto-Bismol and Imodium; G.I. upset is associated with traveling. Imodium is powerful; don't overdo it. Generic Tums can be helpful. Love extended release Sudafed, and also Claritin and Flonase. Also like Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I use Equate brand ear drops from Walmart about every 3 dives or so to prevent swimmer's ear.

You might want ear plugs in case you room with a snorer.

I like waterproof notebooks to jot notes while the staff dive pre-dive site presentations before we splash.