Help packing for first time on a USS

Hey guys,
I'm a civi that is going on a gray boat pleasure cruise for ~3 weeks and need to know what to pack other than clothes.

How does laundry work?

Will I have a place to put my kit or does it need to live in a bag?

Is a duffel bag or sea bag the best way to go?

Should I plan on wearing some 5.11 bdu pants so I'm not in jeans?

What do I need to know?

Thanks!

 

What type of ship?

 

LHD

 

I spent 11 months on a lhd. for three weeks it shouldnt be that bad. I would pack in a sea bag since they are the easiest to carry. they should have a self serve laundry area but better be prepared to spend at least 2-3 hours down there waiting. also normally each element on the boat should have there own laundry day where it gets done in the big machines. make sure you get laundry bags and the pins then tie your bag above the pin if you hand it in that way so nothing comes out. What are you going on there as a civi for?

 

Thanks for the tips! Like I said before, it is a pleasure cruise

..going for work reasons..

 

Like I said before, it is a pleasure cruise

haha well i dont know which lhd your going on but none of my time was for pleasure lol.. i meant are you going as a tech rep or like the navy civilian that puts trips together... i cant remember what they call him. either way i am pretty sure you get a state room so thats alllready better than a berthing(sp).

 

Well you Wong have to worry bout packing your sea legs. Those ships don't move much.

 

I'm stationed on an LHD right now... and i can tell you it probably won't be very "pleasurable". lol unless you don't have to work much. Anyway, you'll most likely just do ur laundry in the self-serve machines. So be sure to bring some detergent and a laundry bag/pins. As stated before you'll probably be staying in a stateroom in which case you should have a locker to store ur things in. Sea bags are ok, but a duffel would be fine as well if you can fit everything in a duffel bag. Jeans are perfectly fine for a civi to be wearing on ship. Make sure you wear a pair of steel toe boots, i'm not 100% sure its mandatory for the civilians but it is for military onboard to wear steel toe. be prepared to wait in long lines for everything. Mess decks, ship's store, laundry, etc. Don't forget to bring a little money to buy stuff from the ship's store if you want snacks or if you accidentally forget your toothbrush, laundry detergent or whatever. oh and don't forget ur camera...

 

Pack at least enough clothes for half of your trip. Your more than likely going to have your own Stateroom, and will more than likely have access to Self Serve Laundry. Bring your own soap, a Laundry bad incase you do not have access to Self Serve. Stateroom Laundry is normally picked up twice a week. Should be dropped back off the same day or the next morning. I was on an LPD for 4 years, so this is where my knowledge is coming from. Also bring yourself some non-frozen meal replacements (ramen, completes meals, etc.) You should be able to get snacks onboard, though if you dont want to have to wait in lines and such to get them bring those also. Might seem that I am over reacting, but I spent 5 years at sea, and just thinking back to stuff that would have made underways easier. If you are a smoker go buy whatever you smoke, ships store will only have what they have. If you smoke anything other than Marlboro Reds / Lights / Menthols / Menthol Lights, or Newports you will be really pissed about having to smoke something else.

 

whats an LHD

 

Thank you for all the great advice! Looks l will need to pick a few things up to make this as painless as possible.

 

Welldeck at night


Unrep

 

exellent pic... best type of lhd is one with no harriers on it! oh and those two beasts in the aft slash right behind tilly.. the best AC ever!

 

thanks for the pics ,not what I expected at all

 

I'm thinking the Harriers were out flying and the 53s were all down for maint...

 

Which LHD?

 

or the harriers never made it to the ship.lol

 

Heinous! Harriers are always where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be... except when we're broke.

 

Good thing that Uncle Sam just bought 40 something decom'd UK harriers for spare parts.

 

Let me say this, there is no gray boat pleasure cruise...ever.!
hahahaha, someone tricked you.
Honestly, you should be berthed in a stateroom and should be able to eat in the ward room (officers galley). Additionally, your laundry can be done up in officer country in a regular machine. Take some cash, sometimes a check works, to get credit to use on the ship. Most are cash free and it just takes a trip to the disbursing office to get credit.
If you are heading to the USS Wasp (LHD 1) let me know, I left in 2009 and still know some people.