Cruise Essentials 50 Brilliant Things to Bring on a Cruise

Table Of Content

• Clothing Men Should Pack for a Cruise
• Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America
• Bringing Water or Soda on a Cruise Ship (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and More)
• What to Pack for a Cruise: A Beginner's Guide
• Clothing Women Should Pack for a Cruise
• Leave a Reply Cancel reply
• Cobranded Cards

You'll also want to consider what you'll need aboard your cruise aside from clothing. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Although you'll find hand sanitizer stations throughout your cruise ship, you'll still want to pack your own.

Clothing Men Should Pack for a Cruise

What to Pack for An Alaskan Cruise: A Complete Checklist - Travel + Leisure

What to Pack for An Alaskan Cruise: A Complete Checklist.

Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:11:15 GMT [source]

Bug spray is also useful, especially in Alaska, where people joke that the mosquito is the state bird. Packing for a cruise can be complicated, especially for first-timers who aren't 100% sure what to expect. The task is made even more stressful because you can't run to the nearest shopping mall to pick up something you forgot when you're sailing in the middle of the ocean. For more things to pack, don’t miss our 39 Useful Things to Pack for a Cruise (Including 17 You Might Not Think Of). And if you’re the sort of person who likes getting up early to be the first off the ship, then this $20 alarm clock is worth its weight in gold. There is no better way to avoid sunburn than to keep the sun off you to begin with.

Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America

So if you have a bottle of your favorite shampoo you want to bring or simply have an 8-ounce bottle of sunscreen, go ahead and pack it. There is no need to put it into smaller travel-sized containers. While we’ve covered a number of things to pack for your cruise, there are some other miscellaneous items that are a good idea to bring. But if you are packing for a family, then there are some things that good to bring. If you want to chat more about what to bring on a cruise ship, you can join our Facebook group to chat with other cruises. It’s a great way to get ideas on the best things to take on a cruise.

Bringing Water or Soda on a Cruise Ship (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and More)

Not all of us are lucky enough to live an hour or two from a cruise port. Many cruisers have to fly or road trip to their departure port and need to pack for this travel as well. Make sure your cruise packing list accounts for your pre- and post-cruise travel needs, as well as items useful for your time on board. For a full list of cruise clothing essentials for your specific cruise type, check out our cruise packing lists.

Cruise Packing Checklist: Clothes

You can see (and print) our full cruise packing checklist here. Using cash is more secure than using your credit card in foreign ports, plus credit cards aren’t accepted everywhere like they are back home. And if you need more cash on the ship, the ATMs onboard are pricey (expect fees of $6-7 per transaction). You can read our article here to figure out how much cash to bring with you. One piece of advice that isn’t as repeated is to bring a few additional days’ worth of your prescriptions with you on any cruise. This can cover you in the event of a delayed or canceled flight, or if you lose a pill somewhere along the way.

What to Pack for a Cruise: A Beginner's Guide

You'll likely want one top for each day of your cruise (roll them to save space in your luggage). One or two bathing suits should be the maximum, just don't expect to wear them into dining areas. For evenings on board, pack a night light or battery-operated candles so you can find your way to the bathroom in the dark. A small, portable sound machine is helpful for blocking out hallway noise if your cabin is in a noisy area of the ship, such as close to the elevator banks. Like hotels, cruise ships typically provide soap and shampoo in your cabin.

This allows you to sanitize on the go, after handling money, touching an escalator, using the bathroom — and always before eating. As we mentioned, tuxedos are out of place on almost every mainstream cruise ship these days and you likely won't even see a full suit. Note which shore excursions you'll be doing and keep in mind your fitness routine before packing. Men will also be required to cover legs and shoulders at most religious monuments, so be prepared ahead of time and reconsider shorts and tank tops. Knowing what clothing to pack for a cruise can be especially challenging, and cruise line dress codes don't always match what passes as acceptable on board.

A 4-wheeled suitcase like this one can be right at your side and is also much easier to navigate down narrow cruise ship hallways. You likely already have a suitcase or a duffel bag to pack your clothes in, but it’s a good idea to switch over to a 4-wheel spinner suitcase if you don’t have one. The walkway from the cruise terminal to your cabin can be pretty long. There are often stairs, inclined walkways, and thresholds to pass. Having been on literally dozens of cruises across every major line, we know what’s important to bring… and what you can leave at home. To help you out, we’ve rounded up a list of nearly 40 useful items that you need to take on your cruise.

Cobranded Cards

The key to maximizing your wardrobe on the high seas is working with a few core pieces of clothing and mixing them up over the course of your itinerary. That's especially handy for evening wear, which tends to be bulkier and take up more luggage space. For the most part, cruising on mainstream lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian (NCL) has become an almost entirely casual affair. That makes packing simpler than the days of stuffing full suits and elegant dresses into your suitcase.

More than any other item you bring with you, make sure you carefully read the fine print of what documentation you will need for everyone in your party to travel. There are no favors when it comes to having the proper ID.

Your phone camera won’t do justice to distant sightings no matter how good it is. Think about bringing an actual camera with a zoom lens for wildlife-viewing. Sunscreen is essential; look for reef-safe versions if you plan on swimming in the ocean.

You might want to invest in some insoles to make them like new again. A lightweight version won’t break the bank (just around $20 online) and will help keep you cool. We highly recommend something not made of heavy cloth and nothing that’s dark, which can leave your head sweltering. That’s why we’d suggest packing some wipes that offer a better clean and feeling than only using the toilet paper.

Store hand sanitizer and lip balm in a Ziploc to consolidate them before tossing them in your day pack. This is another item that might seem obvious, but not if your cruise is a cold-weather itinerary. Of course, fun in the sun in the Caribbean or Bermuda necessitates some swimwear. But pack a bathing suit even for Antarctica or Canada/New England in the fall. This one may seem obvious, but it’s not the time to break in a new pair of shoes or subject your feet to only very flat flip-flops for a week straight.

You'll want to pack your tablet, portable video game system and e-reader for both your pre-cruise travel and the sailing itself. Or, skip the tech and bring a few books, as many cruise ships no longer offer onboard libraries. If you want something to carry a change of clothes and some towels — without the bulk of a regular backpack — check out this lightweight bag.