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Not your average cruise list. This is the stuff that saves space, avoids headaches, and makes your trip feel easy from day one.
Cruises are one of my favorite ways to vacation because once you’re on board, life gets simple. Food’s handled, entertainment’s built in, and you wake up somewhere new without hauling your suitcase around. But packing for a cruise is its own thing. Cabins are smaller than hotel rooms, stores onboard are pricey, and some everyday items are straight up not allowed.
So instead of giving you another basic list of socks and swimsuits, I’m sharing the extras I always bring. These are the things that make cruising smoother, especially if you’re traveling with kids, sharing a cabin, or just want to feel organized.
First, a quick cruise packing truth
Cabins are cozy. Even on big ships. There’s usually a small closet, a couple drawers, and maybe a few shelves. So if you pack like you’re going to a resort with a walk in closet, you’ll feel cramped fast.
The goal is simple:
Pack light on basics, smart on helpers.
Space saving items that are worth it
- Shoe bag for bathroom – Hang one on the back of the door and use the pockets for toiletries, hair tools, sunscreen, meds, and random small items. It clears the counter instantly.
- Sweater bag for closet – Perfect for kids’ clothes, pajamas, swim coverups, or anything you want to grab without digging.
- Soft sided luggage – Hard suitcases eat up floor space. Duffels or soft rollers slide under the bed once you unpack.
- Packing cubes – Not fancy, just a simple way to keep outfits grouped. Great for separating shore clothes from ship clothes.
- Collapsible laundry hamper – Dirty clothes pile up fast. A pop up hamper keeps things contained and makes repacking easy.
- Tip: ask your cabin steward for extra hangers – you can hang a ton of stuff up, but there isn’t a lot of room in the drawers – hang your bulkier items and use the drawers for your smaller items.
Smart cruise items you’ll be so glad you packed
None of these are “you must bring this or you’ll cry” items. But they make everything easier.
- Non-surge power strip – Cruise lines ban surge protectors because of fire risk, but a plain power strip is usually fine. Double check your line’s rules, but make sure it does NOT say surge protected.
- Magnetic hooks – Cabin walls are metal. Stick these up to hang hats, lanyards, bags, or wet swimsuits.
- Lanyard with card holder – Your cruise card is your room key, payment method, and ticket on and off the ship. A lanyard keeps it from vanishing into the bottom of your beach bag.
- Disinfecting wipes or spray – Quick wipe down of high touch spots makes the room feel fresh.
- Stain remover pen or wipes – Someone always drips salsa on a white shirt. Always.
- Poo Pourri or small bathroom spray – If you’re sharing a cabin, this is a friendship saver.
- Plastic clothespins or towel clips – The wind on deck is no joke. Clips keep towels on loungers and swimsuits on the line.
- Zip top bag – Great for snacks on shore, wet swimsuits, keeping sunscreen contained, or tossing a phone in if you’re headed to a splashy excursion.
- Small soft cooler bag – Nice for grabbing a few drinks or snacks for port days. Many lines allow this as long as it’s empty when you board.
- Especially for tropical ports. You’ll be happy you tossed it in.
- Waterproof phone pouch – Shore days are wet. Even if you don’t plan on swimming, it rains, boats splash, and phones slip.
Carry on must haves for embarkation day
Here’s what I always keep in my carry on because checked bags can show up late.
- Swimsuit – Sometimes luggage arrives after dinner. You will want pool time right away.
- Change of clothes – Even one clean outfit feels great if you’ve traveled all day.
- Meds and basics – Never check prescription meds. Add pain reliever, stomach stuff, allergy meds, and a few bandaids too.
- Travel documents – Passport or birth certificate, boarding pass, confirmation emails, and travel insurance info.
- Phone charger and portable battery – You’ll use your phone a lot for photos, apps, and schedules.
A few newer cruise rules to know before you pack
- Some items people used to bring are now a problem.
- No surge protectors or extension cords -Even if you brought one before, many lines confiscate them now. Use a non surge strip instead.
- Be careful with CBD – Even if it’s legal where you live, some lines and ports ban it completely. Guests have been denied boarding for CBD gummies.
- Skip loud Bluetooth speakers – A lot of lines don’t allow them, and honestly, you don’t need to be that person on the pool deck.
- Check the cruise line app -Most ships now run daily schedules, dining, messaging, and port info through their app. Download it before you leave home
And there you go, everything I pack to make cruise life feel simple and stress free. If you toss a few of these smart extras into your suitcase, you will save space, skip the overpriced ship shops, and feel settled the second you step into your cabin.
If you have a favorite cruise must have that I did not mention, tell me in the comments. I love stealing, I mean borrowing, good ideas. Have the best trip and enjoy every minute of that floating vacation bubble.
#1- Go to your local dry cleaners and get a stack of wire hangers. Cruise ships, and most hotels/resorts, never have enough hangers in their closets. Pack them in your suitcase to use while in residence and you don’t feel bad about leaving them when it’s time to go. Also, leaving the hangers makes room for your souvenirs!
#2- 3M hooks are the bomb! With four boys, somebody is always in the pools, headed to the pools, or getting back from the pools. The hooks are great to have your so you always have a suit drying and ready for your next water time adventure! (So pack a minimum of two swim trunks per person also)
#3- Along with duct tape and a highlighter I recommend packing a few safety pins, a small pair of scissors, and at least one permanent marker. Again like stated in suggestions, you never really know why you need them but you end up using them!
#4- With your bathing suit in your carry-on luggage, make sure you pack sunscreen and goggles. The kids don’t want to wait to get into the pools and you don’t want them to get a sunburn before the cruise even leaves the dock.
#5- Before leaving for your cruise with your kids, go to the dollar store and buy at least one pair of cheap sunglasses per person. Typically cruises are in places much sunnier than your home. If they get a loss, no big loss. But while your kids have them, they and their eyes will be much happier!
Thanks so much for all of the suggestions! I am just back from 5 days in the Bahamas and we used many of your ideas. The sweater hanger/organizer was genius. My husband and I each put one into our closets and were able to unpack completely. it left plenty of hanging space too. We also put the over the door shoe organizer to good use which saved a ton of counter space.
I would also recommend that when you purchase your beach towel clips, purchase an extra set, assign each person a color/style and use the extras to mark your bath towels. if you like to conserve energy and use the same towel two days in a row, this is great as everyone knows which towel is theirs. Also, a couple of suction or magnetic hooks would have been great to hang your pjs or toiletry kit in the bathroom when getting dressed in the morning. Finally an inexpensive suction cup bin (like for the tub) to use in the tub for those who need a place for their own shampoo/conditioner and or a razor ands have cream. Since this trip was also with my 15yo step son we also brought post it notes, We left notes for him and him for us.
Some really good tips especially in the comments. Most of them I had already come across here https://www.smsmondial.com.mt/helpful-things-to-bring-on-a-cruise/ Question: air freshener plugins were recommended, however, aren’t the rooms short of plugs?
Two way radios (walky talkies) cell phones won’t work …. this is a great way to keep in touch
TWO WAY RADIOS (WALKIE TALKIES) ARE ALWAYS ON HAND WHEN I AM TRAVELING WITH A LARGE GROUP. THIS WAY WE CAN EASILY COMMUNICATE! THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE ON MY CRUISE PACKING LIST!
Walkie talkies and a water bottle to refill before going on the islands.
You can bring water bottles on board?
BUG SPRAY!!!!! I have been on 13 cruises so far and I always end up forgetting to bring my own bug spray then I have to spend a small fortune to buy bug spray off the ship. I think the bugs in Mexico are plotting to eat me alive eventually. This has happened in ports all over the world for me, so maybe it is a global bug conspiracy;). Also, bring a book (or several). Sometimes the ships library has a great selections, sometimes not.
Thank you for the extra tips. Here are a few of mine:
ā¢ bring some mini Oreos or other mix ins for the free soft serve. They will get smashed up just right in your luggage.
ā¢ eye drops are a must on every trip. Recycled air in the room dries them out.
ā¢ a lanyard or clip for your sail and sign card. They will punch a hole in it for you.
ā¢ a sleep machine or app to drown out your noisy neighbors.
This is a great list. Cruising is my husband’s and I’s favorite way to travel. I do not like dry skin you get when using bar soap and to encourage clean hands, I bring a bottle of foam soap for the bathroom no matter where I travel hotel/cruise or family. We also take a travel size steamer, it was $20 at Bed Bath and Beyond (and you can use coups). I would also suggest suction cup hooks (bed bath and beyond target or walmart) for the shower for wash cloths and bathing suits. And make sure you are comfortable with the bag you carry off the ship and pick one that your hubby or kids can carry easily as well, it may look cute for cruising but it’s not practical.
We also pack a battery clock and a fan. And this isn’t a packing thing but if you bring a power strip, plug in fresheners, straightener, steamer, etc either unplug and hide or become good friends with your steward so you don’t have the things happen that others mentioned. The plug in items are fire/safety hazards even in your own home.
what type of steamer did you buy? Did you check through the cruise luggage scanner, or did you carry in a carry bag?
They don’t have mine anymore (I have had it for years) – but this one get amazing reviews and is similar http://amzn.to/2IFlM7R (aff. link). I pack it in my checked luggage.
This is such a great list! Beautiful pictures as well