I recently went on my first cruise. I did extensive research (as always) into what I needed to take. I found huge lists of things, and each website or blog listed new things. I was confused and was constantly questioning if I REALLY needed the items or not. So, fear not. Here is a list of simple, easy, and essential things to pack in order to make your cruise more enjoyable and fun.

1. Pack in compression bags. These are like the vacuum bags that you see on TV that are for storage except these work by rolling the air out, not vacuuming it. Perfect for travel. I am so thankful I used these as they made me life so much easier and kept my room organized. Honestly, I will never go on another vacation without packing in these. I bought some basic ones off Amazon, which were under $20 and reusable. When packing, I laid out an outfit for my husband and one for myself, placed them in a bag with underwear (if you wear socks everyday go ahead and throw those in, too) and then zipped the bag, rolled the air out, and put it in the suitcase. You’ll be surprised at the room that you save and how organized you feel. When on the ship, I just put all the bags in the closet as they were, opened them when I needed the outfits, and when taking off the dirty clothes, I put them back in the bags, rolled the air out, and placed them in the suitcase. EASY! I did pack an extra bag with some spare shirts and underwear, as well as some night clothes. I never had random clothes laying around the room and my husband was never searching for something to wear. It was wonderful.
2. Pack an insulated water bottle. Cruise lines have small cups that they let you get free water and lemonade in, but you don’t want to take that with you to the room or casino. These are particularly handy when on an excursion. I am not certain I would have made it through the ruins in Mexico with that heat if I didn’t have my bottle. My dad didn’t bring an insulated one and his ice melted super fast, so spend a few more dollars and get a good one. You can find these at Walmart or Amazon, and usually on sale.
3. Bring an over the door shoe organizer. Now, you wont be using this for shoes (well, you COULD) but instead you will put this on the bathroom door and use it to store all your toiletries. It was so handy to have everything there and out of the way. While you will have room on the vanity itself, while in the shower there is very limited room for shampoo, razors, soap and such. This makes it very simple to reach out and grab what you need, as most showers are located beside the door. This may not be for everyone so if this doesn’t sound like something you would use, don’t get it, but I loved the convenience of it. I bought a cheap one from Amazon.
4. Don’t forget your backpack! When leaving the ship having a backpack is a must. It is super easy to throw everything in that you need to take, and you can toss souvenirs in there so you are not forced to carry bags around for hours. I keep a small first aid kit, flashlight, bug spray, sun screen, chap stick, and baby wipes in mine all the time. I didn’t unpack these for the cruise because you never know when you’ll need these things!
5. Motion sickness patches are a must. I am quick to get motion sick. Actually, this was one of the reasons I was hesitant to do a cruise. I didn’t want to spend my days sleeping so I looked for other ways to combat my motion sickness. I went armed with patches, sea bands, and Dramamine. Luckily, I never had to go past the patch! I was very pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend these, but I also recommend that you bring all of the options to ensure you are not sick the whole time! Better to be safe than sorry with this.
6. Bring a lanyard. I am glad that we took lanyards as they are expensive on the ships and pretty necessary. We did, however, have to rig them up because the key card wouldn’t work through the plastic on the ones that we had. Now, I am sure every cruise line is different but Carnival has a hole in the card that you can hook through. This lanyard should work for any cruise, as you can detach the clear part and attach the card straight to it.
7. Extension cords are required. Make sure you do not pack a surge protector, as those are not allowed, but you will need some extension cords as there is 1, maybe 2, outlets in the room. I bought a couple cheap ones at the store and then bought this one off Amazon that was pretty handy.
8. Pack smart. There are some other things you should bring that do not require an entire paragraph to explain why, its common sense, but make sure you put them on your list or you’ll pay much more on the ship. Bug spray, sunscreen, band aids, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, Tylenol, etc. Pack smart, but don’t over pack. It is important to remember that you have likely never soiled your underwear 10 times in one day, and so you probably don’t need to pack 30 pairs for a one week trip. Be intelligent and pack only what you need. Check the weather. You wont need a parka in Belize in July.
9. Other items. While you see other items online that people say to bring, I found these to be a waste of space. We didn’t need clips to hold down our towels (insert eye roll here as these were huge and not needed once) or wrinkle release spray (does not work. I keep a spray bottle at home with 10% fabric softener and 90% water that works like a dream. I purchased the real deal for the cruise and it was awful.) We did use those strong magnetic hooks, but we could have lived without them quite easily. Rule of thumb, if you don’t think you will need it, just don’t take it. You can spend a fortune on things that you don’t even need. My “necessities” are for convenience only, remember that nothing is truly needed as you are already in the land of luxury. Just bring yourself, some clothes, and passport.

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