Essential Clothing
- Activities clothing & shoes: If you have shore excursions on your itinerary, then making sure you have the proper clothing and shoes is a must!
- Formal Attire: You will want to bring at least a couple of formal outfits for cruises that have parties, "formal nights," and fancy restaurants.
- Bathing suits & cover ups: You should make sure to bring at least a couple of bathing suits depending on how many nights you plan to cruise for. You can explore the ship in a bathing suit, but in order to visit restaurants, casinos, or some other areas on the ship you will need a cover up.
- Sweater/ Sweatshirts: It is never a bad idea to bring at least one thin sweatshirt or sweater as it tends to get chill on the ships at night or sometimes in the restaurants or casinos.
Backpack / Beach Tote
A backpack or a beach tote can be useful in many ways on a cruise. You'll want something to carry all your beach items in when you leave the ship for the beach-days at the cruise ports. They can also come in handy if you want to do some shopping at the ports, as it is much easier to throw everything in one bag than having to carry around multiple bags. Small duffel bags can even make good beach bags as you can use than as a carry-on to bring on the ship, and once it's emptied, you can use it for the beach!
Your Own Toiletries
It is a must do to bring your own toiletries and to make sure you have everything in this category that you are going to need. While most cruise ships offer complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and sometimes body wash, they will more than likely not provide the brand that you typically use. It would also be a good idea to pack a razor if you plan on going on a longer cruise, and a travel-sized air freshener for the bathroom as there can sometimes be little ventilation in the cabin's bathroom.
Medication / First Aid Kid
It is highly recommended that guest bring a small first air kit full of common medications like pain relievers, upset stomach medication, Benadryl for allergies, swimmers ear medications, and motion sickness medication. They even make special Sea Bands that you can wear on your wrist or patches that you can put on your arm to help with motion sickness. Most of these items can be found in the ship's medical office, but they charge you for everything, even for things like small band-aids.
Camera / Underwater Camera
The reason for bringing a camera or an underwater camera is pretty self explanatory: to capture all the memories! When your ship stops at a port, there can be activities like snorkeling and scuba diving that would be amazing to capture. There are also waterproof phone cases or waterproof phone or camera bags that can be taken under water, and would cost less than an actual camera.
Cash For Tipping & Cruise Ports
It is important to bring cash on a cruise in case you plan on doing shore excursions, where it is customary to tip your tour guides, bus drivers, etc. Cash can also be useful to have if you plan on spending a lot of time and money on things at the cruise ports. There are usually plenty of activities, restaurants or snack shacks, and shops that cash would be good for.
Travel Documents
One of the most important things to bring on the cruise with you is your passport. Some closed-looped cruises from the United States allow you aboard without one, but it is always a good idea to bring it with you in case of emergencies. If you ever need to leave the ship for an emergency reason, the ship can stop at the nearest port which can be a different country. In order to fly out of that country to make it back to the United States, you will need your passport. Also, make sure that your passport is long from expiring as some countries don't allow entry if your passports is due to expire within 6 months.
Reading Material
Reading material is something great to bring with you on a cruise as it can be a really relaxing setting to get some reading done. Not to mention it can help pass the time before you even get on the ship as you can read at the airport and on the flight there, and on the ship as you wait to go grab dinner or for your next activity. If you aren't someone who enjoys laying in a chair by the pool but have members of your party who do, having a book in your hand can help with that. Also, if you struggle with the actual reading part, even listening to a book or podcast can make downtime more interesting.
Other Cruise Essentials
- Water Bottle: Bottles of water are not free on the ship, so it is recommended to bring an insulated water tumbler with you to fill up with ice and water for free at the buffet.
- Power Strip/ Outlet: If you're lucky, your cabin will have two US electrical outlets but some just have one. A power strip can help create more outlets for all your electronics.
- Portable Fan: A battery operated and foldable fan is a cruise must have as it can sometimes get stuffy in your cabin.
- Apple AirTags: Lost luggage happens way more often than it should and having AirTags on your luggage can make it easier to track down.
- Travel Vanity Mirror: Cruise ship cabins are small and don't always have the greatest mirrors for applying make-up. Bringing your own lighted mirror is a great idea.
- Lanyard/ Card Holder: You have to carry your cruise ship card whenever you leave your cabin, so a lanyard with a plastic slip is perfect.
