What to pack
Some Basic Stationary
If your cruise is an international cruise, you will need to fill-in a returning passenger card before you go through customs at the end of your cruise. Never assume you will have a pen in your cabin!
Post-It notes are handy for leaving notes for other members of your cruising party (ie. gone to the pool deck), or leaving notes for your room attendant.
Laundry Pegs
Want that swim suite to dry out while you are off at lunch or dinner?
Depending on the ship, some ships have pull-out clothes lines in the showers to hang your wet items. If they don't - pegs can still be handy to make sure items don't blow off your balcony chairs.
If you are inclined to want to wash/freshen up some of your clothes during your cruise, you may also want to consider packing some laundry soap - so you can hand wash in your bathroom sink.
Magnetic Hooks
Most cruise cabins have ample closet space, but for the super organized it may be worth also packing some magnetic hooks.
Hooks can be used on your cabin walls (which are metallic) to hang items to dry, hang your lanyards when you are in your cabin, etc.
Hooks are generally small to pack, and shops such as Bunnings have a heap of different ones to choose from.
Medications
If you take prescribed medications - it is important to not only take the medication you need for your cruise period - but also extra.
In the event of unavoidable adverse weather or other events, cruise ships have been known to extend cruises by a couple of days - so don't get caught short.
Along with any prescribed medications, its also a good idea to pack some basic over the counter things such as:
- Pain killers
- Moisturizer that contains aloe vera to treat sunburn
- Fiber supplement (sometimes the change of diet can play havoc on your digestion!)
- Antacids
- Cold and Flu meds
- Cough drops
- Motion sickness medications
What not to pack
Beach Towels
You may reasonably expect that bathroom towels will be provided when staying on a cruise ship, but first time cruisers may be surprised to know that you can also take the beach/pool towels from the ship ashore when you visit ports.
This saves a heap of space in your suitecase
Just make sure to bring them back on-board as cruise lines will generally charge you for an unreturned towels.
Irons / Steamers
Whilst the image of a perfect holiday may involve the relaxing task of doing the ironing... cruising a time is to give it a break. Irons and steamers will be confiscated from your luggage before boarding.
Basically anything that could pose a fire hazard onboard will be removed - and for good reason. No ones wants to be abandoning ship just as dessert is being served - all because someone forgot to turn the iron off before they left their cabin.
If the thought of creased clothes really doesn't sit with you - some lines (such as P&O Australia) have onboard laundry facilities passengers can use. Others (such as Royal Caribbean) do not - but will offer services such as pressing for a fee.
Power Boards
We live in an age of electronics, and most of us will have at least 2 or 3 devices that will regularly need to be charged. However like above, to reduce the risk of fire, power boards are generally confiscated from luggage prior to boarding.
A good idea when packing, is to pack a travel adaptor that also includes one or more USB ports to allow you to charge multiple devices at once.
Alcohol
This is generally with some exceptions. As a blanket rule, alcohol is generally banned from being taken onboard - but most cruise lines will have an allowance of x bottles of wine per stateroom. Spirits and Beer however are a no-no. If you buy alcohol in any of your ports of call during the cruise - this will be confiscated and returned to you at the end of the cruise (such as if you buy up at some vineyards or duty free stores)
What are your packing tips?
What would you add to the list? Share your thoughts in the discussion below.
