What to pack for a cruise
USA Today Travel has put together a whole section of their website based on packing suggestions for various cruises
Packing List for a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas
Packing List for Norwegian Cruises
Women’s Clothing for Cruises
Packing List for a Princess Cruise
Packing List for an Alaskan Cruise
Packing List for Cruise Ship Travel
Packing List for an Australian Cruise
Carnival Cruise Packing List
Packing List for a 9 Nigth Cruise
and on and on.
This is all fine and dandy, but what do you really need? Well, the basic list that you need for all itineraries includes:
Dress Casual, Cruise Casual, Freestyle, whatever the cruise line want’s to call it:
Formal Night! The mere thought is enough to throw grown men into a panic. Some cruise lines are doing away with the concept on their shorter cruises. NCL has “Smart Casual” on their cruises that are more than five days long.
Again, it depends on the cruise line. Your more expensive cruise lines (Cunard, Azamara, Crystal, etc) will have a higher level of formality (suit or Tuxedo), where the family-priced lines will be a bit more laid back. Nice slacks and a sports coat will be fine.
You can either ask us for the cruise line’s “suggested packing list,” or you can go to their main webpage and pull it up. I guarantee it’s riveting reading for a evening at home.
What NOT to bring
While it’s hard to tell you what to bring, it’s easy to tell you what you can’t bring onboard.
USA Today Travel has put together a whole section of their website based on packing suggestions for various cruises
Packing List for a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas
Packing List for Norwegian Cruises
Women’s Clothing for Cruises
Packing List for a Princess Cruise
Packing List for an Alaskan Cruise
Packing List for Cruise Ship Travel
Packing List for an Australian Cruise
Carnival Cruise Packing List
Packing List for a 9 Nigth Cruise
and on and on.
This is all fine and dandy, but what do you really need? Well, the basic list that you need for all itineraries includes:
- Medications (in their original containers)
- Passport and travel documentation
- Camera and accessories (batteries, film, etc.)
- Extra glasses or contact lenses
- Bathing suit
- Sunscreen
- Reading material
Dress Casual, Cruise Casual, Freestyle, whatever the cruise line want’s to call it:
- Khakis, shorts, and jeans, with casual shirts, for the men.
- Casual dresses, summer dresses, skirts, regular or capri pants, shorts, jeans, tops for the ladies.
Formal Night! The mere thought is enough to throw grown men into a panic. Some cruise lines are doing away with the concept on their shorter cruises. NCL has “Smart Casual” on their cruises that are more than five days long.
Again, it depends on the cruise line. Your more expensive cruise lines (Cunard, Azamara, Crystal, etc) will have a higher level of formality (suit or Tuxedo), where the family-priced lines will be a bit more laid back. Nice slacks and a sports coat will be fine.
You can either ask us for the cruise line’s “suggested packing list,” or you can go to their main webpage and pull it up. I guarantee it’s riveting reading for a evening at home.
What NOT to bring
While it’s hard to tell you what to bring, it’s easy to tell you what you can’t bring onboard.
- Weapons and firearms (including ammunition, knives—including dive knives—swords, daggers or any other types of weapons) are not allowed onboard under any circumstances. This also includes realistic replicas of firearms and weapons.
- Highly flammable liquids and combustible substances
- Non prescribed controlled substances, illegal drugs, medically prescribed and synthetic marijuana
- Power Tools and Tool boxes (except those tools of the trade utilized by vendors providing services)
- Sporting equipment (i.e., baseball and cricket bats, hockey and lacrosse sticks, pool cues, ski poles, fishing gear and archery equipment.)
- SCUBA equipment (i.e., tanks, spears guns /slings, dive knives, pry bar, and underwater scooter)
- Kites, balloons, surfboards, wave boards, inflatable floats/pools (including pool noodles), and wagons
- Bicycles, Segways, skateboards, inline & roller skates, any footwear with wheels, (i.e. Heely’s type shoes)
- Electrical appliances such as rice cookers, hot plates, coffee makers, electric irons, bottle sterilizer and bottle warmers, etc. Please note: A limited number of approved bottle warmers and bottle sterilizers are available upon request through Guest Services. Also all ships offer laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards. Valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.
- Candles & Incense
- DVD, VCR, or Blu ray players or, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Wii gaming systems are not allowed because of compatibility issues with the stateroom TVs
- Musical instruments
- Large Ice Coolers (Please note: small, personal-sized coolers, no larger than 12″ x 12″ x 12″ brought onboard for the purpose of housing medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.)
- Homemade, pre-cooked or other perishable food items plus any open snack containers
- Metal detectors
- Personal fireworks or pyrotechnics
- Seasonal and celebratory lighting strings
- Liquid oxygen
- Martial Arts Gear
- Self-Defense Gear, including handcuffs, pepper spray, night sticks.
- Dangerous Chemicals, including bleach and paint.
- Alcoholic Beverages (Note: Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from shops onboard will be stored by the ship and delivered to you on the last day of the sailing. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.)