Everything You Need for Smooth Sailing 🚢🌴
Packing for a cruise is a little different from packing for a theme park trip. Your big bags disappear at the pier and may not reach your stateroom until evening, a few things you’d pack without thinking aren’t allowed on board, and one suitcase has to cover pool days, port days and a dressy dinner or two. Whether you’re sailing with Disney Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean, this list has you covered from sail day to the last night.
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🎒 Your Sail-Day Carry-On
Porters take your checked bags at the terminal, and they’re delivered to your stateroom later in the day, sometimes not until after the ship sails. Keep these with you:
- Passports, or birth certificates and photo IDs (never in a checked bag)
- Medications in their labeled bottles, plus a few extra days’ supply in case of travel delays
- Swimsuits, sunscreen and a change of clothes, so the pool day starts at lunch
- Phone and charger, plus a portable charger for the terminal
- Glasses, jewelry and anything valuable
- Any wine or beer you’re bringing, within your cruise line’s limit. It has to go in your carry-on, not your checked bags
📄 Documents & Money
- Online check-in done in the cruise line’s app, with your boarding pass or arrival time
- Printed luggage tags, attached the night before
- A credit card for your onboard account
- Small bills for porters and for spending in port
- Flight, pre-cruise hotel and travel insurance details
👗 Clothing
Days on a cruise are casual, and evenings are a little dressier. Pack for both:
- Casual outfits for sea days and port days
- Two swimsuits, so one can dry while you wear the other
- A cover-up and flip-flops
- Dinner outfits (most lines ask for no swimwear or tank tops in the main dining rooms at night)
- One or two dressier outfits for formal night. Royal Caribbean calls it “Dress Your Best” night, and Disney has a dress-up night on most sailings
- Theme-night outfits, like pirate gear for Pirate Night on Disney Cruise Line
- A light jacket or sweatshirt for windy decks and chilly theaters
- Comfortable walking shoes for port days
- Pajamas and workout clothes
🧴 Health & Comfort
- Motion-sickness remedies, even if you’ve never been seasick
- Reef-safe sunscreen and SPF lip balm
- Aloe or after-sun lotion
- Pain relievers and allergy medicine (they cost more on board)
- Bandages and a small first aid kit
- Your usual toiletries. Every stateroom has a hair dryer, so you can leave yours at home
🛏️ Stateroom Helpers
Staterooms are cozy, and outlets are limited. A few small things make a big difference:
- A lanyard for your room key card, which is also your charge card on board
- Magnetic hooks. Cabin walls are metal, so they’re perfect for hats, bags and the daily schedule
- A USB charging cube for all your devices. Skip the power strip (see below)
- A reusable water bottle
- Zip-top bags and a small laundry bag for wet swimsuits
- A small day bag or backpack for port days
🏝️ Port & Beach Day Bag
- Photo ID and your room key card (you need both to get back on the ship)
- Water shoes for rocky beaches
- A waterproof phone pouch
- Sunglasses and a hat
- Snorkel gear, if you have your own (rentals are available at most beaches)
Beach towels come from the ship, so there’s no need to pack them.
🚫 Leave These at Home
Security checks every bag, and these are taken away:
- Clothes irons and garment steamers (Disney ships have free irons in the guest laundry rooms)
- Power strips and extension cords
- Alcohol in your checked bags
- Marijuana in any form, even with a prescription
- Weapons and pepper spray
✨ Final Tips
Pack your carry-on as if your checked bags won’t show up until dinner, because sometimes they don’t! Every cruise line’s rules are a little different (especially for alcohol), so check yours before you pack. If you book your cruise with me, your free cruise guide covers your line’s exact rules, and I’m always a text away.
With this cruise packing list in hand, all that’s left is to find your spot by the pool and enjoy sail-away! 🌊⚓