What to pack on a cruise to make your life easier…
As newbie cruisers me and Mr C found a few hacks to make ship life a lot easier and the cabin organisation just over all more convenient.
Following some trial and error with things we took and didn’t use, to things we took and used and abused all the way to things we wish we had. I’ve compiled a couple of lists and also general tips for packing for life on board, hopefully to make everything easier for you, including a few things which you may find already onboard to save you taking them…
Things we took and loved –
Clothes pegs to hang swimwear (we had a line in the shower which we pulled across and left some pegs on so swimwear could be washed and hung up to dry to rewear)
Towel pegs/ bands for towels on sun loungers (we bought two sets from home bargains to just clip our towels to sun loungers on the ship, but also allowed us to find out loungers easily. I have linked some here on Amazon – )
Power banks & case (all those videos and photos will drain your battery – don’t get caught out! And also make sure each phone type has a lead as well as we have a google and an iPhone so aren’t able to use one. We also bought this case on Amazon to be able to organise everything and keep it all together in one place – affiliate link below)
Go pro/ video camera (we bought a small go pro style camera on Amazon to allow us to take videos and also underwear videos and images as we knew we were snorkelling with sea turtles so wanted to capture this)
Waterproof phone pouches (again for similar reasons to the go pro if your not wanting to splash on a full camera – affiliate link below to ours)
Mini light for bathroom (we took a small baby’s night light so we had a little light to take to the bathroom at night so we could see our way and so the bright bathroom light didn’t startle or wake the other up. It’s pitch black at any time of day in an inside cabin so we loved having this)
Magnetic hooks (THE BEST HACK! All cabin walls are metal – maximise your space by buying metal hooks for the walls to hang more things on. I hung my evening bag, our caps, our lanyards, Mr C’s belts for his evening outfits etc)
Lanyards (you can get cruise card holders and lanyards and it just keeps your cruise cards safe. We kept it in a pouch in Mr C’s backpack on shore and round my neck on board or in my bag in an evening)
Things we took and didn’t use –
Too many electronic devices (now this was partially our own fault following reports of entertainment not working on TUI Dreamliners so we prepped and took my tablet and our Nintendo Switches to keep us occupied as well as books and I took my kindle – HOWEVER, we hardly touched them! So be careful what you take as you do have to carry it there and back)
Smart shorts (Mr C bought three pairs of smart shorts for an evening, which he didn’t wear! Most ships would have some form of air con running, which actually made it quite cool in an evening to the point he wore trousers each night and I had a cardigan to take the cold edge off)
Clothes in general (as a rule of thumb we massively over packed! So as a tip just be aware of the re-wearability of a lot of items, especially swimwear as this is easily washed yourself and dried on the shower. Save the space in the case for some souvenirs to bring back home)
Things we wished we took –
Higher factor sunscreen (this could be a more personal thing, and depends entirely on your destination. However, in the Caribbean as someone who is very fair skinned factor 50 was almost pointless, and I burnt horribly even with this. Once in ports I spotted factor 80, 90 and even 100 which would have helped prevent any damage done. I’ve added a link below to Banana Boat factor 100)
Water shoes
Snorkel & flippers (one of our excursions we were snorkelling with sea turtles, and if this is in your plans having your own saves you borrowing a set which is worn and washed and worn and washed and likely more comfortable!)
Hopefully this has helped a little with those packing lists. However this blog became a lot more than I initially imagined once I got Mr C involved to help out… so look out for part 2 – things your likely to have already in cabin or on board, and our other general tips and tricks
Is there any tips and tricks you’ve found from your cruises? Let us know
Xoxo
Life with Mrs C 
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