What should I bring on a cruise? Well, this depends on many variables such as

• Duration of cruise
• Destination
• Time of year

If you take a short cruise, like 3-5-7 days, you will probably want to plan for each day and figure you will take home a suitcase full of dirty clothes. Will you be going to a formal/festive night in the dining room? Bring something you love – you can be as fancy as you want! Men are sometimes requested to wear a jacket and tie to one of these events. 

The buffet is always available for really casual meals, but you might enjoy being waited on in the dining room some evenings. Check the regulations. Some ships won’t let you into the dining room wearing shorts or flip flops in the evening. If so, bring capri pants and a pair of non-flip-flop shoes for that.

The rest is pretty easy. Bring comfortable clothing, a bathing suit, exercise clothes if needed, pajamas if you wear them, lots of underwear and some sort of sweater or jacket. The ship is trying to compensate for the weather and keep thousands of people, including ladies with hot flashes, happy. I also bring a pair of socks for my bedside table. We have been in rooms that are too warm and rooms that felt like we were in the arctic. The ship folks do their best to fix the air conditioning if you let them know, but there’s no guarantee it will feel just right for you at any time.

If you are going on a longer cruise, laundry becomes an issue. Some ships have a self-service laundry that usually includes soap, but you will need to bring your own dryer sheets. You can usually find an iron/ironing board in there. Check to see if your ship has one of these. Cruise ships also provide  laundry and dry cleaning services. These are not free but if you need to use this service just plan for it when you budget your money for your cruise.

Other items to consider packing include:

• A lanyard to hold your stateroom key card
• Sunscreen
• Mosquito spray
• Under makeup moisturizer with a high SPF sunscreen
• A small folding umbrella
• Sunhat/sunglasses
• A watch
• Audiobooks or e-books preloaded onto your phone or other device

Also, just in case, take

• Dramamine – the non-drowsy kind
• A sea band

The ship usually will provide Dramamine free of charge if you get sea sick, but it might not be the non-drowsy kind so, while you will not be seasick, you will sleep through part of your trip. And even people who are not normally seasick can become that way in extremely rough seas.

• A multiple plug long extension cord to keep your electronics charged. There might not be a plug anywhere near the bed and/or enough receptacles in the room.

• A battery charger for your rechargeable batteries.
• Binoculars, depending on where you are traveling and especially if you are taking an Alaskan cruise.
• An empty duffle bag or large tote bag if you think you might be purchasing a lot of things and they won’t all fit in your suitcase.
• A small portable clothing steamer if you are bringing fancy clothing folded up in your suitcase and the ship doesn’t have an iron for use.

Before you pack, check with your travel agent or the cruise line’s website for information about what that specific ship provides, what is free and what has an additional charge.