The Cruise Packing Checklist
Every item that belongs in a cruise suitcase — including the dozen things veterans pack and first-timers wish they had. Print it, stick it to the fridge, pack with confidence.
The Complete Cruise Packing Checklist
The Complete Cruise Packing Checklist
heroictravel.com
Documents & money
- Passport (or BC + photo ID on closed loops)
- Cruise documents / boarding passes
- Printed excursion confirmations
- Travel insurance details
- Two credit cards (one backup, separate bag)
- Small bills for tips & ports
- Driver's license
- Vaccination records if required
Clothing — warm weather
- Swimsuits ×2 (one's always wet)
- Cover-up / rash guard
- Shorts & tees per day ±
- Sundresses / casual evening wear
- One dress-up outfit (formal night)
- Light sweater (dining rooms run cold)
- Underwear + a buffer day
- Sleepwear
Footwear
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Sandals / flip-flops
- Water shoes (falls, rocky beaches)
- Dress shoes for evening
Health & toiletries
- All prescriptions (in carry-on, original bottles)
- Motion sickness remedy (meclizine / bands)
- Reef-safe sunscreen SPF 30+
- Aloe / after-sun
- Pain reliever, antacid, bandages
- Bug spray (jungle ports)
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunglasses + backup pair
Cabin & tech
- Phone chargers (cabin outlets are scarce)
- Non-surge power strip / USB hub
- Magnetic hooks (walls are steel — hang everything)
- Lanyard for key card
- Highlighter (daily program)
- Small day pack for ports
- Waterproof phone pouch
- Binoculars (Alaska/scenic: mandatory joy)
Leave at home (banned)
- Surge-protected power strips
- Iron / clothing steamer
- Candles or incense
- CBD products (regardless of state law)
- Drones (most lines)
Prints clean — no menus, no photos, just the checklist. Or "Save as PDF" from the print dialog.
The suitcase is the easy part.
We handle the other 90% of the trip.
Quick Answers
How many outfits should I pack for a 7-night cruise?
Less than instinct says: a daytime outfit per day (re-wearing shorts is maritime law), two swimsuits in rotation, a couple of evening options, and one dress-up outfit for the formal evening. Ships offer laundry; overpacking is the only real packing mistake.
What do cruisers most commonly forget?
Our informal poll never changes: magnetic hooks (steel walls, infinite hanging), a non-surge power strip for the outlet famine, water shoes for waterfall and reef excursions, reef-safe sunscreen before port prices, and motion tablets nobody needed until they did.
Can I do laundry on a cruise?
Every major ship handles it: send-out laundry with per-item or stuff-a-bag pricing, and self-serve launderettes on Carnival, Princess, and others. On 10+ night sailings, one mid-cruise laundry run cuts your suitcase in half — pack accordingly.
How much luggage can I bring on a cruise?
Far more than a flight allows — cruise lines are generally relaxed about suitcase count and there is no weight fee at the terminal. The real constraint is your cabin: standard staterooms are compact, and cases need to slide under the bed once unpacked. The tighter limit is usually your flight to the port, not the ship. Pack to the airline’s allowance and you will be comfortably inside the cruise line’s.
What should I never pack in my checked cruise luggage?
Medications, documents, valuables and anything you need on day one. Checked bags are collected at the terminal and delivered to your cabin over several hours, so anything in them is out of reach for most of embarkation day. Prescriptions in particular should travel in your carry-on in their original labelled bottles. Jewellery, laptops and travel documents belong with you for the same reason they do on a flight — they should never leave your possession.
Are power strips really banned on cruise ships?
Surge-protected ones are, and they will be confiscated at the scanner. The surge protection is the problem, not the extra sockets — it interacts badly with a ship’s electrical system and is a genuine fire risk, which is why security screens for them. A non-surge power strip or a plain USB charging hub is the accepted alternative, and worth packing because cabin outlets are famously scarce. Irons and clothing steamers are also banned outright.
What should I pack that is not on most lists?
The items our clients thank us for: magnetic hooks, because cabin walls are steel and hanging things transforms the space; a lanyard for your key card; a highlighter for the daily programme; and a collapsible day pack that lives in the suitcase until a port day. Add a small torch for finding things in a dark interior cabin, and a spare pair of sunglasses, which are the single most commonly lost item at sea.
How does this list change for a longer cruise?
Less than you would think, because laundry is available on board and most ships have self-service launderettes or a paid service. For anything beyond about ten nights, plan on doing laundry rather than packing more — it is cheaper than the extra bag and far easier in a small cabin. What does scale up is medication, which you should carry in full for the whole trip plus a buffer, and any specialist items you cannot buy in port.
Packed? Let's Book the Cruise
Checklists handle the packing — we handle everything else: line matching, cabins, excursions before they sell out. Free, always.
Our planning costs you nothing — the cruise lines pay our commission, so your fare is the same as booking direct. A quote is yours to keep.
Weekend Bahamas run or 30-night grand voyage — same care.
Family reunions, weddings at sea, milestone birthdays — we love a full table.
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