7 Must Haves for Your Next Cruise

Do you keep those “must haves” always ready to pack when you vacation?  My husband and I do.  I thought I would share with you those items we take with us when we cruise.  Feel free to comment on anything you feel is a neccessity for you!

1. A simple luggage scale or a digital luggage scale.  It helps with getting your bags balanced out so you aren’t trying to rearrange at the airport to avoid overweight bag fees.
2. A travel-size alarm clock.   Cell phones work great when you are on land, but not always good to have them turned on while you are sailing.   Check with your mobile phone provider before turning your cell phone on at sea (or in a foreign country for that matter).
3. A power strip.  With all of today’s electronic gadgets, you need a way to keep them all powered up!  There are very few electrical outlets (typically only one, maybe two) in a stateroom on board, so you must make the most of the one you have.
4. Sea sickness meds.   You will find that very few get sick on board due to motion sickness.  This is because of the great stabilizers these large cruise ships have underneath.  Most of the time you can hardly tell you are on a ship!  Never hurts to be prepared though.  My husband has an iron stomach.  I, on the other hand, take Dramamine just in case.  I hear sea bands work great, too.
5. Ear plugs.  In case your neighbors are noisy.  Enough said 🙂
6. Packable tote bag.  You may need to take a few things ashore with you for that beach day like a book, sunscreen and underwater cameras.  Or you may have too many souvenirs to fit into your luggage and need the extra packing space on your way home!
7. Night light.  If you book an inside stateroom, there are no windows and it is almost completely dark.  You will need a little light just to get to the bathroom.  Ours is the Blackout Buddy that doubles as a flashlight.

These items, for us, just make our cruise vacation a little bit easier.

Happy Sailing 🙂