What are the absolute best tips on packing for a cruise? I'm Gary Bembridge
and this is another of my tips for travellers. At the time of recording this
I've done over 66 cruises, and I try and pack everything I've learned from that
into every single video I make. In this video I'm going to talk about three
critical things: what to take, what not to take and importantly how to take it if
you're heading off on a cruise. One of the most important tips is understanding
what you should put in your hand luggage and you should put in your check-in. bags
Very important in your hand luggage keep anything that's valuable,
anything that's breakable, make sure you have your passport / your ID /whatever
you need to get on the ship. Very important, you also need your e-ticket.
Nowadays when you go on a cruise, you normally need to have
checked in online and have a document proving that you've done all of that.
Your credit cards, money or currency, camera, laptop,
jewelry, your prescription medication. Anything that's valuable and anything that
you do not want to lose, make sure that you keep that with you at all times. Also
think about things that you might need before you get your luggage that you've
checked in. If it's a great beautiful sunny day and you know you're going
to want to go out and get in the hot tubs or swim, pack your swim trunks in
your hand luggage because you don't know how long it's going to take to get your
checked on baggage. The second thing that I would say is really important these
days, is to pack is either your mobile phone or your tablet. The reason for that is
many cruise lines have an app which is where they
will do things like enable you to book excursions, shows and dining, has the daily
program, you're able to check your account to see what you're spending. As
Cruise Lines move more and more paperless and more environmentally
responsible, your smartphone is going to become a really
important and valuable tool. What tips do I have on the actual clothes to pack? A
couple of really critical and simple things to think about. First of all, what
is the dress code? Make sure you understand what you have to wear for
dinner. Every Cruise Line has a slightly different rule in when it comes to dress
code, and you don't want to find that you are excluded from doing certain things you
want to do because you've got the dress code wrong. Secondly, check if
there are themed parties or special parties like White Night or
other themed parties. Think about what you want to bring for those parties,
as if you're a big party goer you'll find that many people will
embrace the themed nights. So, make sure you've packed
those. Thirdly, think about the excursions you want to go on. If
you're going hiking, think about the sort of shoes you're need to wear, if you go
cycling think again about the sort of kit you want to wear and the shoes you want
to wear. I always recommend when you go on a cruise is to minimize the
amount of clothes to bring and think about layers. Think about
a base layer, it could be as simple as a t-shirt, the next layer which could just
be a sweatshirt and then perhaps a jacket which is also waterproof.
The next thing is decide if you're going to exercise or not! If you decide you are
going to be good on your cruise and go to the gym or classes,
make sure that you bring the right gear. Many people go on cruises
and pack their gym shoes and gym kit but they never end up going!
Make a conscious decision and bring those clothes (or not if you won't go). The next thing to
think about is what I call kind of your bathroom essentials. One of the most
important is to think about your little personalised first-aid kit. The reason I
say that is you'll find that things to treat ailments that you might have at
home, whether it's headaches, upset stomachs etc, those things can be quite
expensive and difficult to get hold of on a cruise. You will find that
you're either you have to go to the medical centre and pay to go to there
to get some of things, or you're going to have to try and figure out a
local pharmacy where you may have some language issues. The shops on board will
be very limited in the sort of things that they can sell, because they can't
sell the sort of things you can buy in a pharmacy or a drugstore.
I recommend you do look at your bathroom cabinet or your bathroom for what you have in there.
The most common ones tend to be things like headaches and stomach related things.
It's a good idea to pack motion sickness if you're heading on a cruise and sunscreen.
I also really really strongly recommend that you pack in there a tooth repair
kit. These you can buy from the drugstore and so if a crown falls off or
a filling comes out, you can actually do a patch up job either to the next port
or even for the whole cruise. That's really important because cruise lines do
not have dentists on board. The second thing to think about is your toiletries.
Most cruise lines will provide some of the basic toiletries like
shower gels, shampoo and body lotion and, depending on the type of cruise you're
on, that can be very fancy branded stuff. So, make a decision
about whether you want to bring those or not.
Don't worry about overpacking these because many of those basic ones you will be
able to buy on board or within the ports. My next tip is around electronics.
Nowadays we have so many electronics that we bring like mobile phones,
cameras, laptops and they all have different types of charges. The great
news is that many of those are USB charged and modern cruise ships or older ones
when they go through refits are starting to put in USB charges in all of
the cabins. The great news is you don't need to have to take lots of
adaptors then. But, make sure that you've brought for each of your items
a charger, and it could be as simple as thinking around do you have
electric toothbrush and making sure that least one of you have bought that charger.
As we know, within the family you may have different charger needs because
you've got different editions and versions of the different smartphones
and tablets. Also, make sure that you understand what the plug sockets are in
your cabin. Many cruise lines will have USA-style plugs and a some of them will also
have the option of European style plugs but, make sure you find out what type of
plug socket you're going to have and make sure you bring those adapters.
One of the best things to do is probably bring one of those
multi-purpose ones which you can then adapt based on the type of socket that
you have. A lot of cabins don't have very many sockets, so one of the things that you
used to be able to do is take an extension cord with you, which would have
a number of sockets. The cruise lines are getting strict
about what type you can bring, so check with your cruise line if
you are able to bring onboard one of those extension cables. The
cruise line screen for those in your luggage
and they will hold your luggage aside and remove it. A key guideline is you're not
allowed one with a surge protector, so make sure that you
check before you start packing if you're able to take one of those onto your
cruise line. Make sure of course that you've packed batteries if any of your
devices operate on batteries. My next step is around what you can bring
onboard in terms of alcohol. Most cruise liners have a policy around what drinks you can take onto the ship,
and it's normal alcohol only related: wine, spirits
or beer that you can bring on board. So before you start packing those, check
what you're allowed to bring on board. Any excess alcohol that's discovered in
your luggage is taken and held until the end of the cruise. This is also true when
you come back from an excursion or you've been on a port, they will also
screen and normally withhold alcohol from you.
Online there are lots of discussions and forums around ways you can sneak it in.
An often forgotten tip, and one that I really like, is around packing your
specific quirks, loves and likes. For example, when I'm going on a cruise
there's a couple of things that I absolutely always take with me. I
always take earplugs, I always take eye shades (because you never know how the
curtains will be) and I like sleep when it's nice
and dark and really quiet.
I also like to listen to my own music, so I always bring along a Bluetooth speaker
so I can listen to my music. I know a lot of people who do things like they bring
their own pillow (because they're really fussy about the style of pillow) or they
like to have a white noise device because that helps them sleep really
well. Think about the things that you really like to have around you, and even
when you're traveling you want to have. For some people it's very specific tea
bags or very specific type of coffee. Take those with you and think about
those when you pack. My next tip is around cabin essentials. These are things
that people like to have in the cabin to either make their cruise go smoother or
easier. For me it's very simple, my key cabin essential is a
highlighter pen because I like to get the day program every evening and go
through and highlight the things that I want to do. Other people that I know it's
much more elaborate. For example, I know a lot of people that take those
over the door shoe organizers and they use the pockets to put things like their
sunglasses, flip flops, Sun lotion and different things that they like to
organise and use - particularly if they are in a small cabin. For other people it's
room and door decorations. Think of other things that you would want to have
around in your cabin to just make your cruise go smoother, easier or just more
enjoyable. The next tip is really important and this is around things to
leave behind! There's really obvious things that you shouldn't take
with you like illegal drugs, guns and those kind of things that you know are just
not going to be allowed on a cruise. There are a number of restrictions and
things that you can't take on a cruise that the cruise lines are really strict
about, so for example ,you can't take things with open flames, you can't take
candles and you can't take products like curling irons. Most cruise
lines will not allow you to take a drone. Drones are becoming really
popular and more affordable but there's very few cruise lines that will even let you
bring a drone onboard. There's one or two that will allow you to bring them on
board, but you can't use them on the ship, from the ship or in the port. You have
to take them out when you're on an excursion, but many cruise lines
actually forbid you bring it on board and if they spot that
in the screening either in your hand luggage or your check-in luggage they will
remove that from you. There's a few things that a
lot of people think they need to bring like beach towels. The cruise lines will
have towels that you can use to go out on excursions.The things that you really need
to think about not to bring are things that are specifically restricted by at
the Cruise Line, and they normally quite clear about those in the cruise contract
and the terms, a bunch of things that they don't like you to use on board because
they provide likely a fire risk ( like curling irons and candles) and
then those things that are just going to be illegal and can't be used on board
(drugs, guns, knives). If you have any other great ideas in terms of packing, I'd love
to hear about that. Hope that was helpful and I'd love it if you watch many more
of my Tips For Travellers videos as they're designed to help you make the most of
your precious travel time and money on land, on sea and the rivers of the world.