I recently went on my first cruise this last January. We took advantage of our fresh round of vacation days for the year and scored a 7 day cruise of the Caribbean: Cozumel, Belize City, and Roatan, Honduras. It was a blast!

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0648. — With “Faster to the Fun”, we were literally the first ones in the hot tub…and we had it to ourselves for an hour and a half!

Since this was my first time on a Cruise, (and since I am a researching, list making fool) I spent many hours searching Pinterest, blogs and youtube about what to pack. I found some really great tips out there in my many hours of reading, and by the end of my searching I had compiled the almighty List of things I was going to need! As we began our packing, my husband and my conversations went a little something like this:

Husband: “Do you really think we’re going to need a box of tissues?”

Me (slightly offended by his obvious lack of knowledge on the subject): “Yes! 3 different blogs told me I would regret not bringing my own!”

Husband: “Well how many bloggers told you to bring a bungee cord?”

Me: “We’ll be really glad we did when we can prop our balcony door open!”

Husband: “What about-?”

Me: “Just let me do the packing.”

And so, with me doggedly sticking to my guns, the List of things we would need was checked off in its entirety. Unfortunately, in a little under 2 hours on board, I realized just how many things on my list were unnecessary. Tissues were present in the room (how could 3 different blogs have suggested that??) and to be quite honest, I never once felt the urge to bungee cord the door open on my balcony.

View from my balcony - no need for a bungee cord when I can just sit outside! — View from my balcony – no need for a bungee cord when I can just sit outside!

To his credit, I really do not remember many “I told you so’s” from the other half…more like a comment once or twice along the lines of, “Oh man, I sure am glad we brought this bungee cord!”

Moral of the story: Keep it simple. Do your research and make a list, but ask yourself often this question: “Is this practical?”

Practical Guide on What to Bring:

Power strip: I would say this was the most useful and practical thing that I brought. Bottom line? The rooms just don’t have enough power outlets. Even without the constant use of cell phones and our computer I still had almost every slot on that little baby filled. This is one you will actually be glad you brought.
Comfortable shoes. Note: comfortable and fashionable are not always the same thing. Sure ladies, we all know the importance of having cute feet, but if your shoes aren’t comfortable, your feet will be hurting before the first late night show. I can’t tell you how many miles I must have walked on that ship in my 7 days on board, but I can tell you I wished several times a day that I had brought my “old reliables” over my new, non-broken-in-but-aren’t-they-the-most-adorable sandals.
Dramamine (or Scopalamine patches): If it’s your first cruise, I super suggest picking up Dramamine to have on hand just in case. Remember, it’s best taken before signs of nausea show up. Scopolamine is a prescription patch that goes behind the ear, and would be a better option if you already know you are going to feel sea-sick. I personally thought I would have no problems getting my sea legs…but I was wrong. I felt super sick the whole first day. It wasn’t until I took some Dramamine and got some food in my system that I finally felt better. After that, I preemptively took Dramamine the rest of the trip and didn’t have any other problems. You have spent way too much money on this vacation to be sick the entire time or even at all, so do yourself a favor and get some Dramamine before leaving. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Water bottle for each member of your party: This was another very practical bit of advice that I was glad I took. The cruise we were on put water bottles in our room, but they were not free, and they were not cheap. Of course, you could bring a case of water bottles, but who wants to lug that around the terminal and then carry it to the room? By bringing our own water bottles, we always had water on the ship, but more importantly we had water on our excursions. You will be glad you planned ahead and brought these when you’re laying in the sun on the beach in Mexico!
Backpack or tote bag: These are great when you go into your port cities. They allow you to carry the belongings you need and they give you an easy way to carry back all your souvenirs! Make sure they have a pocket with a zipper to keep your important documents secure, such as your ID and your ship’s card.
Hand sanitizer: Cruise boats are FILLED WITH GERMS. Think of all the people from all around the world that are cooped up together on the boat all week. Then think about how when those people disembark, another group of people embark…often on the same day. With all the room cleaning the staff has to do in the few hours in between, do you really think they sanitize the hand rails of all the stairs? Let me put it this way, there’s a reason the ship has hand sanitizer stations all around. Use them, and then carry your own to use in between. It doesn’t hurt anything, and you don’t want to come down with a stopped up nose the day before you have a scuba diving excursion. (yes, that’s real life experience talking!)
Advil/Tylenol, Dayquil, Immodium A/D, etc: These are things you may bring and might not need, but if you do need them you’ll be glad you brought them versus buying them for an incredibly marked up price at the on-board store.
A Watch: This is not only good for when you are onboard planning your events around getting ready for dinner, it’s a must have when you are in your port cities. There are specific times that you have to be back on the ship, and keeping a watch versus using a cell phone will ensure you are on the same time as the ship’s time.
Lanyard with a plastic card holder: I didn’t personally need a lanyard because every outfit I wore had pockets. However, if you have a lot of outfits that don’t have pockets, a lanyard would be useful to keep your card on you at all times. On a cruise ship, your card is your life! It’s your room key as well as how you pay for things, and on the cruise I went on you couldn’t get back onto your ship from port without it! So go the extra mile to make sure you can have it with you at all times!
Post-it notes and/or walkie talkies: This suggestion is really just for people in large parties or parties that have more than one room. You would be surprised how little you will see other people in your party without coordination. I was in a group of 20, and I would go some days without seeing a few of them even once! I even spent 7 hours another day wondering where my parents were and they were staying in the room right next to me! Remember on cruises you do not have cell phone service. Walkie talkies can help you keep in touch with members of your party throughout the trip. Some people left post it notes saying what they planned to do and at what time so others could join if they wanted as well. If you actually want to see the people you came on this trip with, coordination is key!

I’m going to spare y’all the suggestions like clothes, toiletries and important documents…I’m hoping those items are gimmies.

View from the back of the ship...or as a Navy man told me (aka, my pop), the "Aft" — View from the back of the ship…or as a Navy man told me (aka, my pop), the “Aft”

I do have a couple of suggestions though, that are not directed toward packing:

Get Faster to the Fun: This is something you can buy where you buy your excursions. Faster to the Fun is offered at select times and to a limited number of people. This allows you to board first, moves you to the front of the line in areas from the customer service desk to boarding tender boats to port. It also allows you to be among the first to disembark, which gives you a short wait time and the cherry pick of taxi’s. A friend of mine suggested this to me and I was glad many times over that I invested in it! It’s how I was the first person in the hot tub and actually had it all to myself!
Pack so that you can carry it all on: My husband and I packed so that we could just carry our own luggage on. In saying that, we also bought Faster to the Fun, so we didn’t have to lug it around the terminal for very long. I liked that I never had to wait for my luggage to get to the room, and when I disembarked, I didn’t have to wait for luggage transport to leave. It felt very efficient.
Get involved with on-board activities and shows. The Fun Days at Sea can either be fun and entertaining or make you feel like you are on a rat wheel, walking to and from the same areas of the ship with the cold realization that you still have 5 hours until you can get ready for dinner. Get involved with all the fun things they have for you to do to beat the boredom.
Take advantage of the dining room and restaurants. If you are cheap like me, you may not opt for the restaurants on board that charge extra, but at least take advantage of the dining room every evening. (Also, know that you can dine in the dining room for breakfast on Sea Days. I found that out on the last sea day…it was a tragedy to know that I had missed out on that for 2 days) The dining room experience is the equivalent of eating at a 5 star restaurant, and it’s included in the price you already paid! You can order as many appetizers, entrees or desserts that your little heart desires – no extra cost! Don’t let that opportunity go to waste. You deserve to pig out on high quality cuisine.
Take the stairs often. Did I mention how many opportunities there are to stuff your face? My husband and I took the stairs everywhere we went. I can honestly say that on my 7 day cruise, I used the elevator 3 times. Was I a little sore the first couple of days? Yes. Am I suggesting you use the elevator only 3 times? No. I’m just saying that a little sweat on a ship that might as well be called “The Glutton of the High Seas” might not be the worst thing that happens on the cruise. Not that I’m complaining about food being thrown at me from every turn. I’m just saying.
Look up your ship beforehand. Those of you who are like me and like to research the crap out of trips, you should look up your ship beforehand. I found a deck plan of my ship, and youtube videos of an identical room to mine as well as a video that walked around the entire ship. It helps for those of you who like a visual, and it helped me feel like I knew where I was going when I first boarded!