Tips On Packing For A Cruise!

In a little less than 2 weeks we are heading out for vacation! You may remember me posting about the cruise I was going on for New Years and how we had a less than perfect trip. We missed the whole cruise because of flight cancellations. Luckily the insurance had been bought so we were able to book for another time. You can read that post here. Fast forward almost 3 months later and our trip is finally almost here! We are going with Nick’s parents, his sister and her boyfriend. We have gone on a cruise the past two years with them and they are pretty much my most favorite vacations. They are the epitome of relaxing and I’m surrounded by some of my favorite people. Needless to say work is getting VERY tough right now! I just want it to be here already! On top of all of that, this is the first year we are changing up the boat we are going on AND the destinations. I am so excited to experience new places! We are getting on the cruise from New Orleans so we are flying there first and will actually have almost a full day there as well!

Since we are about two weeks out I’m starting to think about packing! Since last time taught me that you really do need to bring an extra pair of clothes and some essentials I will be doing that for sure! I am also packing a change of clothes because this will be a redeye flight. I want to wear comfortable clothes for the flight but then have something to change into when we get to New Orleans. I like starting to pack early because it gives me time to think about my outfits and change my mind! In December, because we were so busy with the holidays I packed the night before and was so rushed! I felt pretty good about what I had packed but also worried I could have forgot some things. This is what I’m thinking of bringing:

Here are some of my tips for packing for a cruise & some must haves!

Passport! This probably goes without saying but double & triple check you have that baby with you!! They also have a safe in the room which is the perfect place to store that and any other valuables!

Pack for multiple occasions! Depending on the length of your cruise you will have some boat days where you are free to do whatever and some days where you dock at your locations. On the ship days all you really need is a bathing suit or light outfit! Pretty much for the three ship days we have I live in my bathing suit so you really don’t need a ton of extra clothes for those days! At night you go to dinner and they have rules on what you can wear in the dining room. Make sure to pack some nicer outfits for these nights. As for the days you port I would definitely recommend checking the weather but my biggest thing is be comfortable!! I’m usually in shorts and a casual tank top. Minimal is better! Also, if you are doing excursions make sure to read up on them and if they have any regulations like closed toed shoes ect. You can get on and off the boat whenever you want during the day but from my experience we never did that. Once we were off we didn’t get back on till that night so you want to be comfortable.

BUG SPRAY. Depending on where you are going this is CRUCIAL. On our last cruise we went zip lining as one of our excursions. Absolute best experience ever! Except for when we looked down when we were leaving at saw blood spots all over our legs! The mosquitos there were like something I had never seens and gave us welts all over our legs that lasted literally months. I still have scares from them and even though we are going somewhere different this time we will not be making that mistake again! They actually emailed us with the specific kind we should bring and we will be stocking up for sure!

Shoe organizer! I forgot to include this on my list (this is why I start early lol) but this is something new I just heard about! We are sharing a room with his sister and her boyfriend so with 4 of us total it will be a bit crowded. Cruise ship rooms are known to be on the tiny side! A way to help that is to buy a shoe organizer for the backside of the door! You can also put things in there that aren’t shoes! This will be a huge help on keeping the room clean so the little space you have you can actually use!

Books. On the ship you wont be able to use your phone (which is amazing) so we always make sure to bring fun books to read! On the days where we are on the boat all day our favorite thing to do is grab a cabana and lounge all day! Nothing beats lounging and reading a good book.

Workout gear. Yep you heard it right! I will be bringing my workout gear with me. If you have never been on a cruise then let me tell you… FOOD. IS. EVERYWHERE. And really good food at that! With it all being included you also get that buffet vibe where you totally take more than you need and want to try everything! I’m going to be doing a Fitness Friday post to cover my goals for the cruise more but we will for sure be getting in workouts to combat some of that cruise food!

As you can see I am already totally in vacation mode! In the next two weeks I will be doing a couple more posts on cruisin’ so make sure to check those out! I would love to hear if any of you have been on a cruise and what some of your tips are! I feel like every time we go I learn something new! Happy Monday!