Taking a cruise is a great way to vacation. But there’s no arguing that if you don’t pack the right items, then things can go south in a hurry.
No, forgetting to pack towel clips or a good bag for heading to port isn’t likely to ruin your entire trip. However, it can put a crimp on your cruise. After all, when you’re in the middle of the ocean, it’s a little hard to run out and grab something that you forgot.
While you can find many of these items in the ship’s store, expect to pay well above what you would back home. For that reason, it’s much smarter to be sure to bring them with you instead of having to buy them if you forget to pack them. Cruising without them can be just awful.
Sunglasses
No matter where you cruise, a pair of cheap sunglasses are a must. Sure you can go pricey, but we like not having to worry if we lose or scratch ours.
Now, let’s be clear that sunglasses can be anything but cheap. A pair of Ray-Bans can set you back hundreds of dollars. But many of us (including myself!) have sunglasses that are significantly cheaper. For instance, we wear a pair of Goodr brand glasses that are just $25. And prior to that, we would wear a pair of cheap sunglasses bought from CVS for about $15.
We prefer cheap sunglasses because we find them easy to forget, lose, or scratch. If that happened with a pair of expensive lenses, then we wouldn’t stop kicking ourselves.
And of course, sunglasses are a must have on a cruise. From the sun to the reflection off the water, you can get bright UV rays from all angles. We can’t imagine taking a cruise without them.
Port Bag
We like to use a lightweight backpack like this one. It makes it easy to carry everything without taking up a lot of space. We can fit two pool towels in here for heading to shore.
One of the best purchases we’ve made for a cruise is something that costs only $15. These lightweight bags are smaller than a traditional backpack, but still large enough to put in a couple of towels, sunscreen, and other items you might need for port. It also has a separate pocket where we put our keycard so that it’s easy to find when needed.
What we like is that it’s so small and light that you can pack it without it taking up hardly any room, though we almost always use it as a carry-on. Also because of the material, it dries quickly if it gets wet. You can see this bag here on Amazon.
Dramamine
Dramamine is inexpensive. Even if you don’t normally get seasick, packing some just in case is a smart idea so you have it should the need arise.
We’ve gone on the record to say that overall cruises are fairly smooth and you’re unlikely to get seasick. Of the dozens of trips we’ve taken and literal months at sea, there’s maybe been a handful of days that it’s been rocky enough to cause seasickness.
Even so, some people are more sensitive to motion than others. Since you can’t predict what the weather will be like it makes sense to always bring Dramamine or some other motion sickness remedy. Yes, they will be available on the ship but the last thing you want is to need it when the shop is closed.
Towel Clips/Bands
Inexpensive towel clips are great to pack for a cruise. They keep the wind from whipping at the corners of your towel. There are also bands we see people use that seem like a smart item.
Towel clips are dirt-cheap, but worth their weight in gold. Many people don’t think about it, but when the ship is underway, it can go up to 20 mph. If traveling into a breeze, the wind is amplified. Trying to relax on a towel placed on a lounger means it might be whipping around constantly.
Instead, towel clips like these can keep it secure against the chair and help you keep your sanity. Lately we’ve seen people opting for towel bands that are essentially a large rubber band that goes around the width of the chair to hold the towel instead of a clip. We actually think the bands might be even better.
Drinks
Want an easy way to make six times your money? Bring a 12-pack of soda on your cruise.
Most cruise lines allow you to bring on a small quantity of non-alcoholic drinks. So if you want a 12-pack of Coke to have during the cruise, then bring it on. It’s well worth it to do so.
Consider that a 12-pack of soda might cost $7 at the grocery store. But on the ship, sodas are between $3-4, plus gratuity of roughly 20%. So that same 12-pack is worth at least $45 onboard.
In other words, you’ll pay at least six times as much — and possibly more — if you forget to pack drinks.
Sunscreen
We’ve sailed a lot but on our most recent cruise, we made a completely dumb mistake by forgetting to bring sunscreen. It just so happened to slip our mind while packing and we didn’t realize it until that first sunny day at sea when we had to be sure to cover up to avoid being burned.
Once in port we made a beeline to a local shop to grab the smallest tube of sunscreen we could find, which cost a staggering $12 for a tiny bottle.
In more ways than one we wish we had just remembered to pack a bottle.
Sound Machine App
Our favorite app on our tablet isn’t Facebook or Netflix. It’s a free app simply called “Bedtime Fan” that is a lifesaver.
Normally we sleep with a box fan on for white noise. To us, the sounds of the ship — especially people walking by your door in the hallway in the middle of the night — can keep us up. Instead, the app just plays a gentle white noise that drowns out most other sounds and makes it easier to get to sleep.
You can also bring an actual sound machine but we like the app because it doesn’t take up any space or require a plug.
An Old Keycard
Lights like these require a card inserted in order to operate. But it’s too easy to accidentally walk out without your card. Bring an old one and you can
If you’ve taken a cruise before, then you likely kept your room keycard as a souvenir. They are also something we suggest packing.
Many ships are built with energy-saving features. This includes light switches in the cabin that require your keycard to be inserted in order to work. So if you don’t put in your card, the light will only stay on for a moment before turning off automatically.
It can be a hassle but it’s also easy to walk out the room with your card inserted, only to have the door close behind you, locking you out. Instead, putting in an old card and leaving it means you don’t have to worry about this song and dance at all.The post 8 Inexpensive Things That Are Awful to Cruise Without first appeared on Cruzely.com.
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