Packing for a Cruise Vacation: 10 Items You Don't Even Know You Need

Every cruise passenger knows which essentials to pack: comfortable clothing and shoes, swimwear, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, and film. But to make the most of a cruise vacation, it is important to pack more unique items. Whether your itinerary includes Alaska, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Caribbean, or other exotic destinations, these unique items are easy to pack and will make your cruise all the more enjoyable.

1. Highlighter Pens.

Highlighters are critical for marking must-do items in each day’s events calendar and newsletter. Because each day includes multiple seminars, games, contests, shows, and activities, highlighting the ones you are interested in will help guarantee that you don’t miss out on any of them.

2. Extra Swimwear.

With multiple pools, saunas, and whirlpools on board, not to mention pristine beaches and water sport excursions in nearly every port, having more than one swimsuit is vital to enjoying every relaxing moment in the water without putting on a damp suit. Remember, do not put swimwear on your cabin’s balcony to dry: when the ship is en route to the next port, the 20-30 mph winds will easily toss suits overboard.

3. Plastic Zipper Bags.

These versatile bags are great for any number of uses on a cruise: storing jewelry, keeping small items together inside luggage, keeping cash dry, transporting wet swimwear, or storing a collection of mini beach umbrellas from every drink-of-the-day. Choose both large and small sizes to accommodate a variety of different tasks.

4. Binoculars.

A cruise is all about sightseeing, from watching dolphins dance alongside the ship and picking out landmarks as your ship glides into port to visiting great vantage points on different shore tours and watching other passing ships at night. A good pair of binoculars will help you take in all the sights without missing any detail of your vacation.