11 Little Known Packing Tips For Your Next Cruise

Your cruise is booked, your house sitter is secured, and it's time to start packing for a well-deserved adventure on the high seas. And you've even got a lovely new luggage set to hold everything needed for mornings on the lido deck, afternoons shopping around the port, a night at the casino, that dinner how you have scheduled, and all of the other outfits, shoes, and accessories you could possibly need on your trip. And if you're anything like my family, you would rather risk overpacking than end up at a nice dinner in your sweatpants because you didn't plan for every possibility. It is better to be safe and stylish than sorry, after all.

However, the problem with packing for every occasion is that the more you think about it, the less sure you are that everything will fit in your bags, despite the nagging feeling that you're overlooking something crucial on your packing list. Luckily, the cruise-loving internet has you covered with loads of handy hacks to help squeeze all of your necessary wardrobe changes into your travel luggage. There are even a few suggestions for game-changing additions you'll most certainly want to make room for when you're deciding what to pack for your next cruise. 

As a travel writer, one of my favorite simple pleasures is making a fresh list with a crisp piece of paper and a really good pen, especially when that list is part of my pre-trip planning ahead of a massively exciting vacation. But these days, I always make sure to transfer it into my phone using Google Lens so I don't lose track of everything I've packed (or still have to buy, for that matter) after I fold up my packing list and leave it lying around the house somewhere. A digital list can also be shared with other family members or accessed from multiple devices. Most importantly, it's easy to pull up when you're en route to the airport and it suddenly hits you that you're not sure if you remembered to add your medications, sunglasses, or contact lenses to your cruise packing list. You can never be too sure.

If you really want to elevate your packing list game, you can also pick up a dedicated packing list app on your phone's app store. Some of these apps even offer features like color-coding to organize your packing categories and even let you categorize and save your lists to reference for future vacations. If planning is an integral part of any adventure, this is a must.

This tip is for every cruiser who has ever ransacked all of their neatly packed luggage in search of a small but crucial necessity because they can't remember which pocket of which bag they stashed it in. It works best when you pack twice: Once to make sure everything fits and a second time after unpacking to snap a few photos of each bag's contents. Trust and believe it will be worth it when you find everything you need without turning your stateroom bed into a scene from "Hoarders." Nobody wants that.

To maximize results, lay out the contents of each back on a table, situating the items so you can see everything and ensure all of your luggage is within the frame. So you don't forget which bag you are working with, write a description of the bag on an index card in Sharpie and place it in the photo as well. Depending on the size of the bag and how many pockets it has, you can even take several photos of the same piece of luggage. Then, when you're running late to dinner and can't find my bobby pins, you can just pull up your photo roll and find what you're looking for. As an added bonus, your photos work as time-stamped evidence in case your property turns up missing on the trip, as one Reddit user learned after unsuccessfully trying to claim insurance on a suitcase full of extremely valuable Chanel brushes and makeup.

Digital tracking tags like AirTags or Tile Bluetooth trackers can be picked up for less than $30 and can end up saving you a load of cash if your luggage ends up misplaced or stolen. These brilliant coin-sized location tracking devices can be attached to your luggage or placed inside a suitcase pocket. Some newer luggage even comes with a pocket designed specially for holding them. 

Reddit is full of stories from travelers for whom these small investments have paid off well. As one frequent flier who had been using them for around a year reported, "Few dozen flights, including a baggage lost for 4 weeks, and I was able to track its location for the entire time (over 4 countries and 2 continents), so I knew it was lost and not stolen." On another occasion, they reported feeling grateful for the opportunity to follow the progress of their luggage after missing their connection. Just be sure to secure your tags inside an interior pocket so they won't get lost during your travels.

Who among us hasn't overpacked only to come home with a whole pile of clothing items they never had a chance to wear? Many seasoned cruisers will suggest bringing far less than you think you'll need. One Redditor put it, "Pack what you need. Remove half. Done," with another responding, "Agreed. Half the stuff, twice the cash."

At the same time, if you're one of those folks who truly enjoy glamming it up when you step out or having the right outfit for each special occasion, packing light for your cruise can seem too stoic, if not downright unrealistic. If you'd prefer instead to pack something different to wear for every vibe and cruise party mode from swanky night out to pink pony club slay, the key is to plan your outfits ahead of time and take advantage of the onboard laundry options. Some cruisers even recommend bringing a laundry soap bar for handwashing items in your stateroom.  

List your plans for each day of the cruise to inform your outfit planning. Instead of listing a specific number of pants, shorts, etc., your packing list should instead designate "casino outfit" or "port day outfit." Whenever possible, plan to re-wear pieces in different combinations or try to transition outfits from day to evening by switching up your accessories. Consider using an outfit planning app, and as you're packing, snap a photo of each outfit, accessories and all, so the hard part is done before your trip. 

Many seasoned travelers swear that packing cubes (also known as compression cubes) are the best tool for efficient packing ahead of a cruise because they help you organize your belongings before stowing them in your bags. These smallish, zippered, lightweight fabric cubes or bags serve as a way to compartmentalize everything in your luggage, and many come in exactly the right size to fit a single outfit. Large standard Ziploc-style bags also work in a pinch.

Once your clothing items are stashed conveniently inside, you can zip the compression zipper, eliminating most of the air inside and allowing you to fit even more items in your luggage. And once you arrive in your stateroom, they can easily be transferred into your room's furniture or closet without having to touch the inside of a drawer countless other cruisers have crammed their clothing inside. It doesn't get more convenient than that.

"Honestly I just use compression cubes and have come to terms with overpacking," one Redditor confessed, emphasizing the peace of mind they get from knowing they won't spend the duration of their cruise suffering if something like a pair of sandals gets broken toward the beginning of the trip. "Why not get a little fancy for dinner every night? It's vacation!" Chiming in with support for this method, several cruisers confirmed their love of cruise closet maximalism. "Some folks act like there's a trophy for carry on only," another Redditor wrote, adding, "I'd rather win best dressed!"

Are you planning ahead to do your laundry while you're on vacation? It can be a massively helpful solution for the overpacking conundrum, but you'll still need something to stash your laundry in if you're planning to take a stroll down to the laundry room instead of shelling out for your cruise ship's laundry room service. Even if you don't, it's just nice to have somewhere to store your dirty clothing other than your luggage or nestled in snugly with your clean clothing. 

Enter the pop-up laundry hamper. These magnificent things are available at just about every dollar and discount store under the sun. These typically mesh fabric hampers come with a flexible metal frame that folds flat so they can easily fit in your luggage. 

They're also handy for much more than just dirty laundry. Pop-up hampers with handles make a handy tote for carrying beach supplies on your day at port since the mesh makes it easy to shake sand out of your towels and other belongings when you're packing up. And they work well for shoe storage, too. 

Before you finish packing for your trip, do a quick search online or call your cruise line to learn if your stateroom has metal walls. Many do, and this is a fact that cruise regulars love to exploit with a long list of relatively ingenious ideas for organizing and otherwise customizing their space. Staterooms with metal doors offer a fun and easy way to befriend your neighbors. Some cruisers like to add magnetic decals promoting a favorite hobby or football team, and decorating stateroom doors is a popular way to make Disney cruises even more fun than they already are. It's also a good way to make your room easier to spot in a sea of identical doors. "For drunken nights to easily recognize my door if i forget the #," mused one Reddit user. Just be sure to confirm that door decorating is allowed on your liner first. On the inside of your door, magnets can be used to organize any documents or notes you want to keep track of. 

Magnets with hooks can also be handy for hanging your lanyards by the front door, where you can easily keep track of them or even hang your towels up to dry between uses. Some cruisers even bring magnetic whiteboards so they can leave notes for the steward or each other. The possibilities are endless.

One of the most genius solutions to the limited storage in an RV also works very well for keeping your stateroom tidy. All you need is the type of cheap hanging shoe organizer you can pick up at any big box discount store to stash in your closet. These things are fantastic for all the little things that might otherwise end up lost somewhere in the land of single lost socks, things like your wallet, phones, books, extra chargers, makeup, hand sanitizer, and various small toiletries. And don't forget shoes!

You don't need to pack a full-sized shoe organizer since these tend to take up too much space in your luggage. They also don't necessarily add enough value to cancel out the sacrifice. Instead, just pick up a smaller-sized organizer with six to 12 pockets that's small enough to fold or roll up in your baggage without taking up too much space. 

"I bring the 6 pair organizer," shared one Reddit user. "I use it for stuff I need quickly at hand, sunscreen, cruise card, glasses, Clorox wipes, and I hang it with heavy duty magnet hooks. I hate flat surface clutter and it helps a lot."

It might sound like a cliche, but duct tape really is one of the most infinitely useful things to have in any number of emergencies. My commitment to packing duct tape dates back to the years my husband and I spent camping at music festivals when we'd use it for everything from reinforcing injured sandals to repairing ripped tents. Duct tape can also make an on-the-fly childproofing tool, cover an annoying blinking light in your stateroom, or keep your road-weary luggage together just long enough to make it home. As one Reddit user advised in a thread extolling the virtues of this handy tool, "Duct tape is a traveler's friend!"

The possible uses of duct tape as a cruise rescue tool seem to be genuinely limitless. Heading out for the evening but your little black dress is covered in little gray lint? Tear off a section of duct tape, wrap it around your hand inside out, and you've got a highly effective travel-ready lint remover. One Redditor even used it to cover the impossibly cold air vent in their stateroom. 

If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night in a strange room that's entirely too dark, you know how essential having a good night light can be. This is particularly pertinent for those among us who have less-than-perfect vision and/or coordination. Much like duct tape, small night lights are an absolute must-have to throw into your luggage. 

My family loves to pick up the small round battery-powered night lights that you turn on by pressing. These are great because they don't have to be plugged into anything to work and are very small and lightweight. When you've got family or a cabin full of friends, it's also nice just to be able to use a smallish portable night light when you have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or grab something out of your luggage rather than risk flashing the bathroom light in everyone's face, however momentarily. My teenagers also like to use them to read manga under the covers when everyone else is asleep. 

"How much thought can you possibly need to put into lounging by the poolside?," you might find yourself wondering. Apparently, some cruisers have lido deck activities down to a fine art form. We could all learn a thing or two from them. 

Depending on the time of day, competition for good lido deck chairs can get pretty serious, a problem complicated by the high winds that can blow your seat-saving towel across the deck if you leave it out of sight for a nano-second. That won't be a problem for you if you have the foresight to pack a handful of boca clips, the specialized and typically decorative clips meant to secure beach towels to a chair. 

Another popular lido deck item to pack? Reusable straws since you never know if you're going to end up with paper or sugar straws, both of which tend to degrade poorly when you're nursing a drink. Insulated cups are also popular for similar reasons, with some cruisers bringing more than one to the pool. "I'm a really light packer and I make space for two insulated containers, water and not," shared one Reddit user. Not only will they keep your drinks cold all day, but they won't blow over and spill when you're down to an ounce and the wind kicks up. And when you're not using them to sip Mai Tais, insulated cups can make a good place for stashing breakables while in transit.