# What to Pack for a Cruise

The complete cruise packing list: documents, day one essentials, formal night, shore days, and the eight things experienced cruisers never sail without.

Canonical: https://www.bookcruises.us/cruise-packing-list/


Pack for a cruise in five layers: documents (passport or birth certificate plus ID), a day one carry-on with swimsuit and medications since checked bags arrive hours late, daywear, one dressy outfit for formal night, and shore gear. Add a power strip without surge protection, magnetic hooks and a lanyard, the three items veterans swear by.

## The day one carry-on rule

The single most useful packing fact: your checked luggage disappears at the terminal and reappears at your cabin between 3pm and dinner. Everything you need for the first six hours must ride in a carry-on: swimsuit (pools open immediately and are empty while everyone else waits for bags), sunscreen, medications, phone charger, documents, and anything you cannot afford to have lost. Veterans board in clothes they can swim under and head straight for the pool deck while first-timers sit in the buffet in jeans.

## The complete checklist

- Documents: passport or certified birth certificate plus photo ID, printed boarding pass, luggage tags, travel insurance card, a photocopy of everything in a separate bag.
- Cabin upgrades: power strip WITHOUT surge protection (surge-protected ones are confiscated), magnetic hooks for the steel walls, over-door organizer, night light, lanyard for your key card.
- Daywear: one outfit per day plus two spares, layers for Alaska, and double the swimwear you think you need since nothing dries in a cabin.
- Formal night: one dressy outfit per formal night (one on short cruises, two on 7 nights). A jacket or cocktail dress covers every line's definition of formal in 2026.
- Shore days: comfortable walking shoes broken in before the trip, a dry bag for beach excursions, small bills for tips and taxis, reef-safe sunscreen (required by law in Hawaii and parts of the Caribbean and Mexico).
- Health: motion sickness remedies even if you have never needed them, basic first aid, all prescriptions in original containers with several days of buffer.

## What to leave home

- Surge-protected power strips, irons, steamers, candles and drones: all confiscated at security.
- Beach towels: ships provide them, including for shore days.
- Hair dryers on most modern ships: check your line first.
- More formal wear than the schedule demands: cabins are small and formal night is one outfit, not a wardrobe.
- Alcohol beyond the boarding allowance (typically one bottle of wine per adult on most lines): the rest is held until the last night.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many outfits do I need for a 7 day cruise?

Seven daytime outfits, five casual evening outfits, one or two formal outfits and two swimsuits covers a week with a small buffer. Laundry packages on longer sailings cut this in half.

### Can I bring drinks on board?

Most lines allow one 750ml bottle of wine per adult and a modest quantity of sealed water or soda at boarding. Liquor is held until disembarkation. Rules vary by line, so check before packing the cooler.

### What is the one thing people always forget?

Sunscreen for day one (in the carry-on, not the checked bag) and seasickness tablets. Ship shops sell both at ship prices.

## Related pages

- [What to wear on a cruise](https://www.bookcruises.us/what-to-wear-on-a-cruise/)
- [Do you need a passport for a cruise?](https://www.bookcruises.us/do-you-need-a-passport-for-a-cruise/)
- [Cruises from Florida](https://www.bookcruises.us/cruises-from-florida/)

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