The Crucial Cruise Carry-On Bag

Most people would never consider flying without a carry-on bag filled with necessary items to get them through a flight.  Cruising should be no different.  After all, once you hand over your luggage to the porter at the pier, you won’t see it again until late that afternoon or possibly not until that evening.  There are always items that should you should have immediate access to at all times.  There are several other items that will just help you jump start your cruise vacation.   Here’s a list of my “crucial cruise carry-on” items. I carry them in the beach bag that I will also use when hanging out at the pool or when I’m in port.

Boarding pass, identification, credit card and / or cash: Without these items you may not even make it on board!

Cell Phone and other electronics:  Ha ha!  Does anyone ever separate themselves from their phones…ever?  That’s how I feel about my Kindle, too.

 

Prescription medication: It’s so critical to have access to your meds.  There’s no guarantee your bags will arrive in time for your next scheduled dose, or that they will arrive at all.

Eye Glasses: I carry both prescription readers and prescription sun glasses. Hubby keeps his contact lens solution on him too. 

Makeup, hair brush and tooth brush: I can’t risk not having these items with me.

Swim Essentials:  I always pack my swimsuit, flip flops and sunscreen so I can jump start my tan. It may be the only time all week where I have my choice of lounging anywhere I want!  The pools will be empty enough to swim laps and the hot tubs will often be deserted for those first few hours.  I also pack a large plastic bag in case I want to change out of a wet suit.

Change of Clothes:  Even though it’s perfectly acceptable to go to dinner on the first evening in your travel clothes, I prefer not to. A cute t-shirt dress rolls up nicely, weighs nothing and fits in my carry on tote.

Jewelry:  I don’t travel with good jewelry, but it’s worth mentioning for those that do.