New to cruising? Here are some things you don’t want to forget!

1. Magnet hooks.  The walls of your cabin are typically metal so these hooks are useful for hanging your swimsuits, hats, toiletry bags and so much more!
2. Badge holder. On the ship you typically receive a plastic credit card-like badge. This is how you pay for things on the ship, get into your room, and typically they are needed everywhere. Some people like to put it on a lanyard. I get tired of the lanyard hanging around my neck so I purchased some clip on badge holders like these— Amazon.com : Retractable Badge Holders, Cute Nursing Badge Reel, Badge Clip ID Card Holders (3pack Pretty Marble) : Office Products.  They are easy to take off and hand to the bar tender or store cashier when you make a purchase. Sometimes at Customer Service they will punch a hole in it for you. Some ships, however, cannot have holes in the badges as it would disrupt the chip inside that makes it work. For those you need the clear plastic holder along with the badge holder, like this–Amazon.com : Selizo 5 Packs Metal Retractable Badge Reels with ID Badge Holders Heavy Duty Keycard Holder with Key Chain Belt Clip : Office Products  (I don’t get any money for you clicking these. I’m just showing you what I’m talking about.)
3. Motion sickness patch or medicine. I haven’t actually used it in the past three years, but I like to have it on hand just in case. If you get car sick, chances are you might get seasick so packing a little of this is not a bad plan.
4. Aspirin, Ibuprofen etc.  Make sure you have a few pain relievers on hand. You don’t want to have to buy the expensive ones on ship or in port.
5. Pump hand soap.  On the ship they do offer the hotel-type bar soap.  But how gross does that get in a couple days?
6. Thank you notes. Everyone likes to be appreciated. We like to tip our room steward, head waiter and assistant waiter a little extra and the ship never seems to provide enough envelopes. I purchase some Dollar Tree note cards and then I can write a brief note. Bring a pen or two as well.
7. Extra phone charger cord. Never hurts to have an extra. Especially if you forget the one you meant to bring. (This might or might not have happened to me.)
8. Band aids. A couple band aids are always good to have if your shoe starts rubbing on your heel or maybe you get a small cut.
9. Tide pen/Tide wipes. When you get a little something on your shirt these sure come in handy for clean-up.
10. Fold up, hand held fan. Women over 50, you know why. I like the little disc fans that fold up and fit in my pocket.  Amazon.com: Redbaker 24 Pcs Church Fans Church Foldable Hand Fan Church Foldable Flying Disc Fans Handheld Fan Foldable Folding Fan for Church Services (For I Know) : Home & Kitchen
11. Clear rain poncho. You can get these cheap many places like Walmart. I’ve even found them at thrift stores. They come all wrapped in a tight, tiny package. Perfect for throwing in your suitcase. If you’re cruising to Alaska or Canada you just might needs these when you’re walking around port if it rains. The hood can be pulled up and maybe you won’t need an umbrella to carry while also trying to carry any purchases and going in and out of shops.
12. Wrinkle release. You cannot take irons or clothes steamers on most cruise ships, but there are small bottles of wrinkle release spray in the travel-sized items at Walmart and other places.
13. Small dry-erase board. It’s nice to have a small dry-erase board to hang on the front of your door to post messages so your spouse or others traveling with you know where you are. Some ships do not have messaging available on their app and their wifi is spotty at best so you may have to result to old-school, written messages.
14. Small night lights. These are great to put in the bathroom so you don’t have to turn on the main light during the night.
15. Sunscreen. I found a tiny tube of sunscreen in the travel section at the grocery store. Just the right size for traveling and all you need unless you plan to be in the sun a lot.
16. Plastic trash bag. If you bring a 13 gallon trash bag you have a place to put all your dirty clothes.
17. Poo-pourri. This is necessary for the bathroom because you gotta share and you know…     Amazon.com: Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray, Fresh Sea Salt, 4 Fl Oz – Sea Salt, Bergamot and Eucalyptus : Home & Kitchen
18. One dollar bills, or fives.  These are useful for tipping shuttle drivers and others.
19. Lip balm with sunscreen.  Lips are sensitive so it’s a good idea to protect them.
20. Small fan. If you need fan noise to sleep you might want to purchase a tiny foldable fan to bring. I use this one at home and it has 3 speeds and plenty of noise and breeze. (Again, I’m not making anything from you clicking on this. Just showing you the one I use.) Amazon.com: SmartDevil Small Personal USB Desk Fan,3 Speeds Portable Desktop Table Cooling Fan Powered by USB,Strong Wind,Quiet Operation,for Home Office Car Outdoor Travel (Navy Blue) : Home & Kitchen

I keep all my items packed in a Mary Kay roll up bag, like this- Mary Kay® Travel Roll-Up Bag (unfilled) | Mary Kay.   It has four pockets so I can separate the items and the pockets Velcro on so if I need to put a pocket in the checked bag while the others are in a carry on this is easy to do.  My husband and I cruise two to three times a year so I just put this in the suitcase and all the random things we might want are right there. Happy cruising!