THE ULTIMATE CRUISE PACKING LIST!

**CRUISE PACKING LIST including breakdown by excursions!!**

Here are all the things I brought on our 7 day Caribbean cruise, and some things I *wish* I brought!

Be sure to check out my “must pack” items in case you get sun burned!  And no, I’m not just talking about aloe :)

Obviously packing will vary based on activities you plan on doing on your cruise.  We were very active, and had a wide range of excursions so had to accommodate many different things.  Below, I’ve posted a big list of ALL THE THINGS, and then break it down by what I particularly found helpful on each specific excursion (be sure to check out the links next to each excursion listed below for more details on the fun!)

 

THE ULTIMATE CRUISE PACKING LIST!

Clothing (women’s) –> KEY = mix & match outfits 

Carnival Fascination
Adventures on the Carnival Fascination
    • Spaghetti strap shirts (3)
    • Tank tops (2)
    • T-shirts (2)
    • Sweater
    • Fleece jacket
    • Rain jacket
    • Sundresses (2)
    • Beach cover-up
    • Long maxi dresses (2) (Mine were both from Stitch Fix!)
    • Cotton beach pants(1)
    • Skinny jeans (1)
    • Athletic shorts (2)
    • Dressy shorts (1)
    • Pajamas
    • Scarf
    • Belt
    • Swimming suits (3 – mix & match bikinis)
    • Rash guard
    • Socks, underwear, bras – enough for entire trip + some (I tended to change outfits several times a day depending on if we were swimming or other activities)
    • Formal dress (2) – check your specific cruise to see how many elegant dinner nights there are.  Ours had 2
        • Believe it or not, I ordered BOTH my dresses on Amazon, and LOVED them!  It’s hard to find clothes that fit, and they both fit like a glove (links on pictures below, the red sequin dress was my favorite! the picture doesn’t do it justice)
      Gorgeous red sequin dress! (other colors available)
      Purple, one shoulder dress for formal night


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Be sure to change up these lists based on length of trip, type of activity, and if you plan on doing laundry part way through your trip*

 

Shoes

  • Tennis shoes
  • Water shoes (I didn’t bring specific water shoes, but it would have been nice!)
    • My husband liked his shoes which were similar to this pair
  • Flip flops/shower shoes
  • Dressier sandals
  • Dress shoes/heels
    • Cloth shoe bag for protection

 

Cameras

  • Underwater camera
      • My favorite underwater camera I’ve owned so far (but had to be retired)
      • The underwater camera we used this trip (a rushed purchase, but actually worked better than I expected)
      • These are the three higher quality cameras I’m looking into getting for our next trip (photos are links):

  • Regular camera
  • Cell phone
  • Bring chargers, extra batteries, & extra memory cards for everything

 

Accessories

(Photos are links)

  • Power strip (check your cruise lines regulations to verify specific requirements)

  • Towel clips
  • Folding hangers
  • Magnets/magnetic hooks
  • Travel alarm clock

 

Medicine cabinet items

to consider:

  • Wrist bands for motion sickness

  • Motion sickness prevention pills
  • Allergy medication
  • Antacids
  • Anti-diarrheal
  • Band aids
  • Neosporin (or similar type product)
  • Nail clippers
  • Tooth brush, tooth paste, dental floss, mouth wash
  • Sunscreen – bring enough!
  • Bug spray
  • Aloe
  • Contacts/solution/glasses
  • Makeup
  • Chap stick with SPF protection
  • Hair conditioner & products

 

MISC.

  • Febreeze (travel size)
  • Air freshener cake
  • Highlighter (there are a lot of paper itineraries, highlighting events to attend helps stay on schedule, also downloading the cruise app helps too!)
  • Extra duffle bag –> room for more souvenirs on the way home!
  • Hat
  • Sunglasses
  • Zippered tote bag
  • Small backpack
  • Refillable water bottle
  • Wrist watch (even better if it’s waterproof!)
  • Passport cover (who doesn’t love to travel in style?!)
  • Fabric shoe bag to keep everything nice
  • Waterproof money case (we had something similar to this)
  • Travel journal
  • Vacuum pack bags
  • Extra ziplock and plastic bags (varying sizes)
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Jewelry/accessories

 

Carnival provided towels we could use off the ship.  Just be sure to bring them back or you’ll be charged $22 for each!

SPECIFIC  SHORE EXCURSION PACKING GUIDES

(Click trip title links for more details about our adventures on these excursions)

St. Thomas: Kayak/Hike/Snorkel excursion

  • Water shoes, such as these:  (I have a pair similar to this (pic is link), and my husband has Teva’s, we both like ours)
  • Small backpack/zippered tote bag to carry everything (they had a locked cupboard area to store items before we departed)
  • Towel (from ship if provided)
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses (+/- neck strap, they did provide these while I was there)
  • Swimsuit
  • Change of clothes (if desired)
  • Waterproof money case (we had one similar to this)
  • Shore excursion tickets
  • Money for souvenirs & to TIP the guides!
Kayaking - St. Thomas, USVI
Kayaking

 

Barbados: Harrison’s Cave ECO-Adventure

  • Closed toed shoes
  • Wear old clothes (they’ll get stained!)
  • Bring a COMPLETE change of clothes, including underwear & shoes
  • Waterproof/durable camera
    • Some people used cell phones for photos, and on our tour the guides put them in a dry bag when we’d be going in areas that they may get wet, I like to play it safe and just go with the waterproof camera though.
  • Towel
  • Shore excursion tickets
  • Money for souvenirs & to TIP the guides!
Barbados - Harrison's caves
Barbados – Harrison’s caves

 

St. Lucia: Snorkel between Pitons

  • LOTS of sunscreen! (& reapply after you snorkel!  I got soooo sun burned, eek!)
  • Towel
  • Hat/sunglasses
  • Waterproof camera
  • Backpack/tote bag to carry everything
  • Waterproof money case (we had one similar to this)
  • Shore excursion tickets
  • Money for souvenirs & to TIP the guides!
St. Lucia - snorkel between the Pitons
St. Lucia – snorkel between the Pitons

 

 

St. Kitts: Top 10 & St. Martin/St. Maarten: Top 10

  • Camera, +/- video camera
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat/sunglasses
  • Shore excursion tickets
  • Money for souvenirs & to TIP the guides!
St. Kitts - Top 10 island tour
St. Kitts – Top 10 island tour

 

Sunburned?!  OUCH, be sure to pack this:

Nobody PLANS on getting sunburned… but it’s smart to throw some aloe in your bag in case you are… but you know what else came in handy when I got a bad burn?  My Maxi dresses! They were long, and both had short sleeves which covered most of the “typical” burn areas.  I got both of my dresses through **Stitch fix**  If you haven’t given that a try yet, use my referral link :)  I also purchased a super cute pair of flowy cotton pants from the cruise ship gift shop (they were Billabong brand)  these were AMAZING, because they’re so lightweight, I wore them instead of shorts one day to prevent more sun damage to my legs.

 

This post includes affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *