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Cruise packing differs from other travel in three ways: there is a formal night dress code on most lines, cabins lack storage and outlets, and cruise lines confiscate a specific and non-obvious list of items at the terminal — including power strips with surge protection, irons and, on most lines, your own alcohol.
Key Travel Facts & Insights
Most major cruise lines run at least one formal or "dress-up" evening on a week-long sailing. Standards have relaxed considerably — smart-casual is acceptable on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian — but Cunard and some luxury and longer voyages still expect a jacket and tie or equivalent.
Main dining rooms generally enforce a no-swimwear, no-tank-top, no-flip-flops rule at dinner on every line, formal night or not. The buffet does not.
This list is worth reading before you pack, because these items are removed at the terminal security scan and either held until the end of the cruise or disposed of.
Standard cabins are small and have remarkably few power outlets, often two for the whole room. A non-surge-protected USB charging hub solves this and is permitted; a surge-protected power strip is not.
Cabin walls are steel, so magnetic hooks are genuinely useful for hanging hats, lanyards and damp swimwear. An over-door shoe organiser is a widely used trick for bathroom storage, which is minimal.
Carry all prescription medication in the original labelled container, in your hand luggage, with enough for the sailing plus several extra days in case of an itinerary delay. Ships have a medical centre but it is expensive and stocks a limited formulary.
Onboard medical treatment is billed to your account at rates comparable to private care and is not covered by most domestic US health insurance at sea. This is one of the strongest arguments for a travel insurance policy with medical and evacuation cover on any cruise.
Not a surge-protected one — every major cruise line confiscates these at terminal security because they present a genuine fire risk on a ship's electrical system. A non-surge USB charging hub or multi-port charger is permitted and solves the same problem, since cabins often have only two outlets.
Most major lines permit a limited quantity of wine or champagne brought aboard at embarkation, typically one or two bottles per cabin, sometimes with a corkage fee if consumed in a dining venue. Spirits are prohibited on essentially every line, and beer on most. Anything confiscated is generally returned at the end of the sailing.
Most week-long sailings have at least one formal evening. Standards have relaxed — smart-casual is acceptable on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian — but Cunard, luxury lines and longer voyages still expect a jacket and tie. Main dining rooms enforce no swimwear, tank tops or flip-flops at dinner on every line.
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