Cruise Packing List

Cruising along on a cruise, to some far off place from the place where you live is my idea of a perfect escapade from the monotony and the drudgery our everyday life has to offer to us. But just as quite a few us would agree with me on this, you would agree with me on the fact that making that list and ticking every item on the list after you come back is very very scary. Nevertheless, if you have a cruise vacation planned up, here is what all you need to have in your cruise packing list.

The Must Have's
This category includes the documents you need for your travel and the allied paper work. If you forget these, you have had it and your cruise or holiday can turn into a nightmare. These are the things you need -

    * Airline tickets or e-ticket confirmation and its copies
    * Cruise documents with its copies
    * Passports and visas and their photo copies (if necessary) or proof of citizenship
    * Vaccination certificate (if required)
    * Driving license and auto insurance card (for renting a car once ashore)
    * An alternative photo ID – in case you don't carry a driver's license
    * Credit cards – remember to call credit card companies before traveling and alert them about your travel plans
    * ATM card
    * Pre-paid phone card
    * Cash or traveler's checks (be sure to keep traveler's checks receipt in a separate location)
    * Scanned copy of the documents and email an electronic copy to yourself so that you can access them from any computer terminal
    * Contact numbers to report lost/stolen credit cards or traveler's checks
    * Emergency numbers at home
    * Currency conversion chart
    * Watch with dual time zones

This was a general list of things you need to carry for a cruise getaway. Now another part of necessary items is coming up. Read more on cruise vacation checklist.

First Aid and other Medicines
First aid is extremely important if you are going out of town, as you never know when would you face an emergency situation. You need therefore a first aid kit. In addition to that, if you or people travelling along with you have been prescribed medicines, those too have to be taken. Let's see what are these.

    * Prescription drugs and any other essential medication in your carry on bag
    * Ear plugs
    * First aid kit (band aids, Q-tips, vaseline, dramamine, antibiotic cream, bandages, anti-diarrheal medication, cortisone cream, aspirin/tylenol/advil)
    * Good hand cleaner
    * Hand-wipes
    * Allergy medication
    * Rubbing alcohol or foot lotion for soothing tired, hot feet
    * Bug spray for keeping mosquitoes at bay
    * Sun screen/sun block and lip sunblock is a must have in a cruise packing list for women

Okay, we have covered almost all the things, however, as it is a cruise and which means you have to travel far and wide, there are some more things which still need to be packed in your cruise packing list (I told you the list goes on and on and on!). Read more on last minute packing tips for cruise vacations.

Toiletries
Although some of the things included in toiletries might be included in first aid and medicines as well, there are many items which are not common.

    * Gravol (if required for motion sickness)
    * Sea bands for sea sickness (or ginger snaps, ginger ale, peppermint tea or candies)
    * Cough drops
    * Vitamins (buy a 7-day pill container - take only what you need)
    * Imodium (diaherra medication)
    * Hand sanitizer in a Ziploc (for shore excursions)
    * Soap or facial cleanser
    * Hand & face lotion
    * Shampoo & conditioner
    * Deodorant
    * Toothbrush, toothpaste & dental floss
    * Mouthwash
    * Comb or brush or both
    * Sun screen; minimum SPF 15 - higher if possible
    * Solarcaine or other sunburn relief
    * Q-tips, cotton balls
    * Baby powder - small size, essential for packing list for cruise with kids
    * Hair spray (non-aerosol) or hair gel
    * Razor, blades & hair remover products (non-aerosol)
    * Nail file, nail clippers
    * Tweezers
    * Scissors

This was a pretty extensive list, but you obviously need not carry each and every item from amongst these things in your cruise packing list. Clothes will solely depend on personal preferences, so they can't be normally generalized, therefore I avoided mentioning that!

The aim eventually is to ensure that you do not face problems whatsoever at all. If you are not going to be in a fix, for example if you do not have hair gel or a sun protection cream, that's totally perfect, until and unless you have a gala time on your cruise and ashore!