Write it down!! This is actually the portExplore Dot Grid notebook now available on Amazon — Whatever you’re planning it helps to write it down!! The new portExplore Dot Grid notebook seen here is available through Amazon

Some people are naturally organized and then there are others who aren't, but there are some who just seem to wilfully exist in a sea of chaos! I had a friend like that, we sailed together for years and he drove me absolutely nuts! Every weekend Richard forgot something and then expected others to bale him out. Sometimes was something pretty unimportant like clean , dry socks but at other times it was something pretty important - the keys were a spectacular fail and we all had to wait on the quayside while he drove the 50 miles home to get them. After a couple of months of this, I got really fed up. I sat him down and we worked to make him a Complete Checklist of everything he needed - it seemed so obvious to me that he existed in a case of total chaos because he tried to totally reinvent the wheel - every weekend! The amount of time and energy he was wasting was ridiculous!

They don’t sell hearing aid batteries here….

I’m telling you this because sorting out Richard with his smart new system of checklists was the point where I found the I loved helping other people help themselves - it was the very beginnings of The Cruise Planner! Now obviously packing for a cruise is completely different and of a different scale, but in a lot of ways it's very similar. You use much the same things on every trip and again, if you forget something, you're going to have to do without it ….or buy it at an extortionate cost from the ships shop or the Medical Centre….. or waste two hours in Monte Carlo trying to find batteries for a hearing aid - not for me, I hasten to add, but for a table companion who'd forgotten hers but who wasn’t going ashore. I have to tell you that I learnt two things … firstly that it would be easier to buy a Ferrari in Monte Carlo than hearing aid batteries and secondly that I really can be a bit too helpful sometimes…

So after years of trial and error I now have this pretty much down to a fine art and I take the same basic kit on every trip, just customising it for the area we’re cruising, the cruise line and the type and length of the trip. If you’re thinking about getting ready for your first cruise then its totally understandable that all the different options it throws up can seem a bit overwhelming- worrying about packing a weeks evening dresses alongside both beach kit and stuff for trekking a mountain path can be a bit mind-blowing. I completely understand that you will need some help with what to take with you and that’s absolutely what I’m about -so the packing suggestions in ‘Getting ready to go” section of The Cruise Planner are there for you and there are some downloadable checklists too - you’ll find both in the SHOP section of this website. But actually a lot of this should be useful to even experienced cruisers too - the idea of planning everything just once and then adapting it should hopefully make sense to everyone!

So planning and preparation is really important for any holiday but especially for a cruise - going back to Richard and his list, visualisation is the key to planning. I made him talk through every single thing he did when he got on board and we wrote lists of all the things he moved backwards and forwards from the boat every week. In the end we made him up a kit, which he used exclusively for sailing - then all he had to do was replace things as he used them.

Cruise Planning should be a piece of cake …

This is pretty much what we do nowadays with cruising, wash bags stay packed and ready to go, items replaced as needed. We have a bag of useful cruise stuff - alarm clock, highlighters, nightlight, corkscrew, champagne stopper, luggage scale, metal straws and so on - that just sits in the suitcase. We also have a ‘bat cave’ - our bag of plug adapters, emergency power packs, spare SD cards and multi chargers - that doesn’t need to be reassembled for every trip. I have my basic lists of various types of stuff that needs collating before packing - clothes, accessories, medications - which I then update depending on where we’re going - obviously there’s no need to take my snorkel and flippers on a New York Transatlantic or two bottles of suntan lotion to see the Northern Lights in December!

Medication - particularly what we think of as ‘over the counter’ medication - is important because it is normally impossible to access on a cruise ship - so make sure you take anything that that you might conceivably need. Don’t pack it ahead as you need to be aware of use by dates - I normally buy new for trips and then use up when we get home. The Ships Doctor and their team in the Medical Centre run an absolutely wonderful service but can turn out to be really expensive - which is why it’s really important to have good travel insurance. The Medical team can be real lifesavers if you need them while you’re onboard but they are not free and they really are best avoided for minor conditions as even needing something as simple as paracetamol will land you with a charge of $60 or more for the time and advice. Seasickness tablets and mild painkillers are usually included in a consultation but often you will also have to pay for any medication or dressings provided.

I Love a packing cube… I don’t always colour coordinate my guide books though ! The link for these below is an Amazon Affiliate link…

To be honest I’m not a great fan of the ‘Top 10 things you need on a cruise’ articles which tend be very broad brush stroke. You could easily end up wasting luggage space on things that you honestly don't need. For example ‘magnetic hooks’ and an ‘over the door’ shoe hanger are probably the most commonly suggested items that you should take and yet I’ve never used either! Possibly you were really tight on space - if four of you were sharing an inside cabin for example - then they might be really useful, but personally I have a feeling that all those things hanging on the walls and door would really irritate me by swinging and banging - especially if it was a bit rough. I prefer to re-purpose our emptied packing cubes ( I’m a HUGE fan of packing cubes) as both a store and a filing system - inside the suitcase and pushed under the bed.

There is no definitive right or wrong about cruise packing- it all depends on where you’re going and for how long! So in The Cruise Planner there is a blank page opposite each list of planning suggestions, which you can then alter and cross out and deface as much as you like - pick out what applies to you & add to it. That way you can curate your own list of exactly what you personally need to take with you.

Chapter 3 - Getting ready to go - amongst other things there are PAGES of customisable checklists!

Saving weight and space is important if you’re flying to a cruise and have to worry about baggage allowances - that’s why we have a luggage scale in our survival kit! I have to admit that even I am happier if we're driving to a port, as I can throw in an extra pair of shoes (or two or three…), but if we’re flying I’m now pretty good at paring things down - even happy doing short break fly-cruise hand baggage only! I have to admit that that, and for hot weather cruises, I'm a huge fan of the Rohan travel clothes. They are very lightweight, dry quickly and fold up without creasing - my husband has a suit that he just rolls into a packing cube - as soon as its hung up its ready to wear again! Cold weather cruises can be tougher to pack for because of the bulk of boots, fleeces and rain jackets - the best advice is to wear the heaviest and bulkiest items to travel in and to think in terms of lightweight interchangeable layers to reduce space for the rest of your clothes. I’m a huge fan of pashmina style silk shawls as scarves for warmth, coverups, pillows, extra blankets, evening shawls..

You will get through more items of clothing on a cruise to a hot destination - either take extra or consider an extendable washing line and some hand wash - often worth the space they take in your luggage. Some but not all ships have self-service laundries and be warned that sending clothes to the laundry can be very expensive. If you think you might want to do this its worth checking in your online Cruise Personaliser for pre-cruise laundry promotions. My best value ever was with HAL - we were taking a three week holiday which finished with a weeks Alaska cruise - the trip included two float plane transferswhicj meant that we were really tight on baggage allowances and couldn’t take too much with us - so we basically arrived on the ship with two suitcases full of laundry. Luckily HAL offer a ‘whole cruise' laundry package which we took full advantage of - I have to admit its the only time I ever went home with a largely cleaned ironed suitcase and all for $49!

Buy the Original portExplorer Cruise Planner here....

Buy a Special Edition ''Cruise Addicts' Planner here...

I hope I’ve given you some insight into why packing for a cruise is a bit different. It needs thinking about and can sometimes be a little tricky but I really don’t want you to worry about it. Just get organised, do your planning, get your Cruise Planner (either the original Pink Version from Amazon or our Special Edition Blue Cruise Addicts version - see links and then have a wonderful cruise and a great time!

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little insight into Cruise Planning. Please share this Blog on Facebook or Twitter so your friends and family can read too or maybe pin it for future reference on Pinterest.

Happy portExploring!

Love Cathy xx

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P.P.S. The other thing in the ‘Getting ready to go’ section of The Cruise Planner that everyone should find interesting is our list of Cruise apps. Our useful, weird and downright quirky collection covers everything from stargazing to ship and wildlife spotting. Downloading the apps before leaving home - while you have still have a fast, reliable wifi connection - gets you get organised with all sorts of useful information but without using the sky-high priced satellite wifi on board!