Packing and Luggage

What to wear?

Tipping

On Board Purchases

Misc. Tips & Advice

Passport Information

Basic Cruise Packing List

An invaluable tip once suggested to me for arriving with wrinkle-free clothing was to place each item on the hanger in a dry cleaner's plastic bag and lay them flat in your suitcase.

Another good item to take along with you might be "Wrinkle-Free," which eliminates creases on all kinds of fabrics.  Dry cleaning, pressing, and washing is available through the cruise line and on some lines self-serve laundry services are available.  A bag will be provided for you to put you clothes in.  Just fill out the form, place your clothes in the bag, leave the bag on your bed and your cabin steward will take them.  It takes one day to get your clothes back.

The worst possible situation would be if your luggage never reached the ship at all!  If you're traveling on an air/sea package, it's the cruise line's responsibility to find it and deliver the bag to you at the earliest possible port.  If you are traveling to your port city the day prior to your sailing date, you won't see your luggage from the time you leave it at the airport until the time you get on board the ship, therefore, it will be necessary to pack on overnight bag.  Also, don't be surprised if it takes several hours for your bags to reach the cabin after you've boarded and if you have the early dinner seating you may want to pack something to wear to dinner in your overnight bag.

On your final evening aboard the ship, you are required to place your packed luggage outside the cabin by midnight.  It's a good idea to pack a small tote bag or carry-on bag for toiletries and cosmetics.

A lot of the luggage looks alike these days so in order to avoid a mix up, it might be a good idea to wrap some brightly-colored electrical tape, yarn or something similar around the handle of your suitcase in order to make it easier to identify.

I try not to pack anything in my suite case that I wouldn’t want to part with such as documents, medication, jewelry, cosmetics, film, camera, etc.  I usually pack these types of items in my overnight bag to be taken with me on the plane. 

Baggage tags can easily be lost, you may want to tape a business card or paper with your name, address and telephone number on the inside of your suitcase.  If there is no way for the airline to identify your luggage then your luggage will be lost forever.

Place bottles containing liquids such as shampoo, lotion, etc. in Ziploc plastic bags, even in hand luggage.  You can purchase 1-gallon & 2 gallon Ziploc bags, large enough to hold just about anything.  Believe me, it’s no fun to open you bag and discover all of your items covered in lotion. 

Daytime Dress:  During the day the casual clothing consisting of sneakers, shorts/pants, T-shirts and hats is perfect.  Really, you can wear whatever you feel comfortable in because there are no restrictions as to what is acceptable.  Even my father’s loud Hawaiian shirts seemed to be accepted by the fellow passengers.

Evening Dress:  On a one-week cruise, there are two formal nights (a lot of men opt for a dark suit in lieu of a tuxedo), one "smart casual" evening and the remaining 4 are casual.  It really doesn't get any fancier than that.  For "formal" evenings, cocktail dresses for women and suits & ties, or tuxedoes for men.  On "semi formal" or "smart casual" evenings, dresses or pant suits for women and jackets for men.  On evenings when suggested attire is "informal" or "casual," sundresses or slacks & blouses for women and sports shirts, & trousers for men.  Shorts and T-shirts are not permitted in the dining room in the evening.

The expected tips are $3.50 per person per day for your room steward; $3.50 for your waiter; and $2.00 for your bus boy.  This adds up to $9 per person, per day.  So in other words, for a 7 day cruise for two people your tips would total $126.  If someone has done an unusually good job or has gone out of their way to provide something you requested you might want to give them a little extra.  On the other hand if you have received poor service as with any other place you may want to withhold a portion. 

Another person they suggest you tip is the maitre d’ but unless he has been unusually helpful and attentive you are not obligated to do anything. 

A 15% gratuity will be added to your bar tab automatically.

If you order wine, it’s customary to tip the sommelier after each order.

It is not necessary to tip the waiters in the alternative dining areas.  I was told the dining room waiters all take a turn working in these areas so the tips given to your dining room waiter/waitress at the end of the cruise also takes care of these waiters.

Tips are given on the last evening of the cruise.  Your cabin steward will leave envelopes in your cabin that afternoon for the tips to be given to the appropriate people at dinner.  It’s a good idea to set aside the money for the tips in the beginning of your cruise so that you are not short at the end of your trip and set aside a little extra for any additional tips you want to include.

I always find it helpful to take plenty of one-dollar bills for tipping the luggage handler, taxi drivers, tour operators, room service, etc.  $50 in one-dollar bills should be fine but it will depend on what type of a tipper you are.

Cash is no longer used on most ships.  Most purchases on the ship are done by using some sort of house charge card including shore excursions, gift shop items, drinks, etc.  In most cases, the charge cards cannot be used in the Casino.  Each person assigned to your cabin is given a card, including children, but you decide weather to activate the card.  If your child’s card is activated he/she is free to make any purchase on board the ship so be sure your child understands this.

The charge card is attached to your credit card (given on the first day of your cruise).  You will be given a receipt for any purchase you make to be compared against your statement at the end of your trip.  On the last morning of your cruise, an itemized statement of your account will be delivered to your cabin for verification.  Upon your approval, your charges will be billed automatically to your credit card.  If you have any disputes with the bill you can bring those to the pursers desk beginning at 8:00 am.  The line is long so allow yourself plenty of time. 

Traveler’s checks may be cashed at the purser’s desk at any time.  It’s a good idea to cash a few travelers checks before each day at an island.

If you are departing from the US then passports are not necessary but I would recommend getting one if possible.  You may use a certified copy of your birth certificate instead of a passport but if you decide to use your birth certificate then make sure it is a certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state and not just a copy (A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office.).  If you are departing from a foreign country then a passport is necessary to enter the country from which the cruise is departing. 

Here is a link to the US Government's Passport Service where you can download a passport application and find other useful information, including what is required for getting a passport, the time it takes to get a passport, cost, the location of your local passport offices, etc.

Here you can find a Request for Birth Certificate which you can use to send in a request for a certified copy of your birth certificate and also a link to a page listing Where to Send for Your Birth Certificate.  The cost is usually $10.

WARNING: Cruise Lines will refuse boarding if you do not have the proper documentation, so I would suggest putting your passport or birth certificate with your cruise tickets so that you don't forget them.