The day of your cruise has finally arrived and you’re busy packing for your cruise vacation with all the items you believe you need. You begin emptying your entire closet and adding all your favorite items and clothing into that gorgeous designer suitcase you just purchased. Suddenly you’re hit with a dose of reality! You begin to realize that you can’t possibly fit all the desired items into your suitcase. The good news is that you don’t need to bring many items to enjoy a safe and relaxing cruise vacation. Here are a few tips on the essential items you should bring on your next cruise vacation.

Prepare a checklist of all the necessary items you need to bring on your cruise vacation. Using a checklist will reduce the risk of forgetting an important item once you’re aboard the cruise ship. Begin by making a list of items you think you will need while on your cruise vacation. Check with your online travel agent or the cruise line and find out if there are any formal nights on the cruise. If you do not own formal wear, you can rent formal wear from the cruise line. In the alternative, dress clothes such as a dark suit for men, or a cocktail dress for women will be fine.

Review the list several times to verify if you actually do need all of the listed items. Strike off any unnecessary items and keep checking the list until you are confident it contains only the most essential items. Many cruise ships provide self-service laundries and all cruise ships have laundry and dry cleaning services. If you want some adventure, take your laundry off the ship while in port and either wash it yourself, or seek out a full service laundry. This minimizes the risk of leaving behind any required items or bringing unnecessary items that will just weigh you down on your cruise.

Make sure you take all of your medication with you when you’re on a cruise. Although all of the cruise ships contain basic medical supplied and trained medical personnel, they won’t be able to fill your prescriptions. Therefore, you should schedule a visit to your doctor well in advance of your cruise departure date. This will allow you sufficient time to have any of your prescriptions filled. You should also ensure that you have enough medication to last throughout the entire duration of your cruise vacation.

Ideally you should bring outfits and shoes that you can easily mix and match. You may rethink your decision to bring those bright orange stilettos when you’re rummaging through your luggage for comfortable shoes to match your shorts. Choosing several neutral items will allow you to create different outfits with only a few basic garments. This same advice applies to your footwear. Choose COMFORTABLE shoes that will match most of your outfits. You do not want to fill your valuable luggage space with shoes and you certainly do not want to spend your entire cruise hobbling around on blistered feet!

Last but not least, make sure that you carry all the necessary travel documents before you embark on your next cruise. Carry your identification, passport and the other required travel documents in a small document bag. This protects your documents and prevents you from having to open your luggage every time you need them.

Preparing for an exciting cruise vacation can be stressful if you don’t approach it in an organized manner. Therefore, start a checklist of necessary items and make sure it includes medication, mix and match outfits and any necessary travel documents. As long as you bring the above items with you, you’re sure to enjoy your next cruise vacation. If you happen to forget a minor item, there’s no need to worry. You can always purchase it at one of the onboard cruise shops or while you are visiting a port.