What to pack for a family cruise?
Water bottles for all the family and refillable coffee cups; really useful both aboard the ship and on port days. Some ships have dedicated water bottle filling stations, and on all ships you can obtain iced water and tea/coffee any time of day or night in the buffet.
Magnetic hooks and bulldog clips are really useful in your cabin, especially when sailing as a family if you have a lot of clutter! Cabin walls are made of metal so you can position hooks anywhere, to hang possessions, and clips keep paperwork tidy. I also pack a hanging shoe tidy for longer cruises, as it's really handy for keeping all the children's bits and bobs off the surfaces.
Travel adaptors and phone chargers, as applicable.
Seasickness tablets or bands if you think you may need them. You can get tablets at reception or the medical centre though on board if necessary.
An overnight bag for disembarkation morning, to put your nightwear and last-minute bits and bobs in. You usually leave your packed suitcases outside your cabin before you go to bed on the final evening and then collect these from the baggage reclaim hall when you leave the ship on the final day, so an additional small bag is helpful to keep with you. However, a self-disembarkation option is usually also available where you carry off your own cases, and this can be handy if you are travelling light on a short cruise, for example.
As a family we often also take: travel games, pre-packaged snacks for port days, laundry detergent, washing up liquid, pegs, champagne stopper, first aid kit… The joy of taking an ex-UK cruise rather than a fly-cruise is that your baggage allowance is effectively limitless!
