Your cabin on the cruise ship is literally your home away from home. While there are thousands of people all around the ship, your cabin is the one place where you can close the door and the world goes away.
It’s also where you’ll sleep, get ready for the day, relax after a long day in port, and more. And it’s where you’ll be night after night on your cruise. That’s why bringing items to make the room more comfortable, organized, or that just make cruise life easier is a smart idea.
Having been on dozens of cruises over the years, we’ve gotten an idea of what you can pack with you for your cabin to make your cruise better. Below, we cover some suggestions of what you might want to bring.
Note: The links to Amazon used below are affiliate links. Should you make a purchase, we receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
Portable Fan
Here’s the thing about cruise cabins — just like hotel rooms, they don’t offer a fan. The air conditioner moves air, but we’ll be honest that sometimes we’re not so sure the thermostats actually control anything. It can be turned as low as possible and the room can still feel warm for hours. Then later on, it can suddenly feel like an icebox.
That’s why bringing a portable fan is smart. You want something small that can fit in your luggage (or be easily carried) but anything that can offer a little directed breeze can make the cabin more comfortable.
As a bonus, it can also provide some white noise at night to help you sleep.
Magnetic Hooks
You’ve likely heard that you should pack magnetic hooks on your cruise. There’s a good reason. These hooks can attach practically anywhere (the walls and ceiling of your room are actually metal) and provide a place for hanging anything you want.
We like to use them to hang swimsuits or put them by the door to hang ballcaps or lanyards. It keeps things from cluttering up the limited space in the cabin and you can also take them down and reposition them if you want. Best of all, they are inexpensive on Amazon.
Cabin Night Light
The good news is that cruise lines are getting a little better about having some small light in the cabin for nighttime. Some ships have a dim setting on the bathroom light to where even if it is switched off, it still glows. When you close the door, it offers a small amount of light underneath to see by. Other ships have started to use motion detection that turns on a small light under the dresser to get around the room.
But most cabins have nothing. And when you turn out the lights (especially in an interior room), you can’t see a thing. That’s why packing a small night light for the cruise cabin is a smart idea. We like the ones that feature a sensor so they turn on only when the lights are out.
Air Freshener/Toilet Spray
Take an already small cabin that’s less than 200 square feet, and then add in a bathroom. Yeah, if you’re worried about smells, then you’re right to be concerned. And it’s not just the bathroom smells. If you bring food into the cabin, then you have the smells linger as well.
Bringing some air freshener is a smart idea. They can come in small bottles so they don’t take up much space in your luggage. Poo-Pourri has also become popular (costs just a few bucks online). This is sprayed directly on the water in the toilet to create a layer that traps smells.
No matter what you bring, you’ll just be happy you have it when the need arises.
Over-The-Door Shoe Organizer
One unusual thing that we’d suggest packing is a shoe organizer. You can find these for cheap on Amazon and they are packed flat to where they take up practically no room in your luggage.
But once on the ship, they can be invaluable. Unfold and hang it over the door and you now have a wall of pockets for storing and organizing. We find this perfect for all those little things that normally clutter up the desk area of the cabin. Items like sunscreen, sunglasses, lip balm, flip-flops, belts, and charging cords fit perfectly here.
Even better than clearing up clutter, it puts these small items all in one place so you don’t have to go hunting for them.
Outlet Adapter
First the good news — if your ship was built in the past decade, then it should be good on having enough outlets for you to plug in everything from phone chargers to night lights to hair straighteners.
But older ships? Depending on the age, they can literally have one outlet in the cabin. That means having to plug and unplug items when you want to use them. Instead, you can bring an inexpensive outlet adapter that offers several spots to plug things in while taking up only one outlet.
You likely have one already, but you can get them for about $5 online. Just be sure to bring one without a surge protector as those aren’t allowed on ships.
Sound Machine or White Noise App
Do you sleep with someone that snores? Or maybe you just have trouble going to sleep in an unfamiliar place? Or you are worried about people being loud when returning back to their cabin at 2 a.m.?
No matter the reason, packing a sound machine for your cabin is a smart move. If you don’t have one already, there are plenty of apps that you can download for your phone that will play white noise while you sleep.
One added benefit to bringing a sound machine? There is no powered vent in the bathroom, so having something to play a little noise is nice for those that like privacy.
Wet Wipes
Want to be kind to your bum? Bring along a pack of wipes with you for the cabin. Just being honest, the toilet paper in the cabin bathroom is the thin one-ply that you can practically see through. Not only does it not feel very good, but it can also leave you feeling unclean.
A pack of wipes solves the problem. You just want to be sure that you never flush them down the toilet, even if they say they are flushable. The ship’s sewer system isn’t built for them. Instead, there is a small trash can in the cabin you can use.
As a bonus, wet wipes are also great for cleaning hands and surfaces around the cabin if needed.
Wrinkle-Release Spray
There are no irons allowed in cruise cabins as they are a fire risk. And while some cruise ships have laundry rooms on the passenger decks with irons in them, that’s pretty rare.
Instead, the smart thing to do is pack a small bottle of wrinkle release spray for the cabin. No matter how neatly you pack, when you get your stuff out of the suitcase, it’s likely to have wrinkles.
With this, you just spray it on, smooth out the wrinkles, and they disappear. Otherwise, you have to send your item down to the laundry to be pressed. Bottles are a few bucks on Amazon.
Reading Light
If you’re someone that likes to read before bed, then bringing a small reading light that clips onto your book is ideal.
These days many ships are built with reading spotlights on the bedside sconces. So either side of the bed can turn these on instead of having to turn on all the lights in the cabin to read. The only issue is that they can be very bright. And given they are beside the bed and pointing toward it, your partner may be bathed in light.
Instead, a smaller, gentler light that clips onto a book can be a better way to read in bed without disturbing your partner. This one on Amazon wraps around your neck, freeing up the pages of your book (it also has 129,000 reviews).
Headphones
Similar to a reading light, if you and your travel partner go to bed at different times and you like to watch TV or movies before going to sleep, then headphones are a must.
We typically wind down with a show or two before bed, and on a ship you can stream Netflix or other services if you have the wi-fi package. The only issue is that if you’re watching a program when your spouse wants to go to sleep, that means you’ve got to call it a night too unless they don’t mind the sound.
Instead, a pair of headphones lets you keep watching and keeps everyone happy.
