How to plan and pack for a cruise holiday with a PDF checklist.

Are you wondering what to pack for a cruise? Whether you’re planning on taking a cruise around the islands in the South Pacific, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Europe, or the Americas, you want to ensure you’ve got everything you need before you go for a comfortable and enjoyable trip. As with any type of travel, a little planning can go a long way. Reduce any last-minute stress. Create a PDF cruise checklist that you can easily refer to as you plan, pack, and have with you during the voyage. Read on to learn how.

What you’ll learn

• The benefits of creating a cruise checklist PDF
• Pre-cruise planning and preparation
• Key items to include in a cruise packing checklist
• Tips for packing for a cruise

The benefits of creating a cruise checklist PDF.

PDFs are ideal for creating cruise planning and packing checklists, and there are a few reasons why —

• PDFs can be dynamic and interactive.
  You can make a cruise planning and packing checklist as dynamic and interactive as you want it to be. Add images and visuals, insert checkboxes, create links to websites, and more.

• PDFs are portable.
  You can share a PDF file to whatever device you’re using and/or store your files in the cloud. If you’re out and about picking up items you need and only have your phone, all you need is the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on your mobile.

• PDFs can be created and edited online.
  You can use Adobe Acrobat online to create and edit PDFs. Or, of course, you can also use an Adobe Acrobat application. With cruise ships having Wi-Fi access, if you use the online Acrobat platform, you’ll be able to tweak any lists or PDF documents you’ve created when you’re on board.

• PDFs are secure.
  PDFs can also be used to keep copies of important and confidential documents with you, such as your passport, ID cards, and travel insurance. You can add pages to a PDF file or create separate files of important documentation. Then secure your sensitive and confidential documents with PDF password protection to prevent unauthorized access.

• PDFs are easily converted.
  You can create a PDF cruise checklist from scratch in Adobe Acrobat, or simply and easily convert a Word or Excel file to and from PDF.

Pre-cruise planning and preparation.

If you haven’t already booked your cruise, do your research first. Create a PDF checklist for any pre-cruise planning and preparation. Items you might want to include are —

• Your preferences for destinations, cruise lines, and cruise packages.
• Your interests in activities onboard and excursions at places visited.
• Onboard shopping facilities and products available to buy onboard.
• Cruise line policies and prices for dining extra amenities, dining options, and tips.
• Transportation to and from the cruise and when visiting ports.
• Documentation such as a current and valid passport, visas, and travel insurance.
• Your budget.

Key items to include in a cruise packing checklist.

It’s an exciting time preparing for a cruise. Amid the anticipation of being at sea and kicking back and relaxing, it’s easy for things to get overlooked. If you plan, you’ll probably find you already have most of these items on hand. This could potentially save you money from buying items onboard, and holiday time looking for something during an on-shore excursion.

Customize a cruise packing checklist to cover what you’ll need for your journey on the high seas. A few essentials and cruise-specific items that you might want to itemise on your PDF cruise checklist include —

Cruise essentials.

The essential items to pack for a cruise usually include —

• Documentation.
  Remember to pack your passport, photo ID, visas or permits needed for different countries you might visit, cruise tickets or boarding passes, travel and medical insurance information, and flight and hotel details, if applicable, for before and after you board your cruise.

• Clothing.
  Pack casual clothing for daytime activities, formal wear or smart casual clothing for evening dinners depending on the cruise line’s dress code, undergarments, swimwear, sleepwear, and appropriate clothing for excursions or tours at different ports of call.

• Footwear.
  Take sandals, comfortable walking shoes, and dress shoes.

• Toiletries and medications.
  Prepare ahead with personal toiletries and medications. If you’re taking a flight to join a cruise, remember to check airline regulations on container sizes and quantities. Include a small travel-sized basic first aid kit.

• Sun and skin protection.
  The need to slip-slop-slap to protect your skin from the sun is just as important on a cruise, if not more so. You’ve got the reflection from the ocean and typical cruise ship destinations being sunny locales. Take sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hats, and loose and light long-sleeved clothing. Include other products you might need to protect your skin such as insect repellent.

• Electronics, chargers, and adaptors.
  Remember to include any devices you are taking with you, such as your smartphone, e-reader or tablet, camera, or other devices, chargers, and power banks if you use them. Check whether you will need travel adapters to charge your devices, and if the cruise line has any policies on electrical items and safety.

Cruise-specific items.

Cruise-specific items to consider packing include —

• Location and activity-specific items.
  Cruise holidays often involve participating in a range of activities onboard and during excursions. Think about whether you might things like hiking boots, wet bags, snorkels, goggles, reusable water bottles, and day bags.

• Luggage tags.
  Cruise lines often provide luggage tags to help with easy identification of your bags.

Tips for packing for a cruise.

A few tips to help you get started with deciding what to take and pack for a cruise include —

• Explore your cruise itinerary
  Take the time to research each destination on your cruise itinerary and the activities available to you. Understanding a bit about the culture of places you may visit and the activities you may do will help you plan appropriate and specific items to pack.

• Check what luggage you are allowed and will need.
  Check if your cruise line has any limitations and restrictions on the amount of luggage you can bring on a cruise so you can pack accordingly. Do pack a small carry-on bag, that you can also double as a day bag for excursions, and include essentials such as medications, toiletries, and a change of clothes in case your luggage is delayed.

• Pack smartly and methodically.
  Roll clothes to save space and minimize wrinkles or use organisers to help keep items separate, and quickly and easily accessible.

• Leave room for souvenirs.
  If you plan to shop or collect souvenirs from different destinations you visit, leave space in your luggage, or consider bringing foldable bags that you can use to bring extra items home in.

• Keep your PDF cruise packing checklist with you.
  Having a copy of your cruise packing checklist with you on your phone, or accessible in cloud storage can be a life safer should anything go amiss with your luggage. You’ll be able to access it while you’re on holiday with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on your mobile or you can store and access it from Adobe Acrobat online.

Related content.

Check out some of our other articles to help with using PDFs at home and when you’re travelling, such as —

• PDFs for travel planning: Getting ready for your family holiday
• How to create an effective PDF to-do list
• How to manage a to-do list on a mobile phone