Mediterranean Cruise Packing List & 10 Things I Couldn’t Live Without!

We just recently returned from a fabulous week on a Mediterranean Cruise on board the Royal Princess!

One of the most stressful things about traveling, for me, is packing! I am a horrible over packer, so take this article with a grain of salt. Now, this isn’t going to be your “average every day packing list”. This packing list is on steroids – it includes all of the usual items, clothing, toiletries, etc., but it also includes my favorite out-of-the-box items. Those things that will make your trip easier, more comfortable and more efficient!

First off, I am going to start with my top 10 items that I will not leave for a cruise without (some of these are also great for regular hotel rooms as well!) Then, you will find my printable packing list!

Cruise Packing List: Things I couldn’t live without:

1. Tieks Foldable Flats – they are pricey, but worth every penny! I have tried other brands and Tieks are by far my favorite go-to shoe. They have two important things going for them – they are breathable, so your feet don’t sweat, and they stretch and mold to your foot after just a few times wearing them. Also, the streets in Europe are very uneven and a lot of time cobblestone and the padded heel absorbs most of the shocks. They also fold down to nothing so you can stow them in your handbag – best of all them come in every color under the rainbow! Splurge worthy!
2. Packable Raincoat – Unfortunately, it was a monsoon in Cinque Terre while we were there… but fortunately, I had my favorite packable raincoat stored in my day pack – this is another thing that is worth putting some $$ behind – check out my favorite go-to raincoat here.
3. Otter Box or Mophie charging case – we lived for our GPS (and believe it or not, our cell phone carrier plan was very affordable…surprisingly inexpensive, even!) but, the GPS kills your battery. My Otter Box chargeable case was a must have! We also live by Trip Advisor when looking for shopping and great restaurants – so we didn’t want to be without our cell phones!
4. Power Strip – okay, so this may sound funny, but with all of the devices we travel with – laptop, iPad, cell phones, cameras, etc. We never, ever have enough plugs, especially on cruises – so we throw in a power strip and plug it on the desk and use that as our “charging station”. Now, many people have commented that the cruise lines won’t allow them and will take them away – on all of our cruises, this has never happened to us! Maybe we have gotten lucky – but it is worth the few dollars to throw one in the bag!
5. Battery Operated Travel Alarm Clock – there are no clocks in most cruise ship staterooms. I finally learned why!! They are usually on the display of the phone in the room – because the cruise can pass through many different time zones, it would be a huge job to have to adjust each clock, each time – so they do it on the phone. However, the phone is usually on the desk and hard to see from the bed (I need to know the time throughout the night – it’s my thing). So, I bring a travel alarm clock to set up next to the bed!
6. Old Hotel Room Key Card – Most staterooms, in order to turn on your lights and air conditioning, you have to put your key card in a slot when you get in the room. We always bring an extra card to keep over by the door, so we don’t have to fiddle with our actual room keys (I like to keep mine in my handbag or beach bag).
7. Collapsible Hamper for your dirty clothes – I love this! Space is limited in the staterooms and I never have a good place to keep my dirty clothes – this is the perfect solution!
8.  Wine! Many cruise lines will allow you to bring 1 bottle of wine per person. We brought screw top and would order appetizers and have happy hour on our balcony!
9. Hanging sweater bag – these are THE BEST – you don’t get a ton of shelf space, but the hanging closet space is usually more than we need. We throw one of these up and can easily get all of our under garments, socks, bathing suites, tank tops, shorts, etc. in there.
10. Over the door shoe bag – This is great to hang on the bathroom door to store your bathroom items, such as toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, brushes, hair gel, hair spray. (some cruise lines will not allow these – check first!)

Be sure to read the comments – my readers always have THE BEST addons to my list (keep checking back for them, they will keep coming!!)

Click here to print my Mediterranean Cruise Packing List:

Check out some of the other posts from our Mediterranean Cruise!

Check out some of our other favorite pictures from our trip!

^^^The Gothic Quarter in Barcelona

^^^ The cutest monkey’s ever from Gibraltar!

^^^ The beautiful town of Portofino

^^^ A rainy, but amazing, day at Cinque Terre

^^^ Our incredible home for a week, The Royal Princess (perfect for a Princess)

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Princess Cruise Line