Baby Travel Bag Packing List

One thing about me, I like to keep as much packed year-round as I can. I find it just helps make the actual packing process that much quicker, which has helped us when we either had a surprise trip come up (like a funeral), or we've procrastinated until the last minute. It also helps make sure that we don't forget anything because it stays packed. So, of course my daughter has several travel bags that stay packed for her. She's 18 months old now, so most of this is just what I've found I've needed and added to the bags over the past year. 

I like to keep as much as I can in clear bags so that we can quickly see and find items that we need. I also like that it's a plastic material so that it can stand up to messes. Also, I like to color-coordinate, so most of my daughter's stuff is either mint green or just green.  She has a mint overnight bag that I will fill up with whatever little bag I need for the trip, I just keep a travel laundry bag in her overnight bag to keep all her dirty clothes separate from ours since we wash her clothes on the gentle cycle. With these bags always packed, all I need to pack are clothes and snacks for my daughter on a trip. 

Baby Travel Bag

In our largest clear bag, I have all of her random items that we need for an overnight trip.

Collapsible straw cup 

Whether we're at a hotel, or at family's house, there sometimes aren't toddler-friendly cups, so I like to keep one packed at all times. What I love about this is that it packs up flat, so it's easy to throw in to a beach bag or purse and take with us on the go. It has a lid that's pretty good about not leaking, and a soft straw. My daughter does great with this! 

Collapsible snack cup 

I also will bring this snack cup with us anywhere I bring the straw cup. We have a ton of these at home, but I like to keep one packed that's just for travel so I don't have to remember to bring one from home. After our trips, I'll just wash the straw cup and snack cup and then pack them right back up. Because I color coordinate, it's easy for me to know green cups = travel cups when I'm putting up clean dishes.

Water bottle adapter

Even though my daughter has her own cup, if she sees us drink out of a water bottle, she wants to drink out of the water bottle too. The problem with that, is that she's still learning how to not pour it all on her. When you're at a resort that overcharges for water, you don't want it wasted! Plus, then that's an outfit change. These adapters turn a water bottle into a sippy cup, which I've found works great for us. 

Silicone finger toothbrush

Baby teeth need to be cleaned, and we've found that a silicone finger toothbrush is the easiest to use, and also the easiest to travel with.

Pop tube toy 

My daughter will alligator roll away from you during diaper changes if she isn't distracted, so we keep this small toy packed at all times to make things smoother. And if the destination we're going to doesn't have a lot of toys, then here's one more thing to keep her entertained.

Mini speaker 

I got this little guy on sale for black Friday, and it's been great to travel with! It's completely waterproof so we can take it into the bathroom to play her regular bath time playlist to help it feel more like home. We also really love it to play her bed time playlist to keep her bedtime routine the exact same. 

Travel night light

One thing about traveling with a small child is that you'll be up in a dark room a lot. I found a little travel-friendly night light that has prongs that fold in so the light is flat for packing. It is also dusk-to-dawn so it will automatically turn on in the dark and turn off when it's bright. Another travel light I have is a mini USB light. This thing is TINY so I keep one stashed in our bag in case we need a second light. 

Snot sucker + travel case

A stuffy baby is a baby that doesn't sleep, so we have an extra snot sucker that we travel with. I got a travel case to keep the hose from being bent, and I really love the case, but it does take up a lot more room than just the sucker itself. 

Sound machine with built-in night light

This is my favorite travel sound machine for babies! It has white noise, shushing, and heartbeat sound effects and my daughter was always calmed by one of those. It also has a night light, which was really helpful when we were doing middle-of-the-night feeding. It has a strap that we could use to attach to a door handle or onto her crib. And, it has a timer to turn it off after 15, 30, or 60 minutes. I also have a mini sound machine that I can use either if we need 2 sound machines for a really noisy room (we keep one by the door and one near the crib), or if a battery dies on one mid nap because it was going all night then we can use the other as a backup, or if we want to take one out with us in case we anticipate a stroller nap then we can use the mini one for out and about. It is extra to have 2, but I'm just letting you know what we've found works for us through trial and error.

UV sanitizer

When my daughter drops a paci on the floor in our home, I just rinse it off and give it back to her. I'm not too concerned because I know I keep our floors clean and use a non-toxic cleaner. But, when she drops (or throws) a paci on the ground or especially the street when we travel, I like to sanitize it to be on the safe side. The goal is to avoid diarrhea at all costs!!

Paci storage + extra paci + paci strap

Another goal is to not be short a paci, especially at bedtime. So, I keep 2 spare pacies plus an extra paci strap in a little storage container that stays packed. When we go to pack for a trip, I don't have to remember to bring backup pacis because these are always ready for a trip. 

Baby bottle cleaning kit + bottle brush set + travel bottle soap

Out of all the baby registry lists that I went through when I was registering, I can't believe none that I looked at recommended I register for travel bottle cleaning items! We took my daughter on an overnight stay in Galveston when she was a month old and I had to make an overnight Amazon order for supplies so I could clean her bottle. I love this bottle cleaning kit because it comes with stands for the drying rack to hold the bottles upside down so they can dry faster and not fall over. If you have the Dr. Brown's bottles, then I recommend you get a small brush set that has different size brushes for all the pieces. And a little thing of bottle soap will really help. I keep a silicone sleeve over the soap bottle to prevent leaks. 

Travel silicone bib

I am not a fan of disposable bibs for travel because it's just too easy for our daughter to rip them off. Instead, I keep a reusable one rolled up and stored for travel. I prefer one with the silicone food catcher because I've found that the silicone is the only kind of bib that will hold its shape well enough to actually catch food. These are just too cute for little girls because they have ruffles on the sleeve and I love them. I keep it in a matching wet bag so I can keep the dirty bib from getting everything else dirty.

Disposable placemats

I keep 2-3 disposable placemats in our travel bag, just in case. It's nice to be able to let your kid eat messily without making a big mess on the table they're eating at. And I like to know that she's eating off something that is clean and sanitized. 

Baby travel bath bag

 

For an overnight trip, sometimes it's just easier to not bathe her that one night if she didn't get dirty or sweaty that day. But for longer trips, I'll bring a clear bag for her bath items. 

 

Baby wash + lotion

I made sure to get the same bath soap and lotion that we use at home for travel, since I know my daughter's skin is used to it and don't have to worry about any rashes or reactions from an unfamiliar brand. I use a silicone sleeve over the bottles to prevent leaks. 

Bath thermometer

I use a bath thermometer for every bath at home, because I never want the water to be too hot or too cold and make my daughter uncomfortable for her bath. This is especially important to me when we travel because I'm not as used to the sensitivity of the water faucets! Plus, this one is cute, so my daughter plays with it as a bath toy. 

Travel bath toys

I love this little set because it's just enough for traveling without taking up too much space. These toys open completely so that you can get them fully dry before traveling. These toys are the only thing that saved bath time at my father-in-law's last Christmas. I also threw in the top half of a silicone stacking cup set that we have as an extra bath toy.

Bubble bath bombs

I'll also keep a few packets of bubble bath packed, just to make things fun during our trip. These are also lavender scented to try to help my daughter relax and sleep well when traveling. 

Travel night light

I keep a travel night light in the bathroom bag just as a backup if we need to put a night light in the bathroom and keep the door cracked in a hotel. 

Travel medicine bag

In my smallest clear bag, I have medicine & teething go-tos for travel. 

 

Travel kid's acetaminophen

I don't love that Tylenol doesn't make small bottles of infant's Tylenol that you can easily travel with. But, I found these pre-measured vials that are great for travel because you don't need a measuring cup or a medicine syringe to give your baby pain meds!

Travel infant's ibuprofen

I always pack both acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin) for travel. You can only give Tylenol every 6 hours, and you can only give Motrin every 6 hours, but if you stagger them then you can give at least one every 3 hours so your baby never has to go longer than 3 hours between pain meds. We spent Christmas 2023 rotating these meds non-stop because my daughter's teeth were cutting and she was miserable all weekend. 

Medicine paci syringe

We have a paci syringe at home, and keep one packed for travel so we never run out. You only make that mistake once! I really like this one because it has the measurements on the side for both Tylenol dosages and Motrin dosages.

Mini travel thermometer 

I love this little thermometer! It is so tiny and comes with its own storage case. I like that it's a digital thermometer and is not a rectal or oral thermometer, because I don't feel comfortable using those. It fits in the palm of your hand so it takes up no space in a travel bag, but gives me peace of mind to know if my kid needs to see a doctor or not. 

Teething gel + teether

I think teething on vacation is every parent's worse nightmare, because you don't want to keep the whole floor awake just because your baby is screaming non-stop. I have a daytime gel and a nighttime gel to really tackle those tough days. 

Teething drops

These come in pre-measured vials like the acetaminophen and are great for cranky babies at night. I use these plus the gel because I just want her to be comfortable enough to sleep if she's in pain. 

Travel cooling teether

Can you tell that I've been personally victimized by a teething baby on a trip? If I know my daughter has a tooth coming in, I can pop this in the fridge to cool down so she can have something soft and textured to chew on. It also comes with a strap so they can wear it when they're awake. 

Baby travel diaper bag

If we're not taking an international trip, we won't take our usual diaper bag backpack with us on the go. Instead, I have a small travel changing kit that comes with a changing pad, wipes dispenser, and trash bag all in a wet bag. I just keep a travel diaper rash spray and diapers in the bag as well, and we're good to go. If we're traveling for more than a few nights, I'll bring a travel disposable diaper pail with us to keep our trash from overflowing and our room from stinking from dirty diapers. If I feel like I need a diaper bag while traveling, I'll usually go to my fanny pack diaper bag.

When we travel, I make sure to use high-quality diapers that can keep my daughter extra dry, because you never know how long you'll have to go before you have a clean place to change them. I also make sure to change her before a flight so that if she falls asleep during the flight I won't have to worry about a wet diaper waking her up. 

Baby travel sleep bag

I keep one small packing cube reserved for my daughters sleep essentials that always stay packed.

Pack-n-play sheets

Most hotels and cruises will provide you with a pack-n-play for free, but it doesn't come with sheets. I recommend you bring 2 sets so that you can swap them out if your baby gets one set dirty. Bring crib sheets that are colorful or have a pattern and avoid plain white sheets so that your sheets don't get mistaken for the cruise's bedding and get taken away by housekeeping. Having your own sheets is actually nice because you can wash it with your own detergent and know that 1) it's free from any harsh chemicals or perfumes that your baby's sensitive skin might not be used to and 2) it will smell like home and can be comforting to your baby being in a strange place.

Lightweight sleep sack

My daughter usually sleeps in a 1 tog sleep sack at home that is recommended for 69-72 degree rooms. However, I've found that when we travel, the rooms are usually warmer than this, so she has a 0.5 tog sleep sack just for traveling that is best for 72-75 degree rooms. I actually like this best for traveling because the 0.5 tog sleep sack dries significantly faster than a 1 tog sleep sack, which is helpful.

Vacation-themed paci

We travel with at least 1 WubbaNub paci, because they're less likely than a regular paci to get lost. Her travel paci is brightly colored so we can easily spot it in the room. 

Baby travel monitor bag

While we love our Nanit back home (and the Nanit does come with a travel kit), I don't trust the security or the streaming quality of Wi-Fi when we travel. It's also nice to have a travel-dedicated baby monitor so we don't have to worry about taking down our everyday monitor and packing it for each trip. 

We have a baby monitor that didn't require Wi-Fi, and I love it! I got an adjustable arm that comes on a giant clip and I can just clip it onto the edge of something and face the camera towards our daughter's bed. 

The camera, monitor, cords, and arm all fit perfectly in a little travel bag. 

Baby travel airplane activity bag

Everything so far is what we'd pack in a suitcase and only use once we get to our destination, but I wanted this list to be exhaustive (are you exhausted yet?), so I'm going to include what we have for the plane.

Travel backpack

I found the cutest little backpack for our daughter's plane bag! One thing to note is that you can only take a diaper bag as an extra bag if your baby is a lap child. But, if your baby has their own ticket then they can have their own carry-on and personal item as well. I know that this backpack fully loaded is too much for her to carry, but it can actually clip on to a carry-on suitcase that I can pull her through the airport on, so no one actually carries this bag for now.

Paci storage + paci + paci strap + paci wipes

Pacis are SO important for flying with babies because the sucking motion helps pop their ears. I keep a paci case clipped onto the outside of her bag so we can quickly find it. Make sure you pack plastic paci straps when you travel! Most paci straps have metal clips, which you'll have to take off to go through the metal detectors at security. But, a plastic paci strap can stay on all the way through security, making it one less thing you have to take off and put back on after security. Paci wipes are needed because inevitably while traveling your kid will somehow get their paci dirty, even with a strap on. 

Travel white noise machine

The best flights are the ones your kids sleep on! Some people think the plane is enough white noise to sleep, but I always found them just a little too loud for our daughter to fall asleep on, so we bring our own mini white noise machine to help her sleep. In case she does fall asleep, I keep this little arm pillow in my carry-on bag so that I can comfortably hold her without my arms dying.

Tray table cover

What I like about this is that it can be used as a placemat on its own, but also comes with a little box that you can put their toys or snacks in to keep them from sliding around. 

Seat extender

I love this little seat extender hammock for planes! It gives them extra leg room to keep their legs from dangling, or to be more room to play, or to sleep on for longer flights. It is too bulky for her little backpack, so that comes in my carry-on bag instead. 

Snack dispenser

We actually only use this while traveling, because normally we don't need this many snacks at home. What I like is that you can have lots of different options for snacks so you don't have to worry about them not liking the only thing you packed. 

Magnetic wooden blocks

These blocks have been my daughter's favorite travel toy. The whole set is about as big as your phone, so it's pretty compact, and it comes with a travel bag. Because they're magnetic, it keeps the blocks together so you're less likely to use them. When my daughter was younger, she would just clack them together or knock them down after we stacked them, but now she actually plays with them and is so interested in figuring out which sides stick together. 

Magnetic dress up set

Another magnetic (and therefore, great for travel) toy we have is a little dress-up play set. It comes in it's own storage tin and our daughter can just stick the magnets all over the tin. 

Mess-free coloring book

I love little coloring books that just use water, so you don't have to worry about your kid ruining anything while they stay occupied. I also like that just one "marker" makes all the colors she'll need, so we don't need to bring a whole pack of the rainbow for her to color. 

Suction cup tube toys

My daughter loves these little animals where she can pull their arms and legs out or scrunch them up or twist them around. They do light up, but it's very dim so it's not obnoxious to other travelers. Just to be safe, we don't use these for nighttime flights. 

Window spinners

These are great to stick to the window! My daughter loves to just spin and spin and spin these, and they're quiet too!

Window gel stickers

These are a favorite of my daughter, but they're not the most long-lasting toy. Thankfully you get 20 in a pack, because my daughter once spent an entire flight picking several of these apart. But, she did like sticking them on and taking them off the windows and played with them for almost an entire hour. 

Fidget poppers

My daughter is obsessed with little poppers, so we have one that's made for little fingers in her flight bag. 

Spinner toy

This is a very simple toy, so I have to admit that it doesn't keep her attention for all that long, especially as she gets older. But, it is really small so it's worth the little room it does take up for the 15 minutes of entertainment. 

Busy board

This busy board is relatively small, but it has a lot of switches and buttons that keep my daughter's attention for a while. Light the tubes, this does have a small light that's not obnoxious even with the cabin lights dimmed. 

Toy straps

This helps keep toys and her drink and snack cup from falling. These also double as a teether when she wants.

iPad mini + kids travel case 

We bring plenty of toys for the plane, but I'm all for iPad kids on planes if it prevents a meltdown when they're bored of sitting still after an hour. We originally got a YouTube premium account just to download Ms. Rachel for the flights, but have kept it ever since we realized how nice it is to not have ads on YouTube videos now!

Phone mount 

When you're ascending or descending, you can't have your tray table down, so this can hold your phone for you if you have your hands full with your kid. We put the iPad away for takeoff and landing, but use this to watch her shows if she is in a grumpy mood.

Kids travel headphones 

These are wireless, so your kid won't get tangled in them. And they're cute! I just keep them in a headphone bag so they don't get lost in the bag since its so flat and small. 

Wet bag

Messes happen, and you need a place to put dirty clothes. The more, the merrier when traveling!

Travel mini placemat + bib 

This travel placemat is great for on the go! It rolls up really small and can suction to any hard surface. It has raised edges to make little bowls you can put food in. It also has straps that you can attached a toy or cup to so they aren't falling. It comes with a travel bag, so I just stash an extra bib in there so we're all good to go for an airport meal. This works best for younger babies, but I still keep it packed and get use out of it. However, if we're going on a longer trip them I'll back a travel plate set so that my daughter can have something kid-friendly to eat out of at our destination.

Other baby travel items

These are things that I have for trips, but I don't necessarily use for every trip. We just grab what we need for the situation. 

Travel crib

We have the Graco pack-n-play, but I don't recommend it for travel. This thing is heavy and not easy to carry around! I got the Guava Lotus travel crib, and we really like it. While the Graco is 37 pounds, this is only 14 pounds! The straps on the bag are made so that you can wear the bag like a backpack. And the setup seemed much more intuitive on this crib. We got the set that came with the quilted mattress topper, and it is so soft! The side also unzips so your baby can easily go in and out of it to play in. My mom got the Dream on Me travel crib for her house and it's amazing! It's only 10 pounds and it folds up really tiny. All you do is pop the legs into the crib and it's fully assembled, no weird buttons to push and hold and fold. Because my daughter is now over 1, my mom got a mattress pad insert and it makes this bed very comfortable! The only downside is that the mattress bag is about as big as the travel crib bag, so it's one more bulky thing to carry. The only downside to this travel crib is that your baby will outgrow it much faster than the Guava Lotus, because the lotus is 5 inches longer and 4 inches wider, but the Dream on Me is 1/3 of the price! 

If the place that we're going to has a pack-in-play that is provided, we just use a stretchy blackout cover. But, if we're bringing out own travel crib, we have the SlumberPod. The SlumberPod is a little less claustrophobic for an older kid who is taller when they stand, but the stretchy cover is much smaller to travel with and easier to set up.  

Travel stroller

We have the GB pockit travel stroller which was perfect because it can fit down the aisle of the plane and then fit in the overhead bin. It's also great for cruising because it can fold up and go under your bed when not it use, so you can actually have room to walk around. I keep a stroller caddy attached to it so we can have a place to hold our drinks and phones. What I like about this caddy is that it has a pouch that can zip off so if you keep money in the pouch, you can zip it off and take it with you if you're leaving the stroller. We use this stroller backpack to pack it up when we're not using it when we travel so that we can carry the stroller handsfree. The backpack straps are made in a way where you can either wear it on both shoulders like a normal backpack, or on one shoulder like a tote bag. We keep a travel stroller fan in the backpack so that we can keep our daughter cool on hot trips.

However, now that my daughter is getting a little bigger, we actually have started traveling with a collapsible tricycle instead of a stroller. Our 18-month old does really well in this and seems to enjoy being pushed in her trike a lot better than a stroller, and it will grow with her as she gets older. It folds up so easily that it's fast to get it in and out of my car, and I also think it takes up less space than a stroller when in use, so I feel that we can walk through crowds a little easier. It has a cup holder right in front of her that she can reach, and comes with a storage bag on the bag where we can stash a jacket or snacks for her. I keep a mini camping towel in the bag to use as a snot rag, picnic blanket, dry off wet benches, or just to wipe dirt off her hand. I added a little drink and phone holder to the clip, and it's perfect for me!  I do not recommend the bag the matching travel bag! It has no padding in either the straps or the back of the bag, and is very uncomfortable to wear even for a short amount of time. We traded that in for a trike backpack and like it so much better. It has padding all over and has so much more room so it can actually hold more than just the trike.

Travel bathtub

When my daughter was less than a year old, we would just hold her in the shower or bath for her bath time. But after she got to be about a year old, she started to see baths as more of a play opportunity than a quick event, so she started fighting us on being held. We took a travel bath tub with us to Mexico and it worked out really well for us! This is great for rooms where either their is no tub and only a shower, or if the bathtub is situated where a parent can't be within arms reach for safety. We just inflated this and put it in the shower and she played in the bath and loved it. 

If your baby can't sit up on their own, they also make travel chairs that you can sit your baby in to hold them upright either in the bath or on the floor. 

Travel high chair

This sounds extra, but it has been so great to travel with! We have a little travel high chair with a tray table that works wonderful for traveling. When you're at a restaurant, they'll likely have high chairs that you can use. But if you're in a hotel room and your kid wants a snack/meal where they need to sit down to eat or have a table to eat, this works perfectly for them. We also take it with us to the beach all the time and it's the perfect size for her. 

Cruise Disembarkation Day

We've talked about cruise embarkation day for when you first get on the ship for your cruise, so now it's only fair to discuss cruise disembarkation day for when you get off the ship at the end of your cruise. Cruises normally get back to their home port, go through some customs clearing, and then will start letting you off the ship around 8 am. 

On the last night of your cruise, your stateroom attendant will leave disembarkation luggage tags in your room. If you didn't receive any, you can go to guest services and ask for some. They're usually numbered (but this can vary by cruise line), and the number will signify your disembarkation group and luggage pickup location. Usually they go in numerical order, so the lower the number the earlier you'll be called to get off the ship. In general, people with the first flights out, suite cabins, and top-tier loyalty status get to go fist, and then they work their through everyone else. If you get a high number and want to get off the ship sooner, you can go down to guest services and see if there's any other numbers still available. If you have a flight to catch soon after the ship disembarks, you'll want to bring this up to guest services. Whatever number you get, make sure you take a picture of the luggage tags so that there's no guessing the next morning of which luggage pickup location you need to go to. 

Really cruise disembarkation day begins the evening before for most people. When you get off the ship, you have 2 options of what to do with your luggage. You can carry your suitcases through the ship and take them off with you, or you can have the cruise crew drop you luggage off. Either way you get off the ship, you'll need your passport available to get off. I suggest you just wear a crossbody bag with your phone and ID's to make it really easy and fast to find what you need to de-board. Unlike a hotel where you can just leave your room key behind or throw it away, you'll likely need to scan your cruise room key one last time so they can mark that you got off the ship, so keep this on you as you disembark. Don't forget to keep a few $1 in your wallet so you can tip a porter to help you get all your bags out of the cruise terminal and loaded into your car. 

Carry-Off Disembarkation 

Having the crew take your bags off the ship for you will save you the hassle of trying to carry a suitcase around when thousands of people are all trying to get off the ship at the same time and the elevators are too full to use. But, it will cost you in time because when you get off the ship you'll have to go down to baggage claim and find your bag similar to when you fly. This is an extra stop on the way out of the terminal, and depending on how many other suitcases look like yours, it could take you a minute to find your bag. The self-assist method means that once you're off the ship and through customs, you can go straight out of the terminal and leave.

The are only 3 scenarios when I recommend the do-it-yourself method. First, is if you have an early flight out the day your ship gets back and you really need to get off the ship ASAP. Second, is if you packed lightly and you only have 1 small bag to carry, so it's worth your time to just keep your one and only carry-on bag with you. Third, is if you have a baby or toddler and for the sake of their schedule, you need to make getting of the ship take as little as possible.

For any other scenario, I think that it's worth the wait to just have someone else take your bags for you so all you have to worry about is getting yourself off the ship. Assume that the elevators will not be an option on your disembarkation day, so keep that in mind when determining whether to check or carry your bags off the ship. 

Checked Luggage Disembarkation 

The first time you cruise, it's a weird process to have the crew take your bags. Unlike embarkation where you showed up and dropped off your luggage, on disembarkation you actually pack up everything the night before and leave your suitcase outside of your room. As long as you bag is outside by the cut-off time (usually around midnight, but they'll let you know several times what the cut-off time is), then the staff will come around at night and take your suitcases away, tooth fairy style. 

The problem that catches a lot of first-time cruisers (and even experienced cruisers who aren't thinking about it), is that once your bag is taken at midnight, you don't see it again until after you get off the ship. So, you have to remember to not pack any toiletries or medication you might need in the morning, and you have to make sure you don't accidentally forget to leave out an outfit to wear as you get off the ship as well as your passports.

How I've solved that problem is that when I'm packing for my cruise, I'll use a packing cube that is a different color from our normal packing cubes (I do a color per person and then my disembarkation cube is white) so that it stands out, and pack everyone's outfits for the last day. All I have to remember is to leave out 1 pair of shoes per person. This makes it so easy! We don't have to remember to grab a pair of shorts from the dirty clothes pile or forget to leave out a shirt for the last day. It's just all together and ready to go for that last day.  Then, we use the packing cube to pack up our dirty pj's so we don't have loose clothing just thrown into a bag. 

The other thing I do is I have a disembarkation toiletry bag. This is a very small toiletry bag that keeps just what we need for that last morning. The thing I hated before was using my toothbrush the morning we get off the ship, and then having to either save my entire toiletry bag with everything from the whole trip and keep it all on me all day, or having just a rogue toothbrush in my carry-on bag. Now, I just have a disposable toothbrush that is already loaded with toothpaste. This lets me pack my travel toothbrush and toothpaste in my normal toiletry bag and back that away into my checked luggage. Plus, I don't have to worry about trying to dry a toothbrush so you can leave your room. I bought an extra his and hers travel deodorant that I keep packed in the disembarkation bag so, again, our regular travel deodorant can get packed. Plus, this was we have a backup if our deodorant runs out mid-trip. A mini hair brush plus a small thing of hair ties for me, and a travel comb for Ryan. I have a very small tube of face lotion, with SPF built in of course, and a mini mascara to apply on the last morning. And that's it! It's everything we need in the morning, but nothing more. 

I'll also keep just a two-in-one phone and watch charger separate so that we can charge our stuff the night before and the morning of disembarkation. 

This has helped make our disembarkation mornings so much faster and easier since we don't have to stress worrying over whether something we need in the morning is accidentally packed. We can throw all of this into our small excursion backpack, be hands free getting off the ship, and get out of our room quickly since we have barely anything to pack up. 

The Disembarkation Process

The morning of your disembarkation, your ship's cruise director will start making announcements to wake everyone up and remind everyone to leave their rooms ASAP. Even if your disembarkation de-boarding group is one of the last ones to get off your ship, they'll still want you out of your rooms ASAP so they can start cleaning it for the guests that will come aboard later that day for the next sailing. 

Sometimes your disembarkation group will have a designated waiting area around the ship, just like how excursions would have meet ups at certain bars or other gathering areas. This is where you'll want to head to, because sometimes they only make announcements in that area and you don't want to miss them letting you know you can leave. Like I mentioned earlier, the elevators are jam packed, so unless you're physically reliant on the elevators, you should just prepare for today to be a stairs day. 

Unlike every other morning on your ship, there is no free room service breakfast offered on the last day. The buffet and little cafes around the ship are usually open so you can eat breakfast while you wait for your de-boarding time. Just be aware that pretty much everyone else on the ship has the same idea, so finding a place to sit down will be your biggest challenge. 

The good news, is that now you're back in America so you can turn on your data and use your phone normally without being dependent on the ship's wi-fi. If you haven't already, go to the deck where all of the cruise photos are and see if there's any photos you buy. On our last cruise, we weren't really looking to get any photos, but we saw that one turned out much better than we thought so we went ahead and bought it. If this isn't your first cruise, you probably have a discount for a photo through the cruise loyalty program. Just be aware that they don't save these photos, so once you get off the ship they're permanently deleted. 

Eventually, your time will come and you can get off the ship. Getting off the ship itself is actually a really easy process, and it's really fast if you have a passport. If you have a passport, they would have previously taken a picture of you when you got on the ship on day one. To get off the ship, you just walk by an iPad and scan your face, and that's it! Basically just like getting off an airplane. If you have a birth certificate, it's a whole different process where you have to wait in line and have someone manually verify your birth certificate and ID. When we got off the Carnival Vista in 2023, they only had 2 people processing the birth certificates, so the line moved very slowly. 

Then, you head down to the baggage claim and it's just like baggage claim at the airport. You'll find your luggage pickup location that matches the number on your disembarkation luggage tag, and go find your suitcase. This is where having something to identify your suitcase easily will come in handy. This is one of the reasons why I'm very happy that I have monogrammed luggage, because I can quickly pick out my initials in a crowd of similar-looking suitcases. If you have an AirTag in at least one of the bags, you can use the FindMy app on your iPhone to point you in the right direction for your luggage.

Cruise Port Days

The main event of your cruise will probably be your port day. While I love a good sea day, it's always great to get off the ship and venture around the port, even if I've been there before. 

The one thing to look into before your trip is whether your stops are pier ports or tender ports. A pier port is one where you just walk right off the ship, down a ramp, and onto the pier to walk into the port. If you've ever seen clips of people running back to catch their cruise before it sails away, this is at a pier port. The other type of stops are tender ports. These are ports where the water near the shore is too shallow for your ship to safely dock, so they'll drop the anchor down in the middle of the water, and then you'll get off your ship onto a tender boat and be tendered over to the port. The two things to be aware of is that, unlike a pier port where you can just get on or off the ship whenever you want, with a tender port you're completely dependent on the availability of a tender boat to get on or off the ship. This means that if there's a lot of people who suddenly had the collective thought to get on/off the ship at the same time, you'll be waiting around for a while as tender boats can only hold so many passengers at once. The other thing to be aware of is that because these boats are much smaller than your cruise ship, you'll feel the motion of the boat significantly more. If you're prone to get motion sickness, you'll definitely want to make sure you've taken medicine before you tender to/from the ship. 

You'll scan your room key as you get on and off the ship at each port, so the cruise can know who is on or off the ship, so make sure you bring your room key with you when you get off the ship. If you are doing an excursion, don't forget to bring your tickets with you. 

Most people opt to do an excursion at each port, but I don't think you absolutely have to. Regardless of which port you're at, they'll announce which deck of the ship you'll need to go to so you can get off. The exit deck for a pier port will be different than a tender port. If you have an excursion, they'll usually give you the tickets on your first day of the cruise, and the tickets will tell you if there's a meet up spot and time for your excursion. Some meet up spots will be in main gathering areas on your ship, like in the theater or a bar. If you meet up on the ship, a staff member will take everyone down to the exit deck together and help you get off the ship. Other excursions will have a meet-up point at the port, so you'll just get off the ship and look for someone holding a sign with your excursion name. And if you don't have an excursion, then you can get off the ship at any time.

What to wear for a cruise excursion 

If you're doing an excursion, what you wear will depend on what you're doing. Most excursions will involve being in/around the water. For those, I recommend you wear a one-piece swimsuit so you can zip-line or jump into a cenote without worrying about flashing a group of strangers. You'll want a fast-drying coverup that's easy to take on and off all day. I avoid flip-flops for excursions because you never know if what you'll be doing will make them going flying around, so instead I wear strapped waterproof sandals for excursions. For snorkeling or boating excursions, again I'd recommend either a one-piece swimsuit and UPF shirt, or a rash guard and water shoes. Bring a waterproof sunhat to keep from getting burned. 

For dry excursions, like ATV's, bus tours, or ruins visits, I wear something more comfortable like breathable tops and quick dry athletic shorts with comfortable sneakers. If you want to wear your hair up, I suggest you add a UPF hat to keep the sun off your face. 

If I'm not doing an excursion, I usually wear my beach shoes and a swimsuit under a coverup off ship and then I'll pack a wet bag with out underwear and a change of clothes in the wet bag in case we want to change out of our wet swimsuit. 

Whether I do an excursion or not, I always make sure to wear my Apple Watch that has a watch face that has both ship time (time zone of the city the cruise departed from) and local time on it so I don't miss my ship's departure time but can also make sure I know the local time. I just make sure to use it with a sporty watch band that is safe to use in the water and won't fall off my wrist easily. Make sure you plan to be back at your ship at least an hour before sail away time. Cruises do not wait for late passengers and will leave you unless you are on a cruise-sponsored excursion that has notified the ship that you're running behind.  

What to pack in your shore day bag

The most popular shore day bag is a beach bag, because duh. Personally, I prefer to use a beach bag with 2 shoulder straps like a backpack so that I can have my hands free, and so I don't have to keep shifting a bag from one arm to the other to keep my arms from tiring out as we walk around to explore the ship. I also make sure to have the UV index on my watch face so I can know if I need to reapply sunscreen more often than normal, and wear UV stickers to make sure I don't get burned. 

Any iPhone 7 or newer is waterproof, and basically any Android will be waterproof too, so you can take your phone with you anywhere and get really good pictures. If you're worried about holding onto your phone when you're in a swimsuit and don't have pockets, or if you want to swim around in the ocean, you can put your phone in a waterproof phone pouch and just wear it. 

It's a rite of passage for first-time cruisers (men particularly) to go into the ocean with their wallet in their pocket and then completely ruin the leather wallet and have all of their money soaked and the cards sticky from salt water. How you can avoid that is with a waterproof travel wallet. These zip up to keep money/cards from falling out and to keep it waterproof. It's perfect because all you need at port is your ID, your ship card, a credit card, and some cash for tipping/bartering/buying things from merchants on the beach, so you can leave everything else in a regular wallet in your stateroom safe that way if your wallet gets lost/stolen, you didn't just lose all the cash you brought for the trip and all of your credit cards. 

In my beach bag, I keep sun hat, sunglasses for everyone, sunscreen, and a reusable water bottle that I've filled up at a drink station on the ship before we got off. I also bring a solar phone charger so my phone won't die, headphones,  and my waterproof Kindle for entertainment on the beach. I'll either pack my sandscreen or baby powder to keep sand off my hands. The last thing I'll bring in my beach bag is actually a packable backpack. This takes up basically no room in my beach bag, but if we go shopping or just run out of room in our normal bag, we can have plenty of room to carry everything back on the ship in one load. 

For the water, I'll bring a small inflatable float that I can relax in the ocean if the waves are calm. We also decided to just buy and bring our own snorkel gear for checking out the fish near the beach because it doesn't take up that much space in our luggage, and we like to have our own gear that we're used to and know we like. I once had a really bad experience where the mask I rented had a crack in it, so water kept filling up in my goggles and I had to wait until someone else checked their set back in before I could get a new mask because they were all sold out. This also saves us money in the long run, because you can buy your own snorkel set for about the price of renting it once, so if you use your snorkel set just twice, you'll save money. 

The other bag we always bring is a waterproof dry bag for our towels. This is a great bag to throw wet towels and swimsuits in at the end of the day, or to keep electronics dry if it's raining. You can take ship towels off of the ship for free, but I prefer to bring our own camping towels. Even the largest camping towel (which is bigger than the ship towel) takes up less space in your bag so you can fit more towels into 1 bag and still have leftover room. And these towels are significantly lighter than ship towels, especially when wet. They are also a different color than the ship towels, so you can find your beach chair much easier if you're looking for an orange towel in a sea of blue towels. I also bring towel clips to keep our towels from flying away if we're not sitting in our chair.

If we're traveling with our daughter to the beach, we'll bring a beach bag just for her. Right now we keep a seashell collection purse, travel sandcastle toys, water shoes, sunglasses, sun hat, sunscreen applicator, and floatie packed for her. One weird thing I bring with us to the beach for her is a water bottle shower attachment. This can go on any plastic water bottle and spray water, which we've found is great if she gets her face covered in either sand or food. I also like to bring a sand-proof beach blanket to spread out so she can have a place to either play or nap. We would just use a baby tent to keep her shaded for naps. Obviously, all of this is in addition to the diapers (swim and dry), wipes, paci, change of clothes, and snacks that we brought ashore. 

If we're doing an excursion where you're snorkeling or on a boat all day, all I would bring is the dry bag for your towels and then a waterproof crossbody for your phone, wallet, sunscreen, and water bottle. Don't forget to put your sunglasses on a floating sunglass strap so that they don't go flying off your head, but they won't sink away if they do get knocked off. My sister lost a pair of RayBans while we were jet skiing on our first stop of the cruise and had to buy overpriced crappy sunglasses at a souvenir shop. 

If you're doing an excursion where you're visiting ruins or doing a tour, just know that it will be a lot of walking and it will probably be hot. Keep all your stuff in a lightweight backpack since you'll be carrying your bag all day. You'll probably want a neck fan, shirt fan, or handheld fan to keep you from overheating from all the walking in the humidity. Definitely make sure you fill up a water bottle with cold water from the ship before you leave for your excursion. There might be bugs really bad, so don't forget to pack bug repellant. The Caribbean can have quick storms pretty often, where it might rain every day but only for an hour. If a stop is looking like it might rain, I pack my travel rain jacket just in case.

What not to pack in your excursion bag

This is a heavily-debated topic between cruisers, so here's my hot take: I don't recommend you take your passport off of the ship. The recommendation for bringing your passport with you to shore is if there's a medical emergency and you won't be returning to the ship, or you get to the port too late and miss your ship, then you'll have your passport with you and can easily fly out of the country to either go home or meet up with the ship at the next stop. Both of these things do happen probably just about every cruising, but it still feels like a rare occurrence to me. 

Why I don't bring my passport off the ship is because I believe, statistically, that I'm much more likely to lose my passport on shore than I am not getting back on the ship. When I studied abroad in Sprain and my mom came to visit me, her passport didn't make it out of Barcelona. We don't know if she was pickpocketed, if she sat it down and forgot about it, or if it just fell out. She ended up having to go halfway across the country to Madrid where the embassy is and get an emergency passport. That was very, expensive to pay for an emergency passport and spend the money getting to another city to get to the embassy. It also took up a whole day off of her trip and added a lot of stress for her. To me, it's just not worth it. I do have a scanned copy of our passports saved in a Goggle drive that I've made available offline, just in case.

Another thing I don't bring ashore is my engagement ring or wedding band. I'll wear a travel wedding ring instead. Most ports are safe, but you don't want to make yourself an easy target by flashing a rock worth several thousand dollars. But I mostly swap out my rings just because I don't want to lose them! I've actually fallen in the water and lost one of my travel rings, and I was SO grateful that it wasn't my real ring. I'll just keep my real ring in the safe back on the ship so I know I'm going home with it at the end of the trip. 

One last port don't is don't bring anything back on the ship that you're not supposed to. Some cruise lines have drug dogs hanging around the gangway to make sure no drugs are snuck in. The ship will have you go through a quick security process when you get back on, where you walk through a metal detector and your belongings go through an x-ray machine. You can't bring fresh fruit, food, or your margarita back with you. If you bought alcohol or some cigars on your trip, they will hold them for you until the last day of your cruise. Depending on the country you're on and your ship, you might not be able to bring seashells or sand back on. 

Cruise Embarkation Day

Going on a cruise is definitely different than going to a hotel. The biggest difference is that at a hotel, guests check in and check out throughout the week, so it's a steady trickle of the hotel turning over rooms. On a cruise, everyone is checking in at the same time, which is a really large influx of people all trying to get on a ship, explore the ship, and get settled into their vacation all at once. I wanted to share my tips for the first day of your cruise, plus what to pack in your carry-on for embarkation day.

To make your cruise embarkation go smooth, about a month before your cruise (give or take, the cruise line will send you an email) you can go online and check-in to your cruise like you would a plane. Just like a plane, this will give you a boarding pass and a boarding time. They'll also make your luggage tags available. Unlike a plane, the cruise won't print your boarding pass or luggage tag ahead of time, so you'll want to take care of that before you leave for your tip. 

Assume you'll have crappy internet at the cruise terminal because everyone will be on their phones trying to load their documents. Some people prefer to print their boarding passes, some prefer to screenshot them, but I prefer to save them to my Google drive and make it available offline so that both Ryan and I have access to them. Either way, just make sure you don't need internet to access them or you're going to be stuck there for a while.

Before your cruise, you can print off your cruise luggage tags with your room number on them, and your luggage will all be delivered to your room that first day. I recommend getting luggage tag holders for your luggage tags so the paper tags aren't ripped off and your bag isn't delayed. The luggage tags are short and fat for Carnival, but long and skinny for Royal Caribbean, so you'll need either Carnival-specific luggage tags holders or Royal Caribbean-specific luggage tag holders (most other cruises will fit one of these shapes).

You'll also want to download your cruise's app before your trip, called the Carnival Hub for Carnival or the Royal Caribbean app for Royal Caribbean, but each cruise line will have their own. Even if you got the internet package, I would also recommend you download and Spotify or Apple Music playlists so you can have music at the port, and download any shows/movies to your phone/iPad or books to your Kindle ahead of time because the ship wi-fi might not be as fast as what you have at home. 

What to expect for your cruise embarkation

Your cruise embarkation will be more similar to boarding a plane than checking in to a hotel. You'll either park if you drove in to the port or you'll get a ride if you flew in. Once you get to the cruise terminal, there will be porters there who can help you drop off your checked luggage, or you can drop off your checked luggage yourself, or you can carry on your checked luggage. The porters are free, but it's suggested you tip them $2 for large/heavy bags and $1 for smaller/lighter bags. Checked bags on a cruise are a little different than a plane. There's no weight or liquid amount limit, so you can bring a 60 pound bag with your full-sized shampoo bottles from home and be perfectly fine. Similar to TSA, your carry-on will go through security. The only real restrictions for a cruise checked bag is that any drinks (1 bottle wine per person over 21, case of soda or water per person) need to be in your carryon, and any other alcohol or potential fire hazard (power strips are a no-no, but outlet extenders or outlet adapters are okay, steamers are also banned) will be confiscated.  Your bags are usually delivered later in that afternoon, but sometimes they aren't delivered until that evening so I recommend you have everything you need to get you through the first evening in your carry-on bag (more on that below).

Once you get rid of your bags, it's time for the security clearance. Before your cruise, you'll be able to choose your boarding time. For our 2023 Carnival cruise out of Galveston, we ended up showing up about 30 minutes after our boarding time. They still let us on, but they had 2 security lines- 1 for people who were within their boarding window, which was a very short line; and 1 for people who were either too early or too late, which was a much longer line. Security is like TSA pre-check where your carry-on bags go through an x-ray machine and you go through a metal detector where you'll have to remove anything that would set the metal detector off, but hats, shoes, and jackets didn't need to be removed.

After you're through security, you start the boarding process. This is a little different than most planes. You go into a giant room and get in line to check-in. Depending on the crowd, this can take 15 minutes to an hour, so be prepared for both. The only thing you need to check in is your boarding pass and your ID's. If your trip begins and ends in the US, you can travel with a birth certificate + driver's license for adults, and just birth certificate for kids. However, I really recommend you cruise with a passport because it makes this process much faster, and disembarkation day is significantly faster as well. I suggest you just wear a crossbody bag with your phone and ID's to make it really easy and fast to find what you need to board. They'll take a picture of each person in your group for identification purposes, similar to what I've had happen at a doctor's office. Every time you get on and off the ship at each port, this photo will pop up as you get on/off the ship, so if you care about how you look in the photo then be aware of what you look like on that first day.

Now you finally get to walk onto the ship. Your room likely won't be ready when you get on the ship, so you'll have to find something to do until your room is ready (remember, your suitcase may or may not be at your room by the time your room is ready), and they usually will announce overhead when the rooms are ready. You'll usually get on the ship at one of their main levels where there's shopping, the excursion office, and guest services so you can go straight to one of thee if you need it. Most people go up to the top decks to change into swimsuits (or they boarded wearing their swimsuit) and get in the pool, claim a beach chair and get a drink while waiting for the ship to sail off, or head to the buffet to get the first of many free meals.

What to pack in your cruise carry-on

Two thoughts on your cruise carry-on situation: 2 straps and lightweight. I think of a cruise carry-on bag more like a flight "personal item" bag. Usually people bring either a purse, beach bag, or a backpack. I personally prefer to keep my phone, wallet, and important items in a crossbody bag, and then bring a backpack as our carry-on. I like a backpack just so I can be hands free to hold a drink and a plate of food in my hands without worrying about a bag falling down my arm, and so I don't have to keep shifting a bag from one arm to the other to keep my arms from tiring out as we walk around to explore the ship. 

In the backpack, we keep a wet bag with swimsuits for everyone (and then put our underwear in the wetbag once we change) and a coverup for going into the buffet in my swimsuit, sunglasses for everyone, sunscreen, and reusable straws for the day (cruises no longer use plastic straws, so they either have paper or candy straws). I'll also pack a small makeup and hair bag in case I have to do touch-ups for dinner in the event our checked luggage doesn't arrive before our dining time. The dress code for the main dining room on the first night is always casual, so you can probably wear what you wore to board the ship to dinner that first day as long as you didn't wear sweats or just a swimsuit and coverup to board. If you bring a laptop or iPad with you, you'll probably want it in your carry-on bag just to keep it safe. I also bring a wireless charger since I won't really have access to an outlet until my room is ready, headphones,  and my waterproof Kindle so I can start enjoying being on vacation. My carry-on backpack has a drink holder, so I'll pack my reusable water bottle and fill it up at a drink station once I get on board.

The last thing I bring are 2 bottles of wine in my carry-on bag. You get 1 bottle of only wine or champagne per person over 21 in your room. I bring shelf-temperature bottles but don't cool them until I get into my room so I'm not stressing over my wine's temperature fluctuating too much and ruining. I do pack the bottles in a wine carrier to keep them from clanking in my bag, but if you're worried about the bottles breaking then you can always put them in a travel wine protector bag. You can bring the wines with you to dinner and have wine with your meal for a small corkage fee, or you can enjoy your wine in your room for free. Personally, I just prefer to save my wine for the evenings on our balcony. I personally bring a wine bottle with a screw-off lid so I don't have to worry about a corkscrew and then pack silicone wine glasses to drink out of.

If you chose to bring a case of soda or water on board, you'll also have to carry it on, so keep that in mind when packing your carry-on bag. 

Tips for cruise embarkation day

Remember the app I told you to download before your trip? Now is the time to use it. Every person, no matter how many times they've cruised, must do a muster drill for each cruise. You can do the muster drill from the cruise app. It will have a little video or instructions on what to do in an emergency, and then will tell you where on the ship is your muster location. In the event of an emergency, this is where you will report to. Your app will tell you whether or not you'll need to bring a lifejacket from your room to the muster location. At the muster location, they will check you off the list as completing your muster drill. All cruise passengers, even kids, must complete the muster drill before the ship can sail away. The cruise likely won't allow you to buy anything (even drinks) on the ship until you complete your muster drill, and they'll announce your name if you're the one person holding up the ship sailing away from the port, so get it done early on embarkation day.

If you have kids, this is the day to check out the kids club and get them registered. All kids, even babies too young for the free drop-off kids club, should be registered so that you have full access the whole trip. They'll get a wristband that will have their muster station location on them, so if there's an emergency the kids club will have your kids meet up with you at the muster location, and you don't have to go find them.

The buffet, pool bar, and any pool-adjacent snack places are the most packed on embarkation day. If you can, explore the ship a little to find a lesser-crowded area to get something to eat or drink without the long line. Almost all places on the ship will let you take your food or drinks to go, so you can still carry your food and drinks up to the pool bar. 

Everything on your cruise will be charged back to your room, so your room key will be your only form of payment on the ship. But, you don't get your room key until your room is ready (it will be left right outside your room door when the room is ready). Since you can't use your credit card to buy a drink (assuming you didn't get the drink package), you'll need your boarding pass with your room number so they can charge your drink back to your room until you get your room key. 

I use the ships sailing-away horn to remind me to put my phone in airplane mode. If you have the internet package, your texts and apps will still work. But, once you get far enough away from the port, your phone will enter into roaming and will really be expensive. Your cruise app might also require your phone to be in airplane mode to work, and the ship internet might only work in airplane mode as well. 

If you're worried about seasickness, take your motion sickness medicine or put on your motion sickness patch (don't do both, they'll fight each other and make you more sick) before the ship sails away. These usually take 30-60 minutes to kick in, so you'll want to make sure it's in your system before your ship starts moving.