Video:What to Pack for a Cruise

Transcript:What to Pack for a Cruise

Hi! This is Meghan Lynn Allen for About.com, and today we'll share what to pack for a cruise.

Pack Travel Documents and Money

You'll need your airline ticket or e-ticket confirmation, your passport or visa, or any other travel documents that you may need that are destination-specific. Forms of money, starting off with credit cards. You'll want to call your credit card company before you travel, to alert them that you'll be outside your normal zone where you spend and use your credit card.

You'll also want cash or traveler's checks, and an ATM or debit card. Be sure that if you have a traveler's check, your traveler's check receipt is in a separate location.

Pack Travel Guides and Necessary Electronics for the Cruise

If you wear contact lenses or eyeglasses, be sure to pack those, along with contact lens cleaner or anything else that goes with them. Bring a guidebook or a port-of-call information book for the destination to which you'll be traveling - and if you like, a foreign language phrasebook, or English to foreign language translator or dictionary.

Be aware upon arriving at your travel destination that you may need a plug adapter or converter. You'll also want to bring along your cell phone and charger, as well as any other chargers that go with your PDA, iPad, e-reader, or any other electronic device you bring on board. For your camera, you want to make sure to not only bring your camera, but extra film or memory cards, batteries, and a battery charger.

Pack a Medicine Kit for the Cruise

Medicine kit. In addition to your prescription drugs, you might want to have some pain relief like Tylenol, some bandages, Q-tips, Dramamine - anything that you consider your main first-aid kid when you're on the go or on the ship. And you also want to remember that you may be getting sick. So have handy some bacterial hand soap or some Handi-Wipes, some lotion, bug spray, and sunscreen to keep you in your best health while you're on your cruise.

Pack Only the Clothes You'll Need for the Cruise

Think about the size of your cabin, how many days you'll be traveling and what you'll need to wear. Then color coordinate your clothes, and eliminate as many colors as you can that don't match. Pack lightweight clothes and clothes that don't need ironing. Dress for your destination, and don't bring extra clothes that fit outside the box of that destination. And don't weigh yourself down. Never bring more than one week's worth of clothes, including underwear.

You can find a complete packing list at About.com's own cruise planning site. Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at About.com.