Cruise Vacation Favorites and Essentials

I just got back from a cruise a couple days ago and it was an absolute blast! If you haven’t been on a cruise yet, then I definitely recommend you go some day. There are so many activities to do, the food is free all week, and the views are gorgeous! For reference, I went on The Voyager of the Seas by Royal Caribbean!

My cruise favorites

My favorite activities were:

Pickle Ball – they had tons of sports competitions including pickleball, volleyball, basketball, and even dodgeball. I only participated in pickleball, but it was super fun even with being my first time and not being good at it lol! It’s definitely a beginner-friendly sport.

The fancy dinner every evening – this was an absolute blast because the menu was so amazing and I love sitting down with my family and talking. They had a different menu every night, including appetizers, entrees, and dessert. It was all delicious!

Lounging by the pool in the evening – The ship was very busy for the most part, especially at the pool, but in the evening it seemed that most of the passengers went to shows and games rather than the pool. So my family went to the pool in the evening to lounge and hang out, and it was a ton of fun since there weren’t so many others there! We would sit at a table next to the water and enjoy the view.

My favorite items that I used for the cruise are these:

Long sarong cover up – This skirt came in very handy and was so so cute! I wore it every day over my swimsuit.

A cute beach hat – I wore this every single day to protect my face from the sun so that I didn’t get over-exposure. Nose and ear cancer are very common so I want to prevent that!

A mini backpack – I used my mini backpack every day because it can hold more than a purse and I also like that it evens out the load on your shoulders. It was great to have to be able to hold water and sunscreen to use throughout the day when I was going from activity to activity.

A large beach bag – I used this any time I knew I would be at the pool for a while so that I could carry sunscreen, my beach hat, coverup, towel, and water.

Cruise essentials:

Lots of sunscreen! You’ll be outside a lot, even if you’re not by the pool, so be sure to bring enough sunscreen for the week.

A UPF shirt – If you burn easily and don’t want too much sun exposure, then having a UPF shirt will be super helpful to put on when you want to limit your sun exposure or if you got sunburnt. That way, you can still be outside.

Protection against motion sickness – I’ll be honest, I get very motion sick but I was fine on the ship. I never felt nausea but I was definitely very dizzy for the first two days. I was totally fine after that though! I use sea bands for nausea, and I saw a lot of people with motion sickness patches.

Lanyards with waterproof ID holders – these were definitely a necessity to not lose your stateroom ID!

Tumbler – this is essential if you don’t purchase a hydration package where you get water bottles for free. You can fill this up any time you want to have it on hand all day.

A carryon suitcase – this is essential because you have to check large suitcases and they don’t make it to your room until after dinner. So having a small carryon suitcase that fits in the security machines is important so that you can bring clothes and necessities for the day. I brought a bathing suite, dinner outfit, sunscreen, shoes, a hat, and shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Things I would do different next time

Get a stateroom with a window, maybe even a balcony.My husband and I got a stateroom that did not have a window to save some money, and I gotta admit that it felt like we were sleeping in a closet! It was hard to wake up in the morning because it was pitch black and there was no telling the time based off sunlight since we didn’t have a window. It would have been really nice to enjoy our morning coffee in our room rather than in the crowd of people on the ship, so having a window or balcony would have been super fun!
Go to a different country.We visited Costa Maya and Cozumel (both Mexico), and I think next time my family would like to visit another country where you can do more in the country. Mexico is a fairly dangerous place, so you are restricted to a small tourist area of just shops. You don’t even need your passport to get off the ship because you really don’t actually go into Mexico; it’s just a small gated off area. But if we went to the Bahamas, for example, it would have been amazing to actually be able to go into the country and eat authentic food, explore a little, visit the beach, etc.

There’s not much I would change, so that says a lot about how fun cruises are! They really are a cost-effective trip since it’s all-inclusive for the most part and you have so many fun activities to do for free.