What to Pack for a Cruise? Our P&O Experience!
Knowing what to pack for a cruise can be difficult especially when the weather is unpredictable. Here are a few essentials Sarah packed, and everything she was allowed to bring for her February Cruise aboard P&O Iona for the Northern Europe City Escape.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS, MONEY AND ID TO BRING WITH YOU
To board the ship you must have your passport, boarding pass and evidence of travel insurance that includes cruise cover.
Your passport will serve as ID if you want to purchase alcohol or anything age-restricted on shore.
Your Cruise Card is the only ID you’ll need on board the ship. Every passenger is issued one on arrival at their cabin.
Sarah took euros with her for port days but didn’t actually use any as everywhere accepted card or Apple Pay.
There were no extra charges on her cards either (as she’d checked beforehand) and we’d recommend you do the same just in case.
You won’t need cash for on board purchases where everything is charged to your room.
You can check your bill on the TV at any time to see your total. It’s good to check for any mistakes that you want to question at customer services.
You’ll receive a printed bill the night before you disembark which is taken from the card you gave details for during online check-in.
CARRY ON CASE
A carry-on case or bag is a must-have for us to pack for a cruise!
We always recommend taking a small case as hand luggage that you don’t check in when boarding. This will allow you to bring any electronics and chargers, personal hygiene items or breakables such as bottles on board the ship.
The night before you disembark you will be asked to leave your cases outside your room. This means you can keep the small case with you to store your essentials for the final night and morning on board.
HYGIENE AND PERSONAL ITEMS
Aside from the usual personal hygiene items you use every day and expect to bring with you, Shampoo and Shower Gel (produced by the White Company) are available in your cabin showers. So there’s no need to pack these unless you prefer your own.
If you want to request conditioner from your cabin steward they will provide this free of charge.
They will introduce themselves during your first afternoon or evening on board.
CLOTHING – FORMAL NIGHTS AND EVENING DINING
Every cruise has one formal night per week. If you’re eating at speciality restaurants you’ll need to dress formally for this too.
If you don’t want to take part in formal nights, there are more casual food options. The Buffet, The Quays, and The Keel and Cow are more relaxed.
Most people we saw took part in formal nights, and some chose to dress up every night! It’s down to YOU how you want to dress in the evenings and what you want to pack for a cruise.
CLOTHING – CASUAL DINING AND SEA DAYS
As it was pretty warm onboard the ship, most days were spent in t-shirts and short sleeves and are easy items to pack for a cruise.
The weather was actually very mild for February so we only needed a light coat or waterproof jacket on port days.
SHOES FOR DAYS, EVENINGS AND EXCURSIONS ON SHORE
Comfortable footwear for walking around the ship, going on trips or exploring during port days is essential.
Something fancier for formal nights or speciality restaurants, and a pair of sliders or flip-flops for the pool and spa.
SWIMWEAR + WASHING ON BOARD
Though you only need one, some people pack two swimsuits so they can alternate and allow the other to dry fully.
There are 18 hot tubs, 4 swimming pools and an additional children’s splash area onboard Iona. There’s plenty of opportunity to take a dip!
Pool towels are provided but Sarah bought a long towel robe which was great to put on over swimwear. After getting out of a warm pool into the cool February air you might not want to hang around and instead head back to your cabin so this helped a lot.
Use of washing machines, dryers and irons is free of charge and can be found in the laundrettes. These are located on each cabin deck.
We’d suggest you take your own washing liquid, tabs or softener to save purchasing these on board. Basics like these are a little pricier than you’d find onshore.
BACKPACKS FOR PORT DAYS
On port days Sarah took a backpack to carry the essentials and any purchases made on shore to bring back to the ship.
Some of our essentials to pack for a cruise are…
- plasters
- ibuprofen
- tissues
- hand sanitiser
- phone power bank
- phone charging cable
She also brought empty drink bottles and a mini squash to save money while at the port. Filling the bottles at bottle-filling stations on board before leaving the ship.
EXTRA FOOD AND DRINK
While there is a variety of food onboard you might want to bring some snacks with you to satisfy any late-night cravings.
There is a shop that sells Pick-n-Mix and duty-free type chocolate, BUT this is very expensive and it is cheaper to pick something up before boarding.
ARE YOU ALLOWED ALCOHOL ONBOARD A P&O SHIP?
Each guest aged 18 years (21 years in United States of America ports) and older may bring up to one litre of wine or Champagne on board when they embark the ship for the first time only. Wine or Champagne over the one-litre limit will be stored and returned to the guest prior to the end of the cruise. If this alcohol is consumed in the dining rooms, bars, restaurants or lounge areas, it will be subject to a corkage fee of £20* per bottle, per occasion, which will be charged to the guest’s on-board account. Other alcohol types such as spirits are considered restricted items and guests are prohibited from bringing them on board when they first embark the ship.
(the above was found on the P&O website as of February 2025, click here for their code of conduct)
As for soft drinks you can bring as many of these on board as you like but again these must be consumed in your cabin.
Other than the mini squash we had in the backpack for port days, we didn’t bring any soft drinks as we had purchased the non-alcoholic drinks package.
Tea and coffee are in the room along with long-life milk. If you prefer fresh you can pick this up at the Buffett or some of the bars to bring back to your room. Many people did this, using the mini fridge in the room to store it.
Be sure to check the bottom draw of the tea caddy as there are individually wrapped biscuits which we didn’t find till the final evening. These are replenished daily.
ELECTRONICS TO BRING WITH YOU
You’re allowed to bring straighteners, hairdryers and curling tongs.
As P&O is a UK company all cruise ships come with UK plugs, which is great if you’re from here, but if not, bring an adaptor if you think you’ll need one.
They do sell these on board in shops but again they are much more expensive.
USB sockets are available in the rooms and we had some in the bedside lamps which were great for charging our phones.
STORAGE IN THE CABIN
In the cabins the wardrobe has plenty of hanging space along with several shelves.
There are a few more shelves in the bathroom and suitcases can be stored under the beds.
Sarah uses packing cubes for every holiday but they’re especially helpful here for keeping everything organised.
Something that was highly recommended to us by other passengers was to bring magnetic hooks on board if you want extra hanging space.
This would have been super helpful for our formal wear as our full length dresses were too long for the wardrobe.
As all the walls are metal the magnetic hooks can be attached practically anywhere.
What we would suggest is to also bring along the coat hangers that you need as the ones in the wardrobe are fixed to the rail and unable to remove.
We hope this post on what to pack for a cruise helped!