You’ve splurged hundreds, maybe thousands, on a cruise. So, why fork out another $300 for sunscreen, seasickness medication, bottled water, and a poncho? That’s the shocking reality of onboard prices if you forget to pack the basics. Yes, that $3 bottle of aloe from Walmart suddenly becomes $20 onboard.
Every year, thousands of cruisers make the same costly mistakes. They forget to pack the basics and pay the price. Forget swashbuckling buccaneers—modern pirates of the Caribbean wear polos and a name tag and work behind the counter in the cruise ship gift shop! Maybe they won’t steal your treasure—they’ll just sell it back to you at four times the price.
The solution? This article is your secret stash—18 must-haves that’ll keep your gold in your wallet and help you avoid running aground on a shipwrecked budget.
The One Thing You Can Still Bring Onboard That Saves $80!
Why throw $80 overboard when you can bring one or two bottles of wine or champagne? Most cruise lines let you bring a limited amount of wine or beer in your carry-on. That $12 pinot from home? It’s $45 onboard—and that’s before gratuity.
Many cruisers stock up before embarkation, wrap their bottles in bubble wrap, and toast sailaway from their balcony, minus the hefty bar tab. Some even pack a mini corkscrew or order juice from the buffet to mix mimosas in-cabin.
Skip this and you’re paying club prices for grocery-store wine. My advice is always to check your cruise line’s alcohol policy, as limits differ and can change from year to year.
The $6 Trick That Turns Free Drinks Into Fancy Mocktails
Cruise lines hope you’ll pay $12 for a cocktail—or $700 for a drink package. But savvy cruisers forget the overpriced beverages and make their own mocktails. Grab the free lemonade, iced tea, or juice from the buffet—and add flavor drops, fruit slices, or a splash of soda from the bar. Boom. Instant zero-cost mocktail.
One Reddit user said he made daily Arnold Palmers using buffet tea and lemonade. Another added berries to Sprite for a “fruit soda vibe.”
For under $6, you can pack enough flavor drops to outmix the bar—no package, no guilt, no bar tab surprise on disembarkation day.
Sunscreen, Aloe, and After-Sun—Or Pay $20+ Onboard
It’s simple math: A bottle of sunscreen at home? $6. Onboard, it’s easily $18–$26. Aloe gel? Another $20 if you can even find it in stock. That’s topping $40, which you could splurge at the steakhouse without the regret of overpaying on basic vacation items.
Cruisers in Facebook groups often joke that ship gift shops are “sunburn tax zones.” Many admit they forgot their bottle of aloe and ended up limping through port days with red, peeling skin and pain. But the real pain? Realizing they had paid a triple price for a simple item they had forgotten to pack.
For less than $10, you can pack enough SPF and after-sun to last the trip—and skip paying luxury prices for drugstore basics.
The same is true for remembering to pack a sun hat. Leaving one at home or onboard can turn into a costly blunder. Imagine walking through a scorching port with the hot Mediterranean or Caribbean sun beating down on you. Suddenly, that $35 tourist hat seems like a bargain.
OTC Meds and First Aid Items (Prepare for a Hefty Consultation Fee)
Don’t forget to pack a simple first-aid kit if you want to save a fortune onboard. Cruise forums are packed with comments about the exorbitant onboard prices of painkillers, allergy, and motion sickness medications.
But here’s the wallet kicker—cut yourself or twist an ankle, and you’re off to the medical center. One cruiser said their $4 Band-Aid turned into a $200 consultation fee. Okay, insurance covered the costs, but they still had to pay the upfront amount and the deductible from their own pocket.
Cruise forums have many posts full of regret from travelers who didn’t pack basics like pain relievers, antacids, motion meds, or antiseptic cream. A small $10 DIY kit can save you hundreds in onboard medical charges.
A $1 Ponchos Save $30 Shore Day Rain Meltdowns
Picture this: you step off the ship in Cozumel, ready for adventure, then the sky opens up. Souvenir shops know the drill. Out come the $15–$30 “emergency” ponchos, and soaked tourists line up to buy what they could’ve packed for $1.
Cruisers in Facebook groups often laugh about the overpriced rain gear, after the fact. Many cruisers ended up spending $60 outfitting the whole family during a quick downpour.
Pack a few dollar-store ponchos and skip the soggy wallet. You’ll stay dry, smug, and $30 richer before lunch.
Bring a Dental Repair Kit—You’ll Thank Yourself
Nobody boards a cruise expecting a crown, a dental filling, or an inlay to fall out mid-buffet. But it happens—more often than you’d think. Reddit threads about cruises have horror stories of cracked fillings, chipped teeth, and no onboard dentist in sight.
One traveler paid over $400 for emergency work at a port clinic after losing their crown and spending a few days in pain. It’s a cheap, small solution to what could become a severe dental problem if you end up with throbbing pain due to a lost filling.
For $10, you can pack a temporary dental kit and avoid the pain, panic, and expensive detours.
You Just Paid $5 for Water—Again
Shelling out $5 for bottled water every time you’re thirsty isn’t relaxing. Before you know it, you’ve racked up a huge onboard bill for something freely available. The smarter move? Pack a refillable bottle, fill up at the water stations, and skip the markup entirely.
Cruise ship water is safe and drinkable when taken from the water stations. Now, savvy cruisers swear by insulated bottles or Brita-filter models. These remove the taste that some passengers complain about and give extra peace of mind.
It’s a simple packing hack—pack it once and you’ll never cruise without it again.
Laundry Hacks & Wrinkle Spray
Cruise laundry prices are wild—so why pay them? $3 to wash a T-shirt? $8 to press a dress shirt? No thanks. Veteran cruisers pack smarter—and spend that laundry cash on actual fun or dining perks.
Many seasoned cruisers swear by wrinkle release spray. One Redditor called it “the MVP of my suitcase.” Just spritz, tug, and you’re dinner-ready in seconds. No iron. No begging guest services at midnight to save a wrinkled dress.
And for the laundry-doers? Detergent sheets or pods are the way to go. Wash a few essentials in the sink, hang them in the shower, and boom—you’ve stretched your wardrobe without dropping $20 in quarters.
The best advice? Pack light, spray often, and skip the ship’s overpriced fluff-and-fold drama.
That $7 Snickers Regret Is Real
Here’s the thing: You’re allowed to bring your favorite snacks onboard, as long as they’re sealed in the original packaging. So why pay $7 onboard for Snickers or a tub of mini Pringles? You can put your hard-earned cash to something better.
Seasoned cruisers don’t mess around. They toss in granola bars, trail mix, candy, and their favorite comfort snacks from home. Reddit’s full of posts like, “I would’ve paid anything for Goldfish on night three,” or “That one granola bar saved me at 2 a.m.”
Cruise food is excellent, but cravings don’t follow dining hours. Pack your favorites now so you don’t end up rage-buying gummy bears at luxury prices.
Soda Cans—Yes, It’s Allowed (Sometimes)
Cruise lines are happy if you forget this one—you can often bring soda cans onboard. If you forget, you’ll be splashing out at least $3.50 per soda, plus gratuity and a dose of regret.
Before you board, check your allowances to see what you can and cannot bring on board. Many cruisers on Facebook shared that bringing a 12-pack saved them around $40 to buy the same drinks from the bar. After getting the steward to empty the minibar, they always had cold soda to hand.
Water Shoes (Especially for Shore Excursions)
Many first-time cruisers in the Caribbean don’t realize how essential water shoes are for shore excursions. You need them to protect your feet from sea urchins, coral, sharp rocks, and hot sand. So, they end up shelling out $50 for a “cheap” pair at a port kiosk.
Cruisers in Facebook groups say they’ll never go on a Caribbean cruise without water shoes again. One even called skipping them “the dumbest $60 mistake I ever made.” Whether it’s Dunn’s River Falls, a rocky beach, or a surprise downpour, these things earn their keep fast.
Do what most experienced cruisers do—grab a cheap pair before you sail. Your feet—and your wallet—will thank you.
Ginger Candy, Motion Sickness Bands, and Meds to Save Money
In the rush to pack your luggage, you forgot the one essential item that could save you a fortune onboard—seasickness remedies. Then, you’re at the medical center forking out $18 for a few Dramamine tabs. Worse still, you feel so ill that you’ve just spent $230 for a consultation to learn “it’s just seasickness, it will pass.”
Cruise veterans don’t take that gamble. Reddit threads are full of first-timers who thought they’d be fine—until the ship rocked, their stomach flipped, and they ended up spending the price of a shore excursion on nausea relief.
Many pack what works for them. For some, it’s ginger chews, pressure bands, or peppermint tea. For others, OTC motion meds are the only option. Some say they’ve never had to use them, but they always bring them anyway. Because when you need it, you need it now.
Backup Glasses or Cheap Readers
Lose or break your glasses on land? That’s annoying. But you can pick up a cheap pair with a quick trip to Costco. But lose them on a cruise? That’s a full-blown crisis, and an expensive one at that. And onboard shops? Don’t count on them having anything more than overpriced designer sunglasses.
One cruiser said their readers snapped on day two, and they spent the rest of the trip squinting at menus and skipping shows. Others now bring $5 reading glasses from the dollar store or an old backup pair, just in case.
Other cruisers on Cruise Critic say they pack eyeglass repair kits if they don’t have a spare pair.
It’s simple enough to pack an extra pair of reading glasses in your suitcase to avoid a blurry, frustrating, and potentially expensive cruise misadventure.
Mini DIY Sewing Kit (Trust Me)
Nobody thinks about it until it’s too late. A popped button before formal night. A dress strap that snaps mid-photo. A pair of shorts ripped while climbing into a snorkel boat. One cruiser shared how the buckle on his sandal broke on a shore excursion.
What do these scenarios all have in common? A sewing kit would have saved the day. While it’s true that you can sometimes get complimentary kits onboard, they’re not always available. A common thread (pun intended!) is that everyone wishes they’d packed a small DIY sewing kit.
A mini kit weighs next to nothing and can save your outfit, your photos, and your pride. Skip the wardrobe meltdown. Pack the $2 fix you’ll wish you had.
However, it seems that the onboard staff are usually willing to help. Some cruisers shared how Guest Services repaired split seams free of charge. Whereas, another said that the onboard tailor did clothing repairs for free, even for those in standard cabins.
Ziplock Bags or Snack Containers
Want to save money buying onshore snacks and sugary treats? Pack Ziplocs or a small reusable snack box, as there’s no rule against them. You can use these handy items for packing snacks for shore excursions or to take food back to your cabin. They’re helpful for balcony picnics or to-go breakfasts.
Ziplock bags are versatile and have a ton of other uses. Apart from packing DIY sandwiches, you can use them to pack wet swimsuits or collect shells from the beach. One cruiser shared how he used it as an impromptu ice pack after twisting their ankle.
Most seasoned cruisers advise packing a few as “you never know when they’ll come in useful.”
An Old Bed Sheet Can Save Money on Beach Chair Rental
This money-saving hack is so simple that you’ll wonder how you never thought of it before. It’s a novel way to save money on renting a beach chair on a shore excursion. All you need to do is pack a bedsheet in your beach bag. That’s it!
When you get to the beach, breeze past the lounge chair vendors, spread out your sheet, and relax in the Caribbean sun. Cruisers who use this trick say it’s cheap, comfy, and wildly genius.
Now You Can Pack Smarter and Cruise Cheaper
Now you know the money-saving hacks to pack, not just for a vacation, but for a small victory. Packing the items on this list could add up to over $100 in extra fees you didn’t budget for. From overpriced sunscreen to snack markups and sneaky onboard upsells, you know how to avoid the money traps.
One cruiser summed it up perfectly: “Once I started packing to save money, I stopped coming home with sticker shock.”
So, why not aim for less onboard spending by packing the items that will help stretch your budget onboard?
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