Now it is the day before your head out on your big cruise vacation.  You are excited and a little nervous.  What have you forgotten?  Are you taking too much?  Is everything packed in the right place?  Here are some pointers and lists to remembers as you prepare to leave your house.

Day Before – Getting to the 95% packed stage and confirming your arrangements

Depending on the time of your flight, this could be two days prior your trip.  Our flight is at 10:30 PM tomorrow, so I am taking care of these items the day before.  This is the time to finish as much of your packing as you can and to confirm any arrangements, if you have not already done so.  Here is how I manage this day for my wife and me:

  • Set out all bags so items can be properly distributed.  I set out the checked bag, carry-on bag, and personal item in one location.  This allows me to easily move items from one bag to another should that be necessary.
  • Review baggage guidelines for both your airlines and cruise lines.  Many airlines have specific rules for baggage.  Even cruise lines are starting to set limitations.  On our upcoming cruise, which happens to be a river cruise, Lufthansa limits our carry-on bag to 8 kg or about 23 lbs.  While I know they generally will not check, I have been caught on several occasions for going over carry-on weight limits.  Once in New Zealand, I had to pay a $100 fee to take an overweight carry-on.  Another time, in London, I was required to take items out of my carry-on and put them somewhere else.  Seems silly to me, but sometimes the rules are enforced.  Our cruise line, Avalon, allows one 50-pound bag plus carry on.  If you are traveling in a premium class of an airline, you may be allowed up to 70 pounds, only to find the cruise lines have limited you to 50 pounds.  Normally, this will not be a problem, but best to know in advance.
  • Add last minute items to the appropriate bag.  I will discuss how I distribute items and what last minute items I pack below.  On your first pass, put as many items as you can in your checked bag.  This includes my camera gear.
  • Pay special attention to alcohol and beverages.  I know many cruisers like to take their bottles of wine (remember: no hard liquor).  If you are flying, you will need to pack these in your checked bag.  I suggest you use a wine diaper to protect your bottle and absorb the liquid should the bottle get broken by rough baggage handling (this happened to me once with a bottle of Kahlua on a return flight and it made a real mess).  The same goes for other drinks you might be carrying.  Verify the cruise line policy for bringing beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  Some cruise lines do not permit them and will confiscate them upon embarking.  Most require you to bring beverages on board in your carry-on.  Make sure you have beverages in a location so they can be easily transferred to your carry-on before boarding and that you have space in your carry-on for them. 
  • Weigh your bags after initial packing.  If you are over you allowance, distribute the overage to other bags or leave some items at home.  Remember to leave some weight for last minute items that you cannot pack until the last day – I generally try to stay 5 pounds under.  When you are happy, zip your bags and put them aside.
  • Check in for air flights.  You can normally check in for your flight 24 hours ahead.  I always do this as soon as I can.  At this time, don’t forget to…
    • Verify the flight time, locations, and details.  We had one instance where we went to the wrong airport and missed our flight.  Fortunately, we were leaving a day early.
    • Verify your seat assignments.  These can be changed by the airlines or you might find that some better seats opened up.
    • Verify your name matches your passport.  This has never happened to me, but we have met others where this was the case (especially newly weds on a honeymoon).  Sometimes it is just a typo, but do call the airlines and fix the problem before traveling or you might be denied boarding.
    • Verify contact, known traveler, and frequent flyer information.  I had one instance where I was sure I had entered my known traveler (e.g., Global Entry) numbers, but they were not there.
  • Put your boarding passes and cruise e-tickets where you can easily access them.  Generally, I put these in my passport wallet, which I protect at all times.
  • Remove unnecessary items from wallet and distribute your cash.  At this time, I remove any of the credit cards or other items from my wallet that I will not be needing on the trip (e.g., metro fare cards, etc.).  This makes my wallet slimmer and eliminates losing these items should I lose my wallet.  At the same time, I distribute my cash, keeping only a small amount (mostly small bills for tipping) in my wallet and distributing the rest between my wife and me.
  • Prepare your cruise luggage tags.  Your cruise line will provide luggage tags that need to be applied to your bags before dropping them off at the ship.  Some lines mail these to you, others expect you to print them out.  Make sure you have enough and prepare them so you can easily affix them at your destination.  I do not put them on at the beginning of the trip since airlines handle bags roughly and they can be easily torn off or removed by the baggage handlers.  Some tips for you luggage tags…
    • Use address labels for your name and address.  This saves you the effort of writing this information multiple time.
    • Plan on two tags for each of our checked bags.  This protects against one of the tags getting torn off.  I also put one on each of my carry-on bags, if I have enough.
    • Use a luggage tag holder for added protection.
  • Backup your computers.  This is also a good time to backup your computers, phones, and tablets.
  • Confirm your travel arrangements to airport.  Assuming you need this, it is always wise to confirm how you are getting to the airport or cruise port.

Morning of departure – Really last minute

Give yourself time the day of departure to make sure you get all the really last minute items.  My routine is…

  • Electric toothbrush and shaver after I finish my morning preparations.
  • Glucose meter after taking my morning readings.
  • Wedding ring to ensure marital bliss.
  • Medical bracelet – a necessity for anyone with medical issues.
  • Hearing aid supplies.
  • Cane for my wife – something that is easy to forget.
  • Eyeglasses – spare pair, readers, and sunglasses.
  • Electronics, such as iPhone, iPad, Kindle, laptops and related accessories.  Make sure you put these in your carry-on where they are easily accessible.
  • Snacks for the trip, especially if this is a long flight.
  • Coffee Mug after I have had my morning coffee.
  • Verify your boarding passes and IDs/Passports are where you can easily access them.

Now settle back and relax until you need to leave.  Your list of items will be different based on what you need.  I do suggest you make a list and check items off as you complete them.  I use Evernote since it has a nice checkbox feature and is shared on all my devices.  I can then review the list on my phone, tablet, or laptop.

Please let me know in the comments how you finalize your ship preparations or items that you forgot to take in the last minute rush.  If I get enough feedback, I will try to prepare a generic checklist that can be shared with all my readers.