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To many people, packing one’s things up for a cruise vacation may appear to be extremely simple, but there still is a large amount of travel preparation that is involved. Sure, forgetting an item may not ruin your vacation all together, but it may still create an unnecessary headache or hassle in the long run. The following is meant to be a brief guide on packing for a cruise ship vacation, and what absolutely should not be forgotten in the process.

Cruise ships are not generally required to have medical facilities or doctors on board, although you will typically find a nurse’s station and a first aid station on board. There are some basic over the counter medications that are generally stocked in the gift shop on the cruise ship, but these generally have a cost attached that is much higher than what you would have spent on land. You may also be able to purchase most necessities at major ports of call, but it may detract from enjoying your vacation if you have to deal with the hassle of tracking down forgotten supplies.

The best way to begin is to make a brief list of all of the things that you would normally forget. This way, once you have finished packing you can turn back to the list to find out if you have left anything out in the packing process. You should definitely always prepare for the sun, which means making sure that sun block and sunscreen are packed and always applied when needed. You should also make sure to bring a hat, sunglasses and lip balm as well just in case. All of these supplies will be available on the ship as well, but typically for a cost that is much higher than what would be paid in your hometown grocery store.

Something else that you should be prepared for is seasickness. If you have a tendency to get seasick, or feel that you may, you should come prepared which means bringing a treatment for seasickness like pills, or something else. You may also want to make sure that your accommodations are booked for the center of the ship, which is the part that sways the least in general.

You also should remember to pack any prescription or even over-the-counter medications that you have, since filling prescriptions and buying more medication will be a large hassle if not completely impossible. Make a copy of the information on each medicine bottle so that replacing it will be less of a hassle if your medication is lost or used up completely. You should also make sure to bring stomach ache medicine, headache medicine and allergy medicine in case something on the ship or at a port of call does not agree with you.