Hi my lovely readers!

I always like to take plenty of clothes with me on holiday and especially on a cruise and this for several reasons. First of all, during holiday I like to wear all the things I cannot while at work.

Also, I like to have choice. During the cruise you will most likely have a formal night or multiple formal nights and the majority of cruise guests take this opportunity to really dress up. This means cocktail dresses and tuxedos or if you are not this adventures at least a formal looking dress and for men a suite.

If you go to cold weather destinations such as the Arctic it becomes even more tricky to fit all items as you will have lots of bulky items such as winter coats, thick jumpers and hiking or trekking boots. Such items take up a lot of space in your luggage.

So, for all of the above reasons you need to pack a lot and sometimes it is hard to fit all your clothes, shoes and junk into that one piece of luggage without it being ripped apart as you have overfilled it once again.

Therefore, here are a few items that you will not need to take on your cruise. As a result, you will gain that extra luggage space that you desperately need to take more stuff with you or to gain space to bring back those lovely souvenirs.

1. TOWELS

All cruise lines provide towels for the cabin and you can find plenty by the pool areas. If you want to go offshore to the beach, the cruise lines will allow you to take a towel from the ship with you as long as you return it.

Depending on the cruise line, sometimes you can just pick up a towel from the pool area and sometimes the cruise line will deliver a towel the night before during downtown service to your cabin so you can take it to the beach the next day.

Make sure though to take it back to your cabin and let the stateroom steward collect it so they can see that you have returned the towel as otherwise you may be charged for the towel.

2. SHAMPOO AND SHOWER GEL

All cruise lines provide shampoo and shower gel in the showers. Unless you really have to or want to use your own, there is really no need to take them with you. Perhaps you would want to take a conditioner with you, but the rest can stay at home.

3. HAIR DRYER

Every cabin will have a hair dryer. These are either hidden in one of the drawers in the dressing table or they are attached to the wall. These may not be the fastest or most high-tech hairdryers, but they will do the job. Therefore, leave yours at home to save space.

4. HAIR STRAIGHTENER, CURLING IRON AND OTHER FANCY GADGETS

This one is a 50/50 and always depends on the voltage that the sockets have on the ship. Some ships have a very low voltage and hence some of these gadgets will not work.

If the voltage is high enough then by all means pack them. However, in this case I would recommend to check with the cruise line in advance as the voltage may vary from ship to ship depending where and when they were build and for which market.

I went on a cruise recently and forgot to check this and took my curling iron with me to do my hair for the formal night only to find out that it was not working. I was annoyed with myself as I could not do my hair the way I intended to and I carried the item with me for nothing.

5. TRAVEL IRON

If you like a a wrinkle free shirt and travel around with a small travel iron, you better leave this at home this time when you go on a cruise. All cruise lines have laundry rooms where you can iron your shirt and it is actually forbidden to take an iron on board as it is a fire hazard.

6. TOO MANY GAMES AND BOOKS

If you are travelling with kids, you want to make sure they have enough of their favourite games and toys to stay busy and entertained. So, it is easy to get carried away and pack loads of them.

But all cruise lines actually have games in the library that you can borrow during the cruise. The library moreover contains plenty of books for all different tastes. Thus, if you are a book worm you can simply take a book or sometimes even magazine and read this during the cruise. Once you are finished, simply return it and grab the next one. 5 kg and a lot of space saved!