You’ve packed your cruise wardrobe, (including those 12 pairs of essential shoes); you’ve bought your sun protection and have got your ‘tickets, passport, money’ reminder stuck on the fridge. What else could you possibly need?

Here are my 5 most useful items to pack for your next cruise - I don’t know how I ever managed without them!

1) Giant/Jumbo Pegs

These are so useful! It’s very windy on deck and it’s not a glamorous look when your towel flaps over and covers your face. Use these pegs to clip your beach towel at the top (and sides) of your sun lounger to keep them in place.

They are also useful to fix tablecloths in place if you opt to dine on your balcony or to secure your wet bathing costume to dry in the sun.

Take them ashore with you (for much the same reasons), plus you can clip your discarded clothes together onto a parasol whilst on the beach to stop them getting sandy,

Use them in your cabin to keep all those daily newsletters and destination guides together.  They are also great to clip sarongs together and clipped to wardrobe hanging rail.

I bought mine in Poundland but you can pick them up on Amazon or in many high street stores.  They come in many colours or look out for novelty shapes.

2) Pocket hangers

Avoid cluttered surfaces in your bathroom or on your dressing table by investing in one or more pocketed hangers.

These useful items hang from a hook or over a door and allow you to store smaller items (make-up, toiletries etc.) in easy reach.

I also take one with slightly bigger pockets so that I can hang my shoes and bags rather than have them in a jumbled heap at the bottom of the wardrobe.

If you really wanted to be organised, you could get canvas hanging “shelves” to provide even more extra storage.

The beauty of these versatile hanging storage solutions is that they are lightweight and fold flat into your luggage.

3) Multi-adapter

With all the technology we carry with us now, even in the most well-resourced cabins there are unlikely to be sufficient sockets to meet all our needs

I remember a formal night when I found my straighteners unplugged so my husband could play his Bluetooth speaker while he trimmed his nose hairs (or some such trivial activity). I was furious as I ran out of time and had to go to dinner looking like a poodle (my hair is not suited to sea air sadly).

Ever since, I have always packed a multi-adapter. Mine gives me an additional four sockets, so I can charge my camera, phone, listen to music and straighten my hair at the same time.

4) Portable phone charger

This could literally be a lifesaver should you ever get stranded in the rainforest or bush after losing your excursion leader.

OK - bit of an unlikely situation but if your battery is unreliable, the last thing you want is for it to die in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime photo shoot.  I bought a Bonai rose gold charger from Amazon before my last cruise. The adapter itself charges quickly and has enough juice to recharge my iPhone 6 plus twice before it needs plugging in again. I now carry it everywhere with me so I don’t panic that I will miss that vital picture. It’s funny isn’t it that these expensive communication devices are now really just very expensive cameras!

5) Post-it (sticky) notes

Another simple, lightweight item that has proved invaluable on my cruises

If you need to leave a message for your cabin attendant, you can place the sticky where it will be most relevant. Want to change your pillow? Leave a post-it on the pillow itself. Need more shower gel? Leave the post-it on the bathroom mirror.

They are also great to keep in touch with your travelling companion(s) - especially if you don’t want to use your phone on the [expensive] ships network, or worse have those annoying walkie talkies! Or why not just leave them a romantic message!

If you are doing separate activities you can leave a note on your cabin door or mirror to let your companion know where to find you. If you leave your sunbed to grab a quick bite/have a bathroom break or whatever, leave a post-it to let the pool attendant know you will be back shortly. This avoids having your belongings and towels removed from your lounger.

Occasionally I have decided to immerse myself in the local language and have used post-it’s around the cabin to remind me of phrases and vocabulary.

They’re also obviously good to stick in your guidebook to mark up activities you want to do or places you just must visit, and to jot notes from the port talks to add to your destination guide.

I will be posting more hints and tips and packing advice in future posts, so watch this space.

FYI - I have not been sponsored by anyone for items shown in this post. 

For ideas on cruise dress codes check out my example on Dress Codes on P&O Cruises.