What to Pack: Top Items for Teens to Carry-on a Cruise

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Are you wondering what to pack in a carry on for a teen for your family cruise? Teenagers can be a complicated lot, but also a lot of fun. Many times they want to do everything for themselves. Other times, they expect that Mom has taken care of everything. Fear not, you’ve come to the right place!

I took my first cruise more than twenty years ago. Since that time, we have cruised with our young children, teens and now with them as young adults. Trust me, we’ve seen it all! We have also cruised several times with extended family and friends. We have come a long way in our carry on game, that is for sure.

The basics of luggage

To kick off the discussion, we can start with luggage – think about the type of luggage your teenager should use or what luggage you have available. I’m a big proponent of teenagers managing their own luggage. Even younger children can manage small pieces of luggage on their own. It’s good for them, and YOU start this responsibility early. In fact, this might be one of my favorite travel tips for families.

Carry your own bags kiddos!

In reality, it’s more likely…roll your own bag kiddo. 😉

In all seriousness, it’s a great way to kick off a family trip and the best way to ensure that mom doesn’t become the pack mule of the family vacation.

Will your teen need a checked piece of luggage?

Assuming you are heading out on a week long cruise with the entire family, your teen may need a piece of checked luggage. There are many different sizes available. I’d recommend a medium/standard size checked bag. The extra large bags with expandable zipper are too easy to over-fill, meaning over weight and costing you more! You tend to fill the luggage space you have available and it leads to too much stuff that you don’t need.

Top tip: packing cubes make things so easy for teens. They can unzip the cubes and place it right on the shelf in the cruise cabin. I now consider them travel essentials.

Depending on the individual teen’s fashion interest and their “fashion needs of course”, (I had a teenage girl) here are a few key items as well as basic things they will want to include on their cruise vacation packing lists.

• Casual day wear – comfortable and weather appropriate
• Swimwear 2-3 (no one wants to wear a damp suit)
• Evening attire
• Footwear
• Undergarments, pajamas, socks
• Excursions – make sure you include a pair of comfortable walking shoes – Many times this is sneakers which we usually wear on the plane because they are bulkier than flip flops!
• Accessories (my son always forgot a belt for his dress pants) and toiletries
• Adventure – if the ship has a rock wall, zip line, ice skating, etc. – You may need socks, shoes with laces/tie and long pants.
• Sweatshirt or hoodie for chilly nights or to just be cozy

Now, back to their carry on or their personal item bag. This should be a separate travel bag. What to pack in a carry on for your teen can be a little stressful. You want them to decide for themselves, yet you want to make sure they have everything they really need.

Related: Packing page full of tips

What to pack in a carry on for a teen

First step, Let’s address their travel documents.

I highly recommend having passports for all cruise travelers. I know it’s an investment, but consider it to be an investment in their future travel experiences. If they are mature enough to keep this in their personal item bag, great! If you feel more comfortable keeping all of your family passports together, I recommend a family passport holder to make things easy on you. I personally consider this the most important thing to pack for your cruise. If you think about it, you can replace almost anything else that you’ve forgotten.

Recommended – RFID passport holder

Family passport holder

Each cruiser will also need their sail-pass to board the cruise ship. Most cruise lines have these available in the app, following the check-in procedure. Teens love using apps so make sure they download the app before you leave home so that you don’t have to rely on cell signal to do so at the last minute.

Carry-on Luggage

If you are flying to your cruise port and want to travel carry-on only. The bag(s) you choose are even more important. Most major airlines allow for one carry-on (overhead bin) and one personal item bag that should fit under the seat. For the purpose of what to pack in a carry on for your teen, let’s focus on the personal item bag. This bag will be very important throughout the vacation but more on that later and will carry all of your essential items.

Popular choices for carry-on/personal item bags

Shoulder Bag, Messenger bag, school Backpack or a small backpack (like a cinch sack or a packable backpack. I think the important thing here is that your teen is comfortable carrying this bag, regardless of the style.

A backpack remains our personal preference. When our kids were teens, they would always use their school backpacks as their carry on bag. My husband and I also use backpacks because the weight is evenly distributed and our hands are free for paperwork, etc.

Once your teen determines the right bag for their needs they’ll want to determine what they will want to have during their travel day. They may want to consider the length of your trip. Some families have long flights and they may want to prioritize the back up battery or battery pack for their favorite game device or for their cell phone (in airplane mode, of course). Or maybe it’s a long road trip to your embarkation port.

Some popular items that teens want within easy access – of course, their electronic devices

• Cell phone
• travel games (link to post with several easy to pack options)
• card games
• ear buds/air pods – if planning to use in-flight entertainment, be sure to pack corded head phones or check out the new air-fly.
• Tablet or kindle – download a few good books, a travel book or even tv shows (Thanks, Netflix!)
• Mindfulness Journal, puzzle book or coloring books (it’s important to have options that do not require wifi, just in case)
• Sweatshirt/Hoodie

Any of these items can also make a perfect travel gift. In our family, travel items always find their way into everyone’s Christmas stockings or in birthday gift bags!

Related: Cruise items from Amazon and Gift guide for travelers

Personal care items are also important for travel days.

Here are a few different things that our family tries to include in our carry on personal item bag.

• Empty water bottle – fill up after security and use throughout you travel day and your cruise!
• Individual sanitizing wipes and tissues
• Gum – air pressure can be no fun! If plane rides are not your thing, or your concerned about motion sickness on the ship, bring a long some Bonine or ginger candies.
• Essential medications – prescription medications or over the counter medications for headaches or stomach upset
• Hand cream and lip balm (planes are so dry!)
• Travel pillow

If room allows, it’s always a good idea to pack a change of clothes in your carry on bag. You just never know! Your teen could use this change of close as their embarkation day outfit so that they don’t need to dig into their checked bag at the hotel room. (Tip: Always fly into your port city the day BEFORE your cruise)

Embarkation Day of your cruise – what to pack in a carry on for a teen

This is day one of your cruise and you are boarding the ship! It’s a great idea to keep your personal item bag with you. I call this my embarkation day bag.

Teens will want to keep their electronic items, documentation and any medications with them in this bag. Additionally, I would recommend adding in a swim wear option, sunscreen, hat/sunglass and flip flops. The pools are less crowded on the first day because many people are exploring the ship!

Cruise Port Days/ Excursions

Whether you are heading to the beach or going for adventure hike, it’s a good idea to have a personal item bag. Again, I think a backpack works great. In fact, for several years now each member of our family carries their own bag.

We call this bag, our excursion bag and I highly recommend this one. Seriously, best travel gifts! It folds up and is so lightweight yet has several pockets and a ton of room. Your teen could even use this backpack as their carry on bag and embarkation bag. And, there’s a color/pattern for each of your family members.

Here is a full list of what we pack in our cruise port day bag/excursion bag.

A few highlights include: sunscreen, bug repellent, water bottle, pack towel, hat and sunglasses.

Also, depending on your comfort level. You may want your teen to carry a bit of cash or even an authorized user credit card in case they were to somehow get separated from you. Additionally, they should always have access to their cruise boarding card.

I recommend using credit cards when possible, during your excursions/cruise port days. This helps track spending and reduce the need to carry a lot of cash. Make sure you use a card without foreign transaction fees.

Cash is still important to have on hand for taxis, tips, etc. We have an app on our phone allowing us to lock them at anytime, too.

Tip: Ok, this isn’t about their carry on but it’s still a tip for keep your cool when cruising with teens or pre-teens. After many hard lessons, we started giving our kids, even before their teen years, a spending budget.

Each child had a set amount of money that they were given (or earned) prior to the trip. They could save it, spend it on souvenirs or in the arcade, etc. This eliminate a lot of little arguments and the constant requests to buy every little thing. When it’s their money, they give it a lot more thought.

Final day of your cruise

A unique aspect of cruising is the practice of setting your larger luggage. Yes, you literally tag your luggage and set it outside your cabin door on the last night of your cruise. You don’t have to do this. But, if you don’t, it’s your responsibility to lug your luggage down the narrow halls and down the stairs (or wait for an elevator) to disembark the ship.

Assuming you opt to follow cruising tradition, you will once again utilize your carry-on bag to keep a few essentials with you for your last night and morning on the cruise.

Items to keep with you in your carry on bag – last night of your cruise

A change of clothes for morning. No one wants to disembark the ship in their pajamas and bare feet. Well, actually, teenagers might, but let’s discourage that a bit.

• Toiletries – toothbrush, paste, deodorant, etc.
• Passport
• Medication
• Electronics/valuables

In conclusion – What to pack in a carry on for a teen.

It’s important for teens to feel responsible for their own suitcase, their own travel bags so that they can pack items that are important to them. While as a parent, you may disagree with some of their choices, it’s a great opportunity to foster the love of travel that will grow for years to come.

Even if it’s their first time cruising, I’d advise that you give them a checklist and let them take it from there. They will learn a lot and you won’t be as stressed about everyone’s “stuff”. Trust me.

You can find a list of all of my favorite cruise gear here.

Print off this teen cruise packing list for them and then see if they ask for help.

Feel free to double-check that passport before you leave for the airport or on your road trip though. Remember, that’s really the only thing that can’t be replaced during your trip. If your teen ends up wearing the same pair of athletic shorts all week, that’s ok. Enjoy these teenage years. Trust me, they fly by too quickly.

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