Most cruise ship cabins are smaller than hotel rooms. Make the most of the small space and keep your stateroom tidy with these 27 clever cruise cabin organization tips.
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27 Clever Cruise Cabin Organization Tips
1. Ask For Extra Hangers
Make better use of the cruise closet space by asking your stateroom attendant for extra hangers. Hanging up most of your clothes not only saves drawer and shelf space but it helps keep your clothes from getting wrinkled.
If you are looking for other tips How to Keep Your Clothes Wrinkle Free on a Cruise then click over to this post.
2. Store Empty Suitcase Under the Bed
On embarkation day, as soon as your luggage arrives outside your cabin door, unpack. Store your empty suitcase under your bed. This is a great cruise cabin organization tip. An empty suitcase takes up way too much cabin space.
3. Use Packing Cubes in Drawers
Use packing cubes in the drawers for smaller items like undies and swimsuits. This makes better use of the drawer space as it keeps those smaller things from sliding around and taking up more space than needed.
4. Hanging Toiletry Bag
The cruise lines do design the ship bathrooms to make efficient use of the space, however, the cruise ship bathrooms can quickly and easily get cluttered.
The one above is a medium size. My daughter uses this one. I have the extra large size for me and my husband (purple one below). Clicking the links will take you to Amazon if you want to check them out. I like that the extra large one sits nice on the counter for hotel travel.
A hanging toiletry bag makes better use of the small bathrooms and keeps them looking a lot less cluttered. Hang your toiletry bag on the back of the bathroom door to save counter space.
What Toiletries to Pack for a Cruise {Ultimate List} will help ensure you have packed everything you need.
5. Pop Up Hamper
A smaller mesh pop up laundry hamper is a great cruise cabin organization tip to keep your dirty laundry in one spot rather than all over the bottom of the cruise closet.
An alternate cruise organization hack for dirty laundry is to store it in your empty suitcase under the bed.
I do find the pop up hamper the easier way to deal with dirty laundry rather than bending down and sliding out the suitcase each time you have something to add. If you are cruising with kids or teens, they may be more likely to use the hamper and less likely to just throw the clothes on the floor.
More smart cruise cabin organization tips
6. Laundry Bag
A laundry bag is another way to deal with dirty clothes.
The advantage to using a laundry bag is that at the end of the cruise you can toss this laundry bag into your suitcase, and you are more than half packed.
7. Magnetic Clips
Magnetic clips are a great cruise organization hack and a great way to keep the papers organized.
I like to keep all the daily schedules as souvenirs. Magnetic clips are a great way to keep the papers all together and off the desk or tabletop. Papers scattered all over an area look cluttered and messy.
Pack yourself a couple strong magnetic clips for your next cruise.
8. Magnetic Hooks – Smart cruise cabin organization tips
Magnetic hooks are a clever cruise organization tip. Cruise ship walls are magnetic. Magnetic hooks make use of the empty wall space and keeps your flat surfaces clutter free.
Use strong magnetic hooks in your cruise stateroom to hang things like your cruise lanyard with your cruise card, hat, and sunglasses.
Find magnetic hooks here.
9. Store Souvenirs in Your Empty Suitcase
The suitcase you stored under your bed becomes your souvenir storage. Rather than have bags of souvenirs on the floor, desk, or in the closet, store them in your empty suitcase under the bed.
This doubles as a time saver as it is now prepacked.
10. Create a Message Center
While it’s not necessarily a cruise stateroom organization tip, it is a cruise hack to keep your family and cruising party organized.
A message center in your cruise cabin is simply a place for everyone staying your room to leave and read notes.
This is a great cruise hack when travelling with teens. You can leave little notes to let your teens know where they can find you or when you will return and vice versa. This is essential if you don’t have the cruise line texting packagein their app.
A simple note like “gone to the waterslides, back by 4 to get ready for dinner” is helpful and can save a lot of waiting around.
How to create a cruise message center
There are 2 simple ways you can create a cruise message center.
- Use Magnetic Clips
Use your magnetic clips to attach a few pieces of paper to the wall by the door. Be sure to pack a pen. A pen will sit nicely on top of the magnetic clip.
2. Post it Notes
Throw a package of Post It Notes and a pen in your cruise luggage for a cheap and easy message center.
Leave the sticky notes and pen in the same spot so everyone knows where to find them.
11. Hang Wet Clothes on the Clothesline in the Bathroom
The showers in the cruise ship bathrooms have a retractable clothesline. This is perfect for hanging wet bathing suits. Never hang towels or clothes on your balcony.
You can see the clothesline in the picture of the hanging toiletry bag above.
12. Keep Your Electronic Accessories Organized
Charging cords, cables, electronic devices, and accessories hanging around can look messy fast.
There are a few ways to keep these things organized in your cruise cabin.
- Velcro cable ties
Wrap cords up that aren’t in use and store them along with other accessories (earphones, extra batteries, etc.) in on of your empty packing cubes. Velcro straps are great for this.
- Electronics accessories organizer bag
A bag like this Is great option as it keeps your organized on your cruise but as well as for packing all these small items.
- Packing cubes
Use one of the smaller packing cubes in your set to keep your electronics and cables together.
On our last cruise we used both a packing cube and a small organizer. This worked well for us. In the packing cube we kept all our Go Pro accessories, camera charger, and other cables. The small organizer we brought in our airplane carry on bag. This held things like Airpods, charger cable, and extra camera battery.
Any of the above options could work for you, it depends on how many electronics and electronic accessories you have.
13. Non-Surge Protected Power Strip
Speaking of electronics. You may want to add a power strip to your packing list. Often there are minimal electrical outlets in the staterooms.
A power strip or power cube is a great way to minimize fighting over who gets to charge their cell phone next, especially if you are sharing a room with several family members.
It is important that the power bar (sponsored) you bring has a NON surge protector. This is critical as others will be confiscated.
This is the one we have. You can find it here (sponsored).
Note: These are no longer allowed on Royal Caribbean ships.
I like it as it has USB ports as well as extra outlets.
14. Envelope for Small Bills
Keep an envelope in the desk drawer with a few small bills for room service tips. This is a great idea especially if you are cruising with older teens and they are ordering room service on their own.
An envelope in a drawer is easy access, rather than having to go in and out of the safe.
15. Over the Door Organizer
Many cruisers like to use a clear pocket shoe organizer over the back of the bathroom door to create more storage space.
There are several pockets allowing you to store and easily see things like suntan lotion, toiletries, hair products, and motion sickness medication.
I personally have found that my hanging toiletry bag (#4 above) provides enough space. However, other cruisers swear by the shoe organizer as a way to organize their toiletries.
16. Jewelry Organizer
A jewelry organizer is important if you travel with a lot of jewelry. An organizer like this will not only keep your room tidier but also keep things from being a tangled mess or from losing them.
17. Hang Your Towels
If you plan to reuse your bathroom towels, hang them up. The small bathroom will look way less cluttered if there aren’t towels all over the counter and floor. If you want your towels exchanged, put them on your shower floor. This will signal to your cabin steward that you want fresh towels and control the clutter.
18. Keep Things Tidy
This probably goes without saying but put things away after you use them. Cruise stateroom organization tips won’t help you if you don’t put things away. A tidy room also helps your room steward out.
19. Put Room Service Trays Outside the Door
If you order room service, put your dirty dishes and tray out in the hallway. It will keep your cruise cabin tidier and it is what most cruise lines prefer you do with your dirty dishes.
Useful cruise cabin hacks
20. Use Shampoo and Conditioner Bars – Ultimate Travel Hack
This is my favorite cruise travel hack. Shampoo and conditioner bars take up way less space and are less messy than bottles.
Some cruise lines provide shampoo and conditioner while others don’t. For example on our last cruises, Carnival provided shampoo but not conditioner. Royal Caribbean provided only a body wash/shampoo combo. To be on the safe side I pack shampoo bars.
Shampoo bars last a long time and are available for all hair types.
21. Light Switch Card
Many of the newer ships have light switches that require your key card or another card to be inserted. This has been implemented to save power.
Bring an old gift card with you to use as your light switch activator. You can use a magnetic clip to hang that card by the switch when you leave the room.
This saves you from having to pull your card out of the plastic holder on your lanyard. If you want other options for carrying your cruise card, read 6 ways to carry your cruise card.
Be sure to remove that card when you leave your cabin. This cruise cabin hack isn’t meant to abuse the system.
I have read that a library card or a business card works as well but don’t use credit cards.
22. Cruise Cabin TVs – Interior cabin hack
As you probably know, interior cabins or staterooms don’t have a window to the outside. The TV in your room will have a channel with the webcam showing outside.
Check this out in the mornings before heading out to see if it’s raining, overcast, or a beautiful sunny day. This is the easiest way to check the weather for the day if you have an interior or inside room.
This saves your from heading out to the pool deck with your beach bag and towel clips in hand only head back because it’s pouring rain.
23. Night Light
A lot of people like to pack a night light for their cruise vacation. Especially if they are staying in an interior cabin and especially if travelling with small children.
The interior cabins are very dark at night. This is great for sleeping but not so much for late night trips to the bathroom. A night light can be helpful.
You could pack a battery-operated tap on tap off light or one that has a soft glow all night long.
I personally just use my cell phone for light if I must get up in the night. I find the light just from the screen being on enough.
24. Alarm Clock
Most cruise ships (if not all) don’t have alarm clocks like hotel rooms do. Travel alarm clocks are one of those cruise accessories that you may or may not decide you need. It is a don’t take up much space at all should you decide to bring one along.
I again just use my cell phone.
25. Make Use of Your Safe
Your stateroom will have a small safe that you program with your own 4 digit code. Be sure to use it to store your passport and other valuables.
26. Poo-pourri Spray
Packing a bottle of Poo-pourri spray is a great cruise cabin hack, especially if you don’t have a balcony. Without a balcony you don’t have any fresh air coming into your stateroom.
Poo-pourri is a before you go spray. We have the lavender vanilla scent. It works surprisingly well. You spray the water 4-5 times before you go.
27. Travel fan
This cruise cabin hack is for those who like white noise or the feel of constant air movement. A travel fan like this might be something you want to consider.
I hope you have found these cruise cabin organization tips and hacks useful. Here are some other articles you might find helpful as well.