Cabins on cruise ships are notoriously small and have very little storage, among other deficiencies. Here are a few cheap things that will help you maximize what you can do.

Number 1: Magnetic Hooks

The walls on cruise ships are made of metal so you can use these to hang clothes or other items on the wall. [Click on the picture for more info.]

I have two sets. This size and another larger (and stronger) set to hold up heavier items (like coats and binoculars). On my last cruise, we hung jackets, water bottle carriers, our cruise ID lanyards, and the next item in my list on the walls using these.

.

Number 2: A FLAME-RETARDANT over door pocket organizer

Yes, there are tons of over-door organizers that are cheaper than this one, but if they find one in your luggage that’s not flame retardant (or your steward sees it in your cabin) they will confiscate it, so this is the one to get for cruising. DO NOTE: You cannot put this on the door to the hallway, but you can put it on your bathroom door. OR you can even hang it on a wall with the hooks above like we did on our last cruise. [Click on the picture for more info.]

.

Number 3:  A charging/power station of some type. 

The two main options are:

A NON-SURGE PROTECTED power splitter — rooms on cruise ships notoriously only have a couple generally inconveniently located outlets. Also, you cannot take surge strips or extension cords on the ship (again, they’ll confiscate them). This takes one outlet and makes it into three, plus 2 USB outlets. So get this or another nonsurge protected power splitter so you can plug a few things in. Click on the picture for more info.

.

Or a USB bank. If I am traveling with others, I’ll generally bring this charger as it handles everyone’s needs. It charges everything fast and allows charging of up to 6 things at a time, which is generally enough. I usually take one of the ones on the right too because they are small so I have a backup if I want to charge away from my cabin. Click on the pictures for more info.

.

Number 4: Magnetic motion activated light

I have a few of these in closets in my home, but you need another set for a cruise as you have to take the magnetic strip and adhere it to the light itself so you can stick them to the metal walls in your cabin. Normally, you’d adhere the magnet to the wall and then let the light attach to the magnet, but obviously, that’s not a choice on a cruise ship wall. So sadly you can’t easily repurpose these for at home (unless you have a metal wall/door/etc to use them on). I prefer the ones that use batteries (like the set shown – you can click on the picture) because if you only use these for cruises, the rechargeable batteries won’t hold up long, but you can just replace the batteries in these with regular (or even rechargeable) AA/AAA batteries (depending on the setup of what you buy).

The best use of these it to put one or two in the bathroom – so you don’t have to turn on the light from the outside, and the others near the floor on the walls so you can see where you are going.

Have a great cruise.