As a frequent traveler, I often pride myself on packing strategically and efficiently. However, I made a few notable packing mistakes on my recent Mexican Riviera cruise that I definitely won’t make again for future travels.
Whenever possible, I try to cruise with just a carry-on suitcase to keep my luggage to a minimum. This also makes it easier navigating the airports and cruise terminals with fewer suitcases to haul around. I especially try to pack lightly when I’m flying to my embarkation port, as checking a bag with the airline can slow me down at the airport.
Of course, packing with just a carry-on is typically easier on shorter cruises to warmer destinations. With these itineraries, you don’t need to pack as much, and summer clothes usually take up less space in your suitcase. Longer itineraries with varied climate and unpredictable weather forecasts can make this much more difficult.
For instance, when I sailed to Norway last summer and to Iceland the year before, I ended up checking two suitcases with bulky winter clothes for my cruise! On the flip side, I never struggle to pack just a carry-on for cruises to the warm and sunny Caribbean, even for weeklong itineraries.
Read more: 40 essential things to bring on a cruise
And although I’ve cruised on many itineraries across North America, I had never visited Cabo San Lucas on a Baja Mexico cruise. With the highly-anticipated arrival of Ovation of the Seas in Los Angeles earlier this summer, my mom and I decided to fly across the country for an inaugural sailing.
Ovation of the Seas is a Quantum class ship, and the biggest ship to ever sail from Los Angeles, California. As such, we were excited to be on the first sailing to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico aboard Ovation of the Seas! My mom and I had never visited this popular port of call in Baja, Mexico, and the cruise was surprisingly affordable at $700 each for the 5-night cruise.
This particular itinerary featured an overnight stay in Cabo San Lucas with two days at sea in between. Having an overnight port is one of my favorite features of an itinerary, as it allows more time to explore the destination without rushing to return to the ship.
We arrived in Los Angeles the night before embarkation and drove across town to the cruise terminal the next morning. For this sailing, I packed for the weeklong adventure with just a carry-on and personal item. I encouraged my mom to do the same, given some logistics of our travel days, so we were both prioritizing packing light for this cruise.
Throughout the cruise, I was disappointed in myself for making a few rookie packing mistakes. In fact, some of these forgotten items are ones that I never leave behind! Here are some of the amateur mistakes I made when packing for this Mexican Riviera cruise, including a few items I won’t forget again.
1. Forgetting a pair of long pants
When I picture cruising to Mexico in the summer, I think of the scorching heat and stifling humidity. However, most of my summer itineraries to Mexico have departed from Florida and visited ports of call like Cozumel and Costa Maya. Moreover, as a Florida resident, I typically cruise from the ports near me, and I haven’t spent much time on the West Coast while traveling.
Although I had looked at the weather before packing, I focused on packing summer clothes for the warm and sunny days in Cabo San Lucas. Unfortunately, I somehow forgot to pack a pair of pants for this cruise to Mexico. Instead, I prioritized shorts, dresses, and skirts for our time both onboard and ashore in Mexico. I completely disregarded the possibility that our embarkation port and sea days might be chilly.
To my surprise, Los Angeles was quite cool with cloudy weather and low humidity on the first morning. This is when I learned about California’s “June Gloom," which is a Southern California term I had never heard before.
June Gloom describes the weather patterns in the early summer with cloudy, overcast skies. This usually brings cooler temperatures, often accompanied by a foggy marine layer. Supposedly, May is called “May Gray” and July has been dubbed “No Sky July” because of this weather phenomenon. Naively, I had assumed June in California would be sunny and warm!
Because most cruisers onboard were local, the majority of people on our cruise were wearing pants for the first two days with the cloudy weather. While I was comfortable inside the ship, I definitely felt chilly when my mom and I walked around the top deck during the day or strolled along the promenade after dinner.
The chilly breeze was a big surprise for us, and not packing pants was a complete oversight on my part. In the future, I’ll definitely plan to pack at least one pair of leggings or pants for my cruises.
Read more: My 64-year-old parents love to cruise. Here are 10 essentials they always pack
2. Choosing not to pack personal shower products
Although cruise cabins are well appointed, Royal Caribbean’s bathrooms only include one basic product for shampoo and body wash. The 2-in-1 combination product works fine as a body wash for me, but I prefer to pack my own shampoo and conditioner usually.
Because my suitcase was packed to the brim, I decided to minimize the amount of cosmetics packed to save space. In addition, I didn’t want to have too many travel-sized products and get flagged by TSA for airport security (which has happened before). I was also relying on the upgraded bathroom products provided by Royal Caribbean to Diamond Plus loyalty members.
Because of this, I chose to pack a small bottle of conditioner and planned to use the shampoo and body wash provided by Royal Caribbean. We requested the upgraded shower products from our cabin steward on embarkation day and received them on the first night. While we were given shampoo, body wash, and lotion, there was no conditioner included for some reason.
Read more: 5 Dollar Tree Items Cruisers Should Stock Up on Before Their Sailing
Sadly, forgetting to pack conditioner was a big mistake. At some point, I apparently decided to use my travel conditioner bottle for lotion instead. I wasn't able to tell the difference when packing, given the similar texture of lotion and conditioner.
Halfway through the cruise, I realized I was conditioning my hair with cocoa butter instead of actual conditioner. That certainly explained why my hair was so greasy! By the end of the trip, my hair was looking less than impressive. Thankfully, my mom had packed a small bottle of conditioner that I borrowed on the last night. But, the half-filled bottle was not enough for us to share for the entirety of the cruise.
I was relying on the cruise line to provide conditioner for this cruise, but that ended up being a mistake. Even if I’m tight on space in the future, I’ll prioritize packing my own shower products.
3. Not bringing enough casual outfits for the ship
Our 5-night itinerary on Ovation of the Seas included two sea days and two days in Cabo San Lucas. While packing for this cruise, I planned to bring three nicer outfits for our time in port, three evening dresses for dinner, and exactly three casual outfits for our time onboard.
For this vacation, my mom and I booked an excursion on the first day in Cabo San Lucas to make the most of our time in port. On the second day, we had planned to venture ashore for a little exploring before the ship's all aboard time.
However, after a full-day excursion in Mexico, we were completely worn out by that evening. On top of that, Cabo San Lucas is a tender port, which requires extra planning and dealing with the tender boats to get ashore. Our tender boat on the first day was quite small while navigating the choppy waters, leaving me a little woozy before the excursion even started.
On the second day, all aboard was scheduled for early afternoon, so we decided to stay on the ship instead of going ashore in Cabo San Lucas as we originally planned. We didn’t want to deal with the tendering process again, especially since we had already seen and done so much during our excursion the day before.
Because I had packed only three casual outfits to wear on the ship, I ran out of casual clothes by the last day. While I wasn’t left without something to wear, I wished I had packed more comfortable lounging outfits for onboard the ship and worried less about packing specific outfits for Mexico.
Not to mention, this meant I was rewearing the same stinky, stale airport outfit from my first travel day to California. This was a good reminder to always pack a couple of extra versatile pieces that you can wear, no matter how your plans change.
Read more: Caribbean and Mexico cruise outfits for women
4. Leaving behind an evening purse for dinner
Whenever I cruise, I typically pack a different purse to use onboard the ship for the evenings. However, I had already packed my daily crossbody pouch and a small backpack to use ashore in Cabo San Lucas that could hold my larger camera.
While trying to keep my suitcase from overflowing, I opted to ditch the evening purse, but I did end up regretting this. Instead, I was using my casual crossbody pouch for evenings onboard, and I felt underdressed and mismatched.
For instance, on formal night, I thought my crossbody pouch looked pretty tacky with my nicer black dress for the occasion. Although no one else probably noticed or cared, I would have preferred having a nicer accessory for our evenings onboard.
Next time, I’ll plan to pack a more versatile option for both daily use and evenings onboard the ship, like my leather crossbody purse from a Mediterranean cruise. When it comes to packing minimally, having clothes and accessories that can serve multiple purposes is key, and my bag choice on this trip was definitely a packing mistake.
On the other hand, my mom went the opposite route and ended up packing too many bags for this cruise! She is notorious for bringing multiple bags while traveling, even if they’re not practical. Like usual, she didn’t end up using every bag she packed. While they didn’t take up much space in her suitcase, she definitely could have narrowed down her selection and saved herself the extra clutter.
5. Forgetting to pack a few magnetic hooks
While magnetic hooks are a popular cruise staple for many, we opted to forgo packing these because of our shorter cruise itinerary. I always pack these for longer sailings to make the cabin more functional and organized. However, I convinced my mom that we didn’t need to bring any magnetic hooks this time because a full set can be heavy and take up unnecessary room in our suitcases.
In hindsight, magnetic hooks are useful no matter how lightly you decide to pack. While our cabin had plenty of storage for us, having a few magnetic hooks on the walls would have made it so much easier to grab things quickly, like a light sweater or our cabin lanyards. This also helps reduce clutter in your cruise cabin, especially when you have minimal counter space on the vanity or dresser.
Next time, I’ll plan to pack at least one or two magnetic hooks for my cruise, even if I’m convinced they won’t be necessary. A full set might be too bulky for a short cruise, but bringing just a couple can make the cabin feel more organized without adding much weight to my luggage.
Read more: 21 Cruise Cabin Essentials Everyone Should Pack
6. I should have left more room for souvenirs
I love shopping while cruising, but traveling with only a carry-on can make it challenging to leave extra space for souvenirs. In fact, sometimes I intentionally don’t leave room in my suitcase just to keep myself from shopping too much. If there’s no room for souvenirs, I shouldn’t be tempted to browse the local markets for trinkets and treasures.
Even still, I was excited when I found a small set of hot sauces for my husband during our excursion in Mexico. It was also Father’s Day weekend, so I purchased a T-shirt and baseball hat to send back with my mom for my dad's present. We did resist the temptation to purchase tequila during our tasting event, as there were only a few travel-sized bottles that would fit in our suitcase.
We also enjoyed some of the onboard shops, as we are both suckers for a good cruise T-shirt! I try to avoid looking in the shops because I usually find something I like, and I know they’re overpriced.
At the end of the trip, even a few souvenirs were difficult to pack in our already-full suitcases. My mom and I both struggled to find room for the small treasures, even though we made a conscious effort to minimize our shopping.
It’s always best to leave a little bit of wiggle room while traveling, as you never know what you’ll find! This also alleviates some stress when packing your suitcase at the end of the cruise, as my mom and I needed to spend a few hours strategically packing. Luckily, we were able to squeeze everything in and bring home our finds without too much trouble.
