Cruise Hacks Everyone Should Know Before They Sail

Here is the one that surprises everyone: cruise cabin walls are made of steel, so magnets stick right to them. A handful of strong magnetic hooks turns bare wall into hanging space for hats, jackets, lanyards, and the daily schedule.

It is the first thing I unpack and the thing fellow cruisers always ask about. They weigh nothing and they give a tiny room a surprising amount of breathing room.

Cabins come with one or two outlets and you will have five things that need charging. A power strip fixes that, with one big catch: it has to be the non-surge kind.

Ships pull surge protectors at security because they can interfere with the ship's electrical system. A simple non-surge strip with a couple of USB ports is allowed on most lines and saves a nightly fight over the outlet. Always check your cruise line's current rules before you pack it, since a few have tightened up.

Your checked bags get delivered to your cabin sometime in the afternoon, occasionally the early evening. Embarkation lunch, the pool, and the first wander around the ship all happen before that.

So keep a swimsuit, a change of clothes, and anything you take daily in your carry-on. You will be poolside while everyone else is waiting by their door for a suitcase.

Most lines have an app with the daily schedule, dinner times, and chat so your group can find each other without cell service. Download it before you lose signal at the port.

Then put your room card on a lanyard. That card is your key, your wallet, and your ID rolled into one, and the last place you want it is loose in a pocket near a pool.

Two things cost a fortune onboard: sunscreen and bottled water. Both are easy to bring from home. Pack reef-safe SPF, which several ports now require anyway, and a refillable bottle you can fill at the buffet station.

Small move, real savings, and you are not paying gift-shop prices for the things you use most.