There's two types of vacationers... those who unpack their suitcase and those who do not. I am the type who unpacks my suitcase, and on a cruise vacation, I think it's critical to unpack and organize my stateroom on the first day so that I can easily find everything and keep my cabin tidy throughout the cruise.

I feel like most of the articles written about cruise cabin organization are catered to families with children.... and probably for good reason. If you're sharing a stateroom as a family of four, you have much less space per person. I don't have children, so I don't have to worry about organizing/storing kid stuff. Perhaps the over-the-door shoe organizers and pop-up hampers are gamechangers for families with kids sharing a stateroom, but I've never found it necessary for my cruising style.

This post is written from the perspective of an adult who most often shares a stateroom with one other person (either my husband, Aaron, or my sister, Rachel). I am by no means a light packer. I typically bring several pairs of shoes, a swimsuit for every day, a dress for every evening, and more "day clothes" than I need. I also pack a lot of camera gear. I am not a minimalist when it comes to what I pack.... but I'd also rather pack more outfits/gear than stuff to organize my stateroom.

Magnetic Hooks to hang bags, jewelry, and accessories

If you purchase one item to help organize your stateroom, get magnetic hooks. You want to make sure to get the very strong magnetic hooks (most have a rating of how much weight they claim to hold). Magnetic hooks don't take up much room when packing (though be sure to label them as "magnets" in your bag because they will set off the metal detector) and are extremely versatile.

The walls in (most) cruise staterooms are metal, meaning magnets will stick to them. If you find yourself in a cabin that doesn't have magnetic walls (either they have some sort of wood paneling over them, or they've been painted over so many times, it's hard for magnets to stick), the doors and ceiling are most likely metal and will accept magnets.

There are so many uses for magnetic hooks. I use magnetic hooks to hang hats, purses, and necklaces. When we cruised in 2021 and masks were required, I used metal hooks to hang our masks on the back of the cabin door so that we wouldn't forget them on our way out of the room.

Magnetic hooks also come in handy for for hanging wet bathing suits or cover-ups to dry, or for emptying things out of drawers so that you can use the drawer space for clothing. Rachel and I hung the stateroom hairdryer on the wall to get it out of the drawer on the Harmony of the Seas.

I've also used magnetic hooks to hang birthday decorations in my Mom's stateroom, as well as Christmas stockings on the door.

I buy heavy-duty magnetic hooks from Amazon. I like these because you can switch out the hook to be large or small, depending on your need. The large hooks are good for hats, bags, and clothes, and the smaller hooks are great for jewelry.

Hanging Toiletry Bag

Hanging toiletry bags are a great way to store your toiletries in the tiny stateroom bathrooms when vanity space is limited. Most bathrooms have hooks for towels on the wall or back of the door that you can utilize to hang your toiletry bag, but in bathrooms that haven't had a handy hook, I've twisted the hook and hung the toiletry bags over the shower wall.

Aaron loves his hanging toiletry bag. It works great for him because he doesn't have that many toiletry items, and it easily holds everything he needs.

For me, I have found that I need to be strategic in how I pack my hanging toiletry bag. For cruises, I pack it only with face cleaner, serums, moisturizer, contact solution, toothpaste... stuff that I use specifically in the bathroom because I prefer to do my makeup at the vanity in the room, instead of over the bathroom sink.

We've tested out several of these hanging toiletry bags, and our favorite is by Bagsmart. Aaron and I both have the Medium Hanging Toiletry Bag by Bagsmart. Aaron tried out several "more masculine" hanging toiletry bags, but ultimately with went with Bagsmart in quilted black because of the superior quality. I have the Medium Bagsmart in black and white stripe. Rachel has the large version, and she's not a huge fan - she thinks it causes her to overpack/contributes to her suitcase being overweight.

Empty the Mini Fridge

Many staterooms will have a stocked mini fridge. Usually the pricing is unclear and the items inside are a weird curation of soda, premium water, and mini bottles of liquor. Unless it has a special note on it that says, "complimentary," assume that it comes at an outrageous upcharge (the soda in the fridge is usually not included with your beverage package). I always ask my stateroom attendant to empty the mini fridge. Then, there's no late night confusion of what's yours and what's for charge.... and it can double as a beauty fridge.

Ask for More Hangers

I like to take advantage of closet hanging space as much as I can. At a minimum, I hang up all of my dresses and all of Aaron's shirts. If you're short on hangers, don't worry - you can ask your Stateroom Attendant for more hangers. I haven't had to request additional hangers recently, but it was something Rachel and I took advantage of when we were sharing a stateroom on our longer Panama Canal cruises.

Packing Cubes can serve as Drawers

Often, I find myself in need of more drawer space. There's rarely enough drawers in cruise ship cabins because drawers are more expensive than shelves and also more difficult to maintain - I actually fixed the broken drawer slides in our stateroom on Celebrity Summit (you're lucky I'm handy, X!). On Norwegian Encore, the storage situation was primarily shelves, few drawers. Luckily, we had packed using packing cubes, and we were able to stack our packing cubes with underwear and swimsuits on the shelves in the closet. Packing cubes are super handy for unpacking because you can just place the packing cube in the drawer/on the shelf, reducing the time it takes to unpack.

Leave items you won't need in your suitcase

I typically fly to the cruise port which means that I have a bunch of plane necessities that I know I won't need during the cruise (travel pillow, travel blanket, noise-canceling headphones, etc.). I stash these inside of my suitcase so they're out of the way.

Store Suitcases under the Bed

Most cruise ship staterooms have tall bed frames that you can easily store your suitcases underneath. Sometimes you'll find that there's lifejackets or linens being stored under the bed... if that's the case, you can always position them closer to the headboard or relocate to the upper shelves of the closet. If your suitcase is too wide to be stored under the bed in a closed position, try storing it in the open position (this will only give you an edge if you have a suitcase that opens in two halves). If you have several suitcases, try nesting them - either in open or closed position.

Use your Suitcase as a Hamper

I'll re-hang/re-fold most of my clothes after I've worn them. For clothes that I won't re-wear, I leave a suitcase open under the bed to use as a hamper. I put my dirty clothes in an antimicrobial laundry bag (pro tip: place a dryer sheet in the laundry bag to help with smell) and slip it in and out of my suitcase.

In lieu of a hamper, toss dirties directly into an open suitcase underneath the bed!

What are the cruise stateroom organization tips that you swear by?