I'm gonna start by saying that my girlfriend and I are going on our first cruise on December 7 on the Inspiration. This is the first major international travel for either of us. She has been back to her home country of Japan and to New York, but this will be her first really relaxing vacation. Myself am sort of in the same boat as your boyfriend. I have been across Canada and drove through the northern U.S. when I was younger but never been on what I consider a true vacation. Mainly I have only really travelled through my home province.
Best advice I can give, never having been on a cruise before, is go and just look forward to a relaxing time. Keep an open mind and do whatever strikes you at the moment. The most important thing is to have fun!
As for things to pack...well think about your everyday activities (besides work) and take what you need. Personal hygiene is a given. Take what you need. For clothes look at where you are travelling. For us it is cold (below freezing at home) and lots of snow on the ground. We abviously won't be taking winter clothes, but will pack lots of shorts and a few pair of long pants. Lots of t-shirts and such. The weather is going to be much better where we are going so hence we have to dig out the summer clothes. Make sure to pack some clothes for rainy weather (just in case) and cool nights.
Research the ports you are visiting and have an idea of what you would like to do while you are there. Keep two or three options available. I have been researching the ports of call since I paid for the cruise in July. I have a pretty good idea of what we are going to do in each port, with a back up plan if the excursion we want is full. If you want to scuba or snorkel look into picking up a disposable water proof camera for underwater shots. Pick these up at home as they are going to be expensive on board. If water sports are not your things lhan you will want lots of film or memery cards for a digital camera if you have it. Of course you will want to make sure that you have enough money for shopping and to settle up ship board accounts at the end. A water proof document holder is a good choice. I don't have a separate one but when I bought a bathing suit it had one. It will hold the most important stuff. Sunblock with high SPF and bug spray are a couple of things I have seen mentioned around here.
Motion sickness is something that some people will never experience. I have never had a problem on flights. Never having been on a cruise this might be something I will encounter for the first time on ship. My girlfriend has had motion sickness on her flights to Japan (over the ocean) but did not experience anything when flying to New York. Visit your pharamcist and ask questions. They will give you advice and suggest things to try. This is what we have done. We may not need it but we are going to have something just in case. Again we want to enjoy our trip, not spend it feeling sick.
And the most important thing to remember is to go and have a good time. When you get on ship there will inevitably be something you need and didn't bring. You can do all the planning in the world and there will still be something you have forgotten. Go and have a good time. Don't worry about anything you've forgotten. You're cruising to have fun, not to worry about things you need!
