Q for CheryleB

Hello Cheryle, I know you've been on several cruises and I'm wondering
if you can give me some guidelines for what kinds of things to pack?
Shorts? Dresses? Are heels practical, or should I find some cute
lower heel sandals for daytime? What about maxi dresses? I've been
told that it's more casual than you would think. But that was coming
from a man...
Thanks for the help :- )
Halfpint

CheryleB:
You will need different clothes depending on whether it is a sail day or port day.

On the days we were at sea, we spent a great deal of time laying around on the deck or pools so it was mostly swimsuits and cover-ups. For port days, your clothes will be dictated by the type of tour you've selected. We did fairly active tours including the climb at Dunn's River and a cycling/snorkel tour in Cozumel. For those, I wore good hiking sandals, walking shorts and layered tanks. Had I been on a less physical tour, I would have worn a casual cotton skirt with a tee or a very casual cotton dress. Most of the ports of call were in very warm areas so you will want to be comfortable. We had a bit of weather the day we were in Grand Cayman and our tour was cancelled (swimming with the stingrays) so we stayed in the town and wandered around the shops. It was a bit cooler so a light cardi was needed. Iwould suggest you pack a few just in case. It can also be a bit breezy on deck.

Find out how many formal evenings there will be during your cruise. We were on a New Years cruise so there were two. Some have only one and some have two or even three. I wore silk gowns because I prefer to be on the slightly more formal side but a dressy cocktail dress would fit in well - especially with the great accessories and shoes you have. I packed a number of dresses for the non-formal evenings. Even though the "rules" stated that dinner was semi-formal in the main dining room, the people at the table next to ours showed up in shorts and casual sandals often.

The ships are like floating hotels so heels are not a problem. I wore heels with my formal dresses and sometimes with my less formal dresses as well. If we'd been on an all-day tour, I was a little more casual. Playing in the sun can be tiring. LOL

I expected far more formality than there was. It may have been Carnival, which was catering to families at the time.A good friend of mine was on a Royal Caribbean cruise last winter and since she rarely does formal, I invited her to shop my closet rather than buying dresses she wouldn't wear again. She took a full length gown and three cocktail dresses and wore them all. She felt right in them and it did sound like their cruise was a touch more formal than ours.

Hope that helps!