What type of clothes to pack??

[2preschoolers]

We'll be on a Western Caribbean cruise the end of January. It's hard to imagine wearing shorts and tank tops right now b/c we live in Virginia and just had about 20" of snow dumped on us last week! But it seems the average temps in Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Caymen are 78-90 degrees this time of year. I was planning to pack mostly shorts, tshirts, sun dresses for the girls. Bringing along 1-2pair of long pants, a lightweigh jacket and a sweater for the dining room. But I'm wondering if I'll be packing too much warm-weather stuff and maybe will find that they're too cold.

 

How is the air conditioning on the ship (dining room, show lounge, Camp Carnival, etc)? Do they really blast it? And how about in the cabins at night. I can't stand being hot at night. Do we bring summer PJ's or best to dress them warmer??

 

Anyone been recently or during this time of year and recall what types of clothes you mostly wore??

 

THANKS!!!

[2preschoolers]

Anyone? (-: THANKS! :D

[A&Jfamily]

We'll be on a Western Caribbean cruise the end of January. It's hard to imagine wearing shorts and tank tops right now b/c we live in Virginia and just had about 20" of snow dumped on us last week! But it seems the average temps in Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Caymen are 78-90 degrees this time of year. I was planning to pack mostly shorts, tshirts, sun dresses for the girls. Bringing along 1-2pair of long pants, a lightweigh jacket and a sweater for the dining room. But I'm wondering if I'll be packing too much warm-weather stuff and maybe will find that they're too cold.

 

How is the air conditioning on the ship (dining room, show lounge, Camp Carnival, etc)? Do they really blast it? And how about in the cabins at night. I can't stand being hot at night. Do we bring summer PJ's or best to dress them warmer??

 

Where in VA...Roanoke? You must be farther west than us (Tidewater - we got only cold rain!:mad:)

 

Anyone been recently or during this time of year and recall what types of clothes you mostly wore??

 

THANKS!!!

 

I have cruised with my kids 4 times now - in March but traveled all over FL at all times of the year. If you are going out of Miami, you will find the temps, in the high 70's-low 80's and the same should be true for the Carribean. If you are up around Tampa/Orlando, and the east coast gets a cold snap, you will want jeans, sweatshirts and jackets - the highs can be in the 50's in that area if the east coast is running cold. But that will only be until you get further south. So that is a long way of saying that everyone will want shorts and summer stuff (including PJ's) for the majority of the trip. Just have jeans and a fleecy for departure day; your packing instints are dead on.

 

I always take a sweater set in case I get cold...but haven't used it much - if there is a strong breeze on deck and I have been in the sun, I have used it, but not much indoors at all. You can control the cabin temp...I find it quite comfortable. The thing that I have enjoyed is having a sweat suit or yoga pants and a hoodie for sitting on the balcony after a day in the sun.

 

Wish I was going with you!

[sunquest76]

I have been debating this exact same thing. We went to Vegas a couple months ago and I was expecting shorts and t-shirt weather. I ended up buying a couple outfits for DD because she needed more long pants and warmer shirts. I'm not complaining about shopping, just don't want to be looking for a clothes store in Barbados!

 

I think I've learned my lesson. I'm going to pack shorts and t-shirts for the days, and bring a few pairs of pants and a couple sweaters that will work with the other outfits. Thankfully my DD is little, so I can cram a lot of clothes into a small space.

[cb at sea]

Pack summer clothes for the Caribbean...bring a light sweater or jacket, if you think you'll need it...but you probably won't!

 

It's hard to imagine warm, balmy weather when you're in the midst of a freezing cold-snap! If you pack for Virginia winters, you'll be sorry....bring your summer clothes!

[hooked-on-travel]

I'm packing for a cruise that leaves next week and I'm having the same difficuties. Galveston is in the 50s now and looks to be for the next week, so our departure will start at 10s (home) and work toward 50s as we drive toward Galveston, then warm up over a few days down to Roatan in the 80s, then reverse the process slowly. I can't remember what's right for 50s, so I'm taking a little of everything. I'm probably overanalyzing...I'm trying to figure out what days are formal so I can figure out the latitude so I can figure out if it will be warmer or colder so I get the right formal sleeve length. LOL

[A&Jfamily]

I'm packing for a cruise that leaves next week and I'm having the same difficuties. Galveston is in the 50s now and looks to be for the next week, so our departure will start at 10s (home) and work toward 50s as we drive toward Galveston, then warm up over a few days down to Roatan in the 80s, then reverse the process slowly. I can't remember what's right for 50s, so I'm taking a little of everything. I'm probably overanalyzing...I'm trying to figure out what days are formal so I can figure out the latitude so I can figure out if it will be warmer or colder so I get the right formal sleeve length. LOL

 

layers, layers, layers!;)

[hooked-on-travel]

Yup. I've already pulled out the little white cardigan that DD can wear with any dress to dinner. :)

[uppitycats]

I always find the indoor public spaces on the ship a bit chilly, so I throw in a shawl. Otherwise, you're heading to very warm weather -- jackets or sweaters for your first day travelling to the port and maybe on the ship, then break out the summer duds! Have a great cruise! I wish I were going with you -- it was a "balmy -7 degrees" here this morning, with a "wind chill" of -27!

[crusinmama06]

I never seem to pack enough long pants. And I pack wayyy too many "warm weather" clothes.

 

We were in Cozumel at the end of January this past year - the temp was 68 degrees in the daytime. :eek: So it wasn't warm enough to swim. Yes it was warm compared to the arctic temp we came from (we're sitting in snowy PA). But no, we needed more layers.

 

At night, the girls needed small sweaters to go over their dresses. The a/c is always blasting in the dining room. And in our cabin, I made sure to put long pants/PJs on the kids instead of the shorts/PJs we brought. It was just too chilly for shorts at night.

 

I've been on this same type of itinerary during this same time of year and we had warmer weather. So this past year we were just hit with a cold snap. I guess you just never know. So be prepared. :)