Bathing suit(s)

[shipgeeks]

I just saw a post advocating packing "at least 9 bathing suits for every 7 days of a cruise".

Many posts over the years stress how important it is to pack a bathing suit in carryon, so you can hit the pool immediately upon boarding.

I guess DH and I are at the opposite end of that, because we don't even pack bathing suits anymore, after we realized we don't use them.  We've rarely been in a pool, lost interest in hot tubs, and never sunbathe.  If we go to a private island or beach, it will probably be in shorts and shirt, parked in comfortable chairs and looking at the ocean.

Where do you place yourself in this continuum?

 

[jsn55]

I've not been seen in public wearing a bathing suit for eons.  But back when I did wear them, smart people would pack two: wear one, wash it, and wear the other the next day.  It would take a traveller of great insecurity to pack 9 suits for every 7 days of a cruise.   

[pedirn]

Pack bathing suits for beaches and pools but never pack one in carry on.   Not that anxious to hit pool but then again I have my own pool and spa so the novelty might have worn off.

[awhfy]

I do pack one in my carryon & 2 in my suitcase

[wdw1972]

A swimsuit is my daytime attire - for my upcoming 11 night cruise I'll take one 1-piece and 2 tops and 3 bottoms that mix & match.  The cover up goes with all of them.  I spend my days in the Retreat (HAL ships), and only need regular daytime clothes if going ashore or doing a sit-down lunch outside of the Retreat.  Certainly makes packing easier!  😉

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Kristelle]

3 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I just saw a post advocating packing "at least 9 bathing suits for every 7 days of a cruise".

 

 

 Gosh If I did that I would have to buy 8 more swim suits before  I go on the trip 😲

 

Does anybody really own 9 swimsuits?

 

If I were going to spend a lot of time swimming, I guess I might buy one more and therefore take 2.

[JustUs275]

I do pack one tankini and swim skirt and a coverup, just in case. It's not unusual for me to never wear it though. We don't do the ship pools and very rarely the hot tubs - way too many people and I've heard way too many stories! 🙃 I do tend to wear swimwear if we are doing a private island beach day. We usually end up spending most of our time in beach chairs, preferably with some shade, relaxing and enjoying the ocean views. But I do enjoy walking out (knee high maximum!) in the water too!

 

 

[Keksie]

I probably have at least 9 swimsuits.  We live 45 min. away from a beach and love to get in the water.  When we cruise I bring  minimum of 3 suits with at least 2 coverups.  On sea days we pretty much camp out near a pool and jump in to cool off.  We also enjoy the hot tubs on our old bones and when we get back on the ship after a long excursion we may spend a little time in the hot tub.  It takes forever for my suit to dry so I want to have a dry suit available.  If there are multiple beach days in a row I will bring at least 2 pairs of water shoes.

[jsn55]

13 hours ago, JustUs275 said:

I do pack one tankini and swim skirt and a coverup, just in case. It's not unusual for me to never wear it though. We don't do the ship pools and very rarely the hot tubs - way too many people and I've heard way too many stories! 🙃 I do tend to wear swimwear if we are doing a private island beach day. We usually end up spending most of our time in beach chairs, preferably with some shade, relaxing and enjoying the ocean views. But I do enjoy walking out (knee high maximum!) in the water too!

 

 

That's another point ... if you've maintained your own large pool, you know how delicate the chemical balance needs to be.  You wouldn't get me into a public pool or hot tub for any reason whatsoever.  I mean, they take BABIES in there, ugh.

[Mum2Mercury]

Thoughts:

- I own maybe 5-6 swimsuits, and I thought that was kinda on the high end.  

- I bring 2-3 swimsuits, depending upon the length of the cruise and the shore activities planned.  

- Most of my swimsuits are Lands End, so they're on the thicker /more supportive side.  This means they need a little extra time to dry out, and I hate-hate-hate putting on a wet suit.  

- For our upcoming Wonder cruise, we want to take advantage of the water slides before the crowds arrive, so I'm thinking of boarding wearing a swimsuit (covered by a tee-dress type cover-up) and my husband will board in swim trunks and a matching tee.  We would not carry extra clothes on board and search for a place to change.  

 

[Lois R]

I usually bring 1, maybe 2 or sometimes none.

Depends on the itinerary. Example, I just sailed to the British Isles and didn't bring one and never missed it. 

If going on a Caribbean cruise I would probably bring 2.

I pack them in my checked bag and I can't remember ever owning more than 3 at one time.

I live in a condo complex with a pool but never use it and I am about a 20 minute drive to the beach but I am just not a water/beach person.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

[neeuqdrazil]

I've both taken and not taken suits on cruises, but I think the only time I've ever used one was on one cruise where I used the thermal suite in the spa.(But I've not done hot-weather cruising, only transatlantics, Alaska, and Canada/NE.) 

 

I'm planning on taking two suits for my Panama Canal transit in a few months, since the heat will likely make me more interested in swimming.  

[LindaD22]

We do not use the pools or hot tubs on the ship (agree with the yuck factor!). For warm weather cruises, I bring 2 bathing suits and 1 coverup for beach days. I also wear Land Ends suits and yes they do take longer to dry!  On sea days, we find a nice spot to lounge, read a book and people watch. But no swimming! 

[Kristelle]

10 hours ago, Keksie said:

I probably have at least 9 swimsuits.  We live 45 min. away from a beach and love to get in the water.  When we cruise I bring  minimum of 3 suits with at least 2 coverups.  On sea days we pretty much camp out near a pool and jump in to cool off.  We also enjoy the hot tubs on our old bones and when we get back on the ship after a long excursion we may spend a little time in the hot tub.  It takes forever for my suit to dry so I want to have a dry suit available.  If there are multiple beach days in a row I will bring at least 2 pairs of water shoes.

 

 

well  I guess that answers my question about whether anyone really owns 9 swimsuits.

 

I own one, which I use sometimes - on holidays and at home. (not my own home, don't own my own pool)

I possibly would buy 1 more if  I intended swimming a lot on a holiday - but so far have been fine with 1.

[Keksie]

13 minutes ago, Kristelle said:

 

 

well  I guess that answers my question about whether anyone really owns 9 swimsuits.

 

I own one, which I use sometimes - on holidays and at home. (not my own home, don't own my own pool)

I possibly would buy 1 more if  I intended swimming a lot on a holiday - but so far have been fine with 1.

I am a water baby.  I can't imagine sitting around a pool or body of water (that is not cold) and not getting in.  I love to snorkel and that is what we do at pretty much every port in the Caribbean.  They put so much chlorine in public pools that all I worry about is bleaching out my suit.  We just got back from Universal studios and spent a little time each evening in the hot tub.  We went to the water park and while I didn't do the slides I was either in the wave pool or the lazy river.  

[lisa6191]

We have a pool and spend our winters in Panama, so I definitely have more than 9 bathing suits. However, I can’t think of any reason on earth that you would need more than 3 bathing suits max on any normal length cruise. 

[JustUs275]

10 hours ago, jsn55 said:

That's another point ... if you've maintained your own large pool, you know how delicate the chemical balance needs to be.  You wouldn't get me into a public pool or hot tub for any reason whatsoever.  I mean, they take BABIES in there, ugh.

Yes we have our own pool and I agree. There are so many other things we would rather do on the ship! That's why we love cruising - there is something for everyone!

[mrgabriel]

I don’t own 9 swimsuits. And I didn’t own 9 swimsuit when we lived in Florida, had a pool, and were 7 minutes from garage to toes in sand. I probably had 3 then and have 2 now, which is what I take on cruises. I like to swim in the ocean and it can take a couple of days for suits to dry.

 

But I think the difference is why we pack what we do. The person who packs 9 swimsuits probably treats cruises as a way to display their wardrobe - maybe posting a lot on Instagram. I do post a lot on Instagram but I don’t care if I’m seen wearing the same thing 4 times on a cruise. 🤷‍♀️ 

[TX Cruise Girl]

I probably do have at least 9 swimsuits but cant necessarily fit them all.  I always pack about 3 and 3 coverups for beach excursions.  I rarely get in the pool on the ships.  I just want tp be prepared for whatever mood I might be in at any given time.

[sjb317]

I probably have more than nine swimsuits and I have at least 6 coverups.😂. We live on the beach in Fl and I am in the pool or down on the beach at least 5 days each week.  
 

We spend a good amount of our sea days in the pool/hot tub  so I typically take 3-4 swimsuits and coverups.  If we are not driving very far to a port, I will wear my suit & coverup for boarding, nice to be able to use the pool or hot tub before the crowds start moving in!

Sherri🙂

 

[awhfy]

I probably have 20+ swimsuits. I have ocean suits, pool suits & aqua aerobic suits 

[simplelife]

I used to pack several bathing suits and was in one everyday for warm itineraries; wore a coverup on seadays and shorts and top or a sundress over it in ports - I was in and out of the water most days. This past cruise (last month) I wore one for one day on the serenity deck, but did not go in the hot tub so found I was more comfortable in shorts and a top. We had one excursion that went to a beach, so I wore one under shorts and a top. However, I did not go in the water and it was too hot to stay on the beach long, so I could have done without it. Going forward  I'll continue to bring a couple just in case, but I'm not using them as much as I used to.

That being said, I can't imagine needing to pack 9 suits. If you are going to be in the water most days, take at least 3 so you will never have to put on a wet one, maybe a couple more if you love wearing suits and want some variety.

Edited October 14, 2023 by simplelife

[SoloAlaska]

I usually bring 3 tops and 2 bottoms that mix and match if I’m planning on being in the water regularly on the trip. I always pack 1 swimsuit just in case even if I don’t plan on using it. 
 

I own probably 10 swimsuits but only 3 fit me at a given time.

[Mangrove Snapper]

I'm sure I have 9 or more suits but I've never brought that many on any vacation, cruise or otherwise.  If it's a summer cruise or a cruise to warm locales, I'll bring multiples.  I don't like re wearing a wet bathing suit so it's good to have more than one.  And some suits are more appropriate than others for certain activities.  I wear a different suit for snorkeling than I would for going to the beach. 

 

Our most recent cruise was to Canada & New England and only had one sea day so I only brought one.  I figured we wouldn't have a lot of time for swimming. 

 

We always pack a suit in our carry on in case we want to swim on the first day. 

[Mary229]

I always carry at least one suit in case I want to go into the pool or hot tub.  If I am on a tropical cruise I bring two, one for the beach, one for the pool. I also usually bring beach shorts too that look suitable for the boardwalk/rambler and the beach.  I simply don’t swim too much but I do like beach walking.