help!!! young cruiser.. formal wear etc..

[sugarcoated]

I know this topic has been over posted but i could really do with some help as to packing and formal wear ideas.

It is actually our honey moon but we got married in November last year, work, college, life got in the way of us having a honey moon then.

I want to look my absolute best, blend in but stand out as being a happy newlywed (if that makes sense!!)..with it being our belated honeymoon i really do want to look my personal best (i.e. currently on a diet!)

any ideas of formal wear, what to pack, etc etc would be greatly appreciated. We are both 25 if that helps, I am so excited and happy about going i get tears in my eyes just writing about it!

I have never been on a cruise before and neither has my husband so we have NO clue!

 

thank you all....

x

[janabug]

I find that I really show my age with the accessories, you can find some really cool funky costume Jewelery and shoes out there.

[caviargal]

What ship and line? Destination?

[Happy ks]

I looked up your other posts and it looks like you're going on Carnival Triumph to the Eastern Caribbean, right?

 

First off, congratulations on your marriage and be very happy that you're taking a belated honeymoon this soon. So many times it gets shoved out of the way of life, you read here numerous times that a couple is taking their honeymoon 20 or 25 years after they have married!

 

You will find formal night will run the gamut from casual daywear all the way to ballgown. Go through the fashion board and look at some of the posts where women have put up photos of their dresses to see what their choices and others comments to them have been. The sky really is the limit, but if you have a more modest taste or budget, it all works.

 

For more casual nights you can wear slacks with nice tops, sundresses, skirts, etc... For daywear, take along what you are comfortable in wearing in hot weather around your own home town, there is no need to purchase a new wardrobe for that. Take along a mix of a few shorts and T's, perhaps a sundress or two. I like to take several bathing suits, I find we are in these more than any of our other clothes and I don't want to wear the same 2 all week, they're nothing to pack, so don't cut back there.

 

Shoes, this is a subject that is totally personal. I take 5 pair and can't seem to cut down any further than that. I take: black (or other color) formal shoes, black casual night shoes, my most comfortable sandals, my sneakers for walking the deck and a pair of flip flops. I'm usually in the minority, many women take upwards of 7-12 pair for a 7 night cruise :eek:

 

The big thing here is, don't feel you have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe if you cannot budget for it right now. It's perfectly fine to pack what you already have, a cruise is not a fashion show and you can definitely wear something two or more times during the week.

 

Your husband should dress in a fashion that is complimentary to you. His choice of formal wear should be as formal as your dress. Other nights, slacks and a button down shirt or polo style shirt is acceptable. They don't allow shorts in the dining room, jeans are a big debate all the time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking 2 pair of slacks and having them laundered, wearing them 2-3 times each, pairing them with shirts that he can wear a couple of times.

 

My husband and I have found the ships laundry/dry cleaning to be a great way to cut back on the packing.

 

Finally, don't get carried away with some of the packing lists you'll find on these and other cruise boards, sometimes I wonder if people really like to pack like they're going on a camping trip instead of a cruise :) . You really need: your clothes, personal toiletries, a small first aid kit with sample sizes of a variety of OTC meds and a few bandaids, a good camera with more memory or film than you think you need, perhaps one or two disposable underwater cameras and one large bottle of sunscreen, per person. Everything else is just extra, you have to decide what you can't live without for a week.

 

Have a wonderful first cruise!

[RachelD]

Happyks had some great advise.....as usual!!! (Yes, Kathy...you have helped me with learning to pack light, too!:) )

 

Sugarcoated.....congrats on your honeymoon....you should be soooooo excited!!!!! It is a very special occassion!!

 

Here is an idea of what I bring when DH and I go cruising.

1 tan dressy capri (casual)

1 black dressy capri (casual)

1 black dress pant (informal)

2 skirts (casual)

4 sundresses (casual and daytime - use as coverups also)

3 shorts (daytime)

2 board shorts (water excursions)

6 bathing suits (wear almost everyday)

4 fitted tees (day)

7 tank tops (day)

3 dressy tops (camisoles, short sleeve, sleeveless for dinner)

1 fitted cardigan that goes with tan and black pants

2 formal dresses dark in color

1 black strappy formal shoe

1 strappy tan shoe

1 beach shoe - tevas

1 brown leather slide

1 leather sandal to go with all outfits

3 sarongs

 

I do pack my hairdryer as I need a diffuser for my hair, but I pack less makeup.

 

I have learned that most of your day you are in your swimwear and casual clothes... then you will change into your dinner clothes.... Don't forget your lingerie....it is your honeymoon, after all!!!;)

 

In the past I had packed more than enough clothes for dinner.....it was the everyday tanks and shorts that I needed.....you can always re-wear pants/skirts as you just wear those for a few hours in the evening. It is the daywear that you will go through the most and not want to wear again, unless you launder them.

 

Also, if you pack basic colors for your bottoms and add punches of color with different shirts or accessories, you can pack less shoes. I find that shirts and bathing suits take up little space, while shoes weigh a lot...and with the airlines limiting the weight on luggage, I try to be efficient.

 

Like Happyks mentioned....there are lists out there.....but unless you're going to use the stuff on the list..it is just a waste.

I once packed a roll of quarters in our carry-on as someone's list mentioned to make sure to bring lots of quarters.....had no idea why..... "Hey...they were on a list!"

Well, when my carryon went through the x-ray machine, the securtiy officer pulled us aside and went through our bag looking for this cylindrical shaped metal object.....

They thought that it could have been an explosive.....NOT GOOD!!:eek:

Right there we broke the quarters up and put them in a baggy so that we would not have that problem again!

 

Good luck and have a great time!!!!:D

[sugarcoated]

thats an amazing help, thank you! and yes we are sailing on the Carnival Triumph, all very exciting!

I have made a list from some of these suggestions, i never actually thought of the small first aid kit with over the counter meds.. however i did think of the pretty dresses and sandals. I'm obviously not at all practical :-)