Artificial sunlight prior to cruise

[pickleo]

For those of us who have the cold winter season just leaving us, do you use a tanning bed to help jump start your tan prior to a cruise?

 

I hate burning, so I always cheat and get a little "sun" before the cruise. Helps out a lot!!!

[crznfam]

i burnt really bad on my first cruise in 2000 so every year since, i go tanning before we leave for our cruise. :)

[barbarah33]

I have never gone tanning before a cruise – luckily I tan easily. But I will admit to tanning after a cruise just to keep that nice healthy look a little longer.

[mattsydnjoshsmom]

Yep! It's the only time I ever tan.....and I do it VERY slowly to build a nice base so I don't burn(or burn as bad) when I get in that "cruise" sun! I will still use lots of sunscreen when on the boat/beach but I HATE HATE burning and if I have a nice base tan I very rarely burn!

[bankonus]

Funny thing about that question. My husband burns very easily, and badly when it happens. He used the tanning bed for about 1 month before we went on our last cruise. He happened to get a "free" spray tan just for signing up for the month. The night before we left he got the spray tan (no spf help by the way, just for show) and it was so uneven and streaky, my daughter and I couldn't stop laughing. We spent the night in the hotel room before we left using lemon juice (which is what was recommended) to BLEND the tan. We have some pics that show an ever so slight streaking in it to remind us of this fiasco. :D But in answer to your original question, it did give him a base tan, so he didn't burn quite so badly, but he still needs sunscreen like every 2 hours!! And I know what you mean by the winter months, we're from CO and I'm sick of the SNOW!

[sicsinohio]

Yep! It's the only time I ever tan.....and I do it VERY slowly to build a nice base so I don't burn(or burn as bad) when I get in that "cruise" sun! I will still use lots of sunscreen when on the boat/beach but I HATE HATE burning and if I have a nice base tan I very rarely burn!

 

Ditto!

[stlrboo]

DW and I always do the tanning process prior to cruising.. Erie, PA is very un-sunny during the winter! I am also 'allergic/have a reaction to' suntan lotions, so I have to tan 'dry'..:rolleyes: I usually do at least 20 visits prior to any cruise.. Is a tremendous help... :D

[kruzerci]

I actually just got back from the tanning bed :rolleyes: . I always tan easily and hardly ever burn but I always go before vacations unless they are in the middle of summer, then I just lay out down at the pool before we go. I burned bad on one Miami Beach vacation back in '99 and I have always gone to the tanning bed or layed out since! I have gone 4 times this week and our cruise isn't for another week, so I probably need to stop going so much unless I want to look like I live in the Caribbean :eek: !

 

I never went to a tanning bed until my wife made me a few years back but I actually like it now. That is until my skin cancers start showing up down the road :eek: . I'm already 43 and my dad started getting them in his 40's, but he is fair skinned, so I'm hoping for better luck.

[LilPony]

as part of my cruise count down I start tanning this weekend :)

[RoofingPrincess]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Any kind of tanning is NOT good for your skin.

I have always burned easily and was usually pretty careful about putting on the sunscreen, etc - but in January they found a small patch of skin cancer on my back.

So for my February cruise, I became Tourist Dork - plenty of sunscreen, reapplied frequently, and the only time the hat, long-sleeved shirt, and ankle-length gauze skirt came off were when I was actually in the water.

I tried one of those "natural glow" lotions before I left so I didn't look so fluorescently white, but ironically, the morning of the cruise, all that nice glowing skin sloughed right off in the shower when I scrubbed my legs!

So I'll just be pale - with a faint pink kiss of the sun - and hopefully not develop any more nasty patches.

[SimplyAddicted]

I always tan before my cruise. I know it is not the healthiest thing in the world, but I do not tan easily. I have never burned. I want to make sure that I don't look like Casper the ghost in my bathing suit or dress! Plus, I got tired of everyone asking me if I was sure that I came back from vacation (before I started tanning).

[tigfam]

Yes -- before any vacation and at the start of the summer.

[Sheffie]

Yep! It's the only time I ever tan.....and I do it VERY slowly to build a nice base so I don't burn(or burn as bad) when I get in that "cruise" sun! I will still use lots of sunscreen when on the boat/beach but I HATE HATE burning and if I have a nice base tan I very rarely burn!

 

I also am a "ditto" on this one.

 

When I was a kid, just like everyone else I got sunburned. We didn't have any lotions then, and later the ones they made were not waterproof. I do NOT want another sunburn! Been there. Done that. Don't ever want to do it again!

[Lvs2Cruise2]

I'm really bad.. about 10 years ago I bought a tanning bed and put it in the basement! I absolutely love it. I use it in moderation, I never tan during the winter months.. only to get a nice summer base, then maybe once a week to keep it up. I'm going on Freedom in 30 days- so I've fired it up!! Happy Cruising!

[waterrats]

I actually just got back from the tanning bed :rolleyes: . I always tan easily and hardly ever burn but I always go before vacations unless they are in the middle of summer, then I just lay out down at the pool before we go. I burned bad on one Miami Beach vacation back in '99 and I have always gone to the tanning bed or layed out since! I have gone 4 times this week and our cruise isn't for another week, so I probably need to stop going so much unless I want to look like I live in the Caribbean :eek: !

 

I never went to a tanning bed until my wife made me a few years back but I actually like it now. That is until my skin cancers start showing up down the road :eek: . I'm already 43 and my dad started getting them in his 40's, but he is fair skinned, so I'm hoping for better luck.

 

Hello again KruzeRcI!!!!!! I went today as well. Only the second time I've ever been in my life. I burn SO easily, so I'm really, really hoping it helps! I'll keep you posted.....see you soon :cool:

 

Kelly

[kruzerci]

Hello again KruzeRcI!!!!!! I went today as well. Only the second time I've ever been in my life. I burn SO easily, so I'm really, really hoping it helps! I'll keep you posted.....see you soon :cool:

 

Kelly

 

Hey Kelly. Just about a 10 days and we'll see you on the Sovereign! See you back on the roll call ;) . It should help you with burning, it does my daughter. She is not fair skinned, but she isn't really dark either. She's about like me, she'll burn if she is out there for a couple hours with no sunscreen on. I usually wear SPF 4 or 6 and I'm fine for the day if I don't let it wear off. But anyways, she started going before cruises and I don't think she has burned on a cruise since.

[waterrats]

Hey Kelly. Just about a 10 days and we'll see you on the Sovereign! See you back on the roll call ;) . It should help you with burning, it does my daughter. She is not fair skinned, but she isn't really dark either. She's about like me, she'll burn if she is out there for a couple hours with no sunscreen on. I usually wear SPF 4 or 6 and I'm fine for the day if I don't let it wear off. But anyways, she started going before cruises and I don't think she has burned on a cruise since.

 

 

Joe is Italian, so tanning is not an issue for him, but I'm (mostly) Irish and I have a tendency to burn. I can't survive with less than 15+ SPF (and I'm usally wearing a 45!) but I haven't burned in the tanning bed yet. (I've only been in for 8 minutes, though!) I just want a base so I don't burn so badly!!!

[kruzerci]

Joe is Italian, so tanning is not an issue for him, but I'm (mostly) Irish and I have a tendency to burn. I can't survive with less than 15+ SPF (and I'm usally wearing a 45!) but I haven't burned in the tanning bed yet. (I've only been in for 8 minutes, though!) I just want a base so I don't burn so badly!!!

 

I started at 9 on Saturday and I went 12 today but I burned a little bit tonight. The good thing about the tanning bed is that the burn doesn't usually last nearly as long as a real sunburn does. I was fried the first time I went a couple years back and I was completely fine in two days.

[jules815]

Ditto here!

 

I usually start going every other day, about 3 weeks prior to my cruise.

[time4u2go]

For those of us who have the cold winter season just leaving us, do you use a tanning bed to help jump start your tan prior to a cruise?

Nope. Don't want to get skin cancer.:cool:

[CruiseJunkie911]

yep, me too. :cool:

I started 2 years ago for my first cruise, and now I'm hooked. I only tan before vacations and also once a month all year round now. Just like to keep some color. It's so relaxing and I don't lay out in the sun anymore.

[babyfacebabe86]

This is my first cruise and I almost always burn once a yr. So I started tanning on the 19th of March. My cruise is the 22nd of April. So I think that a month of tanning will do me some good, and make me feel "more attractive"...I've also started going to the gym... Don't know if it will help much before the cruise but we'll see. :rolleyes:

[Suzanne74]

I didn't even think of doing this and I leave in a week. :eek: If I went tomorrow and then Sun, Tues and Thurs - would this be helpful or am I wasting my money at this point being so close?

[excitedaboutjune!]

Wow. I feel like the exception here (along with a few posts I saw). I have olive skin, so I guess I'm somewhat dark to begin with, but not only am I afraid of tanning beds, but I wear at least 30 spf when I'm out on the beach! I've never gotten burned (but got a great tan once...it took 2 weeks, lol), but I guess I'm too much of a chicken to even consider actually tanning. Besides, lol, I always read on the beach and once I got a darker tan in one spot from the sun reflecting off of the book!

[ma080448]

Since I'm a Florida girl, I should be tan all year around.

 

However, I am more aware of skin cancer and the damage the sun and the tanning beds do (from watching friends that go all year round to these salons).

 

I use Jergens Natural Glow. It doesn't leave the orange streaks and after several days looks pretty good for me.

 

Just remember, just because you have used a tanning salon, you can still burn. Skin cancer is no fun.

 

Been there, done that.

 

MA