Please help me with clothes!

[jlindemer]

DH & I went on a 2 night "wannabe" cruise 9 years ago. We are getting ready to sail on the Wonder 3/21. We have 2 sons, 6 & 8. I am beginning to panic over what to pack! Can anyone help me? I know we need swimsuits, but I am lost over what we should wear to dinner. Kids included.

How formal do we all need to be? And, does anyone know how warm it should be in March?

And, can we bring sand buckets, etc.?

THANKS!

 

[lilosurf11]

When I packed for my last cruise, I was in the same boat (no pun intended!)
During the day, I simply wore shorts and a t-shirt. For dinner, I wore dress pants or really nice capris and a nice shirt, like a blouse or something. For guys, polo shirts are acceptable. I'm not sure if the Wonder does formal nights, but in case they do, bring a dress for yourself (doesn't need to be fancy; mine was a simple black dress) and then shirts and ties for the guys.

I think you are allowed to bring sand buckets, but I guess it depends on if you are flying. If you drive to the port, you can bring things like sandbuckets.

Hope this helps!!

I think we need a cruise fashion forum on the DIS boards!

 

[jlindemer]

Would kahki pants and a polo be sufficient for the kids? DH will bring a suit, but the boys do not have them right now.

 

[Tinkerkell123]

For my DS (7) I brought 2 pairs of khakis and a different polo or button down shirt for dinner each night of our 7 day Western. The boy thinks sweatpants should be bolted to his butt as they are the height of fashion for him!

Next time I will bring 2 khakis and maybe 3 shirts. He only wore those at dinner so I didn't care if he wore them more than once. The DD on the other hand HAD to have a different outfit each night, but at least at age 10 her clothes don't take up a lot of room.

I, on the other hand, WAY over packed. I also had a different outfit for each dinner as well as day clothes. Next year I will be packing a few pieces that can be mixed and matched. Lots of black!

Hmmmm, maybe I can bring more shoes that way??!

Also remember that there are washers and dryers aboard (or you could really splurge and have Disney do them) so if there are accidents, you can always toss a load in...

 

[has]

Yes, polo shirts are great.

My 12 nephew wore black pants, shirt, vest, and tie for formal night. He wore the same thing minus the tie for pirate night. With his shirt untucked and the pirate hat we bought on the ship he looked just like a mini Jack Sparrow. When we had our pictures taken Jack commented on how much my nephew looked like him.
3 pairs of shorts and a couple of T-shirts for the 7 day cruise and 3 days at WDW. Boys love to hang out in swim trunks. Also, we bought t-shirts in all the ports.
Be sure to pack LOTS of sunscreen. Even if the weather is overcast. Still get sunburned.

Lay out all the stuff you think you will need. Then take 3/4 out and you'll have just the right amount of clothes.

So excited for you. ENJOY!!!!!

Heidi

 

[brucechase]

Would kahki pants and a polo be sufficient for the kids? DH will bring a suit, but the boys do not have them right now.

The Wonder has an optional dressup night - no formal night. You do not have to dress up to be seated in the main dining room. As a matter of fact, you can wear jeans and/or shorts to dinner and DCL will allow you to eat in the main dining rooms - just not Palo.

You will get a lot of people telling you what they wore, but to answer your questions, yes the pants and polo shirts will be acceptable and the DH suit will be acceptable but not required.

Just dress in a neat family friendly manner and you will be fine. For the most part, there are very few people on the cruise that will care how you dress, they - like you - are just trying to have a great time.

 

[aurorafan65]

our boys were that age on our first cruise - it was so much fun!

the boys & dh wore khakis & polo shirts for dinner every night, I did capri's with nice tops, make sure you bring a sweater since sometimes the dining rooms/theaters are cold (IMO) Again reuse clothes, I think for our 7 day we had 4 shirts & 3 pants that we rotated.

Also pack at least 2 swimsuits if you're doing longer than a 4 day, that way you don't have to put on a damp one.

One of my favorite pieces of advise I got before our first cruise was pack & then take out 10% of what you put in because you don't need it. For our first cruise I could have taken 50% out & still had enough

 

[jlindemer]

Thank you! DH and I will be going to Palo (I think...can't decide...). So, we'll bring our dress-up clothes.

That makes my to-buy list SO much shorter!

 

[jlindemer]

A few mentioned that there is not a formal night on the 4 day Wonder cruise. However, when I looked at this website:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

The second day shows that the dinner attire is dress up. So, for those who have gone recently, has this changed? Or, is there a dress up night? Thanks!

 

[suzyqn]

You received some great advice. I like to dress up since I don't often so I basically wore sundress type dresses at night for dinner. I think your plan for the boys on any night would be fine.

A great way to get some ideas is to look at the pictures in the trip reports. I got some great ideas on what to where on the first day (I wanted our outfits to work together but not match )

Figuring it all out is the best part !

 

[jlindemer]

I just don't want to be dressed down if everyone else is dressed up. I didn't realize how hard packing for a cruise would be. Really, it's just that darn formal night that I am questioning. We are driving with limited trunk space. So, I'm hoping that I can get everything we need in there!

 

[Morty Fieldmouse]

Lay out all the stuff you think you will need. Then take 3/4 out and you'll have just the right amount of clothes.

Heidi

Love it!

When we did our 4 night on Wonder, there was no "dress up" night. As a guy, I only packed 1 pair of khaki pants, which I wore with a different polo-type shirt to dinner each night (I wore a nice shirt and tie to Palo). Keep in mind that dinner is about 1 1/2 hrs, so you don't want to put kids in something that will make them squirmy. I think they could go as casual as solid color T-shirts.

I think my wife had 1 pair of nice pants and 1 pair of nice capris for dinners. I think she wore black flip-flops with her dress to Palo.

I'd say to pack 2 bathing suits even on a 4-night.
Pick your shoes carefully to get value from the space they take up.
Take 1 sweatshirt/sweater/jacket for the theater or the possibility of cool weather.

You can order sand buckets for $18 if you don't want to pack them; not a bad price for a souvenir:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/gifts-and-amenities/

 

[suzu]

Whatever you think you will need on the cruise...put half back in your dresser or closet. There are all kinds of packing lists and people who will tell you that you need 3 outfits per person a day plus a parachute. Don't do it. No one will know if you wear the same outfit twice but you (and your spouse). We've (family of 4) done 4 Disney cruises---2 7-nights and 2 4-nights. For "Formal nights" my husband and childen have worn blazers, khakis and ties and me a simple dress. Yea there will be a few people in tuxes and gowns, but if that is not your cup of tea, you'll be just fine in a cute dress or pants suit.

I travel over 60 nights a year for work and the one secret I have in carrying only a roller bag for week long trips is to limit the number of shoes. If at all possible bring only 3 pairs or shoes per person--sandals, tennis shoes and something that will dress up or down. Wear one and pack 2 per person. Remember the cabins are small and luggage space is limited.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

When we were on the Wonder ( our first cruise) I had read about no shorts in the dining room- not even dress shorts. So we just brought Khakis for them. But LOTS of boys were in what I call " church shorts" and looked very cute. In fact, at times, my boys felt overdressed at dinner. This year, we were on the Magic, which is supposed to be dressier than the Wonder. We still saw lots of boys in dress shorts and they didn't stand out at all. On the Wonder, I took one sundress and a pair of black capris and changed shirts.

 

[Mtopher4]

We Leave Sunday .... Can DH wear a collared shirt and nice jeans to dinner? Or nice Church shorts and loafers? Does he have to wear slacks or Khaki's and a button shirt to dinner at Palo's? My DS has a lot of nice church type shorts.. Do Shoes matter? The kids were going to bring Crocks or tennis shoes.. do they need nicer shoes for dinner?

 

[acourtwdw]

We Leave Sunday .... Can DH wear a collared shirt and nice jeans to dinner? Or nice Church shorts and loafers? Does he have to wear slacks or Khaki's and a button shirt to dinner at Palo's? My DS has a lot of nice church type shorts.. Do Shoes matter? The kids were going to bring Crocks or tennis shoes.. do they need nicer shoes for dinner?

Your DH will need a dress shirt and pants for Palo. If you are going on 3/4 night cruise, "resort casual" is fine for dinner as long as its not "park casual". No tank tops, t shirts etc.

 

[goofysgirl]

Ok at the risk of causing an uprising...here goes. Palo does require you to dress up, if you choose to go there then please adhere to their dress code. The dining rooms request no jeans shorts swim suits ...I saw many jeans at dinner and dress shorts are really starting to pop up.
Personally I see nothing wrong with nice shorts for guys and actually prefer them to jeans. My husband twisted his ankle on a Magic cruise and could not wear his dress shoes, so he wore his crocs with his suit, the waiters thought it was funny, and they suggested he wear what ever made him most comfortable as this was his vacation.
One thing I have noticed is that the tablecloths are very long and no one can see what you have on your legs.
Wear something nice on top, you will be fine.
Enjoy your cruise.

 

[pesto78749]

For palo brunch will pants and a polo work for men? I'm going to wear a sundress.
Thanks!

 

[Rainwater]

For palo brunch will pants and a polo work for men? I'm going to wear a sundress.
Thanks!

I'd like to know the answer to this one also.

 

[cristit14]

For palo brunch will pants and a polo work for men? I'm going to wear a sundress.
Thanks!

It has been 2 years since we have been, but this is what we wore to brunch and fit in perfectly.