How much sunscreen?

[Princessmama 2]

Did you go through on your cruise? Going soon to Western Caribbean for 7 nt and know we'll need plenty of sunscreen. Just wondering as I see most people list sunscreen as one of their top packing choices how much to bring.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Did you go through on your cruise? Going soon to Western Caribbean for 7 nt and know we'll need plenty of sunscreen. Just wondering as I see most people list sunscreen as one of their top packing choices how much to bring.

For our family we take three bottles and have sp 50 sp 30 as the main ones.

 

[cris0809]

We're very fair skinned and have never used a full bottle on a cruise for the two of us, even for 14 nights. That being said, we obviously don't worship the sun.

SPF 50 all around here.

 

[trina830]

It depends on what kind you use and what you are doing. We (family of 5) used a whole bottle of spray on each of our beach days. On at-sea days we hardly used any - 1 or 2 applications per person. I think I would bring one bottle/tube/spray per person next time. I probably had 2 containers per person (7 day cruise) and it was way too much.

 

[cris0809]

As a clarification: when I said bottle I meant lotion, not spray. The spray stuff doesn't seem to go very far since half of it goes everywhere but on my skin.

 

[pepe3penelope]

We did western caribbean in summer for 4people & I packed one large bottle only. However next time I'd do one small travel size for carry on & pack the big one. Forgot it was in the carryon & it was confiscated by TSA at the airport. We had to buy at the onboard store when it opened!

 

[haj697]

We just got back from a 10 trip (4 night cruise, Vero Beach, WDW). We took a new spray bottle and a lotion bottle. We completely used the spray bottle and probably 1/2 of the lotion bottle. My DH & DD are really fair skinned, so they tend to use more than myself and DS.

 

[bumbershoot]

More than you think. The Caribbean sun is harsh. Of course, if you will not be spending much time in the sun, plan for that. I plan for lots of time outdoors.

And make sure it's a brand you have used before!!! I bought the Target "just like coppertone" but hadn't used it, and not only did it not work, but it caused an allergic reaction in both me and my son. Had to rush to the bathrooms to wash it off, and then buy an insanely expensive bottle of sunscreen from the giftshop on Castaway Cay.

 

[AliceIn]

For our family of five for the 7 day WC in August, we used 2.5 cans of Coppertone Wacky Foam SPF 70, 2 cans of the Coppertone SPF 50 Spray, and 1.5 bottles of Neutrogena SPF 70 Beach lotion. We spent most of our port days out in the sun and also in the water so we made sure we used ample sunscreen. We applied it before leaving the ship, and reapplied at least twice during the day. We managed to avoid burns completely.

I was shocked, though, that even with slathering lotion all day that we all got some tan. I'm pretty fair skinned, and even with all that sunscreen I got a tan. That Caribbean sun is intense!

 

[E ticket rider]

Did you go through on your cruise? Going soon to Western Caribbean for 7 nt and know we'll need plenty of sunscreen. Just wondering as I see most people list sunscreen as one of their top packing choices how much to bring.

My son and I are both fair-skinned and burn very quickly and easily. My wife and daughter both burn initially, but tan off within a day or two. For my son and I, We usually bring 1 spray can (of SPF 30) for every 2 days for the 2 of us. So say, 4 cans for 7 days. My wife and daughter probably go through half that amount (of SPF 15 for the beginning of the cruise and 8 for the secnd half of the cruise (1 can of each)) over a 7 day cruise.

 

[elittleton]

We use about 4 cans for a week WDW but I can use a can at the beach for the weekend. I'm fair skin and my daughter is darker skin so she uses about 1/2 as much as me. I normally like to apply lotion in the morning and after lunch. I then reply with spray.

Don't apply sunscreen and get straight into the water. After applying you need to wait about 20 minutes to let it dry. Otherwise it will wash off, including water proof.

 

[shell12367]

for a family of 4 you could easily use a bottle per day, if using the spray kind, depending on how much sun exposure you are planning for. Be prepared too, you don't want to pay twice as much, so plan to pack extra

 

[TwinMomTori]

I initially do a lotion coat on myself, my 5 year old and my 2 year old twins and then spray for the recoat. My husband just uses the spray. I plan on packing one large lotion and one large spray for our 4 night Bahamas cruise. If it was 7 days I'd probably do two sprays. My kids also wear the rash guard shirts for extra protection.

 

[livie1205]

We did a 4 day bahamian in may this yr and my dh, dd and I used 2 cans of 45 spf .. We had amazing weather and the sun was crazy hot.

 

[Woodmnky]

We usually bring 2 bottles of lotion, one of spray for touch ups, and a stick for our faces. We try to avoid the sun as much as possible and generally only do beach days twice. That has been enough lotion for two adults and a preschooler.

 

[Windermere]

I think the standard is 1 shot glass of lotion per person per application and you need to reapply but I just can't remember the frequency. Maybe someone else can tell us what dermatologists recommend for "reapply every ---- hours"