First Time Cruiser: What Clothes to Pack?

[HaggisMacJedi]

My wife and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary next week with our very first Disney Cruise (on the Fantasy to the Virgin Islands) and we aren’t sure what clothes to pack! We have only done one other cruise and it was 25 years ago on our honeymoon and was just a 3 day Carnival Cruise and we HATED it. She got seasick on the first day and stayed sick the entire trip and we don’t drink, dance, or gamble so it was a BORING boat ride for me for sure and a miserable one for her. We are counting on this being a MUCH different experience (And is one reason we waited so long to try another one).

Anyway, since we are really basically first time cruisers we suddenly realize we have no idea what clothes to pack for the cruise. We have our formal clothes picked out for Palo (I’m a bagpiper and don’t own dress pants so it’s my best kiltwear for that… it’s very dressy just a kilt instead of slacks… I was married in this outfit), but other than that we don’t have a clue what clothes to pack. Do we basically dress like we do in the parks? Will it be shorts weather? I ask that because when we cruised 25 years ago it was this same time of year and to the same part of the world, and surprisingly we were cold and about froze to death the one time we used the pool.

Do we need dressier clothes for the evening dinners? Shorts and t-shirts most of the time during the day? Any advice is much appreciated and thanks in advance (and thanks for being patient with a newbie).

 

[happycamper47]

People are in the dining rooms in everything from shorts and "t's to Tux's on formal night along with everything in between. I normally wear a golf shirt and casual slacks to dinner most nights and a regular shirt and tie with a sport coat on formal night, but not always.

 

[jdb in AZ]

If you check the weather forecasts for the Virgin Islands you'll see that the temps won't dip below the mid 70's for the next week or so. Definitely shorts weather but it wouldn't hurt to include a sweater for the air-conditioned dining rooms.

It will be a bit cooler in Orlando/Port Canaveral -- good idea to check the forecasts for each port you'll visit.

 

[HaggisMacJedi]

So dress really casually the whole time except for the one fancy dinner?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

So dress really casually the whole time except for the one fancy dinner?

The official dress code is cruise casual. People have a very wide approach to this. Some people dress business casual, some people dress like they are in the parks, and everything in between.

I do Disney bounding, and wear ears. Spirit jerseys are very popular, both Disney parks and Disney cruise. Disney tshirts, sweat pants and dresses are popular. Some people wear ears or baseball hats. Some people wear jeans.

Basically, as long as you are not wearing swim clothes to MDR , Cabanas, the theatre, cinema, bars etc and have something a bit smart for Palo and Remy, wear whatever you are comfortable in.

 

[SeanSD]

Assuming you may have some photos taken, what would you like those to look like? We are very casual during day, bathing suits and T shirts but shorts if we go to dining room for breakfast or lunch. Dinners can be as dressy as you like. Some in shorts and t shirts all the way to jackets and ties and cocktail dresses. Many in Disney themed clothes. I usually have a collar shirt, either golf shirt or long sleeve and my significant other wears summer dresses or similar. But T shirts and shorts if we had a long day and just want to be comfy. We dress fancier for Palo and “piratey“ for pirate night.

 

[AprilsZoo]

My wife and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary next week with our very first Disney Cruise (on the Fantasy to the Virgin Islands) and we aren’t sure what clothes to pack!

as few as possible !

Happy Anniversary!

 

[unrequited23]

We are casual in the daytime--shorts/capris and tees, and get slightly dressier in the evenings--polo shirts and long pants for the boys and I will wear a sundress. We don't do photos or adult dining, though. It can get cold on deck at night, so I'm packing a hoodie/fleece for everyone plus a base layer undershirt for layering if needed.

 

[onesam319]

My wife always packs more clothes than I, but I have found that I am comfortable wearing the same shorts or slacks up to three days, depending on the temps and my level of physical activity. Remember that if you are using the pools, you won't be wearing your regular clothes more than half the day anyway.

What no one else has mentioned yet is the seasickness. The Disney ship may be larger than last ship you were on, and that helps minimize seasickness, but you'll need to get ahead of it. Talk with your doctor about a possible prescription patch, although they can make you sleepy. Begin taking any seasickness pills a day or more before boarding to build up the meds in your system. If you run out while onboard, they have them in a dispenser for free outide the med center.

 

[kiford]

It can get cold on deck at night, so I'm packing a hoodie/fleece for everyone plus a base layer undershirt for layering if needed.

It can also get cold inside, especially in the theatres if they're not full, as they can blast the A/C quite high. So I always bring a sweater or fleece; usually I travel in that so I don't have to pack it but always have it. I also bring a light jacket or wrap for dinners because it can vary between comfortable, too warm and freezing.

We also travel in rain jackets over our fleece so that we have that, mostly for ports. I've learned to downsize my footwear - I have walking shoes that I travel in, a nice pair of sandals for more formal nights or nights when I'm dressed a bit nicer for dinner and swim shoes. DH travels in walking shoes or deck shoes and brings a slightly nicer pair that he can wear with a decent pair of khakis or slightly better dress pants and swim shoes. We find that will take you through most of the day whether you go out to port, spend time in the pools, wander around the ship or for dinners both casual and dressier.

January isn't too hot so you don't need to bring a lot of other clothing. We try to mix and match pants and tops; in much warmer months, we may bring more since we don't do laundry on vacation and may have to change more frequently during the day especially if out on port adventures.

Our cruise casual generally consists of casual cotton/linen/khaki type pants (I don't generally wear skirts or dresses on cruises since the wind on deck can create a little too much of a Marilyn-Monroe-moment when you least expect it - learned that on cruise #1 the hard way). Dinner for regular dining rooms is nice khakis for him and a polo shirt or short-sleeved button shirt and lightweight knit or silky pants for me with a fancy top. I may take two pairs of pants for dinner and just swap them around and mix and match tops/covers and change jewellery rather than bringing lots of clothes.

For Palo/Remy, DH may bring a suit or a pair of dress pants and a long-sleeved button up shirt with or without tie. I will usually bring a cocktail dress or two (if it's lightweight and easily packed and doesn't require ironing).

We still probably bring way too much but we're much better than we used to. We bring one suitcase each and a backpack and still have room to take things back.

 

[Lesverts]

I don't do suit jackets/sports coats.

My cruise attire cane be summed up in 2 words. Tommy Bahama.

 

[enzy65]

You will definitely see everything, sometimes I feel underdressed and sometimes I feel overdressed. I do not like seeing swimwear with no coverups in the main theatre for the 1st show. DCL doesn’t enforce this, I guess not to make people mad. I don’t know.
Casual during the day, at night I wear blouse/black pants. Husband wears khaki/polo. Pirate clothes on that night, semi formal(if they still have that) dress/dress pants/dress shirt, formal dressy dress and husband just adds a tie.
I will say on the wish, i hardly saw any shorts at dinner.

 

[meliscan]

Where are you placed on the ship? Mid Ship will help if you are prone to seasickness.
Disney also has tablets for seasickness outside the med bay. I am sure you thought of this but the Sea Bands have been great for us.

I always overpack for trips but as others have said pack what you are comfortable wearing and taking photos in. We are T-shirts and shorts during the day and we do dress up for dinner but then back in T-shirts and shorts/jeans after dinner.

I hope you have a lovely trip!

 

[HaggisMacJedi]

Where are you placed on the ship? Mid Ship will help if you are prone to seasickness.
Disney also has tablets for seasickness outside the med bay. I am sure you thought of this but the Sea Bands have been great for us.

I always overpack for trips but as others have said pack what you are comfortable wearing and taking photos in. We are T-shirts and shorts during the day and we do dress up for dinner but then back in T-shirts and shorts/jeans after dinner.

I hope you have a lovely trip!

I'm not worried about seasickness as I've never been sea sick and have never gotten motion sickness. We are pass holders to another park that uses LOTS of motion simulator and 3D rides and nothing like that really bothers me. My wife already has both the wrist bands and behind the ear patches so I think we are good to go on that end. Our room is in the back third of the ship.

I was mainly just concerned about what to wear because watching a plethora of YouTube videos about cruising I heard several say people got "dress coded" for not having dressy enough clothes for certain things. I can promise you my kilted outfits are very nice, bespoke, well put together semi formal and formal wear so it won't be a problem. I was mainly curious about the day to day out and about parts of the cruising experience because I DON'T want to over pack but I also don't want to miss out because I didn't bring enough "dressy" clothes.

So from what I gather I will wear shorts and t-shirts while messing about during the day, then get cleaned up for dinner and wear long pants and a polo or beach shirt at night, with the exception for our one dinner at Palo, where I will get all gussied up in my kilt, waistcoat, dress shirt, tie, dress shoes, kilt hose, etc.

 

[happycamper47]

I will get all gussied up in my kilt, waistcoat, dress shirt, tie, dress shoes, kilt hose, etc.

Someone wore that on formal night on one of our cruises.

 

[kiford]

I heard several say people got "dress coded" for not having dressy enough clothes for certain things

That may have been for Palo dinner or Remy/Enchante where you are required to dress up more than dinner in the MDRs. A kilt will definitely meet the requirements for formal wear and/or be dressy enough for the adult only restaurants if you're going to those.

 

[Erica1016]

So dress really casually the whole time except for the one fancy dinner?

We tend to dress very relaxed during the day - athletic clothes, swimsuits, etc. We change for dinner, but usually just into jeans and a nice t-shirt (non logo) for DH and non T-shirt for me. We sometimes dress up a bit on the fancier night, but not always. I sometimes bring something for pirate night, but not usually a whole costume.