Swimsuits

[TheFoxglove]

Ok, I have to ask. Four years after our youngest was born, untold hours of aerobics and running in the interim, and we're headed off for a Disney cruise next month. Needless to say, I'm busy getting khakis and sundresses for the kids, new shirts for my husband, and (you guessed it) a few new swimsuits for me.

I haven't been on a cruise since our honeymoon, and I spent most of that in a swimsuit or a sarong. I've read that cover-ups should be worn outside of the pool areas on the Disney ships (which is fine), but what's appropriate at the pool or in the deck chairs? I've worked awfully hard to get ready for the cruise, but I don't want to go buy something like a crochet bikini if I'm going to be the only one sunning that much.

Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[prymsu]

i have seen all types of swimsuits at the pools.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Interesting question. I certainly wouldn't recommend wearing a crochet bikini unless those untold hours of aerobics and running had the effect that you imply they did. There are (IMO) few things more unattractive than seeing somebody who can't <i><b>wear</b></i> a skimpy bikini attempt to wear one. That being said, if you were to wear it around the Quiet Cove pool, you'd probably attract a crowd of appreciative husbands trying hard to not be obvious about noticing.

You will see all body types on this cruise, and you will see all swimsuit types on this cruise. My only advice to anyone about this is that they wear something appropriate to their body type.

 

[Michelle]

Welcome to the DIS Cruise Board!

Go for the crochet bikini if that's what you want to wear. As others have said, you'll see all body types and all bathing suit types on the cruise.

Enjoy!

 

[disneyholic family]

a crocheted bikini sounds great (and i for one would be green with envy)....
wear what makes you happy....
as for me, i NEVER sun......ever.......it can be summed up in two words - skin cancer.....my boss' 27 year old daughter just died 6 weeks after being diagnosed....granted we live in a tropical climate 10 minutes from the beach, but sunning isn't one of my pastimes and never has been....even in my college years spent as a waterfront lifeguard.......
besides which, sunning has to be even more boring than watching grass grow....but different strokes and all that....

i wonder if there are other things to do on the ship besides sit by the pool....

 

[pal2pluto]

disneyholic....I tend to fall in step with you.....freckled redhead and all. I never sat beside to pool to sun, only to eat at the covered tables by the pool. And I was never bored....tons of stuff to do......and I especially liked the deck 4 chairs to read in. When are you going?

 

[disneyholic family]

4th of july...

needless to say, i'm out in the sun nonstop when i'm swimming or hiking....or that greatest pasttime of all....visiting WDW ....

but lying around sweating in a chair never struck me as much fun....
anyway, i'd probably fall asleep and turn into the color of a candy apple...(which is exactly the color my son turned 2 weeks ago when i forgot to make him wear sunscreen on his hike)...

 

[mmouse37]

We once saw a woman in a thong bathing suit on DCL. I must say I thought that was a bit inappropriate considering the clientel. Don't think little kids don't notice these things....they do. All the little kids by the Mickey pool kept asking their parents why that lady's hiney was sticking out!!!! We also some topless bathers on CC....also inappropriate for DCL, IMO.

Remember...young, impressionable minds!!!!

MJ

 

[Ashley24]

I hope those topless bathers were on the adult only side on CC?!?!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Topless sunbathing is not officially allowed anywhere on Castaway Cay. There have been anecdotal reports of it happening occasionally... sometimes even on the family beach... without any enforcement by the nearby CM's. I think most folks would agree that the adult beach is the more appropriate locale rather than the family beach on Disney's private island.

 

[disneyholic family]

maybe the topless sunbathers were french....
i hope there aren't any european men on CC...
remember, i live on this side of the atlantic....
i get pretty sick and tired of seeing anatomically correct bathing suits on the men here....
in case you've never seen them, they leave NOTHING to the imagination...and i mean NOTHING.....especially when they're male thongs....
much more disgusting in my opinion than a few mammary glands hanging free.....
and the coed saunas here are birthday suit ONLY.....geez.....
for americans who think we're just like europeans, think again....

 

[TheFoxglove]

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who's taken the time to reply so far.

I guess my idea of a cruise (or some other tropical vacation) involves painted toenails, a frozen drink, and something a little more indulgent in the swimsuit department. That being said, I know that this is a family vacation (it is for me, too!), and I don't plan on wearing anything that wouldn't be welcome on a public beach. I just wanted an idea on what was typical on board so that I could plan accordingly.

Besides, when playing with the kids, you've got to wear something more practical, anyway (or else you're just an accident waiting to happen). I certainly wouldn't wear a thong on the ship (and I agree that that's terribly tacky and inappropriate). If I go to the adult-only pool, though, I wanted to know if a bikini would be welcome. Apparently, the answer is yes (although Dave reserves judgement based upon the appearance factor ), and something a bit more exotic might be fine.

I know that there'll be plenty to do, and I know better than to lay out without some heavy duty sunscreen, but I find a trip to the poolside relaxing sometimes. I guess for some of us, a little "sweating in a chair" is part of the whole cruise image.

 

[mmouse37]

Bikini's are most certainly welcome and worn just as much as any other bathing suit. I think Dave just means a person (male or female) trying to wear a suit that is obviously a few sizes to small or a suit like a bikini when you really don't have a bikini body!!!! Not a pretty site! I could never wear a bikini and I am the first to admit it! Those of you that can, go for it!!

MJ

 

[kimberwing]

This discussion cracks me up, because I'm so not modest. I guess I'm just a throwback to the 70's or something, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the human body or it's parts. Context is usual key, and if one follows good common sense, who cares? MY DS' ages 5 & 1 still see DH and I run around nekkid in the AM after showers. They don't think it's a big deal and neither do we. We want them to be comfortable with the human body, but we know we may be different from lots of folks.

We saw all types of bathing suits and body types on our April 11 cruise, but we never saw any thongs. speedos or topless suits. Of couse, we hung at the family pool, where the majority is moms in one-pieces and tankinis, and dads in baggy trunks. You do, however, see bikinis too. I brought all three types, and lived in my blue bikini. If I had worked out and could wear a crocheted bikini, I'd do it in a heartbeat. One has to go with what one is comfortable with, and not worry about the rest of the world's opinion.

Be proud of that bod and wear what you want!!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

kimberwing....
you'd love it here.....people are very free with their bodies....
i was just laughing with an american friend of mine how different the pregnant women dress here....
somehow it seems the entire country has swallowed a watermelon over the winter....
and there's no way to miss it when they wear leggings and a tube top (yup...belly hanging out and all)....
or if they're really really modest they wear a skin tight top (from their pre-prego days)...
but as i said, coed saunas here are totally naked (and no towels allowed, by the way....except to sit on....)...
my body wasn't up to that sort of scrutiny 30 years ago....and the situation has only gone downhill with gravity....
as for the men in their bathing suits here.....let me just say that you haven't lived until you've seen an entire beach full of overweight middle-aged men with beer bellies big enough to carry quintuplets hanging over their itsie bitsie teenie weenie very very tight bikini....let me suggest that you don't eat lunch beforehand....

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Dave_from_Marietta
You will see all body types on this cruise, and you will see all swimsuit types on this cruise. My only advice to anyone about this is that they wear something appropriate to their body type.

I couldn't have said it better!

Anne (who wears a one piece because it's a lot more forgiving )

 

[ducklite]

A little off topic-

A couple years ago we went to Vero Beach. There was this one woman...ugh! She was in a bathing suit that would have fit her had she been 60-70 pounds lighter (and she probably weighed in at close to 300, no exageration!) That's not the worst part---it had holes all over it, like moth holes! So on top of the suit being 4-6 sizes too small, she had these little pockets of flab poking out through the holes all over her suit. It was disgusting!

I'm not complaining about her weight btw...it was the suit--yuck! There were several Pooh Sized ladies there in very attractive well fitting suits!

Anne

 

[Gillian]

disneyholic -- lots of pregnant women here too! The hospitals will be crowded this summer. I feel so out of it, not expecting when so many of my friends are. I'll probably be the only pregnant woman in NJ next year (God willing).

The maternity styles are changing too. Lots more form fitting stuff. I haven't seen leggings & tube tops yet, but lots of snug t-shirts & turtlenecks. I like huge shirts myeslf, but pregnant women are beautiful & there's nothing to hide.

do the pregnant women over there wear crochet bikinis?

 

[disneyholic family]

they wear thongs at the beach....no need for a bikini when you're expected to go topless....all women are topless....from newborns to 90 year old great grandmas (no comment on what THAT looks like)....

i should add that since we moved here, my husband swims with his glasses on...

 

[kimberwing]

DH Family....where are you from originally? Thanks for the laugh, by the way.

I can remember a trip to Germany in '83...I was fresh out of HS and very naive. We went to a swimsuit optional beach on Rom in Denmark, and I was shocked to see a Grandma and Grandpa going au naturel and not thinking a think about it! The shock value wore off for me after that!