Past Christmas cruisers please answer a question?

[kaeffe]

This is for women, okay, men can answer too if they know their fashion etiquette?----I am perplexed as how to dress for our upcoming Christmas crusie Dec 18-25 to Coz, G/C and Jamiaca. Will the ship attire be usual cruise attire? Shorts, tropical clothing, white sandals (in winter!!!!)? Also what will the weather be like in the ports, is the weather warm enough to swim? I'm looking forward to our 1st Christmas cruise but I don't know how to pack!

[sea girl2]

What Ship are you going on?

Do they have formal night? On the Dawn last year we went and was no formal night but I dress up.I guess you can if you want.

[kaeffe]

We're going on the Carnival Conquest and there are 2 formal nights. I will just dress in formal attire as any other formal night maybe in something Christmasey. It's how to dress during the day. Will it be warm enough for shorts? And will people dress in shorts and sandals in winter. I'm soooo confused. And being a true southern girl it's hard for me to think about breaking those fashion rules I grew up with such as no write shoes after labor day. But if I wear shorts and a tropical print shirt wouldn't I wear my white sandles?????

[geoherb]

I think being on a cruise (or anywhere tropical) lets you break the rules that you would otherwise follow. Everyone will be wearing shorts and sandals in the Caribbean. It's too hot to wear long pants during the day.

[Cruisin' Chick]

You should check out a weather site such as weather.com for the different ports you're going to. At sea, if on the Caribbean, it will tend to be warmer than other locals. But maybe rainy too. 11 years ago I was on a W. Caribbean cruise in November and it was on the warm side (compared to Los Angeles's November weather).

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

There are no rules in the Caribbean about "no white after Labor Day" and "no sandals, shorts, camisole tops, bright colors, etc. after Labor Day" and so on. Such rules have no meaning in a geographical area in which sandals and shorts can be worn comfortably all year long. There are no prohibitions on wearing white or shorts in the Caribbean or even South Florida in winter months.

 

When you do port calls and tours, you may discover it is really quite warm and even muggy. They do have an occasional "cool spell," but it may not seem cool to you. The water will probably be in the mid to low seventies by that time of year. It can rain also in December. Hurricane season is officially over, but tropical weather does what it wants when it wants.

 

When your ship is cruising at sea, it can be quite chilly at night on the top decks. You may want a warm sweater for that. I also find ships quite cool inside especially in the dining room and theater. You may want a nice sweater or shawl.

[Dawnarama]

You're getting good advice on this board. I have cruised in December twice - this will be the first time though on Christmas week. It's hard for me to envision the weather/atmosphere change as I look out at snow in my backyard and crank up the heat!

 

On my past cruises day wear was very summery and tropical as were some of the casual evenings. Formal and semi formal nights the ladies dressed for any season - it was a sea of black! One night I wore a lovely powder blue gown and the fact that it was color really cheered some passengers up :-)

 

However, this being a Chritsmas cruise I have a black lace and satin cocktail dress for one night and an ivory silk brocade sheath with a crystal encrusted collar....both have a holiday tone. Just figured it'd be fun with the holiday decorations on the ship and all the Santas I expect to see :-)

 

Bottomline - its a chance to bring out your party clothes - so bring the ones that make you feel good and have been cooped up in your closet way too long!;)

[kaeffe]

Thanks for the input, I've really been concerned about this as I didn't want to be arrested by the fashion police. Honestly it is still hard for me to thing about wearing white shoes after Labor Day. But some of my little tropical outfits demand white sandals. Too many years of following the rules! LOL

[LDR]

We're cruising next week, and one of the first things I packed were, you

guessed it-white sandals! They go with a lot of outfits and it will save you

from taking all the shoes in your closet not to mention weighing down

your suitcase:)

I also packed a pair of white capris and white shorts for myself and DD.

We're going for it!