Helping Teen Pack for 12-night Euro cruise

[BuggasMomma]

16y/o DD is sailing with her grandmother in 3 weeks on RC Jewel of the Seas for the 12-night Amsterdam/Ireland/England/Iceland… we haven’t cruised since 2013 and I’m at a loss as to what we should buy/pack. She’s a big. Fan of ripped jeans and I’m pretty sure those are out. 
 

Im hoping for suggestions of styles and items that we can put together for a mix and match wardrobe that will give her options and suitable outfits for sightseeing/evenings/dining, etc, 

Thanks in advance! 

[LittleMissMagic]

When I start packing for a cruise, I always start by considering the number of formal nights. For a 12-night cruise on Royal Caribbean, there will be 3 formal nights. Formal night has become less formal and less observed over the years. Check in with her grandmother to see how formal she plans to dress (if grandmother isn't observing formal night, then no need to worry about formal attire).

 

Something to be aware of in Europe is that if they're planning to tour historic Cathedrals or places of worship, shorts or short skirts are "not allowed" inside, and shoulders should be covered (if wearing shorts, you'll probably be advised not to enter, but it's not like they forcefully stop you). If that's on the itinerary, she'll want to pack pants, long skirts, or maxi dresses for those days. For the top, a blouse that covers the shoulders works, or pack a sweater to put on or scarf to throw over the shoulders.

 

European itineraries can often include a lot of walking, so she'll definitely want to have comfortable walking shoes.

 

Pinterest is a great resource for "capsule wardrobes." Search "European Summer Capsule Wardrobe," and you'll find a lot of mix-and-match outfit ideas. For example:

 

[BuggasMomma]

Thank you @LittleMissMagic! 
She’ll be leaving home in the worst of our summer heat (NY) and from our ‘research’ it looks like temps in the areas she is visiting will top out around 70*F. That’s a bit of a challenge given her lack of year-round staple wardrobe (so much easier as an adult who stopped  outgrowing clothes many years ago!)

 

I don’t think she’s planning on shorts at all but I’ll make note of the skirt/shoulders rule and double check their itinerary. She’s planning for light layers for sightseeing. (Insisting on her vast converse collection  as walking shoes but I’m trying to talk her into getting a comfortable pair of athletic shoes as backup.) 

 

Formal nights are covered by her junior prom dress and another from a banquet. Are dining rooms for regular dinner seatings still smart casual? (We haven’t ever cruised RC.)  We just went through her closet and pulled several sundresses and cardigans she could potentially mix&match for dinners if those will work but I’m worried she might be chilly… do they still keep the ships on the cool side? 

[Mum2Mercury]

Little Miss Magic hit this one of of the park. 

 

The only thing I can add is that I'd try to use this as a teachable moment:  She may love ripped jeans, but -- as you obviously know -- that look isn't appropriate for all parts of the cruise she's about to take.  I'd have her pack ONE PAIR and discuss ahead of time WHEN it's okay to wear them /when she needs to dress up a bit more.  

 

I just retired from teaching, and MANY teens have trouble with when it's appropriate to wear this or that.  For example, when our FBLA Club (Future Business Leaders of America) have their Dress for Success week -- the idea being to emphasize what's okay to wear to a professional job -- many girls show up looking like they're ready to go out dancing:  short skirts with stiletto heels, sparkles, low necklines.  They don't yet grasp that "nice" in one venue isn't "nice" in another venue.

 

For what it's worth, I just bought a fantastic pair of white button-front skinny jeans, and they have small rips.  The rips gave me pause, but they look great on me.  I am a grandmother.  

 

(Insisting on her vast converse collection  as walking shoes but I’m trying to talk her into getting a comfortable pair of athletic shoes as backup.) 

Compromise:  one pair of Converse in a basic color + another pair you think are more appropriate.  

 

Formal nights are covered by her junior prom dress and another from a banquet.

Perfect and budget-friendly for you. 

 

We just went through her closet and pulled several sundresses and cardigans she could potentially mix&match for dinners if those will work but I’m worried she might be chilly… do they still keep the ships on the cool side? 

This sounds ideal.  Yes, it'd be great if you could pick 1-2 cardigans that would work with multiple dresses.  

Edited July 14, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[BuggasMomma]

@Mum2Mercury that struggle is so true. I have two teens and it’s so difficult to make them understand the *why* of clothing decorum. We just went out briefly to see what we could find and everything I suggested was met with “I’m not dressing like an old person just because I’m going with grandma.”
Thank you for your suggestions!

[WELDON]

I get the replies this should be a teachable moment.  However, it seems like a lot of clothes to take on a European cruise.  On most of the European cruises that are port intensive, people really don't want to dress up after a day of sightseeing. Does your daughter normally wear a lot of dresses?  A prom dress, IMO, is overkill. If you were driving to a port and not having to worry about checking baggage, then OK to take it. But you are using valuable space for other clothes. Then you need a shoe to go with the prom dress. I notice on formal nights, after picture taking and dinner, people change clothes into something more casual.

 

I don't wear dresses, only pants, capris, jeans. So at night, I wear nice pants and take an assortment of tops, some dressy (formal nights). Sandals or flats are my footwear.  Cruising is a lot more casual than when you went last.  

[Anita Latte]

My son goes to college in London and has friends from all over Europe. I can tell you that her Converse sneaker collection is on point. They wear fashion sneakers over there not gym shoes. Probably want them to be less worn and old looking but definitely there will plenty of young people in sneakers, especially classic old school sneakers.

[Anita Latte]

For the clothing, the advice I would offer is to understand that you are likely visiting cities that have a walking lifestyle and possibly a biking lifestyle. Fashion for the younger generation will be very practical. Weather may be unpredictable so wear something that can handle the unexpected and possibly brief inclement weather. Also big cities tend to have weird shade patterns and wind tunnels so having layers is helpful. Jeans/denim is perfectly acceptable so long as they are well fitting. That’s kind of key. Clothes should fit well and not be oversized (more fitted knit shirts rather than oversized tees) nor tend toward athleisure but still be practical enough to deal well with public transport etc. Color palettes also tend to more toned down, with more of what I would think of a neutrals like black, gray, navy, army green, tan, cream, white. Unless her style is to wear tons of color, of course that’s fine if she’s confident and comfortable and her clothes fit well. That’s the biggest difference I always notice…how whatever people are wearing, the clothes never could be described as dowdy, frumpy, camouflaging, or ill fitting.

[hueyjudy]

Terrific advice on these responses!  My advice is to pick one bright color and the rest neutral.  I travel in beige and black, with one bright color.  I'd  take 8 tops, 4 bottoms and plan on doing laundry.  Everything should go with everything else.  Three dressier outfits for non-formal dinners, like a maxi-dress or skirt with a nice top.  If she can pull it off, a pashima-like shawl.  One dress for formal nights.  Nobody will notice and nobody cares that someone wears something three times.  It actually makes you look like a smart traveller.  One pair of dressy shoes for most of the evenings.  Much more productive to have the room for every-day clothes.  A heavy cardigan, a light one too.  A windbreaker and a jacket/coat according to what you read about the weather on the cruise.  

[BuggasMomma]

3 hours ago, WELDON said:

Does your daughter normally wear a lot of dresses?  A prom dress, IMO, is overkill.

Typically she likes to wear sundresses or leggings when she’s not in jeans. Being that’s she’s traveling with  her grandmother and a few of her grandmother’s friends, I’m trying to steer her towards the more sedate/less strappy versions. Re: the prom dress Haha! The one she’s packing is a simple solid black wrap dress in a wrinkle-friendly material, but I just about died picturing her trying to pack the glitter-shedding poofy ballgown monstrosity that she wore to her boyfriend’s prom. 
 

Planning a trip to the Outlet mall to get her some non-holey jeans and some simple dressier style tops and hopefully a pair of versatile dress pants (she balks at the idea of “slacks”🙄)

Teenagers are fun. 

[WELDON]

As  someone else mentioned, it doesn't matter if you wear things a few times. No one will notice.  As long as your clothes are clean, neat and you look presentable, that's what counts.

[BuggasMomma]

Thanks all. I’m less concerned about sightseeing attire as I am about her on-board outfits. Our previous cruises were tropical and involved packing the kids khaki shorts/pants/skirts and colorful polos and a handful of cute sundresses and cardigans. It’s much more complicated now that she dresses herself, especially knowing I won’t be there to suggest edits. I don’t want my kiddo to trigger any bouts of pearl-clutching among her travel companions. 

[Anita Latte]

My one experience sailing with a bunch of Europeans was taking the Allure Eastbound TA way back there in 2014? The ship was by and large filled with more non Americans than Americans. Left Fort Lauderdale for Barcelona. The thing I would say about the ship in the evenings especially is that the people were stylin’. They looked urban and fashionable. They didn’t necessarily look trendy but they looked current and modern and again, the best word I could use is stylin’. 
 

Going shopping should be fun. I encourage you to find the fun in it. Also see if maybe your DD could find some ideas and do some of her own research on what she thinks would be appropriate outfits. I would encourage you to approach the idea of helping her figure out how to elevate her style and develop it and not approach it from the view that she needs to change too much to be acceptable with her grandmother and grandmother’s contemporaries. Focus on the venue, not the people. This is a wonderful opportunity for your DD to really connect with her grandmother. If you let your DD take the lead in the shopping and just help edit, then you’ll both be happier. She’ll feel more comfortable and confident and you will too because you can see the choices she’s making given the chance, so you don’t have to be as concerned when she’s outside your editing reach.

[awhfy]

Converse sneaks, yes. Leggings, yes. Sundresses with sweater or wrap, yes. Black wrap dress, perfect (wear it both formal nights with different shawl or jewelry). 

[Mum2Mercury]

16 hours ago, BuggasMomma said:

@Mum2Mercury that struggle is so true. I have two teens and it’s so difficult to make them understand the *why* of clothing decorum. We just went out briefly to see what we could find and everything I suggested was met with “I’m not dressing like an old person just because I’m going with grandma.”
Thank you for your suggestions!

That sounds just like something my students would say!  I'm a language teacher, and one thing I teach is email etiquette -- my students hate it.  They say, "We're young, and we text.  Emails are for old people."  They don't want to accept that email is for business, and they will all need it.  

 

It's hard for them to "get it" because they see so many unrealistic examples in movies and TV.  

 

Getting off topic a bit:  I live near a major university, and Education Majors frequently ask to come observe in our classrooms (they must log in observation hours, then teach some mini-lessons for several classes).  Their professors tell them to come in dressed to represent the university well, but many of them miss the mark -- as I said above, short skirts, low necklines.  I've even had students say to me, "I've realized my skirt isn't appropriate, but it's all I have -- when I come back for my second observation in few weeks, I promise I will be better prepared."  When I've taken on a student teacher for a semester, our first sit-down together has always included a discussion of what to wear.  

 

I did something for my daughters that turned out to be really good for them in the long run.  Starting when they were juniors in high school, I started buying them a professional outfit as a "Bonus Christmas present" and another professional outfit as a "Bonus Birthday present" in the spring.  I stayed very simple, classic and was a bit generous with size.  They said thank you, of course, but didn't particularly appreciate these gifts -- then suddenly they needed something to wear for a class presentation or an observation, and while their classmates scrambled, they reached into their closets.  In college they needed professional clothes for internships, etc., and they already had a small-but-appropriate collection.  THEN they were really appreciative.  

[Mum2Mercury]

16 hours ago, WELDON said:

A prom dress, IMO, is overkill.

She will be among the best-dressed at dinner, but those dresses are already bought and paid for -- if she were my daughter, I'd like to see them get another use from those dresses.  She will enjoy being the belle of the ball, and Grandma will appreciate it as well. 

[Mum2Mercury]

14 hours ago, hueyjudy said:

Terrific advice on these responses!  My advice is to pick one bright color and the rest neutral.  I travel in beige and black, with one bright color.  I'd  take 8 tops, 4 bottoms and plan on doing laundry.  Everything should go with everything else.  Three dressier outfits for non-formal dinners, like a maxi-dress or skirt with a nice top.  If she can pull it off, a pashima-like shawl.  One dress for formal nights.  Nobody will notice and nobody cares that someone wears something three times.  It actually makes you look like a smart traveller.  One pair of dressy shoes for most of the evenings.  Much more productive to have the room for every-day clothes.  A heavy cardigan, a light one too.  A windbreaker and a jacket/coat according to what you read about the weather on the cruise.  

This sounds like good advice for everyday clothes.  Except the pashima -- I strongly suspect she's going to rebel against that, seeing it as "grandma-ish".  

Edited July 15, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[Mum2Mercury]

12 hours ago, BuggasMomma said:

Thanks all. I’m less concerned about sightseeing attire as I am about her on-board outfits. Our previous cruises were tropical and involved packing the kids khaki shorts/pants/skirts and colorful polos and a handful of cute sundresses and cardigans. It’s much more complicated now that she dresses herself, especially knowing I won’t be there to suggest edits. I don’t want my kiddo to trigger any bouts of pearl-clutching among her travel companions. 

Grandma knew she was inviting a teen when she issued the invitation.  She probably won't be shocked by some edge-pushing outfits.  Remember, she has experience raising teens! 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[WELDON]

One other suggestion. Is your daughter the type of person that would be interested in going to the teen lounge?  She could meet other kids her age to hang with in the evenings. She should go the first night before cliques are established.

[Mum2Mercury]

11 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

I would encourage you to approach the idea of helping her figure out how to elevate her style and develop it and not approach it from the view that she needs to change too much to be acceptable with her grandmother and grandmother’s contemporaries. Focus on the venue, not the people.

 

This is a wonderful opportunity for your DD to really connect with her grandmother. 

Figure out and elevate her style -- nicely said!  

 

Connect with her grandmother -- I'm a very new grandmother myself, and I'd love to take my grandson on such trips when he's a teen.  

Perhaps you could help the two of them by prompting a conversation about "how much togetherness" they each expect.  For example, when my kids were teens, we agreed that they could hang out in the teen club all day -- as long as they left me a note in the room saying where they were, and they could have breakfast/lunch with teen friends, but I expected us to have dinner as a family.  And I gave them an earlier curfew than the ship does.  Not saying you should use my expectations; rather, I'm saying that Grandma and Granddaughter should begin the trip with an idea of what the other is expecting.  

Edited July 15, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[hueyjudy]

I'm wondering if your daughter might be ready to make her own decisions ... is she the type to worry about what 'everyone' will think?  Or is her Grandmother vitally concerned with appearances?  If not, this might be a good time for your daughter to just wear whatever she wants onboard, as long as she dresses 'nicely' for dinners.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:07 AM, awhfy said:

Converse sneaks, yes. Leggings, yes. Sundresses with sweater or wrap, yes. Black wrap dress, perfect (wear it both formal nights with different shawl or jewelry). 

I'm a night club blogger in Orlando so I see what is being worn. I've also been to Europe 4X in the past year so I've seen what's in style over there. Agree with you completely and I would add jeans with rips and holes are VERY much in style in Mom jeans baggy or bellbottom/flare styles. Besides Converse, Vans/Adidas/Nike/Fila are also big over there in platform styles. Whatever she is comfortable wearing here is in style over there too. Of course bring a few conservative outfits for the ship but otherwise she does not need to go out of her comfort zone. And if she gets a chance to go shopping on the high streets over there, that could make for a fun diversion because many new styles begin in Europe before migrating over here and she could get a jump ahead of everyone for the next school year.

[awhfy]

10 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

I'm a night club blogger in Orlando so I see what is being worn. I've also been to Europe 4X in the past year so I've seen what's in style over there. Agree with you completely and I would add jeans with rips and holes are VERY much in style in Mom jeans baggy or bellbottom/flare styles. Besides Converse, Vans/Adidas/Nike/Fila are also big over there in platform styles. Whatever she is comfortable wearing here is in style over there too. Of course bring a few conservative outfits for the ship but otherwise she does not need to go out of her comfort zone. And if she gets a chance to go shopping on the high streets over there, that could make for a fun diversion because many new styles begin in Europe before migrating over here and she could get a jump ahead of everyone for the next school year.

Specifically said no rips/tears in jeans as they’re not allowed in cruise dining rooms, but off the ship definitely  

[slidergirl]

I’m over in France now, on my way to Italy.  Teens and young women are wearing short jean shorts, short tops and a variety of white sneakers, including high tops.  A lot are wearing cute flouncy mini dresses with both sneakers or flat sandals.  

[slidergirl]

My scouting of young women in Bologna:  lots of shorts, from unhemed denim to ditzy prints.  Short skirts.  T-shirts.  Tank tops and sleeveless T-shirt  (my go to).  Surprisingly many midriff baring shirts.  Right now in the breakfast room I see 4 bare midriffs, one with a baggy pair of cargo pants.  Women are in jeans, denim shorts, few dresses, T-shirts. Me?  I’m in my black Chico’s lightweight cargo bermudas, my violet Woolx sleeveless T (yes, wool, and NOT hot at all after 2 weeks) and my hi tops.

 

Just reporting what I have seen.  Hope it helps.