I just got back from an 8-day cruise with Carnival; JJ and I had such an amazing time!! Over the next few days I’ll be sharing a diary of everything I wore (even to the gym). Generally I don’t divulge a lot about my daily life, so I hope it will be fun to switch it up a bit and go behind the scenes and see what I wore, as well as get some ideas for what to pack on your next cruise!
First up is what I wore to board the ship. Orlando is only a quick hour drive to the port in Cape Canaveral, however, it was a long day for us. We made a detour to drop of Bella (my dog) and eat lunch with JJ’s mom, and boarding the ship takes about an hour, so I was going for comfort. I also could not wait to bust out these printed pants and the fedora I bought specifically for the trip! (here)
After safety drills and getting settled, we were ready to chow down at our first dinner. We opted to do “your time dining” which worked really well for us. On Carnival cruises you can pick a time for dinner – 6:15 or 8:15, but with “your time dining” you can go anytime you want. You just show up and let them know you are ready – most nights we walked right in, or sometimes there is a short wait. You can ask for a private table, or sit with a group. We met a lot of new people that way, and also our waiter was different on most nights. As always on Carnival cruises, the food was delicious and I ate way too much at dinner!
I wore this black jumpsuit on the first night– probably my most casual outfit I wore to dinner all week. I was exhausted from only getting a few hours of sleep the night before and this jumpsuit is one of the most comfortable things I own so it was the perfect thing to throw on. (Side note: I think I wore this jumpsuit more than any other outfit this summer! I lived in this thing.)
After going to sleep at 9:30pm (no joke – I was so tired!) the night before, I was ready to hit the pool the next morning. We had a day at sea, and this is the cover up I wore during the day. During the day on the cruise you will find most people running around in swim wear. Dress code when you enter the dining areas is to add a cover up over your suit, and I usually wear one all day for a day at sea.
After the pool, JJ and I hit the gym for a little while. This is me in my usual colorful gear for working out!
Night #2 on the boat was a formal night. For a week-long cruise, generally two nights will be deemed “formal” night and the dinner dress code is different for those nights. I like to think of the dress code as wearing something formal enough to wear to a wedding, and this sequin dress I wore to the ballet last year (here) fit the bill. I loved having an excuse to wear it again!
We had so much fun the first two days of the cruise, but really the fun had just begun. Stay tuned to see pictures from our four stops on the cruise: Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Martin, and San Juan. As well as two more days at sea!
This post was created as part of my collaboration with Carnival. As always, all of the opinions, thoughts, and ideas in this post are my own.
