What to wear for THIS cruise itinerary
Hello friends! I am so glad to be back on the blog as things are FINALLY starting to get back to normal!
Jacob and I just got back from our cruise, and I have SO much to share with you. This was my first cruise ever, and we decided to veer away from the average warm and bohemian itinerary. We decided to take a cruise around the British Isles! Now, I'll probably be posting content regarding our trip for a few weeks, but I thought I would start off with some fashion ideas.
When we decided to go on a British Isles cruise, I had no idea what to expect. What would the weather be like? How much walking would we do during the day when we visited different cities? What should I pack? Of course, I hopped onto Google and searched "British Isles Cruise Fashion." Only one blog post came up! I suppose that's because most young people go on cruises to sun themselves and enjoy the hot weather, and don't get me wrong, that was definitely my first impulse. But Jacob and I were dying to see England, Scotland, and Ireland, and we thought it would be a good first introduction to the major cities in each place.
So I thought I'd give you a primer in case you ever decide to go on a cruise to colder location, or even if you're visiting the British Isles sans cruise.
So here goes!
1. Jeans. Before I realized how cool it would be in the regions we were visiting, I was all ready to pack shorts, skirts, and real summer clothing. It wasn't until I looked up the weather reports that I realized that it would be chilly, even in August! I should have known - the weather in the U.K. and Ireland doesn't really get hot...ever. So I put all of my summer clothes aside and packed a couple pairs of jeans, which turned out to be the best choice. You can wear jeans a bunch of times without washing them, so that makes packing lighter; they also go with everything, so you don't have to worry too much about matching your tops to the rest of your outfit. I found a comfortable pair of jeans made all the difference since we were doing a whole lot of walking and traveling around!
2. Light jacket + Fall jacket = Perfect combo. I wrote a post awhile back about my favorite trick for staying warm in the winter time while still wearing your favorite fall jackets. That turned out to be the perfect secret weapon for this region! I wore my favorite light jacket from Uniqlo underneath my fall jackets and voila! I was warm and comfortable, plus I had the versatility to remove my overcoat and still have on enough layers. I recommend this approach because sometimes you are far away from the cruise ship, and you don't have access to all of your belongings - so having two jackets that work in tandem or separately is really helpful.
3. Sweaters. With the weather fluctuating between cool and cold, you'll want to wear layers, and sweaters are, of course, the perfect option. I packed a few different kind of sweaters, including cardigans, and found that it was nice to have something to throw over my shoulders on the ship when I got chilly without having to carry around my coat.
4. Tanktops. So why tanktops? Well, sweaters are bulky and can be hard to pack. It's nice to have a few undershirts to wear underneath them so you can wear your sweaters multiple times without feeling like you have to wash them. It's also always nice to have tanktops to wear around your cabin and underneath dresses.
5. A watch. Having a watch while you're traveling on a cruise is helpful for a few reasons. As I've mentioned before, Jacob and I didn't have any internet or phone connection for two weeks while we were abroad. That meant we had to change the time zone on our phones manually. In order not to risk having the time zone wrong, just set your watch to nautical time and stop worrying! As well, most days that you're disembarking the ship, you're going to have to be back on the ship at a specified time. It's nice to have a watch to glance at and make sure that you're still on schedule. Lastly, since there are so many activities on the ship, you'll want to make sure that you can make it to all of them! And when you're at a nice dinner onboard, you don't want to pull out your phone at the dinner table to check the time. Wear a watch. It will save you a ton of hassle.
If only we'd seen the Loch Ness monster!
6. Comfortable walking shoes. If you're like us, you'll probably disembark at every port of call and traverse miles in an effort to see as much as you can in as short a time as possible. That means A LOT of walking. So you'll need a comfortable pair of shoes. I chose to wear a pair of sneakers from Target, and they were actually fantastic. I think sneakers are a really great choice for this climate because it isn't nippy enough that you can't have exposed skin - my ankles weren't cold at all. And honestly, do yourself a favor: don't overpack shoes. I brought one pair of walking shoes, one pair of heels for fancy nights, one pair of slip-ons for walking around the ship, and flip-flops for the pool. That was really all I needed!
7. Small backpack. Before we left for our cruise, I had hoped to buy a small backpack for the trip because I had heard from one of my favorite YouTubers, Leighannsays, that using one on her last vacation made her life so much easier. I eventually talked myself out of it, but after a few days traversing different ports, I decided that a small backpack was simply too useful not to have. I bought a little backpack onboard for $12, and I am so glad I did. I think I might upgrade to a slightly bigger one for our next trip! It's nice to have your hands free while also not carrying a full-size backpack. You want it to be big enough to hold a water bottle, your wallet, and your phone, and maybe a lip gloss or two.
8. Umbrella. In case you didn't know, it rains in the British Isles. A lot. So you should definitely have an umbrella with you, or at least a raincoat. It definitely makes things easier when you have an umbrella to prevent you from being soaked through for an entire day of sightseeing!
9. Quick and easy makeup routine. I know this isn't strictly fashion, but I still wanted to mention it. I got into the habit while we were traveling of doing my makeup (for days we disembarked) in about ten minutes. I wanted to be able to get up and go, and not worry about my contour or my highlight for 45 minutes in the morning. I think that's a nice thing to do when you're traveling - do enough makeup to make you feel nice and put-together, but not so much that you're taking time out of your day for anything else you'd rather be doing. Of course, there were some days that doing my makeup added to the vacation-feel of the trip. I could take my time and do something fun with my makeup looks. But when you're dying to get off the ship, take it easy on yourself and do something simple with your makeup!
10. Bonus Tip: Evening clothes are totally up to you. Onboard the ship, much of the time you're indoors. Because that's the case, you don't need to worry too much about dressing warmly for fancy evening nights. You can wear whatever you want to and you'll be fine. I personally carry a sweater with me because I'm always cold, but that's just me. Wear whatever you want to, and have a great time!
Have you been on a British Isles cruise? Have you been on a cruise at all? Let me know in the comments down below!