How to Dress for a Tropical Cruise Trip

Hey guys!

So i'm just back from yet another trip (i don't normally plan my trips so close to each other, but i actually thought that we weren't going with the South Korean plan so when i saw the promotion for this cruise trip-i've been wanting to try out cruising for the longest time!)  and because i have no energy to make a more worthwhile blog post (like a review or travel posts), i decided to write an easy, light blog post (because i HAVE to blog WTH, i don't want the quality and quantity of my blog post to drop crazily!) : a guide on how to dress for a tropical cruise trip hahaha.

I personally always picture myself in a the prettiest, lightest, floaty dresses when i finally go on a cruise (because well... I am vain like that -___-. When i think about a cruise i think about the beautiful spots i can take pictures at and pretty dresses that might seem a bit out of place in the mall!), guess what... I did pack mostly floaty dresses for this trip and i would say that they are totally perfect for a tropical cruise trips (i would dress more warmly on any other country with different climate, ofc) - with a few adjustments. 

I don't know how Westerner cruise trips would be, but i was slightly disappointed on how casual most people dresses during this cruise trip *LOL*. I just thought that most people would dress in floaty sundresses (because... isn't that what you wear on cruises??? No?? They are basically a moving, floating 5 starred hotel, you would probably not wear your ratty t-shirts in a 5 starred hotel, won't you? Except when you're in your room because nobody should give a shit on what your wear inside your door) but since there were mostly Singaporean in the cruise (our port of embarkation), they dress like how most of them dress daily in town-in super simple tee and shorts. Most people dressed up on the last day (because we were actually advised to), but there were still quite a lot of people showing up in tee and shorts >.<. As someone who loves fashion, that kinda pains me a bit hahaha.

Anyway, let's go in on how I dress in the 3 days (we had to leave the ship super early in the fourth day so i'm not gonna go into the 4th day's outfit)

This is my ultimate cruising dress, i actually bought it for the sole purpose on wearing in on this cruise trip. Yeppp, i am that type of person ofc

This dress is from N.Y.L.A and i found it in the sale section (it costed me IDR 90k hahaha), it is floaty, airy but maxi-length (winds are super strong at the decks, i don't think short dresses are a good option, unless you don't mind your skirt flapping around your head), and it's off shoulder (i am super conscious about my arms so i will never bare them unless i suddenly drop 20kgs-which i don't see happening because i have no intention to starve myself) : absolutely ticks every list i have for my perfect cruising dress. Plus the shade is the prettiest light blue - cruise, the ocean.. blue... Perfect match, yea??? (yea, i think of it down to the shade coz i am insane liddat).

What's not so good? The material. It's light cotton and it creases like CRAZY, even after being ironed meticulously by my OCD maid (i have a love and hate relationship with this woman), it comes out of my suitcase looking like a kimchi -___-. I had to iron it like a crazy person using our futon (coz we can't find our ironing board in our condo. We don't live there and 2 of the rooms are rented out so we don't really where things are stored) on the floor as the board (it's such a long dress too!) and ofc it's still crumpled coz it's the type of dress which you simply have to steam -___-. But all in all, i felt super pretty and princessy in this dress and i was very happy wearing it the whole day!

Excuse the quality of some of the photos, the first photo was taken using hunny's Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and it's just awesome in daylight, this one is taken using my Oppo with a strong backlight situation so i had to lighten it up with the only app i know how to use : Beauty cam :)))

Seriously love the interior and the stair case (although i am deadly afraid of staircases) coz it's so dreamy and has a strong Titanic vibe

In our super cozy stateroom. I had the BEST night of sleeps during this trip, hunny accuse me to be a baby because i immediately fell asleep once my head touches the pillow due to the gentle (very gentle!) rocking motion made by the sea -and this NEVER happens. I usually find it very very hard to fall asleep

As you can see in the photos, i am wearing my white Adidas sneakers. I'm all about dresses and sneakers so i don't see a problem with that, but if you're super fashionista then you might want to change into some pretty sandals. We walk a LOT whenever we are in Singapore so i normally wear sneakers everyday, i do bring some sandals (which you will see in the next outfit set) but they're nowhere near as comfortable as my sneakers so i didn't bother to switch it up on the first day. I would suggest not to wear high heels because it is a ship after all, once in a while they do sway gently-and it can be very slippery in the deck so i would stick to rubber soled footwear-but ofc, you can wear whatever you want, i am just here to give some friendly advises *LOL*.

I normally wear a brand new bag on every single trip (i wear brand new clothes every single day on my trips too) just because i love wearing new items on photos (don't judge me. I mostly buys cheap/discounted fashion anyway), but i was so busy after getting back from South Korea, and it's suddenly time to go on this trip so i ended up wearing my most beachy (coz cruise fashion should be close to beach fashion, elevated... No?) looking bag  - a cute straw bag from Stradivarius (that i brought to our Bali trip back in July) that's roomy enought for my wallet, makeup pouch and even my sunglasses. 

I actually bought a cute straw hat that would be such a perfect pair for the bag, but i BLOODY FORGOT TO BRING IT FML. Grrrr. Bring a straw hat, they would look so pretty for your OOTDs and they would shield you from the super strong sun too. Sunglasses is a must too ofc, i could hardly open my eyes whenever we stepped out to the decks!

You should also bring a light jacket/cardigan/throw because the entire ship is air conditioned (quite strongly) and on the first day we watched the ice show, i really kicked myself for forgetting to bring anything that remotely resembles a jacket and i was too cheap to buy a new one in Singapore because i didn't see anything i like with a low price tag -___-.

Bonus tip : Pack matchy matchy outfits with your spouse, it seems to be quite the theme for the passengers too haha

On day 2 (which is the day when we arrived in Penang and docked for a few hours) i wore a kaftan dress.

At Swettenham Pier, Georgetown-Penang, Malaysia

I've always been intrigued by kaftan dresses. I LOVVVE how they look, but falling into the stereotyping trap, i hesitated to wear them because they seem to be worn mostly by a certain ethnics (which is a very stupid worry, but doesn't make it less real) and might not match my very Oriental features. I have two kaftan dresses, one is a more dressier one that i wore ONCE to a Javanese acquintance's wedding and then i never knew when to wear it again. Ofc, i decided that cruise trips should be perfect to wear one and i must say that i was right :p.

I did attract quite a lot of stares (mostly by older, Chinese ladies zzz), but i was insanely comfortable and i felt pretty in it anyway (plus i loveeee how it turns out in photos) so i decided not to let anything or anyone ruin my mood. We always over eat everyday in the cruise (it's not even that i eat THAT much in the cruise, it's just that i usually eat a lot less. Yes, i don't eat all that much and still chubby AF so next time you're thinking of making fun of my chubbiness, shut your pie hole. I don't want to hear it, eff you #violent), floaty dresses and especially kaftans are perfect to hide my tummy (which is normally non-existent but always shows up on trips). I was super bloated and errm, a but constipated to so felt like a whale-but whenever i catch my reflection in the mirror i actually felt cute hahahaha. Must be the power of the kaftan.

We went to the Ghost Museum in Penang and i was hoping that they accept cards, which they didn't... so we had to actually walk to the nearest ATM which is in a mall a few blocks away. I love to walk (but i prefer to walk in autumn/winter *LOL*) when i'm wearing comfy sneakers, but the sneakers would look crazy with the kaftan so i wore my not-so-comfortable Ipanema sandals so my feet were quite angry at me when we reached to mall :)), but the kaftan was so comfortable i had no other complain.

Another drawback is because some of the Asian female ghosts in the museum were wearing a similar dress as mine WTF, but it really is a nice dress that our guide kept in asking me where i got it and how much it costs *LOL*. 

You can pair a see through kaftan like me with any plain inner dress that you want, if you wear hijab then you would wear a special inner dress obviously, but if you're not then you can opt for both a long or short inner slip dress. I personally think that a long slip dress would make me look like a tent (and i don't own one anyway) so i always prefer to wear a short slip dress underneath any sheer long dresses.

A chiffon kaftan dress is a perfect outfit for hot climates! 

I don't normally like hot pinks on anything, but i don't actually mind this dress for some unknown reasons

I bought this kaftan online, at Tanahabang.com or something like that *LOL*

I enjoyed this kaftan so much i definitely want to wear more kaftans in the future

On the last full day in the sea... I lost all energy. I woke up late (we opted to get breakfast delivered to our room) but even after just stepping out of our room for less than 2 hours i decided to go back to our stateroom for a long nap. I didn't feel like dressing up that day, i actually have another outfit (which is a long white dress that i got from ADA Butik) but since i was so lazy that day i decided to keep the dress for another ocassion where i can get more wear out of it. 

So i ended up wearing this pretty white lace top (also from ADA Butik, i actually got it for free from their "get a free dress" opening promotion that we were invited to hahaha) and a floaty maxi skirt that i had forever but never worn because it's one of those outfits that looks nothing like the photo in the Instagram :))), it's supposed to be much lighter pink and like i mentioned earlier-i don't like hot pinks!

If you prefer separates than dresses, then you can always pair easy tops with floaty skirts , loose fitting pants can be an option too. Btw, as much as i love my maxi dresses, i actually struggle to go up and down stairs with them (and i walk up and down a LOT since we prefer to get a little exercise in the ship rather than taking lifts all the time) because i'm super clumsy and not very feminine (people seems to find it hard to differentiate being girly and feminine, i am super girly but i am not feminine at all), i kept on stepping on my own skirt/dress edge >.<. Needless to say i continued almost tripping myself/commit an indecent exposure WTF.

We had dinner and i haven't reapplied my lippie when we took this pic, together with the super yellow lighting-the result made me shocked at how scarily pale i look :)). I immediately put on some lippie so i looked less ghostly in the next photos

Giant Christmas Tree in a cruise ship = awesomeness!

Saw the beautiful tiles at the Promenade (it's a cafe that opens 24/7 in the Mariner of the Seas-the ship we cruised on) so ofc i insisted on taking photos there

I was slightly uncomfortable wearing the tight fitting top because of the bloatedness and constipation :)) (i honestly intended to use the top as an inner), if you are easily bloated and get serious cases of water retentions like i do, i'd suggest packing up a looser fitting tops because you do want to slightly indulge and not be too strict with yourself when you're on a cruise with non stop, 24/7 free flow food!

And those are all the outfits that i wore on my cruise trip along with some tips on what to pack if you too, are planning to go for a cruise trip.

I really REALLY enjoyed my first cruise, a LOT more than i expected. I was a bit worried about sea-sickness, but most of the time the ship was very steady (i could feel a gentle sway when we first took off, and i felt it for probably the first hour or so-then i hardly feel anything except once in a very long while) and i was very, very comfortable. I enjoyed every aspects of it. I plan to blog about it ofc, but you might need to wait until next year for that coz i have so many travel posts i need to clear out :)).

Have you ever been on a cruise trip? If not, are you interested in one in the future?

#Pink