The packing guidelines for our 7-night Windstar Dreams of Tahiti voyage seemed pretty straightforward: beachwear/casual during the day, resort casual in the dining room. But as I thought about the various excursions we booked, my packing list became quite long, and I still wasn’t sure what to expect on board. As I unpacked, I couldn’t help but judge how I did. Here’s my breakdown,
What I Should Have Brought
More sunscreen – We just barely had enough. Brought 2 tubes of lotion and 1 can of spray (Costco sized) for 4 adults. By the second to last day we were using more sparingly since we worried about running out.
More casual clothes – I needed more options for the downtime between the end of excursions and happy hour/dinner. While many people were lounging in swimsuits, we usually were in the water all day so we would shower as soon as we boarded. I could have used a bigger variety of t-shirts, tanks, and shorts for relaxing on deck.
A typical afternoon onboard the Wind Spirit, where the aft deck and pool bar was a gathering place for socializing and events.
A baseball cap – My wide-brimmed sun hat got a lot of use, but I didn’t want to wear it unless I was out on an excursion. And with the wind and humidity, I pretty much wanted my hair covered at all times. I now have a nice souvenir from Bloody Mary’s on Bora Bora!
In this sun it’s essential to keep your head covered and make sure hats won’t fly off in the wind.
Bloody Mary’s is a must-see in Bora Bora, it’s such a unique place. And has great food!
Travel coffee mug – From past cruise experience I knew I would want one, but forgot to pack it. I am early riser and LOVE my morning coffee. A larger travel mug would have saved me extra trips between the espresso bar and upper deck where I enjoyed watching the sun rise or the ship pull into port.
My first stop each morning, it opened at 6:30 am!
Special mention:
Rain gear – I actually did not need this, since it only rained once and stopped before we went ashore. And all our activities were water based, anyway. But I dodged a bullet because when it did rain one brief time, it poured. My hat and travel umbrella were fine for a light rain or quick trip outside, but if I had signed up for a hike or other land excursion, I would have been miserable. (Full size umbrellas are provided in the cabins.)
What I Should Have Left Home
“Special” deck shoes – I had bought a pair of slip-on closed toe deck shoes just for the trip. I ended up wearing my favorite cute Birkenstocks (yes, they exist!) when I wasn’t wearing my water shoes, and also had tan and black sandals for dinner. Moral of the story: just bring one pair of non-skid, comfortable shoes for hanging out on deck.
The deck was often wet around the pool and hot tub, or after mopping by the crew. They kept the yacht immaculate!
A few dinner outfits – I could have gotten away with 2 fewer blouses and one less pair of cropped pants. There were 3 casual evenings for dinner, so I really only needed resort casual outfits 4 times.
This was a casual dining evening on deck, but these clothes also were suitable in the dining room, except the guys would change into long pants. Some guests even wore t-shirts and shorts.
My sweater – I was prepared to be cold in air-conditioned areas, but that was not the case. I never needed more than a blouse to pull on over a tank top if I felt cool (which was rare). A light scarf would have been fine, too. But my daughter wore a sweatshirt quite often in the air-conditioned cabin, so it depends on how sensitive you are to that.
A few hundred francs – I really only needed about half of what I obtained in advance from my bank. And I should have asked for more small bills, as I only used it for tour and transfer gratuities, and small purchases from local vendors. They were usually happy to take a mix of USD and XPF, or even USD only.
Currency conversion was easy. 100 XPF (or CFP) is approximately 1 USD
An extra purse – My go-to travel purse is a small, water repellent cross-body with several pockets that I can stuff in my carry-on bag when boarding a plane. I packed a larger “cute” purse thinking I would use it on shore for shopping. I never took it out of the closet. Most of the time my beach bag was my purse, since I also was carrying sunscreen, insect repellent, a phone charger, and flip flops or water shoes.
What I Was Glad To Have
Insect repellent – The wind kept many bugs away, but there were a few places where I would have been miserable without repellant. And After Bite saves me when I do get bit, since I react badly to mosquitoes.
We really enjoyed our visit to a vanilla plantation. The insect repellent in those bottles is made from the nuts on the plate.
Lots of swimwear – I had 3 swimsuits, 2 pairs of water shorts, 1 long sleeve and 2 short sleeve rash guards, and a cover up. Since we were in the water every day, that allowed 2 days for each suit to dry which was necessary because there was no place outside to hang them. I swapped the coverup for the rash guard when we were done snorkeling.
Reef shoes – I already had closed-toe Tevas, so I had the rest of the family buy inexpensive reef shoes. These protected our feet from the coral on many beaches, and while snorkeling with sharks and stingrays in shallow water without fins. We also had flip flops for sandy beaches.
The coral on this beach and in the water is sharp! The elegant Wind Spirit is in the background.
I should note that I lean towards minimalism, and prefer to dress casually whenever I can get away with it. The beauty of the Windstar Cruise is that almost anything goes. There were many people who dressed up more, and they didn’t look out of place, either. The only attire I didn’t see on board were formal gowns, suits, ties, and sports jackets. The only exception was the crew, for special occasions. Some women wore lots of jewelry and accessories, some had none, and I made do with one set each of gold and silver.
Our fearless crew, with the captain on the far right who is from Bulgaria. (He has a wonderful accent!) On our last night they sang a farewell song to us.
The most important advice I can give is be sure to protect your feet and your skin from the elements, especially on shore excursions. It is practically impossible to be underdressed, even in the dining room. As long as you make an effort, you are fine!
After a lesson on how to tie and wear a pareo, we had to bring some home as souvenirs!
