This February, I went on a week long cruise with a bunch of friends. I decided that I would spend the entirety en femme. I left my house dressed and walked back in dressed. This includes flights. I had no issues with TSA, using the backscatter scanner on both ends. I had a minor flag on the return flight, but a nice female agent touched my back and then waved me through.
I was a bit nervous about restroom use at first, but by the end I was using the ladies by default. I had to check myself for a day or so after getting back in drab.
The group I was with decided to use formal nights as an opportunity to really go formal, and I wore full ball gowns on formal nights, and nice evening dresses for the other dinners. I went swimming/hot-tubbing in my cute tankini with a few friends and some random people, nobody cared when I took off my wig to keep it dry (my natural hair is longish).
I knew a bunch of people in the group from the previous two cruises where I was in drab and still closeted. A few people remembered me as boy me, but they were all cool with Rachel, some like Rachel more.
I discovered that I had packed WAY too much clothes, as I ended up wearing only dresses, only wearing jeans tshirts for travel. Next year, I can take half the clothes, and have room for more cute sundresses bought in the caribbean.
I got to meet a bunch of fellow lgbt people at our groups lgbt gathering, including the two women that tested the waters so to say for T people in the group (one began full time at the previous years cruise). She gave me a lot of tips and encouragement to dress the entire time.
I had a few nice incidents when staff would do a double take at the name on my room card, and I would assure them it was mine. It was a lot of fun drinking fruity pink drinks with feeling self concious, and by the end I was being invited to the restroom with a gg friend, and we talked boys and makeup and so forth. Every got in the habit of using fem pronouns and Rachel to refer to me, and for a week or two afterwards I would look up at the name.
I am eagerly looking forward to next years cruise
