What to Pack for a Cruise: A Beginner's Guide

Table Of Content

• Viking Ocean Cruises Dress Code: Formalwear-Free Comfort Every Day
• What shoes should I bring?
• The Clothing and Accessories Everyone Should Pack for a Cruise
• What do you wear on a dressier night on a cruise?
• Formal Night / Dress Your Best
• Useful Things to Pack For Your Cruise (Including 17 You’d Never Think Of)
• Onboard Ensemble
• More Cruise Outfit and Packing Ideas

On those voyages, dinner is an even more fancy affair, with elegance as the norm. Expect to see glittering dresses and stylish pants and button-downs with dress shoes, even when it's not formal night. That means one pair of shorts, chinos or jeans for daytime (depending on your cruise's itinerary). Again, pay attention to colors if you're hoping to mix and match. T-shirts are fine for all daytime indoor dining (tank tops are fine for the pool, but may get a look on some ships during breakfast or lunch indoors). Casual attire includes jeans and collared shirts for men and sundresses or pants with blouses for women.

Viking Ocean Cruises Dress Code: Formalwear-Free Comfort Every Day

What should I wear at sea? Here's what to know about cruise line dress codes - USA TODAY

What should I wear at sea? Here's what to know about cruise line dress codes.

Posted: Sun, 26 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Again, in my experience, Europeans dress more polished and on-trend than anywhere else I’ve cruised. It’s best to pack appropriately with dresses for women and a few button-down shirts for men. This isn’t to say that you can’t dress to the nines in black-tie or evening gowns; rather, it’s truthfully no longer the standard.

What shoes should I bring?

Should a Cruise Line Get to Tell You What to Wear? - Fodor's Travel

Should a Cruise Line Get to Tell You What to Wear?.

Posted: Mon, 13 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]

This style is available in a “sexier” version with a spaghetti strap. As on other lines, you may find that the official dress code may be lightly enforced on some ships, often in relation to destination and even size of the ship. The larger the ship, the more casual options there are throughout the evening. On the relatively smaller ships like Serenade of the Seas or even Adventure of the Seas, the dress code is a bit more easy-to-spot as there's less room for everyone to spread out. Our Evening Chic dress code leaves a lot of room for you to show off your personal style, although we’d ask you to leave your ripped jeans or favorite college sweatshirt in your stateroom.

The Clothing and Accessories Everyone Should Pack for a Cruise

On sea days, you’ll want to wear something casual and laid-back. This guide will provide an overview of the major cruise lines and their dress codes. Also, I’ll deep dive into the differences between the common dress codes and provide outfit recommendations to help prepare you for any cruise dress code. These days, there’s no need to bring formalwear on most cruises, unless you want to. You’ll also need a hat, flip flops, and sunscreen if you plan to sit by the pool all day. Packing for your Caribbean cruise will include bright colors, tropical patterns and plenty of swimsuits.

At night, you'll be fine with nice jeans and a collared shirt or a sundress, although you might want to dress up a bit more to match the ship's ambiance. On Carnival cruise formal nights, known as "cruise elegant" nights, cruisers wear everything from slacks with nice shirts to tuxes and ball gowns. However, most passengers stick to clothes that fall somewhere in the middle. On formal nights, cruise lines often have a smart dress code that allows passengers to wear their most glamorous clothes. For evenings, the recommended onboard dress is elegant casual for most ship venues. Suggested attire for men includes trousers and collared shirts (ties and jackets are optional but not required).

Formal Night / Dress Your Best

These spots are for formal dining, and you’ll be out of place if you show up wearing sneakers and a t-shirt. For women, leave the bathing suits for the pool, but sandals are usually fine. While some cruisers like to dress up on formal nights, extremely formal nights aren’t as common, so no need to panic. Below are a few great options for the days you need to dress up.

No caps, tank tops or bathing suits are permitted in the main dining room or specialty restaurants, and footwear is always required. No bare feet, tank tops, caps, bathing suits or shorts are allowed in the dining room or specialty restaurants. In the casual Windows Cafe buffet, the only requirements are footwear and a cover-up or shirt.

Onboard Ensemble

The smart casual dress code works for all areas of the ship in the evening, including in bars and lounges and during shows and events at the ship’s theater. If you’re sailing in the Caribbean then chances are that you’re going to the beach. In that case, wearing your swimsuit with a cover-up or simply wearing something casual into the port is ideal. That’s why we suggest warmer dress, including pants and a long-sleeve shirt or even a light jacket. As well, if you’re headed inside to the theater for an evening show, it’s nice to dress a little warmer as the air conditioning can be chilly. During the evenings you are going to want to wear a bit more simply to stay comfortable, but can still dress casual.

You can wear anything from designer denim paired with a blazer to a cocktail dress with a killer set of heels. Keep in mind that many countries in the Caribbean can be conservative, so it’s best to be respectful and not wear anything too revealing unless you’re at the beach. As well, some countries have laws against civilians wearing camouflage patterns, so leave that at home as well. Finally, rude or offensive clothing (such as shirts with foul language) should be avoided.

For women, dresses, or skirts or slacks with sweaters or blouses are recommended. Jeans are not permitted in dining venues, apart from the World Cafe. What Paul Gauguin Cruises calls elegant resort wear is essentially a country club casual dress code and is requested for most evenings. Men should wear slacks and collared shirts, while women should don dresses, skirts or slacks with blouses or sweaters.

Come evenings, the Cunard dress code is smart attire on Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria. Semiformal smart attire includes slacks, shirts with ties or open collars, crewneck sweaters and jackets or blazers for men, and dresses, skirts and blouses or pantsuits for women. On most nights, Celebrity's dinner dress code is smart casual, meaning polo shirts and slacks for men and skirts or pants with blouses (or casual dresses). If you're a light packer or want to reuse some of your clothing items during the cruise, most cruise lines -- including luxury and river -- offer laundry services onboard. Prices are typically based on single articles of clothing and fluctuate depending on the cruise line. Expect to pay roughly between $2 to $8 per shirt or blouse, unless you're in a suite or loyalty program that includes laundry service.

In the evenings, some of our ships enforce a “cruise casual” dress code. For men this dress code can call for longer dress shorts or pants (jeans are OK too) and a collared polo shirt. For women, the dress code may ask for sundresses, skirts and blouses, dress shorts and capri pants are acceptable. Cruise ships have a wide variety of restaurants onboard, and some of our restaurants enforce dress codes. Be sure to include at least one outfit that fits every requirement so that you can enjoy any restaurant you desire. At any restaurant and any time of day, you at least need to cover up your swimsuit and wear water shoes .

One of the biggest questions people have is what to wear to formal night. Some people think that anything short of a tuxedo or a formal evening gown is too casual. If you head to the main dining room or a higher-end restaurant like the steakhouse, then we suggest dressing up a little bit — even if it’s not formal night. Since the ship won’t leave until the afternoon, those in cooler ports won’t see the warmth of the Caribbean until the next day. No need to dress up, casual is the order of the day all around the ship.

Bathing suits are likewise not permitted in the ship's restaurants and lounges; shirts and shoes must be worn in all indoor public areas. For dinner in NCL's main dining room or more upscale specialty restaurants, collared shirts and pants or nice jeans are suggested for men (with closed-toe shoes). Slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts, and tops are standard for women. Tank tops for men, flip-flops, baseball caps and visors are not permitted in the main dining room or any of the specialty restaurants. Cruise line dress codes are the subject of countless questions.