Pack Wardrobe To Suit The Ship
It used to be that a cruise was an excellent excuse to pack every long beaded gown and cummerbund in the household. Even deck clothes had to be fashionable. But the mass appeal of cruising of the past several decades has brought with it more casual dress. And although guidelines vary from ship to ship, they usually allow for a more relaxed approach than yesteryear, even when dressing for dinner.
What you’ll wear depends on the type of cruise you’re taking. So if you’re not sure what’s appropriate for the ship you’ll be on, ask your cruise line representative or travel agent.
Here are some general guidelines on dressing for a cruise gleaned from brochures, cruise guidebooks and AOL’s Cruise Critic site. To show the contrast between dressing for different classes of cruises, I’ve used the dress suggestions of Silversea Cruises (ultraluxury), Celebrity Cruises (deluxe), Disney Cruise Line (mainstream), and Carnival Cruise Line (mainstream).
On deck: Anne Campbell, a veteran cruiser and the editor of Cruise Critic, notes on the AOL site that “daytime attire is practically a uniform,” no matter the ship or region you visit.
Basically, “resort casual” is the rule of thumb across the board. On Carnival, this includes tasteful shorts, sundresses and blouses for women, and shorts, slacks and polo shirts for men. T-shirts are fine, too.
Shorts and T-shirts in the main dining rooms are OK during the day, says Carnival spokeswomen Jennifer de la Cruz. If you’ve been out by the pool, wear a coverup over your suit when you dine.
Silversea’s brochure gives the nod to casual resort wear that is “appropriate for daytime aboard ship or ashore and consists of standard sport outfits as worn at resorts.” Low-heeled and rubber-soled shoes or athletic footwear are appropriate on any ship during the day.
Bathing suits are fine on the pool deck, but coverups should be worn elsewhere on the ship. Complete your ensemble with appropriate footwear, such as sandals or flip-flops. Not only can pool decks scorch your feet, but there’s something a little too casual about running around a ship sans shoes.
Casual evenings: On a seven-day sailing, you’ll have at least two casual nights. The rule here is casual, but tastefully so. Silversea and Celebrity say men and women will be fine in an open-neck shirt, slacks or sports outfit.
Disney’s Magic may be one of the most casual megaships afloat as far as evening wear. It allows casual attire (except shorts) in all its restaurants except Lumiere’s, which is considered a more formal eatery.
De la Cruz says that Carnival is “a mainstream cruise line, and we are pretty casual in terms of attire.” On casual evenings, “Docker-type pants for guys are fine; either casual pants or skirts or that sort of thing are good for women,” she said. Tank tops, vests and shorts are frowned on.
Passengers who don’t want to change out of their shorts, T-shirts or jeans can dine “totally casual” on the Lido deck in an indoor-outdoor cafe on Carnival ships, she said.
Informal evenings: Informal nights take it up a notch on Silversea and Celebrity cruises, with men dressing in coats and ties and women donning dresses or pantsuits.
Carnival and Disney don’t have informal evenings, per se. Disney, however, does suggest that men wear a jacket and women a pantsuit or dress on the evening they dine at Lumiere’s.
Formal evenings: These nights are the dressiest of evenings, perhaps harkening back to the days when cruising was a chance to parade your wealth. The number of formal evenings will vary with the length of your cruise. Silversea sailings of seven to 10 days usually have two formal nights, while trips of between 11 and 24 days have three or four. Carnival Cruise Line has one formal night on three- to four-day cruises and two formal nights on seven- to 16-day cruises.
Silversea and Celebrity suggest an evening gown or cocktail dress for women, and a tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket for men.
No need to spring for a tuxedo for Carnival’s formal nights - a dark suit and tie will be fine. Women can get by with a nice dress or pantsuit.
Disney Cruise Line doesn’t have a formal night aboard its only ship, the Magic.
Worldwide Cruises and Ports of Call (Fodor’s) advises men to pack a dark suit, tuxedo or white dinner jacket for formal evenings. Women should bring one long gown or a cocktail dress for every two or three formal evenings.
Men, if you don’t want to pack a tuxedo, check with your cruise line; some have tux rentals available aboard ships. Just let your cruise or travel agent know ahead of time that you’ll need the service.
At her AOL site, Anne Campbell observes, “Few passengers look like they’re attending a debutante ball during formal nights. Gone are the days when a tux was a must (around half the men opt for a dark suit). I personally think it’s a waste of money to invest much in fancy attire you’re unlikely to wear again.”
She suggests that women take “one long pair of black evening pants or a skirt and dress up the look with jewelry…and scarves.”
Going ashore: Dress for your destination or activity. If you’re going to the beach, be sure to wear a coverup over your suit. If you’ll be dining ashore for the evening, ask at the ship’s cruise director what attire would be appropriate or call the restaurant and inquire about its dress code.
Casual comfort is acceptable for sightseers, but be mindful of the culture of the place you’re visiting. For instance, Worldwide Cruises notes that you’ll want to avoid wearing immodest clothing when visiting a mosque, cathedral or church ashore. To visit holy places in Asia, you’ll need slip-on shoes and clothing that covers the knee. And when visiting Europe, plan to dress up more for evenings than you might at home.
Consider climate and season of the region your visiting, too. For instance, Celebrity Cruises’ Alaska brochure recommends that passengers pack a sweater and a lightweight windbreaker for trips to the 49th state. The line’s Europe brochure notes that nights can be cool and recommends packing sweaters, jackets and long pants as well as a raincoat, hiking shoes and a travel umbrella.