Veteran cruise-goers will be familiar with the cruise dress codes requiring more formal wear in the evening hours, specifically in the dining rooms. Passengers are often divided about the pros and cons of formal dress aboard ship. Some love elegant evening wear requirements and complain about less-than-strict enforcement of the rules. Others would prefer to just wear a clean T-shirt and comfortable shorts.
The trend in recent years has skewed toward the more casual options, or towards optional participation in formal dress requirements. If you’re wondering where the cruise ship that you’re most interested in falls on the dress code spectrum, here are some guidelines to some of the most popular cruise lines’ policies.
Carnival
Daytime dress on the Carnival Cruise line is casual. For the majority of your cruise, evening wear will be cruise casual: Men should wear khakis, jeans or dress shorts and collared shirts, and women can wear casual dress or summer dresses or capris, dress shorts, jeans or pants or skirts. Carnival cruises have one casual elegant night on short cruises and two casual elegant nights on seven-day cruises.
Casual elegant includes dress pants and shirts for men, and a sport coat is recommended. Ladies’ casual elegant includes cocktail dresses, pantsuits, or elegant skirts and blouses.
Crystal
During the day, resort wear is the dress style on Crystal cruise ships. Bathing suits and robes are not appropriate in the dining rooms during the day, but casual active wear is fine. Most evenings, Crystal requires informal evening wear in the dining rooms and public areas. This means cocktail dresses and pantsuits for women and sport jackets or suits for men. Crystal cruises also have formal nights, where formal evening attire, such as tuxedos and evening gowns, is required. There are also casual nights, where casual evening attire such as casual dresses or sports shirts and slacks are fine.
Disney
Disney cruises are almost entirely casual or cruise casual; jeans are okay in the dining rooms, but tank tops and bathing suits are not. A Disney cruise does have one optional dress up night where dresses and suits are appropriate. The cruise line also features a Pirate Night where pirate regalia is appropriate. Disney’s adults only restaurant, Palo, has its own dress code that requires dress clothing.
Princess
Princess Cruises are typically casual during the daytime hours. During evening hours and in the main dining room, most nights are Smart Casual. Women should dress in skirts or slacks with sweaters or blouses, and men should wear pants and open-neck shirts. Princess does hold formal nights that require tuxedos or dark suits for men and evening gowns or cocktail dresses for women.
It’s always a good idea to check out the cruise dress codes for a particular line before booking the cruise. If you’re in doubt about the dress code requirements, it’s probably better to err on the side of more formal clothing. Your travel agent will be able to advise you as to what would be the most appropriate clothing to pack for the various activities onboard.
