Cruises are often adventures which one has been waiting for all ones life. And the adventure begins right from the glossy brochures which all cruise liners hand out. Everyone wants to be associated with the popular and beautiful people who go on cruises clad in chic designer apparel. Along with the adventure of exploring new lands and the glamour of sailing, there is an associated grandeur with the fine dining and wining which goes on at these opulent cruises. However, you need to prepare for enjoying the cruise vacation of a lifetime, by not just booking tickets, but also by planning and preparing clothes to be worn.

You should by no means be taken in by the brochures and pack all your designer clothes or go shopping for some if you don’t have enough. You should carefully plan and organize your apparel depending on the season and on board requirements. You should pack sensibly, while dividing your clothes into casual, formal and informal categories. You should also refer to the information sheet of each day’s activities and dress code in order to plan ahead for appropriate clothing.

You can use the following guidelines to figure out what to pack:

You should divide up your casual clothing into daytime and evening casuals, and the season will determine what you should take. If you are cruising in summer, then you should go with shorts, tee shirts, and walking shoes without heels and a good soft grip. These will see you through onshore activities like shopping as well.

If you are cruising in colder climes, then you should stick to jeans or slacks and a sweater of a neutral colour which can be worn with multiple clothes, along with it. In short you should be prepared to mix and match as you can’t carry along your entire wardrobe. Denim is best for such mix and match reuse as you can wear denim with multiple tops. You should also take along comfortable sneakers and keep in mind that many places you visit might offer tee shirts as souvenirs and therefore you can pack ahead keeping that in mind.

Dressing in casuals for the evenings is quite simple. Men need to pack slacks or khakis and then pair them with any shirt with a collar and then keep the collar open. Women may wear skirts of a reasonable length or even pants along with comfortable shirts. It is advisable to travel light, so you should choose lowers in one or two basic colours which will go with all the tops that you take along, thus allowing you to mix and match. You should also plan your accessories accordingly and take along just enough so that they can liven up your attire but not too many that you have to divert your attention to keep track of them. If you are planning on going swimming or walking on the beach, you will need to take along flip flops, swim suits / beach wear along with a covering robe.

You should dress comfortably, taking cues from people around you and pack light, so that you can mix and match and save on having to carry a lot of luggage. Bon Voyage.