When you’re out on a cruise, you’ll definitely need something to wear that’s fun and exciting. While you can, of course, wear other things, it’s rather likely you’ll wear swimwear rather a lot.

Here are a few good options:

If you’re looking for something in the beach-wear range, but would rather not buy a baby doll mini, don’t worry. There are at least two longer options available. The beautiful pink one by Lily Pulitzer costs $268. Diane von Furstenberg’s, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive at $365, but is also very lovely.

If, on the other hand, you want to buy bathing suits, you have a much greater range to choose from. You’ll find racks of bright, vividly-coloured, sparkly bikinis and microkinis everywhere. You’ll also find the gorgeous, daring one-piece suits with revealing cut-outs that are being called monokinis. This is because most swim-wear manufacturers cater primarily to the high-school and college crowd. And even if you can put most of those kids to shame with your near-perfect body, surely you don’t want something that screams ‘sexy’ from a couple of miles away, when you can have it whisper it very subtly?

Instead of the blatant swim-wear college-goers are squeezing into, opt for something far more elegant. Old school Hollywood glamour is very much an in-thing right now. It’s also a very sophisticated and subtly-sexy option for women over forty. Janzten’s va va voom red number is absolutely lovely and is priced at $100.

Colour-blocked swimwear ($ 212) is also a hot trend. This is a godsend if you want to camouflage part of your body while highlighting another. This is perfect if you want to play up your bust but are rather bottom-heavy, the darker bottom and lighter top does the job for you.

Solids, of course, are always slimming, but they’re not your only option. Patterned swim suits, like the art deco themed swim suits ($172) are in right now, as are ethnic prints, which are rightly considered exotic. Great Lengths’ Africa motif swim-wear ($94) expertly draws the eye away from your waist and stomach, up towards your face and is, besides all that, very pretty.
Plunging necklines are also in vogue. But if you’re very generously endowed, the deep ‘v’ might make you look saggy. So, opt for a more supporting top and a less plunging neckline, though it may not flaunt your assets.