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Spas are great, and massages are phenomenal, but there’s nothing that cleanses the soul like a cruise.
It has everything you need to unwind, right at your fingertips, dashing away your worries for a few scant days so that you can soak up the sun, the vibes, and as many drinks from the bar before they cut you off. It’s what industry professionals call the good life.
That being said, nobody wants to be the yuppie dressed like a business dweeb who hasn’t earned their set of sea legs.
It’s surprisingly easy to look like you don’t belong on a cruise, not because you’re underdressed, but because you’re trying too hard. You want to look like you’re reelin’ in the years, not counting down the seconds until the vessel reaches the next destination.
So fire up Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love,” take out a notepad, and write down everything you’re going to learn about what to wear on a cruise.
What Is A Cruise
Cruises are recreational vacations on massive ships wherein the ships themselves are the main appeal. These ships will stop off at various ports to give passengers a chance to explore locales, but the highlight of a cruise is the time spent on the ship.
They usually follow a round-trip format wherein clients spend the vast majority of their time on the vessel. As such, these ships are outfitted with everything that people need to feel like they’re being spoiled.
Drinks, pools, lounging chairs, games, and delicacies are abundant on cruise ships.
As you can infer, cruises are luxurious travel expeditions. You’re not going on one for a cheap means of transportation, you’re signing up to be treated like royalty for a set period of time.
This means that you’re going to be in the company of people who are thinking about what to wear on a cruise as a way to brandish their own personal trademarks.
Sure, it’s fun to flop about in thong sandals and the same bathing suit you’ve had since 2010, but you should take a cruise as an opportunity to display a bit of your style that the public rarely sees.
That’s because cruises are a combination of various settings that don’t always interact with each other.
You have the carelessness of the beach, the functionality of travel, and the hospitality of a resort. You don’t need to dress like a bohemian savant, but you do have the opportunity to embody yacht rock when considering what to wear on a cruise.
History Of Cruises
Cruises originated in Italy in 1833. The first cruise ship was the Francesco I and its first expedition set the standard for the entire medium.
It was a three-month expedition around some of the wealthiest and most historic destinations in Europe at the time. Those three months were filled with various activities both on and off the cruise ship.
The main difference between the Francesco I’s first journey and modern cruises is that it was exclusive to royalty and the wealthy. This wasn’t a financial barrier but an exclusivity ordeal. The cruise wasn’t open to the public.
The first company to provide public cruising experiences was P&O Cruises. They’re still active today, with nearly 200 years of exemplary customer satisfaction.
Most cruises were European affairs, but at the turn of the century, there were more cruises that transported customers from Europe to the United States.
There weren’t many further advancements in cruising until airplanes became a more reliable form of travel in the 1960s.
Planes consumed less fuel, were easier to maintain, and were faster than cruise ships, so most people flocked to them for travel.
As such, cruises stopped being the primary mode of transportation between continents and became luxury experiences that emphasized patience and mindful exploration.
What To Wear On A Cruise
What to wear on a cruise in the evening is different from what you’d wear during the day, so it’s important to consider which activities you’ll participate in when selecting what clothes you’ll wear.
I’ll provide you with more concrete ideas in the next section of this article, but we want to tell you about which clothes to include in your travels first.
If you pack the right garments then you can have a week’s worth of different outfits by combining them in interesting ways.
Women’s suitcases should be filled with items like the following:
- Bermuda shorts
- Sundresses
- Bathing suits
- Beach robes
- One pair of thin pants
- A dress for formal occasions
Meanwhile, men should include these kinds of items in their luggage:
- Docker pants
- A button-up shirt
- Minimally colored t-shirts
- Slip-on shoes
5 Outfit Ideas To Wear On A Cruise
If you’ve already set sail but haven’t decided what to wear on a boat cruise party then look to this outfit for inspiration.
It doesn’t require much effort to assemble since it’s made up of items you’ll likely already have with you. All you need is a colorful bikini, some sun pants, a beach robe, and classy sandals.
This outfit uses typical cruise wear for women and turns them into a single look. That’s actually why we like it so much; you won’t have to pack extra clothes and take up more space in your suitcase because every piece here can be used in other combinations.
You’ll likely already have these items on your packing for a cruise list, so this outfit gets plenty of mileage without weighing down your carrying case.
Our next idea is a good option when considering what to wear on a cruise during the day. The idea to match your bikini top to your sun skirt is extremely broad and inclusive.
You don’t need to adhere to the beige color that this model is wearing, though we’d be lying if we said it didn’t look charming.
Even colorful bikini tops and skirts can look good in this outfit. What matters is that they match. That can become more difficult if your bikini has an ornate design. Therefore, try packing a bikini with a single color to make it easy to style alongside your sun skirt.
Usually when men think about what to wear on a cruise their minds immediately think about dockers shorts, boat shoes, and a plain blue button-up top. That’s not a bad outfit, but it can be a little plain.
Those are great items to include when you want to know what to wear on a cruise for the captain’s dinner, but sometimes your captain is Jack Sparrow, so you’ve got to wear something with a bit more personality.
If you’re looking at what to wear on a cruise formal night then this outfit might be a teeny bit too relaxed for you. The casual hoodie and sneakers aren’t built for a suave dinner, but they’re certainly fit for each other.
Top them off with neutral layers underneath in the form of Bermuda shorts and a relaxed-fit t-shirt and you have a fashion-forward vibe that’s fun enough to match the cruise’s atmosphere.
If you do need something a tad more conservative yet nonetheless endearing then take a gander at this outfit.
It contains most of the pieces we listed when men start learning what to pack for a cruise but it’s a tad more flavorful for a few reasons.
Firstly, the red shorts are a darker shade. That’s a rarity among cruise outfits because the majority of the time you want to wear lighter tones.
You’re going to be spending time out in the sun partying, drinking, and relaxing, so you want clothes that reflect those sentiments. Makes sense, but it can get a little predictable.
These red shorts are a way for you to stand out from the herd without looking like you don’t belong. They stick to regular cruise wear ideas but have a little zest, similar to the striped sweater.
White and blue are the colors of the sea, but this sweater’s slightly bulky fit gives it an extra dimension that other naval clothes can’t.
Top everything off with a white set of boat shoes and this outfit can help you showcase more of your personal style without breaking too many formalities of cruise fashion.
Most cruise expeditions will conclude with a regal event on the last evening. This means that you’ll have to pack something that’s a bit more acceptable for reserved events than a g-string bikini.
However, knowing what to wear on a cruise formal night doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to a pantsuit like you’re Hilary Clinton.
Thus, we really dig the vibe of this dress for nights like that. It has a nautical theme with its deep blue and green colors but doesn’t succumb to beachy vibes that’d be out-of-place in a formal setting.
That’s because it has a very modest neckline that also gives the dress a more singular shape. It’s leagues apart from traditional double-strapped dresses.
What Type Of Cruise Outfits Can You Get?
You can get a couple of different cruise outfits. Some of these outfits will be best for lounging around the ship’s deck and are perfect for tanning. Others are slightly more formal and perform best during the evenings when guests gather for dinner.
However, we prefer to fill our outfits with versatile pieces so that you can have many different looks without needing too many different items.
How To Choose The Best Cruise Outfits
Seeing as how you’re going to spend most of your time on a cruise either traveling around ports or relaxing on the boat, you’re going to want to build outfits that can do both effectively.
This means that you should choose pieces that are light, breathable, and easy to swap between outfits.
You’re going to be outside when you’re on a cruise no matter how hot it is. You could hide inside your room, but then you’d miss out on the experiences your cruise company provides you.
As such, make sure you dress for the weather with intelligent selections about the materials in your garments.
Linen, chambray, and cotton will be your best friends because they can handle the heat and keep you cool. They also usually come in cruise-appropriate colors and shades already, so you won’t have to bend over backward to find a cute linen skirt.
Next, consider how much you’re willing to spend on your cruise clothes. Ideally, these should be clothes that you’d wear even after the cruise finishes so you shouldn’t be afraid to spend a bit more money.
We’d only recommend skimping out and buying a cheaper item if you have no intention of keeping it around after your drop anchor and return home.
How To Style Cruise Outfits
Styling cruise shirts with cruise pants, as a hypothetical, is much easier when the pieces use similar color schemes.
Cruises aren’t usually where you want to show off graphic designs or aggressive prints. Items like that will look out of place and take up carrying space that you could use for more versatile pieces.
Therefore, include clothes in paler colors and tones so that you don’t need to worry about what to wear on a dinner cruise. Apply this mantra to almost all your clothing and it’ll make styling much easier.
That being said, you should include one or two bolder pieces that can glow up your outfits. Whether that’s your bathing suit, a dress shirt, or sandals, having one item that stands out can help make your outfits look more put-together.
Also, think about what you’ll be doing in your outfit. You don’t need to be wearing much if you’re tanning but that’s not the case if you’re playing poker as the night winds down.
Match your outfit to the situation and you’ll find it easy to know what to wear on a cruise at any given time.
Fashion Tips To Avoid With Cruise Outfits
There are two main idealistic mistakes you could make that could result in some embarrassing outfit choices. They each come from adopting a black-or-white perspective on what to wear on a cruise.
You can either believe that cruises follow the same rules as a beach (i.e. as casual as you can get) or that you have to dress up to meet their luxury standards.
Believing that either premise is true isn’t the sole danger here. Some people think that cruises are all-or-nothing paradigms where they can only dress in those extremes when that’s not the case at all.
Really, cruise fashion exists in-between. Think of it as classy beachwear or summer reception vibes. This means that you should put a bit more thought and care into your outfits but not so much that you stifle your fun.
A more tangible piece of advice is to avoid dark colors in your outfits. They attract heat, but more importantly, they contrast the easy-going atmosphere of the cruise. You don’t want to clash with the relaxed pace of your shipmates, so stay away from all-black outfits.
On that note, you shouldn’t wear any large-scale graphic shirts. They just don’t suit the cruise aesthetic. They exist outside of the slightly elevated cruise environment so it’ll come off as tacky or out-of-place.
Best Places To Buy Cruise Outfits
We find that there are some brands whose ideologies line up with what you’d want from cruise clothes naturally. They’re easy to recommend because even if their clothes weren’t designed to be worn on boats, they check all the boxes for what you’d want to wear on a cruise:
- Banana Republic
- Abercrombie
- Bonobos
Otherwise, there are certain brands that made their name by catering to the cruise and boating crowd. Fred Perry, Sperry, and Nautica are the big three that come to our minds.
Final Thoughts
Cruise fashion is all about relaxation and stress relief. It’s not the place for heavy leathers, stuffy jeans, or tight corsets.
Welcome the baggy pants, the oversized robes, and the swimsuits. You’ll be going on vacation so you’ll want to spend the majority of your time in clothes that are as stress-free as your trip.
What you should wear on a cruise are clothes that match your intended mindset. You should be wearing garments that make you feel like you’re getting away from the world and all its tiny inconveniences.
Looking to up your fashion game? We’ve got you covered:
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