Cruise Ship Wardrobe

There will probably be a formal night or two. Not mandatory. So short summer dresses, slacks, capris shorts. I try to keep colors all compatible
This way I can mix and match. Cuts down on what I bring. We never do formal nights. Too much to bring. Goodness, my husbands size 14 dress shoes take up half the suitcase. I think you are good to go. Formal means for,al but not necessarily long gown. A nice cocktail dress will work well.
Have fun. Love cruising the eastern and souther Carib.

I am so excited for you! My extended family went on a cruise together and we all agreed it was the best vacation we'd ever taken.

I took 2 short cocktail dresses for formal nights. My mother took one black one and switched up her jewelry and pashima wrap to make it look different. All the men wore suits those nights. On the casual nights, pants and collared shirts were required for men.

For excursions, shorts and capris are fine. I brought a couple sundresses that I could wear into town to dinner on the casual nights. I also brought a nice pair of black capris that I wore with nice tops to casual dinners.

Another post mentioned the beach towels being provided. I suggest you pack a strong tote bag to carry the towels from the ship to your excursions. The towels are huge and when you're carrying 4 of them, they are bulky and heavy. Our ship gave us a thin bag (similar to reusable grocery bags) that we used until the handle broke off.

Sunscreen! Take lots of good sunscreen! I got burned through my tank top. I know this because you could see my bra clip in the tan lines. Never occurred to me that it could happen. Apparently because you're closer to the Equator. Having a sunburn puts a damper on your vacation.

A great tip from my girlfriend was to order a room service breakfast on your excursion days. You get woken to someone holding a huge tray of food and can eat while everyone is getting ready. Nothing says vacation like room service!

Another tip is to use the ship's photographer a lot. You get to choose what you buy at the end of the trip. Our cabin's tv had our pictures slide-showing throughout the trip.

Here's a funny story that happened to me. On your last night, the ship requires you to give them your packed luggage by 11 pm. You keep your morning clothes and toiletries then pick up your luggage after you disembark. After dinner that night, we were rushing to get everything packed (I was wearing my pj's by that time) and I forgot to keep my bra out to wear the next morning. There was nothing anyone could do and no one in our group had a sweater or anything I could borrow. I had to go to buffet breakfast braless. Not a pretty picture. As soon as we got our luggage, I grabbed my bra and ran for the nearest restroom. We still laugh about that one!

Have a fabulous trip and

I love RC too! I would say pack less than you think, because honestly you never really use all those clothes! For days at sea, I didn't get out of my swimsuit, except for dinner. So first, I say find 2 cover-ups that you really like and are easy to get on and off so that you can travel around the ship while still wearing you suit. This way you can eat at the lunch buffet, do an activity or whatever. Of course you'll need at least 2 swim suits as well.

Most days at dinner a regular summer dress will suffice. There will probably be 2 formal nights where they encourage you to dress a little nicer. Men in slacks and button downs, women in a nicer dress. I did step it up a bit for those nights. I don't think you necessarily need formal length, but something more than a summer dress.

Try and find one pair of heels that will work for all your dresses because really you don't want to have to pack multiple pair of dress shoes. I pretty much wore my flip flops everywhere, even ashore, so I really only used 2 pairs of shoes.

Shorts, Ts, etc. are great for excursions but depending upon what you do, you may just end up with your swimsuit under a dress or something.

Pack plenty of sunscreen b/c it will be super expensive! Plus the sun is a lot stronger down there so be prepared!

Also, bring a lanyard for your room key if you have one, they will punch a hole in it for you. I found that to be helpful when ordering from the bar, etc. You will also probably want to take a pool bag of some kind. It's not something I thought of the first time and it's really very helpful to have a tote to carry around magazines, sunscreen, room key, etc.

Have fun! Cruising rocks!

A few other tips. Bring a backpack for day trips as well as a small fabric cooler to take bottles of water with you. I like long, casual dresses for dinner. It's usually chilly in the dining rooms, so a wrap that goes with many of your dresses. I don't know about RC, but Carnival doesn't have conditioner in the shampoo dispenser. If you have masks and snorkels, bring those for day trips. Running shoes/clothes (if you plan on working out). You should take the sim card out of your cell phone (or turn it upside down) while on the ship. $6 if some one calls you, even if you don't answer it. Chargers for you camera and phone. Also, the best way to avoid gaining weight is to always take the stairs, never use the elevators.

Which ship? I was on the Oasis 2 years ago and the formal nights were fairly formal. I brought a nice dress or two buy my husband only had a jacket and slacks instead of a suit and felt bad.

For most dinners I wore a skirt or simple dress with dressy sandals or nice slacks/capris with a dressy shirt.

Daytime - it's shorts, tees, tanks and bathing suits/cover ups. I had three dress cover ups so I could go from pool to lunch with no issue.

Lots of great tips below - including the photographer!

Have fun - I am so jealous!!!

You will definitely need at least one formal dress for dinner. Some dinners are "formal" and others are, oh I can't remember the term they used, but it's less than "formal" but more than "casual." The shorter, summer dresses would be fine for "casual."

Have a great time! I've cruised twice and both times it was fantastic!

YAY!!! I just went on a cruise in January with RC. How long is your cruise? There are formal nights in the grand dining room so the length of your cruise would tell you how many formal outfits to wear, there are also smart casual and casual nights. It is better to be smartly dressed than under dressed if that gives you any idea. I found that bathing suits wraps and covers are the best to use on board. Also, if you only bring 1 suitcase (double check me on that) you can do express departure when you get off the boat at the end of your cruise. If you have 2 or more you have to wait for your number to be called and it just gets more hectic as the day goes on. Bring at least 2 bathing suits so you should have one dry one if you go swimming in the other. Don't worry about beach towels they provide them on the boat for free (just don't lose them or it will cost you $25 each). If I think of anything more I will add it to my answer. HAVE SO MUCH FUN!!!

You can choose to eat at the food bars or sit down dinner. Changing before dinner out sandy clothes is nice too. For sit down dinners, you will want sun dresses or skirts for most nights. The ship may have a formal night, some people really dress up for this, like a black tie event, other go evening casual. The ship should have a suggested packing list.

Cruise ships always have at least one formal dinner and sometimes two. There is also usually a semi formal. Formal dresses do not have to be floor length, but they shouldn't be sundresses either. I always wear a knee length fancy dress. For all of the other dinners, sundresses, skirts, and dressy pants will be fine.

On the excursions and whenever you're on shore, wear whatever you are most comfortable in.

Visit www.cruisecritic.com for all the info you could ever possibly need for cruising. You can find info specific to Royal Caribbean, to the ports you're visiting, and even to the exact week that you are sailing.

When I cruise, I usually wear a nice cover up over my swimsuit everyday. I have several that look like dresses or rompers. I wear the same on excursins too with tennis shoes. I wear my long summer/maxi dresses for dinner. There are some people that go all out formal but I have never felt like packing all that. I found this list years ago that I use faithfully. Enjoy your cruise!

CRUISE PACKING LIST

I’m sure everyone knows they must pack clothes, toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, and makeup), shoes, formal wear, travel documents, money and credit cards. Here are a few items you might need that you may not have thought about.

Medicine
Name and phone number of your primary care physician
Health Insurance information
Medical history (if traveling alone or without someone familiar with your history)
Dramamine or equivalent for seasickness
Tylenol or Advil
Imodium
Emetrol or nausea medicine
Any prescription medicine (syringes, sharps container and swabs if needed)
Any medical equipment you use (glasses, blood pressure and sugar monitors)
Swimmer's Ear Drops
Condoms (for the consenting, single, of age adults!)
Midol or equivalent
Feminine products
Aloe Vera gel with lidocaine (sunburn)
Sun screen
Band-Aids
Neosporin ointment
Lip balm
Hand sanitizer
Hand lotion
Visine
Vinegar
Evian Spray Mineral Water (great for dry skin)
Contact lens cleaning solutions, etc.
Tweezers
Cotton swabs
Ace bandage
foot powder

Cleaning Stuff
Wrinkle releaser
Tide pen
Shout wipes
Detergent (if you are going to wash clothes on the ship)
Spray starch (if you need to iron on the ship…call your room steward, not me, if you need help)
Baby wipes
Lysol
Febreze or air freshener

Clothing and Accessories
Fanny pack
Beach bag
Hat
Sunglasses
Earplugs
Sweater or jacket (it gets cool in the dining room)
Water shoes
Extra glasses (in case you lose the first pair)
Socks or slippers (don’t walk barefoot on the dirty floors!)
underwear

Miscellaneous
Night light
Highlighter (highlight to do activities on the Capers)
Pen & Post-it Notes (to leave messages)
Door Decoration (to easily locate your room)
Camera and/or camcorder
Waterproof camera for excursions
Battery charger for phone and camera
Walkie-talkies and batteries
I Pod and/or laptop if you need it
Power strip for all those electrical things
Extra film, cassettes, memory cards and batteries
Sewing kit
Duck tape
Clothes pins (to weigh the shower curtain down)
Blow dryer (if you need more than one or a high setting)
Insulated cup to bring by the pool
Hangers
1’s & 5’s for room service tips and lockers onshore
Fish license holder
Cheap beach towels
Snacks for the room
Bottled water
Can drinks
Bungee cord to hold a balcony door open
Copies of travel documents
Money
Large and small ziploc bags
Favorite bath soap
Over the door or shower folding caddy for all the junk
Curling Iron, curlers and/or straightener
Hairbrush, clips and ponytail holders
YOUR pillow if you have to have it
empty duffle bag for dirty clothes or souvenirs
manicure kit
fan
business cards
clock

I didn't notice if anyone mentioned this, but bring a sweater or light jacket. It can get pretty cool in the evenings.

your attire sounds fine. You may want one more formal/cocktail type as there's generally at least one formal night. Shorts, etc. are good for excursions.

Men have a stricter dress code than women on the ship with no shorts for dinners and one night may require a tie and jacket.

You will see all types of summer apparel on the cruise ship. I wore summer dresses to dinner. One night will be formal night and people do get dressed up. It is so fun to see how nice everyone dresses up for formal night. The guys wear suits and the ladies wear nice dresses. Years ago I brought a long dress - last year I wore a nice knee-length dress. Shorts, capris and summer dresses are fine for on the ship the rest of the time. Be sure to pack a coverup for your swimsuit when going from the room to the pool.