Formal dress

Do you want to get dressed up on your cruise?

Most cruise ships have one or two "formal nights" per week. On these nights guests get dressed up in tuxedoes and gowns (for the most formal cruise lines) or suits and dresses (for most cruise lines).

That said, some cruise lines, like NCL and Oceania, have no formal nights whatsoever.

If you do not want to dress up on formal nights you can dine in the casual restaurant rather than the main dining room. However, most lines would prefer you do not then go to the show lounge, bars and other public areas in shorts and a tee shirt.

Note: Different lines have different rules about what constitutes "formal." Very traditional lines like Cunard and Seabourn insists on tuxedos or a dark formal suit, whereas Carnival is unlikely to turn away a guest in a dress shirt and trousers (though a fair number of Carnival guests do wear tuxedos).

Check the Savvy Guide to each cruise line for dress code details, or see our cruise line dress code overview.