Our first Med cruise: What do you ladies wear in the evening?

[Lady Arwen]

We're sailing on Oosterdam in May to the Western Med for 12 nights. I've never been on a European cruise and I'm not sure what to wear in the evenings. I'm used to warm/hot weather cruises and I believe the evenings will be on the cool side. Is it more or less dress-up attire?

 

I'm 68 yrs old, so cute, short cocktail dresses are not my style anymore, sadly! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[oduphd]

On our cruise most people were dressed casually for dinner, with the exception of the Gala nights. Women typically wore slacks, capris, sundresses, skirts, etc.

[Lady Arwen]

On our cruise most people were dressed casually for dinner, with the exception of the Gala nights. Women typically wore slacks, capris, sundresses, skirts, etc.

 

This is what I would generally wear in the Caribbean, but I thought that it would be different in Europe. Sundresses and capris are not what I would have thought appropriate.

[shipgeeks]

We have found Med cruises to be more dressy than Carib cruises, especially if many of the passengers are European. DH almost always wears a sport coat all evening, and I always wear a dress.

[cruisemom42]

Depending on where you are going in the Med, it can already be pretty warm in May. (More so in the Greek isles, for example, than in Venice....)

 

I try to be a frugal packer. For formal (or festive) evenings, I bring a silk knit long skirt in black and perhaps two different lightweight jackets or tops. For the other evenings, I have some black silk pants (they fall at the ankle), and maybe another 4 tops to wear with them. I am not much of a dress person, but they are very 'in' right now -- I was just in Rome and Naples for several weeks and many, many people at dinnertime, both tourists and locals, had on cute dresses.

[oduphd]

Maybe it just happened to be the composition of folks on our cruise. That being said, the slacks, skirts, capris, dresses, etc. were nice and not ratty in any way.

[OlsSalt]

Pants, fancy tops, dressy sweaters, trim jackets, glitter shrugs, packable dresses with longer sleeves. And you can still meet your luggage allowance!

 

The old trick often repeated here- you only see the top of you when you are seated in the dining room if you want variety and color, so packing a pair of black and neutral pants ( or skirts) with a variety of tops, sweaters and jackets stretches things out if you want to keep it interesting for yourself.

 

Accessories, scarfs and fun jewelry can dress up something you might wear for daytime use as well.

[RuthC]

Dresses every night, regardless of the itinerary, ship, or climate.

 

Gala nights are chiffon or other light-weight fabrics. They pack in a small space and don't impact the luggage weight limits. Most of them weigh less than my casual dresses!

 

Smart casual dresses are pretty, a bit dressy, and also somewhat light weight. In cooler climates the dresses tend to be a tad warmer, but remember the ships are air conditioned. If you tend to run a bit too warm, or a bit too cool, then allow for that when you plan your wardrobe.

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks, ladies! I thought that things might be a bit dressier on a European cruise. Since we will be spending a few days in Barcelona pre-cruise, our packing will take some skill to allow for over 2 weeks away. I like the idea of basic black dressy pants and changing up the tops. Dresses are not my thing anymore. Bad knees don't allow me to wear my high heels anymore, so I wear dressy flat evening sandals. I just don't think they look great with a dress, so prefer wearing pants or even a very long skirt.

 

Will my DH be out of place if he chooses not to bring his suit or tux? He has very nice slacks, dress shirts and sweaters. Would this be appropriate for Gala night, or should we try to find room for his suit?

 

I really appreciate all you input.......nice to get feed-back from other people.

[OlsSalt]

A navy blue blazer still carries it off for most men when they want to go from casual to something that looks a little more dressy. At least a light weight sport coat and tie would be nice, if he choose not to go more formal. Actually a tux or dinner jacket in the light weight fabrics today is the easiest thing of all to pack today for men on "Gala Night".

Edited July 3, 2016 by OlsSalt

[kazu]

Thanks, ladies! I thought that things might be a bit dressier on a European cruise. Since we will be spending a few days in Barcelona pre-cruise, our packing will take some skill to allow for over 2 weeks away. I like the idea of basic black dressy pants and changing up the tops. Dresses are not my thing anymore. Bad knees don't allow me to wear my high heels anymore, so I wear dressy flat evening sandals. I just don't think they look great with a dress, so prefer wearing pants or even a very long skirt.

 

Will my DH be out of place if he chooses not to bring his suit or tux? He has very nice slacks, dress shirts and sweaters. Would this be appropriate for Gala night, or should we try to find room for his suit?

 

I really appreciate all you input.......nice to get feed-back from other people.

 

Dressy pants will do the trick. I find some Med cruises dressier than some others, but dressy doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is in cocktail dresses - just dressed very nicely and put together.

 

For your DH, if you have it, I would throw in a sports jacket. no need for a tie, but if you are staying a few days in Barcelona, depending upon what you have planned, he might find he would like it for dinner there (plus warmth when the sun goes down) as well as on the ship. In certain restaurants, you will want to be have one ;)

 

DH often likes to wear his on the plane. Not a requirement - just a suggestion :) Glad to hear you are going to enjoy Barcelona pre-cruise. It's a beautiful city and one of my favourite embarkation ports :)

[Lady Arwen]

Dressy pants will do the trick. I find some Med cruises dressier than some others, but dressy doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is in cocktail dresses - just dressed very nicely and put together.

 

For your DH, if you have it, I would throw in a sports jacket. no need for a tie, but if you are staying a few days in Barcelona, depending upon what you have planned, he might find he would like it for dinner there (plus warmth when the sun goes down) as well as on the ship. In certain restaurants, you will want to be have one ;)

 

DH often likes to wear his on the plane. Not a requirement - just a suggestion :) Glad to hear you are going to enjoy Barcelona pre-cruise. It's a beautiful city and one of my favourite embarkation ports :)

 

Great suggestion about the sports jacket. Yes, he could wear it on the plane and not worry about packing it. Looking forward to exploring Barcelona. We've booked a day tour so that we see as much as possible. Our hotel is at the water and you can see the ships.

[navybankerteacher]

Great suggestion about the sports jacket. Yes, he could wear it on the plane and not worry about packing it. Looking forward to exploring Barcelona. We've booked a day tour so that we see as much as possible. Our hotel is at the water and you can see the ships.

 

I always travel wearing a blazer - it is good to have the pockets for tickets passport, cell phone, etc. while traveling; as well as an appropriate thing to wear on gala or otherwise dress nights without having it take up space (and get wrinkled) in luggage.

[Tennessee Titan]

The tux folks will always advise dressier, the more casual, the opposite. Bottom line, wear what YOU are comfortable in. On HAL no one will criticize you either way....

[RMLincoln]

Although it's a bit dressed down form his usual suite, DH brought his black cardigan to Europe for our last trip. We went in the fall, gone 11 weeks including Scotland in lat October - cool and wet, one <50 lb suitcase each! His cardigan with dress shirt and tie, black slacks and black walking shoes did just fine for Gala nights. The requirements now can be met with just a collared shirt (even a polo shirt works) and slacks so he was a bit up from that, and it helped us a lot with our packing.

 

I had 2 skirts, one full length, one calf length. Gold evening sandals, for Gala nights (only had 2 Gala nights on NA), bright shells and either sparkly wraps or burn-out jacket top.

 

I thinks it's most important for you to be comfortable with your selections - with packing and carrying around Europe, and wearing and maintaining. With only 2 Gala nights in our 11 weeks we were not inclined to bring extras. Enjoy, m--

[Lady Arwen]

I've decided to take my black velvet evening pants and a pair of cream evening pants with some fussy tops and that should suffice for 2 weeks when the occasion calls for a dressier outfit. The rest of the time will just be smart casual.

 

Thanks for your advice regarding the sports jacket for my DH instead of his suit or tux. He went out today and bought one and it looks great! Perfect with shirt and tie and also for casual looks with jeans and slacks. And, yes, he will wear it to the airport and stow it in the above bin to prevent wrinkles.

 

I knew I could count on you folks at c.c. to help me out!