Clarity on attire for religious sites

[Scoreboard2017]

Hi - We are taking the Norwegian Star on August 12th from Venice thru Greece, Montenegro & Croatia. We are incredibly excited and looking forward to a great trip.

Several of the excursions say "As tour visits religious sites, please dress appropriately; no bare shoulders or shorts are allowed."

This is understandable but I'd prefer not to wear pants in the heat. I just may not go into some of these sites (I generally avoid places where I have to wear long pants on vacation).

I did a search and there is not a lot of information on this. I saw the tips for my wife regarding bringing a shawl to cover your shoulders. So, for my wife it sounds like she should bring a shawl to cover her shoulders? Are capri pants are OK?

I saw some people say they wore mens shorts below the knees but I am looking for input on this. Were people getting turned away for wearing shorts? I may buy convertible pants but I'd prefer not to. Anyhow, looking for any insights people may have.

Thanks.

[JohnIreland]

This sign from the Vatican should make it clearer.

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

I wore some lightweight columbia capris that covered my knees if wore long, but you could also push them up above the knee as well. I wore a lightweight polyester blend tank top with a lightweight cardigan I could put on and take off easily...was actually decently comfortable...plus I ended up not taking off my cardigan because it also protected me from sunburn

 

 

Some people got turned away for wearing improper attire, some didn't...seems like not super consistent...err on the side of caution

[MaryZ]

I wore dresses and a shawl that I could use to cover my head if needed for mosques or my shoulders for temples or churches. My husband wore golf clothing, long pants and collared shirts, from izod which are incredibly light, are uv protective and wick away perspiration.

Better yet, don't go in the summer. It's overcrowded and too hot. Winter vacation to Europe are much more enjoyable.

[the2006Junket]

Hi - We are taking the Norwegian Star on August 12th from Venice thru Greece, Montenegro & Croatia. We are incredibly excited and looking forward to a great trip.

Several of the excursions say "As tour visits religious sites, please dress appropriately; no bare shoulders or shorts are allowed."

This is understandable but I'd prefer not to wear pants in the heat. I just may not go into some of these sites (I generally avoid places where I have to wear long pants on vacation).

I did a search and there is not a lot of information on this. I saw the tips for my wife regarding bringing a shawl to cover your shoulders. So, for my wife it sounds like she should bring a shawl to cover her shoulders? Are capri pants are OK?

I saw some people say they wore mens shorts below the knees but I am looking for input on this. Were people getting turned away for wearing shorts? I may buy convertible pants but I'd prefer not to. Anyhow, looking for any insights people may have.

Thanks.

 

Hi, while touring religious places in Europe, I frequently wore a sleeveless dress and brought a Pashmina wrap or light weight Columbia shirt to throw on when going in. Here were my favs on my most recent trip:

https://www.toadandco.com/womens/clothing/dresses/Samba-Tide-Tank-Dress

 

https://www.rei.com/product/111567/columbia-silver-ridge-lite-shirt-womens

 

 

My husband either wore lightweight cotton Dockers or zip off hiking pants, so he could convert them into shorts after a church if it was really hot. https://www.rei.com/product/827490/columbia-silver-ridge-convertible-pants-mens-32-inseam

 

Happy planning and packing!

 

Lynne

[Medtech2]

While in Las Vegas I wore long Columbia trail pants in 105° heat and was quite comfortable. In most places they may not even say anything to you but it is a matter of respect.

 

I was raised to not use flash photography in churches but I have seen many people do it....and then again I was tsked at for surreptitiously taking a nonflash picture in a very strict church, even though I had the camera only waist high snug against me...

[ukdeblarz]

I was on this cruise last month. In Montenegro, we went to Lady of the Rock and the tour directions said knees and shoulders covered. I wore light weight just below the knee casual capris and a shirt that had a small sleeve and was loose and cottony. It was fine. I saw many people ignore the guidance and wear shorts and whatever they liked too. I felt it better to honor the requests. The rest of the cruise, there weren't any locations that required it. The strictest I've ever seen it was years ago at the Vatican. I saw them turn people away. On this cruise, I did not see anyone turned away.

[casofilia]

My wife was lucky as she was wearing two thin shirts. The top one was unbuttoned and her bra showed through the second. They told her to button the top one and she was OK.

 

A number of women were turned away for not having shoulders covered. Wear a large head scarf that covers both the head and shoulders.

 

I would ask though that males uncover when in religious sites.

[flexsmom]

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]We just finished this cruise. In Venice, I wore Bermuda shorts that I could roll below my knees as well as a t-shirt for our evening tour of St Mark's Basilica. My teen daughter wore a romper but tied a scarf around her waist. One girl on our tour was told to find something to cover herself - had on ripped jeans that may as well have been shorts and a skimpy tank top. I think it took two scarfs before they'd allow her in. Capris are fine. All of that said, I'd say most of the men had on shorts and not one of them was turned away (most of them were long shorts.) I went into another large church to sit for a while in Venice on my own while waiting for my kids to finish a mask-painting class, and now that I think about it, I was wearing shorts. Not a ton of tourists, and only a handful of people praying - it was actually really nice.

 

In Montenegro we hiked up the hill to Our Lady of Health - so, there is NO WAY I'd wear pants to do this. It was a good work-out. But then again, it's the view that's the destination and not the church - but there's no one monitoring who wears what up there anyway. They are all busy selling water to poor hapless hikers who thought they took enough with them! Can't speak for Our Lady of the Rocks, but I think a lot of tours just cruise by it anyway.

 

Long story short - just take a light-weight decorative scarf and have your wife wrap it around her waist or shoulders as needed so she can wear what the weather dictates but still "cover up" for whatever church you decide to visit. Some of them are absolutely spectacular - don't miss out on them due to the wardrobe request!

[tutuwahineLV]

Common sense...(to me anyway). If you wouldn’t wear it to church at home.....it isn’t appropriate somewhere else. I can’t ever remember seeing a gentleman wearing shorts to church where we go. But this is just my opinion

[casofilia]

Right On tutuwahineLV

[cb at sea]

Shoulders and knees covered....that's about it! (and everything in between!)

[zqvol]

It really depends on where you are going. In Greece and Croatia, the Orthodox churches are much more relaxed than the Catholic churches in Italy. Men in shorts is normally not an issue, BUT the monasteries are a completely different animal. Women need long skirts, and long sleeves. Men need long pants and long sleeves. I suggest checking the web sites for each place before going to see if there is any particular dress code.