What to wear on a cruise, by line and by night
Published by CruiseDayGuide · Updated August 9, 2026 · sources checked August 9, 2026
It depends on which line you booked. On every line here most evenings amount to trousers or jeans with a collared shirt or a blouse, and the differences show up on formal night — which Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival and Princess each count differently, and Norwegian does not hold at all.
Skipping the dressy outfit costs you the main dining room for that evening and nothing else: every line in this comparison keeps casual dining open on formal nights.
Most cruise-clothing advice says the same three things: most nights are casual, one night is formal, bring a jacket. None of it is usable, because the big lines sailing out of U.S. ports do not agree with each other about what formal means, how many formal nights you get, or what they will actually stop you at the dining room door for.
Royal Caribbean publishes a formal-night count that scales with the length of your sailing. Princess publishes a longer table, and it starts at zero. Carnival calls its version Cruise Elegant and lists what is not permitted. Celebrity calls its version Evening Chic. Norwegian has no formal night at all and says as much in its own packing guidance.
So the honest answer begins with which ship you booked. This page sets out what each line's own website says, then covers the parts that are the same on all of them: a ship kept genuinely cold, a pool deck you have to leave before dinner, and shoes that need to work on a wet deck in the morning and a gravel path that afternoon.
The one thing to pack instead of an iron
Wardrobes are personal and dress codes are free to read. There is one product on this page worth buying, and it exists because of a rule rather than a taste.
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- Wrinkle release sprayRoyal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Princess all prohibit clothing irons and garment steamers.Check price on Amazon
Pick your line to highlight its own rules through the page — the rest folds away, and facts that belong to another line stay labelled.
Evening dress code by cruise line
Every cell below was read on that line's own website on the date in the sources, not taken from another article or from a forum. The lines use different words for the same night, count formal nights differently, and publish different lists of what they will not seat you in; where a line says nothing about something, this table says so rather than borrowing a neighbor's rule. None of it is a promise about enforcement on your particular ship, which varies with the maitre d' — it is what the line has committed to in writing.
| Option | What they call formal night | How many on a sailing | What the line suggests | What the line says is not allowed at dinner | Every other night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | What they call formal nightFormal, branded Dress Your Best | How many on a sailingOne on 5-night sailings, two on 6 to 10 nights, three on 11 to 14 nights, and three to four on 15 nights and longer, at the ship's discretion | What the line suggestsA night out in your best black-tie look: suits and ties, tuxedos, cocktail dresses or evening gowns. The Chef's Table enforces the formal code as well | What the line says is not allowed at dinnerBare feet at any time in any venue, and tank tops in the Main Dining Room or specialty dining venues at dinner | Every other nightCasual (jeans, polos, sundresses, blouses) or Smart Casual (collared shirts, dresses, skirts, pantsuits, blazers). Swimwear stays on the Pool Deck; shorts are welcome at breakfast and lunch |
| Celebrity Cruises | What they call formal nightEvening Chic | How many on a sailingOne to two per itinerary | What the line suggestsA cocktail dress, skirt, slacks or designer jean with an elegant dress top or blazer, described as glamorous and sophisticated in your own way | What the line says is not allowed at dinnerSwimsuits, see-through coverups or robes, bare feet, tank tops, T-shirts and baseball caps in the main restaurant | Every other nightSmart Casual: a dress, skirt, long pants or jeans with a stylish top or button-down. Celebrity states plainly that shorts and flip flops do not count as Smart Casual |
| Carnival | What they call formal nightCruise Elegant, subtitled Sharp and Chic | How many on a sailingOne on select sailings of 5 days or shorter, two on sailings of 6 days or longer. On longer cruises the first is the second or third evening, and the next is two or three evenings before the end | What the line suggestsDress jeans, trousers, slacks, dress shirts and optional sport coats for men and boys; dressy resort wear, party or cocktail dresses, pantsuits or elegant skirts and blouses for women and girls | What the line says is not allowed at dinnerRipped or cut-off T-shirts, sheer or see-through clothing, athletic clothing or gear, and swimwear. The Steakhouse and Rudi's Seagrill follow the main dining room code | Every other nightCruise Casual: khakis, jeans, tailored dress shorts and collared or polo shirts; casual dresses, skirts, capris and blouses. The Lido is more relaxed but still requires shirts, cover-ups and footwear |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | What they call formal nightNothing. Norwegian publishes no formal night and no tiered dress code | How many on a sailingZero required. Its own guidance says some guests love to dress up, others keep it laid-back, and that is exactly how the line likes it | What the line suggestsIf you want to: breezy linens, crisp denim, easy dresses, button-downs, and more of an occasion at the elevated specialty restaurants | What the line says is not allowed at dinnerSwimwear away from the pool and extremely short shorts. Shirts and footwear are required, graphics must be respectful, and styles must offer appropriate coverage for a dining environment | Every other nightThe same standard all week. Norwegian describes shorts with a collared shirt and statement sandals as normal restaurant wear |
| Princess Cruises | What they call formal nightFormal night | How many on a sailingPublished as a table: none on 1 to 4 days, one on 5 to 6 days, two on 7 to 13, three on 14 to 20, four on 21 to 28, and a minimum of five on 29 days and longer | What the line suggestsEvening gown, cocktail dress or elegant pant suit for women; tuxedo, dark suit, or dinner jacket and slacks for men | What the line says is not allowed at dinnerPool or beach attire, gym shorts, ball caps and casual jeans with fraying or holes are not welcomed in the dining rooms, and shoes must be worn | Every other nightCasual through most of the ship by day, smart casual in the main dining rooms in the evening. The buffet and casual venues stay open on formal nights with relaxed dress |
Names, counts and restrictions were read on each line's own dress code or packing page on the date listed in the sources, and each cell is attributed only to the line in that row. Two caveats. First, every line reserves discretion: Royal Caribbean says the number of Dress Your Best nights can vary by itinerary, and Princess presents its table as an example. Second, a published rule is not the same as a nightly enforcement policy, and the buffet on every one of these ships is a relaxed alternative on the night you would rather not change.
Which line you booked is most of the answer
The lines do not share a vocabulary. Royal Caribbean sorts the week into three named levels, Celebrity into two, and Carnival into two of its own; Princess publishes the most precise count of anyone, as a table.
Norwegian is the outlier, and the reason generic advice fails: no formal night and no tiers at all, asking only that what you wear feels put-together and suited to the setting.
- Royal Caribbean: Casual is jeans, polos, sundresses and blouses. Smart Casual is a step up — collared shirts, dresses, skirts and blouses, or pantsuits, with jackets, sports coats and blazers welcome. Formal is branded Dress Your Best, a night out in your best black-tie look.
- Royal Caribbean: the formal count is published by length — one on a 5-night sailing, two on 6 to 10 nights, three on 11 to 14, and three to four on anything 15 nights or longer, at the ship's discretion.
- Celebrity: two names instead of three. Smart Casual is a dress, skirt, long pants or jeans with a stylish top or button-down, and the line adds the useful clarification that shorts and flip flops do not qualify. Evening Chic is its formal night, one or two per itinerary.
- Carnival: Cruise Casual, which is most nights, explicitly includes jeans and even tailored dress shorts with a collared shirt.
- Carnival: Cruise Elegant lands once on select short sailings and twice on anything six days or longer. On longer cruises the first is the second or third evening, and the next is two or three evenings before the end.
- Princess: a published table, from zero formal evenings on a 1 to 4 day cruise up to a minimum of five on 29 days and longer.
- Norwegian: no formal night, no tiers, and no requirement to dress up on any night.
Where this comes from
Level names, descriptions and formal-night counts were read on royalcaribbean.com, celebritycruises.com, help.carnival.com, princess.com and ncl.com on the dates in the sources below.
What formal night actually means, and what happens if you skip it
The useful question is not what you may wear but what the line has written down that it will not seat you in.
Those lists are mostly about the pool deck and the gym, not about whether you own a jacket. You can dress well below the formal-night suggestion and still be seated, but you cannot arrive in a wet swimsuit or barefoot. Formal night is an invitation with a set of dining rooms attached, not a curfew.
- Royal Caribbean: no bare feet in any venue at any time; no tank tops at dinner in the main or specialty dining rooms. Both rules apply every night, not just formal night.
- Celebrity: the longest list — no swimsuits, see-through coverups or robes, bare feet, tank tops, T-shirts or baseball caps in the main restaurant.
- Carnival: no ripped or cut-off T-shirts, nothing sheer or see-through, no athletic clothing or gear and no swimwear, at either evening code, with the same standard at the Steakhouse and Rudi's Seagrill.
- Princess: pool or beach attire, gym shorts, ball caps and casual jeans with fraying or holes are not welcomed in the dining rooms, and shoes must be worn.
- Norwegian: no formal night to enforce, but still shirts and footwear, respectful graphics, and appropriate coverage for a dining environment.
- Every line keeps a buffet or casual venue open on formal night, so opting out costs you the dining room, not dinner.
Where this comes from
Each restriction is quoted from the line named beside it, read on that line's own dress code page on the date in the sources below.
The ship is kept cold, and the wind on deck is colder
The most common packing mistake on a Caribbean sailing is dressing for the Caribbean. Ships are air conditioned for a full theatre, a busy dining room and a casino, so interior spaces run cool all evening and feel arctic to somebody who spent the afternoon at 88 degrees on the pool deck.
Add the ship's own weather: a warm sea day still produces a steady apparent wind across the open decks, and a balcony at 20 knots after sunset is a different climate from the same balcony at anchor.
- A light cardigan, a linen overshirt or a soft-shell that folds into a day bag.
- A second thin layer, for a cold-front morning in port.
- A hat that survives wind, and sunglasses you can afford to lose over the rail.
- A long-sleeve rash guard or light cover for anyone who will be in the water for hours.
- Leaving the layer in the cabin. That is the one you spend the evening wishing you had brought two decks down.
- A hat that looks better but does not stay on, on an open deck at sea.
- Counting on sunscreen you left in the cabin. The sea reflects, the breeze hides the burn, and day two of a seven-day cruise is a bad time to find out.
- Norwegian: its own guidance is to pack for the destination, and that layers will be your best bet, warm or cool.
- Carnival: its daytime list for a warm-weather cruise includes a lightweight sweater, pull-over or jacket right alongside the shorts and swimsuits.
Where this comes from
The layering advice attributed to Norwegian and the daytime clothing list attributed to Carnival come from those lines' own pages; the air-conditioning and wind observations are ours, not a line's statement.
Getting from the pool deck to dinner without changing twice
This is the transition that catches first-time cruisers, and every line writes a rule about it — mostly the same rule, in five different sets of words.
What none of them allow is a wet swimsuit away from the pool. That is what the late-afternoon shower is for, and it is why the cabin's location matters more than people expect on a sea day.
- Keep a dry shirt and a pair of sandals in the day bag rather than the cabin, so the walk to lunch does not require a trip down four decks.
- Pack the day-one dinner outfit in the carry-on, since checked luggage typically does not reach the cabin until mid-afternoon.
- A wet swimsuit anywhere off the pool deck. Every line in this table writes a rule against it.
- A cover-up and sandals at the main dining room at dinner. That combination reaches the buffet on any of these ships, and no further.
- Royal Caribbean: swimwear stays on the Pool Deck; shorts are welcome at breakfast and lunch.
- Carnival: the Lido has a more relaxed code than the main dining rooms, but it is not the pool area — shirts, bathing suit cover-ups and footwear must always be worn.
- Celebrity: swimsuits and see-through coverups are not permitted in the main restaurant.
- Norwegian: swimwear should be saved for the pool, and extremely short shorts for other activities.
- Princess: pool and beach attire is named as not welcomed in the dining rooms.
Where this comes from
The pool-deck and buffet rules are quoted from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian and Princess respectively, each read on that line's own page.
Shoes: wet decks, gangways, and the excursion you booked
Footwear is the part of cruise packing where the lines give the most concrete guidance and most packing lists give the least. Two of them go further than guidance and ban a category outright, which surprises families every year.
One detail worth knowing before you pack: outdoor decks are washed at night, and they are genuinely slick before the sun dries them.
- One pair of flip flops or slides that live at the pool and go in a wet bag afterwards.
- One pair of closed-toe shoes with real tread for excursions, gangways and the ship's sports deck — the same pair that carries a bag through the terminal on embarkation morning.
- One pair that works at dinner, which for most people is a sandal that is not a flip flop, or a leather shoe that is not a sneaker.
- Bare feet. Royal Caribbean does not allow them at any time in any venue, and Princess requires shoes in the dining rooms.
- Wheeled footwear. Carnival prohibits it on board, and Princess lists Heely-style shoes among its prohibited items. If your child's favorite shoes have wheels in the heel, they are staying home.
- A brand-new pair on a tender day, when you are stepping between two boats that are moving independently.
- Carnival: comfortable rubber-sole flat shoes, sneakers, water shoes or non-slip boat shoes with traction, and closed-toe shoes for select activities and shore excursions.
- Norwegian: closed-toe comfortable shoes for shore excursions and onboard sports, with closed-toe flat shoes specifically required for the Ropes Course and the race tracks.
Where this comes from
Footwear guidance is quoted from Carnival's and Norwegian's own packing pages, Royal Caribbean's dress code page, and the Princess prohibited items list, all read on the dates in the sources.
How many outfits, and the iron you are not allowed to pack
Two constraints decide how much clothing to bring, and one is a rule rather than a preference: you cannot bring an iron or a garment steamer on any of these lines.
The second is arithmetic. Dinner clothes get worn for three hours in a cold dining room and can repeat, so count the formal or elegant nights from the table above, not the nights of the cruise. Daytime clothes get soaked, sunscreened and sweated through — plan one set per day plus a spare.
- Fabrics that do not need pressing: knits, linen blends that are supposed to look relaxed, and anything that survives being rolled rather than folded.
- Wrinkle release spray, which earns its space, plus hanging a shirt in the bathroom during a hot shower for the rest.
- Two swimsuits per swimmer, because one dries overnight only if it hangs somewhere with moving air.
- One dressy outfit per night of the cruise. Count the formal or elegant evenings from the table above instead.
- Anything that only looks right pressed, since you cannot press it in the cabin.
- Royal Caribbean: its prohibited items list says clothing irons and garment steamers are prohibited with no exceptions.
- Princess: lists clothing irons among items containing a heating element, in the safety hazard section.
- Norwegian: bans items containing any kind of heating element, and names irons and steamers among the things to leave at home.
- Carnival: prohibits irons and clothes steamers, then does what the others do not — it names the alternative. Valet laundry is offered for a fee on all its ships, and most ships, excluding Carnival Firenze, Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Venezia, provide self-service facilities with ironing boards and irons.
Where this comes from
The iron and steamer prohibitions are quoted from each line's own prohibited items or packing page, and the self-service laundry detail is Carnival's own wording, including its list of excluded ships.
Dress-code questions cruisers ask
What is the dress code for dinner on a cruise ship?
It depends on the line, which is why generic answers fail. Royal Caribbean uses Casual, Smart Casual and Formal. Celebrity uses Smart Casual and Evening Chic. Carnival uses Cruise Casual and Cruise Elegant. Princess asks for smart casual in the main dining rooms with formal nights on longer voyages. Norwegian publishes no tiers at all and asks only that clothing feels put-together and suited to the setting. On every one of them, most evenings amount to trousers or jeans with a collared shirt or a blouse, and the differences show up on formal night.
How many formal nights are there on a cruise?
Royal Caribbean publishes one Dress Your Best night on 5-night sailings, two on 6 to 10 nights, three on 11 to 14, and three to four on 15 nights or longer, at the ship's discretion. Carnival holds one Cruise Elegant evening on select cruises of 5 days or shorter and two on cruises of 6 days or longer. Celebrity has one to two Evening Chic nights per itinerary. Princess publishes a table beginning at zero for a 1 to 4 day cruise and rising to five or more on 29 days and longer. Norwegian has none.
Can you wear shorts to dinner on a cruise?
At breakfast and lunch, yes on every line here, and Royal Caribbean says so directly. At dinner it varies. Carnival lists tailored dress shorts within its Cruise Casual code for the main dining room, and Norwegian describes shorts with a collared shirt as normal restaurant wear. Celebrity states that shorts are not Smart Casual, and Princess names gym shorts among what is not welcomed in the dining rooms. Athletic or cut-off shorts are outside the code everywhere, and no line permits shorts on a formal or elegant evening in the main dining room.
Do I have to dress up on formal night if I do not want to?
No. Every line in this comparison keeps casual dining open on formal nights, and Princess states outright that even on formal nights you can choose how you dine, with the buffet, casual restaurants and poolside dining open under relaxed dress codes. Skipping the dressy outfit costs you the main dining room for that evening and nothing else. If you would rather split the difference, dark trousers with a collared shirt or a simple dress will not look out of place in any main dining room on a formal night, even on the lines that suggest a tuxedo.
Can I bring an iron or a clothes steamer to press my formal night outfit?
No, and this is one of the few rules that is genuinely the same across lines. Royal Caribbean prohibits clothing irons and garment steamers outright, Norwegian bans irons and steamers along with anything containing a heating element, Princess lists clothing irons under items posing a safety hazard, and Carnival prohibits irons and clothes steamers while pointing guests to valet laundry and to self-service irons available on most of its ships other than Carnival Firenze, Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Venezia. Pack wrinkle release spray and fabrics that tolerate being rolled instead.
What shoes should I bring on a cruise?
Three pairs handle a warm-weather sailing: something for the pool, a closed-toe pair with real tread, and one pair that works at dinner. The closed-toe pair is not optional if you have booked anything active, because Norwegian requires closed-toe flat shoes for its Ropes Course and race tracks and Carnival notes that select activities and shore excursions may require closed-toe shoes. Carnival also recommends non-slip soles with traction for the decks. Leave wheeled shoes at home: Carnival prohibits footwear with wheels on board and Princess lists Heely-style shoes among prohibited items.
Plan the rest of your cruise day
The cruise packing list
The full list this page sits under, from cabin gear to the day-one carry-on.
What not to bring on a cruise
The prohibited items lists compared line by line, including the irons this page mentions.
First-time cruise tips
Embarkation day, the muster drill, and the things nobody tells you before ship one.
Where these facts come from
- royalcaribbean.com — What is the dress code for my cruise? — checked 2026-08-09
- celebritycruises.com — Onboard dress code — checked 2026-08-09
- help.carnival.com — What to Wear — checked 2026-08-09
- ncl.com — What to Pack, including Clothing to Pack for Your Cruise — checked 2026-08-09
- princess.com — Onboard Experience FAQs, Formal Nights and Onboard Atmosphere — checked 2026-08-09
- royalcaribbean.com — What items are prohibited on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship? — checked 2026-08-09
- carnival.com — Carnival Cruise Line Prohibited Items, Exemptions and Other Considerations — checked 2026-08-09
- princess.com — Pre-cruise FAQs, Prohibited Items — checked 2026-08-09
Research sources and cruise line policy wording can change after they are checked. Every fact here carries the date it was read from an official source, so you can judge how fresh it is. A claim that could not be verified is left out rather than repeated. Recheck current official guidance before you pack, plan, or travel.