Anyone been on a cruise? Do I need some different clothes?

[HatFamster]

Going on a cruise soon with some family members.
My wardrobe consists of jeans and t shirts.
I mostly wear crocs 😬 (stylish and comfortable).
I won’t be going to any black tie meals, but am I likely to need something smarter?
Can I get away with crocs? I have some sensible boots that I can take as well.
I want to be comfortable, and I generally don’t care if I’m the scruffiest in the room, but not sure what the done thing is on a cruise!

What cruise line are you sailing with?

It depends on the cruise line. I've done lots of cruises and seen people in all sorts of clothes but evening dining tends to be smart casual as a minimum.

A lot of cruise lines don’t allow jeans in public areas after 6pm.

we are not long back from a cruise and most nights I wore soft trousers with different tops

Fred Olsen

A lot of cruise lines don’t allow jeans in public areas after 6pm.

Really! Oh bloody hell!

Who are you sailing with and where are you going/for how long? Are you going to fly to the ship? (luggage allowance)

Just got back off a cruise and if your planning on eating in the formal dining rooms then you'll need something a bit smarter (we saw everything from black tie to smart casual). If your sticking to the buffets then you'll be fine. Also most ships have a formal night, you didn't have to dress up but were limited to what you could access in casual clothing that night.

If your cruise is 5 nights+ you can expect at least one formal night. The other nights I would personally go smart casual but I've not sailed with Fred Olsen before

You can wear dark jeans in the main dining room with a blouse or shirt for example.
I can’t see why you can’t wear crocs, I’ve cruised over 20 times and never seen any literature saying you can’t.

You can go to the buffet on the formal night, I’ve seen people doing that wearing for example football shirts.

My father is also a scruff - we’ve opted out of formal night already, even if we end up in a cabin eating sandwiches!

We’re doing 5 nights Norwegian Fjords, within driving distance of the port so no flights.

That’s reassuring, thank you!

Generally after 6pm you need dresses or skirt/trousers and blouse for women plus smartish shoes unless you eat in the buffet. Most lines also enforce these rules for all bars & venues but the pub. Not been on Fred Olsen but been on 5 other lines all with similar rules. Most lines have a dress up night once or twice in a week

I think I need to get another pair of jeans so will get dark ones.
I might get a smarter shirt just in case.

Fred Olsen is one of the smarter cruise liners. P&O tends to be a bit riff raff and you can get away with anything but Fred Olsen tends to be older people and dressier (my mum is a seasoned cruiser who did the FO Norwegian Fjords last year).