Help me please with a cruise wardrobe!

[OlafLovesAnna]

I 'm all at sea (sorry) and can't think!

3 weeks cruise Far East to S Africa, I have 2 full length dresses, 2 cocktail dresses and several summer day dresses. I won't be able to have my evening meal in the relaxed restaurant as it's sort of a work thing and it's Cunard so quite formal I believe.

I need more formal dresses don't I?

It's in 3 weeks and I haven't organised a thing, if anyone is experienced and can help I'd be very grateful indeed, it's starting to keep me awake at night!

Sounds fab.

You do need more, yes, but you may well have something suitable in your wardrobe already. Doesn't have to be dresses every night, smart trousers with your best tops will be fine too - do you have any nice 'going out' tops?

Yes some formal black trousers will work with several tops.

Other tips:

Pop up laundry basket v handy for dirty clothes

Hang your dress in the bathroom whilst you shower. The steam will mean you won't have to iron it (doesn't always work but worth a shot!)

A tube of travel wash is handy if you want to just wash small bits and pieces. I never send my lingerie to the laundry.

Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen

Sunglasses!

Streamline your makeup bag, you won't need a lot of it when you're tired of putting a full face on every evening.

Extension plug bank if you need to charge multiple devices at once (phone, camera, laptop). Check which plugs your ship can take.

Ship doctor is expensive to see, take anti nausea tablets if this is your first time (I was violently sick once even though I'd cruised many times before) Other handy meds: paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, plasters, canestan (have you ever tried to find this in a foreign language??) loperamide and sore throat lozenges.

Most importantly: have a great time!

I really have to get on top of this!

Are mini dresses ok for evenings do you think? I tend to wear more dresses than trousers/tops but I do have a couple of skirts that would work. DH has to host tables I believe so I'd have to be in the right gear too.

Did you find you wore shorts and vests around the pool and ship at all?

I haven't even started to think about toiletries yet, my case is going to weigh a ton!

I don't know if this is applicable to all cruises, but in the one I did, you were not allowed any irons out hair straighteners. They got confiscated on boarding and returned to you at the end

That's interesting about the straighteners, did you have to give up your hairdryer too?

Perhaps it's because of the fire risk.

Most ships have hair dryers in the rooms anyway, I've never taken one but I'm happy with anything that makes my hair dry!

Short dresses are fine too, especially on ships with a younger clientele? skirts all good. Any 'going out' clothes, except jeans really are fine for evening wear.

I wear shorts and vests every day that we're off ship sightseeing & therefore also before/after getting off. On sea days in warm weather, I tend to wear a swimsuit + cover up.

Yes, hairdryers as well because they are a fire risk. It is understandable, but still a bit annoying

For Cunard, a big pointer to dress code is which level you're in. If you're in Grill suites, their restaurants are quite a bit more posh than the steerage restaurants.
You need to check on the Cunard website or in your cruise documentation how many Formal nights there will be on your cruise. Decide what level of formality you want to dress at - long dress, cocktail dress etc. Then plan from there.

During the day, you can wear shorts on outdoor decks and in some restaurants at breakfast and lunch. Again if you're in Grill suites and having breakfast/lunch in their restaurants, they have a stricter dress code and didn't used to allow shorts. Have a look on the website.

That's the problem really, dh is 'working' so I'm going along for the ride. I don't have any access to the normal info that the passengers who book through the usual channels do so am just trying to glean info on the website.

I think I'll plan on x3 balls and the rest semi-formal cocktail dresses or dressy tops/trousers and Boden style dresses/ shorts and Ts in the day, and travel in 7/8 chinos and jersey blazer

I'd love to go on a cruise, such a chance to dress up!

Have fun OP

If you know the dates for your cruise and the ship i might be able to tell you the dress codes, let me know OP.

Wow Anna, that sounds amazing. I would maybe get one more dress and then some nice separates. Shorts and tshirt/vest tops are fine for day time.
Another tip. the cabins all have metal frames so take magnets to stick notes, tickets, day planners to walls!
You can fit your cases under you bed, there's loads of space under there, and don't try to move the coffee table! They're really heavy so that they don't move in bad weather!