What to wear on a cruise

It’s the age-old question that has always plagued cruisers: what should I wear onboard? Gone are the days when formal attire and no denim were strictly enforced across the board – most cruise lines have relaxed their dress codes considerably. That said, 2026 has brought a mixed picture: some lines have loosened up further, while others have quietly tightened specific rules. Here’s where things actually stand.

The latest trends

Enforcement of formal night dress codes has continued to soften across the industry. On most mainstream and premium lines, formal nights are opt-in. You can always eat at the buffet, order room service, or dine at a casual venue instead, and no one will turn you away from the ship for skipping it. Estimates suggest roughly a third of passengers skip formal night dining altogether.

At the same time, a couple of notable – and contradictory – shifts have happened in recent years:

• Luxury lines have loosened up. Regent Seven Seas updated its evening dress code in 2025 to allow ‘refined denim’ (clean, unripped dark jeans) and dress sneakers at night, something previously not permitted. Silversea and Crystal have made similar moves. And in June 2026, Silversea announced that jackets would no longer be required for formal nights or at its French fine dining restaurant La Dame.
• Norwegian Cruise Line has tightened up – in specific venues. Despite its Freestyle no-dress-code reputation, NCL updated its signage and digital FAQs in early 2026 to ban shorts and flip-flops at dinner in several of its specialty restaurants (including Cagney’s Steakhouse, Le Bistro, Onda by Scarpetta, Palomar, Ocean Blue and Haven dining). This is new and the change doesn’t apply fleet-wide or to the main dining room – see fill details below.

Here’s what to wear on a cruise:

Royal Caribbean 

How many formal nights you’ll see on a Royal Caribbean cruise will depend on length. Cruises of five nights or less generally have one formal night; six to ten nights, two; and 11 nights or longer, three.

Formal nights apply only to the main dining room, so there are other dining options if you’d rather not dress up, and it’s generally not strictly enforced.

Royal Caribbean’s stated formal dress code: suits and ties, tuxedos, cocktail dresses or evening gowns. In practice, most guests dress a notch above their usual cruise attire – think sports coats and cocktail dresses – rather than full black tie. Essentially, it is clothing that is a bit nicer than you might wear on other nights of the cruise.

Carnival Cruises

Carnival Cruises calls its dress-up evenings ‘Cruise Elegant’ nights. The stated dress code:

• Men: dress slacks and a dress shirt, with a sport coat suggested; a suit, tie, or tuxedo is also welcome.
• Women: cocktail dress, pantsuit, or elegant skirt and blouse; an evening gown is also welcome.
• Not permitted in the dining room: cut-off jeans, men’s sleeveless shirts, shorts, T-shirts, sportswear, baseball caps, thongs (flip-flops), and swimwear.

Cruises of five days or shorter get one Cruise Elegant night; cruises of six days or longer get two.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises brands their formal nights as Evening Chic. Any cruises seven nights or longer will have at least two of these nights, and at least one on sailings six nights or shorter.

Celebrity’s guidance: women can wear a cocktail dress, skirt, trousers or dark jeans with an elegant top; men can wear trousers or dark jeans with a dress shirt, button-down or sweater, with a sport coat or blazer optional.

Princess Cruises

Most evenings on Princess follow a Smart Casual dress code: skirts, dresses, trousers and blouses or sweaters for women, and trousers with a polo or button-down shirt for men, jacket optional. Formal nights (sometimes branded ‘Dress to Impress’) call for an evening gown, cocktail dress or elegant pantsuit for women, and a tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket with slacks for men. Shorter cruises typically have one formal night; longer voyages have two or more. As with most other premium lines, formal nights on Princess are opt-in rather than compulsory

If you’d rather skip it, Princess keeps casual dining venues open on formal nights too – including the buffet, various on-deck spots, and other casual options – where there’s no expectation to dress up. Princess’s guidance for the main dining room also asks guests to avoid swimwear, gym shorts, ripped jeans and baseball caps at dinner. Enforcement of this baseline tends to be a little more consistent on Princess than on some mainstream lines, though it’s still rarely strict.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line still has no dedicated fleet-wide formal nights — its Freestyle Cruising concept means dress in the main dining room stays smart casual most evenings, with casual attire acceptable across much of the rest of the ship. They may also have theme nights that call for a special outfit or colour, so check your itinerary before you pack.

Since early 2026, Norwegian has enforced a stricter dress standard specifically at dinner in a handful of its specialty restaurants – shorts and thongs/flip-flops are no longer permitted at these venues in the evening. This is a departure from Norwegian’s long-standing “wear what you like” reputation, and applies only to those specific specialty restaurants at dinner, not the main dining room or the ship generally.

Norwegian’s general house rule still stands elsewhere: tank tops on men, thongs, baseball caps, visors, and heavily distressed or ripped jeans worn below the hips are not permitted in main dining rooms or specialty restaurants.

Regent Seven Seas

As a luxury line, Regent expects elegant casual dress after 6pm. Longer cruises of 15 nights or more typically include two or more optional formal evenings, where guests may choose gowns and cocktail dresses, or tuxedos, dinner jackets, or a dark suit with tie.

In 2025, Regent relaxed its evening dress code to explicitly allow ‘refined denim’ – clean, unripped, stylish jeans – and dress sneakers in the evening, which weren’t previously permitted. Formalwear is still welcome for those who enjoy it; it’s simply no longer required outside the optional formal evenings.

Silversea

Silversea‘s evening dress code splits into two categories: Elegant Casual and Formal Optional. The number of Formal Optional evenings depends on voyage length – sailings of seven nights or fewer are Elegant Casual throughout, eight to 14 nights typically include up to two Formal Optional evenings, and longer than 15 nights will include two or more.

From June 2016, Silversea relaxed its dress code fleet-wide. ‘Refined denim’ (clean, tailored, unripped jeans) is now explicitly permitted in Elegant Casual settings for both women and men, having previously been excluded from evening indoor spaces entirely. Jackets are no longer required for men on Formal Optional evenings, or in La Dame, the ship’s French fine dining restaurant, which had separately enforced its own jacket requirement. Guests who prefer to dress up can still do so; evening gowns, cocktail dresses, tuxedos and dark suits remain welcome on Formal Optional nights. The change has proved divisive among regular Silversea cruisers – some on cruising forums have welcomed the extra comfort, while others feel it dilutes part of what they were paying for.

Ripped or distressed denim, shorts, T-shirts, ball caps, and flip-flops are still not permitted in indoor spaces after 6pm; casual wear remains fine in outdoor venues at any time.

Oceania Cruises

Oceania’s dress code remains more relaxed than most other luxury lines and it still doesn’t run dedicated formal nights. Country club and resort-style attire is requested for evening dining, though some of its more formal specialty venues don’t permit casual wear at any time.

Cunard

Cunard has maintained its high standards and still runs formal nights – called Gala nights – on every cruise, roughly once per week of sailing. Women are expected to wear an evening or cocktail dress, a smart trouser suit, or formal separates; men a dinner jacket, tuxedo, or dark suit with a tie or bow tie.

After 5:45pm on non-Gala evenings, ‘Smart Attire’ applies: blouses and skirts or stylish trousers and dresses for women, and trousers with a collared shirt for men (jacket and tie optional). Cunard likens it to the sort of thing you’d wear to a stylish restaurant or the theatre.

Cunard remains one of the more traditionally dressy lines still operating and you’ll find dress standards are enforced most consistently.

Ponant

In line with its chic French origins, Ponant recommends casual and elegant outfits as a general standard. You should wear cocktail attire for gala evenings, and white or black and white attire for the Officers’ evening. Shorts and bermudas are not permitted at gourmet restaurants in the evening.

Ponant still includes a Captain’s Dinner where more formal attire, such an evening dress and elegant shoes for women, a suit, dark tie and dress shoes for men, is expected. Tuxedos and long gowns aren’t required.

A few things to know about dress codes

• Enforcement varies ship-to-ship and even night-to-night. Even where a line publishes a strict dress code, actual enforcement on the ground is often inconsistent. Expect to see everything from full black tie to a nice collared shirt on the same formal night.
• Kids get more leeway. Most family-friendly lines are notably relaxed about children’s dress standards in the dining room, even on formal nights.
• Specialty (extra-charge) restaurants often have their own dress code. That’s typically smart casual, regardless of what the rest of the ship is doing that night, though it’s worth checking when you book.
• Jeans are broadly accepted these days. You’ll be fine in denim on most lines outside of the most formal evenings. A small number of lines (Norwegian among them) still specifically exclude distressed or ripped denim from dining rooms.

---

First Time Cruisers Tips

---

Popular Destinations

---