Getting Ready

About 2 weeks before you leave you should receive a ticket pack from your selected cruise line. Make sure this pack shows up within a week of your cruise as its important. It will contain:

• Your itinerary with the flight and sailing times
• Your cruise ticket with its cabin number, if allocated
• Vouchers for transfers to and from the ship
• Hotel and transfer voucher
• Luggage tags
• Embarkation card
• Credit card form for your onboard charge card
• Shore excursion brochure
• Ship guide with information about all the facilities onboard
• Contact telephone numbers and email onboard to give to friends or family

Check through your pack carefully, make sure that it’s what you originally booked and all the airport times are correct.

Packing
On most modern ships the storage space you are given in each cabin are relatively small, suggesting that you pack lightly. This is not the case as you will probably need to pack more clothes than any hotel based holiday.

Daytime

• For the men, shorts, jeans, slacks, T-shirts and sports shirts.
• For the ladies, shorts, slacks, casual skirts and sundresses.
• Around the pool swimsuits but you will need footwear.

Evening

• Cruise ships assign daily dress codes - casual, informal (smart casual) and formal - that take effect in public rooms and restaurants from 6 pm onward.
• On traditional cruise ships, you can expect two formal nights, a couple of casual evenings, and the rest informal on a weeks' cruise.
• Black tie is the usual form for men on formal nights, though increasingly a smart suit will suffice. Women can wear anything from a classic little black dress to a ball gown. On some ships you can rent formal attire.
• Don't forget your smart shoes.
• For men a sports jacket and slacks, worn with shirt and tie or polo shirt, will meet the informal evening requirements.
• For the ladies smart casual is the common dress code for evenings other than formal - dresses, trousers and separates but not shorts.
• If formal evenings are not your bag then try the buffet dining or one of the alternative dining spots where the dress code does not apply.

Ashore

• Some destinations are more formal than others and smart casual is more appropriate in Bermuda, Europe or the Far East than in the more relaxed Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexican Riviera.
• Some countries have strict dress codes and ladies may need clothes that will cover both legs and shoulders.
• You'll generally be more warmly welcomed in restaurants and shops if you're dressed tidily.

General

• Pack clothes and accessories you can mix and match.
• Pack shoes for walking ashore and a wrap even for a cruise in the sun as air conditioning onboard can be quite cold.
• You will be provided with a bathrobe for the duration of the cruise on most luxury lines and in suites on the bigger ships.
• Most ships have laundries so you can have your clothes washed or dry cleaned as you go, but this can be costly. Some ships have self-service launderettes.
• Save some room in your suitcase for your shopping and souvenirs.