The dress code for luxury cruises varies by cruise line, by the time of day and by the day of the week. Before you step on-board, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with what your cruise line requires to ensure you’re prepared.

There’s no point packing your dinner jacket or ball gown if your cruise is entirely casual, so read on to find out how the dress codes differ for each luxury cruise line.

Azamara Club Cruises

Azamara Club Cruises Dining

Azamara maintains a sophisticated cruise environment, with their dress code following ‘resort casual’ requirements. This includes:

  • Women – sportswear, casual dresses, skirts, pants and capris, blouses and knit tops.
  • Men – sportswear, collared golf and polo shirts, shorts, pants and a sport coat if desired.

The resort casual allows everyone to be comfortable and relaxed, with advice from the cruise line to pack a sweater or lightweight wind breaker for cooler mornings and evenings. For gym visits, don’t forget your workout gear including trainers or rubber-soled shoes for deck sports, as well as swimwear for taking a dip in the pool.

When visiting the dining room or speciality restaurants, guests are not permitted to wear the following:

  • Bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps, bathing suits, shorts or jeans.

Formal evening wear is not required within the restaurants, though if you choose to dress more formally, this is welcomed on-board!

Celebrity Cruises

Couple dancing - Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises’ dress code varies, with evening chic and smart casual. For daytime wear, Celebrity asks that guests follow the below dress code:

  • Women – Skirt or pants/trousers (no holes, rips or tears) complemented by a sweater or blouse
  • Men – Pant/trousers (no holes, rips or tears) with collared sports shirt or sweater (shirt must have sleeves)

During time in the dining venues, guests are not permitted to wear the following:

  • T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps or pool wear

For sailings of two days or longer, there will be a minimum of one ‘Evening Chic’ evening, which requires the following dress code:

  • Women – Cocktail dress, skirts, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top
  • Men – Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater. Optional sport coat or blazer

This dress code is only relevant on the specific set days on-board your cruise and applies to visits to the main dining room on those nights.

Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises follows a loose dress code for the majority of your time sailing on-board.

Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity

For guests on-board Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, the following dress code applies:

  • All guests – A mix of active resort wear, with dining rooms remaining causal throughout the day.

When dining in the daytime, the following items are not permitted:

  • Swimsuits, cover-ups, robes, baseball caps and denim cutoff shorts

In the evenings, guests are permitted to follow one of two dress codes – Crystal Casual or Black Tie Optional. These are specific to evenings which will be outlined in your daily programme when on-board.

Crystal Casual

This is a dressed-up version of your daytime casual wear and includes:

  • Women – Blouse, sweater, dressy slacks, skirt or dress
  • Men – Open collar shirt, collared polo shirt, button-down shirt, dress shirt (no tie required), dress pants or smart trousers. A sports coat is optional

When you are sailing for seven nights or longer, Crystal Cruises also hosts a Crystal White Extravaganza. The Crystal Casual dress code applies to these events, with suggested white attire.

Black Tie Optional

Black Tie Optional offers guests the opportunity to dress-up a little more formally for a special evening. The dress code for these nights include:

  • Women – Formal cocktail dress, evening gown or dressy evening separates
  • Men – Dark suit with tie or tuxedo

On these evenings, Crystal Cruises requests at least a jacket to be worn by men and a dress, skirt or dress slacks and blouse or sweater to be worn by women. Jeans are not permitted in any dining venues, lounges, the casino or during the Black Tie Optional evenings.

Crystal Esprit

For guests on-board the cruise line’s yacht, Crystal Esprit, the following dress code apples:

  • All guests – Comfortable, stylish yachting attire including tasteful swimwear, sandals and shorts, as well as cover-ups and casual short-sleeve shirts.

In the evenings, Crystal Esprit requires guests to follow the below dress code:

  • Women – Capri pants, blouses, sundresses and sandals
  • Men – Khaki pants, Bermuda shorts, short-sleeve button-down shirts or golf shirts

Hapag-Lloyd

Guests on-board MS Hanseatic

Guests on-board Hapag-Lloyd ships will be met with a casual dress code to adhere to while sailing. During the day, casual dress is recommended with not strict dress code for this time. Each ship seems to run a slightly different dress code, all of which are outlined below:

MS EUROPA and MS EUROPA 2

There is no dress code during the day on-board MS EUROPA and MS EUROPA 2. However, during the evenings, there is specific attire to wear, including:

  • All guests – Formalwear, including suit or jacket with matching trousers for men and corresponding attire for women.

On-board MS EUROPA, guests are recommended to wear formal attire for dinner. There are also a number of gala events on-board, depending on your itinerary. During these events, formal attire is favoured.

On-board MS EUROPA 2, restaurants including Weltmeere, Tarragon, Grande Reserve, Elements and Serenissima recommend smart-casual clothing, with men able to wear a jacket or summer suit if preferred (a tie is not necessary).

MS HANSEATIC and MS BREMEN

During the day, the dress code is casual, whereas in the evenings the cruise line recommends causal-elegant attire.

There are two events – the captain’s dinners – where men are required to wear a suit or jacket and matching trousers, with women wearing corresponding attire.

On-board the MS BREMEN, guests are advised to bring waterproof trousers as there are occasions where the ship will disembark via Zodiac when the ship is at anchor.

HANSEATIC nature and HANSEATIC inspiration

During the day, the dress code is casual, while in the evenings Hapag-Lloyd recommends casual elegant attire.

Oceania Cruises

Oceania evening attire

Oceania Cruises offer a resort or country club casual dress code during the day, with a more restricted dress code during the evenings. Oceania recommends elegant causal resort wear at this time, not permitting the following items to be worn in the restaurants after 6pm:

  • Casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps or tennis shoes

Baseball caps are permitted in the Terrace Cafe after 6pm.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Elegant Casual

Attire varies on-board Regent Seven Seas Cruises, from casual for formal. Casual wear is appropriate for the day time and includes the following items:

  • Resort-style outfits including jeans, shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes

After 6pm, the on-board dress code is Elegant Casual which comprises:

  • Women – Dinner dress including a skirt, slacks with a blouse or sweater, pant suit or dress
  • Men – Slacks and a collared shirt with sports jackets optional

Elegant Causal is required across the ships after 6pm, unless dining in the Pool Grill or Pool Bar or during the final evening of the cruise, when the dress code is relaxed to casual.

On sailings of 16-nights or more, Regent Seven Seas hosts two Formal Optional evenings. During these events, guests are welcomed to dress following the Elegant Casual attire or opt for a more formal choice including gowns or cocktail dresses for women and tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits for men.

Scenic Ocean

Guests on-board Zodiac - Scenic Ocean

Scenic Ocean’s dress code is quite straight-forward, with casual and comfortable dress preferred during the day.

In the evenings, dress is either semi-formal or business casual, with men required to wear a jacket and tie during the captain’s dinner.

Seabourn Cruises

Seabourn

During the day, Seabourn cruises follow a casual, resort-style dress code. This includes shorts and jeans in all lounges and dining venues. Swimwear, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for poolside, in the spa and in the fitness centre only.

After 6pm, there are two dress codes, Elegant Casual and Formal, which are highlighted as follows:

Elegant Casual

This is the standard dress for all dining venues:

  • Women – Slacks/skirt, blouse, pant suit or dress
  • Men – Slacks with a collared dress shirt or sweater

Jeans are welcomed in all dining venues throughout the day but are not deemed appropriate in the Restaurant after 6pm.

Formal

In the Restaurant, there is a specific dress code for guests to follow:

  • Women – Evening gown or other formal apparel
  • Men – Tuxedo, suit or slacks and jacket required

Your itinerary will determine how many of these Formal evenings there are during your voyage, with cruises up to 13 days including at least one Formal evening.

Silversea Cruises

Silversea

Silversea Cruises’ shipboard attire also ranges from casual to formal, with casual appropriate for daytime wear. This include standard sports resort-style outfits and flat or low-heeled shoes.

Evening attire ranges from casual, informal and formal, outlined as follows:

Evening Casual

  • Women – Pants, blouses, skirts and casual dresses
  • Men – Open-neck shirts and slacks

Informal Evenings

  • Women – Dresses or pantsuits
  • Men – Wear jackets (tie optional)

Formal Evenings

  • Women – Evening gown or cocktail dress
  • Men – Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits (tie required)

Throughout your cruise, there are a number of specified Formal Evenings, however should you wish to dress informal, guests can dine in La Terrazza under the informal evenings dress code. This also applies to Seishin and Stars on-board Silver Spirit. Following dinner, all guests are free to visit all public spaces, however a jacket is required. Dining at The Grill is optional casual all nights on-board.

Viking Ocean

Aquavit Terrace - Viking Ocean

Viking Ocean is wholeheartedly relaxed, with loose dress codes in place across each ship. During the day, the dress code is casual including:

  • Shorts, slacks or jeans, and comfy shoes for tours

Swimwear, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the fitness and pool areas and the Sports Deck.

There are no formal nights on-board Viking Ocean, however, evening dress does change to elegant causal across all dining venues (excluding the World Cafe where dress remains casual), performances and special events. During this time, the dress code is as follows:

  • Women – Dress, skirt or slacks with sweater or blouse
  • Men – Trousers and a collared shirt (tie and jacket are optional)

Jeans are not permitted during elegant casual requirements.

Book yourself on-board with SixStarCruises

Couple on-board Seabourn - Seabourn Cruises

If you’d like more advice on any aspect of cruising, our Six Star Cruise Concierge team are on hand to help. Just give us a call on 0808 202 6105 and one of the team will be happy to answer your questions.

Have you sailed with any of the above cruise lines? How did you find the dress code on-board? Let us know in the comment box below!

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Emma Smith
Emma has more than seven years' experience as a writer and has been in the travel industry for nearly five years. She loves learning about new places and cruise ships coming to market, as well as discovering fun and exciting activities to do while you sail. She has cruised with Princess Cruises, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Avalon Waterways and Royal Caribbean and is looking to get something in her diary for 2024! Her favourite things to see on a ship include excellent entertainment, a delicious cocktail menu and extraordinary dining venues.

6 Responses to “Luxury cruise line dress codes”

  1. Danny Sigmon

    Hello Emma Smith,
    Thanks for your beautiful article about a luxury cruise. A cruise journey becomes enjoyable and expensive. But here your discussion helps me more to prepare about the upcoming cruise journey.
    this blog helps me more to ready for that.

    Reply
  2. Tom McIntyre

    Oceania advertises “elegance and the best cuisine at sea”. But In the past 15 years of loyalty to Oceania, my perception is that changes in ownership have deteriorated both aspects. The Line now tries to appeal to a low-brow market where men are more at ease in baseball caps, shorts and sandals and consider a Bar BQ in their back yard as the height of elegance. Some old timers still wear a sports jacket to dinner, but in the past years I have seen more and more in a short-sleeve shirts and shorts at a table hosted by an embarassed officer of the Ship in formal uniform (jacket and tie). Its “country club casual”, dress code, while not at all demanding, is still ignored with the company’s tacit agreement.

    Reply
    • Emma Smith

      Hi Philip, there aren’t any scheduled formal nights on-board Azamara Pursuit. The dress code remains ‘resort casual’. Thanks, Emma.

      Reply
  3. Richard

    Absolutely agree about Oceania dress code
    Never seen as many footjoy golf shirts and unbelievable waterproof jackets in the main dining room after 8 pm
    One lady appeared ever evening in a pair of Nike trainers for dinner
    Seems they are frightened to approach them

    Reply

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