What to wear on a Mediterranean cruise – My 6 top tips

Deciding what to pack for a Mediterranean cruise is all part of the fun, but you can’t just pop into the nearest trendy boutique for anything you forget. Here are my 6 top tips for what to wear on a Mediterranean Cruise, based on my own experience and some advice from my blogger friends too.

For my recent Mediterranean cruise, I knew I’d need clothes for sightseeing, an outfit or two for dinner and perhaps something more dressy for formal nights. Then I might be relaxing on the sun-deck, trying out the spa or making time to visit the gym to work off all that delicious food. And of course I do like to travel light. Who wants to be lugging heavy cases around?

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Tip 1 – Check the weather forecast

When considering what to pack for a Mediterranean cruise in May, I knew it should be the perfect temperature for sightseeing. I was hoping for warm sunny days with cooler evenings.

However, living in England where the weather is so changeable I’ve learned never to take sunshine for granted. So the week before our cruise I checked the weather forecast for the coming week in the destinations we would be visiting.

My mobile has a handy weather app for the 7 day outlook. Another website Weather2Travel.com was also useful to check the typical temperature and rainfall for that month. I learned that the weather was likely to be in the 22-25 degree celsius range, cooling down at night.

So I didn’t expect blistering heat and knew I’d definitely need a jumper in the evenings. In the end we had sunny days for most of the week. However there were a few showers as we arrived back in Barcelona, so I was glad I’d packed my rain jacket.

Blogger tips – What to pack for a Mediterranean cruise

Danielle Fear of Cruise Miss says;

“A light jacket during the spring time is also a must! The Mediterranean is warm but evenings can still get a little chilly and you want to be prepared just in case a sharp shower is forecast. Remember to also take a light cardigan or scarf with you when ashore “

Gary Bembridge from Tips for Travellers says;

“Even on warm itineraries in season in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, it can get chilly at night on deck or in the mornings on excursions. Plan to wear layers that you can easily peel off and always include a layer to cope with downpours even if a small folding umbrella or lightweight rain poncho.”

Tip 2 – Consider the activities you’ll be doing

I thought about what to pack for a 7 day Mediterranean cruise and decided that my wardrobe would need to cover four different types of activity.

• clothes for sightseeing
• relaxing on board around the pool
• dressing up for dinner
• a couple of outfits for formal nights.

As we’d be visiting a different destination every day and we like to be pretty active, I packed comfortable but smart city trainers and some pretty flip flops for time on board.

My sightseeing wardrobe consisted of pretty t-shirts and cut-off trousers. But I also packed some vest tops like the orange linen Eileen Fisher top I’m wearing in the photo below for time around the pool. For the evening I packed a couple more dressy tops and my white jeans that would mix and match with my daytime wardrobe.

For a formal night I decided to forego the ball gown as I knew that things are quite relaxed on MSC cruises. Instead I packed a lovely sparkly top from Eileen Fisher as well as my silky Joseph Ribkoff evening cover-up that would make a simple outlook look a lot more glamorous.

You may also enjoy: Norwegian Encore review: a fun cruise experience from Norwegian Cruise Line

Blogger Tips – What to wear on a Mediterranean Cruise

Danielle Fear of Cruise Miss says;

“I can’t pack for a Mediterranean cruise without a pair of pretty flip-flops. They are ideal for both ashore and onboard and if I forgot to pack them I would go into meltdown. One thing I would highly recommend for your Mediterranean adventure is a comfortable pair of shoes or sandals. There is so much to see and do and trust me, you won’t want to miss any of it.”

Tip 3 – Pack versatile clothes that work with each other

One of the secrets of packing light, I’ve learned, is to limit your wardrobe to just one colour scheme per trip. This works well for long weekends where you want to travel with just a small bag. But for the week’s cruise I allowed myself a couple of different colour schemes for my Mediterranean cruise outfits.

For most sightseeings days I stuck to shades of beige, cream and soft pink. For evenings and days on board I teamed orange tops with white or black trousers. The same black trousers could double for evening wear when teamed with a more dressy top.

Take a look at the photos below to see how I stuck to one colour scheme so that I could mix and match different tops with the same pair of trousers.

Blogger Tips

Emma Masson, freelance travel writer says;

“My biggest tip for Mediterranean cruising is to keep it simple. Pack dresses you can wear for dinner and then again during the day sightseeing. Stick to one colour tone and you’ll be able to mix and match all your accessories, bags and shoes to make outfits look and feel completely different.”

Donna Hull from My Itchy Travel Feet says;

“When packing for a cruise, I ask myself, “Can this item be worn at least twice?” If I answer no to the question, then that particular clothing item goes back in the closet. And when I say twice, I don’t mean repeating the same outfit. Using separates, I mix and match clothing items to create many outfits from a small selection of clothing. It’s challenging but fun.”

Tip 4 – Respect the local culture

You’ll have a better travel experience if you are sensitive to the culture of the places you visit. I wince when I see ladies wearing shorts and vest tops in a Muslim country where conservative dress is the norm.

As I enjoy sightseeing there’s a good chance I’ll end up looking around a beautiful old church. Even in Europe it’s considered respectful to cover your shoulders and knees when visiting religious sites.

We planned to visit Tunis on our Mediterranean cruise, so I made sure to pack a top that was appropriate for the more conservative dress in a Muslim society. My Eileen Fisher orange linen top was cool and elegant, yet covered me in all the right places. Elbow length sleeves, no cleavage, no shoulders or knees on show and you will avoid getting attention of the wrong kind.

Blogger Tips

Danielle Fear of Cruise Miss says;

“Ladies, always pack a pair of ¾ casual trousers and should you wish to enter any religious sites then you do need to ensure your shoulders and knees are covered. “

Sarah Lee from Live Share Travel says;

“A pashmina is a fantastic accessory, which you can use throughout your cruise – to cover shoulders for formal dinners, maintain discreet dress if you should visit a religious site, or to protect against those sea breezes “

Tip 5 – Dressing up is fun, but check the dress code first

On cruises I’ve learned that different cruise lines have quite different approaches to formal nights. Of course we Brits love to make an occasion of dressing up, with glamorous gowns and Black Tie for the men. But some of our American and Aussie friends would happily go to dinner in shorts.

The MSC Cruises dress code is geared for the European dress sense. This is elegant but possibly not as formal as some of the Cruise lines that have a lot of UK guests. My tip is to check the formal dress guidelines on the cruise company website or with your cruise agent. You’ll know where you need to be in the glamour stakes.

Formal dress code for men

Sometimes the websites don’t make it completely clear. In this case head for the discussion boards on sites like Cruise Critic where you’ll generally find some useful guidance. Based on this, Guy decided not to pack his dinner jacket since our suitcase space was limited, but to go for a blazer and smart trousers that he could wear every evening.

His decision proved to be sound, since I saw very few tuxedos being worn on board. There were none even on the gala evenings where the norm was a smart suit and tie. Rather than pack my cocktail dress I went for my sparkly top for the gala evenings. I wore my evening cover-up on other evenings when I wanted to dress up.

Blogger Tips

Gary Bembridge from Tips for Travellers says;

“Every cruise line has their own approach to what people should wear on board – as well as the extent they enforce them. For example, Cunard have a strict dress code around “formal” and “informal” nights. Men will be expected to wear black tie and jackets and ladies cocktail dresses and smart separates on those respective nights. However, lines like Disney can allow shorts to be worn on some cruises at dinner time. “

Ana Silva from Mrs O Around the World says;

“Pack cocktail dresses to add a bit of old-school glamour to your cruising experience. Pick some that travel well. No need for crazy heels – simple flats will do and will get you in a Med state of mind. “

Enjoy the glamour!

Emma and Keri from Ladies What Travel say;

“Getting glammed up for the formal dinner nights on our MSC Cruise was great fun and a fantastic part of the cruising experience. The dress code ranged from casual to cocktail and the newsletter delivered to our cabin gave us all the info for that evening. So pack yourself a posh frock – ideally one that doesn’t crease too much – and enjoy.”

Liz Jarvis from The Mum Blog says;

“The Swarovski-studded staircases on board set the tone – MSC is a very glamorous, very Italian cruise line. In the evening, guests dress up for dinner and do that European thing of promenading, so I would definitely take a few gorgeous dresses.”

Tip 6 – Travel crease free

On some cruise ships I’ve been on there were laundry rooms for guests to wash, dry and iron their clothes. However, I was surprised to find that there was not even a facility to iron creased clothes on board MSC Splendida. Of course there is the laundry service which you have to pay for).

However, it didn’t really matter as I had employed my top tip for packing crease free, which is to roll rather than fold your clothes. Pack them tightly into the case, then shake them out and hang them up immediately you get on board.

Obviously it also helps if you select clothes from your wardrobe which are made of crease resistant fabrics, like my lovely Joseph Ribkoff evening cover-up below. I reckon I could have screwed up in my case and it would still have come out looking elegant and crease-free.

Blogger Tip

Zoe Dawes from The Quirky Traveller says:

“I have a full length black dress in jersey with short sleeves which is my absolute favourite for cruises. Dress it up with pretty necklace or colourful scarf and high heels or casual with flat pumps. It rolls up and never creases.”

More articles in my Mediterranean Cruise series

Join me on a week’s Mediterranean cruise with MSC cruises
All aboard at Barcelona – Day 1 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Bonjour Marseille – Day 2 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Palazzo and Gelato in Genoa – Day 3 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Naples and an excursion to Pompeii – Day 4 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Messina and an excursion to Taormina – Day 5 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
Tunis and Carthage – Day 6 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise
A day at sea and back to Barcelona – Day 7 of my MSC Mediterranean Cruise

Thanks to MSC cruises who hosted* Guy and Heather’s Mediterranean cruise. Heather and Guy travelled on MSC Splendida from Barcelona on a 1 week cruise calling at Genoa, Marseille, Naples, Messina, Tunis. For more information, visit the MSC Cruises website. Thanks to Eileen Fisher and Joseph Ribkoff for providing me with some lovely things to wear on my cruise.

* More info on my policies page

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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