Cruise Dresses & Cruise Wear for Women

The hard part of packing for a cruise is not the clothes. It is that your ship uses words like "cruise elegant" and "smart casual" without telling you what they mean, and you find out you got it wrong on the first night. So this page is organised by dress code rather than by silhouette, with actual dresses named against each one. $78 to $398, sizes XS to 3XL.

Sea days and port days — resort casual

The loosest code on the ship, and the one you will wear most. A dress over swimwear, something you can walk a port in, nothing that needs managing.

Kaftans are the easiest thing on a hot deck because nothing touches your waist: Taj Orange and Duchess Red, $298 each. Cotton poplin maxis hold their shape through a full day and go straight over swimwear — yellow, pink and black, $298. For walking a port: Bagh Orange Shirt Dress ($228) or Marrakech ($298). The Unisex Beach Shirt and Floral Shirt ($158) work as cover-ups over anything.

Dinner — smart or elegant casual

Most lines use this for most evenings. It means no swimwear, no flip-flops, no shorts in the main dining room — a printed midi clears the bar comfortably and does not look like you tried too hard.

Pink & Purple Printed Wrap Midi ($258), Sophie Green ($255), Louis Halter ($238), Noor Colour Block ($278), Mehtab Ombre ($298) and Casablanca Hot Pink Pinstripe ($298). If the restaurant runs cold, Begum Burgundy ($288) has long sleeves built in.

Formal night, gala and cruise elegant

This is the one people get wrong, usually by under-dressing. Who What Wear's resort dress code guide sets the range plainly: for formal nights, anything from a maxi dress to an evening gown will do. Floor length is always safe; a knee-length cocktail dress usually is too.

Floor-length: Gia Black Maxi ($378), Gaia Pink Maxi ($368), Hera Black One-Shoulder ($358), Habibi Halter ($358), Marquis Royal Blue with embroidery ($328) and Mumtaz Orange Halter ($328).

Shorter, for a cocktail-coded evening: Alice Black Sparkle Off-Shoulder ($298) or Opal Black Wrap ($378). Who What Wear's cocktail attire guide is right that a floor-sweeping gown is not the move at a cocktail event — stay between mini and midi and you are correct.

If you only pack one formal piece, make it the Zoe Jacket Dress ($358). The jacket structure means you do not need a wrap for air conditioning, which is the thing most people forget about ships.

The three mistakes people make packing for a cruise

Packing for the weather, not the air conditioning. Ship interiors run cold. Every evening dress needs a layer, and a jacket dress or a dress with sleeves solves it without an extra item.

Packing one dress per night. A seven-night cruise does not need seven dresses. Two daytime pieces, two that cross over with a change of shoes, and one formal covers it. Who What Wear's cruise essentials list and Caribbean packing guide both make the same argument for one-and-done dresses.

Ignoring the hanging space. Cabin wardrobes are small and there is no iron in the room on most lines. Cotton poplin and scuba knit both come out of a case ready; silk and linen do not. If you are taking linen, take a wrinkle spray.

What your cruise line actually means

The terminology varies by line, which is why I wrote it out properly. What is cruise elegant attire defines the middle tier that causes most of the confusion, what to wear on a cruise is the general guide, what to wear on a luxury cruise maps each major line from SeaDream's resort casual to Cunard's Gala evenings, and the best maxi dresses for a cruise covers the formal end.

If the words themselves are the problem: resort casual, decoded and what resort wear actually means. For packing, the resort wear packing guide. Port stop in Mexico? What to wear in Cabo.

Sizing

Sizes run XS (US 00–0) to 3XL (US 22–24), and availability varies by style because each print is a short run — the size selector on each product page shows what is in stock, and the price shown there is what you pay at checkout. Kaftans and wraps are the most forgiving if you are between sizes, and the most comfortable after a week of ship food.

Our models are 5'8"–5'9", so a maxi photographed brushing the floor will pool on a 5'4" frame — worth checking before formal night. Check the size chart, and any style can be made to your measurements for $50 to $100 above retail, length included. For 1X to 3X availability now, see plus size resort wear.

Cottons and linens: machine wash cold, hang dry. Scuba knits need no ironing at all. Free US shipping on orders over $250. Afterpay available. Ships from Scottsdale, Arizona.

Where to go next

By trip: resort wear · vacation dresses · beach dresses · tropical prints · resort evening wear
By port: Cabo and Mexico · Amalfi Coast
By length: maxi · midi · mini
By style: kaftans · wrap dresses · cover-ups · new arrivals

Cruise dress questions

What is cruise elegant attire?

The middle tier between smart casual and formal, used by lines including Princess and Holland America. For women it means a cocktail dress, a dressy midi or a maxi — not a ball gown, but more than a sundress. A printed midi with a heel clears it comfortably.

What do you wear on a cruise formal night?

A floor-length maxi or an evening gown is always correct; a knee-length cocktail dress is usually accepted. Check whether your line calls it formal, gala or cruise elegant, as the bar differs. Bring a layer — dining rooms are air conditioned hard.

How many dresses do I need for a seven-night cruise?

Five, if they cross over: two daytime, two that shift from day to evening with a change of shoes, and one formal. Add a kaftan as a cover-up. Two pairs of shoes, one flat and one dressy, covers every occasion on board.

What is not allowed in a cruise ship dining room?

Most lines refuse swimwear, bare feet, flip-flops, and shorts in the main dining room at dinner. Casual buffet venues are more relaxed. The rules are strictest on the formal and gala evenings, and enforcement is real — people do get turned away.

What fabrics travel best on a cruise?

Cotton poplin and scuba knit. Both come out of a case ready to wear, and most cabins have no iron. Silk and linen both wrinkle in transit; take a wrinkle spray if you pack them. Cabin wardrobe space is tight, so pieces that hang flat are worth more than pieces that fold small.

Can you wear the same dress twice on a cruise?

Yes, and almost everyone does. Change the shoes, add or remove a jacket, and the dress reads differently. That is the whole argument for buying fewer, better pieces for a trip rather than one dress per night.

What should I wear to a cruise port day?

Something you can walk several miles in and that covers your shoulders, since many ports include churches or temples with coverage rules. A cotton shirt dress or a midi with a light layer handles both. Flat shoes you have already broken in.