Cruise outfits for men: what to wear each night of a week at sea
Seven nights on board, two of them formal. What smart casual and a formal night ask of you on six cruise lines, what goes in the suitcase, and where your swim short may go on the ship.
In this article
What the ship asks of you
Cruise outfits for men follow the clock: swim shorts at the pool by day, smart casual in the evening (a collared shirt, long trousers) and a suit or dinner jacket on a formal night. A week at sea has two of those nights on Holland America and Royal Caribbean; Cunard asks for a dinner jacket or a dark suit.
What does the ship mean when the Daily Program says "smart casual" over tonight, and what does "formal" mean for your suitcase? Holland America puts each night's attire in the Daily Program and in the Navigator app. If you know up front which nights those are, you can hang everything in your cabin wardrobe in one go on the first evening.
What do you wear on each night of a cruise week?
Five evenings of smart casual and two formal nights. Holland America Line calls them Dressy Nights and usually puts them on the first full day and the second-to-last evening, never on embarkation day or the final night.
Smart casual, nights 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7A collared shirt and slacks, which Holland America requires in all its fine dining restaurants. Shorts, pool and beachwear, distressed jeans and tank tops stay out of its table service restaurants.
Dressy Night, nights 2 and 6A suit or a jacket from your own suitcase: Holland America does not provide formal wear. A jacket and tie is preferred in the fine dining restaurants, nobody is turned away without them, and a tuxedo has never been required.
What should a man pack for a week on a cruise?
Pack the way the wardrobe hangs: two outfits for the formal nights, five for the evenings between them, and swim shorts for every day. Our linen shirt guide shows how to wear the white shirt by day; what the beaches ashore need is in the beach vacation packing list.
- Nights 2 and 6: a suit or a jacket. A second white shirt makes the second formal night look different from the first.
- Nights 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7: two pairs of trousers and three collared shirts. Enough for five evenings if you wear one shirt twice.
- Every night: proper shoes. Royal Caribbean does not allow bare feet in any venue, and Holland America asks for footwear indoors.
- Breakfast and lunch: shorts and a few T-shirts. "Shorts are welcome for breakfast and lunch," writes Royal Caribbean.
- The pool deck: swim shorts for seven days. Holland America ships have no self-service laundry rooms, only a laundry service you pay for, so pack a pair for each wet day or rinse them by hand as in our swim trunks washing guide.
What is the dress code on a cruise formal night?
It depends on the line, and on the name it gives the night. Cunard is the strictest: a Gala Evening asks for a dinner jacket, a tuxedo or a dark suit with a tie or bow tie. P&O, Royal Caribbean and MSC name a tie too. Holland America prefers a jacket and tie on its Dressy Nights and has never required black tie.
| Cruise line | Smartest night | What you wear |
|---|---|---|
| Cunard | Gala Evening | Dinner jacket or tuxedo, or a dark suit with a tie or bow tie; no jeans. Roughly two to three a week |
| P&O Cruises | Black Tie | A dinner jacket or tuxedo is preferred; a dark suit with a tie is accepted |
| Royal Caribbean | Dress Your Best | "Your best black-tie look": a suit and tie or a tuxedo. Two nights on a sailing of 6 to 10 nights |
| Holland America Line | Dressy Night | Jacket and tie preferred in the fine dining restaurants, but nobody is turned away without them; collared shirt and slacks required there; black tie never required. Two nights on a cruise of 7 to 13 days |
| MSC Cruises | Gala Night | Tuxedo, or a suit and tie; no swimwear, flip-flops or tank tops in the restaurants. Up to two a week |
| Costa Cruises | No fixed gala on its clothing page | A casual style at dinner, something elegant for a romantic evening |
Holland America answers the question you probably have in one line, and its dining dress code FAQ says where each night's attire is listed, in the Daily Program and the Navigator app:
Black tie or tuxedos have never been required.
Holland America Line, clothing FAQ, accessed November 2026
Can you wear swim shorts outside the pool deck on a cruise?
On the pool deck, anywhere. One deck down the rules part: Holland America lets you walk to the buffet in a shirt or cover-up, Royal Caribbean does not.
Sea day or port day: which swim shorts do you wear?
That depends on the day, not on the cruise line. On a sea day you get no further than the pool deck. On a port day you walk down the gangway with your cabin card and maybe have lunch ashore, where no cruise line has a say about your clothes.
- Where you are
- Sun lounger, hammock and pool, on the same deck all day
- What the short must do
- Swim, and hold up through hours of lying around, with a waistband that gives
- The short
- Venice Tequila: luxury cord in a stretch waistband, classic fit, a small inside pocket for coins
- Where you are
- On the quay, on a terrace, at a beach near the port
- What the short must do
- Pass for ordinary shorts under a polo, and keep your cabin card safe
- The short
- Tampa Solid Flamingo Pink: tailored, with a zip and adjustable buckles, and a back pocket that closes with a zip
The cabin card is the one thing you cannot lose ashore, and in the Tampa from Sanwin Beachwear it goes in the zipped back pocket. Tampa sizes are your waist in inches, from 30 to 38, and the shorts run small: between two sizes, take the larger. You find the plain colours and stripes of that model in the Tampa collection, and the ice creams, cocktails and other prints in the Venice collection.
Before you walk up the gangway
Is the first night of a cruise formal?
On Holland America never: Dressy Nights do not fall on embarkation day or on the final night. On a one-week cruise the first one usually comes on the first full day. On Royal Caribbean the ship decides.
How many formal nights does a cruise have?
That depends on the length. Holland America counts in days: none under 4 days, 1 for 4 to 6 days, 2 for 7 to 13, 3 for 14 to 20 and 4 for 21 to 28 days. Royal Caribbean counts in nights: 1 for 5 nights, 2 for 6 to 10, 3 for 11 to 14 and 3 to 4 from 15 nights, and the ship may differ. Cunard has roughly two to three Gala Evenings a week, and MSC up to two Gala Nights.
Do you need a tuxedo on a cruise?
Not on Holland America, which has never required one; it prefers a jacket and tie on Dressy Nights but does not turn anyone away without them. A suit and tie does the job on Royal Caribbean, and P&O accepts a dark suit with a tie, though it prefers a dinner jacket. On Cunard a dark suit with a tie or bow tie is an alternative to the dinner jacket.
Can you wear shorts to dinner on a cruise?
On most lines not. Holland America keeps shorts out of its table service restaurants, and MSC keeps swimwear, flip-flops and tank tops out of its restaurants. Royal Caribbean calls shorts welcome at breakfast and lunch.
Can you rent a suit on board?
Not on Holland America: the line does not provide formal wear. Bring your own suit or jacket.
I sail in a few weeks. Will a swim short arrive in time?
Yes, if you order before you pack. Order before 2 pm on a working day and your parcel ships the same day from the Netherlands. Delivery takes 3 to 7 working days within Europe and 6 to 14 to the United States and Canada. Within Europe shipping is free from two items; for the United States and Canada the number of items does not count, and the threshold is on the shipping page. If the fit is wrong, you have 100 days to choose another size or credit, as long as the short is unworn, has not been in the water, and still has the hygiene strip and labels.
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