- No tux required - gone are the days when the majority of men wore tuxes to dinner at least once on a cruise (twice on a 10 day voyage for me in 2010). On our last 10 cruises (all in 2025), we’ve seen a handful of tuxes and gowns, but it was not unusual to see very casual dress at the same Main Dining Room dinners. The message seems to be - wear what you like, even though some nights are tagged “Dress to Impress.”
- Weather - bring layers as the season dictates, unless you plan to stay aboard 24/7. We have more often ended a cruise with unused items (for me, long sleeve dress shirts), rather than coming up short. I don’t mind bringing a water resistant windbreaker jacket, which often goes unused…just in case.
- Winter - the biggest challenge we’ve faced is dressing appropriately, including footwear, in Greenland and Iceland. Hard to believe my unpreparedness, it but I needed to buy a stocking cap in Sweden when I realized I had under-packed, a few days before Iceland. (Pro-tip: When the word “Ice” is in a port destination, consider some “extra” protective gear.)
- Laundry onboard - on a long cruise of over 10 days, it’s very convenient to do a bag of laundry half-way through. We always do laundry on a transatlantic, often very early if we’ve been on vacation the week prior to boarding, e.g., in Tokyo or Europe. Laundry day overseas can be a strategic rest and recovery day, so we don’t mind having a light itinerary about once a week. Onboard laundry can cost about $30 for a grocery bad sized load (roll your shirts and pack them in - we sometimes get two bags of clean clothes returned from our one bag of dirty clothes). In 2025, we began receiving one laundry bag each at no cost for cruises of 5 or more nights (on Royal Caribbean, based upon Diamond Plus status). Alternately, there is usually an advertised discount during the cruise for one day.
- Carry-on and Carry-off - While we usually check a bag or two before boarding, we also roll small bags on to begin our cruises.
- We suggest carrying on a small bag with essentials, including Rx, cash and one change of clothing. If you plan to get some sun, or jump in the pool, a carryon is essential. Your checked bag may not be delivered to your stateroom until dinner or later. (In our experience, most bags are delivered prior to dinner, but cruiselines’ delivery times vary. I’ve needed to retrieve a bag separately without being notified of the reason, and discovered my bag was being held due to the electrical contents. Now, I deal with a heating pad at check-in; my carryon gets pulled for discussion about 50% of the time.)
- If you can carry or roll off All your luggage, you create options for yourself. You can be in an early group if you want to be on your way as early as 7:30 am. Or you can decide last-minute to linger over breakfast and leave after 9:00 am - although you may be requested to vacate your cabin earlier (and wait in a designated area until departure). We have done both, and enjoy the flexibility of deciding how we feel when we wake up - rather than having to put luggage in the hallway the previous evening.