Any woman help with dress code?

[Lyndsey]

Right, I get that the formal nights are dressy- cocktail dress or little black number. But the formal casual, what's that? I'll be 22 when we are cruising and as much as I want to look right I don't ever want to feel uncomfortable because I'm too dressed up or too dressed down!

Please HELP!! I need to start shopping!

[Chase]

Lyndsey,
I felt the same way on my first cruise. I took a little black dress for formal night. I fit right in, the range was so far and wide as far as what people considered formal. There were people in very formal dresses and some in nice dress suits. There was alot of beads and sequence for the ladies and tuxes for the men. I do not believe that you could ever be to dressed up on formal night. Consider it a time to dress up and pamper yourself!

[LisaP]

Hi Lyndsey. Formal-casual, or what some lines call semi-formal or informal (as opposed to casual), covers a wide range. To help narrow it down, one guideline is to wear what you'd wear to a wedding or nice church service.

For example, I'm leaving for a cruise tomorrow, and this is what I've packed for those non-formal evenings. (Keep in mind that I'm early 40s.)

• Floral skirt, turquoise short-sleeved knit top, and low-heeled tan pumps (can't forget the shoes!)
  
• Dark blue pantsuit (jacket and pants), yellow knit top, and those same low-heeled pumps
  
• Dark red/black poly-mix tank, matching jacket, black pants, low-heeled black pumps[/list]This is in addition to the sequined black dress for formal night and sundresses for the casual nights.
  
  These are just ideas, and there are no hard-and-fast rules. EXCEPT -- make sure your shoes are comfortable.
  
  Enjoy shopping... that's my favorite part leading up to the cruise!

[Roscoe]

When we received our cruise documents from Royal Caribbean they recommended what to wear each evening by giving a description of what is appropriate for formal night and the other evenings. They idenitfy how many formal nights (cocktail dresses), smart casual nights (dresses or pantsuits) and casual nights (sundresses or slacks and blouses) you will have on your cruise. This website is also a good resource for getting ideas from people who have cruised before. If you identify which ship you will be on and how many nights, they can give you an idea as to what others wore on that same trip. Have fun.

[worrywart]

Just got back from 7 nights in Greece and Turkey. The formal nights were just as described. You can wear very formal, or something more like a coctail dress.
The other nights, I wore sun dresses and skirts and they were perfect.
Do not get overly stressed about this. There are those that will dress to the nines each night, and there are those that will will do something in between. No matter what you do, someone will underdress you, and it will all be fine.
Have a great time!

[jenny25]

Well I am 28 and I was just on my 1st cruise in June and didn't know what to expect for formal night so I packed everything from prom gowns to cocktail dresses. There were very few women I saw who on the formal nights got into their prom/ ballgown attire. It was mostly cute black cocktail dress (sleevless,halter,strapless ect). Some women even had on very dressy black pants and sparkly,dressy top. I actually wore a very formal gown to one of the formal and actually went up and changed because I felt I was too overdressed Hopefully this helps !!!