Dress/etiquette for Meditterean cruise?

[ItsMeDebie]

We have cruised several times, all caribbean destinations. As one would imagine, the vibe on the ship and dining is rather casual. Our next adventure takes us on the Liberty out of Barcelona, and i want to be sure to pack appropriately. Can I assume there will be fewer kids/young families on this cruise? And, what type of clothes should we bring for shore activities? I assume that modest tops, no sleeveless shirts or short shorts, and more focus on dressier outfits for dinners?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice! I would like to represent the USA with a bit of class.

 

Debie

[newlifeca]

I've sailed out of Barcelona, yes Caribbean is more casual, but the Med cruise is not much different. Bring what you're comfortable with. Most likely you'll be cruising with people from all over Europe, USA, etc. there will be no one style of dress. My recommendation is to bring what you like and not worry about what you're "supposed" to bring.

 

Have a great trip!

[davidcraig2003]

I'd say its more or less the same, evenings are perhaps more formal. But as far as no sleeveless tops/short shorts, this only really applies for visiting churches. Outwith religious sights, and whilst onboard, I'd put money on you seeing some shocking skimpy outfits! Including males wearing things you would never imagine.

(I'm European, I'm not saying this validates what I said, just incase anyone thought I was insulting other cultures)

[uofaboie]

hi debbie i just saw your post ill be on the liberty out of barcelona on may 9th,,its getting close :),,when are you sailing,,,this will be by first med cruise,,,im sooooooo looking forward to it :)

 

Marcus

[VanessaM]

Hi Debbie

 

We went on a Med cruise last yr, but out of Italy. I would agree that the dress is less casual than the cruises in the Caribbean. We went towards the end of May and there was few kids, but school was not out yet.

 

As you already know, these cruises are very port intensive. There is a lot of exploring and walking. Make sure you have very comfortable shoes--flip flops will not cover it. If you're going to ruins the grounds are usually rocky and uneven.

 

Also, as mentioned above, many churches will not allow you in if your shoulders and knees are not covered--even for men. Capris were a great solution for these days. I also carried a scarf in my bag since some of the churches required women to have a head covering.

 

Depending on where you are going, I would suggest you pack some granola bars or other snack foods, as well as, a reusable water bottle in your luggage so you can take with you on some of your excursions. Some of the places we went were very remote and there was no food of any kind around. My husband thought I was crazy for packing food in our luggage when we were going on a cruise. Seemed almost like an oxymoron! Boy was he happy on those days when I pulled out our honey and oat bars!

Lastly, have a fantastic time and enjoy it.

[emilymad]

Would you expect MTD to also be more formal that what you would find in the Caribbean? Even on casual, ie non formal, nights?

[newaggieparents]

We have found on Med cruises that people dress more formally on formal night. We saw many more tuxes than on Caribbean cruises. In addition on casual nights in the dining room it was mainly nice shirts or polos with slacks for the guys and nice slacks or dresses or skirts for the ladies. We rarely saw the "sloppy look" of torn jeans or shorts in the dining room that is often seen on Caribbean cruises.

[ItsMeDebie]

Hi, Marcus! We are sailing Aug 13. So excited!

 

Vanessa -good to know! Will pack granola bars and our comfy keen walking shoes, plus water containers. There are some very cool flat ones available lately.

[zoncom]

Remember first time I went to Europe on boat I wore tropical dress, short shorts and bold colors. Also remember the Euro ladies staring me down. So no white gymshoes, short shorts or flashy dress. They wear really dark clothes even in summer.Capris and thick soled walking shoes will work. It seems all of Europe now wears jeans too.

[dln929]

My relatives by marriage are English. Last year my brother- and sister-in-law took the Voyager cruise that went to Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Florence, etc. They brought their two children and their spouses along with them (all in their mid-twenties).

 

You should have seen how dolled up they were for dinner! Gowns and fancy cocktail dresses for my SIL and nieces that were just drop-dead gorgeous. I saw those photos and for the first time in my life, I wanted to go on a cruise. No joke. They looked beautiful. My BIL and nephews all wore nice suits.

 

Now, I forgot to ask them if those photos were taken on the two formal nights but I'm guessing they probably were.

 

The funny things was that the photo album my niece sent me also had photos of their shore excursions. They were all wearing totally casual, comfortable clothing for those days--shorts, t-shirts, sneakers, etc. It was like night and day from their dress-up wardrobe!

[Happy ks]

I wouldn't say that casual nights were dressier than any other cruise, but formal nights were. I was thinking it was likey that more men rented tuxes to save on packing space. That is what we did and it worked out fine. I did take 3 cocktail dresses, one for each night and if I went again, I'd cut it down to 2, wearing the first one again with different accessories.

 

What I did notice (our cruise was 13 nights) was that people were wearing the same clothing multiple times. The ship was smaller than the ones coming out today (RCI Legend) and you were a bit more aware of your fellow pax. It made me feel like I was right in step with everyone else, using the laundry service so we could pack lighter. I packed for 7 days and we were gone 19 days.

[PeaPod1946]

Debie may have already left but for benefit of others - I just got back from 4-night Royal Carribean med. cruise on Liberty (Barcelona, Villefrenche, Palma de Mallorca), and I found it to be casual everywhere. Even on formal night I saw many jeans/shirts or sweaters. I was originally going to skip formal night as I didn't want to haul a dress, but we had such a good table right by the window I didn't want to miss even one night so I wore black slacks & black sweater and it was fine.

 

However there were many many children on board this particular cruise as evidently this was a "holiday" week in Europe, and we were also at the 6:30 (an earlier) dining, so maybe one of these factors made a difference.

 

Out & about the ship in the evening I did notice that people seemed more dressed up for the later dining times but still, I would be hard pressed to say anybody was even "formal" - saw very few gowns and tuxes.

 

This is in contrast to a Celebrity cruise that was semi-caribbean (Key West, Grand Cayman) where on formal night people were really dressed up, so maybe it was also a cruise line difference.

 

I would also say about 80% of the people in Barcelona were wearing jeans during the day (stylish jeans, not a lot of baggy Levis, but still jeans), tennies, saw some shorts although it was cool so we probably would have seen more. I wished I would have brought a 2nd pair of jeans and skipped a pair of capris, but maybe not in warmer months.

 

I did notice Liberty had on the last night "British Casual" I didn't know what this meant.

[MAHA]

Would white athletic shoes be fine for the day while touring? I know that there is a lot of walking with many cobblestone streets. I need something that is supportive of my feet, not allowing rubbing or blisters as I have diabetes. I also have a narrow to slim width foot, which narrows the shoe selection a lot.

[cb at sea]

Unless you're planning to visit a bunch of churches, wear what you like. It's not the countries that are "prudish"...it's the churches! If you don't plan on checking them out....anything you'd wear anywhere else will do. Europeans are not "body shy"!