DRESSED TO EXCESS? WHAT WEARS WELL ON A CRUISE THESE DAYS

We're going to take a leap of faith here. Let's assume that you're a couple of a certain age, contemplating taking your first ever cruise, and you're wondering what to pack in terms of clothes. Do you got for the full, over the top formal look, a kind of uber casual vibe, or do you hedge your bets and try and aim for somewhere in the middle? In any event, it need not be the condundrum some people have painted it to be,

Firstly, dress codes have changed dramatically over the last decades. Indeed, many of cruising's 'old guard' claim that they have been all but thrown overboard. Some cruise lines do tolerate what can be perhaps best be described as a lack of sartorial savvy. And yet many love the idea that things are not as stuffy as they once were, too.

Truth is, any decisions on dress are very much a personal thing. While not as formal as it once was, Cunard, for instance, is still somewhere where the men will feel comfortable in a dinner jacket on some nights, with the ladies appropriately swathed in their best glad rags and matching bling. It's partly down to the old transatlantic tradition that still resonates with Cunard passengers of course, but it's by no means compulsory in this day and age, either.

Upscale lines such as Regent and Oceania generally offer more of a 'country club casual' lifestyle of an evening, with jackets and open necked shirts requested for the men (ties optional) and elegant pantsuits for their more fragrant halves. And, as a rule of thumb, this smart but still more open kind of evening wear has proved tremendously popular over the last few years. It's a popular trend that is going to keep on growing.

More mainstream lines such as Norwegian no longer even require men to wear any kind of jacket at night, but the absolute evening 'no no' for most lines remains a no shorts policy in the dining rooms for dinner. Don't be surprised if you see people wearing smart jeans of an evening; these days, the newer, less stringent dress codes of cruise life have become open to some increasingly liberal interpretations.

The main thing to consider is what you feel most comfortable in, and how you want to complement your surroundings. No two people will have the same idea about what is right and wrong here, though most of us would agree that you can safely leave the wife beaters and hair curlers at home for most voyages. Happy travelling.