Pack Smart: How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe for Travel Cruise
Cruising is my favorite way to travel. You only have to unpack once, and you get to wake up in a different place every day! Aside from gorgeous destinations, the food is always amazing, you meet people from all over the world, and it’s truly a vacation you’ll remember for a lifetime!
The hardest part of preparing for a cruise, especially if it is your first time, is deciding which outfits to pack. Which type of cruise dresses should you bring? What shoes are best for cruises? It can feel overwhelming, but that’s where a capsule wardrobe comes in!
If you haven’t embraced the magic of packing light with stylish, coordinated pieces, now is the best time to start. A well-curated travel capsule wardrobe takes the stress out of travel and makes you feel fabulous. After years of going on cruises, I’ve learned that less is more in terms of travel wardrobes.
Today, I’m sharing some ideas on how to create a great-looking capsule wardrobe for a travel cruise. Think of it as your cruise packing cheat sheet!
printed top | white tee | striped top | halter dress | shirt dress
earrings | tote bag | bracelets | sunglasses | flat sandals | heeled sandals
linen pants | cover up pants | shorts – similar | cover up | swimsuit
Pack Smart: How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe for Travel Cruise
When getting ready for your cruise, it’s important to know which items to prioritize. From casual days by the pool to elegant offshore dinners, your wardrobe needs to be ready for the things you enjoy doing the most.
This post will help you pack all of your necessary pieces without overstuffing your suitcase. By the end, you’ll have a good idea of how to create a light and streamlined capsule wardrobe, making packing a breeze. Remember, you’re on vacation! Looking casually brilliant is perfectly fine here.
Get ready to tweak your chic cruise edition!
A General Guide: What To Wear On A Cruise
Casual Tops
Causal tops are among the most important items for your cruise capsule wardrobe because you will be wearing them often. Lightweight T-shirts and breezy blouses can effortlessly transition you from beach excursions to ship deck lunches.
A twist-knot tee is loose enough to be comfortable and fitted enough to avoid being overly baggy. If you want something a bit more up-scale and elevated, this striped button-front blouse is a sporty choice that adds a stylish pop of color. Floral tops are popular too.
Dressier Tops
For classy dinners or sophisticated excursions, pack 1-2 dressier tops to alternate when necessary. These tops can be more simplistic or neutral-colored with slight embellishments. They work wonderfully with linen pants or lightweight jeans.
This sheer satin top is a stunning sleeveless option, and an elegant blouse is perfect if you’re looking for a top with long sleeves.
Lightweight Sun Dresses
Dresses are a great way to incorporate happy colors and playful patterns into your travel wardrobe. Fortunately, cruises have become much more ‘lax’ than they used to be, which means laid, back light and cheery fabrics are in, gals!
This short blue print sundress is cute, and this one too. Maxi dresses are popular. This longer yellow color block dress is a bit dressier and perfect for dinners on board. Here’s a stunning striped maxi that would be gorgeous by day but especially by evening for dinner with a touch of jewelry.
Summer Shorts
If you’re like me, you tend to be more of a classic dresser than a Boho babe, but it’s fun to mix it up sometimes with shorts and a boho top! More often, I like summer shorts with casual tees and sporty tops.
One of my favorite pairs of shorts are these classy 9” neutral-toned shorts. They’re modest, comfortable, timeless, and don’t look too cute or too masculine.
Versatile Pants
When packing pants for a cruise, you need versatile and comfy pants. Find one or two pairs that will last you the entire cruise and can be worn to create different looks. Linen pants will do the job just fine. Leave the heavy pants and tight-fitting tailored trousers at home!
These striped linen pants are airy, versatile, and super chic. They’re perfect for walking around the boat or siteseeing. If you need something that’s not too casual and not too dressy, try these beachy wide-leg patch-pocket jeans!
Multipurpose Shoes
This one will be hard to swallow, but we have to leave our shoe closet behind when packing for a cruise. Stick to two to three solid colored pairs to match your wardrobe, and make you feel your best! I always take a neutral woven sandal I can walk in, a low heel metallic sandal and a sneaker. (O.k. sometimes I admit I throw in one extra sandal – Lol!) But I never take high heels. They’re just out of place and not comfy unless you plan to wear a formal cocktail dress or gown, which is not often these days on most cruises.
Comfy walking shoes will be your best friend for this trip, and they don’t make them how they used to… (for the best!). Check out this post on the best walking shoes that are comfortable and stylish!
Comfortable walking sandals are great for those moments when you need to slip on a pair and go without sacrificing your style. If you want something to wear with a cute sundress, chunky block heels seamlessly elevate your look without making your feet ache.
Swimsuits and Coverups
I always recommend taking two swimsuits on your cruise: one for excursions and one for lounging around and looking fabulous! Taking two also saves you from having to wear a wet swimsuit if you have been in the water and the next day your swimsuit is still not dry. (yuk!) I usually bring one solid-colored swimsuit to complement my capsule wardrobe and one fun-patterned suit for a little extra tropical pizazz.
And don’t forget a coverup! You can wear a midi skirt sarong, a short cotton sundress coverup, or a maxi coverup—they’re all chic choices.
Evening Wear
Even though cruises tend to be more relaxed and laid-back than they used to be, you still may want to bring a couple at least one elegant outfit. Make sure to check your cruise’s dress code prior to your sail date, just to make sure you aren’t “just in case” packing!
A sleek summery jumpsuit is a fabulous option if you want to look dressed up without feeling overdressed. If your cruise is for adults only, and is more formal, you may need a chic cocktail dress. I suggest something streamlined and refined. Nothing fussy or too overdone with a lot of embellishment.
Handbags
There’s no need for chunky leathers or luxe polyester on a cruise; it’s just not practical!
Leave your serious handbags at home and opt for accessories that match the aesthetic. Straw totes and woven shoulder bags are functional, stylish, and much more suitable for the occasion. I don’t even carry a purse on a cruise unless I’m going ashore, in which case, I usually carry a small crossbody or a tote to carry my swimsuit and beach towel.
off-the-shoulder top | linen button down | no-iron sleeveless top | sleeveless maxi dress | satin maxi dress
earrings | straw bag | bracelets | sunglasses | flip flops | sandals
white linen pants | printed pants | shorts | cover up | swimsuit
How to Create A Cruise Capsule Wardrobe
Step 1: Know Your Agenda
Cruises have many different events and port excursions, so knowing what they are beforehand will help you decide which pieces to bring. Look at your itinerary and scan the events you’ll be attending and the activities you want to participate in. This will save you from packing those “just in case” pieces that you never end up wearing!
Step 2: Choose a Color Palette
Some people like to stick to a neutral, versatile color palette. Blacks, whites, and tans are always important to bring, making it easy to mix and match a variety of pieces. However, suppose you are going on a Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise. In that case, this can become awfully boring pretty fast unless you bring at least a few accent pieces with lively prints, tropical or otherwise, to step it up. This is not a work capsule; it’s a vacation capsule, so if every piece doesn’t mix and match perfectly with everything else, don’t sweat it. It’s fine to bring a few one-offs!
Step 3: Pick Multipurpose Pieces
The trick to a capsule wardrobe is finding pieces that can be dressed up or dressed down. Think of items that can take you from different activities with just a little bit of tweaking so you don’t feel like you have to make an entire wardrobe change. For example, a solid color sundress can be worn with jewelry and cute heeled sandals for a dinner outfit.
Step 4: Bring Versatile Shoe Options
Comfort is key when choosing cruise shoes, but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice style. Bring comfy shoes that are fun, casual, easy to walk in on the ship and in port, and complement the holiday vibe. Your best bet for cruises will be shoes that have rubber soles and low heels. Check out this post on the best walking shoes that will keep you comfy and stylish!
Step 5: Don’t go Overboard with Accessories
Accessories are great, as I mentioned, to transform casual outfits into a more up-level look, but in general, cruises have become super casual. So you don’t need 6 pairs of earrings or 4 belts. These just take up too much room in your suitcase. One to three pairs of earrings, a couple of necklaces, and a bracelet are enough to give you a little sparkle in the evenings and seamlessly elevate your look. Plus, they always sell jewelry on board- real and costume, and that’s pretty hard to resist. Lol!
Cruise Capsule Wardrobe Checklist
Now, you can go ahead and create your cruise capsule checklist. You can create one big capsule or a couple of mini capsules, each with a different color scheme, so you don’t get bored. I like to have two mini capsules if I’m going for over a week! The main thing is to choose things you love that make you feel good, not that are simply nice and practical. Feeling good in your clothes makes a world of difference to how much fun you have on your trip. As I always say, when you look good, you feel good, and life is so much more fun!
Aren’t cruises more exciting when you know how to pack for them? For more cruise advice, check out these posts:
Stylish Ideas for What to Wear on a Cruise,
What to Wear on a Caribbean Cruise Ship
What to Wear on an Alaskan Cruise
What to Wear on a Formal Cruise Night
Make sure you’re keeping up with my LTK storefront to see all of my favorite pieces and catch up on my Amazon live streams where I share some amazing deals. Of course, don’t forget to discuss all of your cruise capsule wardrobe tips and tricks with other age-amazing women in the Fabulous After 40 Dressing Room, which you can join here!