How Formal is a Cunard Cruise? Here’s Everything You Need to Know!

Before I took my first Cunard cruise, I really wasn’t sure what to expect on the topic of dress codes. I had researched the ships, the onboard experiences and the ports, but I was still scratching my head when it came to ‘what to pack’ to wear on my Cunard cruise. Before we jump into this article, of course dress codes are an incredibly personal viewpoint. What one person feels comfortable in might be another’s worst nightmare. I’m hopeful that I can use my own experiences to perhaps put your mind at ease, as you prepare to board your chosen ship.

When you cruise with Cunard, there are some ‘rules’ in force that all passengers must comply with in order to enjoy all of the venues onboard, particularly in the evenings onboard. In this article, I’m going to explain to you how the dress code policies work onboard, when you need to comply, when you’re more flexible to wear ‘whatever you want’ (within reason!), and I’ll also explain how many formal evenings you should expect per cruise. I’ll then move on to tell you about the theme nights that Cunard offer onboard, so that hopefully you’ll be fully equipped for your future trip onboard one of these beautiful ships.

If you’d like to watch a video on this topic instead of read this page, then you absolutely can! I’ve created a YouTube video on this topic, and I’ve provided the link below. If you’re on YouTube, I’d massively appreciate your support over there by giving the video your ‘thumbs up’, and also by clicking subscribe to my channel.

Over the last few years, I’ve cruised on Queen Elizabeth, Queen Anne and the iconic Queen Mary 2. At the point of writing this piece, Queen Victoria remains on my ‘to cruise’ list, but I’m hopeful that I may be able to cruise onboard this Queen in the short term, at which point I’ll be able to say that I’ve experienced the entire fleet!

So, when does the dress code apply on a Cunard cruise?

The good news here is that the dress codes only really apply after 6pm on a Cunard cruise. That means that you’re able to wear whatever you want for the rest of your time onboard. My advice here is that general daytime dress on a Cunard cruise is exactly the same as it would be on any other ship out there from any cruise line.

You could choose to wear shorts and t-shirt, or maybe you’d feel more comfortable in a casual shirt during the day. In short, you don’t need to ‘dress up’ at all during the day - it’s essentially ‘resort casual’. In other words, if you’d wear it walking around a hotel on holiday, it’ll be absolutely fine to walk around the ship in! The only real ‘rule’ that applies to during the day is that swimwear isn’t permitted in any indoor dining area, so you’ll need to change before you go for lunch in the dining room. If you’re planning to head to the buffet for lunch though, you’ll be fine to cover up before you go in there - no need for a full change.

Planning to eat at the buffet? You’ll just need to cover up if you’ve been poolside.

In short, dress as you wish during the day. What you’d wear on any cruise line will be absolutely fine on your Cunard cruise! 

Do you need to ‘dress up’ on your Cunard cruise?

This is probably the most frequently asked question when I meet people who have never cruised with Cunard. I meet so many people who aren’t formal people, and they really don’t like the idea of dressing up, and they haven’t cruised with this line due to the overly formal perception.

The good news for any of these people is that you don’t NEED to dress up on a Cunard cruise - there are options available for you if you’d rather remain more casual in the evening, although I do need to stress that these are in the minority. Venues like the onboard buffet, the Golden Lion Pub and the Casino usually have more relaxed dress requirements, although lots of formally dressed passengers will be in these venues, so it might be worth thinking about this…

Most of the venues onboard will be reserved for use by those who are complying with the dress code, so yu may feel fairly limited in terms of where you can go to spend time in the evening if you’re not wearing the ‘correct’ level of dress.

Don’t want to dress formally? That’s okay - you’ll be welcome at a few venues onboard, including the Golden Lion pub!

Of course, you can always have room service and relax in your stateroom - I’ve done this before, especially when on longer cruises. There’s something really relaxing about staying in your cabin, often in your pyjamas, and enjoying dinner and a movie when you know the rest of the ship is dressed formally and socialising in a ballroom. Perhaps that’s the introvert that lurks inside me…!

So, what’s the story on a Cunard cruise after 6pm when it comes to expected dress?

On a Cunard cruise, there are two different dress codes that will apply on the different evenings. The first is referred to as ‘Smart Attire’, with the other being called ‘Gala Evening Attire’. These are both very different dress codes, so hopefully my explanation here will help you to plan for your cruise! Regardless of which is in effect, they will always come into force from 6pm in the evening.

In order to properly understand the differences between these, let’s look at each in more detail. 

Starting with ‘Smart Attire’, you’ll find that this will apply on most nights of your cruise. On Cunard’s website, they recommend that your outfits for this dress code are similar to what you’d wear to a fine restaurant or to the theatre if you were ‘on land’. Based on what I’ve seen on the three Cunard ships that I’ve cruised on so far, I’d absolutely agree with this, and would say this is an accurate description of how people dress for the ‘Smart Attire’ evenings.

For the ‘Smart Attire’ dress code, if you’d wear it to to the theatre, it’ll be absolutely fine to wear onboard!

For Ladies, think cocktail dresses or suits - maybe even what some people might wear for workplaces where business dress is required. Things like trouser suits and blazers will also be absolutely fine under this dress code. For Gentlemen, you don’t need to wear a full tux for the Smart Attire dress code - you can save that for your Gala Evening Attire, which we’ll get to shortly.

Instead, think thinks like trousers and a shirt, and you might also want to wear a jacket - but this isn’t a requirement. I felt more than comfortable wearing smarter chinos and a shirt for my ‘Smart Attire’ evenings - lots of people opted to wear smarter suit trousers, so it’s entirely up to you - whatever you feel most comfortable in, or whatever you own! The reason I opted for chino-style trousers was that, at the point of taking my cruises, I had a Corporate job that was business casual. This meant that I had a wardrobe full of chino’s, so I was delighted that they worked within the dress code ‘rules’.

The majority of the evenings of your cruise will be this ‘Smart Attire’ dress code, so it’s important to check you’re packing enough for this. My top tip is that it’s fairly easy (for gents, anyway) with this dress code to pack quite lightly and then make use of the onboard laundry to wash through shirts etc in between uses. You don’t need to be packing a different shirt for every single night of the cruise - wear it for the second time with a different pair of trousers, and it’s a new outfit!

On a ‘Smart Attire’ night, there are a few items of clothing that aren’t permitted. For both men and women, the ‘prohibited list’ includes jeans, shorts and casual sportswear, so double check that you’re not planning to wear jeans with your shirt to dinner.

Let’s now move to look at the more formal affair: the ‘Gala Evening Attire’ dress code.

The ‘Gala Evening Attire’ evenings are where things feel much more elevated onboard.

This is when things get a lot more elevated than what we’ve covered so far. You’ll usually find a couple of Gala Evenings onboard your Cunard cruise. Shorter cruises will generally have 1 gala evening, a 7 night cruise will usually have 2, and a 14 night cruise could have 3 or 4. Cunard will confirm with you how many your specific cruise will have in your booking paperwork, which will either be emailed or posted to you once your booking is confirmed.

The Gala Evenings are where you can expect the ship to feel much more formal, with some passengers opting to wear ball gowns and most of the gents wearing formal dinner suits or tux. It’s not uncommon to see passengers wearing traditional National dress when this dress code is in effect, and you’ll also spot some military uniforms onboard, too. As a Scot, I really enjoy kilt-spotting during a Gala Evening onboard a Cunard cruise.

On a Gala Evening, you’ll find most gents onboard will be wearing formal ‘black tie’.

Gala Evenings onboard a Cunard ship are usually themed, so it’s worth keeping a look out in your cruise paperwork to see if there are any costume opportunities, if that’s up your street. At the point of recording this video, the 4 Gala Evening themes on Cunard ships were: 

1. ‘Black and White’ - this one’s pretty self explanatory. Think outfits that feature either black tones, or white!

2. ‘Red and Gold’ - this is one that I really like - I’m always fascinated with that bright red Cunard funnel on the top of the ship, and so it’s great to see the ship turn largely red (with some gold thrown in, for good measure!) for an evening during the cruise!

3. ‘Roaring 20s’ - don’t worry - you don’t have to go all out by wearing a flapper dress, or braces and a hat - although you can if you want. I see plenty of people onboard for this theme with a really discrete nod to it, and just wearing a more standard ‘gala’ outfit… 

4. ‘Masquerade Ball’ - this one’s a firm Cunard favourite. Loads of passengers will wear masks for this themed night, and it’s really interesting to see how many different masks there are out there! 

What I really like about the Gala Evenings is that it’s not just the passengers that get dressed up. On each of the ships, they have ways to ‘dress up’ some of the venues, whether that be displays in the corridors or large banners in the Queens Room - it really does feel like a themed ship in some of the spaces. There’s even special menus available at some of the bars, so be sure to explore the ship during the themed nights - you never know what you might find!

Some of the venues onboard will offer themed specialities, like these Cocktails in the Queens Room!

Here are the ‘Black and White’ themed cocktails - which would you order?!

My overall advice when it comes to dress codes on Cunard is to try not to get too stressed in your planning, and try not to over-think it too much.

Before taking my first Cunard cruise, I was really apprehensive about what I was planning to wear, and it all ended up being absolutely fine. One flag is to be careful if you’re taking a fly cruise - it might be worth considering, for example, upgrading your luggage allowance if you’re travelling with things like black tie, a kilt or military dress - all of which are much heavier than your standard holiday-wear!

I mentioned earlier that there are laundry facilities onboard. There are both standard laundry services (that will come with a fee) and also self-service laundry that’s free of charge. You can do your own laundry in one of these self-service rooms from about 8am until 9pm or so, but they can be busy. In these rooms, you' have access to washing machines, tumble dryers, ironing boards and irons - they’re fantastic, especially if you’re onboard for a longer time period!

Here’s one of the laundry rooms onboard Queen Anne. They’re not huge in size, but they’re incredibly useful!

You’ll find these on Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria on decks 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8, on Queen Mary 2 on Decks 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11, and on Queen Anne on decks 1, 4, 7 and 8.

Thanks for reading this article - I really hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you’d like to join me in another, please head to the drop down menu at the top of the page. Alternatively, if you’d now like to join me in video-form, why not watch my full cruise review from my cruise onboard Queen Anne?