However, it didn t really matter as I had employed my top tip for packing crease free, which is to r

Decisions, decisions. It s all part of the fun of the holiday deciding what to pack, but planning for a cruise requires a little more planning, since you can t just pop into the nearest trendy boutique atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa for anything you forget. For my recent MSC Mediterranean cruise, I knew I d need clothes for sightseeing, an outfit or two for dinner and perhaps something more dressy for formal nights with a chance to play at being glamourpuss.
Then I might be relaxing on the sun-deck, atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa trying out the spa or making time to visit the gym to work off all that delicious food. And of course I do like to travel light, who wants to be lugging heavy cases around?
The Mediterranean in late May should be the perfect atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa temperature for sightseeing and I was hoping for warm sunny days with cooler evenings. However, living in England where the weather is so changeable I ve learned never to take sunshine atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa for granted. So the week before our cruise I checked the weather forecast atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa for the coming atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa week in the destinations we would be visiting.
My mobile has a handy weather app for the 7 day outlook and I also used another website  Weather2Travel.com  to check the typical temperature and rainfall for that month. I learned that the weather was likely to be in the 22-25 degree celcius range, cooling down at night, so not blistering heat and I d definitely atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa need a jumper in the evenings. In the end we had sunny days for most of the week although there were a few showers as we arrived back in Barcelona, so I was glad I d packed my rain jacket.
Danielle Fear of Cruise Miss  says; A light jacket during the spring atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa time is also a must! The Mediterranean is warm but evenings can still get a little chilly and you want to be prepared just in case a sharp shower is forecast. Remember to also take a light cardigan or scarf with you when ashore
atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa Gary Bembridge from Tips for Travellers  says; Even on warm itineraries in season atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, it can get chilly at night on deck or in the mornings on excursions. Plan to wear layers that you can easily peel off and always include a layer to cope with downpours even if a small folding umbrella or lightweight rain poncho.
I thought about the things we d be doing on our MSC Cruise and decided that my wardrobe need to cover four different types of activitiy; clothes for sightseeing, relaxing on board around the pool, dressing up for dinner and a couple of outfits for formal atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa nights. As we d be visiting atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa a different destination every day and as we like to be pretty active, I packed comfortable but smart city trainers and my new Flopz flip flops for time on board.
My sightseeing wardrobe consisted of pretty t-shirts and cut-off trousers, but I also packed some vest tops like the orange linen Eileen Fisher top I m wearing in the photo below for time around the pool.  For the evening I packed a couple more dressy tops and my white jeans that would mix and match with my daytime wardrobe. For a formal night I decided to forego the ballgown as I knew that things are quite relaxed on MSC cruises but instead packed a lovely sparkly top from Eileen Fisher as well as my silky Joseph Ribkoff evening cover-up that would make a simple outlook look a lot more glamourous.
Danielle Fear of Cruise Miss says; I can’t do a Mediterranean cruise without a pair of pretty flip-flops. They are ideal for both ashore and onboard and if I forgot to pack them I would go into meltdown. One thing I would highly recommend for your Mediterranean adventure is a comfortable pair of shoes or sandals. There is so much to see and do and trust me, you won’t want to miss any of it.
One of the secrets of packing light, I ve learned, is to limit your wardrobe to just one colour scheme per trip. This works well for long weekends where you want to travel with just a small bag, although for the week s cruise I allowed myself a couple of different colour schemes. For most sightseeings days I stuck to shades of beige, cream and soft pink, while for evenings and days on board I teamed orange tops with white or black trousers. The same black trousers could double for evening wear when teamed with a more dressy top. Take a look at the photos below to see how I stuck to one colour atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa scheme so that I could mix and match different tops with the same pair of trousers.
Donna Hull from My Itchy Travel atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa Feet says; When packing for a cruise, I ask myself, “Can this item be worn at least twice?” If I answer no to the question, then that particular atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa clothing item goes back in the closet. And when I say twice, I don’t mean repeating the same outfit. Using separates, I mix and match clothing items to create many outfits from a small selection of clothing. It’s challenging but fun.
Emma Gray from Emma on Board says; My biggest tip for Mediterranean cruising is to keep it simple. Pack dresses atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa you can wear for dinner and then again during the day sightseeing. Stick to one colour tone and you ll be able to mix and match all your accessories, bags and shoes to make outfits look and feel completely different.
I find you have a better travel experience if you are sensitive to the culture of the places you visit. atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa I wince when I see ladies wearing shorts and vest tops in a Muslim country, shame on you! As I enjoy sightseeing there s a good chance I ll end up looking around a beautiful old church, where even in Europe it s considered respectful to cover your shoulders and knees. As we planned to visit Tunis on our MSC Cruise, I made sure to pack a top that was appropriate for the more conservative dress in a Muslim atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa society. My Eileen Fisher orange linen top was cool and elegant, yet covered me in all the right places. Elbow length sleeves, no cleavage, no shoulders or knees on show and you will avoid getting attention of the wrong kind.
Sarah Lee from Live Share Travel says; A pashmina is a fantastic accessory, which you can use throughout atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa your cruise to cover shoulders for formal atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa dinners, maintain discreet dress if you should visit a religious site, or to protect against those sea breezes
On cruises I ve learned that different cruise lines have quite different approaches to formal nights. Of course we Brits love to make an occasion of dressing up, with glamourous gowns and Black Tie for the men, while some of our American and Aussie friends would happily go to dinner in shorts. The MSC Cruises dress code is geared for the European dress sense which is elegant but possibly atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa not as formal as some of the Cruise lines that have a lot of UK guests.
My tip is to check the formal dress guidelines on the cruise company website or with your cruise agent, atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa so you know where you need to be in the glamour stakes. Sometimes the websites don t make it completely clear, in which case head for the discussion boards atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa on sites like Cruise Critic atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa where you ll generally find some useful guidance. Based on this, Guy decided not to pack his dinner jacket atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa since our suitcase space was limited, but to go for a blazer and smart trousers that he could wear every evening. His decision proved to be sound, since I saw very few tuxedos being worn on board, even on the gala evenings where the norm was a smart suit and tie. Rather than pack my cocktail dress I went for my Eileen Fisher sparkly top for the gala evenings atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa and my Joseph Ribkoff evening cover-up on other evenings when I wanted to dress up.
Gary Bembridge from Tips for Travellers  says; Every cruise line has their own approach to what people should wear on board as well as the extent they enforce them. For example, atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa Cunard have a strict dress code around formal and informal nights and men will be expected to wear black tie and jackets and ladies cocktail dresses and smart separates on those respective nights. However, lines like Disney atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa can allow shorts to be worn on some cruises at dinner atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa time.
Ana Silva from Mrs O around the world  says; Pack cocktail dresses to add a bit of old-school glamour to your cruising experience. Pick some that travel well. No need for crazy heels simple flats will do and will get you in a Med state of mind.
Emma and Keri from Ladies What  say; Getting glammed up for the formal dinner nights on our MSC Cruise was great fun and a fantastic part of the cruising experience. The dress code ranged from casual to cocktail and the newsletter delivered to our cabin gave us all the info for that evening. So pack yourself a posh frock – ideally one that doesn’t crease too much – and enjoy.
Liz Jarvis from The Mum Blog  says; The Swarovski-studded staircases on board set the tone MSC is a very glamorous, very Italian cruise line. In the evening, guests dress up for dinner and do that European thing of promenading, so I would definitely take a few gorgeous dresses.
On some cruise ships I ve been on there were laundry rooms for guests to wash, dry and iron their clothes so I was surprised to find that there was not even a facility to iron creased clothes on board MSC Splendida (except of course the laundry service which you have to pay for).
However, it didn t really matter as I had employed my top tip for packing crease free, which is to roll rather than fold your clothes, pack them tightly into the case, then shake them out and hang them up immediately you get on board. Obviously it also helps if you select clothes from your wardrobe which are made of crease atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa resistant fabrics, like my lovely Joseph Ribkoff evening cover-up below which I reckon I could have screwed up in my case and it would still have come out looking elegant and crease-free.
Zoe Dawes from The Quirky Traveller says ; I have a full length black dress in Jersey with short sleeves which is my absolute favourite for cruises. atlantic city bus tours from harrisburg pa I dress it up with pretty necklace or colourful scarf and high heels or casual with flat pumps. It rolls up and never creases.
Thanks to MSC cruises who hosted Guy and Heather s Mediterranean cruise. Heather and Guy travelled on MSC Splendida from Barcelona on a 1 week cruise calling at Genoa, Marseille, Naples, Messina, Tunis. Prices for a similar crui