What clothes do you pack for a transatlantic cruise in April?

We've scheduled a 35 day transatlantic cruise in April. I'm in a twit as to what to pack. The weather, at least where we are, is very changeable that time of year. Some days you need cold weather clothes and some days warm weather clothes are in order. For 35 days, we're going to have to pack more clothes than usual, anyway, and if I have to pack two seasons' worth, that's a lot of clothes. I know, everyone says to layer, but to get together enough clothes that all coordinate so I can mix and match means I'll have to buy a lot of new clothes. I don't usually "layer" every day so everything in my wardrobe doesn't coordinate with everything else. We'll have stops in Bermuda, the Canary Islands, France, Belgium, Netherlands, England, Portugal, Spain and Morocco which will all require different weights of clothes. I realize that we'll have laundry services available, but still... Auugh! I need advice.

Pack for 7 days and plan on wearing everything several times. Utilize ship's laundry & Febreez. Handwash as needed. Confirm with your line but most ships wash and dry on hot. Some ships even have self serve laundryrooms. Drycleaning and pressing is usually avaliable.

Neutral bottoms, jeans, black and khaki go with everything, color for your tops. Choose a color scheme -red, white & blue, black & white, brown & cream........ Look in your closet- what do you have the most of? Not everything has to go with everything, just with several other things.

For formal nights limit to several basic outfits/pieces and change the accessories. Our last cruise I brought 1 bottom and two tops, wore the same shoes.

Layering is easy. for example- For cold weather in Alaska I have worn silk long underwear, Tshirt, thin pullover sweater & a thin hoodie. Added a rainshell when needed. Easy to remove items as it got warmer. Also any of these could be worn in any other combination. Nylons or silk bottoms could be worn under your pants.

Remember everyone on the 'same boat' as you and will be rewearing things. Unless something really stands out, like my lime green cardigan, does anyone truly remember what anyone else wore?

Start pulling out stuff and play with the various combinations, might be surprised with what you come up with.:)

We did a transAtlantic in early April a few years ago and had every kind of weather imaginable. So I agree with Sadie ... pick neutrals and plan to mix & match. I also agree that people won't notice what you've worn, unless you're like the lady at the table next to ours ... she wore the same dress every single night at dinner. It didn't matter what I thought about her dress, but I did notice! ;)

I brought everything from swimsuits & coverup to a trench coat, scarf and gloves ... and wore all of it. If it was very cold (as it was for us when we hit Europe), I wore jeans or khakis, a t-shirt, tunic, hoodie & the trench coat. Same t-shirt or tunic worked with capris or shorts in warmer weather.

For formal night I brought a pair of black tuxedo pants and a few different tops (plus one evening jacket), and also a couple of dresses. I don't like to wear the same thing twice, hence the pants & tops kept things interesting.

We sailed on Celebrity & I planned to spend money on cleaning. Hubby had things like khakis cleaned two or three times. I brought some dry detergent and did hand wash underwear and workout clothes.

Have fun planning. I'm jealous!

Thanks for the tips, ladies. I think packing for seven days and rotating is a good idea. That's what we've done for two week cruises. I guess it would work for 35 days, too. We're cruising Holland America and will have access to laundry services. (I'm going to pretend I don't remember that last time they washed some of my lingerie with something blue and dyed them gray.) I have a black slinky dress that I wear with various dressy jackets, etc. for formal nights. I'm too old to be showing my upper arms, so no flesh-showing cocktail dresses for me. I hadn't thought about gloves, but that sounds like a good idea.

Lots of good ideas. Again, thanks for the help.

We've done several TA's, though none that long. Unless you are taking a huge amount of luggage, I agree with the 'pack for 7 nights' theory.

Weather in April on our Transatlantics was very variable. Warm the first couple of days out of Florida, gradually cooling as we went north, quite a bit of wind, cool to hot in Europe, so yes, you do need to bring some layers.

For me, that meant jeans or khakis for cool port days with a top, a sweater, a light hoodie and, if needed a water resistant jacket (only needed once).

I wear the sweater and jacket on the plane and used them on the ship. The other jacket gets stuffed in an outside pocket. I always bring a pair of those little 'stretchy' gloves. My hoodie has, well, a hood.

We've been really lucky that our ports have been very nice; coolest maybe high 50's with very light rain in Florence, hottest Rome, 85-90. Other ports in Spain, France and England have been 60's-low 70's.

But of course you can hit much worse, or better weather. Dress for spring in the US northern states and you will be okay.

Thanks, Nebr,cruiser. I live in Kansas, by the way, even though my profile says Lake Woebegone, (A nod to Prairie Home Companion.) so we're probably used to the same type of weather. I keep reading about how variable the weather is on the Atlantic. The weather here is pretty variable here in April, so I'm used to that. I'm wonder if it's more variable than it is here. Taking gloves wouldn't have occurred to me, so I'm thankful for that tip. I keep rea I'm busy planning which clothes in my closet I can layer and sewing or buying what I need to fill in.

Thanks, Nebr,cruiser. I live in Kansas, by the way, even though my profile says Lake Woebegone, (A nod to Prairie Home Companion.) so we're probably used to the same type of weather. I keep reading about how variable the weather is on the Atlantic. The weather here is pretty variable here in April, so I'm used to that. I'm wonder if it's more variable than it is here. Taking gloves wouldn't have occurred to me, so I'm thankful for that tip. I keep rea I'm busy planning which clothes in my closet I can layer and sewing or buying what I need to fill in.

Yeah, living in Nebr. (or Kansas), April weather is nothing if not variable--blizzard one day, 90 a day later, etc.

On our 3 TA's in April the weather was not as variable as we are used to in Nebr.--it just gradually got cooler as we headed north. Wind is a big factor as the ships are sailing pretty fast.

For the ports, our experiences have been that we had warmer than normal April weather here. Some I needed a jacket, some not.

Of course, there's always that pesky chance of a major storm or cold spell, in which case all advice goes out the window. I have to have layers, just in case.

I brought everything from swimsuits & coverup to a trench coat, scarf and gloves ... and wore all of it. If it was very cold (as it was for us when we hit Europe), I wore jeans or khakis, a t-shirt, tunic, hoodie & the trench coat. Same t-shirt or tunic worked with capris or shorts in warmer weather.

I brought everything from swimsuits & coverup to a trench coat, scarf and gloves ... and wore all of it. If it was very cold (as it was for us when we hit Europe), I wore jeans or khakis, a t-shirt, tunic, hoodie & the trench coat. Same t-shirt or tunic worked with capris or shorts in warmer weather.

I keep hearing cool, cool, cool, so it makes layering seem more and more important. The challenge is getting colors to coordinate so you can mix and match.

I keep hearing cool, cool, cool, so it makes layering seem more and more important. The challenge is getting colors to coordinate so you can mix and match.

Depending on where you are going, don't forget some clothes for hot weather. We ended one TA at Citaveccechia and spent 3 days in Rome. The first day was 70ish with a little rain, the next two days (end of April) were hot, hot, hot.

I wore dark jeans and a top the first of those hot days, trying to blend with what I was told to wear in Rome, and about baked. The next day I went with light capris, a tank top and a sleeved blouse to wear in churches. Plus, we walked all over the city which heats you up anyway.

Great suggestions. Im a cruise newbie & wondered about the weather and what to pack for a TA cruise. Thanks for the suggestions.

I was expecting the suggesting on layering but did you really need gloves?  May I ask when you wore them?

Wow, this thread started 10 years ago😳

On 2/13/2022 at 1:34 PM, Lois R said:

Wow, this thread started 10 years ago😳

Good advice here, though.

I always bring a pashmina when I travel. It is a versatile item that can be layered under a coat, over a sweater, as a light blanket on your lap, rolled as a pillow on the plane, worn around the neck as a big scarf, as a wrap in a chilly theater or restaurant....  So handy.

When I say pashmina, I don't mean the expensive cashmere ones. I have several in different patterns that I've bought on the street in NYC or at TJMaxx or received as gifts.