Casual

Casual cruises are the most popular. Shipboard dress and lifestyle are informal. Meals in the dining room are served in two seatings on ocean liners and one seating on specialty ships; menus are usually not extensive, and the food is good but not extraordinary; your options may be limited if you have special dietary requirements. Men dress in sport shirts and slacks for dinner most nights, in jackets and ties only two or three evenings of a typical seven-day sailing. Women generally wear a sundress, a skirt and blouse, or a pantsuit for dinner. Read more about what to pack for your voyage in Before You Go.

Aboard casual ocean liners, activities are more diverse than on formal and semiformal ships, and there is almost always something going on, from bingo to beer-chugging contests. Las Vegas--style variety shows or Broadway revues headline the evening entertainment. Discos bop into the wee hours. On the smallest ships, activities will be more limited.

Passenger-to-crew and space ratios are generally good, but service tends to be less personal. Look for casual cruises aboard classic liners, cruise liners, and megaships sailing three- to seven-day itineraries to fun-and-sun destinations; expedition ships; motor-sailing ships; riverboats; and coastal cruisers calling on more unusual ports.