Help! I'm leaving on a cruise this week and need some help. I'm more the activewear/casual type, but don't want to look like i'm in workout clothes the whole time!

I went on one last October and am going on one in February (the coldest time of the year here!). Make sure you start with your neutrals. For example, I'll be taking 2 pairs of ankle pants in navy and white; two pairs of capris in sapphire and navy; two pairs of shorts in navy and white. Then I add white t-shirt, navy tank top, short sleeved sapphire t-shirt, and maybe a wrap shirt in navy or white, and a short sleeved white button shirt. Formal wear I haven't made up my mind yet. I have very bad feet, so I'm limited largely to tennis shoes and tennis shoe-like sandals. Anything I wear has to hide the shoes, so likely cocktail pants. I don't wear dresses or skirts because of the shoes, but you could certainly get something in a neutral. A black cocktail dress might work for the formal nights. Finally, make sure you have something that will work for the actual flights, since you will be changing weather zones. You don't want to show up in a snowstorm wearing a tank top. Jeans and a long-sleeved shirt would probably work there.

Lucky you! We went on our first cruise in September and I researched a bit for clothing ideas before we left. Ours was for 10 nights and headed towards the tropics so we needed warm clothes when we left home but mostly light casual wear from then on. I took some gym clothes and shoes to use when exercising but mostly wore capris, shorts or sundresses during the day with shell tops or tees. For evenings we had smart casual wear, although many passengers really dressed up, especially for the formal and theme nights. I took a couple of knee length dresses that didn't crush and wore a black blazer or light cardigan over the top if cool. The dresses were in print fabrics (one a layered style) and I wore dressier jewellery and hairstyles if it was a bit more formal that night. For shoes I took low heeled sandals in tan and black that worked well with all my outfits both day and night. In addition I threw in a good assortment of accessories, a couple of scarves, a wrap, a sunhat, flip flops and swimwear too obviously. The thing about cruises is that people of all ages and tastes take them these days so don't be too worried about looking out of place. I just wanted to take advantage of the chance to wear nicer clothes than I usually do at home. One thing that's handy is a small cross body bag to tote around small items as you don't really use a handbag onboard. Hope you have a fabulous time.