Plus size cruise wear – what to wear on a cruise as a curvy girl!

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In this article, I’ll show you the best and affordable plus size cruise outfits that I could find on Amazon – from casual wear, to elegant cocktail dresses and from swimwear to formal evening gowns!

Packing for a cruise is not easy. I totally get that – believe me, I have been there a few times! 🙂 And it certainly isn’t easier for us curvy girls.

After all, we also want to look casual and fashionable during the day and sophisticated and elegant in the evenings. And you certainly don’t want to be that girl that wears the same dress for dinner every day.

But very often, fashionable clothing for plus size girls is considerably more expensive.

That sucks so much! Lots of the cheaper Chinese made outfits are simply too small for me, even if I order them in XL. And I am aware that I am “just” curvy and how much more difficult it is for fuller sized girls!

And that’s why I want to share with you all the awesome and affordable plus size cruise wear items that I found on Amazon.

I pretty much order all my outfits from Amazon now. While it’s not always easy to find the best stuff there, the order process is just so simple. And if it doesn’t fit, I can easily return everything (and I 100% take advantage of that…!)

Anyway, time to dive into my plus size cruise outfit guide – let’s rock our curves on that boat!

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Cruise line dress codes

I have already extensively explained the different dress codes onboard cruise ships in my general guide about what to wear on a cruise – but here’s a short explanation:

• Cruise casual: “Normal chic” outfits for everyday activities onboard as well as breakfast and lunch
• Smart casual: More upmarket style, most typical for dinners on cruise ships
• Formal: Bring out these evening gowns, usually only one or two nights for dinner during a cruise

And don’t worry – I will show you plus size cruise wear for every cruise dress code, of course!

Read: What to wear on a cruise – the ultimate cruise outfit guide!

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How I selected the best plus size cruise outfits

As mentioned, I selected all of these plus size cruise wear items on Amazon because I personally shop almost all my stuff on Amazon and its convenient and reliable. And shopping plus size clothing shouldn’t be more complicated than standard size!

Also, I ignored all outfits that are available in larger sizes but used a standard size model to show them. If you can’t show how it’ll look on a beautiful plus size lady – well then, no love from me! 🙂

I was always thinking about “what would I be worried about with this dress?” (hey sleeveless dresses, looking at you!). You can clearly see that some “plus size dresses” were not designed by anybody who actually has been plus size at any point in their life.

Another thing I look for was the price. So often, we plus size girls have to pay more for fashionable items and that really makes me angry. As if the fabric would define the price…!

Thus, I only added more affordable plus size cruise wear items. Better spend that money on the next cruise girl!

Hopefully, these items below will be helpful to select your perfect plus size cruise outfit!

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Plus size cruise wear – cruise casual

As “normal day” plus size cruise outfit, you can wear pretty much anything that is more than a swimsuit with a cover-up.

However, I personally think that maxi dresses are perfect for curvy girls on a cruise – they are sophisticated, fashionable and will make you stop wondering about whether your dress is too short. And don’t forget that it can be a bit windy on some parts of the ship!

Down below are my favorite plus size cruise wear outfit items – almost all of them are beautiful and affordable maxi dresses!

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Plus size cruise wear – swimwear

There we go – here comes the pool time! I personally know how difficult it is to select bathing wear that’s both flattering but doesn’t look like “hiding”.

Flaunting those curves with grace and a positive mindset at the cruise ship pool is 100% possible – and some swimsuits will just make it a little bit easier than others!

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Swimwear cover-ups

Just wearing swimwear is totally fine on the pool deck of any cruise ship. However, if you want to go to other areas of the ship (such as the restaurants), almost all cruise lines expect you to wear shoes and at least throw over some kind of cover-up.

And that’s why I added some plus size cover-ups here – they will quickly turn your swimwear into an “acceptable” plus size cruise outfit!

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Plus size cruise wear – smart casual

Smart casual or “cruise elegant” is basically the “go-to” dress code for dinner aboard a cruise ship. Thus, most of these plus size cruise wear items are cocktail dresses of medium length.

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Plus size cruise wear – formal

When “formal wear” is the call for dinner – then it’s time to bring out these evening gowns! Most of the time, these evenings on cruise ships are “formal optional” – meaning you can also go with smart casual plus size cruise outfit!

And especially when it comes to formal evening wear, it can be difficult for us plus size girls to find affordable dresses that we feel sexy and sophisticated in.

Below are my favorite plus size cruise wear items for formal dress code!

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Plus size cruise wear for “white parties”

One of the signature evenings of my favorite cruise line NCL is their “white party”. Although optional, most people will choose a white dress for these occasions. And other cruise lines have started copying this party too!

I am aware that plain colors and especially white are sometimes more complicated to wear as a plus size girl. However, I personally wear a lot of white too because it looks great on Instagram. 🙂

Thus, I took extra care when selecting these plus size cruise outfits for white parties!

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Cardigans and shawls to cover your shoulders

I don’t know how about you – but one of the things I worry about the most when choosing an outfit is my shoulders and arms.

Yeah, you know – these arms that make you look extra chubby (especially when you do the fatal error to press them against your body…). Even though I am generally really confident about my body – these make me struggle sometimes to love what I see in the mirror!

A lot of the plus size cruise dresses above cover the upper arms anyway. But if not, simply add a nice chiffon shawl or a simple cardigan to it – and bam, you got a plus size cruise outfit that makes you “feel safe”!

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How did you like this post?

What do you think of this outfit guide? Was it helpful for you or did you miss anything? Let me know in the comments below what you think!

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