Even seasoned cruisers get in a panic about packing. So my first piece of advice is don’t worry. You are going on holiday, not to a fashion shoot. Relax.

Basically you’ll need casual wear for the day and smart casual clothes for the evening. If you are going somewhere warm take light clothing, if you’re off to the Arctic or Antarctica you need to pack jumpers, scarves, gloves and hats.

Most cruise lines still have one or two formal nights per seven-night cruise so you’ll need to pack for that as well. Your cruise line will advise on what they recommend but a jacket and tie for men is usually acceptable these days, which saves lugging a tuxedo around.

A very few cruise lines also have semi-formal nights, for which again men will need a jacket and tie. Again your cruise line will be able to advise you.

If you are cruising from the UK, you can take as many suitcases as you want; if you are flying to join your cruise bear in mind airlines have strict suitcase and weight allowances.