What to Pack for a Norway Cruise in Summer (Complete Packing List)

Packing for our Norway cruise was probably the hardest part of planning the trip. The more research I did, the more packing lists I read, all seemed to confuse me even more. Every post contradicted the next. 

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Some people packed winter coats. Others wore shorts. And some definitely overpacked in checked bags and called it a day. 

So what should we do? I felt lost, and nervous because I wasn’t prepared to need to buy a $200 jacket when we arrived because I didn’t bring my own. 

After spending a week cruising the Norwegian fjords in July with our 8-year-old daughter, I realized the answer was somewhere in between all of the other lists. And I actually had almost everything I needed once we arrived. 

If you’re figuring out what to pack for a Norway cruise in summer, here’s exactly what we packed, what we actually wore, and what I’d do differently next time.

This list covers everything from early mornings on the top deck watching waterfalls, sunny afternoons in port, evenings on the ship, and watching the midnight sun from our balcony. 

I also want to point out that as I focus more on travel and family blogging/creating, I’m terrible at getting OOTD photos, so bare with me via the screenshots of videos and mirror pics 🙂 Just keeping it real over here! 

Before I get into the details, I want to mention that we always aim to pack carry-on only. For this trip, we were traveling for two weeks and wanted to keep everything we needed in one carry on suitcase and one personal item for each of us.

We made it work and I didn’t feel like I was giving up anything in order to keep it in a smaller suitcase. 

If you’re still deciding whether a Norway cruise is right for your family, start with my complete Norway Cruise with Kids Guide where I cover itineraries, excursions, weather, and planning tips.

The Packing List

If you’re just looking for a quick packing list, this section is a quick list of what to pack for a Norway cruise in the summer based on my experience. The rest of the post explains the why, how often I wore specific items and a few tips and tricks. 

I am linking to as many of the exact products as I can below, you can find even more links on my ShopMy in the Norway Cruise section.

Clothing

• 2 light linen dresses
• 1 maxi skirt 
• 1 heavier short dress that could be dressed up or down 
• 3 tank tops 
• 1 linen top
• 1 sweater tank 
• 2 t-shirts
• 1 nicer short-sleeve blouse 
• 1 nicer long-sleeve blouse  
• 2 sweaters
• 1 button-up cardigan  
• 3 long-sleeve shirts (I am obsessed with these two and plan to buy several more colors! brown and light blue)
• 2 athletic quarter-zip pullovers (I wore this one and this one)
• 1 hiking joggers 
• 1 pair of sweatpants
• 1 pair of athletic pants
• 1 pair of linen pants 
• 2 pair of linen shorts 
• Light rain jacket
• 1 pair of jeans
• Pajamas. I brought this set and wore a sweater with it some nights. I also asked for a robe and wore that on the balcony quite often. 
• Swimsuit
• Cover up
• Biker shorts/athletic shorts 
• Undergarments (bra, sports bra, strapless bra, Cakes covers)

Shoes

I stressed this one! We didn’t know if we would be hiking or not, but hiking boots take up a lot of space. We didn’t know if we would have rainy weather, but rain boots take up even more space. 

I was so happy with the shoes I landed on and I’m glad I brought each pair that I did! 

• Waterproof tennis shoes. I LOVE these and have worn them on multiple trips with various terrains. These were perfect. 
• Basic tennis shoes. A must that they go with most outfits. 
• Tevas sandals. These are my favorite and go with so many outfits. 
• Sandals. Easy to throw on to go to the pool or around the ship. 

Accessories 

• Beanie or another style warm hat 
• Gloves
• Lightweight scarf 
• Sunglasses 
• Baseball hat (I skipped this and I really wish I would have brought one!) 
• Minimal jewelry for nights on the ship 
• Everyday backpack
• Binoculars
• Umbrella 
• Refillable water bottle
• Portable charger
• Kindle
• Battery-operated curling iron
• Sunscreen, it may not feel like it’s warm enough but the sun is shining in the summer months! 
• Lip balm is a must, with SPF!
• Reusable water bottle
• Medicine for motion sickness
• A sleep mask if the midnight sun is concerning to you
• A small day bag/purse for day trips and on the ship    

Cruise Must Have’s

Then you also have all the things that you would typically bring on a cruise. 

• Magnetic hooks
• Lanyards for your keycard
• Luggage tags 

Check out my complete guide to packing for a cruise if you want to know all the details.

Packing for Kids 

There are a few things I did differently for my daughter when packing. 

She prefers to wear a dress with shorts or leggings when we’re home, so I brought extra dresses for her and not as many pants. In the end, she wore her pants far more than usual and dresses less, based on the weather this made sense. 

We brought a few of her smaller toys like little dolls and these for lots of open play. And we always have a deck of cards in our travel bag. 

How I Pack

You may have heard of the sudoku packing method, I attempted to use it for this trip but I ended up going back to my own personal method in order to ensure everything was covered. Sure, I could have tried harder with the Sudoku method, but why fix what’s never failed me before? 

I plan out all of the clothing items and accessories I am considering on canva, then I plan day by day how I will mix and match those outfits for each day of our vacation. It’s worked well for me for the last several years! 

Looking for a guide to packing for Europe in all seasons? I’ve got you covered!

Questions I Had About Packing

Do You Need a Heavy Coat? 

No. Unless you’re traveling outside the summer season. We never wore one and never felt like we needed one.

But we absolutely needed layers and a waterproof jacket. 

Do You Need Hiking Boots?

Maybe. If you’re planning longer hikes or booking excursions that may take you off the beaten path.

Otherwise…waterproof sneakers worked perfectly! 

What Shoes Did We Wear Most?

This is a tie between my basic sneakers and my Tevas. I thought my waterproof sneakers were going to be my most-worn shoe, but since it was dry when we were there, I could wear my sneakers everyday.

However, the week before our sailing was very rainy, so you may wear waterproof sneakers far more often than I did. 

My least worn shoe? By far, my sandals. I never wore these off the ship, but I did wear them often on the ship. 

Is there a dress code? 

We have never sailed on an MSC cruise ship before, and I know some cruise lines have a stricter dress code. Thankfully, as this was a “cold weather” sailing, it was very relaxed. Some people got dressed up, but lots of people were focused on being comfortable, even on the sea days and formal nights. 

I would research your specific cruise line for your Norwegian Fjord cruise to determine if you need to bring formal wear and alternative shoe options. 

Do we need base layers?

We didn’t. But you might depending on your shore excursions. I had plans on packing warm layers for this trip, like merino wool base layers, but in the end decided against it because of space. 

I’m glad I did because we wouldn’t have needed them! Even in the early mornings when it was it’s coldest and on our most chilly day, the layers we had were perfectly fine. 

The best thing you can do is pack a moisture-wicking base layer of athleisure wear! 

How quickly does the weather forecast change? 

VERY quickly. I started watching the weather forecast a few weeks before our cruise, and by the time we set sail, it seemed like Norway’s weather had hit nearly all temperatures in the days leading up to our trip. It’s a good idea to think through the forecast, but not rely solely on what you’re seeing before you travel. 

Even when we were onboard, the weather was changing day by day. My advice would be to check the weather each morning in the cruise line app, and dress for what it says, but anticipate that it could change within the hour. 

How similar is the cruise experience to a Caribbean Cruise? 

It’s not too similar. We love a good Caribbean Cruise, and we have done a few Mediterranean Cruises, cruising Northern Europe, specifically Norway, was very different. 

1- It’s not a cruise about the ship, it’s focused on the destination and the itinerary. 

2- Cruise guests didn’t get as dressed up each night. 

3- The pools were busy but not every day all day. I wouldn’t think multiple bathing suits would be necessary. 

If you’re planning a cruise through Norway, check out my complete blog post about cruising the Fjords of Norway with kids. ***

What I Packed But Never Used

I’ve already cut down my list based on what I actually wore above, but to help you not overpack as well, here are a few things I had with me and didn’t end up needing: 

• Heavy sweatshirt. Sweaters worked better for this trip because they were lighter and could be worn over my shoulders or put into the backpack. 
• Extra dress clothes. For me, this was a comfy cruise. I was in my linen pants or sweatpants most nights, I had an extra skirt that I never wore and I almost packed an extra dress that I also would have never worn. 
• Two pair of jeans. I wore them both because I had them but I could have easily only worn one pair and been totally fine. I wore my other pants much more. 
• Umbrella. They say if you pack it you won’t need it, right? While we did have rainy days, it was never enough rain that we needed an umbrella. But it’s also somewhat small so I wouldn’t say it’s worth the skip. 

What I Wore in Each Port

I’m terrible at getting pictures of myself throughout our vacation, even after 10+ years of creating content. However, I do have some photos from this trip and a few others I designed to give you the vibe of what I wore. 

Keep in mind, we traveled in July which is one of the warmest months in Norway, and we also had a stop in Copenhagen, Denmark and Kiel, Germany. While we weren’t going to Northern Norway, the weather can still get fairly cold on a summer Norwegian Fjords cruise. 

Flåm

We had the PERFECT day in Flåm! We started our morning on the Flåm Railway at 7am, and by the time we were off the sun was shining and it was warm! I could have easily been in a t-shirt and maybe even shorts, but I had layers to work with. 

In the morning I wore jeans, a long-sleeve shirt and a quarter zip pullover, in the afternoon I just wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt (as seen in the top photo of this post!)

Geiranger

While the day started off a little chilly as we were sailing in, it ended up being perfect because we were all over the town and mountains throughout the day. 

Ålesund

This was our wettest day, which turned into a beautiful afternoon. But for our journey around the town, we needed layers for warmth and a rain jacket for the light rain. 

By the afternoon, I was able to take off my rain jacket and even my sweater…until the rain started again.

Kiel 

Our windiest day throughout the trip! We needed layers, a jacket and pants for this day. We did get a little bit of sun but it disappeared after an hour or so, so I am glad I didn’t base my outfit of the day just on the weather at that time. 

Copenhagen

The most ideal weather we could have asked for in Copenhagen! But, it can change from day to day very quickly. We started our cruise here and the two days before were both very warm, but the day we disembarked was colder and rainy. Being prepared for everything is helpful! 

I wore this skirt twice while sailing and it was the perfect, lightweight option that rolls up small for packing!

What I Actually Wore & How Often

Over nine days of traveling, here’s how often I wore each of the items I packed for our cruise. 

Item	Packed/Needed	Actually Wore
Waterproof rain jacket	✅	3 days
Lightweight sweater	✅	Almost every day
T-shirts	✅	Every day
Waterproof sneakers	✅	3 days
Sandals	✅/❌	Almost every day on the ship only
Hiking boots	❌	Didn’t miss them

Beanie & gloves

❌

We didn’t need it but some might!

Leggings

❌

Didn’t wear at all, even though I wore long pants nearly every day

Linen pants

✅

3 days

Sweatpants

✅

4 days

Hiking Joggers

✅

3 days

Sneakers

✅

Nearly every day

I hope this is a helpful guide to show you what to pack for a Norway cruise in the summer, as well as provide helpful advice on how to effectively pack in a carry on when trekking through Norwegian weather.