ally1888

My husband and I are going on our first cruise....Ultimate Caribbean in November this year and would like help with a few Questions.

1. where do you eat on Formal nights? is it in the main dining room?

2. we wanted to get dressed up for these formal nights. do a lot of people still do this? We just want it to be special as it is for hubby's special birthday and wanted some nice professional photos.

3. are the speciality dining packages worth paying the extra for? We have our drinks package already so can we use this in speciality restaurants?

thanks in advance

jacketwatch

What ship?

You can go to the MDR but also can go to one of the speciality restaurants.

Dress codes in general are becoming less rigid and they are generally not enforced to the letter but in the Caribbean its more casual to begin with. yes you can dress up.

Again what ship will you be one to get a better idea of the speciality restaurants. Yes I think you can use the drink package in any one of them.

Cheers, Larry.

ally1888

Thanks for this info Larry. We are going on celebrity Equinox. Really new to this so don't know what to expect.

Cheers
Ally

jacketwatch

We had been of X twice and for us their MDR food is just fine. We have dined in some of their speciality restaurants including Silk (Asian) on the Equinox and the Tuscan Grille on the Connie. We actually dined at Silk twice and BTW the Equinox is a beautiful ship. We really enjoyed it.

As for worth of the extra cost that is up to you. If you are someone who loves fine dining then yes go for it or just to treat yourselves then do it as it is a cut above but for us the MDR is fine. We have dined in many nice places in Chicago but also like the neighborhood places too. Deep dish pizza is just fine as is Al's beef if you want a great Italian beef sandwich but hey there's no maitre'd or sommelier. .

Cheers, Larry.

Have fun!

ally1888

Thank u for all this info, it has helped tremendously. We are really looking forward to it. Yes we like fine dining so think we are going to go for the experience. You might get more questions from me before we go ��

Ally
X

jacketwatch

No worries. Ill check back from time to time.

. Larry.

gail

The photos from cruise line may make it look like everyone is going to an adult prom, but that is not the case. If you wish to get really dressed up, go for it. There will be others similarly dressed for similar reasons. Even if the majority is is dressy business wear or cocktail party wear - and some less dressed up - celebrate if you wish. No one will stare at you other than perhaps to think you look really nice.

And after dinner - act like cruisers from another era. Sit in the nicest bar on board and sip exotic drinks.

There will be more times with photographers trying to get you to line up for a photo op than you can count. While it is just another way to make money for cruise line, in reality few of us have nice photos of our families anymore, so enjoy.

jacketwatch

You can get carried away with the photo ops and that adds up but we usually get one and that's during formal night when we are dressed up.

I agree with Gail that formal night is the best time to do this and there are usually several spots on the ship set up at the same times for this.

ally1888

Thanks Gail. I think for our first cruise we are going to do it in style then if we go on another we can tone it down a bit.
I only want 2 photos of the formal nights.
Are the photos expensive?

jacketwatch

Maybe $20.00.

Sassafrass

Hi Ally,

You are going to have a wonderful time. IMHO, the Caribbean is perfect for a first cruise. Our first was a Princess ship in the Southern Caribbean and we had such fun, we took a TA a month later and a Med cruise that Fall.

On Celebrity on formal nights, all men in the main dining room will be wearing jackets. It is still required for that night at least. While perhaps not so formal in the Caribbean, you will still see most women dressed up for dinner and many long dresses.

Pictures can add up, but are fun. One of my favorites is of DD and GD with the Captain on formal night.

I hope you are getting to the port the night before embarkation so you can get on the ship as early as possible and be rested to enjoy the ship from the moment you get on. Most people plan on having lunch on the ship.

Your luggage may not get to your cabin for awhile, so take your swimsuit in your carry-on so you can change and hang out at the pool if it is warm enough.

Some people think it is silly, but we enjoy being on deck for the sail-a-way party.

jacketwatch

Our last X cruise was 2012 on the Equinox to the Med and though jackets are required enforcement of the dress code is lax, especially on the 2nd formal night. I saw men in just long sleeves.

Sass and I were on the Connie at the same time in 2011 along with the late and great Dogster or Nigel and I think on that cruise which was the Med and Holy Land the adherence to formal night dress codes was more in force.

Sassafrass

Jacket, good to know it is less rigid. They gave Mike a jacket one night on that cruise. He didn't want to walk back to the cabin, so he wore it, but was not happy. I won't tell him he can relax more. LOL.

jacketwatch

They were different on that cruise I think. A man came to dinner w/o a jacket and they gave him one too though it was like a size 46 for a guy who looked like a 38 so they hung it on the back of his chair. It's odd how the next yr. on the Equinox cruising to the same area which is usually more formal being in Europe that they backed off so much. Anyway typically the Caribbean has more casual cruisers.

ally1888

Thank you all so much for your replies. I'm sure we will have and amazing time.I really appreciate all the pointers.

Sass we are flying in the day before and staying in a hotel overnight as part of our package and then Celebrity pick us up the next day to take us to port.

Hubby is going to hire the Tux from Celebrity to save us carrying a suit so we can't wait to get some professional photos.

$20 sounds good to me Jacket

good idea about a swimsuit in hand luggage
All these things help a cruise virgin lol

x

jacketwatch

Wow its cool to see you those enthused about this, your first cruise and I would bet not your last.

I love the idea of going in a day early.

I think you have a great start to it. As for excursions do you plan to go with the ship, just get off in port and walk around or go with a local guide?

Many people just use a local guide as its less money, fewer people and more personalized but its up to you. I know terrific guides that we used in St. Maarten, Antigua and St. Lucia if these are some of your ports and if you are interested.

Bon Voyage!

Larry. .

lunabug

Larry, Who did you use in St Maarten. We will be there on Reflection in January.

Ally, I don't think one part of your question was answered - Yes you can use your drink package in the speciality restaurants. Some of the wine by the glass in Murano on Reflection was over the $15.00 maximum (not sure if that's correct number) but you just had to pay the difference if you ordered a pricier glass.
Even before Celebrity change formal nights to 'Chic' there were several folks who didn't have jackets and they seemed to be left alone.

jacketwatch

She is Joyce Prince. We used her services in 2008 and I actually phoned her last spring to get some ideas about St. Maarten as a honeymoon destination for our son. She remembered me and was very helpful.


joyceprince.com/tours.html

HRHDHD

Celebrity has changed formal nights to "Evening Chic." Jackets are no longer required. Here's the blurb from their website: "Formal Night gets a modern luxury reboot. Say goodbye to Formal Night, and hello to Evening Chic. It’s your time to shine—your way. Get glamorous. Get chic. Be sophisticated. Now, on up to two nights on every cruise, Evening Chic activities have been introduced, and Evening Chic attire has replaced Formal attire. While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire."

Eschew

Photo prices had gone up. They package everything. If you buy a package, it works out to less than $20 a picture depending on package. Single picture is more like $30+. Those formal night pic package can range from $100 to $1000.