first time on a cruise
 

I was looking on Fodor's cruise comparison list for each cruise line and some of the cruise lines that I was interested in say that you can't wear shorts after 6:00 p.m.? I really would want to wear shorts if it was warm out, is this really the way that it is? This is our first cruise, hubby and I are in our early 50's and want to take a long Mediterranean cruise because this might be our one and only time going to that region, so we are thinking about a 21 day cruise. We want to have a lot of things to choose from to do, but I don't want the constant announcements that it sounds like some of the ships have. The ones that say they don't have alot of these announcements all day are the ones that seem to have more of a strict dress code, which we definitely do not want, we are casual dress kind of people. So since this is our first cruise maybe some people have some ideas out there? Thanks for any information,
KB

What cruise lines post that? ? We have been on 4 different lines and no such practice have we seen.

I have not been on a cruise line that made constant announcements. There are times that there are a lot, but usually in regards to docking and such. Mostly you are left alone if you like. Best advice is to avoid the party ships. They seem to like a lot of noise.
Dress codes are pretty much what you want them to be. Some would like you to think that you are still in he Great Gatsby era, but that ain't happening. On our last couple of cruises I saw a couple of tuxes, but only on the first night. A jacket fits in but not absolutely essential. Shorts? If they banned shorts at any time they would need to empty the ship. Cruise lines like money most of all, and they take care of those who have it, i.e. the passenger.

We're about to take our 12th cruise, and have used 6 different cruise lines, and none have had a no shorts after 6 rule. A 21 day Med. cruise sounds wonderful. We absolutely love cruising. It's our favorite type of trip. I hope you have a great experience.

Just one more thought-have you looked at Princess cruises? They're reasonably priced, really nice ships and cabins, fun and interesting itineraries, great food. I think Cunard ships like the QM2 are pretty formal, and may have a strict dress code after 6. We've not had experience with Cunard. I'm just going by what I've read.

Both princess and celebrity cruise lines had the after 6p.m. rule. Thank you for the info. That makes me feel better that it is not a big thing about the shorts :-) I don't want to feel like I have to be uncomfortable just because it is after 6. Anybody else have any other experiences with the Mediterranean? I am having a hard time finding the cities that I want to go to all on the same cruise. I didn't think it would be that hard, I am wanting to go to Barcelona, Rome, Venice and Greece. Usually if they have Greece then they don't have either Barcelona or Venice.

I have cruised on both Princess and Celebrity and have also never heard of a no shorts thing after 6 PM. Are you sure it did not say no shorts in formal dining rooms after 6 PM and not on the entire ship?

Have never taken Med. cruise - but have looked at itineraries. As you plan, read carefully - since cruiseship docks are generally quite far from the actual city things you want to see. It is not like they dock right in Rome or on a canal in Venice.

We ha e cruised those lines as well and there is no such policy. You must have misread or misunderstood something like gail said.

As for the cities Barcelona in often the embarkation point for western med cruises. Rome can be included in that as well. Athens is in the eastern med so you won't get that with Barcelona usually. You might get both in the same cruise but that would probably mean a very long cruise.

I don't think you can go wrong either east or west but I would avoid Costa and MSC.

Bingo! Found one. The NCL Spirit has a 12 nighter which includes Baecelona, Rome, Venice and Athens.

Also the CCL recently refurbished Sunshine also has one with these stops.

We were on HAL a couple of years ago and it seemed to be half of a 21 day cruise that went Barcelona- Venice- Istanbul and back. We went Venice, Split, Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos,
Ephesus, Santorini, Olympia and Venice. It was great. HAL is great - relatively quiet but not too stuffy.

Just took an eastern Med Celebrity Reflection cruise. There were dress codes for some of the dining rooms for evening meals but I don't think it was for the entire ship.

On the two formal nights we saw very few tuxs or "formals". I wore black trousers and dressy tops which a lot of women opted for. My husband wore a suit on those nights but I saw lots of men in trousers and tops one step up from a tee shirt.

The ships are air conditioned. How difficult is is to pack a pair of long trousers?

On a Cunard transatlantic crossing last year there were more formal nights and a much larger percentage of men and women VERY dressed up. Still, I didn't feel out of place.

Jacketwatch thanks for the information, I will have to look up that cruise :-) I guess I could have misinterpreted what I read, but thanks for the information.

Hmmm. This one seems perfect.


http://www.ncl.com/vacations?loc=und...e%3F&location=

I tried to c/p the specific one but all came in. Check out the 21 day cruise. Thats the one I meant.

Have you consider a back to back on the same cruise line (or ship), west Med and then East Med or vice versa. That would be anywhere from 22 to 24 days (10+12 or 12+12)

If I recall, many of the churches in Europe have certain “dress” requirements. In Italy, for example, bare shoulders (i.e. sleeveless sundresses) are not well accepted, and shorts and tank tops are not acceptable either.
My relatives who visited Italy last year brought along a scarf for shoulders and rolled a skirt into their day bag to put on over their shorts before entering any Italian churches.