Formal Nights
 

Are formal nights compulsory? My wife and I are all into cruisewear, but dressing up in tuxedo and gown doesn't really float our boat(forgive me). Also, can one get away without packing even a sports jacket and tie? We're considering a southern carib trip for Jan. '05. Any suggestions for a ship for us? (40's, no kids). Thanks.

A small cruise ship company will give you this option.... Cruise West, Windstar, Clipper, etc.

Tux and gown formal night is the ultimate dress for that evening.

Dark suit for men, also, works.and I bring either a long black skirt or pants and a couple of matching tops.

We will usually have our picture taken the first formal night and if not too good will have it taken again on the second. Good value compared to land studios.

If you do not wish to enter the dining room on a formal night, then do your dining at the buffet line, or get dinner in your cabin. A lot of folks do that. But, I've also seen the casually dressed folks in the dining room, too! I don't think you will be turned away... but you might feel under dressed, because many folks will wear their finery and get photos taken on formal nights. I've been on 9 cruises thus far, #10 in August. I'm not always dressed to the 9's on formal night, personally. I think it was more "fun" to do so on the first few cruises I've taken. This is all from my own personal experience. In any case, enjoy your cruise.

I can add one thing to all good advice's above. Norwegian Cruise line has Free Style and you don't have to dress up.

As mass market lines go, I'd also suggest staying away from Celebrity if you don't want to drees up. They tend to be more formal (after 6pm throughout the ship) than some other lines. Of course you can dress anyway you wish if you dine in your stateroom. And as others have stated, some ships have alternative dining areas for more casual attire.

Glad to see you are doing research BEFORE you book your cruise. Some check afterwards then complain that it was too formal for their tastes.

Good luck in your search! :-)

We have been on several cruises on various lines. The majority of the men wear dark suits not tuxes on formal nights. Most times people have there pictures taken, I think it is a nice p.m. to remember your cruise by but I know formal nights are not for everyone. As for woman I have seen some gowns but any basic black dress will do just fine.

In writing this, I hope that no one will take my comments personally. My husband and I have been on many cruises over many years. It is disheartening to us to see formal night disintegrate and even ship ettiquette for that matter. Formal night is just that. It does not mean that you dress for dinner then right after change into jeans for the rest of the evening. It doesn't mean that you go casually dressed to the bistro and then wander the public areas afterwards. The dress code applies to the atmosphere on ship during that particular evening. It seems that the bigger the ship, and the better the price, the more this is a problem. You would not have seen this 15 years ago. Just one person's opinion.

JudithE, I concur so consider it two people's opinions. Tacky! Tacky!

You are correct! Formal Night as it was known in the past is indeed a thing of the past.Every time I am preparing for a cruise, my Grandmother calls me to make sure I have packed my tux....NOT!! Then I hear about the Gold Ole days,when cruising was not for everyone, nor did the few cruise lines that existed mean for everyone to cruise."I remember when"....begins her tales of days gone by.Just like when I'm ready to fly somewhere--"no jeans".Times have changed.I do however wear a dark suit as all in my party do and we dont change after dinner.Your point is well taken.

JudithE. You're right. And Tabcourt for doing the research now. You should go with someone like Clipper that advertize casual.
On formal nights Silversea has a restaurant where you can dine casually. But if you are to go wonder around the ship after 7pm, they do ask you to dress according to the dress code of the day out of respect to other passengers. I think it's fair. T-shirts and shorts in the main dining room of many of the mass market lines is well, not only tacky but discourteous to other passengers. High-end restaurants won't serve you dressed like that.

Althought it is nice to keep things "the way they were" some people strongly disagree with formality these days. The good ole days doesn't make it correct. Woman always wore hats and gloves but not anymore. I say if people are not interested in formal nights then go on the ships that do not have them. But in Rome do as the Romans do. Stay dressed out of respect to those who love Formal nights on there cruise.

My DH loves to wear a tux !(Imagine that) and I like to dress up, too.

Now with the Lido-casual open for dinner (good thing), that is what they wore for dinner-when you see them after dinner.

So-the people you see around the ship dressing casual in the evening could be casual diners or formals that have changed. Who knows anymore.

The eventual trend will tend towards all-casual as long as there are other dining areas-sad to see it all go.

Alot of people remember when you dressed up to fly, work, dine, etc. but not anymore, for the most part.

Our family all dressed up for formal night, because we all thought that it would be fun. And we had a fantastic portrait done. But I honestly can't tell you what anyone else on the ship was wearing. I think everyone else in the dining room was dressed up, but othes on the ship may have been wearing tee shirts and shorts for all I know. We wore what we wanted, and had fun. If you don't want to dress up, just eat casually at the buffet or the poolside spots---or room service. There are lots of options on most ships now.

There are lots of options nowadays and that's good. I personally think dress code is kind of silly, however,if you choose a line that has dress codes, then don't go around public rooms in T-shirts and spoil other people's fun. That's rude. You should dine in the casual venues and stay out of casino afterwards. If you don't like it, then go on some other line.

I will admit to being educated by above posts - I thought formal night applied to main dining room, not entire ship - while I never think it is appropriate to wander around public areas of ship in t-shirts, flip-flops, shorts at and after dinner hour - am confused about those that have suggested if one choses not to wear formal wear to eat in other than main dining room. How would one avoid being inappropriately dressed while walking to such restaurant - if formal night applies to entire ship, not just dining room.

My husband wore a tux and I a black dress on our first cruise. We were on RCCL's Majesty of the Seas and we were overdressed. Those who had cruised before were casually dressed in khakis, nothing fancy. So I think a tux and gown would be overkill, just dress the way you would dress if you were going out to eat at a nice restaurant at home. But it depends on the atmosphere of the ship.

Can anyone tell me what folks wore on Formal nights as well as casual nights on Holland ships to Alaska - am sailing on the Veendam and now am wondering what to plan to wear. Thanks

It seems to me that a lot of posters are using extreme examples of people flouting the formal dress code by wearing "t-shirts and shorts". What about those folks who have eschewed black-tie and tux for black pants and open-collar black shirt for example(for men) and black cocktail dress and heels(for women)? Would this manner of dress also be deemed offensive? To get specific for my wife and myself, we will be sailing on the Celebrity Constellation in early '05.

On formal nights men should have tie and jacket, not necessarily a suit. In many mass market lines, many seem to get away with a sport jacket. What a shame but maybe I'm old fashioned. I noticed a lot of Europeans on Celebrity in Europe(of course), and they are better dressed than Americans. So if you are going to Europe, I think you'd be happier if you had a suit.