Formal nights on cruise
 

We are soon to go on a Mediterranean cruise with Celebrity. It will be our first cruise - our past European tripping has always been by independent means: mainly driving, some rail, some backpacking by any means of public transport available.

One of the things that had put us off cruising in the past, has been the "formal evenings". Not only does it seem incongruous to dress up formally when supposedly on a relaxing holiday, but as hitherto independent travellers we set great store in travelling light. To meet these opposing needs I've gone out and bought the most lightweight suit imaginable - and yet folded it still takes up one-third of my pack! That's a lot of space that I had for other things on every other trip we've done, that's not available for this trip.

Can someone tell me a little more about these formal cruise evenings please? How rigid are the dress rules? Are there still parts of the ship you can still access on these evenings if you are not dressed formally? For instance, can you still dine somewhere, or have a drink somewhere? OK, now I've bought the suit I'll probably still take it (at the expense of other gear that frankly I would regard as more fitting for a Mediterranean holiday), but it would be nice to know what my options are and how flexible the rules are.

I am of the same mind set as you. Traveling light, especially overseas is important to me.
We went on a Celebrity Baltic cruise this summer and I sort of compromised. I wore a sport coat, which doubled as a casual jacket when the need arose.I left the suit at home. There were 3 formal nights and I saw couples in tuxes and gowns (small minority), suits, and those who wore casual clothes.
At no time did I see any reaction by crew or others to those who were "under dressed.
Essentially, from what I could tell, formal nights meant you got dressed up for dinner. There were no additional events that differed from any other night.

I was happy to be able to wear a sport jacket, but did not feel put out about having to travel half way around the world with clothing I didn't want to have.

Bottom line, you could dine, drink and partake in any of the entertainment regardless of the way you dressed!

Thanks giro, that's good to know. It sort of mattered to us, because we'll be doing 3 weeks of independent touring before the cruise, so need to pack to cater for that as well.

We've been on a grand total of three cruises, two on Celebrity, one on Cunard, so not a huge amount of experience.

Of the three, Cunard (transatlantic crossing) was the most formal but my husband felt comfortable in a good suit. Men's dress clothes and shoes do take up a lot of packing space. I saw some really beautiful dresses and tuxedos but felt comfortable in a black silk dress or trousers and silk jacket--women have it easy!

For the Celebrity cruises he took a navy blazer paired with gray trousers. I thought he looked great and the clothes were much more versatile. On Celebrity, formal nights aren't strictly enforced--I suppose someone in a tank top and shorts might be turned away from the main dining rooms but I didn't see it happen. There's always the informal buffet restaurant--it has a no swimming suit policy but that's about it.

What size is your pack? We have taken 11 cruises and soon will be on a 12th. My suit does not take that much space but no worries really. You can skip it all together and use the buffet or room service.

As for the MDR on formal nights most cruise lines have relaxed their attire regulations and now it is in effect a suggestion. I did see once or twice on Celebrity men on formal nights being given jackets from the staff to wear and on our Med cruise, especially on the 2nd formal night many men had no suits or jackets and were seated. The norms have changed.

Formal nights are a cruising tradition and a lot of people dress up and seem to enjoy it. As we seldom have occasions to dress up we like it too but times have changed. A friend of mine who has cruised Celebrity for decades recalls men not being admitted on formal night w/o proper attire but those days are gone. Bottom line is you do not need to pack a suit or jacket.

Will you be on a Solstice class ship?

Cheers, Larry. :)

Jacket, you are right. Celebrity does quietly hand out jackets. DH decided not to wear one one night in the MDR. While not embrassed by the crew, he was not comfortable wearing a "pre-worn" jacket, but did because he did not want to trek back to the cabin, but he wore his own the rest of the cruise.

If you really do not want to wear a jacket of any kind, the buffets are ususally good and have specials on formal night so people do not feel they are missing out too much.

While I understand not carting around too many clothes, I also enjoy the dressing up aspect of cruising. I am afraid if they gave up formal nights, we would see only flip flops and shorts the whole cruise and I would feel as if I was at a beach bar. Hope they never go that casual.

Hi Sass! How are things?

I did see X had out jackets on the cruise we were with you and Nigel. As the OP is going to be in the Med things are more formal so we will see how strict they will be. On our Med cruise on the Equinox the 1st formal was pretty tight but the 2nd seemd to be come as you are, just no shorts or jeans.

We leave for Japan in a few weeks. 4 days Tokyo, then a 9 day cruise on the Diamond Princess.

It's easy - eat somewhere else on formal nights. Apart from the fact that we are reluctant to carry clothes that may only be worn once or twice, the whole formal night thing seems a leftover from the past.
It seemed really ridiculous on our last cruise when we saw a queue of people dressed in dinner jackets and formal gowns at 4 pm, waiting patiently to have their photos taken before going into early dinner at 5.30 pm.

"Formal Nights" seem to be the subject of an inordinate number of questions. We are way beyond the Gatsby era and these nights should be abolished. The more enlightened lines have already done so. In the meantime the dining halls a filled with men in ancient tuxedos and women in bridesmaid suits. While the bulk of the dining room is people in nive clothes. I give in by wearing a blazer on the plane and packing a tie. And the airlines fail to cooperate by setting ridiculous baggage limits.

What are nive clothes?

Oh, I think I figured it out - "nice" clothes. Sorry.

I agree, when traveling overseas for a cruise i dont want to bogged down with a lot of luggage, having to carry black tie outfits for formal nights.

You can always eat in the buffet on formal nights, where you can go in shorts and t-shirt if you wish. Also some of the casual extra-pay restaurants are another option.

Reme some people enjoy dressing up once in a while. As we are both in the medical field and wear scrubs dressing up is a nice change for us. The good thing is its usually twice on a cruise and if you can always find an alternate place to eat if you wish. "Ancient tuxedos and bridesmaid suits"?? Really? :S-

DH and I are retired and rarely get dressed up anymore. When we are traveling to Europe and mostly sightseeing, we are out walking all day, so very casual. We both enjoy having time on a cruise to get dressed up a bit and it is nice to see other people also looking their best. I love seeing DH dressed up, so for us, it is fun. If we don't feel like it, there are plenty of other places on the ship to eat. I hope they keep formal nights or keep one dining room formal for people who still enjoy getting dressed for dinner.

Who knows? If they stop formal nights, they may decide nobody cares anymore and start using paper napkins.

The good thing is there are options for those who don't want to dress up just for these two nights. Most cruise lines still have formal nights actually. Few have discarded this tradition though strict enforcement has lessened.

I find it discouraging that people don't want to dress up on Formal nights. I agree with the comment that says, eat somewhere else or in your cabin. Formal nights are a cruise tradition. What do you think a PROMENADE is all about? It's about looking smart and showing off. It's about making dinner and "event" instead of a hog fest. Granted, it has Victorian schmaltz pinned to it, but making the effort to look nice is not that hard. Cruising has become trashy without it so get classy and dress up!

I bring a nice top, and a skirt (or pants if you wear them) that I can wear every day with other tops. If more than one formal night, wash the top in the sink.

My husband wears shirts, so for him it's only a tie, and a V-neck pullover, or sometimes he takes a jacket.

No reason to avoid a formal dinner, but if you choose, you can dine in the buffet or order room service.

And believe me, there will be others who don't look "formal".

Just be comfortable wearing what you would normally wear to a dinner party. More than likely, you will never see any of the people (fellow passengers and crew) ever again.

Are you worry about what other people think of how you dress at the formal night? Don't! I often changed back to jeans and comfortable shoes after a formal dinner and rumble around the entertainment venues while many still dressed in their "finest". I don't feel out of place sitting at the theater or the night club wearing my comfort wear and no one gave me a dirty look (not yet anyway), and I probably wouldn't care.

Be yourself, enjoy and as long as you are not bothering anyone, why would you care about what they think of how you dress?

fAs long as what you wear does not offend the majority of the people, you are fine. Be yourself, be comfortable and not be a conformist!

Luv that advice E. Good stuff.

BTW we leave for Japan next week for 4 days in Tokyo B4 embarking on a 9 day cruise. And Princess just gave us a complimentary upgrade to a mini-suite. Why do you suppose they did this. Could it be there is a need for balcony (we reserved this) cabins but not for minis due to the cheaper price?