I'm looking to book a cruise which doesn't require a formal night (dressy casual each night is fine). My husband wears a suit everyday and would prefer a cruise where he can leave suit and tie at home. Princess and NCL may fit the bill, but not sure as I've never sailed on either. Thanks.

Yes, cruise NCL where you can wear t-shirt, jeans and cap on formal night if you wish - ugh. Or you can cruise line the masted sailing vessels (Windstar for resort casual or Windjammer for anything). You can also choose one of the very small ships.<BR><BR>Just a quick sampling. See travel agent.<BR><BR>Paul

Hi Keli,<BR><BR>We have cruised NCL twice and other ships (Celebrity, HAL, Royal Caribbean etc) many times, and we love the freestyle cruising of NCL. (We have not cruised with Princess since they have gone to the freestyle system yet.) You do not have to &quot;dress up&quot; for dinner as other lines require. I saw very few &quot;t-shirt, jeans and cap&quot; on any night--but if that is your choice--go for it!(caps in a dining room is rude no matter what style of dining you choose). The only restriction is that on formal nights one restaurant is reserved for those in formal attire and you will be refused if you are not &quot;dressed up&quot;--but you have other restaurants to chose from, so it really is not an issue.<BR><BR>It would be so nice if people kept this forum for what it is intended-- information sharing--not judgemental comments (ugh)<BR><BR>Hope you enjoy your cruise--whichever you decide on!!

I would agree with paula that questions like yours are what this forum is for and you shouldn't expect to be referred to a travel agent for answers. If Paul doesn't want to give complete information and just &quot;bait&quot; the poster, he should find a different site.<BR><BR>As to your question, Keli - all of the major cruise lines offer some type of buffet dinner service that can be substituted for formal dining on formal nights. Most have two formal nights, so you and your husband would simply skip your traditional or freestyle dining for the buffet service (and perhaps some of the specialty restaurants on some of the ships that won't require the suit and tie). If you don't get all the information you need on this site, you don't have to go look up a travel agent - simply go to cruisecritic.com and look thru their chat rooms.

Thank you! I should also have mentioned that my husband and I are not into buffets whatsoever. Now I suppose the decision will come down to, which is worse...the buffet issue or the dress up issue. To me, I'd rather dress up than ever go through a dinner buffet line. Thanks for your help!

Sailed NCL 11/17-26/02 on Dream. Also hate buffets especially for dinner. This is freestyle dine. On formal nite 1 dine room is reserved for formal. Other is resort casual where I wore silk pants and a silk or moderatly dressy top and hubby wore dockers and a pressed sport shirt or collared knit shirt.

Keli- We have take tne Windstar line-It is upscale casul- and we were on the Windsurf..It was FABULOUS!!Hubs said please don't put him on a ship that requires a coat and tie and he LOVED this ship- I would highly recommend it

For what it is worth I was against the idea of dressing up during my first cruise (Celebrity) but after being on board I learned to appreciate it as part of the cruise experience. My next cruise, Princess Regal, was less formal and I actually missed the formality. You can avoid dressing up on any ship with the dining options. On the Princess Regal one could have worn sport clothing any evening if desired and not be too &quot;out of place&quot;.

Hi!<BR><BR>As for the formal nights, there are two options for you. You are never required to wear a formal ballgown and tuxedo for these nights - though some people love to get all dressed up and choose to wear their finest. A nice jacket and tie is just fine for men and a cocktail dress, dressy suit or pantsuit is wonderful for women. I have the perennial little black cocktail dress and I wear it with pearls and heels and never feel underdressed.<BR><BR>The second option is to simply relax and order room service. It is usually free as a part of the price of your cruise. After your dinner, you are certainly welcome to wear your casual clothes into the public areas for the movie or the shows. <BR><BR>Have a great day!

I just booked a Celebrity cruise, only to learn that people are being turned away from the theatre, etc, after dinner on formal nights because they changed into casual clothing. I am truly insulted by this draconian policy.<BR><BR>Look, I don't think anyone here intends to look like a slob, or wear a t-shirt and jeans, just to be comfortable. The premium lines don't enforce a dress code, they obvious have enough respect for their passengers discretion to dress themselves. What does it say about the type of passengers that need to be policed, let alone the sheeplike mentality of those passengers who advocate dress code enforcement.<BR><BR>I thought Celebrity catered to a more sophisticated, upscale traveler? Only a pretentious wannabee would advocate the enforcement of a dress code. Who are these people kidding? They are oridinary, everyday, middle class (maybe), cruisers, who apparently want to pretend they are something they are not. What a sham. Give me a man in khaki's, polo shirt and navy blazer over some yahoo in a rented tux anyday. A polyester gown and rented tux do not an aristocrat make. Sorry to burst your bubble people.<BR><BR>Next time, we cruise Seaborn. Yes we can afford it, and it's motto of &quot;elegantly casual&quot; is more in keeping with our style. I only wish I has known before I booked our cruise.<BR><BR>

When are the rest of the cruise lines going to get with it? Many people like Kelli aren't interested in getting dressed up to eat. So what? There are plenty of casual, but very good restaurants in New York that blow away cruise food. People like Paul apparently think it's still 1950 and he's going to dine with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. Not! <BR><BR>The cruise lines are losing business to resorts where casual dining is the norm, not the exception. That's one reason I prefer resorts to cruising.

I think they are just trying to duplicate the days of old. When cruises catered to the elite class of people. today we know, that anyone can afford a cruise. Some lines are just trying to replicate the days of old. I don't care one way or the other. Some people enjoy dressing up, some do not. I don't think it has anything to do with class, or money. Money does not buy you &quot;class.&quot; Never has, and it never will. It is just all a matter of personal preference.