Are there any suggestions on how we can skip the cruise line formal wear requirement? My husband and I are not the formal wear types? I don't even own a cocktail dress or a formal gown and my husband doesn't have any dark suits. Are there food options on the formal wear nights for people like us?

What cruise line are you on? On at least some (don't know about all) you can eat in the buffet restaurant without formal. Of course, there is always room service. If you haven't booked a specific cruise, look at Azamara or Oceania as their dress codes are "Country Club Casual" - which basically means dressing as you would in a nice city restaurant (no jean, shorts, t-shirts or tennis shoes).

Thanks Charli! We are considering two different cruise lines: Costa and NCL. NCL seems to be less formal but we actually would prefer Costa's ports. Dress up for us means nice pantsuits, casual dress, etc.

NCL would be your best bet... From my friends comments about Costa I would avoid them like the plague.. oh yes.. read other reviews..

You don't have to limit yourself to NCL. HAL, Princess and Celebrity certainly have optional dining in the lido. I can't remember whether it was Princess or HAL that actually set tables in the lido and you were waited on rather than do the buffet. Either way you don't have to worry about conforming to the dress code of the dining room. It is also nice if you have a balcony to have room service and dine there (weather permitting) There aren't too many formal nights anyway so your pantsuits etc are perfectly acceptable in the dining room on the other nights.


ps as parrotmom said avoid Costa. I have heard nothing but bad experiences with them.

I never pack a formal gown. I bring a black skirt or dress pants, and a nice top that I can wash or dry-clean, and wear to 2 or 3 formal evenings. My husband brings a... what do you call it? blazer? - there will be many men not in suits, but different color pants and coats. Toss a tie in, and you are set.

Formal nights on ships are not exactly black tie events.

The cruise websites over-state what formal means (I have been on RCCL, NCL, Celebrity, Disney, Princess). While you always have the option of picking the buffet on formal nights, this is what you actually need. Husband needs jacket, tie, dress shirt, pants that are not jeans. Not even a suit. You need a dress - any dress (other than a beach sundress), business suit, even skirt and nice blouse with a jacket or sweater, or dress pants that you dress up with blouse/jacket. You will not feel out of place in these, will not offend anyone, will be admitted to dining room. While some passengers will be far more dressed up than you, many will be dressed just this way. (The glossy brochure photos lie as well)

Carnival no longer has formal nights! They call it 'cruise elegance' and that means even shorts are OK in the main dining rooms ANY night!! We got off their Glory yesterday and were on her three weeks before (couldn't pass up fare of $249, 7 days, and ended up on our favorite deck,9, the Lido!) The 1st Glory cruise had very few tux's and formal wear. The cruise we just got off of had more formal wear than the 3 weeks before. And passengers were just different all around. My husband did not take his tux, just a sports jacket. A lot of men didn't even wear a jacket any night.

Thanks everyone! The website and the brochures had me worried. Our next goal is to finally pick our cruise and go on to having some fun. Thanks again!

Oceania doesn't have formnal nights. They call their dress code "country club casual" and most men don't wear a jacket.

Fodorites are the best! I may be new to this forum but I have already grown to appreciate all of you. I hope I can return the favor someday and help you. Thanks again!

"The website and the brochures had me worried." - sure they had! The main purpose is to sell. You can rent a tux, you can rent this, you can rent that, you will pay a lot for those formal photos if you don't bring your own camera - they just want your money in addition to your main payment.

Relax It's not as bad as it looks!

Plenty of options. Room service, Pizza, Pasta, Buffet, Bistro, Grill etc. There are plenty of choices. tr all depends on the ship's offerings. The larger the ship, the more choices you will have. All those mentioned option was available on our last 2 cruises (Princess and Celebrity)
Don't dread the formal night, show up with smart casual and chances are they won't turn you away. Your hubby may need a tie but not necessary a dark suit.

You all have taken a load off my mind. Thanks!

Avoid Costa at all costs. We had a very annoying experience with them and found that their customer service doesn't exist.

Their attitude is "We've got your money--go away"!

We have sailed on three different cruise lines five times over probably 10-12 years (not big cruisers, but experienced)and I have never taken "formal" clothes. I wear a Navy blazer on the plane and with dress pants, shirt and tie, I feel as dressed up as most. Few actually wear tuxes, and if they do, they are gone by the second formal night. Yous even see pretty casual clothes on formal nights. My wife wears a "nice" dress. You don't really need to go to the Lido if you are not "dressed". The cruise lines need the money, not alienated customers. The formal nights are for romantics who think we are in the 1930's (and rich.)

We're like you - not into the formal wear either. Especially with luggage allowances don't want to take any clothes I don't have to.

As everyone said, lots of other options for eats. And we prefer Carnival which has early and late seating - we're usually doing so much stuff we miss our dining time.

Even on the formal nights, I've seen men in just dress slacks with one of those nice Hawaiian type shirts. So no need to go all out.

Thanks! Lifeman suggested to avoid Costa. Any other cruise lines to avoid? At this moment we have narrowed our selection down to Royal Carribean and NCL, but we have not bought a package yet. Any last minutes thoughts?

The one thing that I would recommend, is to go on the smallest (passenger numbers) ship on a reputable line that you can afford. Two to four thousand passengers are way too many for us. We ideally prefer under a thousand.

There are those who prefer the bigger ships, but it's down to personal preference.

Now, find the itinerary/ports that are of interest.. Our favorite cruise line is Celebrity, but we are going to do NCL Gem in two months..but I think Parrot Pop will still take a jacket.. From somebody in the know...and I do mean "know".the Gem and the Jade are the two best NCL ships..Celebrity now has by whatever name.. "select" dining.. Have a friend on the Infinity right now and will hear about it.. bTW I comparing Princess with Celebrity... Celebrity wins hands down for "class" and service... Dayenu is right.. Since Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity if the price is right as is the ittineary and the ship..go for Celebrity.. We did their Constellation (our favorite), the Century and the Galaxy.. We are now booked for 2010 on the Equinox.. a bigger ship, but a fantastic itnerary for our anniversary..