Formal Nights/Casual NIghts...our first cruise!

[ksteeves1@sympatico.ca]

Our family plans to dress for the two formal nights on our 7 night Alaskan Cruise setting sail Aug 8th. DH - suit, jacket, white shirt & tie, myself a long flowing summer dress (I hope I'm warm enough!) and then dressy slacks with a silky blouse night two. The two boys (ages 8 & 10) are wearing khaki's, white shirts & tie. I hope this will work.
My question is - what do we wear for casual nights? My sister in law is thinking dresses...but is it that too 'dressy'??
Looking forward to my replies! Thanks for your help. Kelly

[Copper10-8]

Stand by to stand by!;)

Good question btw! I wear a collared shirt (polo/Hawaiian), slacks (Dockers-type) - DW usually wears a top with slacks or whatever you call women's pants:o

We both have worn jeans on the first night:eek:

[diathoney]

Women can wear a wide range of things - capri pants with a nice shirt, dockers & shirt, dress, skirt & shirt, even skorts. I'm bringing black docker-type pants and a pair of black capri pants, with nice shirts. I'll wear the pants/capris multiple nights to save luggage space. Bring the same type of clothes you'd wear to a nice restaurant at home.

[Crew News]

Embarkation night is casual and that includes shorts. The rest of the nights, except formal, should be business casual. Shirt and slacks for men is the norm. Most females go the slacks and tops route, Blue jeans are discouraged and I have seen some wearers turned away.

[Himself]

Formal nights require a jacket, shirt and tie for the males and dresses for the females.
Casual is not the term for casual. I think it is called "smart Casual"

[RuthC]

My question is - what do we wear for casual nights? My sister in law is thinking dresses...but is it that too 'dressy'??
I always wear dresses on casual nights. Some are 2-piece, most are 1-piece. I have one set of evening pajamas that I sometimes bring.
Hardly "too dressy".

[RuthC]

Embarkation night is casual and that includes shorts.
Shorts are not usually worn at night in Alaska.
Even though the first night could be thought of as "baggage claim casual", shorts are specifically mentioned as not to be worn.

[Sharon in AZ]

Formal night is jacket and tie, many men wear tux's. My husband is one of them. Other nights, the 'smart casual' night, are no shorts or jeans. I decide what I wear on those nights depending on the destination of the cruise. For your cruise in Alaska I would probably wear nice slacks, like Dockers. When we sail the Caribbean I like to wear sleeveless sundresses.....sort of fits the locale. For our upcoming New England/Canada cruise I plan to just wear slacks and knit tops on smart casual nights.

Have a great cruise!

[YeaYeaYea]

I go with a button down and dockers and on formal night we dress up to the nines. I think is is fun to walk around before you eat all dressed up. Its like your at the big ball everyone looks great its one of the things I like most about HAL. The DAM formal nights...........

[bcirish]

You need not wear a dress- most women wear slacks in the dining room - not jeans though and I have seen folks stopped at the door with shorts. They have few rules on the embarkation nite because some may not have luggage yet but figure this in your plans and either dress appropriately for the day or put something in your carry on. Make sure you carry on your electronic equipment with you - cameras ipods etc. Have a good time and take a sweater in case the dining room is cool and enjoy your pretty dress.

[Cruising Carol]

Formal nights require a jacket, shirt and tie for the males and dresses for the females.
Casual is not the term for casual. I think it is called "smart Casual"

On all my HAL cruises, I have never worn a dress on formal night or smart casual. Dress slacks and dressy top or jacket are quite acceptable for women on formal nights.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our family plans to dress for the two formal nights on our 7 night Alaskan Cruise setting sail Aug 8th. DH - suit, jacket, white shirt & tie, myself a long flowing summer dress (I hope I'm warm enough!) and then dressy slacks with a silky blouse night two. The two boys (ages 8 & 10) are wearing khaki's, white shirts & tie. I hope this will work.
My question is - what do we wear for casual nights? My sister in law is thinking dresses...but is it that too 'dressy'??
Looking forward to my replies! Thanks for your help. Kelly

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

On smart casual nights I wear either dresses, slacks and blouses or slacks and blouses.

[mamaofami]

Our family plans to dress for the two formal nights on our 7 night Alaskan Cruise setting sail Aug 8th. DH - suit, jacket, white shirt & tie, myself a long flowing summer dress (I hope I'm warm enough!)


Bring a shawl or sweater if you're worried about being warm. The ships are usually kept cool.

[Snafflebit]

I did not notice anyone being turned away for inappropriate dress recently on Zuiderdam. The headwaiter in the "As You Wish" dining room proposed to seat me and DH with a man wearing sneakers, baggy blue jeans, a stained and ripped polo-style shirt and a John Deere cap! The maitre d' understood perfectly why "As We Wished" was to be seated elsewhere-but he said not a word to the man and his wife (who also looked dressed for working in the garden).

[norcal2]

Dresses on casual nights are fine if that is what you want to wear. On all lines I wear slacks and a nice top for casual nights and in some cases Capri's depending on the style. On dress nights what you described is perfectly fine. One thing that I found on my first cruise on HAL was that the options are fantastic up to an including room service from the same dinner menu as well as the more organized lido than most other lines.

From seeing others most dressed appropriate to the night and it did not seem much different than on any other line. Shorts are usually not welcome of course but anything going to the knee is usually safe. Don't sweat the small stuff because it sounds like you have a good grasp of dining on a ship.

You may want to think about bringing a wardrobe jacket or sweater or some nice dressy cover to ward off the chill. You can always take it off.

[RuthC]

The headwaiter in the "As You Wish" dining room proposed to seat me and DH with a man wearing sneakers, baggy blue jeans, a stained and ripped polo-style shirt and a John Deere cap!
The Lido, Pinnacle, Tamarind, Canaletto, and main dining rooms are all "As You Wish". So is your cabin, for that matter, since "As You Wish" includes all those dining venues.

From the context of your post, it seems you are referring to the main dining room, and the open seating level of that room.

[Snafflebit]

The Lido, Pinnacle, Tamarind, Canaletto, and main dining rooms are all "As You Wish". So is your cabin, for that matter, since "As You Wish" includes all those dining venues.

From the context of your post, it seems you are referring to the main dining room, and the open seating level of that room.


So sorry, yes, I was trying to communicate the lower level, Vista Dining Room, open seating. He's certainly free to dress as he pleases in his cabin. In any case, the gentleman and his wife looked less than appetizing. ;)