How formal is river cruising?

[mickym]

We have never done river cruising, only ocean cruising so far. I am looking into a river cruise in Europe for next summer and was wondering how formal these cruises are? Are there formal nights like on ocean liners? Are t-shirts and jeans acceptable attire during the day? How different are these cruises from the ocean liners I am used to?

[no fuss travel]

Originally Posted by mickym

We have never done river cruising, only ocean cruising so far. I am looking into a river cruise in Europe for next summer and was wondering how formal these cruises are? Are there formal nights like on ocean liners? Are t-shirts and jeans acceptable attire during the day? How different are these cruises from the ocean liners I am used to?

Totally informal during the day. T-shirts and jeans are acceptable attire during the day unless the weather is too hot then you will want to wear short. I didn't notice anyone wearing a t-shirt for dinner though.

[npphotog]

There are usually two formal/semi formal nights on a river boat. The Captain's night and the farewell dinner. I've been on two river cruises with another coming next August and found that about 3/4s of the men wear a sport coat and tie while some come in a nice shirt and pants. Whatever is comfortable for you. Does feel nice to dress up those two nights. Normal evening meals you could get buy with a nice golf type shirt and pants. I would not suggest t-shirts and jeans. That's my two cents. Willard

[webfoot]

On our two cruises, there were two nights where everyone got a little more dressed up ... the Captain's Dinner and the Farewell Dinner .. several men wore sport coats but the majority work nice button-down shirts and dress pants. I usually take along one or two black skirts for those evenings and pair them with several dressy tops ...

Touring folks mostly wore either jeans or black slacks ... we never went to dinner scrufty but often did go in what we wore that day.

[mickym]

I actually love to dress up for dinner and look forward to formal nights on the ocean cruises. Do the women were evening dresses on those two formal nights on river cruises?

[letsgo39]

Originally Posted by mickym

I actually love to dress up for dinner and look forward to formal nights on the ocean cruises. Do the women were evening dresses on those two formal nights on river cruises?

Well I don't know where the idea of formal on a river cruise came up but there are definitely NO formal nights or even semi formal for that matter.Nobody even wears cocktail dresses or suits.

I do the same thing that "webfoot" does which is black slacks or skirt and a nice sweater or blouse with gold jewelry.I also bring a black jacket and several scarfs to change my outfit.You could also wear a casual dress (if your female) say something similar to what you would wear to church.
Although everybody wears jeans or khakis during the day touring you really do not see the jeans at dinner at night.The Khakis are OK for dinner too. At breakfast and lunch jeans and t's are fine. My DH wore jeans during the day and and Docker type pants at night with a nice collared shirt. He did not even bring a sportcoat or tie which made him very happy.There were a few sportcoats and ties but definitely in the minority. In 2 weeks I only saw one man dressed up in a suit and tie and he looked really out of place.

If you have ever done any land tours the dress is much more similar to that than ocean cruising.Very casual atmosphere.

[franski]

Actually, there were quite a few gentlemen in sport coats (a few with ties) at the Captain's Farewell dinner on our last cruise. Many women were in cocktail-type dresses - and if in pants, had a dressy blouse, shawl, heels etc.

Other dinners - I would say that business casual would work for men and women. Breakfast and lunch - people tended to dress for the excursion of the day - so lots of jeans and casual tops.

[mickym]

Thank you for the posts. The information is always very helpful! What would I do without CC??

[letsgo39]

Franski,

Sounds like our Avalon river cruises tend to be a little less dressy than the cruise you were on. Could be because people that cruise with Avalon have probably been on Globus land tours and take their dress code from there. The dress is very similar to land touring with Globus.

[Wandering Writer]

Originally Posted by letsgo39

Franski,

Sounds like our Avalon river cruises tend to be a little less dressy than the cruise you were on. Could be because people that cruise with Avalon have probably been on Globus land tours and take their dress code from there. The dress is very similar to land touring with Globus.

I'm thinking that dress code depends upon the line you are cruising with. We just got back from cruising with Viking from the north of France south to Nice (Viking Seine, Viking Burgundy) and found the dress much more casual than I had imagined. There were maybe a dozen men (including my DH) who wore jackets and ties for the farewell dinner. And there were lots of jeans and knit shirts (maybe even a T-shirt or two) that night as well.

Do what you feel comfortable in. I appreciated dressing up a bit although it was just a skirt and top.

[npphotog]

Wandering Writer - I cannot imagine anyone wearing a t-shirt at a farewell dinner.
Maybe I'm a prude but that would be out of place in my mind. To each his own.
Not the way I was brought up.

[letsgo39]

Originally Posted by npphotog

Wandering Writer - I cannot imagine anyone wearing a t-shirt at a farewell dinner.
Maybe I'm a prude but that would be out of place in my mind. To each his own.
Not the way I was brought up.

Well it must depend on the rivercruise line. I agree that our Avalon rivercruise was VERY casual and pretty much everything was fine.I really do not care what others wear as I try not to judge people in that manner. It is obviously not "out of place" if others are doing the same thing. You could be just as "out of place" if you were dressed formal and others were casual.I try to worry about myself and not what others do. Maybe you should try that too. It really reduces the stress in your life.

[npphotog]

I did not mean to offend anyone..sorry if it was taken that way. I apologize to all who read my post.

[rico567]

Been on two Viking river cruises. River cruising is very casual. Every day the plan says "casual" and maybe if there's a captain's reception or something it says "casual chic" (whateverinell that is!). It's very, very casual. There will be a few individuals who will dress up for dinner, but they're not me, and they may do as they please.

[Shesailsaway]

Originally Posted by mickym

We have never done river cruising, only ocean cruising so far. I am looking into a river cruise in Europe for next summer and was wondering how formal these cruises are? Are there formal nights like on ocean liners? Are t-shirts and jeans acceptable attire during the day? How different are these cruises from the ocean liners I am used to?

We took a Tauck Riverboat tour from Amsterdam to Budapest last October. It was fabulous. Jeans, walking shorts, tee shirts fine for day. Some didn't even dress up for dinner. Most dressed like they were going to a restaurant for dinner. Only dressy night was the evening in Vienna, at a magnificent palace.

[franski]

We have been on 2 river cruises - one with Uniworld, one with AMA. I can't remember anyone coming to dinner in jeans. Most wore casual slacks/khakis with a collared shirt or sweater (ie: business casual, or what I would wear to work...). It was relaxed enough that mostly anything goes - but many people seemed to want to get out of their jeans and freshen up a bit before dinner. The farewell dinner was a bit dressier - even the crew had their "dress" uniforms on... I didn't see any long dresses - and there were only a few suits - but it was more festive and people did dress up a bit more.

The relaxed atmosphere for meals is one of the things that I really like about river cruising - although there are many that enjoy the formal nights on large cruise ships.

[pacmom]

We have now been on 11 river cruises. DH took a sport jacket once and never again. These are very port intensive trips. If you are on a line that caters to English speaking people, it will be more casual dresswise especially in summer. If you are on a line that leans more toward a European guest list, you will find men in jackets and ties at dinner. The Christmas market trips seem to be more glitzy with holiday tops and ties for the men. Remember it is YOUR vacation--just don't wear your pjs to breakfast. Pat