dress for children on cruise

[chopper65]

We are taking my son ,daughter in law and 11 year old grandson on a Xmas cruise. This is their first cruise and they are concerned about what kids wear at dinner. Any help will be appreciated

[firefly333]

Most will be in tee shirts and shorts except on formal night. Iv seen some cutie pies on elegant night, at the very least, long pants for your grandson, maybe a white shirt if he has one, or one a little dressier will be fine. Most kids dont have ties or bow ties, a few kids will be more dressed up, but anything he wears to church would be fine too.

A few kids dress up more, but they wouldnt be out of place if they look nice. The elegant nights are when they take pictures if you want of the family. Some are really nice with the backdrops.

[cuccicruisers]

my boys will generally wear polo shirts and khaki shorts at dinner. i let them skip formal nights and go to camp.

[chopper65]

Thanks for the replies. I'll pass along the info. My daughter in law is quite concerned about dress

[steveaaaaa]

Originally Posted by chopper65

We are taking my son ,daughter in law and 11 year old grandson on a Xmas cruise. This is their first cruise and they are concerned about what kids wear at dinner. Any help will be appreciated

The prior posters are trying to make you the butt of a joke.

There are no longer Formal nights on any CCL ship.They all have been eliminated fleetwide now. The days of Ball gowns,tuxes,3 piece suits,cocktail dresses as a requirement are gone.You can wear shorts almost every night now.Luggage fee's can be kept down now.
Please consult the CCL website for the new dress codes.

Steve

[Crazy4Koko]

Based upon what I saw on the Freedom formal nights, I wouldn't call them 'eliminated'. I'd call them optional. Church wear will fit in just fine, as will Dockers and polo shirts, which I still consider church wear.

[5waldos]

Originally Posted by steveaaaaa

The prior posters are trying to make you the butt of a joke.

There are no longer Formal nights on any CCL ship.They all have been eliminated fleetwide now. The days of Ball gowns,tuxes,3 piece suits,cocktail dresses as a requirement are gone.You can wear shorts almost every night now.Luggage fee's can be kept down now.
Please consult the CCL website for the new dress codes.

Steve

I am not sure what you are referring to- nobody is suggesting that kids need to get really dressed up. But, on elegant nights (new term I think) many kids do come VERY dressed- I have seen 5 year olds in tuxs. However, the majority of kids come in collared shirts (polos or button down) and chinos or something other than jeans and tees. Some of the girls get really dressed up because they LIKE to. Most just come looking nice and not in shorts and tees. And no reason for the kids not to come- other than the fact that some people get really dressed up, and lobster is usually an option, there is no difference between these nights and any other night.

[steveaaaaa]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Koko

Based upon what I saw on the Freedom formal nights, I wouldn't call them 'eliminated'. I'd call them optional. Church wear will fit in just fine, as will Dockers and polo shirts, which I still consider church wear.

But that is outright wrong and very misleading.

This thread is a perfect example.The OP was concerned about how to dress and using the word "Formal" gives them the wrong idea now.
Steve

[MrPete]

Originally Posted by chopper65

We are taking my son ,daughter in law and 11 year old grandson on a Xmas cruise. This is their first cruise and they are concerned about what kids wear at dinner. Any help will be appreciated

Basically, they can wear what they would when they go to a sit down restaurant, except on elegant nights. That's picture night, and it's the festive nights on board. It's a little dressier, and the best time to make them gloat on the compliments they receive.

No heads turn quicker than toward smartly dressed kids.

[marshhawk]

steveaaaa loves to dress down America and Carnival. I think that most posters here would love to DRESS UP, so they don't look stupid in the great photos they take, and it is a special evening following the Captain's party. It's the word "Formal "that scares him. They replaced it with "Elegant" night. Same thing, put this question out on the Fashion threads, and leaving steveaaaa's responses out, you will see how most people dress. steveaaaa is the minority here, not the majority.

[Glassrobinson]

I think that most are accurate so far in what was posted, I remember seeing younger boys in shirt and tie, something worn to a nice restaurant. Here's one way to look at it ,as someone mentioned, it's a great opportunity to get a family photo by a semi-professional photographer so you may want to dress it up a bit!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Originally Posted by marshhawk

steveaaaa loves to dress down America and Carnival. I think that most posters here would love to DRESS UP, so they don't look stupid in the great photos they take, and it is a special evening following the Captain's party. It's the word "Formal "that scares him. They replaced it with "Elegant" night. Same thing, put this question out on the Fashion threads, and leaving steveaaaa's responses out, you will see how most people dress. steveaaaa is the minority here, not the majority.

(raising hand) also in minority here. Don't take pictures and the last couple cruises don't even go in the dining room very often.

I can pack lighter and wear shorts 24/7.

Bill

[megnsamsgracie]

I have 2 formal dresses and same for both of my girls. My older DD is more of a formal cocktail dress.. shorter.. my younger dd is wearing long ones (they are 11 and 8). My 6 y/o DS got offered a sweater vest outfit and he choose his own tux.. $20 brand new on ebay. My 12 y/o DS will be wearing a white tux he picked out. DH will be wearing a tux too. We love being this dressed up 2 times a year... My younger DS will be wearing khaki shorts and button down shirts the other nights and my older DS will be wearing khaki pants and button down ****s the other nights. My DD's will be wearing sundresses the rest. Sorry if this pisses anyone off, but its a NICE dining room and I dress as if we were going to a nice upscale restaurant at home!

[jtm22372]

i cant wait to see my dd (18 months )in her beutiful little gown my wife got for her for formal nite

[5waldos]

Some people love to get all dressed up and that is great. This is an appropriate opportunity However I will say that I have never worn a gown in a local restaurant no matter how formal. Or anyplace in the world for that matter, including some of the top restaurants in Paris. Cruise ships, until recently, were one of the last holdouts of the truly formal dinner. It is a throw back for sure and if I were younger (ok yes- and 25 pounds lighter) I might love to wear a real formal gown.

[amio111]

My hubby and teens wear nice jeans/polo shirts or khaki long shorts/collar shirts to regular dining nights. I either do sundresses or capris with blousy tops. Elegant night tan/black pants with collar or men's dress shirts for the boys. Sometimes my hubby does a tie if he feels like it. I stay simple with a knee length black dress and nice jewelry. My 3 yr old we put a cute little suit on. Only because it is adorable! Otherwise he wears whatever on the other nights. I have seen A-Z in dress, so it is whatever YOU feel comfortable in! Enjoy!!

[klfrodo]

Don't really care whether it's called Formal night, Elegant night, or Steveaaaa night,,, I and my sons still wear the tux on those evenings.

[xitappers2bx]

Originally Posted by chopper65

We are taking my son ,daughter in law and 11 year old grandson on a Xmas cruise. This is their first cruise and they are concerned about what kids wear at dinner. Any help will be appreciated

i was worried about my 5 year old for the formal nights, but she had a ball with it... this time around we did a little bloomingdales shoping and we picked out a few dozen dresses and i let her pick the two she wanted after putting on a little fashion show... our tablemate's son though was less than thrilled to be dressed in a suit and tie and had more fun getting food from the buffet and hanging out with the other kids his age (he was 12 going on 13 at the time) other than that, the kids wore normal vacation clothes... jeans, t-shirts, etc... i dont recall seeing any tank tops, but it was possible.

[pokergirl34]

I just have to comment that posters using the word "Formal" rather than "Elegant" can be confusing for some new Carnival cruisers.

Our friends are NCL veterans and recently tried out a Carnival cruise (they enjoyed it ) On Cruise Elegant night they did not dress up very much (i.e. the wife wore a casual cotton t-shirt dress) because they were informed by another cruiser that the Formal night would be later in the cruise (that cruiser was on Carnival some years ago before they changed the descriptive term and dress code).

Maybe it would be nice for newbies to Carnival to continue to explain that there is no longer a night called "Formal night" but there is a "Cruise Elegant" night, in which they can dress formally if they choose, or may dress according to the other suggestions for Cruise Elegant dress from Carnival.

Just my $.02!

[AQW]

On elegant night my 4yo daughter wears a fancy little dress her mommy made for her - a very simple peasant style in a shiny turquoise fabric. She calls it her Cinderella dress. And of course, she wears a tiara. LOL

My 7yo son wears dark blue pants (Dockers-style) and a sweater vest over either a long-sleeve button-down shirt or a polo shirt.

Both of the kids fit right in with the attire of the evening.

Other than elegant night, they usually wear casual pants or jeans with tees (The Boy), and tunics/leggings (The Girl).