Why is everyone hating on formal nights?

I don't ussualy participate in formal nights because I have to dress up every day for work as well. And when I'm on holiday, I'd honestly have to say, I don't like dressing all up. I will participate in 1 formal night on each cruise, just because the atmosphere is nice and the menu's pretty fine as well ;-)

But having 3 or 4 of them is a bit too much imho. I'll just go grab some diner at the Lido or room service but I won't throw out all the hate-stuff. Just let people to what they love to do. Some love nothing more then preparing all day for the formal night and others don't. End of the line, simple as that. I don't understand why people have a very limited perspective on things...

The OP just does not understand. You see, it is now the "ME ME ME" generation (or generations) that prefer to do whatever they please with total disregard for decorum, etiquette, etc. Oh,,,,and they also tell insist that is never proper to "judge" them or anyone else for doing whatever they please.

Hank

The OP just does not understand. You see, it is now the "ME ME ME" generation (or generations) that prefer to do whatever they please with total disregard for decorum, etiquette, etc. Oh,,,,and they also tell insist that is never proper to "judge" them or anyone else for doing whatever they please.

 

Hank

Of course there have been and always will be selfish thoughtless , disrespectful people in every generation.

But it is not always about disregard for decorum and etiquette etc. People simply don't care "How it will look" or "What will the neighbors think" like so many generations lived and died over in the past. They don't always mean it to be willful, or spiteful, or disrespectful. Its more "You live your life, I'll live mine." And not just dress , all aspects of life.

Do you think people are getting dressed in their cabins saying "ha ha , lets see how many people I can piss off with the dress shirt and pair of Dockers on formal night" ? NOOOOOOOOO They are dressing the way they are comfortable to enjoy the evening.

Frankly, I don't need to wear a Tux or Suit/Tie to feel GQQD about myself! :D

I don't need to feel uncomfortable on a hot Summer night all dressed up with a Blazer/Jacket to impress, but I understand the women get a fussy feeling, when their husband dresses up, while they are comfortable in sleeveless and fine airy dresses to show off their latest designer clothes and jewels. :(

IN addition to being comfortable in Casual Resort wear, there is no need to be concerned about spilling drinks or staining the Tux, etc. :eek:

For many, Cruising is for relaxing and feeling comfortable regardless how active you are on the ship! :D

Unfortunately, the women keep insisting on the men dressing up even in the Summer heat and humidity without even considering the discomfort.

Let there be Optional Formal nights as often as some wish to dress up.

Here in San Diego restaurants, Suit/tie is pretty much History, even in the best restaurants and most often laugh, when asked.

Dressing UP does not improve the taste of the food!

:):)

I'm with Karennella, from Australia. We also travel for a number of weeks, usually around 8 or 9 and experience different climatic zones, so packing is an art, to make sure we stay within the weight allowance. I love a good dress up, (hubby doesn't!!) don't have enough chances at home, but packing for a formal night might take up precious space. When we do decide which cruise to take, and how long we'll be away, it'll be 'fun' ensuring we have the right clothes.

We do not mind dressing up on formal nights. Before we retired there were many functions that we attended and had to be dressed up.

This new, young generation has a different view on everything. Many of them haven't eaten in a high class restaurant. All they know is pizza, sandwiches, McDonalds, etc. And now sadly some of the older folks are starting to do the same thing. And their choice of clothing for work -- jeans, sloppy slacks and tops - ugh.

This new, young generation has a different view on everything. Many of them haven't eaten in a high class restaurant. All they know is pizza, sandwiches, McDonalds, etc. And now sadly some of the older folks are starting to do the same thing. And their choice of clothing for work -- jeans, sloppy slacks and tops - ugh.

I have eaten in high class restaurants, in more than one country, and restaurants that still, despite changing dress codes require coats and ties even for lunch. And I enjoy going to those restaurants, but that has nothing to do with wanting to devote precious suitcase space & weight to fragile formal clothing. I'm not necessarily going to pack a formal dress when a nice skirt/blouse combo will work for every night and can be "formalized" with jewelry or a silk wrap. That doesn't make sense. Plus, the skirt/blouse is machine washable!

Just because it's a different view doesn't mean it's wrong. It only means it's different.

Is it really that bad? Wow you have to put on some cloths and try to look decent for a few hours while you eat and maybe get a picture taken. after that you can schlep back to your cabin but your bathrobe and flip-flops back on. It seems the majority of posters about formal nights are always asking questions about how can they get out of it, or even more refusing to participate at all and see if anyone tells them no, you can't come to the MDR or Pinnacle looking like that.

 

I'm by no means a conservative, wealthy, classist or old. But I guess I'm a traditionalist and feel formal night is one of things you should try to celebrate and enjoy, like going to a wedding, or midnight mass on X-mas eve, or watching the band perform at halftime of a college football game, or singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch.

 

But to hear some CC'ers talk about it you think they were being tortured beyond the Geneva Conventions by having to put on a coat and tie and eat some fine food.

 

Man-up and dress-up you land loving, whining Applebee's types.

 

-Paul

Paul

You are so right and I couldnt have said it better myself. Formal nights are part of a traditional cruise and if I was so opposed to dressing up for formal nights I would select an alternative cruise line, ie, freestyle cruise where there are no formal nights and dressing up is not required. It's nice once or twice a week dressing up and going formal and I enjoy it. Thanks for the post MJ

Many people don't want to be told what to do. Some rebel at the idea of having to tuck a shirt in or button a collar.

There are so many options for cruises - including lines that do NOT have formal nights. If you do not like formal nights - DO NOT sail with HAL as many cruisers love the formal nights and that is 1 reason we sail with HAL.

Come on people - we all live by 'rules' - and as a past 'hippie' I am not a fan of rules. Have learned that if you make a choice or decision, you also choose the conditions and rules for that choice.

I don't "hate" dressing up for formal nights. What I find is that over the years on HAL cruises; the quality of food in the MDR does NOT measure up to the quality I would expect on a formal night.

I don't "hate" dressing up for formal nights. What I find is that over the years on HAL cruises; the quality of food in the MDR does NOT measure up to the quality I would expect on a formal night.

So from what you are saying, HAL is the refuge of cruising traditionalists too poor to pay for a real premium line which I believe has a very formal dress code such as Crystal?

We know what fine dining is.

And we know what it is not. Clothing does not make fine dining.

Our idea of fine dining does not include snail like service or a dining room that is so noisy that after 45 minutes we are desperate to leave.

A fine dining experience is not one where quite often the blue plate special is nothing more than banquet food tarted up just a little, either by menu description or on the plate, but served always served lukewarm-never hot. A fine dining experience is not waiting until you are halfway through dinner to get wine service or having to ask repeatedly for water, coffee, whatever. And a fine dining experience has the proper ratio of staff to customers.

We don't mistake dressing up for dinner with a fine dining experience. They are mutually exclusive.

You're right. Folks who like Formal Nights most likely would never respond.

 

A friend of mine sure doesn't like Formal Nights, but he does take his golf clubs along every year on his flight to Europe for their vacation. However, he hates to "lug" his suit, dress shirt and the rest of the accessories on a cruise. He lives 30 miles from Port Everglades where they take cruises at least 8-10 times or more a year.

You left out the worst part.

Your friend walks out on the golf course with a hot pink shirt and lime green polyester pants...and thinks he looks good:eek:

Formal nights for us is a dark suit, blue shirt and tie for DH and either long black skirt or black pants and a dressy top for me. I like them because it is the only time we "dress up" as everything at home is "Tucson casual"

We don't hate formal night, but we could live without it. Okay, the hubs would say he'd just as soon not "play grown-ups", but if he wants me to keep planning cruises and taking him, he won't complain too loudly...and he does like buying the occasional formal night photo.

Anyhoo, since we like eating in the MDR, we comply and bring some dressy clothing. I find that a pain in the butt to plan and pack. Hubby's suit and dress shoes take up enough (extra) room that we need to check at least one bag.

It's not the formal night I dislike, it's the packing and checking a bag that I hate.

It's much more palatable when we can drive to the port (Boston or NY)

We know what fine dining is.

 

And we know what it is not. Clothing does not make fine dining.

 

Our idea of fine dining does not include snail like service or a dining room that is so noisy that after 45 minutes we are desperate to leave.

 

A fine dining experience is not one where quite often the blue plate special is nothing more than banquet food tarted up just a little, either by menu description or on the plate, but served always served lukewarm-never hot. A fine dining experience is not waiting until you are halfway through dinner to get wine service or having to ask repeatedly for water, coffee, whatever. And a fine dining experience has the proper ratio of staff to customers.

 

We don't mistake dressing up for dinner with a fine dining experience. They are mutually exclusive.

That sums it up, for me, and is very well stated.

The reality of formal night onboard HAL ships is nothing like many on here wouldhave you believe constitutes correct dress on formal night. And the MDR experience is exactly as iancal describes - there is nothing special about the night at all. This from someone who enjoys getting dressed up, by the way. It seems to be merely an excuse to give the photographers an opportunity to make more money.

Not everyone is. Just a vocal minority.

Certainly don't count us among the naysayers....we actually look forward to formal nights. Love them. :)

I guess I fall in the middle. I am not enamored of having to cart stuff along just to dress up for a "formal" night that has become not that special. Peoples' tastes and codes of appropriate dress wear have changed over the years. (But -- disclaimer -- I do it when it is expected of me.)

What I'd like is to have no formal nights, but at the same time to have some minimal dress code upheld -- REALLY upheld -- in the MDR every night. No t-shirts, no shorts, no ripped or sloppy clothing. Not what you wore at the beach or touring all day and not what you'd wear to work in your yard (or work out at the gym)....

To my mind, that kind of dress code would more or less match what the MDR "experience" has become.

I guess I fall in the middle. I am not enamored of having to cart stuff along just to dress up for a "formal" night that has become not that special. Peoples' tastes and codes of appropriate dress wear have changed over the years. (But -- disclaimer -- I do it when it is expected of me.)

 

What I'd like is to have no formal nights, but at the same time to have some minimal dress code upheld -- REALLY upheld -- in the MDR every night. No t-shirts, no shorts, no ripped or sloppy clothing. Not what you wore at the beach or touring all day and not what you'd wear to work in your yard (or work out at the gym)....

 

To my mind, that kind of dress code would more or less match what the MDR "experience" has become.

Could not agree with you more :)

I guess I fall in the middle. I am not enamored of having to cart stuff along just to dress up for a "formal" night that has become not that special. Peoples' tastes and codes of appropriate dress wear have changed over the years. (But -- disclaimer -- I do it when it is expected of me.)

 

What I'd like is to have no formal nights, but at the same time to have some minimal dress code upheld -- REALLY upheld -- in the MDR every night. No t-shirts, no shorts, no ripped or sloppy clothing. Not what you wore at the beach or touring all day and not what you'd wear to work in your yard (or work out at the gym)....

 

To my mind, that kind of dress code would more or less match what the MDR "experience" has become.

This is exactly how I feel, somewhere in the middle. Sometimes we feel like doing formal, sometimes we don't. It all depends on how much travel we will be doing before and after the cruise. No fun packing and hauling extra bags on transatlantic flights and from hotel to hotel just for a few nights of wear.

When we don't "do" formal, we either eat in the Lido or room service. Suits us just fine, aren't choices great?! :)

Unfortunately, the women keep insisting on the men dressing up even in the Summer heat and humidity without even considering the discomfort.

I'm really not sure what summer heat and humidity have to do with eating in an air-conditioned dining room. Often, I feel as if I'm in a walk-in freezer in the MDR. I assure you, my clothes on any night are not "airy"--if they were, I'd turn blue.

One of the reasons I cruise NCL is because they do not have formal nights. Now I do understand people like to dress up and I think in a perfect world ships can do Formal optional nights where if people want to dress then can, if they don't they don't. Now the naysayers will say that someone else looking frumpy while I am dressed to the 9's makes it a poorer experience. To which I say the entire cruise then will be a poorer experience if you are concerned how others dress. If you feel like dressing up then do so. But in an age of baggage fees and luggage wieght restrictions it is impractical to carry around formal wear.

"Tradition is the illusion of permanence." - Woody Allen :p

I rarely do formal nights. I always take one outfit with me (the ubiquitous chiffon fly-away pants and a sparkly top), in case someone talks me into it.

I find the whole thing a little silly. I call it prom night, but I am fine with people having their dress-up nights. I'm grateful to have another option. I would NEVER go to the MDR on formal night dressed in anything other than suitable attire.

I've seen people dressed in all manner of clothing in the MDR and in the Lido, and although I do judge (silently), I don't dwell on it and I certainly don't let it ruin my cruise. I'm much more bothered by bad behavior, which fortunately, is pretty rare on HAL.

I guess I fall in the middle. I am not enamored of having to cart stuff along just to dress up for a "formal" night that has become not that special. Peoples' tastes and codes of appropriate dress wear have changed over the years. (But -- disclaimer -- I do it when it is expected of me.)

 

What I'd like is to have no formal nights, but at the same time to have some minimal dress code upheld -- REALLY upheld -- in the MDR every night. No t-shirts, no shorts, no ripped or sloppy clothing. Not what you wore at the beach or touring all day and not what you'd wear to work in your yard (or work out at the gym)....

 

To my mind, that kind of dress code would more or less match what the MDR "experience" has become.

Great post. My last night on the Noordam (no it wasn't formal) a guy wore flannel pajamas to the dining room. I mean how lazy can you be? I'm sure he slept in them,woke up and flew on the plane with them as well. The no shirt man- boobs in the Lido has to go as well. They may be comfortable but they make my stomach very uncomfortable:eek: