Zaandam Alaska question

On a Formal night, will my husband be ok without a jacket for dinner? Is a dress shirt and tie acceptable? Really don't want to pack a coat if not needed. Thank you!

HAL doesn't have formal nights anymore.

They are now called Gala nights. And the men and women for the most part dress the same as smart casual.

The majority of the men wear slacks and a collared shirt. Very, very few wear a jacket and/or tie.

We were on the June 18th Alaska Zaandam sailing. My husband wore slacks and a collard shirt (no tie) on gala nights and in the Pinnacle Grill. He was fine. I only saw one person turned away from the dining room on a gala night and he was in jeans. Jeans were fine on the smart casual nights.

My husband did not want to pack a suit coat either. He wore a shirt and tie in the main dining room and was fine.

My DH packs a black cardigan sweater for cold weather travel. Sometimes he wears this over a dress shirt and tie on Gala nights. I think he doesn't feel quite comfortable in a shirt and tie without a jacket but that meets the current requirement: collared shirt and slacks. Scrunching up a suit into a 44 lbs max suitcase for European travel is not worth it for a total of a few hours on-board. Many men will still wear a jacket, though it is not required. Enjoy your cruise! m--

A collared shirt will be fine, but maybe only if it is long sleeve. I was in Alaska on Volendam last month & wore a nice new short sleeve polo shirt to the MDR on Gala night. But I was not allowed to enter without putting on a very cheap sports jacket (that didn't fit right) because my shirt was short sleeve. I read the dress code on HAL's website, which doesn't say anything about long or short sleeves. There was another guy in the dining room wearing a long sleeve T-shirt under a short sleeve collared shirt, & apparently that was OK even though it looked pretty tacky. This rule may be a quirk of the Volendam dining room manager, which might mean it wouldn't apply on other ships. But just a heads-up; I wish I had gotten one before going!