Gala nights

I understand that people often dress up quite elaborately for the Gala nights, but I'm wondering what the "minimum" acceptable formality is going to be. For instance, can my husband wear dress slacks, shirt and tie? Or does he have to have a suit with jacket?

Thanks...

The minimum is just like smart casual nights - slacks and a nice collared shirt. Many men will wear a jacket or tie but not both, and many will wear neither.

Thank you for the information. We are new to Holland America and were wondering the same thing.

The minimum is just like smart casual nights - slacks and a nice collared shirt. Many men will wear a jacket or tie but not both, and many will wear neither.

Many men also will wear BOTH a jacket and a tie. You are also likely to see a few tuxedos.

I just spoke with the rep this morning and she emphatically said jackets were NOR required for gala nights

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On our last 2 cruises, one of which was a 21 day cruise, very, very few men dressed up. Not even in the specialty restaurants.

The majority of them wore slacks and a collared shirt on gala night -- just like they do on smart casual nights.

HAL is really not a "dressy" ship anymore on gala nights.

The minimum is just like smart casual nights - slacks and a nice collared shirt. Many men will wear a jacket or tie but not both, and many will wear neither.

Reference to bold sentence above... jeans are not acceptable on gala nights in the MDR, but are ok in the Lido, and are ok in the MDR on smart casual nights. m--

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to HAL.

If you do not wish to wear a collared shirt and slacks on Gala Nights, you can order from the Dining Room menu via Room Service and dine on your veranda in your bathing suits.

We just did Koningsdam out of Amsterdam. After the HAL cruise we joined friends on Royal Caribbean. So I had a Tux. As we had second seating dining, I checked the first seating to see how many people really dressed and it was very few. Surprised me for a European cruise. I saw only a handful of tuxes and suits. A few in sport coats and most in shirt and dress pants. So I opted to save my tux for the RCCL cruise. I wore a sport coat and tie and was dressed at the top of the scale.

It seems to depend on itinerary, the type of cruise, and the length. Dress seems to be a moving target in all these categories. On last year's Tales of the South Pacific, 53 days, there was very little dressing up on Gala nights. It was a beach type itinerary and that's how people dressed. Grand cruises are a different story...lots of tuxes. We recently did back to back 28 day collector's cruises on Prinsendam which were really 4 14 day cruises. The dress varied on everyone of those cruises, some more dressy, some less.

I've seen it both ways. Some folks go all out for Gala nights and I like seeing everyone dressed up. My husband wears a suite (tie and jacket) but just a dress shirt and slacks would be fine too. Sometimes you just don't want to bother with dressing up and those are the times we head to the Lido.

Wife and I are 4 star mariners, and we still choose to dress up on Gala nights. I frankly do not understand what is the big deal on wearing formal or other dressy clothing! Most nights are informal so what is the big fuss in getting dressed up a few times? I have worn suits and ties throughout my career, and although I enjoy wearing informal clothing, I have no objection in adhering to guidelines which prohibit informal clothing on the few gala nights. I used to even wear on a tux with tails on some cruises, but I stopped wearing that tux when someone came up to me as I was walking into the MDR and asked me to get him a glass of cabernet since I was obviously a wine steward. Will continue to wear a regular tux on gala nights but I realize that the world is becoming more casual. Very different from former days when we cruised on the old Rotterdam with brass and teak and danced in the ship's grand Ritz Carlton Ballroom with a full orchestra.

I frankly do not understand what is the big deal on wearing formal or other dressy clothing!

It's best to set aside what one frankly does not understand, and simply accept that people are different; they have different priorities, and the only real transgressions in this regard are:

- actual violations of the minimum requirements for attire (whether that's on gala night in the dining room, casual night in the dining room, or even on the pool deck mid-afternoon), and

- second-guessing other passengers.

We typically conform to the attire requests. But....we do not really care how other people are dressed. It has no impact on us. Nor are we very concerned about looking like the rest of the church picnic so to speak. It just is not worth the time or the hassle to worry over it.

I am simply saying that if there are rules regarding formal or any style of wear, then adhere to the rules or do not eat in the MDR. People have choices, and I respect their choices even though I might not agree or understand. I guess that is my problem but as suggested, I will set that aside and not waste time worrying about it. Good people come in all sizes, colors, and opinions!

Wife and I are 4 star mariners, and we still choose to dress up on Gala nights. I frankly do not understand what is the big deal on wearing formal or other dressy clothing! Most nights are informal so what is the big fuss in getting dressed up a few times? I have worn suits and ties throughout my career, and although I enjoy wearing informal clothing, I have no objection in adhering to guidelines which prohibit informal clothing on the few gala nights. I used to even wear on a tux with tails on some cruises, but I stopped wearing that tux when someone came up to me as I was walking into the MDR and asked me to get him a glass of cabernet since I was obviously a wine steward. Will continue to wear a regular tux on gala nights but I realize that the world is becoming more casual. Very different from former days when we cruised on the old Rotterdam with brass and teak and danced in the ship's grand Ritz Carlton Ballroom with a full orchestra.

Hear Hear ! We will continue to dress formally on gala night as long as we can. We feel the standard is slowly going down to the point of nobody caring anymore. On our last cruise, my wife and I were going to Pinnacle Grill for dinner and I was wearing a blue blazer, open neck collared shirt and dress slacks ... someone stopped me and asked me if I thought it was formal night :rolleyes:

People are people, that's what my husband says. I don't care where you go, there is always someone that is going to be underdressed.

There are also men, that don't wear suits to work, so many don't bother to buy one. We bought my husband a navy wool blazer way back for a cruise. He looked sharp! We did see a few tuxes and dark suits. This was in the 90's!

Going to Alaska in 2018. Glad to hear that I don't have to go out a buy a new pair of dark (wool) dress pants to go with the blazer. Besides, you may not know where someone lives, and some clothing just isn't practical.

The other reason many might not dress up as much is luggage space. I mean, now airlines are charging $90.00 for an extra bag, so you have to be pretty selective with what you pack.

We often travel for 6-12 weeks at a time. We sometimes add a last minute cruise to our travels or include it in advance.

Absolutely no way we are about to traipse about for this long with formal night clothing that we will only wear for a few hours on two or three days. We meet more and more retirees with the same attitude. Most especially those who, like us, travel with carry on only. It is simply not in the cards. Nothing whatsoever to do with airline baggage fees....this is not even a consideration.

The other reason many might not dress up as much is luggage space. I mean, now airlines are charging $90.00 for an extra bag, so you have to be pretty selective with what you pack.

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The other reason many might not dress up as much is luggage space. I mean, now airlines are charging $90.00 for an extra bag, so you have to be pretty selective with what you pack.

At least for a woman, that argument doesn't wash.

Dress up and dress down can take up the same amount of space in the suitcase; some dress down clothes can even take up less space! Since you have to pack something to wear at night, it's just as easy, and no increase in luggage fees, to pack something dressier.

DH: tux remains home for two years now. Sad. But airline luggage space,even with a checked bag, prohibits the bulk of the tux and trimmings. BUT he has no problem wearing a Blazer onto the airplane. Then he is a bit spiffier on gala night.

As Graham Chapman once said on Monty Python, " There's nae wrong with a gala lunch"; that being said dressing up for a cruise meal is a remnant of the early twentieth century when cruising was class based and first class dressed as if they were at a society ball; according to Smithsonian some people were wearing white gloves while dining on cruise ships until the sixties! I presume there are some who would like to return to that custom as well.

Society may be trending again to a class based system if all the fascination with Brit Royals in the US is any indication , and cruise ships also with their "Havens" and other limited access staterooms and restaurants; however the days of society balls, the 400 and other class, race and religion limited dining and living are pretty much over, and the need to wear a tux on land is extremely limited.

There is no real reason to pretend that there is a basis for formal dress on a cruise; I personally don't take much notice of what people where to dinner unless it's outlandish, but I've never had to wear a tux to any dinner on land and to do it at sea just seems silly.

Wife and I are 4 star mariners, and we still choose to dress up on Gala nights. I frankly do not understand what is the big deal on wearing formal or other dressy clothing! Most nights are informal so what is the big fuss in getting dressed up a few times? I have worn suits and ties throughout my career, and although I enjoy wearing informal clothing, I have no objection in adhering to guidelines which prohibit informal clothing on the few gala nights. I used to even wear on a tux with tails on some cruises, but I stopped wearing that tux when someone came up to me as I was walking into the MDR and asked me to get him a glass of cabernet since I was obviously a wine steward. Will continue to wear a regular tux on gala nights but I realize that the world is becoming more casual. Very different from former days when we cruised on the old Rotterdam with brass and teak and danced in the ship's grand Ritz Carlton Ballroom with a full orchestra.

:hearteyes::hearteyes:

I agree 100% which is why I love to sail Cunard so much. More tuxes than not! We will probably be in the minority for our voyage on Eurodam next week, but I will be wearing cocktail dresses every night & my husband does a suit or a tux. We love to dress up for each other.

The other reason many might not dress up as much is luggage space. I mean, now airlines are charging $90.00 for an extra bag, so you have to be pretty selective with what you pack.

That $$$ argument shows its ugly head every time there is a discussion on this issue and I am a firm believer that it is and always will be an argument of convenience behind which people like to hide.

Cost of a 7-day Caribbean cruise for 2 (probably the cheapest you can find) ... A few hundred dollars

Cost of flight to get there ... A few hundred dollars

Hotel for one night pre-cruise ... Say one hundred dollars

Auto Gratuities for 2 ... Close to $200

Shore excursions (private or not) ... A few hundred dollars

Pinnacle dinner for two ... $70

$90 for extra luggage ... TOO EXPENSIVE and, on top of that, my partner doesn't really care how we look!