Explorer MDR Dress Policy

On recent Navigator cruise, talking with Maitre D' He commented that most of his staff do not enforce the dress code to protect themselves. Seems when they turn someone away, a nasty e-mail gets sent to Miami about the rude and mean Dining Room staff. This is a black mark on them, so to avoid a negative comment in their personnel file, they do not enforce the dress code.

 

His comment makes sense.

I was pretty much shocked at what they allowed people to wear at MDR on Navigator, I remember when RCCL enforced the dress code. Again it wasn't everyone but many people had shorts with t-shirts

“We advise them of it and they respond that they did not pack any long pants”. To which my answer was “oh well that is what the Windjammer is for”. To which their next response was “most of them are Diamond and Diamond Plus”. To which I responded “Really I knew there were benefits to achieving that level but was not aware that included their own separate rules".

 

Now before the flaming starts I am sure that not all Diamond and Diamond plus are guilty of this. That being said, these people showed up with dress that would have been prohibited on almost every golf course and I am sure they would never consider dressing that way at a finer restaurant at home. What makes them think it is OK to do it on the ship?

Whitnee-

Sorry to see that the lack of enforcement of 'shorts etc.' in the MDR disappointed you. Levels of dress on cruises have definitely changed over the last 20 years, and I personally believe that the airline baggage rules have contributed.

Quite frankly, we're in the opposite camp, and wish to have shorts permitted in the MDR at all times. That being said, you won't see us in the MDR for dinner on RCCL, precisely because of the 'no shorts' rule. If they have something particularly good that we can't pass up, we'll wear scrub pants (and back to shorts immediately after). But we're almost always in the MDR on Carnival, which does permit shorts.

Good restaurants down here in Florida permit shorts in 99% of cases, so it's quite normal for us to wear shorts all the time. We used to frequent a golf club restaurant in Palm Coast, and everyone in there was in shorts. I can't speak to that further, as we're not golfers.

Diamond/Diamond Plus members don't have different rules, but we do have some perks earned by being repeat customers of the company (we're Diamond Plus). We were asked to leave a Concierge Lounge a few years ago for wearing shorts, so we changed over to the Diamond Lounge. At all other times, we have been welcomed in both Concierge and Diamond Lounges.

Hope you have a better dining experience on your next trip!

Wendy

It’s a shame that there are those that Cruise that would be rude and give the dining room staff grief about saying something to them for not dressing according to the posted evening guidelines and then complain to corporate the dining room staff was rude.

We also agree if the Cruise lines are not going to enforce their posted guidelines then remove the signs.

Many European women do not shave their underarms.

You've been watching too many old Italian movies. Do you know that Eisenhower is no longer president.:rolleyes:

So if a man shaves his arm pits he then should be able to wear a tank top or sleeveless shirt to the MDR for breakfast or lunch.

I guess that decision would have to be determined by the MDR Manager.:D

Just returned from the Explorer repo cruise

We were also on this cruise

 

...was turned away at the MDR for lunch with a sleeveless shirt. I went back and got a tee shirt and asked the girl who turned me away why I was not permitted when every night others are permitted to enter the dining room for dinner in violation of the posted policy? I was referred to her supervisor who answered the same question with the following: “That is a decision made at a higher level although I do agree with you”.

The same exact thing happened to a person in our party going to breakfast in the MDR, including the conversation. (He simply forgot when he dressed and promptly and politely returned to his cabin to change)

 

There were several people in shorts each night in our seating - one man in particular with a tee shirt and jean shorts every single night.

There is a large sign outside the dining room doors stating these things.

This didn't ruin my dining experience, but I agree that rules should be followed.

Don't get me started on the disembarkation procedures... :rolleyes:

1. I, too, was in MTD. We had a table every night at six, at the very back of the dining room, and thus had to walk through the whole room to get to our table.

2. I did not say that I never saw shorts or t-shirts at dinner. But

The general level of compliance was HIGH, especially compared to other cruises this year, of which there have been many. ;)

I guess that decision would have to be determined by the MDR Manager.:D

Would that require a new sign to be posted..."before entering the MDR rise your arms above your head".

And I'll give you my opinion on the "why don't they just ditch the sign if they are not going to enforce the rules?" issue.

At least THIS way, many people DO follow the rules.

If they literally did away with the rules, I shudder to think what the cruisers would be wearing!

:p

My wife and I just came back yesterday (11/24/2014) from the 9 day on Explorer. I always wear a tux and bow tie on formal nights and my wife wears gowns. That's just us. For us, it is fun and we feel that it is part of the traditional cruise experience. We agree that if your posting rules then follow the rules and enforce the rules.

#firstworldproblems

My wife and I just came back yesterday (11/24/2014) from the 9 day on Explorer. I always wear a tux and bow tie on formal nights and my wife wears gowns. That's just us. For us, it is fun and we feel that it is part of the traditional cruise experience. We agree that if your posting rules then follow the rules and enforce the rules.

But they aren't "rules" they're "guidelines". We've always dressed nicely in the MDR but haven't gone all out with gowns and tux. I don't, however, understand why what someone else is wearing bothers some people so much. As long as everything is appropriately covered let it go. Focus on your own travel companions rather than worrying about strangers.

But they aren't "rules" they're "guidelines". We've always dressed nicely in the MDR but haven't gone all out with gowns and tux. I don't, however, understand why what someone else is wearing bothers some people so much. As long as everything is appropriately covered let it go. Focus on your own travel companions rather than worrying about strangers.

There are both rules and guidelines. Not wearing shorts/tank tops, etc., would be a RULE, not a guideline. While I personally have no problem with shorts in the dining room, I have a huge issue with those who feel they are above it all and can flaunt rules in others' faces.

I agree with OP, why have a policy if enforcement isn't even.

While I agree with this ...

Uneven enforcement is just a good way to tick people off.

... Why let it?

If it is not a health or safety issue, then ignore it. The way someone chooses to dress will not affect the taste of your food, the quality of your dinner conversation, the speed of your service nor the amount of food you are served.

Not an attitude, reality. I didn't miss your point one bit, simply reminded you people will continue to wear what they want so why let elevate your stress level?:rolleyes:

 

People have been complaining about "Dress Code Violations" here for YEARS yet the t-shirts and ball caps keep showing up :) What people wear to dinner isn't going to affect my vacation enjoyment in any way. I won't let someone else's choice of clothing impact my trip :)

 

I don't wear shorts to dinner, but also haven't packed suits or ties for several years.!

Winner!!

RCI could make a fortune if they set up a psychologist on board to treat passengers with unheathly obsessions with what others wear or whether RCI is enforcing intentionally vague MDR dress guidelines.

Today's cruise ships (except on a few high $$ lines) are floating beach resorts. No clue why they still pay homage to the days when cruising was an elegant way to travel. They should openly encourage passengers to dress comfortably.

Just returned from our Royal Caribbean cruise and we intentionally did not pack clothes for the formal nights. It was just too many suitcases already and didn't want to deal with it and we don't need any more cruise photographs. When we informed our table mates that we would not be attending dinner on formal nights they were insistent we come anyway since we dressed in nice outfits every other day. Additionally, our waiter also said we should come since there are many that come to dinner in T-Shirts and bluejeans anyway. Just not our style and we appreciate those you want to make certain nights "special". When the policy says "formal optional" I may consider attending not so dressed up but until then if they have a policy it should be enforced or do away with it all together. We were actually surprised that there were so few people actually eating dinner in the Windjammer on formal nights so it must have some meaning for many cruisers to make a couple of evenings a special occasion. The be honest we didn't miss the lobster dinner since most thought it was pretty bad anyway.

This is the policy as stated on RCCL's website:

Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

It states suggested guidelines, to me that means they suggest you wear this but you are not required to. Is that correct or is there a different policy once on board or somewhere else on the website that I am not seeing?

This is the policy as stated on RCCL's website:

 

Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

 

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

It states suggested guidelines, to me that means they suggest you wear this but you are not required to. Is that correct or is there a different policy once on board or somewhere else on the website that I am not seeing?

You are correct, those are just suggestions, and not enforced. They even have "rules" about no shorts in the MDR at dinner, and sometimes those are not enforced either.

This is the policy as stated on RCCL's website:

 

Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

 

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

It states suggested guidelines, to me that means they suggest you wear this but you are not required to. Is that correct or is there a different policy once on board or somewhere else on the website that I am not seeing?

You are correct, those are the suggested guidelines. I don't have the time to go find the link, but Royal also says that shorts, ball caps, bare feet and tshirts are prohibited in the dining room.

As others have said, there are both guidelines and rules.

See post #3

So if a man shaves his arm pits he then should be able to wear a tank top or sleeveless shirt to the MDR for breakfast or lunch.

Just off Explorer and saw lots of formal wear and lots of jeans (men in their 20's). RC can always suggest and then cruisers dress however they want.

We used to enjoy the glitz and glamor of formal night.

Now we go smartly dressed but hardly formal. J wears a nice dress/fancy outfit and I wear a suit. No tie though, those days are long since over with.

While I don't think it's appropriate to wear shorts and such in the MDR it's certainly not going to ruin OUR cruise.

Buck up buttercups.

As far as rules for the shorts... where is that posted for the average Joe to see? The only reason I know about it is because of the endless threads from people who put way too much effort into judging everyone else and not enjoying their own meal. Guidelines are useful to help people make decisions about what to wear. But if I were RCCL staff I would "pick my battles" with passengers and this surely would not be one of them.

As far as rules for the shorts... where is that posted for the average Joe to see? The only reason I know about it is because of the endless threads from people who put way too much effort into judging everyone else and not enjoying their own meal. Guidelines are useful to help people make decisions about what to wear. But if I were RCCL staff I would "pick my battles" with passengers and this surely would not be one of them.

It's posted in the daily compass. It's also posted on a sign at the entrance to the dining room - if you feel inclined to search (and I wouldn't blame you if you don't) some of the dress code threads have included pictures people have taken of the sign.