Formal Nights on Panama Canal cruise

How many formal nights are there on a partial transit Panama Canal cruise?

Are there options for people who do not want to participate in formal night and what are they?

What do people wear in the evening on non formal nights?

Sorry for so many questions. We are pretty casual people and have only been on an Alaskan Princess cruise which was very casual.

Thanks!!1

A little reading on the board would reveal the standard number of formal nights on a 10 or 11 day cruise (you didn't specify, but that is the normal length of a partial transit cruise) is three. It may be reduced to 2.

Reading would also reveal the alternative to the final dining choices that adhere to the dress code is the Lido.

Reading would also reveal the alternative to the final dining choices that adhere to the dress code is the Lido.

Room service and eating at the Canaletto are also alternatives for those who don't wish to dress for dinner on formal nights.

The other nights are termed "smart casual", which is dressier than daytime, but not considerably dressier. More of a polished, put together look than normally seen in the daytime.

We have done your Zuiderdam partial canal cruise a couple of times.

We had 3 formal nights.

If your don't want to dress up on formal night, then you can not eat in the dining room or the Pinnacle Grill.

That leaves you with the Lido -- which will have almost all the same items as the main dining room; the Canaletto ($10 per person) - although on a formal night you will see a couple of people dressed up there; and then of course your cabin - you have the choice of ordering from the cabin menu or ordering from the main dining room menu which you can view from noon in front of the main dining room or in any bar/lounge. You do need to call within the first 1/2 - 1 hour to place your order for whatever time you want the food delivered to your cabin. Placing orders on some ships start around 5:15 while other ships won't let you place an order until 6 PM.

As for smart casual. Men usually wear plain dress shirts, polo shirts or golf shirts with their slacks. Ladies will wear capri's, slacks, skirts and dresses and various tops -- they do not have to be fancy.

delete.........sorry I thought I was answering another question

I did the 10-night partial PC cruise on Zuiderdam in 2011. There were 3 formal nights on that cruise. My husband and I dressed up and ate in the MDR for two of them then dressed casually and ate at Canaletto for the third.

For the first formal night, one of our table mates showed up in Dockers and a plaid shirt, no jacket or tie. The second formal night, there was a sign posted outside the dining room that jackets were required for dinner. They were giving jackets to men without them. I don't know if they still do that. Our table mates didn't show up for dinner that night. Since we skipped the third formal night, I don't know if he showed up for that one.