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Dressing for Dinner


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Would you go to a fancy restaurant in a t-shirt and shorts? Doing so diminishes the experience and atmosphere for you and others.

 

IMO eating out at a fancy restaurant is a special occasion in itself and so is a cruise. It deserves appropriate clothing.

 

If you don't care what you look like you have options. Eat in the buffet.

Fancy? WIth all the complaints I see about the food, I am thinking fancy is overstated at best! And I am sick of snobs. Exactly why do you care about me? If you are dressed and feeling good about yourself then how can I interrupt your meal or experience. Too many people worry about others. Worry about you and enjoy your time. Me wearing a pair of very nice shorts and shirt should not diminish your experience, and if it does then you are simply sad indeed. Sorry, but its the truth. If I wear that I look very nice , presentable, and comfortable while on VACATION!!

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I think it is fine that people are dressing as they wish on cruise. On our next with 7 grandchildren it will be much less formal. But I do miss the days where we dressed for a cruise. One of my husbands favorite parts was seeing his wife dressed to the 9s each night for him. Also sharing a table with and getting to know the strangers we were assigned to Dine with. Those days are gone forever and could not happen today on RCCL and likely not on HAL either. Heck, people were still dressing on Carnival in 1997.Even my teens we took with us did and enjoyed it. If we want that graceful cruise experience again we will have to book on a more exclusive cruise line. We are much too old for prom. And where we live, the opportunity to wear real evening dress rarely presents itself. Of course, for the relaxed atmosphere we have received trade offs in the way of new activities on board, constant selling of goods, and activities such as sauna , steam rooms and exercise classes that are all for a fee.Cruises are a different animal now. I will always remember those first cruises long ago with great fondness. But I can adapt and go with the flow. I have no desire to wear a long evening dress and put husband in a tux next to someone in shorts or jeans. We will settle for cocktail dress and sports coat, and still we will likely dress more formal than most do nightly. Less stress with the airline luggage limits. But I do miss the good old days (for me). Of course my first ideas about cruising came from my parents 3 week Cunard cruise as a child.

 

What?? WHIle I agree with your premise, you are incorrect. I sailed on Carnival 3 weeks ago and had a wonderful time. The food in the MDR was the best I have had on any of my cruises/ That being said I wore very nice shorts and shirt to dinner each evening(less formal evening of course) and sat at a table of ten and met each one and talked and engaged and had a great time. Not sure why you think this cannot happen?? I do it every cruise, and yes I cruise Carnival. Hoping to do my first sailing on Brilliance this fall however :)

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Wow... I had no idea this was such a hotly debated topic when I asked. In all honesty, my question was more about what would be enforced than what people THINK should be worn to dinner.

 

Personally, I look forward to dressing up a little for dinner. The main reason I will ask my kids to dress up is for the experience (and ironically they are looking forward to that part too, despite not typically liking dressy clothing). I know in the past I've enjoyed dressing for dinner and look forward to showing my daughters the same experience.

 

BTW- if your opinion is that you shouldn't have to dress up for vacation then you're entitled to it. I just didn't know if they still turned people away from MDR because of shorts like they used to.

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Wow... I had no idea this was such a hotly debated topic when I asked. In all honesty, my question was more about what would be enforced than what people THINK should be worn to dinner.

 

Personally, I look forward to dressing up a little for dinner. The main reason I will ask my kids to dress up is for the experience (and ironically they are looking forward to that part too, despite not typically liking dressy clothing). I know in the past I've enjoyed dressing for dinner and look forward to showing my daughters the same experience.

 

BTW- if your opinion is that you shouldn't have to dress up for vacation then you're entitled to it. I just didn't know if they still turned people away from MDR because of shorts like they used to.

 

Yours was a valid question. It's just that ANY dining room attire question on this board brings out the same "discussion". Sounds like you'll be dressing in a way that you enjoy. Have fun on your cruise.

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Everyone should do what they wish.It IS their vacation. I personally would just feel a little silly decked out in long formal evening dress with husband in Tux with so much informality around me. But that is just me. I do not like to be underdressed or overdressed. There are good things about the changes. Opens cruising up to some people who would not have been as comfortable on the old style cruises or felt stuck in windjammer on those nights. We adapt, do not complain and just want to know the current trends to plan as things change fast in this industry. Does not mean I cannot miss the more elegant cruise style. That was a vacation for me as was different from my everyday life. I also miss the level of service where they treated you like kings, were not constantly trying to sell something, things like saunas and steam rooms exercise classes and even craft classes were included with the cruise fare. You could count on food in MDR was more consistently good. Change is not just on the big RCCL ships which attracts families. The cruise experience is also different on Celebrity, Hal, and Princess now. Things change. Some good and some not so good depending on what you are looking for. This will be my sons 3rd cruise with RCCL in 12 months, 2 will be with his 4 children along. Anyone who complains about amount of "ankle biters" on a RCCL Cruise might want to try another line. RCCL is geared to families. Most of the included activities are geared to them. I am glad it is there for them. So we adapt and dress less formally and for those in formal wear we will enjoy admiring them. No one will gawk at us for being underdressed because I have a beautiful family and Son, Daughter, their spouses and 7 gorgeous grandchildren who will be with me will at least be in Church dress if not more formal. We will have a great time because we are blessed to be together.

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I think it is fine that people are dressing as they wish on cruise. On our next with 7 grandchildren it will be much less formal. But I do miss the days where we dressed for a cruise. One of my husbands favorite parts was seeing his wife dressed to the 9s each night for him. Also sharing a table with and getting to know the strangers we were assigned to Dine with. Those days are gone forever and could not happen today on RCCL and likely not on HAL either. Heck, people were still dressing on Carnival in 1997.Even my teens we took with us did and enjoyed it. If we want that graceful cruise experience again we will have to book on a more exclusive cruise line. We are much too old for prom. And where we live, the opportunity to wear real evening dress rarely presents itself. Of course, for the relaxed atmosphere we have received trade offs in the way of new activities on board, constant selling of goods, and activities such as sauna , steam rooms and exercise classes that are all for a fee.Cruises are a different animal now. I will always remember those first cruises long ago with great fondness. But I can adapt and go with the flow. I have no desire to wear a long evening dress and put husband in a tux next to someone in shorts or jeans. We will settle for cocktail dress and sports coat, and still we will likely dress more formal than most do nightly. Less stress with the airline luggage limits. But I do miss the good old days (for me). Of course my first ideas about cruising came from my parents 3 week Cunard cruise as a child.

 

Lots of thing have changed( for better or worse, I don't know). I remember when people dressed up with suits and ties and high heels and Sunday-best type dresses for a plane or train trip and unless you lived on a farm, no one wore jeans except maybe to do yard work. I kind of miss the good ol' days, but I have to admit that traveling is much more comfy today!! :D:D

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Lots of thing have changed( for better or worse, I don't know). I remember when people dressed up with suits and ties and high heels and Sunday-best type dresses for a plane or train trip and unless you lived on a farm, no one wore jeans except maybe to do yard work. I kind of miss the good ol' days, but I have to admit that traveling is much more comfy today!! :D:D

 

I also remember those days , but we seemed to go from one extreme to another , I do not want to wear a suit and tie , but wish there was some standards

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Ok, I'm expecting to get flamed for this, so here it goes...

 

I am going on VACATION. I DO NOT GET DRESSED UP ON VACATION! I chose a cruise because I like the "all-inclusive" atmosphere and not staying in one place for the entire week. Another reason is one of our family members does not fly, so being able to uber to the cruise ship is KEY.

 

I am planning on wearing JEANS to dinner at most, unless I see a bunch of other people wearing NICE shorts. I get dresssed EVERY DAY for WORK, there should be NO reason to have to get dressed up on VACATION!

 

Now, I've only been on one cruise in my life, and that was on NCL (11 years ago). I do not remember how I got dressed up, but we did spend a few nights in the buffet with our then 3 year old son.

 

Someone please answer me this: WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GET DRESSED UP ON VACATION????? People, please. It's not the 1920's cruising on the Titanic, you don't get dressed up in a shirt and tie to go fly in a plane like the "olden days". It's 2018, we've overcome this stigma of having to "Dress to Impress" and WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS????

 

Let the games begin!!!

 

I want to get dressed up on vacation. I enjoy dressing up. I enjoy dressing up when I visit a restaurant at home too.

 

Vacation means different things to different people. If you don't wish to dress up that's up to you! I am not trying to impress anyone. Why do you feel that people who do enjoy dressing up are trying to impress?

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I wholeheartedly disagree with the very spirit of your post. RCCL is a mainstream line. Akin to a 3 star resort hotel on land, Disney would be a good comparison as their moderate hotels reliever the same level of service as RCI currently does.

 

There are plenty of upscale restaurants on property, with the exception of Victoria & Alberts, casual resort wear is acceptable.

 

Why have you raised the bar on the product that has become pedestrian at best. Don’t make it to something it is not. 5-10 years ago. You would have a valid argument. Not any more.

 

 

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I agree with you that there are no longer any standards of behavior, manners, language or even decency for that matter. Rationalize the reasons all you want but we are worse off as a society because of it.

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I want to get dressed up on vacation. I enjoy dressing up. I enjoy dressing up when I visit a restaurant at home too.

 

Vacation means different things to different people. If you don't wish to dress up that's up to you! I am not trying to impress anyone. Why do you feel that people who do enjoy dressing up are trying to impress?

 

Agree appears some of these people who like shorts and baseball caps never go to nice restaurants , most places we go nobody wears shorts or baseball caps .

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I go to plenty of nice restaurants. I just don't want to wear pants or anything uncomfortable (suit) on vacation. My daily attire is khakis and button up shirt or polo, that's fine for a cruise ship. Shorts are too. Just what works for me. If you enjoy going to the nines, do it, don't wait for a daily newsletter to give you permission...

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We have our first week long cruise booked from Southanpton in July. I've been looking forward to this trip with my Aunt and Uncle and my husband for several months now.

 

I joined this forum for help and advice and this evening looked at the thread about suggested attire for dining in what I've learnt is called the 'MDR'. I wish I hadn't. Now, I feel we will be judged on what we wear, people will be commenting about our appearance and how much we spend on luggage allowance, and people will be wondering whether or not we eat at McDonalds.

 

I thought we'd wear 'smart casual' for dinner most nights, and for the formal nights, the men would wear dinner suits and myself and my aunt would wear cocktail type dresses.

 

Now I find there are people turning their noses up at the food in the 'MDR' and preferring to eat at McDonalds, people saying that you should dress up, people saying you should wear shorts; I am more confused than I was when I started to look!!

 

I hope that on our cruise, people are tolerant of other people, I would like to think people make a bit of an effort for dinner (not judging anyone) in the 'MDR' and that people are not judging our party.

 

Is it just me who finds this thread a bit judgemental? Sorry to sound so controversial on my first post...

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We have our first week long cruise booked from Southanpton in July. I've been looking forward to this trip with my Aunt and Uncle and my husband for several months now.

 

I joined this forum for help and advice and this evening looked at the thread about suggested attire for dining in what I've learnt is called the 'MDR'. I wish I hadn't. Now, I feel we will be judged on what we wear, people will be commenting about our appearance and how much we spend on luggage allowance, and people will be wondering whether or not we eat at McDonalds.

 

I thought we'd wear 'smart casual' for dinner most nights, and for the formal nights, the men would wear dinner suits and myself and my aunt would wear cocktail type dresses.

 

Now I find there are people turning their noses up at the food in the 'MDR' and preferring to eat at McDonalds, people saying that you should dress up, people saying you should wear shorts; I am more confused than I was when I started to look!!

 

I hope that on our cruise, people are tolerant of other people, I would like to think people make a bit of an effort for dinner (not judging anyone) in the 'MDR' and that people are not judging our party.

 

Is it just me who finds this thread a bit judgemental? Sorry to sound so controversial on my first post...

 

 

In real life none of this happens except for one or two fuddy duddies get themselves wound up. The other 4000 people don't actually care.

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We have our first week long cruise booked from Southanpton in July. I've been looking forward to this trip with my Aunt and Uncle and my husband for several months now.

 

I joined this forum for help and advice and this evening looked at the thread about suggested attire for dining in what I've learnt is called the 'MDR'. I wish I hadn't. Now, I feel we will be judged on what we wear, people will be commenting about our appearance and how much we spend on luggage allowance, and people will be wondering whether or not we eat at McDonalds.

 

I thought we'd wear 'smart casual' for dinner most nights, and for the formal nights, the men would wear dinner suits and myself and my aunt would wear cocktail type dresses.

 

Now I find there are people turning their noses up at the food in the 'MDR' and preferring to eat at McDonalds, people saying that you should dress up, people saying you should wear shorts; I am more confused than I was when I started to look!!

 

I hope that on our cruise, people are tolerant of other people, I would like to think people make a bit of an effort for dinner (not judging anyone) in the 'MDR' and that people are not judging our party.

 

Is it just me who finds this thread a bit judgemental? Sorry to sound so controversial on my first post...[/quote

 

People are just expressing their opinions and what they have witnessed.

Dress how you wish and don't be concerned about others opinions. That is one thing that we have happily come to . It is very freeing .

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We have our first week long cruise booked from Southanpton in July. I've been looking forward to this trip with my Aunt and Uncle and my husband for several months now.

 

I joined this forum for help and advice and this evening looked at the thread about suggested attire for dining in what I've learnt is called the 'MDR'. I wish I hadn't. Now, I feel we will be judged on what we wear, people will be commenting about our appearance and how much we spend on luggage allowance, and people will be wondering whether or not we eat at McDonalds.

 

I thought we'd wear 'smart casual' for dinner most nights, and for the formal nights, the men would wear dinner suits and myself and my aunt would wear cocktail type dresses.

 

Now I find there are people turning their noses up at the food in the 'MDR' and preferring to eat at McDonalds, people saying that you should dress up, people saying you should wear shorts; I am more confused than I was when I started to look!!

 

I hope that on our cruise, people are tolerant of other people, I would like to think people make a bit of an effort for dinner (not judging anyone) in the 'MDR' and that people are not judging our party.

 

Is it just me who finds this thread a bit judgemental? Sorry to sound so controversial on my first post...

 

Dont worry about the things you see on these boards, have a look at the location of most of the posters. Sailing out of Southampton you will find lots of people dressed for formal nights. Seeing people in shorts will be a rarity. Enjoy the cruise, the staff make an effort to ensure you have a good time.

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We are scheduled for Anthem of the Seas in May. My gf tells me that one dining room is formal every night. ...

Your girlfriend has old info, that has not been the case for quite a while now. Anthem is just like most other RC ships now, formal in all dining rooms 1-3 nights per cruise, depending on length of cruise.

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Ever notice that you are in an ever-shrinking minority. Shorts are in. Gowns and tuxes, not so much.

 

Depends where you go. I too enjoy wearing shorts and tees but prefer to wear a dress in the evening. Does that matter that you feel I am in the minority. Some people do not want to be like the rest.:champagne-toast:

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We are scheduled for Anthem of the Seas in May. My gf tells me that one dining room is formal every night.

 

Does this satisfy the fashion police?

 

 

This is a great idea, actually. Maybe not a whole dining room, but rather one floor in each of the MDR's being "formal attire only" to satisfy those who just cannot eat a bite if someone next to them is wearing a polo shirt.

 

We haven't brought formal wear on a cruise in 10 years. We don't wear it in our regular lives so why would we want to spend $$$ on dresses, shoes, jewelry, etc. for 2 nights on a cruise? Maybe if you cruise 6 times a year and don't mind wearing the same formal wear over and over, it would be a good investment. And contrary to a previous poster, formal wear IS heavy in a suitcase and does take up a lot of room.

 

That said, I do bring casual sundresses, nice pants and blouses with me for dinner. My husband brings casual pants and collared shirts. If he wants to wear a pair of nice khaki shorts (not ripped or cargo) and a button-down shirt to dinner, who cares? It's a vacation. The whole cruise vibe is casual, so feeling like you have to dress super fancy for dinner really doesn't fit in with the vibe on the rest of the ship.

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This is really a commentary on how defiant and inconsiderate people have become in this day and age. Believing the rules don’t apply to them if they don’t feel like following those rules. Completely disregarding others around them.

 

Sure, cruises aren’t as formal and fancy as they used to be. But they are still special to most of us. Most of us do not regularly eat formal 4 course meals and such, so it feels special to dress up and be in an environment where others around us are somewhat dressed up as well. Yes, it’s your vacation too and you should be able to dress how you want. But cruise ships nowadays have a ton of less formal options for dinner (recognizing the fact that not everyone wants to get dressed up for meals). If you want to be casual and wear shorts eat at one of those places. Just think about your fellow passengers for once. Does your attire directly affect their ability to eat their food? Certainly not. But that is not the only consideration here.

 

 

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Dont worry about the things you see on these boards, have a look at the location of most of the posters. Sailing out of Southampton you will find lots of people dressed for formal nights. Seeing people in shorts will be a rarity. Enjoy the cruise, the staff make an effort to ensure you have a good time.

 

Thank you so much for your lovely reply. I am so looking forward to July, more so now.

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Your girlfriend has old info, that has not been the case for quite a while now. Anthem is just like most other RC ships now, formal in all dining rooms 1-3 nights per cruise, depending on length of cruise.

Hmm - reading this in many places - including the below from Cruise Critic (dated Feb. 8, 2018 in the Google Slug):

"Anthem of the Seas does not have a formal night, but if you dine at The Grande on any night, formal dress is required."

Dress the way you want to dress - it's your vacation and you paid for it.

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This is really a commentary on how defiant and inconsiderate people have become in this day and age. Believing the rules don’t apply to them if they don’t feel like following those rules. Completely disregarding others around them.

 

Sure, cruises aren’t as formal and fancy as they used to be. But they are still special to most of us. Most of us do not regularly eat formal 4 course meals and such, so it feels special to dress up and be in an environment where others around us are somewhat dressed up as well. Yes, it’s your vacation too and you should be able to dress how you want. But cruise ships nowadays have a ton of less formal options for dinner (recognizing the fact that not everyone wants to get dressed up for meals). If you want to be casual and wear shorts eat at one of those places. Just think about your fellow passengers for once. Does your attire directly affect their ability to eat their food? Certainly not. But that is not the only consideration here. And some how you are traumatized?

 

By the way

 

 

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So then what is the consideration? I just don't understand how a couple walks into the dining room - not formally dressed - while you are beginning to eat your entree in your formal Wear and suddenly your whole dining experience is ruined? And you are suddenly traumatized by the experience?

 

By the way, there are no dress code rules - they are suggestions.

 

So who is being defiant and inconsiderate now?

 

Wear what you want to wear, stop worrying about what other people look like and I'm sure that you will enjoy your cruise more (and maybe be happier in life).

 

Peace, informally, of course.

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This is really a commentary on how defiant and inconsiderate people have become in this day and age. Believing the rules don’t apply to them if they don’t feel like following those rules. Completely disregarding others around them.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Show me these written Rules you speak of

 

 

 

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