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For formal nights, how many ladies wear full length dresses and men wearing tux?


gam888
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For formal nights, do a lot of ladies wear ankle length dresses, not really ornate "ball gowns", but full length elegant dresses? Or the majority wear shorter cocktail dresses? I heard most men will opt for a nice suit rather than wear a tux? Just trying to get an idea how dressed up are the majority?

For general dancing at the BB King club and the northern Lights club, I presume causal attire, such as a nice top and capri pants would be fine? Thanks in advance.

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For formal nights, do a lot of ladies wear ankle length dresses, not really ornate "ball gowns", but full length elegant dresses? Or the majority wear shorter cocktail dresses? I heard most men will opt for a nice suit rather than wear a tux? Just trying to get an idea how dressed up are the majority?

For general dancing at the BB King club and the northern Lights club, I presume causal attire, such as a nice top and capri pants would be fine? Thanks in advance.

 

Now days dress up is not as common as in past years. Tux and gowns are a rare sighting. Suit and cocktail dress are more common. But on our last cruise we even saw just a shirt and slacks on some and nothing was said or done. I bring a sport coat and may wear a tie. My tux days are well past. Not worth the extra time and expense to schlep the extras along.

 

Dan

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After our one repositioning cruise in 2013, there were so few men dressed in Tuxedos that when we came home, DH retired his tuxedo to the back of his closet. Then he went out and bought a new suit and sports jacket and some new dress shirts.

By that time I was using a walker/rollator and could no longer wear floor length skirts or dresses as I was afraid they would get caught in the wheels. So I have 3/4 length skirts.

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Husband wears sport coat, shirt and tie and dark slacks. I wear a cocktail length dress or Chicos travelers black slacks and jacket with a sparkly or dressy top. Haven't done tux and gown thing in years and see fewer and fewer each cruise.

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We will be on our first Holland cruise to Alaska in 2016. My husband has an aversion to ties as they make him feel claustrophobic. Would they allow him in on formal night with no tie? Could he wear one long enough to get in the door then remove it? I've read that formal night is more relaxed for Alaska. Will a sports coat be required?

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Now days dress up is not as common as in past years. Tux and gowns are a rare sighting. Suit and cocktail dress are more common. But on our last cruise we even saw just a shirt and slacks on some and nothing was said or done. I bring a sport coat and may wear a tie. My tux days are well past. Not worth the extra time and expense to schlep the extras along.

 

Dan

 

Dan I agree with you! I used to see a mix 1/2 tux and long gowns, 1/2 suit and cocktail. Last two cruises one on a Med on HAL, and our Carribean cruise on HAL we saw less and less. Now when we travel for long vacations my husband brings a nice sport coat that is wrinkle free and light weight to travel with, and I bring a little wrinkle free black dress. We travel light when we do our cruises. We're young and for us the bulky fancy dress atire just does not work.

But I do enjoy seeing everyone that does dress up and taking pictures prior to dinner it is a nice touch!

Denise😄

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We will be on our first Holland cruise to Alaska in 2016. My husband has an aversion to ties as they make him feel claustrophobic. Would they allow him in on formal night with no tie? Could he wear one long enough to get in the door then remove it? I've read that formal night is more relaxed for Alaska. Will a sports coat be required?

 

I think you'd have more luck getting into the MDR without a tie than without a jacket but who knows. Sometimes hal enforces the dress code, sometimes not.

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We will be on our first Holland cruise to Alaska in 2016. My husband has an aversion to ties as they make him feel claustrophobic. Would they allow him in on formal night with no tie? Could he wear one long enough to get in the door then remove it? I've read that formal night is more relaxed for Alaska. Will a sports coat be required?

 

I only take a sport coat and don't wear a tie. never been a problem.

 

Dan

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Wear both tie and jacket in through door and then remove or loosen tie at table. We've been "enforced " given a tie--but other times not. Hawaii the most casual but yes Alaska cruises more casual than European cruises. Most men will have tie and jacket, very few tuxedos anymore on Hal ships.

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The last time I wore a floor-length "gown" a few years ago I felt almost out of place. Yes, there are still some, but not very many. Now I usually bring cocktail length dresses with a bit of bling. :)

 

DH usually brings his dark suit, but our last cruise he brought his sport jacket and dark slacks (shirts and ties) and he was definitely not in the minority.

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My hubby wears a dark suit, as, it seems, do most men who follow the cruise elegant code. Some tuxedos in evidence, but not in the majority.

Women? Everything from ball gown to mini cocktail dress. Most recently, I've gone with the cocktail dresses, but have worn longer. Depends on where (am I having to pack more/heavier clothing), when (some of my formal wear is more wintery), and what fits at the time :eek:.

Edited by srlafleur
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On our four weeks in the Caribbean last year, it was as dressy as I've seen it in years. One week, tuxedo wearers made up over 25% of the total. The other two weeks, it was in the 15%-20% range. Floor length dresses were less common, but certainly represented. Three quarter length and cocktail dresses were more prevalent. For guys, suits were the clear front runner. They were turning people without jackets away, so it's an "at your own risk" situation. There were loaner sports coats, but you never know if they'll have your size.

 

Surprisingly, most people stayed dressed all night - especially during the dressier week. There was a big European contingent on that sailing, which may have contributed.

 

As long as you bring a blazer, khakis, and a tie, you'll be fine. If you want to go all out formal, you'll be fine as well. Even though the majority of men wore suits, you never saw suited gangs of hooligans, roaming the halls, delivering beat downs on the less or more dressed minorities.

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Thanks for the great responses from everyone. I bought this long black dress (ankle length) last October for our Cunard cruise. There is no embellishment on it, so it's all depends on nice accessories. But I am normally not a "long dress" person, so I am leaning on more just bring cocktail dresses instead of this full length dress. But of course, I share the same sentiments as some of the folks who replied, we don't get dressed up that often when we go out at home, so where else am I going to wear this dress again except until next time we go on a fancy cruise. But we prefer to travel light, so really don't want to bring anything that is not necessary....... I don't want to stand out either if most ladies are wearing cocktails dresses, quite honestly I feel more comfortable in shorter dresses........

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On our four weeks in the Caribbean last year, it was as dressy as I've seen it in years. One week, tuxedo wearers made up over 25% of the total. The other two weeks, it was in the 15%-20% range. Floor length dresses were less common, but certainly represented. Three quarter length and cocktail dresses were more prevalent. For guys, suits were the clear front runner. They were turning people without jackets away, so it's an "at your own risk" situation. There were loaner sports coats, but you never know if they'll have your size.

 

Surprisingly, most people stayed dressed all night - especially during the dressier week. There was a big European contingent on that sailing, which may have contributed.

 

As long as you bring a blazer, khakis, and a tie, you'll be fine. If you want to go all out formal, you'll be fine as well. Even though the majority of men wore suits, you never saw suited gangs of hooligans, roaming the halls, delivering beat downs on the less or more dressed minorities.

That was a nicely dressed crowd. People seemed fairly well dressed on the Noordam in March as well but I did notice quite a selection of loaner sport coats/Blazers.

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Thanks for the great responses from everyone. I bought this long black dress (ankle length) last October for our Cunard cruise. There is no embellishment on it, so it's all depends on nice accessories. But I am normally not a "long dress" person, so I am leaning on more just bring cocktail dresses instead of this full length dress. But of course, I share the same sentiments as some of the folks who replied, we don't get dressed up that often when we go out at home, so where else am I going to wear this dress again except until next time we go on a fancy cruise. But we prefer to travel light, so really don't want to bring anything that is not necessary....... I don't want to stand out either if most ladies are wearing cocktails dresses, quite honestly I feel more comfortable in shorter dresses........

 

If you feel more comfortable in short dresses go with that. I've never felt uncomfortable in my long dress. I prefer my long because the less you see of my legs the better :D.

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That was a nicely dressed crowd. People seemed fairly well dressed on the Noordam in March as well but I did notice quite a selection of loaner sport coats/Blazers.

 

 

They should put "LOANER" in big white letters on the back of the jacket:)

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Even though the majority of men wore suits, you never saw suited gangs of hooligans, roaming the halls, delivering beat downs on the less or more dressed minorities.

 

That's a visual that made me laugh out loud...(says she who never dresses up to eat)

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Being female, I'm a fan of dressy palazzo pants with a sheer overlay for formal night, coupled with a dressy top. I don't have to worry about the state of a skirt while sitting, or if my legs are a bit hirsute that day, and it is easy to walk around in the get-up.

 

We still rent a tux for DH. He's a yo-yo weight person, so investing in a tux or travel suit might not be a great option. Besides, it saves room in the luggage. I admit it isn't the cheapest solution, but works for us. Since we prefer long cruises, we still think we get our money's worth.

 

That being said, as HAL is decreasing the number of formal nights, we may reconsider our approach to the male side of the equation.

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For formal nights, do a lot of ladies wear ankle length dresses, not really ornate "ball gowns", but full length elegant dresses? Or the majority wear shorter cocktail dresses? I heard most men will opt for a nice suit rather than wear a tux? Just trying to get an idea how dressed up are the majority?

For general dancing at the BB King club and the northern Lights club, I presume causal attire, such as a nice top and capri pants would be fine? Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks for the great responses from everyone. I bought this long black dress (ankle length) last October for our Cunard cruise. There is no embellishment on it, so it's all depends on nice accessories. But I am normally not a "long dress" person, so I am leaning on more just bring cocktail dresses instead of this full length dress. But of course, I share the same sentiments as some of the folks who replied, we don't get dressed up that often when we go out at home, so where else am I going to wear this dress again except until next time we go on a fancy cruise. But we prefer to travel light, so really don't want to bring anything that is not necessary....... I don't want to stand out either if most ladies are wearing cocktails dresses, quite honestly I feel more comfortable in shorter dresses........

 

You did not say where you are cruising or how long your cruise is..

 

That makes a big difference.. The longer the cruise, the dressier it is..

 

On our 68 day cruise around South America & into Antarctica my DH brought both his Tux & a dark suit.. I always wear long ankle length dresses, but not gowns per say.. Or I wear palazzo pants or a long skirt with a sparkly top.. Many were dressed like us..

 

On the shorter Caribbean (15-21 days) &/or Alaska cruises DH does not take his Tux but wears a suit & I still wear either a long skirt (ankle length) or palazzo pants with a sparkly top...Very few wear gowns & Tuxes..

 

IMO a plain long black dress with no embellishment is fine for any cruise as long as it's not considered a gown..

Edited by serendipity1499
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That's a visual that made me laugh out loud...(says she who never dresses up to eat)

Thanks. I'm going for cheap laughs. These threads can get testy, so a sprinkling of levity is always in order.

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