New Dress Code Designations?

I have been following this thread with interest as we embark on our first Cunard sailing tomorrow (albeit not a 'voyage' and so not a full representation of the line, but being used as a trial of the ship for us) and we are taking formal attire, even though there is no mention of this requirement in the CP.

 

However, it was reported on a previous short sailing on QE I believe, that one evening was designated formal optional once on board and many were disappointed as they had not brought the appropriate attire, but we will have just in case and to be honest may wear it regardless. I doubt there's any restrictions on dressing 'higher' than the published requirement. :)

 

Whatever our experience is, my question is this, if Cunard are relaxing the dress code to the point where those of you who expect the formality of what Cunard used to offer are no longer happy, which line are you going to move to?

 

I maybe wrong, but I don't know of any other cruise line that demands the formality you expect and is offered on Cunard, expect maybe P&O, but then I don't believe they offer all the other elements of enrichment and facilities provided by Cunard.

And therein lies the problem.

...Whatever our experience is, my question is this, if Cunard are relaxing the dress code to the point where those of you who expect the formality of what Cunard used to offer are no longer happy, which line are you going to move to?...

Good point and for some of us it means that we are done sailing - much like those who missed the old QE2 and felt that her replacement did not meet their expectations. The same might be true for those who may have stayed at a beloved seaside hotel on land for many years but management changes removed the ambiance that they so cherished. All of us make decisions on how to spend our vacation time and money.

While there is no prohibition against dressing more formally than requested, there are two problems with doing so. One, there is no formal ambience if one couple is in black tie while their table mates are in "smart casual". Two, the hosts for that night have specified "informal" and to show up in formal attire is essentially saying, "I am proper and you are not." Just my opinion.

I found out about the changes after making final payment and it wasn't from any announcement from Cunard but from Bluemarble's start of this thread. So I feel that Cunard is delivering a far different product compared what I had booked. Had I cancelled then it would have been a 40% hit per the cancellation schedule on a promotional fare. (If Cunard is willing to tell me - in writing - that it will waive all cancellation penalties I'll cancel now!) But I did cancel a winter TA and a 2019 round trip that would have included a call in Iceland.

This will be my last sailing and as Alexskater stated, it was enjoyable while it lasted. But it's gone and not coming back.

Good point and for some of us it means that we are done sailing - much like those who missed the old QE2 and felt that her replacement did not meet their expectations. The same might be true for those who may have stayed at a beloved seaside hotel on land for many years but management changes removed the ambiance...

To me this is a perfectly reasonable reason to stop patronizing a company. I loved the QE2- the onboard experience and atmosphere has never been replicated aboard QM2, much less the other Cunard cruise ships. Caronia was a wonderful little mini QE2 and was sorely missed when she left. My interest in Cunard waned when both of them were retired. But with them gone it was a profound change of experience- I don’t think the dress code changes are nearly as significant, at least for me.

This will be my last sailing and as Alexskater stated, it was enjoyable while it lasted. But it's gone and not coming back.

Society has moved on- don’t hold it against Cunard.

 

But it's gone and not coming back.

But you don’t know that it is gone. Yes, the wording has changed, but Cunard has said (quite clearly) that the standards have not. Yes, there are two additional venues in which “casual” dressers can enjoy themselves, but is that the end of everything? To me that is very sad.

While there is no prohibition against dressing more formally than requested, there are two problems with doing so. One, there is no formal ambience if one couple is in black tie while their table mates are in "smart casual". Two, the hosts for that night have specified "informal" and to show up in formal attire is essentially saying, "I am proper and you are not." Just my opinion.

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Oh the thread that will never die.

I suppose diehard Cunard fans should be outraged at these changes. But it depends on how you define "diehard". I've been sailing with Cunard since 1977. Back when QE2 had class and classes. And two dress codes for each. So if you look at it in a different light, that's precisely what Cunard has reverted to with these changes. There is Grill, First (Britannia Club and Britannia) and Tourist (lido, casino, pub etc). And as a 19-year-old on QE2 in Tourist Class I knew that if you wanted to sneak into First, you dressed and sometimes got away with it. If "Tourist" on today's QM2 wants to "sneak" into the Commodore Club, they have to dress or, hopefully, they won't get away with it. It's really simple. And nothing has significantly changed as long as the "Tourist" folks appreciate they have to dress to use "First" facilities. Cunard for most of its existence always had different dress codes for class or venue.

Finally, for those who are fleeing Cunard over this... where are you fleeing to? All of the deluxe lines are bastions of "Country Club Casual" already. My wife and I love Oceania but find Cunard a refreshing change for its traditional formality which, by any comparison, remains quite intact post 18 June. Oceania, otherwise perfection on most counts, is a khakis and polo shirt wasteland by comparison.

Where else will I go? Well I don't have to be on a ship. For me Cunard was not about the ports it was about the voyage, the history, the things on board and the formality/elegance.

There are 3 wonderful places for us to go within a few hours drive -

The Greenbriar - jacket/suits required, dining, dancing, live music, and things like shooting, archery and other interesting things to try.

The Homestead- same as above

The Hotel Roanoke with its beautiful Regency Room - while not as formal as the places above, still elegant and wonderful.

Society can move along without me. I will just enjoy a little taste of the past on land instead of at sea.

Where else will I go? Well I don't have to be on a ship. For me Cunard was not about the ports it was about the voyage, the history, the things on board and the formality/elegance.

 

There are 3 wonderful places for us to go within a few hours drive -

 

The Greenbriar - jacket/suits required, dining, dancing, live music, and things like shooting, archery and other interesting things to try.

 

The Homestead- same as above

 

The Hotel Roanoke with its beautiful Regency Room - while not as formal as the places above, still elegant and wonderful.

 

Society can move along without me. I will just enjoy a little taste of the past on land instead of at sea.

Even The Greenbrier and Homestead are jacket required only in the main dining room and only for dinner (you have to wear one as well at the Greenbrier’s casino at night). The rest of the venues at both resorts are casual or “jacket preferred”.

Both of them in the past few years had to build alternative fine dining venues specifically so they could be casual and therefore be able to maintain a more formal dress code in the MDRs. If they didn’t build the casual alternative venues both resorts would have gone under.

So even there it’s not like you have men in tuxedoes milling about the public rooms at night anymore- usually blazer, tie and khakis which all come off once dinner is over. They both have changed significantly over the past 10-15 years.

Agreed. However all one wishes is clarity of the new wording and confirmation of an enforcement policy.

 

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Enforcement policy? you may have a long wait.

DAVID

Where else will I go? Well I don't have to be on a ship. For me Cunard was not about the ports it was about the voyage, the history, the things on board and the formality/elegance.

There are 3 wonderful places for us to go within a few hours drive -

The Greenbriar - jacket/suits required, dining, dancing, live music, and things like shooting, archery and other interesting things to try.

The Homestead- same as above

The Hotel Roanoke with its beautiful Regency Room - while not as formal as the places above, still elegant and wonderful.

Society can move along without me. I will just enjoy a little taste of the past on land instead of at sea.

So where exactly are these hotels? (Your tag says USA) If they are not too far away I may want to go. Any suggestions as to time of year?

Enforcement policy? you may have a long wait.

 

DAVID

How correct you are.

So far the exchanges have been amusing.

Guest: Is one correct in thinking there is no enforcement policy?

Cunard: Waffle, waffle, no

Guest: Therefore, in light of the above, is one correct in thinking there is an enforcement policy?

Cunard: Waffle, Waffle, no.

The quest for clarity continues.

Well, while some are questing for clarity, I'm sure many, many more are enjoying their cruises and not obsessing over what other passengers are wearing.

And Cunard knows that.

Well, while some are questing for clarity, I'm sure many, many more are enjoying their cruises and not obsessing over what other passengers are wearing.

And Cunard knows that.

Not forgetting the ship's personnel. Because at this point in time, they are also in limbo over the lack of clarity in the new dress code wording.

So where exactly are these hotels? (Your tag says USA) If they are not too far away I may want to go. Any suggestions as to time of year?

The Greenbrier is in West Virginia and The Homestead is in Virginia. The Greenbrier is a little more dressy than The Homestead but the GB has a casino now (albeit a very nice one) which I find a little unseemly and takes away from the family vibe.

The Queen's Garden Parties have a dress code, as does the presention of state awards for the New Years and Birthday Honours. Some here say, "Why worry over how other people dress?" Well nobody is doing to find out if the Queen cares about that. Anybody who isn't dressed as "requested" won't make it past the security gate.

The Queen's Garden Parties have a dress code, as does the presention of state awards for the New Years and Birthday Honours. Some here say, "Why worry over how other people dress?" Well nobody is doing to find out if the Queen cares about that. Anybody who isn't dressed as "requested" won't make it past the security gate.

Again- we’re comparing mass market cruise ships to State events at Buckingham Palace. I think the context is important here.

Again- we’re comparing mass market cruise ships to State events at Buckingham Palace. I think the context is important here.

The anology is the commenting on the enforcement policy of the dress code.

One event has it, the other is unable to make up it's mind.

If there is no enforcement of a code, it ceases to be a code, thereby becoming "Freestyle".

The anology is the commenting on the enforcement policy of the dress code.

One event has it, the other is unable to make up it's mind.

If there is no enforcement of a code, it ceases to be a code, thereby becoming "Freestyle".

And?

The Greenbrier is in West Virginia and The Homestead is in Virginia. The Greenbrier is a little more dressy than The Homestead but the GB has a casino now (albeit a very nice one) which I find a little unseemly and takes away from the family vibe.

The Homestead is just east of Shenandoah, part of Omni?

That is only about a 5 hour drive for me (if I time it to avoid traffic near Baltimore and the DC loop), not bad, especially if Cunard is off the table.

The Greenbrier is an extra 90 minutes each way for me, still doable of course.

The Homestead is just east of Shenandoah, part of Omni?

 

 

 

That is only about a 5 hour drive for me (if I time it to avoid traffic near Baltimore and the DC loop), not bad, especially if Cunard is off the table.

 

 

 

The Greenbrier is an extra 90 minutes each way for me, still doable of course.

They are both wonderful places my family and I have been going to them for 30+ years but you’ll find the same thing everyone’s lamenting here. The QE2 and The Homestead both had the same dress code in the 80s and 90s. But both resorts have adapted to the times and the dress codes are much more relaxed today.

Even the redoubtable Brend Hotel Group (West Country, UK) has had to cater to the "country club casual" set... it's still, wonderfully Jacket AND Tie REQUIRED for dinner in the dining room. Every night. But many of their properties, including The Victoria, that exemplar of of Sidmouth elegance, has installed an "informal" restaurant option. So they have already "done a Cunard" by trying to cater to both schools of dress. We rather enjoyed the fact that White's, the casual restaurant, was almost entirely deserted most nights during our last stay.

Enforcement policy? you may have a long wait.

 

 

 

DAVID

We were on the Q.V. for the full South America cruise. We took lots of clothes for theme nights and never wore most of it. Very few people took part and we felt out of place wearing it. On informal nights and formal nights people were in the theatre wearing casual clothing. This was never policed. We felt a little bit cheated as we had bought and brought lots of clothing we will probably never wear again. The days of old fashioned cruising are numbered. The new generation of cruisers do not find the grandeur of Victorian dress appealing and the older cruisers who do are diminishing yearly.

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... The new generation of cruisers do not find the grandeur of Victorian dress appealing ...

I've seen ladies in contemporary & stylish long frocks, or smart cocktail dresses, and men in timeless "black tie" (distinctly casual by Victorian standards).

But "Victorian"? Maybe your experiences and excellent memory go back a lot further than mine...

You've seen people in grand Victorian dress on board a Cunard ship?

 

 

 

I've seen ladies in contemporary long frocks and cocktail dresses, and men in timeless "black tie" (distinctly casual by Victorian standards).

 

 

 

But "Victorian"? Maybe your experiences and excellent memory go back a lot further than mine...

There were Victoriana theme nights onboard the Q.V. But some passengers are oblivious to what’s going on around them.

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There were Victoriana theme nights onboard the Q.V. ...

However, back to the theme of the thread. So, you've observed passengers in grand Victorian dress on board Cunard ships? Wow.