Have YOU been accosted by the fashion police? We were

[RuthC]

Hate to admit it, but my very first tux was blue. :o

 

r.

PS: I think I only wore it twice, strictly Black since then.

Now Reuel, you do realize that you have the right to remain silent, don't you? You did not have to admit that you once wore a blue tux. Glad to hear it was only that once, though! ;)

I would love it if you and your black tux decided to join us on that "Down Under" cruise.

[RuthC]

So if you see us in our 'dressy' clothes on the way to the lido know that we chose the memories over the $ for clothes to wear twice.. .

If you're heading to the Lido, what's the problem? The Lido is the dining venue for those who don't want to dress for formal night.

[Sir PMP]

I was wearing a formal bathing suit, so nobody could complain....

[TracieABD]

I was wearing a formal bathing suit, so nobody could complain....

Would that be your formal Speedo, perhaps?:)

[serendipity1499]

Now Reuel, you do realize that you have the right to remain silent, don't you? You did not have to admit that you once wore a blue tux. Glad to hear it was only that once, though! ;) .

 

Ruth, First of all meant to mention earlier that you seem to have a very intelligent, lovely & mature grandgirl!...I love that you call her a Grand girl! You have a right to be proud of her for so nicely telling the folks off, who had the gall to mention that you might be over-dressed..

I had a good laugh about Tammaraboy's post & your response re the Blue TUX..It brought back fond memories & made me go to look back at our wedding pics....

When DH & I were wed in July, '76, He & his Son Age 13, who was his Best Man, were in powder Blue Matching Suits.. Since my Dad was not alive, a Dear Friend who worked with me, gave me away..He too was in a Powder Blue Suit ;)..Their suits matched my powder blue floral dress.. It seems that "Powder Blue" suits were in fashion at that time..I must say they all looked quite Handsome...:)

Then when our 17 yr old Son took his Girlfriend to her Prom, he wore a lovely Grey TUX..His Date picked the color of his TUX...

Last year when our First Grand girl decided to tie the knot, our Son finally graduated to a black TUX..Guess that means he's now become a Man instead of a Boy..LOL

Thank you both for the Lovely Memories..:):)

Cheers....:)Betty

[serendipity1499]

Thanks for this. It brought a big smile.

 

My Dad was also a "ground up" guy with Ma Bell. He also joined direct from the Army. I love his pole climbing stories.

 

It would be great if we could get your guy and my guy together on a cruise sometime. :)

 

Glad we brought a big smile to your face..

 

Actually DH tells me that when he first joined Ma Bell he did not climb poles in Manhattan, but worked the Graveyard shift..Only when he was later transferred to Queens, did he have to climb poles..

When he took early retirement from A.T. & T., while still in his 50's, he went to work here for a local contractor which handled Sprint...One day in the Middle of the Summer (90 degrees plus) he came home exhausted from climbing 13 poles to help string lines in our growing city..I was upset & begged him to quit, as I was afraid that I might become a young widow..He worked an inside job for the Company for several years after that but finally decided that he wanted to do more cruising on our sailboat & the big ships..

I'm sure he & your Dad would have lots to talk about, as whenever telephone Men get together they always tell such interesting stories..

Perhaps someday..

Cheers...:)Betty

[RuthC]

Ruth, First of all meant to mention earlier that you seem to have a very intelligent, lovely & mature grandgirl!...I love that you call her a Grand girl! You have a right to be proud of her for so nicely telling the folks off, who had the gall to mention that you might be over-dressed..

Thank you for saying that. I think she's grand. ;)

I had a good laugh about Tammaraboy's post & your response re the Blue TUX..It brought back fond memories & made me go to look back at our wedding pics....

 

When DH & I were wed in July, '76, He & his Son Age 13, who was his Best Man, were in powder Blue Matching Suits..

 

 

I'm sure the radiance of the bride, and the pride of the groom, would have out-shown any color you could have worn.

[Aruba]

Just an observation from an Aussie. I am an experienced cruiser and generally with Princess ..I have booked my first HAL cruise for my family and friends in Jan 2011...I am starting to wonder if this is a mistake.

 

Some of the comments made here are very off putting.

DH and I always dress up for formal nights but son and daughter in law have a young family...slacks, long sleeved shirt, tie and jacket for him and dressy frock is as far as they are likely to go...is this going to offend the "fashion police"?

 

I would hate to make them feel uncomfortable on their first cruise and it is not too late to cancel. If the ship is really that stuffy I am not sure I am going to like it either. Please tell me that it will be fine.:o

For what it's worth, I was a little anxious about sailing on HAL the first time, quite honestly because of the seeming pretension and snobbishness of SOME people who post on the cruisecritic boards. That anxiety was misplaced. The people you will meet on HAL will be some of the nicest and friendliest folks there are. I have never encountered the dreaded "fashion police" and if I ever ran afoul of their standards I was oblivious to it. I think they are by and large a figment of cruisecritic imagination. That's my own opinion.

[cruisecrasy]

This thread has been entertaining. We've been on two Carnival cruises in the last few years (Miracle and Freedom), and I somehow missed that the dress suggestions for formal nights was different from Holland America. I certainly didn't notice a significant difference on the cruises, although there was one standout table of eight where a family had matching graphic t-shirts, because there seemed to be a mixture of tuxes, suits and sports coats. The women's clothing, in my opinion, was indistinguishable from any other formal night on different lines in the last five or six years. Anyway, it made me interested enough to go check with Carnival.

 

From the Carnival website: "Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too!

 

Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats."

 

So, I was amused that I somehow missed the different standards, but maybe enforcement really isn't as important as we think. (Speculation... not assertion). Happy Face.

 

Annoying IMO anyway, Carnival (HAL also) doesn't enforce its dress code but a sign of the times they even have to consider doing so, as the 'standout' table of 8 'graphic T-Shirts' obviously cldn't be missed by anyone.. :(

 

That said, I sympathize with the cruiselines 'cause they are damned by some if they do and risk 'offending' (translation: may lose revenue from) and damned by the others if they don't for the same reason so its a 'no win' situation for cruiselines seems to me.

 

Perhaps the answer wld be for folks to simply be courteous to others & show how mature they can be & go with the flow when nec as its only a very short period of time on a cruise, instead of 'making a statement' (wearing anything but formal attire)' to prove how important & rebellious they are!

Must be a form of insecurity, IMO anyway!

 

Have happy cruisin'! :)

[cruisecrasy]

I guess that argument goes both ways, dressing up or dressing down. ;)

 

Thats cute but - rationally how can one be 'noticed & different' if they are dressed similar to others as anyone wearing formal attire wld be on 'formal nite' whereas those wearing other than wld def. 'standout' and do because it makes them feel important or for whatever reason they have - IMO anyway?

Something akin to Rebel Without A Cause so to speak although they feel they have some cause!! :)

[rugbypopsie]

Thanks all for the reassurance...just what I thought....I'll bring the rhinestone encrusted thongs too (for the feet not underwear:eek:) looking forward to sailing the Volendam she seems to have quite a fan club.

 

 

[cruisecrasy]

I have never had my wardrobe questioned on th 182 days at sea, which covers 16 cruises on 6 different cruise lines. Why?, because I follow the guidelines set forth by the individual lines. Should there be a "fashion police"? Absolutely, but it should be the cruiseline administering it, not fellow customers. Maybe it's just me, but I was brought to respect the guidelines when I'm invited into someone's home, or this case, a cruiseship. If I don't agree with their rules, I don't go there. I think it's rude and irresponsible to go an intentionally disrespect the line and your fellow guests by showing up underdressed. Formal nights are special and nothing lets the air out of my baloon more that Mister comes in wearing jeans, sandals, and a collarless shirt, and Mrs. comes in wearing capris, tennies, and a K-mart spahgetti strapped top. These aren't kids either.

If you don't want to dress up, that's fine, but you should go to the Lido or order room service. Don't ruin it for those of us who enjoy dressing up twice a week and enjoy the elegance of the main dining room.

 

Thankyou for a most articulate 'voice of reason' unfortunately it likely won't be understood by many..guess u have to be over a certain age :(

 

Have happy cruisin'! :)

[cruisecrasy]

So let me see if I understand your position correctly:

 

On your first cruise you were dressed inappropriately for formal night because your TA neglected to inform you about HAL's suggested dress code. Okay, those things happen.

 

However, on your second cruise, you knew what the dress code was, but intentionally flaunted it because of the amount of money your group was spending on the cruise.

 

And to top it off, even though your philosophy is basically that money hath its privileges, it is the other passengers on HAL who are "uppity."

 

Okay, got it.

 

Thankyou - thankyou - really enjoyed your post - well put!!

Giggle..did your cheek hurt when u stuck your tongue in it?? :D

[cruisecrasy]

I too am a major fan of MYOB. When we are on vacation we don't really care what others are doing....we are too busy enjoying our vacation. Our experience is that that there are far too many busybody fashion experts on this forum. This is completely opposite to what our experience has been on board with many cruise lines and many ships. Just relax, and chill out. After all, it is only a cruise.

 

 

And after all its only a dress code!

[mek]

I do play by the rules and dress according to the suggestion for the evening, but unless they sign my paycheck, I never pay much attention to what someone else has to say concerning what I do. ;)

[celle]

They will be fine. My DH wears a sport coat we got at a used clothing store for $4 and he looks great. I would hope that other passengers wouldn't be rude enough to say anything no matter what you're wearing.

 

And remember - you can always say, "Bless your heart." Although I'm trying to imagine how that would sound in an Aussie accent.

 

Within the restrictions imposed by a 20 Kg (about 44 lbs) weight limit for flying to a cruise, we do try to comply with suggested dress codes.

 

My chosen response, should anyone be rude enough to comment on our attire, would be: "Thank you for sharing", accompanied by a sweet smile.

[Copper10-8]

...................

My chosen response, should anyone be rude enough to comment on our attire, would be: "Thank you for sharing", accompanied by a sweet smile.

 

Are you, by any chance, a "Verbal Judo" graduate?:)

[celle]

Are you, by any chance, a "Verbal Judo" graduate?:)

 

No, but I find "Thank you for sharing" to be an effective response. It politely tells the other person that they are welcome to their opinion, but I am not required to take any notice of it. And, like "Bless your heart", it allows me to give a polite response to an intrusive comment.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Being from the south (not the deep south, but Texas, which is most definitely in the southern U.S.), we like to use the phrase, "I don't mean to be ugly, but ......" When, in fact, what we are fixin' :) to say is most certainly going to be "ugly."

 

Now, please understand that this term is most frequently used when gossiping, not directly to someone's face.

 

I really don't know why I'm offering this up except it's another southern expression... :p I'm really bored tonght.

[Copper10-8]

No, but I find "Thank you for sharing" to be an effective response. It politely tells the other person that they are welcome to their opinion, but I am not required to take any notice of it. And, like "Bless your heart", it allows me to give a polite response to an intrusive comment.

 

Got it. There's actually a guy by the name of George Thompson going around the country (or at least he did in the nineties) teaching Police Departments (and other organizations) a class called "Verbal Judo". One of the responses he taught was "Thanks for sharing" Thought maybe you had run into him and his course;)

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

IMHO I have saved all year for this trip.. I am a single mom of 2 kids and for us going out is Dennys.. My DD has her fancy dresses. DS has.... His kakis and Polos... I wear scrubs daily... To us dressing up is more of a question of $ for something we will wear once for DS and I. So if you see us in our 'dressy' clothes on the way to the lido know that we chose the memories over the $ for clothes to wear twice.. Our goal is all 50 states.. HAL had the itinerary we wanted..

 

Unless a Webelos uniform is considerd Formal Attire....

 

You are right, it's about the memories, not the clothes. There is too much fuss about the Dress Up stuff. Attitude shapes the adventure not the attire. Enjoy :)

[babyher]

Ruth, First of all meant to mention earlier that you seem to have a very intelligent, lovely & mature grandgirl!...I love that you call her a Grand girl! You have a right to be proud of her for so nicely telling the folks off, who had the gall to mention that you might be over-dressed..

 

I had a good laugh about Tammaraboy's post & your response re the Blue TUX..It brought back fond memories & made me go to look back at our wedding pics....

 

When DH & I were wed in July, '76, He & his Son Age 13, who was his Best Man, were in powder Blue Matching Suits.. Since my Dad was not alive, a Dear Friend who worked with me, gave me away..He too was in a Powder Blue Suit ;)..Their suits matched my powder blue floral dress.. It seems that "Powder Blue" suits were in fashion at that time..I must say they all looked quite Handsome...:)

 

Then when our 17 yr old Son took his Girlfriend to her Prom, he wore a lovely Grey TUX..His Date picked the color of his TUX...

 

Last year when our First Grand girl decided to tie the knot, our Son finally graduated to a black TUX..Guess that means he's now become a Man instead of a Boy..LOL

 

Thank you both for the Lovely Memories..:):)

 

Cheers....:)Betty

 

 

 

*LOL*

 

My oldest sisters wedding pictures from around '76 or so were quiet colorful to say the least. Lots of lime greens, and peaches and apricots, with big frilly skirts and large picture hats .....The guys all wore silver tuxes with bow ties and cumberbunds to match their partners dress.

 

UGH

 

My dad used to look at them and say we all looked like a summer stock production of West Side Story. *LOL*

[Tailskid]

Hey SwissMyst,

Right On!

Tailskid

[RichNY]

Blue tuxedos are out ???...I guessed I missed the memo..:(....how about Paisley with black velvet collars??...:D:D

[onthegogirl]

Thanks all for the reassurance...just what I thought....I'll bring the rhinestone encrusted thongs too (for the feet not underwear:eek:) looking forward to sailing the Volendam she seems to have quite a fan club.

 

 

 

I love the Volendam. I was lucky to be on her 34 day circumnavigation of your wonderful country this spring and had my very best cruise ever. The itinerary was wonderful and I met such nice people on board, Aussies, Kiwis, Yanks and Canadians and Brits too. While some folks really dressed up on formal nights, most of us wore dressy mix and match separates. At our table of ten I think there was one Tux.

 

I know you'll find the crew friendly and smiling and helpful. They really go out of their way to insure you have a great trip. I am looking at the 1/16 sailing to the Pacific and New Zealand. This would make three years in a row on the Volendam out of Sydney. Hoping I can swing it.

 

Carole