Clothes for Gents

[JanetMarie]

Hello everyone ~ pls bear with me because I have been off these boards for some time. DH and I have not cruised for a few years (after cruising 2 - 3 times a year), so I am sure a lot has changed with the cruise lines. My specific two (2) questions are:

in ref to dining room clothing for men. . . 7 - 8 yrs ago, it seemed that 70% of the men wore a tux for formal night and 30% did not. What is the standard these days?

Also, what is typical attire in the dining room on non-formal nights?

Thanks so much for your posts and patience.:o

[cruise kitty]

Which line?

Where to?

What time of year?

[househunter]

We have been cruising for 16 years and I don't ever remember seeing that many tuxes and gowns?

 

On our recent Oasis cruise I saw one man in a tux, maybe 30% in suits and the rest in slacks, button down shirts and maybe a tie. For women, dress was all over the place from long gowns to very casual even on the formal nights.

 

On casual nights men were mostly in slacks, jeans and either a polo or button down shirts and again for women, tons of variety from capris, jeans to casual dresses.

 

Not sure what line you are going on but this was our experience on RCI. That said, I did not see anyone really inappropriatley dressed for dinner. There were a few men in shorts but they were neat and with a Tommy Bahama type shirt. I did not see anyone in casual jeans and tshirts or other sloppy clothes. We did wear jeans twice on casual nights but I wore them with strappy sandlals and a cute cami type shirt and my DH wore his with a long sleeved shirt and dress shoes.

 

Times are changing and fashion on cruise ships just like on land are changing with the times whether that is good or bad!:)

[cb at sea]

Must be the time of year, but we always see about 60% tuxes....or at the very least, a dark suit.

I don't recall anyone in our late seating NOT being dressed "properly" on formal night.

[Pennypocket]

It all depends on the line. On Cunard the ratio is still around 90-95% tuxedo to suit with a VERY rare outlander in an unmatched jacket. You may not attend dinner in the main dining room with out a jacket.

 

On the other end of the spectrum is NCL where work jeans with hammer loops are not uncommon in the dining room at dinner time and that was four years ago. Heavens knows what level they are working at now. A tuxedo on an NCL cruise is like a Rolls Royce in a Wal-Mart parking lot. So it all depends on which line.

 

The problem the cruise lines created for themselves and their customers is the term "Elegant Casual" For some that means a blazer, long sleeved shirt and a tie. For others elegant casual is anything up from basic garden work clothes and for others it means simply a cleaner "T" shirt. Way too broad a term but they brought it into play and are stuck with it. Ambiance as contibuted to by the passengers consist is a thing of the past on many lines. Thankfully not all.

[Alamogirl]

Our cruises have all been on RCI and on formal nights my DH wears a tux and other nights a sport coat. I have worn a long dress for all but 1 formal night and that was because my DH spilled a drink on me prior to going to dinner. Our last cruise on formal night all of the men but one at our large table and the one behind us all wore a tux and or suit. Ladies were in long and short dressy type outfits as well as dressy pants and top.

 

Formal nights are to dress up some, not polos, dockers etc IMHO.