More Conflicting Dress Code Info from NCL

[terrymtex01]

I am going to ask this question and please know I am asking it out of a sincere lack of understanding. I do want to say that I am one of those (yes believe it or not there are some of us gay guys like this..lol) that never notice what someone is wearing unless it is very inappropriate for the situation. Could not care less if someone was wearing a pair of pants they bought at a Goodwill Recycling location or from a top designers store. The only thing I generally will notice about someone is if they appear clean, and that has more to do with me being a germaphobic than anything else. So on to my question. Why is it that some guys are so miserable in Dockers and only want to wear jeans? I just honestly can't tell a difference when I am wearing Dockers or jeans. Yes, I usually wear jeans around town, etc, but not really because of any preference. If I needed to wear Dockers, I would be totally ok. On NCL cruises that is what we wear to dinner, Dockers and a polo. The ONLY difference I can think of is I don't wear tennis shoes with Dockers but really one could if they wanted to I suppose.

 

I promise I am not asking this question to start any big debate, hurt anyone's feelings, or for any other reason other than I just don't understand why some guys really do seem miserable if they have to wear something other than jeans. Again, I honestly don't usually notice what people are wearing in any dining room, I'm just curious.

[esther e]

I am going on record right now in saying we will dress for dinner every night. Not beaded gowns and tuxs. But my husband will have his blazer with him, especially in the alternative restaurants.

 

We are retired and have a "casual" existence and cruising and "dressing up" are what I (more than he!) look forward to.

 

Are we going to be out of place?

[sparks1093]

I am going on record right now in saying we will dress for dinner every night. Not beaded gowns and tuxs. But my husband will have his blazer with him, especially in the alternative restaurants.

 

We are retired and have a "casual" existence and cruising and "dressing up" are what I (more than he!) look forward to.

 

Are we going to be out of place?

 

Only if you let yourself be. I wore a suit for dress up or not night on our last cruise and didn't feel out of place at all.

[esther e]

Thank you. I would never feel out of place dressed up; only not dressed up. It was a rhetorical question (sort of...!)

 

To me, cruising is special and special means nicer clothes than I would wear around here, to a doctor's office or a nice restaurant for instance.

 

But we're old and I guess think a bit differently!:(

[alwalaska]

Bob Brown

My brochure just came in the mail this past week for my upcoming cruise on the Spirit in March.

 

I too was confused by the term "formal night" rather than "dress-up or not night"

 

NJ Horseman - The December 2010 Dailies I was looking at for the Spirit said no jeans in Windows (larger of the 2 main dining rooms) and Le Bistro. That was why I was confused when I read my Welcome Aboard packet.

 

Sparks1093 - Unfortunately, the Dailies on the Spirit seem to be constantly changing and it is too late to change what was packed after you are on the ship. I really wish NCL would make things consistent. It would be really nice if the NCL lurker would post a response to this thread as to what is the current official policy if there is one.

 

If they leave it up to the hotel manager or someone on the ship, then ship specific information should be listed somewhere. I work with computers. It is not that hard to include information like that.

[alwalaska]

I am going to ask this question and please know I am asking it out of a sincere lack of understanding. I do want to say that I am one of those (yes believe it or not there are some of us gay guys like this..lol) that never notice what someone is wearing unless it is very inappropriate for the situation. Could not care less if someone was wearing a pair of pants they bought at a Goodwill Recycling location or from a top designers store. The only thing I generally will notice about someone is if they appear clean, and that has more to do with me being a germaphobic than anything else. So on to my question. Why is it that some guys are so miserable in Dockers and only want to wear jeans? I just honestly can't tell a difference when I am wearing Dockers or jeans. Yes, I usually wear jeans around town, etc, but not really because of any preference. If I needed to wear Dockers, I would be totally ok. On NCL cruises that is what we wear to dinner, Dockers and a polo. The ONLY difference I can think of is I don't wear tennis shoes with Dockers but really one could if they wanted to I suppose.

 

I promise I am not asking this question to start any big debate, hurt anyone's feelings, or for any other reason other than I just don't understand why some guys really do seem miserable if they have to wear something other than jeans. Again, I honestly don't usually notice what people are wearing in any dining room, I'm just curious.

 

Actually, it is not just guys. I am female and I much prefer jeans over Dockers. I wear dress slacks and sometimes more like a docker style to work. When I come home, the first thing I do is change into my jeans. They are so much more comfortable. Also, with the dress pants I feel obligated to wear nice shoes, which I don't know about for men, but for women, they are rarely comfortable. With my jeans I can wear socks and tennis shoes. Dress clothes to me mean work. Jeans mean comfort. My husband would really like to wear shorts to dinner, but brings jeans or dockers so that I can eat in the main dining room rather than the buffet. The Sky was perfect last year since the one main dining room allowed both jeans and shorts and we were both comfortable.

 

I noticed on another thread that someone said they bring dress slacks and polos for dinner, then go back to the cabin and change back into something more comfortable after. This is what we did when cruising on other lines.

 

By the way, you worded your question very well to avoid making it sound antagonistic. I hope I accomplished the same thing with my response. I only wanted to try to explain how I feel.

[sjbdtz]

I am going to ask this question and please know I am asking it out of a sincere lack of understanding. I do want to say that I am one of those (yes believe it or not there are some of us gay guys like this..lol) that never notice what someone is wearing unless it is very inappropriate for the situation. Could not care less if someone was wearing a pair of pants they bought at a Goodwill Recycling location or from a top designers store. The only thing I generally will notice about someone is if they appear clean, and that has more to do with me being a germaphobic than anything else. So on to my question. Why is it that some guys are so miserable in Dockers and only want to wear jeans? I just honestly can't tell a difference when I am wearing Dockers or jeans. Yes, I usually wear jeans around town, etc, but not really because of any preference. If I needed to wear Dockers, I would be totally ok. On NCL cruises that is what we wear to dinner, Dockers and a polo. The ONLY difference I can think of is I don't wear tennis shoes with Dockers but really one could if they wanted to I suppose.

 

I promise I am not asking this question to start any big debate, hurt anyone's feelings, or for any other reason other than I just don't understand why some guys really do seem miserable if they have to wear something other than jeans. Again, I honestly don't usually notice what people are wearing in any dining room, I'm just curious.

 

 

Terry, I'll respond because I know that your intentions are good. I want to wear jeans, because I wear suits for work. Dockers I think are a gift from hell. They're neither comfortable, NOR do they look good. So it's either jeans, or slacks. Slacks need pressing. Jeans don't.

 

If I'm only bringing a pair & a spare for the week, they'll both be jeans because I can wear them for hiking / Shore Ex if it's raining, whereas slacks are not ideally suited.

 

I tend to wear shorts by day, and jeans in the evening...whilst on vacation.

 

The added benefit of not having to iron or carry the slacks..... priceless.

 

I am going on record right now in saying we will dress for dinner every night. Not beaded gowns and tuxs. But my husband will have his blazer with him, especially in the alternative restaurants.

 

We are retired and have a "casual" existence and cruising and "dressing up" are what I (more than he!) look forward to.

 

Are we going to be out of place?

 

You won't be out of place.

 

Nor will anyone who is younger, and dresses up at work and prefers to be more casual....even in the alternative restaurants.

 

 

If you don't look critically at them, I'm certain they wouldn't even give you a second glance.

 

 

.

[swedish weave]

If the dress code allowed Speedo's and bikinis, someone would want to wear thongs and would write volumes to explain their logic !!

[Traveller20074]

I have traveled with my DH and DS (at various ages of growth)and always stressed about the attire requirements. Women can get away with pretty much anything. On all of my sailings with various cruiselines, NCL our favorite, what I have found is you can never go wrong with just a neat, and well put together outfit; never have we been turned away from any dining venue whether in cocktail dress or jeans - just think "neat" as a requirement (not too be confused with Daisy Mae cutoff shorts or wife beater t-shirt and Joey Budofucco (spelling is wrong) pants - although I have seen all of these in every dining venue. They do not want to cramp on anyone's style since everyone is enjoying their vacation and all have paid i guess. For worst case scenario if you are realy paranoid about being turned away (there are no red ropes by the way), everyone should have a pair of black pants and white shirt and you will never, ever, I repeat, ever, have a problem with attire requirements!

 

But, I don't want to take up room packing that extra pair of slacks :D I want to wear comfy shoes (for me, that translates to sneakers) and I can't wear sneakers with black slacks. oh, I could LOL (yuk) A couple of pairs or jeans for a 7 day cruise, and I'm good :)

[Traveller20074]

I TOTALLY agree with this!

 

 

Terry, I'll respond because I know that your intentions are good. I want to wear jeans, because I wear suits for work. Dockers I think are a gift from hell. They're neither comfortable, NOR do they look good. So it's either jeans, or slacks. Slacks need pressing. Jeans don't.

 

If I'm only bringing a pair & a spare for the week, they'll both be jeans because I can wear them for hiking / Shore Ex if it's raining, whereas slacks are not ideally suited.

 

I tend to wear shorts by day, and jeans in the evening...whilst on vacation.

 

The added benefit of not having to iron or carry the slacks..... priceless.

 

 

 

You won't be out of place.

 

Nor will anyone who is younger, and dresses up at work and prefers to be more casual....even in the alternative restaurants.

 

 

If you don't look critically at them, I'm certain they wouldn't even give you a second glance.

 

 

.

[Traveller20074]

I think the ship's Freestyle Daily is the best source of information regarding dress code so I would ignore other sources (except for more current Dailies, of course;)).

 

 

Only problem with that, is that I get the daily AFTER I'm onboard and after I've packed :D

[Traveller20074]

They can't be specific because every ship has different restaurants! Every ship will have 2 main dining rooms both serving the same menu, one of those will be designated no jeans. I have never seen anyone not allowed into a specialty restaurant just because they had jeans on. Formal night is a "Dress up or not" night. Usually one of the 2 main dining rooms will be designated formal/dressy. Casual is allowed in the specialty restaurants on that night. I hope that helps to clear it up for you. Enjoy your cruise! :)

 

But, every ship has a main dining room, and most of the time, I was under the impression that jeans aren't allowed.

 

I just don't want to pack slacks, and am being stubborn LOL

[mtwingcpa]

Why is it that some guys are so miserable in Dockers and only want to wear jeans?

 

I can only speak for myself. I've found most jeans to have a low-rise waist, while docker-type pants are usually high-rise. And I find the low-rise to be better looking and more comfortable.

 

That said, if you shop carefully, you can find low-rise docker-type pants that more closely resemble jeans in terms of fit. Or, I typically wear dockers with banded bottom polos that are specifically designed to be worn untucked (and thus don't violate country club dress codes when applicable), and that mitigates the "pants up to your arm pits" look of some dockers or slacks.

 

Even though I prefer the fit of jeans, I rarely take them on a cruise because they are too hot for warmer climates, and too heavy/bulky to pack. My favorite pants for cruising are a pair of lightweight convertibles (with zip-off legs) and a pair of non-crinkly black wind pants that look like casual slacks from 5 feet away. I usually wear the latter to dinner with a banded bottom polo.

[keikotrinity]

My husband got away with jeans everywhere, from the buffet to Cagney's. I'm the only one that got fussed at for my apparel: I was wearing a dress hat (ie church hat). The hostess yelled to me to take it off in front of the entire Windows restaurant. OOPS!

[big green]

After reading recent Dailies from the NCL Spirit, I had told my husband that we needed to pack at least one set of slacks for dinners since the largest dining room does not allow jeans.

 

THEN ...

 

My Welcome Aboard packet comes. It seems to have a mixture of generic information and information specific to my cruise. On page 4, under Plan Your attire, it says,

" Freestyle Cruising encourages relaxed attire. After all, you're on vacation. Even swinwear with a cover-up is okay at the buffet and outdoor restaurant. When you're ready for dinner, it's collared shirts and pants or nice jeans for men; for women, pants or jeans, dresses, or skirts and tops are perfect. Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts to all our restaurants.

If you prefer to dress up when you dine out, we offer a formal night. Our onboard photographer is also available to capture moments like this for you. Also consider packing a sweater-air conditioning can be chilly."

 

I really wish they would be more consistent. We are the type of people who would prefer to dress more casually and will not pack dressier clothes if they are not required, but we will follow the rules if we can figure out what they are.

 

I checked again today and the NCL web site still says that jeans are allowed in some, but not all dining venues.

 

The dress code in the dining venues has been the same for my last three cruises on the Spirit-- the Windows main dining room dress code was always the no shorts and jeans--the other main dining room is more casual and jeans are acceptable--it serves the same menu so you can eat there if you want to and wear jeans---the only speciality restaurant that you can not where jeans is Le Bistro--the rest are causal.

 

In my esperience this has always been the policy as stated in many published NCL documents.

 

BG

[terrymtex01]

 

I noticed on another thread that someone said they bring dress slacks and polos for dinner, then go back to the cabin and change back into something more comfortable after. This is what we did when cruising on other lines.

 

By the way, you worded your question very well to avoid making it sound antagonistic. I hope I accomplished the same thing with my response. I only wanted to try to explain how I feel.

 

Thank you.. I almost didn't post the question for fear it would offend someone. It is funny you posted what you did about changing after dinner because Doug and I both do that, as Doug would rather be in jeans. Since he is changing into jeans, I change too so I don't feel "out of place" with him. Silly huh?

 

Terry, I'll respond because I know that your intentions are good. I want to wear jeans, because I wear suits for work. Dockers I think are a gift from hell. They're neither comfortable, NOR do they look good. So it's either jeans, or slacks. Slacks need pressing. Jeans don't.

 

If I'm only bringing a pair & a spare for the week, they'll both be jeans because I can wear them for hiking / Shore Ex if it's raining, whereas slacks are not ideally suited.

 

I tend to wear shorts by day, and jeans in the evening...whilst on vacation.

 

The added benefit of not having to iron or carry the slacks..... priceless.

 

 

 

You won't be out of place.

 

Nor will anyone who is younger, and dresses up at work and prefers to be more casual....even in the alternative restaurants.

 

 

If you don't look critically at them, I'm certain they wouldn't even give you a second glance.

 

 

.

 

Thanks for responding. I honestly was just curious.

[bob brown]

Anyone that likes to 'dress-down' after dinner...be advised that some lines like Celebrity enforce their dress code for the entire evening. Meaning that you won't be permitted into the theater for the show if you don't comply.:(

Aren't you glad you go 'Freestyle'?:)

[uncleboo]

they have recoomendations for dress codes

 

as long as you have clothes on they will let you in.

 

they do not like to be the dress police and turn peopel away

 

 

on one ceelbrity crusie my husband had on a ttank top and he had to change his top for lunch in the dining room

 

but they allow womens sleevless

 

 

sounds liek reverse discrimation to me

[newmexicoNita]

I am going to ask this question and please know I am asking it out of a sincere lack of understanding. I do want to say that I am one of those (yes believe it or not there are some of us gay guys like this..lol) that never notice what someone is wearing unless it is very inappropriate for the situation. Could not care less if someone was wearing a pair of pants they bought at a Goodwill Recycling location or from a top designers store. The only thing I generally will notice about someone is if they appear clean, and that has more to do with me being a germaphobic than anything else. So on to my question. Why is it that some guys are so miserable in Dockers and only want to wear jeans? I just honestly can't tell a difference when I am wearing Dockers or jeans. Yes, I usually wear jeans around town, etc, but not really because of any preference. If I needed to wear Dockers, I would be totally ok. On NCL cruises that is what we wear to dinner, Dockers and a polo. The ONLY difference I can think of is I don't wear tennis shoes with Dockers but really one could if they wanted to I suppose.

 

I promise I am not asking this question to start any big debate, hurt anyone's feelings, or for any other reason other than I just don't understand why some guys really do seem miserable if they have to wear something other than jeans. Again, I honestly don't usually notice what people are wearing in any dining room, I'm just curious.

 

funny how one person prefers one thing and someone else another: I have to almost beg hubby to wear jeans, he prefers dockers any day.

 

Nita

[sjbdtz]

Anyone that likes to 'dress-down' after dinner...be advised that some lines like Celebrity enforce their dress code for the entire evening. Meaning that you won't be permitted into the theater for the show if you don't comply.:(

Aren't you glad you go 'Freestyle'?:)

 

 

Yuppers.

 

That's why Celebrity doesn't get my money. :)

 

 

.

[Jerseyboy1]

Anyone that likes to 'dress-down' after dinner...be advised that some lines like Celebrity enforce their dress code for the entire evening. Meaning that you won't be permitted into the theater for the show if you don't comply.:(

Aren't you glad you go 'Freestyle'?:)

 

This is not an attack on you, so don't take it as such please.

 

"Freestyle"....there goes that word again. This word IMO has done more to confuse potential NCL cruisers than any other in the NCL lexicon. "Freestyle"..that undefinable totally overused word that people pull out to validate practically any action that they take on an NCL cruise. Really, I can't fault them. NCL created this silly term and never really defined it.

 

In general though, I believe that all lines not just NCL, need to make policy and stick with it. Don't be afraid of losing customers. Prepare a list of 'do's and don'ts, you know 'rules', and roll them out fleetwide. If you allow jeans and shorts then say so in no uncertain terms.

 

"Live and let live" is a fine goal in a utopian society. Too bad real life and real cruising never quite reaches that ideal in my experience. No rules or lax rules lead to chaos or at the very least confusion as demonstrated by this thread.

 

I agree with the one poster regarding the wearing of thongs. People can justify anything on these boards, (chair hogging, jeans/shorts in MDR, smuggling alcohol etc.) and have done so in the past.

 

I'm not telling anyone how to do anything on a cruise. That's the cruise line's job, or at least it should be. Just my opinion...probably not yours.:eek:

[sjbdtz]

This is not an attack on you, so don't take it as such please.

 

"Freestyle"....there goes that word again. This word IMO has done more to confuse potential NCL cruisers than any other in the NCL lexicon. "Freestyle"..that undefinable totally overused word that people pull out to validate practically any action that they take on an NCL cruise. Really, I can't fault them. NCL created this silly term and never really defined it.

 

In general though, I believe that all lines not just NCL, need to make policy and stick with it. Don't be afraid of losing customers. Prepare a list of 'do's and don'ts, you know 'rules', and roll them out fleetwide. If you allow jeans and shorts then say so in no uncertain terms.

 

"Live and let live" is a fine goal in a utopian society. Too bad real life and real cruising never quite reaches that ideal in my experience. No rules or lax rules lead to chaos or at the very least confusion as demonstrated by this thread.

 

I agree with the one poster regarding the wearing of thongs. People can justify anything on these boards, (chair hogging, jeans/shorts in MDR, smuggling alcohol etc.) and have done so in the past.

 

I'm not telling anyone how to do anything on a cruise. That's the cruise line's job, or at least it should be. Just my opinion...probably not yours.:eek:

 

 

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=define%3A+freestyle funny. Not a single definition coined by NCL.

 

The first one, relating to swimming, is the closest in intent it would seem.

 

 

Make your own choices.

 

Free style.

 

 

.

[alwalaska]

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=define%3A+freestyle funny. Not a single definition coined by NCL.

 

The first one, relating to swimming, is the closest in intent it would seem.

 

 

Make your own choices.

 

Free style.

 

 

.

 

That web site is just too cool. How do you get it to create the link that fills in the search automatically? Sorry, I'm a geek at heart.

[fergusonvt]

That web site is just too cool. How do you get it to create the link that fills in the search automatically? Sorry, I'm a geek at heart.

 

Glad I'm not the only geek. That was pretty cool.

[Anginette]

That web site is just too cool. How do you get it to create the link that fills in the search automatically? Sorry, I'm a geek at heart.

 

http://lmgtfy.com/

 

Just type into the top box and copy the link it spits out.