GASP .... We're Ready to Give Up Formal

[DeepWaterMariner]

We enjoy sailing both Cunard and HAL.

 

Overall far more similarities than differences, the major exception being the dress code.

 

Those who enjoy formal nights will love Cunard - our two recent QM2

10 & 11 night sailings featured easily 95% of men wearing black tie on

formal nights, jackets & ties on semi-formal, and always a jacket even on casual. You certainly enjoy making the effort to dress when everyone else

does also.

 

But we are equally comfortable on HAL where I bring one dark suit and

a couple shirts & ties and wear golf shirts and slacks the remainder.

Go with the flow on HAL but the formal option is still out there on Cunard,

nice to alternate both!

 

Exactly why we don't cruise Cunard and were less than thrilled about HAL until they dropped their version of semi-formal. That certainly was the standard for dress on all the lines, except NCL, for the first fifteen or twenty years of our cruising life. We quickly adapted and enjoyed not wearing a coat and tie when the informal nights went away on most lines. We always dress for the recommended attire of the evening but would welcome the demise of formal nights. I quit packing the tux a year or two ago in favor of a dark suit because I'm more comfortable in a suit plus most men are wearing suits, not a tux. I'd be even more comfortable in resort casual.

[Amuse Bouche]

No you're not ;) by the way.. I think your formal portraits will be wonderful treasures for your grandchildren:)

 

 

Thank you. I was feeling really bad that what I said was harsher than I intended.

 

The picture in my mind was actually to separate in a true "as you wish" way. Like for instance, on the ships where the MDR has two levels. Let those who want to go formal be seated on the lower level, and the one's who want to be super casual be seated on the upper level. I've been to many restaurants lately where the dining room is more formal, but if you are out doing something more casual, you can be seated in a rather large lounge and get the meal you want without going home to dress.

 

I think a well chosen shirt and tie with a dark suit looks very elegant for those who don't want to do a full tux. And there are lots of options for women with a nice pair of slacks and a dressy blouse/top.

As far as smart casual, well, we aren't our parents. I think you can put together a very nice outfit with jeans. Just don't wear faded Wranglers and a t-shirt.

I think many of these "problems" are more in the tropical destinations, where people bring 8 pairs of shorts, and an array of Tommy Bahama gear, and not much else.

I have a vision of these destinations that will definitely keep me away from them. I'll stick to the northern latitudes. Even those are changing tho. The last formal night I attended, we felt a bit self conscious because there weren't that many people dressing up, so we changed directly after dinner. I was looking forward to going to the casino and one of the nicer lounges for the evening, and it just didn't work.

[mudscraper]

Thanks for this post.

Our next cruise is Nieuw Amsterdam and we're torn about continuing with the tux etc

 

Now you've given a new perspective. We'd feel bad if we left the formal clothes home and many were dressed formal.

 

Drat...... back on the fence again. :D

Should we or shouldn't we? :)

Bring the fancy duds. You enjoy formal night as so many of us do. Just imagine taking a peek into the MDR on formal night and seeing most everyone in their elegant finery;then proceeding to the Lido to eat `cafeteria style`. JMO

[CaveDiving]

We would like to sign in on the side of those who like to dress for dinner.

 

DH travels with three tuxes and wears a sport jacket, usually with an open, button down shirt, on all but formal nights.

 

On formal nights we may easily be wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry.

 

We understand that many cruisers prefer to dress more casually. But for us, the experience of preparing for a genteel, adult, unhurried, well dressed dinner is an important feature of our cruising experience.

 

Scott & Karen

[fivechip]

The dress of the cruiseline has also fallen.If you noticed,the casino staff are not dressed like they used to,no more ties,and the indonesian staff used to look so nice in there pressed blue and red jaclets with a white shirt and black bowtie,no more,a slik like button up to the neck almost jacket

[Bill S]

I pretty much echo RevNeal's sentiments. Thanks, Greg for your usual eloquent posting.

This interesting thread comes in the midst of DW and I packing for our forthcoming HAL cruise (also on Sail's Maasdam). DW has already packed her formal wear, and out of an abundance of caution (only kidding), tomorrow I will proceed to pack my tux, bow-ties, studs, cufflinks, shirt, vest and black dancing shoes. :)

[startwin]

We would like to sign in on the side of those who like to dress for dinner.

 

DH travels with three tuxes and wears a sport jacket, usually with an open, button down shirt, on all but formal nights.

 

On formal nights we may easily be wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry.

 

We understand that many cruisers prefer to dress more casually. But for us, the experience of preparing for a genteel, adult, unhurried, well dressed dinner is an important feature of our cruising experience.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Oh never mind.

[saneil]

Do you pack a jacket and tie? Or do you wear shorts to the dining room? What do you wear to the dining room on formal nights?

 

We wear formal, jeans shorts and t shirts are not formal. Perhaps the cruise line should have a dinning room for the people who want to dress up and one for people who don't .

[RuthC]

Perhaps the cruise line should have a dinning room for the people who want to dress up and one for people who don't .

Great idea! People who want to dress up could dine in the formal dining room. Those who don't want to dress up could eat in the Lido.

 

But isn't that system already in place?

[saneil]

When I flew on United the charged me the US dollar rate and that was less than the Brit pound

[Richie2pies]

I, for one, don't care about airline fees as I usually drive to the port and can bring all the luggage I want. I just don't care to dress up on a cruise. I take 4-5 cruises a year and have never even brought a sport coat or tie. I am clean, dress in decent clothes, and refuse to let the "dinosaurs" dictate how I dress. In this day and age, formality is going in the dust bin whether you like it or not. In a few years, you will see every line emulate NCL's "dress up or not" policy. Those who wish, can still pose for the overpriced pictures cruiselines offer

[DizzyDallasDi]

On formal nights we may easily be wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Scott & Karen,

 

Why in the world would you advertise this on an internet message board along with your picture? :eek:

 

Dollar rich but common sense poor....

[Lisa63]

I don't have an answer but my question would be how many traditional seating and how many who have flexible seating time dressed formal or did not? Is it possible there is a connection?

 

We had flexible seating time and often shared a large table with others. Everyone we encountered was dressed nicely, whether formal night or smart casual. I know that's not at all scientific... just an observation. :)

 

(We were on Maasdam one of the weeks that sail7seas was onboard.)

[DugboatLarry]

if I order room sevice and smoke on my verandah on formal night? probably...:p

[suzann13]

isn't there some way that those who want formal can get a formal event/space for 1, 3, many nights, while the rest of the passengers can stick with the "regular routine?" i suspect there will be a vast majority of those who don't want to go formal. and everyone should have access to the same level of service, don't you think? lobster for all, regardless of attire. i think it's just fine to expect folks to clean up and maybe put on clean clothes for dinner in the dining rooms, but i don't appreciate a maitre d insisting that i should wear a jacket, or a tie. it's true that we all pay for meals in the dining rooms, n'est-ce pas?

[piscesgal223]

Why in the world would you advertise this on an internet message board along with your picture? :eek:

 

Dollar rich but common sense poor....

 

Exactly...To say nothing of the fact it comes off as,well, bragging.:confused:

[Megsie1000]

My DH said, and I agree, you would just need one extra bag with a suit for the boys and dress for the girls. One bag could fit 5 outfits.

 

Btw, we are flying on a European airline and our extra bag will be about $60.00. The listed price is $55.00, but we have to pay in EUR since we are flying from Amsterdam to the US and there will be an additional foreign currency fee. This will be the cost for basically one gown, one suit, and a sports jacket.

 

This would be true if you're only talking about the formal nights, but as the OP said, people (including us) shouldn't dress likes slobs for the smart casual nights, either. I don't know about other parents, but I can't wear one outfit during the day (on a cruise or anywhere else) that would also be appropriate to wear in the evening in the dining room on a HAL ship b/c it tends to get trashed throughout the day by little hands and other incidents. LOL

 

If it weren't for the saving grace of unlimited laundry, we would need to pack close to 2 suitcases each for a 7-day cruise in order to have a minimum of 2 outfits a day (one casual for day, on smart casual for the evening) plus a couple of formal outfits, the dressy shoes required, etc. That doesn't mean I think you should get away with going to the dining room looking like a slob. Quite the contrary, but I don't think the airline baggage fee issue is as "silly" as some do, nor do I think the extremely high baggage fees are "nothing" for people who live on a budget. That's all I'm saying. :)

[DizzyDallasDi]

if I order room sevice and smoke on my verandah on formal night? probably...:p

 

Not at all. Don't be surprised if I'm one of your neighbors doing the same thing. If I run low on drawn butter, would you be kind enough to loan me a dip or two? :D

[ger_77]

We will be sailing on the Rotterdam in about 3 weeks with our family and some dear friends. There are 11 in our group, coming from Canada, the US, and Japan; all the men are planning on wearing tuxedos on formal nightsand the ladies are wearing their sparkliest dressiest outfits. DH always travels in a sports jacket that he can use for smart casual nights and we don't have to worry about packing it as well.

 

We hope others will choose to dress appropriately on both formal and smart casual nights, but we won't let it ruin our dining experience. It will be interesting to see what percentage of folks adhere to the suggested dress code; we've found the Mediterranean cruises tend to be much more formal than the others we've been on.

 

I say don't cry "Uncle" yet, Sail !

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[English_in_Spain]

I think it's fantastic can't imagine wearing a tux or suite anymore while on vacation. I'm in full agreement with you no more formal nights.

 

Since I gave formals up it's really nice not to have to pack all that formal wear as well.

 

If you can't imagine wearing a SUITE, would you still stay in one? :D

[GeriatricNurse]

Sail, what I don't understand about your post is why you are singling out formal nights. What you described as how some people dressed wouldn't pass muster on Smart Casual night, either. To appear for the evening not showered and changed, in shorts, t-shirts, sweatsuits, etc. is not smart casual. It's slovenly, at best, and may very well be worse.

 

Let's assume for the sake of argument that you are not a slob (a fair evaluation knowing you; you have personal pride), then you will change after a day ashore. You need something to change into. It might as well meet the dress code, be it a formal or smart casual night.

 

All this stuff about airline restrictions and extra costs for suitcases is nonsense. Dressy clothes don't have to weigh anymore than sloppy ones.

 

Nonsense? I beg to differ! ;) The formalwear that I (used) to pack added 10 pounds to the weight of my checked luggage! :eek: Now I have more weight allowance for my Speedos to wear at the Lido pool! :D

[Crazy Gramps]

Formal on HAL is done and so am I.

If HAL wants to be a mass amrket line that's fine.

They'll just do it without me and mine.

 

Gramps

[sapper1]

I don't agree one equals the other.

Sail--I think Cow Princess was being tongue in cheek, not implying that you actually would do so. Canadian humour tends to be rather dry and you have to think about it for a minute. :)

[sapper1]

On formal nights we may easily be wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry

 

Scott & Karen

 

Having said that, I truly hope that you do not reveal your cabin number for upcoming cruises on roll calls or elsewhere on any board. Not everyone who reads these boards is honest and this is TMI.:eek: With your picture clearly posted you have just made yourselves a target.

[arewethereyet]

We would like to sign in on the side of those who like to dress for dinner.

 

DH travels with three tuxes and wears a sport jacket, usually with an open, button down shirt, on all but formal nights.

 

On formal nights we may easily be wearing $50,000 worth of jewelry.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Aw, Geez, why did I say that?