Strict on dress code on splendida

[TYRONEMAN]

Myself and my wife are booked on our first cruise departing 8th July from Barcelona on MSC Splendida. We are concerned about what appears to be a strict dress code especially at dinner and formal evenings. Also it appears that shorts and sandals for me are not permitted after 6 in public areas. Whilst we certainly make an effort when we go out in the evenings on beach holidays formal dress codes and wearing long trousers and shoes are not something we have done. Are there Irish/English passengers who have travelled on the Splendida who could give accurate advice. From looking at various sites for information very conflicting messages.

Good clear advice very welcome.

Also any Irish taking the same cruise

Thanks for your help

[Capricruiser]

The dress codes are "recommended" dress for the evening and really apply only to the main dining rooms on MSC ships. Depending on the day they can be Casual, Informal, or Formal. Casual can mean jeans and polo shirts but never shorts and sandals. Informal is a little more dressy, and Formal (or Gala) means they'd appreciate if you wear a suit or at least a dress shirt and a tie. The evening's recommended dress will be stated in the daily programme.

[Armitage Shanks]

I've cruised with Royal Caribbean who is said to be more formal than MSC. (I will also be cruising with MSC later this year.) I am just your average middle-class 25 year old, so I was somewhat worried about the dress code prior to travelling. Having said that, it was never a problem while on board. If you've never cruised with them before, the tip is not to get changed too early. That way you will have the opportunity to see what others are wearing which will give you a good idea on what to wear.

 

So providing you pack for all occasions (casual, informal/smart casual & formal) you will be fine!

[AmoMondo]

As Capricruiser says the dress code is a recommendation. On formal evenings, a small percentage make no effort at all, whilst others wear long gowns and tuxes. Most are somewhere in between.

 

Shorts and sandals for men in the evening would look very out of place even on casual nights on a European cruise. Smart dress shorts for women, would probably be ok.

[The_Big_M]

Shorts and sandals for men in the evening would look very out of place even on casual nights on a European cruise.

 

Agreed, I think you'd need to wear more than that to actually be 'making an effort'.

[mairead224]

Myself and my wife are booked on our first cruise departing 8th July from Barcelona on MSC Splendida. We are concerned about what appears to be a strict dress code especially at dinner and formal evenings. Also it appears that shorts and sandals for me are not permitted after 6 in public areas. Whilst we certainly make an effort when we go out in the evenings on beach holidays formal dress codes and wearing long trousers and shoes are not something we have done. Are there Irish/English passengers who have travelled on the Splendida who could give accurate advice. From looking at various sites for information very conflicting messages.

Good clear advice very welcome.

Also any Irish taking the same cruise

Thanks for your help

 

Hi Tyroneman,

 

Corkgirl here!! We cruised with fantasia and I found that the dress code wasnt enforced. My husband wore tshirt and shorts during the day and was permitted to all public areas. We always ate lunch in the main dining rooms and it was no problem. As he dresses smartly for work this was a holiday for him so didnt want to be dressed as if he was going to a work dinner so just wore smart casusal in the evenings. Nice loose shirt and pance. I of course was dressed to the nines lol!!!

[mairead224]

Sorry meant to add that on our cruise in 2010 there was not many Irish onboard. We met with 4 other irish families that was it. Irish and english are in a minority but thats the plus of this type of cruise!! You get to meet plenty of different nationalities.

[TYRONEMAN]

Hi Tyroneman,

 

Corkgirl here!! We cruised with fantasia and I found that the dress code wasnt enforced. My husband wore tshirt and shorts during the day and was permitted to all public areas. We always ate lunch in the main dining rooms and it was no problem. As he dresses smartly for work this was a holiday for him so didnt want to be dressed as if he was going to a work dinner so just wore smart casusal in the evenings. Nice loose shirt and pance. I of course was dressed to the nines lol!!!

 

 

Mairead thanks for this. I am shirt and tie job during the week and don't pack the tie for holidays - don't pack long trousers as well but is seems there going to have to come with me this time

[Poppy1010]

Hi Tyroneman, I'm a Dublin girl! I travelled on the Spendida in Feb/March this year on a Western Med cruise. I posted a review in the members review section called - Splendida - Western Med Feb/March 2012 - Review. There might be some useful information in it for you. As regards the dress code, on my cruise there were a couple of men wearing dress suits and bow ties but they were in the minority. Most men just had either a smart jacket with shirt and tie or a nice shirt, tie and trousers. I shared a table with an Irish couple and the man wore a jacket, shirt and tie on both formal nights took the jacket off as soon as he sat down for dinner and never put it on again! It was a very mixed range of dress for dinner on the cruise I was on. I would say anything goes, but I didn't see people in shorts in the dining rooms as I was on a winter cruise! The buffet called Bora/Bora Pago/Pago is very casual and if you wanted to avoid the formal nights you could go up there for dinner. But the formal nights are fun so I would go to them - its all part of the cruise experience. I was on the MSC Magnifica last year and people were more inclined to dress up on that ship, but even so men mainly wore a smart jacket, shirt and tie on formal nights.

[ellenjsmellen]

We sailed the MSC Poesia March 10-17th. There were 2 formal nights and my husband wore a navy suit jacket with khaki pants. He totally could have gotten away with a shirt & tie. There were a lot of people under dressed. There were also people very dressed up on cocktail dresses and even a few tuxedos. Dress how you feel, but honestly a shirt & tie will do.

[Galeaden]

there is absolutely no way i'm getting my partner in a tux...he doesn't even want to wear a tie. He's planning to wear a formal suit and a nice shirt. He says he wants to be comfortable on his holiday

[AmoMondo]

there is absolutely no way i'm getting my partner in a tux...he doesn't even want to wear a tie. He's planning to wear a formal suit and a nice shirt. He says he wants to be comfortable on his holiday

 

That will be absolutely fine. A lot of men will be dressed like that.

[Invincible]

I shouldn't worry about it, I personally like to dress for dinner on a cruise but on Splendida at the end of January even on the Gala evenings some people were dressed in clothes I wouldn't even go to my allotment in, hence for that reason and a number of others I don't want to go into I and my wife have vowed never to cruise with MSC again. I accept that it's down to personal preference but it's not our sort of cruise line.

[Armitage Shanks]

That will be absolutely fine. A lot of men will be dressed like that.

 

Seconded. On formal nights I just wore a suit & tie. To be honest, men have it easy. All we have to do is find a shirt which we haven't worn before where as women usually feel obliged to choose a unique outfit every night.

[Apeeler]

Seconded. On formal nights I just wore a suit & tie. To be honest, men have it easy. All we have to do is find a shirt which we haven't worn before where as women usually feel obliged to choose a unique outfit every night.

 

Not having 7 different shirts I often have to fall back to borrowing one of my girlfriends dresses, for that extra classy touch I do shave my legs of course ;)

[Galeaden]

Good one. :)

[Magnolia53]

Just returned from 18 days on MSC Fantasia. WE assumed there was only 2 Captain dinners and only took two " formal" dresses. There were other Gala nights, but as we were dressed "nice" we did not feel out of place. The Europeans certainly dress up for ALL these nights, but there was no set rules. If in the Dining room, for a guy a nice shirt and trousers every other night is adequate. We had an amazing experience on Fantasia and cannot wait ato go again!

[Sapphire27]

Hello Magnolia53, Im off on the MSC Fantasia on May 25th with my partner and 6 year old son and we cannot wait. My partner was wondering if he should bring his suit or will a shirt tie and pants do on the Gala nights . He hates wearing the formal jacket but doesnt want to look out of place either. As you have just been on the Fantasia I'd said I'd see what your experience was. Did all the guys wear suits on Gala night ?

[Invincible]

If it puts your mind at ease we dressed up as we normally do for the first formal night on our cruise in January with me in my dinner suit with tux and bow tie and my wife in a very nice full length evening gown, as we walked down the stairs there was an Italian in front of us with shell suit , T shirt and trainers, he just walked in as if he was going into McDonalds and no-one said a word. Everyone on our table did dress similarly to ourselves but it was definitely the exception rather than the rule. On our second formal night as I got into the lift I heard an Italian actually taking the p*** because I was properly dressed. It's MSC in my experience the lowest class of cruising that goes for food service dress codes and courtesy so you'd probably get away with shorts and t shirt on a formal night.

[moecartier]

How many men are going to wear a tie.

 

From what I'm hearing, upscale casual seems to be the norm.

Most men can look pretty good is nice trousers and a long sleeve

shirt paired with good shoes and belt.

 

Am I wrong?

 

On the other hand...women will always want to up the attire

to a much more dressy level.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, mc (May 25-June1)

[Sapphire27]

Thanks for the info Invincible. The reviews on MSC are so mixed we now dont know what to expect.

 

Moecartier what you say is true most women always up the attire to a more dressy level on most nights . I for one will be dressing up and looking forward to it :)