Why have a dress code and not enforce it?

[keithm]

The blue tie sounds perfect. What a pair we would have been.:eek::D

My father had one where you pulled a small string & the tie would spin.

[Jim Avery]

My father had one where you pulled a small string & the tie would spin.

 

I thought I saw you wearing that on Queen Victoria.:eek::D

[Langoustine]

I have immense sympathy with the staff who are put in the postion where they have to enforce it, it isn't fair to them as it is only a small part of their function. Unfortunately it is the one area where they are forced into confronting paying passengers. I know that life isn't fair and I know that it is their job but all that I am saying is that we should cut them some slack.

 

I agree with you completely, but will the parent company (Carnival) cut them the same slack if they enforce the code, or will they be punished or even fired if too many paying customers complain? Perhaps the answer is to seat all those who show up in outfits outside the evening's dress code norm together in what might be called the "Clampett Section." Last year I took my wife to Bermuda on Holland America (it was her first cruise); on the two formal nights I began to fear that my tux might cause some of the many casually dressed diners to mistake me for a waiter and ask me to bring them a glass of wine. (And let's not even get into the fact that that a tux actually used to be considered semi-formal.) I'm currently trying to talk her into a QM2 transatlantic, assuring her from the photos in the cruise guide that it will be what I thought (based on my last HAL cruise in 1994) she would experience going to Bermuda.

[Whitemarsh]

Certainly with young people nowadays, they seem to enjoy dressing up - just look at all the prom photos, they are dressed up to the nines. Unfortunately we didn't have proms in the UK when I was leaving school, just the end of school disco, but nowadays, they go all out for it. And not just in the US, or the UK - my friend who lives in Australia has a daughter who has just had her prom and they were all so glamorous in their evening dresses - I think when the occasion calls for it, people love to dress up formally. :cool:

 

Absolutely young people enjoy dressing up, and, when they get the chance, they will happily don traditional formal wear too. :)

 

As the opportunities to wear traditional formal are now relatively rare, they are all the more enjoyable.

 

I've found (and this forum is no exception) that the most strident opponents to traditional formal wear are usually a subset of a particular age group (early baby boomer) and their prejudices are simply a reflection of the late 60's & early 70's counter-culture.

 

Any comments they make about traditional formal wear being stuffy & young people "giving it away" are no more than an attempt to remain relevant (ironically with a mistaken and out-of-date viewpoint that highlights their own dated attitudes).

[Langoustine]

I'm with Whitemarsh--and I'm about to turn 66, which certainly makes me an EBB.

[keithm]

I thought I saw you wearing that on Queen Victoria.:eek::D

AWWW! you ruined my image!

[Louise D]

Absolutely young people enjoy dressing up, and, when they get the chance, they will happily don traditional formal wear too. :)

 

As the opportunities to wear traditional formal are now relatively rare, they are all the more enjoyable.

 

I've found (and this forum is no exception) that the most strident opponents to traditional formal wear are usually a subset of a particular age group (early baby boomer) and their prejudices are simply a reflection of the late 60's & early 70's counter-culture.

 

Any comments they make about traditional formal wear being stuffy & young people "giving it away" are no more than an attempt to remain relevant (ironically with a mistaken and out-of-date viewpoint that highlights their own dated attitudes).

 

All too true. These are probably the same people who still get a frisson of excitement when they think about Woodstock - the mud-caked rock concert where people were openly smoking dope and dropping acid. That let-it-all-hang-out attitude will still be ingrained in them even when they are old and wrinkly.

[Salacia]

All too true. These are probably the same people who still get a frisson of excitement when they think about Woodstock - the mud-caked rock concert where people were openly smoking dope and dropping acid. That let-it-all-hang-out attitude will still be ingrained in them even when they are old and wrinkly.

 

 

LOL. Let's hope so :D

[Garybem]

I have to agree with the bulk of the people on this post.

 

For me, the point of Cunard and part of what makes the "brand" is the old style elegance and harking back to the old "glamour" of the 1930s/ 1940s etc.

So the dress code and formality is part of that. Some people do not want, nor like that, and so other cruise lines have come along offering informal and less "stuffy" approaches to meet that need.

 

I want and hope Cruise Lines to work hard to be different to each other. Rather than offer one common approach. So we can have different experiences. It also means that the passengers on a Cruise Line are more likely to be similar and I think that makes for more fun of a cruise.

 

The industry, in my view, is having a tough time and focusing on getting people on board including offering fares and add on bonuses like crazy (as we are seeing Cunard for example) having to do. So their focus is on getting people on aboard and I wonder if then people are driven more by choosing a line that they may not have a more natural affinity for. So less party/ fun loving people going on Carnival. People less keen on dressing up and formality going on Cunard. People who like dressing up going on NCL and so on.

 

This is not about snobbery and price, I hope that does not come across as that. But I do think that with all the advertising and promotion being about deals rather than about the brand and what it offers first and then price... that cruise lines risk becoming too similar?

 

Maybe just my marketing background coming out too much!

 

Either way: I don't really understand why anyone that hates dressing up goes on a Cunard ship>

[philayl]

As I told one "gentleman" on a formal night, who thought polo shirt and cargo shorts were formal, "I love the fancy dress, but you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble to fit in." Phil

[BORDER REIVER]

It is good that companies like Cunard set high standards, at least that will ensure that even those who "dress down" a little, will still be reasonably well dressed. I believe that no matter what the dress code is on any cruise ship, there will always be those who will defiantly dress to a lower standard, either through ingnorance or just to shock.

[helj]

I think you have to accept that for some people the dress for dinner becomes an inconvenience when it requires so much extra luggage-particularly people who fly to join the cruise. Also,as I said earlier, sometimes there isn’t another cruise line you can take if those are the dates and locations you want. The people who don’t dress ‘formally’ according to your requirements, are still also paying customers who have paid their money and are just as entitled to enjoy their holiday as you are. Maybe the answer is to have early dinner as informal –or less formal-and the later dinner as formal.

[Slow Foxtrot]

.... The people who don’t dress ‘formally’ according to your requirements, are still also paying customers who have paid their money and are just as entitled to enjoy their holiday as you are. Maybe the answer is to have early dinner as informal –or less formal-and the later dinner as formal.

 

 

Ah, brilliant! So the overwhelming majority should give way to the tiny minority? You're not a politician by any chance?

[PunkiC]

I think you have to accept that for some people the dress for dinner becomes an inconvenience when it requires so much extra luggage-particularly people who fly to join the cruise. Also,as I said earlier, sometimes there isn’t another cruise line you can take if those are the dates and locations you want. The people who don’t dress ‘formally’ according to your requirements, are still also paying customers who have paid their money and are just as entitled to enjoy their holiday as you are. Maybe the answer is to have early dinner as informal –or less formal-and the later dinner as formal.

 

We, and our cruise friends, all love to dress up and the gentlemen have been known to take two or three different different formal jackets on the same cruise--one black, one white and one set of tails.

 

We can manage to dress properly throughout a cruise with only one carry-on each, and a simple hanging bag which can be taken on board a plane for the tux jacket/s. Of course, that does require wearing a casual sports jacket on the plane, but there are worse things than looking nice while one travels.

 

IMHO, the way one dresses is a reflection of their own opinion of themself. If they dress like a slob ......................................................................

[helj]

No, not a politician! and it isn't a case of giving way to a minority, it's a way of allowing all passengers, who have all paid their money!-to enjoy their dinner in the style they enjoy. I suspect if it was organised with each sitting having a different style of dress you might well find that the number opting for say earlier sitting with 'elegant casual' rather than 'formal' would be sufficient to fill the earlier sitting and allow all those who enjoy formal dinner to sit together without having anyone to stare at disapprovingly. Surely that would suit you better?

[Slow Foxtrot]

We, and our cruise friends, all love to dress up and the gentlemen have been known to take two or three different different formal jackets on the same cruise--one black, one white and one set of tails.

 

We can manage to dress properly throughout a cruise with only one carry-on each, and a simple hanging bag which can be taken on board a plane for the tux jacket/s. Of course, that does require wearing a casual sports jacket on the plane, but there are worse things than looking nice while one travels.

 

IMHO, the way one dresses is a reflection of their own opinion of themself. If they dress like a slob ...

 

 

There's something wrong here Punki - we actually agree with each other :)

[Whitemarsh]

I think you have to accept that for some people the dress for dinner becomes an inconvenience when it requires so much extra luggage-particularly people who fly to join the cruise.

 

If you think so. Probably best to choose another cruise line that better suits (no pun intended) your preferences.

 

Also,as I said earlier, sometimes there isn’t another cruise line you can take if those are the dates and locations you want.

 

No one is forced to go on a cruise. It's not the same as scheduling surgery, you don't have to do it at a particular time.

 

The people who don’t dress ‘formally’ according to your requirements, are still also paying customers who have paid their money and are just as entitled to enjoy their holiday as you are.

 

So despite:

1. There being a dress code
   
2. Which the vast majority adheres to.
   
3. And that most people choose Cunard because they like the atmosphere the dress code creates.
   

 

You think it's okay to waltz on board and wear whatever you like, at night, simply because a Cunard itinerary happens to suit you?

 

Next time your watching a film, I hope someone in the audience decides to take a phone call and have a really long conversation. I hope they're really loud. Perhaps, if someone confronts them, they'll say something along the lines of "this is the only time I can take this call, and anyway, I've paid for my movie ticket, just like everyone else".

 

At the end of the day, there is a dress code, and if you don't want to abide by it - pick another cruise line.

 

Maybe the answer is to have early dinner as informal –or less formal-and the later dinner as formal.

 

No. The correct answer is that consideration is shown for others, and that everyone abides by the dress code, or the ones that don't want to, well they can pick another cruise line that better suits their preferences.

[helj]

No one is forced to go on a cruise. It's not the same as scheduling surgery, you don't have to do it at a particular time.

 

 

Actually, lots of people are restricted by work to the dates they can go-and dinner isn't really the prime reason for booking the cruise.

 

As I said earlier, I am happy to stick to the requirements but it's never going to be the reason for choosing the cruiseline. As so many people spend their time on this board in particular bemoaning the fact that too many people dress in what they consider to be an inappropriate way, I would have thought dividing sittings in to 'formal' and 'EC' would be a good solution, enabling every passenger to enjoy what they want without the disturbing sight of someone without a tux or whatever to upset them. In the longer term it may be a way of preserving formal dress as the suggestion seems to be that it is currently poorly enforced. It does strike me that too many people get upset by what others are wearing rather than enjoying their holiday and enjoying their own formal dress.

[BORDER REIVER]

I believe the dress code applies to almost all areas of the ship after 6.00pm, not just during dinner.

[pepperrn]

Maybe the answer is to have early dinner as informal –or less formal-...

 

Hi, this already happens. On NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Princess... etc... so much choice. However, there is one line it doesn't happen on; Cunard. So, those booking a cruise, and wishing to dress casually, have 99% of the cruise industry to choose from.

 

Complaining about Cunard's dress-code is similar to booking a cruise on a Disney ship in the school holidays and then complaining about the number of kids on board.

 

Please enjoy your cruise in a few days, you may be pleasantly surprised how much you enjoy candlelit romantic dinners, evening strolls along the promenade deck and a cocktail or two in a great bar, made all the more special when dressed in your best for the occasion.

 

Best wishes :) . Bon Voyage!

[helj]

Thanks, Pepper! I'm sure I shall enjoy it-including the dressing for dinner, I just feel that it is a pity so many people worry about what others are doing rather than just enjoying their own holiday.

Many thanks for the good wishes!

[Whitemarsh]

Actually, lots of people are restricted by work to the dates they can go-and dinner isn't really the prime reason for booking the cruise.

 

Taking a holiday is a choice. No one has to go on a cruise, or has to pick a cruise line that doesn't fit with their particular holiday preferences.

 

If someone were to say at the dinner table "oh we had to take this cruise" I think I would be very perplexed.

 

As I said earlier, I am happy to stick to the requirements but it's never going to be the reason for choosing the cruiseline.

 

That's great. Sounds like you'll have a good time, as will those on board with you. Everyone's happy.

 

As so many people spend their time on this board in particular bemoaning the fact that too many people dress in what they consider to be an inappropriate way, I would have thought dividing sittings in to 'formal' and 'EC' would be a good solution, enabling every passenger to enjoy what they want without the disturbing sight of someone without a tux or whatever to upset them.

 

That's what stateroom 8129 is for - removing the problem people. :D

 

In the longer term it may be a way of preserving formal dress as the suggestion seems to be that it is currently poorly enforced.

 

Despite the well-worn path of various people making their way to the Cruise Critic Cunard board to complain about Cunard's dress code, the fact is that the vast majority of people who travel on Cunard ships do so, partly, because of the dress code, not in spite of, and therefore the adherence to the dress code is nearly 100%. Those that don't adhere, just end up looking like the pitiful attention seekers and try-hards that they obviously are.

 

It does strike me that too many people get upset by what others are wearing rather than enjoying their holiday and enjoying their own formal dress.

 

I suppose the best way to explain why it's annoying (when someone doesn't adhere to the dress code) is to try and imagine attending a classical music concert. You're sitting there enjoying yourself and all of a sudden someone nearby turns their Ipod on and starts rocking out to some heavy metal. Sure, they've got earphones on, but you can still hear the music.

 

Is your enjoyment of the classic music concert impacted? Yes.

 

I suppose the 'Ipod' guy could turn around and say "why don't you just sit there and enjoy your classical concert, whilst I'll enjoy my heavy metal playlist". But it doesn't really work that way. It's hard to enjoy the ambiance of the Queens Room, in your formal gear, if the party next to you are dressed like hipster faux hobos attending a rave.

[pepperrn]

Thanks, Pepper! I'm sure I shall enjoy it-including the dressing for dinner, I just feel that it is a pity so many people worry about what others are doing rather than just enjoying their own holiday.

Many thanks for the good wishes!

 

My pleasure, have a great time. The theatre on QV is amazing, doesn't feel like it is on a ship at all. The views from the Commodore Club are superb, the Golden Lion lunches are not to be missed. :) :) :) .

[Classiccruiser777]

The people who don’t dress ‘formally’ according to your requirements, are still also paying customers who have paid their money and are just as entitled to enjoy their holiday as you are.

Actually it is Cunard's requirements as an integral part of the product offering and, based on my experience, the vast majority of paying passengers on Cunard do abide by Cunard's requirements. Incidentally, the dress code is a major reason my wife and I cruise almost exclusively on Cunard. We like the formality and ambiance but the dress code, I suspect, is an effective way to set a behavioral standard, an unwritten code for deportment.

 

I'm trying to understand the logic of paying customers being "entitled." Because someone is a paying customer does that mean they are then free to do as they wish? Is a paying customer entitled to smoke in a non-smoking restaurant? Or talking on their cell phone during a theater performance?

[ANSalberg]

We've been on Cunard several times. The QM2 and Caronia before it was retired. As a VERY diverse clientel of cruisers -from Australians to Europeans to western USA to Canada -to EASTERN USA.....This how EACH area differs in their concept of WHAT "Formal" actually is??????? Now factor in age. [ I can't wear high heels any more, my Arthritis would make that dangerous] between teenage thru "old" [ me] NOW add luggage restrictions.

Of COURSE there are people who push - but there are also people who bathe daily, who wear what is "acceptable" in their neighbohoods, and who smile kindly at meeting new people. And after all- isn't THAT why we ALL cruise? To have NEW adventures......

Anne......from Colorado!!!!!!;)