This year we are breaking the rules

[palofmine]

ALL DRESSES MUST BE UP TO THE CROTCH, and sequined. ALSO PLEASE WEAR A SLIP OR THONG IF YOU HAVE A THIN DRESS.

 

I tend to feel bad for those who look great but spent all day toasting themselves, only to make the dress/shirt look so bad... WEAR SUNSCREEN please!

 

If you use diving equipment make sure you can properly pour liquid down the spout without spilling. So slipper flapping under the table. If you want fish, catch it yourself! LOL

 

 

The suggested guidelines for diving equipment on formal night is that all should be colored black.

 

But, this is just "suggested".

[palofmine]

I like fancy smancy. I wanna be snobby for a night and dine like Im about to die on the titanic! like I said, I am dressing up, cause I rarely get to go to a ball, or a dance or a wedding where I can kick it, like I could on a cruise.

 

 

quote=CruiseTobey;39097385]You hit the nail on the head here, Katrina. Yet some will continue to insist that RCI is serving gourmet, high-end food in the MDR, thus deserving of fancy attire. In reality, it's the same mass-produced stuff you can get in the Windjammer (with the exception of lobster), just served on nicer plates.

 

Nice post.

[palofmine]

!st formal, isnt it the captains cocktail party, so its a formal thing, a nice night. meeting someone if importance etc. I believe the 2nd is lobster night. I dress up fancy the last night as well, to celebrate a great vacation. I have no problem bringing the same dresses each cruise. I just buy a different picture each time. If you dont wanna dress up dont, but SOME MDR will turn you away, SOME will not, depends on the ship.

 

If that's the head of the nail, then you don't understand social customs. The appropriate dress for an occasion has nothing to do with the quality of food served.

[palofmine]

FYI, we are going on the BERMUDA cruise, and some stores will kick you out if you are wear Hoochie coochie shorts. Bring your bermuda shorts, they do deny entry.

 

 

That is an interesting post. The Europeans are generally far more stylish than Americans. Not necessarily formal black tie. But very stylish in their dress sense.

[CanadaDeb]

I love dressing up on formal night. It makes me feel like a lady and although it would be cool to see everyone dressed up ( add to the ambiance ), I realize that there may be many reasons why people don't. I figure it's none of my business and hope others feel the same way about how I am dressed. We are all on vacation to enjoy ourselves and that means different things to different people.

[retird]

You really put back on your formal clothes because other people were still dressed in theirs when you went back out???? Wow!

 

 

There are followers and there are leaders.......

[Angelsea57]

Just love dressing up for formal nites. Not too fancy but love to

look nice for the occasion.

Other nites, not as fancy but dressy enough for a nice dinner and nite out.

I see what you mean though. Do what you feel is right.

[CruiseTobey]

That is subjective, of course, but also irrelevant. Quality of food is not the determinant of how to dress. If you were invited to a formal event, say a wedding for example, would you ask what kind of food was being served in order to determine what to wear?

 

Edit: To expand on this thought a bit more, many times the "dressiest" events are not necessarily the ones with the most gourmet food. Events like weddings or perhaps charity galas, or other such events that might be an occasion for dress-up, are often catered in a banquet style, much like the MDR (though maybe not for 2000 people at a time). High-end restaurants that serve five-star cuisine are often less dressy than these events. Some restaurants expect jacket and tie attire, but many of the best restaurants have more of a business-casual dress expectation. It's more the dress code of the venue or occasion that determine how people dress, not their expectations of how good the food is going to be.

 

Paul, you have inadvertently hit upon the crux of my point: the MDR is presented as fancy, elegant, posh, luxurious, special (use whatever adjective you want by those that WISH it to be that way. I have no argument with those who want to live the dream and feel "special" for a few hours. The point is that the perceived "luxury" is artificial.

 

Say what you want, but the MDR is basically a mess hall with fancy curtains and white tablecloths, and it is evident that this is the case by the way RCI is handling the dress suggestions. All RCI cares about is making the masses happy in order to earn a repeat customer. If that means letting them wear khakis and polo shirts in the MDR, then so be it. It is the PASSENGERS that are lamenting the by-gone days of formal night, not the cruise line. Do fellow passengers have the right to tell me where to eat when RCI really doesn't care. I think not.

 

It is interesting to note that the higher-end the cruise line is, the more casual the requirements seem to be. It could be that the well-heeled already have nice stuff to wear so they don't have to be spoon-fed a dress suggestion. Or it could be that they see through the pretense of formal night and feel no need to pretend they are rich - they already are!

 

Those who insist on feeling high and mighty can complain all they want. I (and a growing number of others) will continue to dress neatly yet casually any night we choose to eat in the MDR.

[babyher]

Paul, you have inadvertently hit upon the crux of my point: the MDR is presented as fancy, elegant, posh, luxurious, special (use whatever adjective you want by those that WISH it to be that way. I have no argument with those who want to live the dream and feel "special" for a few hours. The point is that the perceived "luxury" is artificial.

 

Say what you want, but the MDR is basically a mess hall with fancy curtains and white tablecloths, and it is evident that this is the case by the way RCI is handling the dress suggestions. All RCI cares about is making the masses happy in order to earn a repeat customer. If that means letting them wear khakis and polo shirts in the MDR, then so be it. It is the PASSENGERS that are lamenting the by-gone days of formal night, not the cruise line. Do fellow passengers have the right to tell me where to eat when RCI really doesn't care. I think not.

 

It is interesting to note that the higher-end the cruise line is, the more casual the requirements seem to be. It could be that the well-heeled already have nice stuff to wear so they don't have to be spoon-fed a dress suggestion. Or it could be that they see through the pretense of formal night and feel no need to pretend they are rich - they already are!

 

Those who insist on feeling high and mighty can complain all they want. I (and a growing number of others) will continue to dress neatly yet casually any night we choose to eat in the MDR.

 

 

Very true . I have been to backyard BBQs where I knew darn well I was in the presence of the well heeled and upper crust (a not a word had to be spoken to prove it) I have also been to some pretty fancy affairs where I knew I was amongst a lot of pretenders playing dress up .

 

What was being served , what everyone wore and what the enviroment looked like had nothing to do with it.

[katrina915]

I bought mine for $1 at a yard sale on a round-country road trip (Las Vegas to Cheyenne to Louisville to Columbus, OH to Traverse City, MI to Chicago to Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone to Capitola, CA back to Las Vegas) in Jackson Hole, WY. I've worn it on three cruises, and I get LOTS of compliments on it.

 

Yeah, I get compliments on mine too. I rather save money and be comfortable.

 

Since I am going on Med cruise in Nov, I am going to wear white walking shoes with the dress to see if I will be ejected from the MTD. And we don't wear nylons in Florida.. :D

[Kenlorz]

As usual, formal vs non-formal is a hot debate on CC. Although, based on the sheer number of people dressed VERY WELL on our Allure cruise (and that's all nights, not just formal night... we always saw the vast majority in at least nice dockers, shirts & ties, cocktail dresses, etc. Even on non-formal nights, we would see people in long gowns & dark suites), I do believe it's more than just the passengers of old longing for by-gone days of cruising that enjoy dressing up. I do believe there are quite a lot of current and new passengers who enjoy the dress up factor (myself included). However, I also do believe that there are those who have to dress up every day for work and don't want to even so much as lay eyes on a jacket or tie while on vacation. Each side of the coin is equally desiring a good dinner experience. My thoughts for quite some time is that the EASIEST way to overcome this problem (and for RCCL to truly see what the masses want from the on-board dining dress code) is to have a FORMAL dining room and a CASUAL dining room. Then those who want to dine formally and enjoy the whole "formal & elegant" atmosphere can do so and those who want to dress casually can do so without having people look down their noses at them while they do. Casual Dining Room + Formal Dining Room = All parties happy!!

[Paul65]

Paul, you have inadvertently hit upon the crux of my point: the MDR is presented as fancy, elegant, posh, luxurious, special (use whatever adjective you want by those that WISH it to be that way. I have no argument with those who want to live the dream and feel "special" for a few hours. The point is that the perceived "luxury" is artificial.

 

Say what you want, but the MDR is basically a mess hall with fancy curtains and white tablecloths, and it is evident that this is the case by the way RCI is handling the dress suggestions. All RCI cares about is making the masses happy in order to earn a repeat customer. If that means letting them wear khakis and polo shirts in the MDR, then so be it. It is the PASSENGERS that are lamenting the by-gone days of formal night, not the cruise line. Do fellow passengers have the right to tell me where to eat when RCI really doesn't care. I think not.

 

It is interesting to note that the higher-end the cruise line is, the more casual the requirements seem to be. It could be that the well-heeled already have nice stuff to wear so they don't have to be spoon-fed a dress suggestion. Or it could be that they see through the pretense of formal night and feel no need to pretend they are rich - they already are!

 

Those who insist on feeling high and mighty can complain all they want. I (and a growing number of others) will continue to dress neatly yet casually any night we choose to eat in the MDR.

 

I am not so sure that it was inadvertent, but yes, I got your point that you view the MDR as some kind of sham. And you are not alone in that feeling, although I tend to think it is the pretentious people who tend to hold those feelings. They feel like they're superior, because they can "see through" the charade. You see the same thing with almost any chain restaurant. A certain number of people will bash it, just because it makes them feel like they are a discriminating connoisseur. Your type in these discussions also tend to feel the need to exaggerate what the lowly commoners think of the MDR, pretending that others see it as posh and luxurious.

 

It is what it is. It's a nice venue on a nice ship with some pretty decent food. If I thought the cruise experience were just window dressing, I probably wouldn't go on cruises.

[Paul65]

My thoughts for quite some time is that the EASIEST way to overcome this problem (and for RCCL to truly see what the masses want from the on-board dining dress code) is to have a FORMAL dining room and a CASUAL dining room. Then those who want to dine formally and enjoy the whole "formal & elegant" atmosphere can do so and those who want to dress casually can do so without having people look down their noses at them while they do. Casual Dining Room + Formal Dining Room = All parties happy!!

 

But they sort of do that already with the buffet, promenade cafe, Johnny Rockets, Chops, Portofino, etc. They offer options. If they had the main dining room split into formal and non-formal areas, you'd still have people wanting to go to the formal area without dressing appropriately, because it's more convenient or has their preferred table location or some reason or another. There is always going to be a you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do contingent.

[awhcruiser]

I agree. Well said.

But they sort of do that already with the buffet, promenade cafe, Johnny Rockets, Chops, Portofino, etc. They offer options. If they had the main dining room split into formal and non-formal areas, you'd still have people wanting to go to the formal area without dressing appropriately, because it's more convenient or has their preferred table location or some reason or another. There is always going to be a you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do contingent.

[CruiseTobey]

It is what it is. It's a nice venue on a nice ship with some pretty decent food. If I thought the cruise experience were just window dressing, I probably wouldn't go on cruises.

 

Paul,

 

Despite the thinly-veiled barbs throughout most of your reply (which I chose to admit in your quote), it's good to see that we both have the same opinion of the MDR.

 

You seem like the type of guy who enjoys his cruise regardless of what others choose to do. That's a good attitude to have. I wish more felt that way.

[CruiseTobey]

There is always going to be a you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do contingent.

 

Paul, this is where you and I differ.

 

Those who prefer to dress less-formally yet neat and presentable aren't harming anybody. No one has told them what they HAVE to wear; only a SUGGESTION has been made. On top of that, RCI is not stopping people from wearing what they want, so why should any passenger care? If the "host" allows it, the "guests" really have no business telling other guests (or the host) what they think should be done.

[BabyBokChoy]

But they sort of do that already with the buffet, promenade cafe, Johnny Rockets, Chops, Portofino, etc. They offer options. If they had the main dining room split into formal and non-formal areas, you'd still have people wanting to go to the formal area without dressing appropriately, because it's more convenient or has their preferred table location or some reason or another. There is always going to be a you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do contingent.

 

In response to "Casual Dining Room + Formal Dining Room = All parties happy!!" you state that they sort of do that already... My question is, do they? Is there a place on the RCI cruise ship where I can have food served to me and my children without additional fee? I'm thinking room service is probably one answer. Going to the buffet is not the same thing because I will then be my children's server like I am at home... standing in line with them holding their plates to get the food, making sure they don't commit any food line faux-pas, get their drinks, see them situated, get them seconds, refills, deserts, etc.

 

Paul, this is where you and I differ.

 

Those who prefer to dress less-formally yet neat and presentable aren't harming anybody. No one has told them what they HAVE to wear; only a SUGGESTION has been made. On top of that, RCI is not stopping people from wearing what they want, so why should any passenger care? If the "host" allows it, the "guests" really have no business telling other guests (or the host) what they think should be done.

 

This is where I land. I've read enough of these threads to know that I will be safe, but it's still fun (yet) to read and discuss. I believe RCI is free to make rules and enforce them. What is important to me in this "dress code" department is that RCI should make it clear to me before I handed over my credit card that "No formal wear, no MDR on formal nights." I don't think that's where RCI stands, and not based on my theoretical reading (as opposed to actual experience on an RCI ship), my family will be neatly dressed and eating in the MDR on formal nights.

[B-52]

As usual, formal vs non-formal is a hot debate on CC. Although, based on the sheer number of people dressed VERY WELL on our Allure cruise (and that's all nights, not just formal night... we always saw the vast majority in at least nice dockers, shirts & ties, cocktail dresses, etc. Even on non-formal nights, we would see people in long gowns & dark suites), I do believe it's more than just the passengers of old longing for by-gone days of cruising that enjoy dressing up. I do believe there are quite a lot of current and new passengers who enjoy the dress up factor (myself included). However, I also do believe that there are those who have to dress up every day for work and don't want to even so much as lay eyes on a jacket or tie while on vacation. Each side of the coin is equally desiring a good dinner experience. My thoughts for quite some time is that the EASIEST way to overcome this problem (and for RCCL to truly see what the masses want from the on-board dining dress code) is to have a FORMAL dining room and a CASUAL dining room. Then those who want to dine formally and enjoy the whole "formal & elegant" atmosphere can do so and those who want to dress casually can do so without having people look down their noses at them while they do. Casual Dining Room + Formal Dining Room = All parties happy!!

 

 

Or they can change the word "Suggested" into "Mandatory" and be done with it..it is as simple as that!!!...Providing they enforce it and send people to the WJ....

But untill then.....they choose not to make it mandatory and leave it lax to each owns likings....and that's the way it is...

[Paul65]

Paul,

 

Despite the thinly-veiled barbs throughout most of your reply (which I chose to admit in your quote), it's good to see that we both have the same opinion of the MDR.

 

You seem like the type of guy who enjoys his cruise regardless of what others choose to do. That's a good attitude to have. I wish more felt that way.

 

Sorry. I didn't mean to veil my barbs. :p I thought I was pretty blunt that you appear to be trying to make yourself seem a bit "high and mighty" by tearing down the MDR and other people's appreciation of it. That may or may not be true, but it is the way you come off.

[Paul65]

In response to "Casual Dining Room + Formal Dining Room = All parties happy!!" you state that they sort of do that already... My question is, do they? Is there a place on the RCI cruise ship where I can have food served to me and my children without additional fee? I'm thinking room service is probably one answer. Going to the buffet is not the same thing because I will then be my children's server like I am at home... standing in line with them holding their plates to get the food, making sure they don't commit any food line faux-pas, get their drinks, see them situated, get them seconds, refills, deserts, etc.

 

They sort of do, yes. They offer casual options, but not the exact same experience as the MDR in a more casual atmosphere. That's why I said sort of. My point was more that, no matter what they do, some people will not be satisfied.

[Paul65]

Paul, this is where you and I differ.

 

Those who prefer to dress less-formally yet neat and presentable aren't harming anybody. No one has told them what they HAVE to wear; only a SUGGESTION has been made. On top of that, RCI is not stopping people from wearing what they want, so why should any passenger care? If the "host" allows it, the "guests" really have no business telling other guests (or the host) what they think should be done.

 

Why does it have to be "neat and presentable"? Do you think RCI is going to stop people from coming in the MDR if they are not dressed neatly?

 

RCI already tells people what they think should be done, and some people think it doesn't matter, because RCI is not going to force them into anything.

 

And, as for you last comment, in a forum such as this, people have every right to tell others what they think should be done (especially if it's the exact same advice that RCI tells people what they think should be done). But just as with the advice from RCI, you can, and probably will, ignore it. :cool:

[B-52]

Just had thought...we have done MTD on all our cruises since they first introduced it....MTD has a entirely different feel to it the Traditional MDR....

We always get a table for 2, surrounded by other tables for 2 with the same people you see and get to know every night....you are given your menus and drink orders are taken as soon as you sit down...

You eat your meal, have coffee and dessert, then leave....in and out, like a express MDR...

I have not seen singing waiters or the captains table, etc, in years...we always feel segregated from the MDR, but that's one of things we like about it....short and easy....occasionally the Capt. or some Officer will stroll through and visit and chat with the tables, but that's about it....it does have a casual feel to it...even on formal nights.

 

Before MTD, when we ate traditional, we did get dressed up for formal nights....either that or book a specialty restaurant....

I would feel very awkward in the MDR setting, at a table with people I just met, if I didn't...

But MTD...it's as though you're coming in the back door and not part of whatever may be going on in the MDR....

 

Just my opinion....and I have not dressed up for formal nights since MTD was introduced, and many others sitting around us do not either...

We come in.. say hello to those around us...eat...and then go...

[justjim312]

Why does it have to be "neat and presentable"? Do you think RCI is going to stop people from coming in the MDR if they are not dressed neatly?

 

RCI already tells people what they think should be done, and some people think it doesn't matter, because RCI is not going to force them into anything.

 

And, as for you last comment, in a forum such as this, people have every right to tell others what they think should be done (especially if it's the exact same advice that RCI tells people what they think should be done). But just as with the advice from RCI, you can, and probably will, ignore it. :cool:

 

 

I'm happy that they don't enforce their own rules. People that think what someone else wears affects them, are very shallow. Happy sailing!!

[Colorado Babe]

I used to wear a long formal dress on formal nights but now have switched to cocktail dresses. Much more comfortable yet still dressy.

[CruiseTobey]

Sorry. I didn't mean to veil my barbs. :p I thought I was pretty blunt that you appear to be trying to make yourself seem a bit "high and mighty" by tearing down the MDR and other people's appreciation of it. That may or may not be true, but it is the way you come off.

 

Paul,

 

I am not "high and mighty" in any way - I am as blue-collar as they come. I do, however, take an objective look at things and see them as they really are (or at least how I perceive it). In no way am I deriding those that enjoy the MDR. In fact, I've had many pleasant meals with family and friends there. My point is that it's really not as special as people make it out to be. Is it pleasant? Yes. Is the food tasty? Yes. Is the service good? Yes. But in reality all they are serving is food you can walk up and get in the Windjammer. It is the PASSENGERS to designate it as a luxury experience; RCI no longer seems to be doing so, as evidenced by their allowance of lax dress standards.

 

In short, I am a fan of the MDR (and the specialty restaurants for that matter. I am not a fan, however, of those who make the MDR out to be more than it is and then pounce on those who accept reality.