Formal Nights... Do you?

[vols_159]

My parents had me in a suit and tie when I was a kid for church.. Now at 30 I don't own a suit or tie.. I hated it as a kid hated wearing a tux for prom and weddings.. So I won't be getting in one for vacation .. If that means I can't go to the mdr so be it.. If you wanna dress to the nines good for you but it's not worth it to me

[1kaper]

Is there a rule no blue jeans on elegant night ?

 

Yes. From the FAQ on Carnival site.

Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too!

Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats.

 

ETA-

Most evenings we have a Cruise Casual dress code, but there are those Cruise Elegant evenings one or two nights throughout your “Fun Ship” voyage, where you will have the opportunity to showcase your more elegant attire. For those who want casual attire for dinner time, the Lido Restaurant is open nightly, and has a more relaxed theme.

Edited January 27, 2014 by 1kaper

[sparks1093]

Is there a rule no blue jeans on elegant night ?

 

According to the FAQ there is such a rule:

 

"Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats."

 

(Now whether it is enforced or not is a different matter.)

[vols_159]

According to the FAQ there is such a rule:

 

"Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats."

 

(Now whether it is enforced or not is a different matter.)

 

If there's a rule I will follow the rule I'll either avoid the mdr or wear a pair of Kakis and golf shirt..

[Harley Granny]

This is the 1st year we are going to skip "Formal" or "Elegant" night. While I've enjoyed them in the past it's kinda nice this time to not be worried about the glam.

 

We are taking nicer clothes for the evenings but no suits for the guys and no fancy heals for the girls. I believe we're going to eat someplace other than the MDR that evening.

 

I do love seeing everyone dressed up tho. But I'm like the others...it's your vacation...enjoy it!

[Webb of Joy]

I do.

 

Are you from Boca Raton

[MuffyKismet]

Over the years I have seen a real decline in how people dress for Formal night, especially on the shorter cruises (weekend party cruises). But then again there has been a decline in proper attire everywhere over the years!

 

Se La Vi , we really enjoy dressing up and doing the formal night pictures! Honestly besides weddings , when do you get to do that anymore!!!! My husband owns a tux and I love an excuse to buy a new formal dress!

 

So to answer the poster's original question....YES we do, and we love to dress up! And then we love to go to the room and get in comfy cloths soon after LOL!

[HappyAboard]

I don't think most people would wear tuxes at home when they go out for a fancy supper unless it was stated as being a back tie event. A main dining room on Carnival is not a black tie event, so why the tux? To me tuxes on Carnival are just as out of place as someone not dressed up (but neither bothers me). I think what you would wear for a special occasion at a land restaurant or to be a guest at a wedding at home (suit or at least a dress shirt and tie) is appropriate.

 

Would you wear a tux to a restaurant on land that's dress code did not require a tie and jacket and only required no jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops?

[MuffyKismet]

For a long time it was called "Captain's night" and nearly everyone really dressed up and in resent years it is now called "Formal night" The reason that don't say "Black Tie" is because they don't want to imply that you MUST wear a Tux, a suit and tie are just fine. In my opinion , to each is own, a nice pair of dress slacks and a dress shirt is just fine as well, what I think is offensive is the ones that show up in jeans/ t shirts/ base ball caps.....and YES I have seen it and YES the get in??? But I certainly don't let it ruin my night of formal wear! There are "dress codes" for good reasons, we don't have to like all of them but they are what they are, there is a lot of choices for dinner on the ship, you can wear your jeans and t-shirt on the Lido deck all you want it just doesn't belong in the MDR on "Formal" night. But let me say again, if they are there I don't let it bother me a bit.

 

The shorter cruises seem to have a lot more "dress down" attitude towards "Formal" night. The longer cruises I notice a lot more "Formal" wear.

It is vacation no matter what, so never sweat the small stuff!!

Edited January 27, 2014 by MuffyKismet

[dvond]

I used to wear a suit but now just a dress short and dress pants, we dont take pics anymore, have too many and normally change right after dinner. All other night is shorts and a collared shirt. Its vacation!

[cruisinbabs]

We started a tradition with us.. each cruise we flip flop (pun intended) when we do formal night.. this cruise it is non-formal dinner nights.. means less i have to pack! although it was fun for me to take photos all dolled up with my handsome hubby... plus it gives us time around the ship when most people are at dinner and we can maybe hit the hot tub or something. :-)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

For a long time it was called "Captain's night" and nearly everyone really dressed up and in resent years it is now called "Formal night" The reason that don't say "Black Tie" is because they don't want to imply that you MUST wear a Tux, a suit and tie are just fine. In my opinion , to each is own, a nice pair of dress slacks and a dress shirt is just fine as well, what I think is offensive is the ones that show up in jeans/ t shirts/ base ball caps.....and YES I have seen it and YES the get in??? But I certainly don't let it ruin my night of formal wear! There are "dress codes" for good reasons, we don't have to like all of them but they are what they are, there is a lot of choices for dinner on the ship, you can wear your jeans and t-shirt on the Lido deck all you want it just doesn't belong in the MDR on "Formal" night. But let me say again, if they are there I don't let it bother me a bit.

 

The shorter cruises seem to have a lot more "dress down" attitude towards "Formal" night. The longer cruises I notice a lot more "Formal" wear.

It is vacation no matter what, so never sweat the small stuff!!

 

 

Not called formal night any more either.

 

Just called elegant night.

 

Bill

 

 

Sent from Iphone 4S using Cruise Critic App

[MrnMrsT1231]

I love dressing up for formal night. I wear gowns for elegant night and cocktail dresses or nice dresses for other nights. I do miss the old cocktail parties, but I like getting pictures taken and just enjoying the overall atmosphere onboard.

 

We enjoy dreasing up as well on formal night and regular nights as well regardless of how other people dress or dont dress.... Your on vacation to enjoy

 

Ready To Go!!!!

[HappyAboard]

Not called formal night any more either.

 

Just called elegant night.

 

Bill

 

 

Sent from Iphone 4S using Cruise Critic App

 

Everyone seems to hold on to calling it formal night even though Carnival calls it elegant night, but those of us that only started cruising in the last 5 years have only ever known it as elegant night, and don't necessarily equate that with something as formal as a gown on tux. When you cruise for the first time and strictly look at Carnival's reference to elegant night and it's very simple dress code you wonder if even a suit would be too much. I think the hot debate comes about when you get people using past dress codes and memories as their guide as opposed to the current dress code and that it is now simply called elegant night which would allow for a far less formal interpretation.:)

[jiggs]

Everyone seems to hold on to calling it formal night even though Carnival calls it elegant night, but those of us that only started cruising in the last 5 years have only ever known it as elegant night, and don't necessarily equate that with something as formal as a gown on tux. When you cruise for the first time and strictly look at Carnival's reference to elegant night and it's very simple dress code you wonder if even a suit would be too much. I think the hot debate comes about when you get people using past dress codes and memories as their guide as opposed to the current dress code and that it is now simply called elegant night which would allow for a far less formal interpretation.:)

 

very well stated and I agree 100%...there are a lot of things on this board that refer to the way it was years ago. I own a tux and have worn it each year we've cruised including last year. I think its staying home this year. I don't think it will save me from packing much, but it will be a bit more laid back.

[crusinpsychRN]

On the shorter cruises I wear black slacks and an elegant top. On the longer cruises I like to dress up a bit more. I think it's fun to see all the different outfits for all styles.

 

If you want some good photos as couples or families, I've seen some really good work for which you'd pay a lot more at home!

 

I admit I usually bee line it back to my cabin to dress down for the rest of the night!

[BarJen]

We don't dress up or attend the main dining rooms anymore. We prefer to keep our vacation as casual and carefree as possible.

 

 

Barry

[CarnivalPlatCruiser]

My husband and I dress up! He owns a tux I wear gowns, it's called formal night for a reason in my mind!

 

Actually, unless I am mistaken, they DON'T call it 'Formal Night" any more, they call it "Elegant Night". At least on my last cruise on the Elation...

 

(Sorry missed the other posts about the name change before posting this)

Edited January 28, 2014 by CarnivalPlatCruiser

[jackparts]

I do have my own tux and used to wear it every cruise. Now, after the first 25 cruises it doesn't fit. Must have shrunk. Now I opt to go with the flow and it's polo and slacks for the "Elegant" night. Otherwise I am afraid I favor the relaxed look and it's tee and shorts, clean and decent. Someone wants to dress up, go ahead it's your cruise, do your own thing.

[3ricT]

Last 3 cruises we skipped formal night, but it was a delight to see everybody all decked out - looked like the rule, not the exception. I felt like a slug walking by them.....but i got over it watching the sun set with a cocktail

[WetToes]

Do you still dress up for it? Have you ever dressed up for it?

 

 

We've never gone 'full out' for formal night, but would dress up a little more than other nights.

[CruzCrazy]

Okay, here is another "we used to" post.

 

Started cruising (Carnival) in 2000. I wore a long gown on each formal night (it was called formal night then). It was fun, and it was part of the cruise experience. My escorts wore dark suits and a tie to match my gown. We had lots of photos made and bought lots of those photos over the years.

 

Enter "elegant night" which is a misnomer--it's just not very elegant. Look around on your next Carnival cruise or remember your most recent one, and you'll see that approximately 30% (or more) of men don't even bother with a jacket anymore. You see fewer and fewer gentlemen in tuxes. That's in keeping with the dress code as it is written today. I've changed from long gowns to cocktail dresses, but we still dress up more than what would be considered average.

 

I don't like the trend of dressing down, but it's not my decision. When I think back to cruises in the past, I do think more fondly of the ones where the atmosphere was more special and so were the events that went along with formal nights. It has nothing to do with how the food tastes (that's another long thread). It was the experience itself.

 

I understand that the way airlines charge for bags now is a part of the reason the cruise lines have dropped the "formal" and opted for "elegant." I did see numerous people turned away at the door on our cruise on the Glory last month on elegant night for trying to enter wearing shorts, but other than shorts or tank tops for the men, I think pretty much anything qualifies as "elegant" these days.

 

We're stepping away from Carnival for our next cruise (for various reasons--the subject of this thread is the very least of those reasons). We'll see how the dress code is interpreted elsewhere. We're not uppity people at all--far from it. We just think there is a time and place for casual attire. I've heard RCI is not that formal either, but we'll see for ourselves. On the other hand, DH wouldn't want to be where tuxes were required either, so we wouldn't want to go on the cruise lines reputed to be very formal as in black tie. We realize they don't create the "rules" (I mean suggestions) to please just us ;). In the meantime, we plan on dressing the way it pleases us--I would think if we don't mind that the people next to us might not be very dressed up, they certainly shouldn't mind if we are.

 

BTW, some of the most dressed-up folks on our last cruise were the very young people in their 20s.

[MrnMrsT1231]

For my next cruise in july i will be dressing up with my hubby and children. I will dress up for anyother futre cruises. i love dressing up. just because other dont dress up were not going to let it stop us from dressing up and completing the whole cruise experience. I enjoy seeing other s dressed up and i reallu dont care about the ones that do not.

:screwy: lol

 

Ready To Go!!!!