Explorer of the seas: tux or kilt

[Topbuzzer]

We are on the 29/06 sailing and husband is dithering between hiring a kilt here and bringing on or hiring a tux (can you do that on explorer? I know you can on previous cruises but not sure if able to on there)....any advice? Would he be in the minority in a kilt? Is it possible to hire a tux?

[sky0000547]

Kilt, he will probably be the minority. Tux will be more common.

[Clarea]

We are on the 29/06 sailing and husband is dithering between hiring a kilt here and bringing on or hiring a tux (can you do that on explorer? I know you can on previous cruises but not sure if able to on there)....any advice? Would he be in the minority in a kilt? Is it possible to hire a tux?

Yes, you can hire a tux:

 

http://tuxedorentals.rccl.com

 

You've got to ignore the certificate warning.

Edited June 25, 2015 by clarea

[Queen of Oakville]

I've seen a few kilts in my years of cruising.

 

I'm ALL for dressing up on formal nights, but I don't see the point in a rental. Personally, I think the money is better put towards a suit that he will own for the future.

 

While there are certainly men in tuxes, he will NOT at all be out of place with a suit on.

 

Just my 2 cents :D

[jules815]

Yes he can rent a tux on board, but wearing a kilt would be awesome too! (Both of my parents were Scottish. :) )

[BamaGuy44]

We are on the 29/06 sailing and husband is dithering between hiring a kilt here and bringing on or hiring a tux (can you do that on explorer? I know you can on previous cruises but not sure if able to on there)....any advice? Would he be in the minority in a kilt? Is it possible to hire a tux?

 

Definitely would be the minority in a kilt but I saw 2 men in kilts on formal night on my recent Freedom cruise and they looked great! But as others have said, no NEED to rent either one, he will not be out of place at all in a normal suit and tie, which is what you'll see the most of.

[Summerknight]

I vote for the kilt.

[scooter90]

My husband and son are wearing the family kilt on our upcoming cruise. My son-in-law and grandson have opted for tuxes. Whatever your husband is comfortable wearing should be what he chooses. Men in kilts are awesome tho.... ;)

[Newtoncruise]

If I were Scottish it would be the kilt every time.....

[hallasm]

Nothing more formal than a kilt.

Picture from the Wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson:

Mary and her Father:

Edited June 25, 2015 by hallasm

[barneymag]

Definitely the kilt !!

 

IMO if your formal national/family dress is a kilt go for it .... Tuxes are very formal and the norm but a well dressed man in a kilt looks waaaay better !!!

[Cigar King]

Yes, you can hire a tux:

 

http://tuxedorentals.rccl.com

 

You've got to ignore the certificate warning.

 

That's wonderful. An expired SHA1 certificate. The IT department just keeps getting better.

[Scooter girl 58]

I was the Indy last July and there were several men in kilts and very smart they looked too, go for it

[1ParticularHbr]

Here's another vote for the kilt. Wouldn't you rather wear something you know fits and is comfortable vs. a possibly ill-fitting tux?

[spookwife]

We are on the 29/06 sailing and husband is dithering between hiring a kilt here and bringing on or hiring a tux (can you do that on explorer? I know you can on previous cruises but not sure if able to on there)....any advice? Would he be in the minority in a kilt? Is it possible to hire a tux?

 

 

DH always wears his kilt with his Navy Dinner Mess Dress jacket. he will get MANY compliments by being in the kilt..and it helps to let him not get mistaken for Crew.

[Desert Cruizers]

I truly enjoy seeing men dressed in Kilts and have been on 2 or 3 cruises where men wear their kilts. If they enjoy and are proud to wear them then do so.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[Thoie]

The proper kilt get up is great, but remember how much the whole lot weighs. Between the kilt and jacket and bits and bobs (socks, sporran, etc), you could easily be talking 10-15kg, which is a whole lot of luggage allowance. Before committing yourself either way, ask the kilt rental shop could you come in with a small suitcase and weigher, and weigh the lot.

[Topbuzzer]

Thanks everyone, good point about luggage allowance as we are restricted that way

[ronpes]

Being a proud Scot myself, I and have worn the kilt on several cruises I can confirm that you will be in the minority but he will feel immensely proud in wearing it and it clearly stands out and is very impressive. However it does come at a price and that is being the weight.

 

As Thoie correctly said, the weight of everything (also don't forget the shoes!) required me to take an extra case and as much as it pains me to say it,…it is not worth it. Unless you are flying premium class when extra baggage is not a problem.

 

I have also rented a tux on-board once as an option and although it does save on carrying extra luggage etc, it does not come cheap and frankly (in my opinion) not worth the cost.

 

My recommendation is to take a light (weight) dress suit which can be purchased at a reasonable price and you will get the use of it time and time again and can be squeezed into a case quite easily.

 

At the end of the day its an individual choice thing and like I said wearing the kilt does give enormous pride and satisfaction but,…it comes at a price.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ronpes

[ronpes]

One final point, if you do decide to take the kilt DO NOT take the Skean Dhu unless it is fake (plastic) one as even if it is packed in the suitcase in which case it will get through the airport scanner ok, (as it will be in the hold) it will NOT get through the cruise-line scanner ie every case is x-rayed before boarding and it will considered as a “weapon” and will be confiscated and returned at the end of the cruise.

This happened to one of our cruise friends last year on Independence.

[moshek]

You will find quite a few people will be wearing kilts , especially on UK sailings. We are Scottish (although live in England) and my husband always takes his kilt, as did my eldest son (16) last year. There will be a fair proportion of Scottish travellers as Scottish schools will have finished for summer but English don't finish for another few weeks.

Skean Dhu will be an issue and most probably be removed from you. I had to go to security last year after boarding to identify it in one of our cases and had to be signed over and collected on our return. However another cruiser we met on board had managed to get his on wrapped up in his socks inside the shoes. Guess I needed to read the small print more carefully - no ceremonial knives!

[strachan01]

This has never happened to me, I always take my real sgian-dubh and have only once been asked to explain what it is. Once i explained it was part of the scottish dress code the seciruty office had no problem giving me it back, in fact he found me on formal night and we had a nice chat about scottish history.

Edited June 26, 2015 by strachan01

[moshek]

Thanks everyone, good point about luggage allowance as we are restricted that way

 

Only restriction is how much you can carry!! Think the rough guide I read somewhere is 90kg per person but that is 3-4 normal suitcases so you will be fine.

 

Love my no flying cruising - daughter and I have a suitcase just for shoes!

 

Michelle x

[GUT2407]

We are on the 29/06 sailing and husband is dithering between hiring a kilt here and bringing on or hiring a tux (can you do that on explorer? I know you can on previous cruises but not sure if able to on there)....any advice? Would he be in the minority in a kilt? Is it possible to hire a tux?

 

 

Yes he'll be in a minority in a Kilt, but not a bad minority.

[Thoie]

As Thoie correctly said, the weight of everything (also don't forget the shoes!) required me to take an extra case and as much as it pains me to say it,…it is not worth it. Unless you are flying premium class when extra baggage is not a problem.

 

I excluded shoes on the basis that he'd have to bring a dress shoe of one kind or another - unless he's going for the tux and sandal look :)

 

I'm also amused at the number of spellings for the ceremonial knife (which in Irish is a scian dubh, just to confuse things further). And they wonder why Gaelic languages are hard to master!

 

You can get some (comparatively) nice "travelling" sceana dubh (of course the plural of scian is sceana in Irish!) on Amazon for under £20. The blades are plastic, but realistically most people will only see the hilt anyway.