New to P&O - Freedom Dining - VENTURA

[Florry]

So to recap, dark jeans would be fine on non formal nights in the main dining room? I'm not bothered about gala nights or formal nights or whatever so will be absolutely fine to avoid them on those nights, I can see why people enjoy them, however not for me!

 

 

 

I think you can blame me for lighting the blue touch paper. :D I won't be the first and certainly not the last to have the jitters on what not to wear etc!

 

 

Dark jeans are fine, I don't think there is much in my casual wardrobe that hasn't come from Next and I seem to fit in without too much tutting lol

Edited August 9, 2015 by Florry

[bellablot]

Dark jeans are fine, I don't think there is much in my casual wardrobe that hasn't come from Next and I seem to fit in without too much tutting lol

 

Haha, glad to hear it, thanks for your input too. Have only experience Thomson Cruises thus far, so booked P&O on impulse as always wanted to try one of their 'bigger' ships. Just don't want to experience any fashion faux pas or have any embarrassment when on board. :)

[Florry]

Have a fab time, I just checked your cruise out and I see you get back on 31st Oct, I go on Arcadia on 3rd Nov [emoji4]

Edited August 9, 2015 by Florry

[bluedot2014]

Just to add my tuppence worth to the on-going saga of P&O dress codes :)

Without a shadow of a doubt the formal nights played on our (mainly mine) minds before we went on our cruise (even the second one).

The first time we went I took my usual dark suit and it was no problem at all.

The second time we went I was reading this forum beforehand and the opinion seemed to be that the vast majority of men wore tuxedos now. This put me in a bit of a spin as I had never worn one and had no intention of wearing one. *but* we had a quick look on good old eBay and I got a brand new one (labels still on it) for £10.50...So the whole 'wasting money buying one just for the cruise' argument just isn't valid. Even a new one from George at Asda will probably cost less than £50 and you will not be able to tell the difference between that and a £500 one from wherever.

Dressing up (in our opinion) is well worth it, the pics they take are ones you keep forever and the whole occasion is all part of the cruise. Trust me, when you are all suited and booted in your cabin, a tiny part of you is thinking 'I hope its not just me wearing formal attire'!! But once you are out in the atrium, you will occasionally see people walking through in shorts, t-shirts etc feeling very out of place and you can see the looks on the womens faces wishing that they (as a couple) had made the effort to dress up.

As an aside, dark jeans in the restaurants are perfectly acceptable, plenty of people wear them on the non formal nights, including me.

[whoops]

Just to add my tuppence worth to the on-going saga of P&O dress codes :)

Without a shadow of a doubt the formal nights played on our (mainly mine) minds before we went on our cruise (even the second one).

The first time we went I took my usual dark suit and it was no problem at all.

The second time we went I was reading this forum beforehand and the opinion seemed to be that the vast majority of men wore tuxedos now. This put me in a bit of a spin as I had never worn one and had no intention of wearing one. *but* we had a quick look on good old eBay and I got a brand new one (labels still on it) for £10.50...So the whole 'wasting money buying one just for the cruise' argument just isn't valid. Even a new one from George at Asda will probably cost less than £50 and you will not be able to tell the difference between that and a £500 one from wherever.

Dressing up (in our opinion) is well worth it, the pics they take are ones you keep forever and the whole occasion is all part of the cruise. Trust me, when you are all suited and booted in your cabin, a tiny part of you is thinking 'I hope its not just me wearing formal attire'!! But once you are out in the atrium, you will occasionally see people walking through in shorts, t-shirts etc feeling very out of place and you can see the looks on the womens faces wishing that they (as a couple) had made the effort to dress up.

As an aside, dark jeans in the restaurants are perfectly acceptable, plenty of people wear them on the non formal nights, including me.

 

A lot of very valid points in the above post but it is also worth putting forward an opposing view.

 

I would say around 5% don't dress up on formal nights meaning at least 150 people.

 

Neither my wife nor I feel remotely embarrassed by opting out of the dress code. You do get the odd fuddy duddy giving you disapproving looks but so what? As we have both been successful in our respective careers we are confident enough in our own skins to ignore these people.

 

It's true you can buy a tux very cheaply but I have noticed that as soon as the meal is over, in the nightclubs especially, many gents tend to remove their jackets and place them on the back of chairs as suits are not that comfortable especially after a heavy meal. I wonder how many men wished they hadn't bothered! Indeed a few I have spoken to attend only one formal night on a 14 day cruise and you have to ask yourself is it worth lugging additional clothes around just to conform for one night.

 

One reason (but not the only one) for opting out is simply a question of the weight of the attire required for formal occasions. Also you have to spend time in the laundrette ironing the creases out of clothes and women also get their hair done. Is it really worth it? Not for us. I'm on holiday and don't want to spend a disproportionate amount of time getting ready for a formal meal.

 

We prefer to travel light because we both suffer from bad backs. We get everything in one medium size and one very small suitcase. Are we bothered? Absolutely not. I wouldn't risk cropping myself and ruining my holiday by lifting heavy cases into the car just so that my wife and I can dress up for up to 4 formal evenings.

 

At the end of the day it's down to personal choice and circumstances but nobody should let the snobbish elements put them off by feeling obliged to conform.

[john watson]

We are booked on our First P and O cruise in August 2016 on Ventura and I am already paranoid about the dress code. I do have a Dinner Suit but when packing to travel prefer to take my Lounge Suit which is a light grey . Everything I read say a dark lounge suit is acceptable and I don't have one and as I only wear a lounge suit about 3 or 4 a year I really don't want to go out and buy a new one just to please P and O. I've also read that if you choose not to dress formal and go to the Buffet to dine there are some areas of the ship that you can't go to on formal nights if you are not dressed correctly. Is that correct?

 

Glyn

 

I think you will be all right in a light coloured suit on formal nights provided you wear a tie. You will look smart and be dressed formally. You may look slightly different from the others but it is within the dress code rules as I read them. The website says "For men, dinner jackets or tuxedos are the norm, but a dark lounge or business suit and tie can be worn". It does not say a dark lounge suit or dark business suit may be worn. One may infer that the "dark" does not apply to business suits just to suits of the "lounge" type. Furthermore it does not say you are not permitted to wear light coloured suits. The definition of "tuxedo" is also pretty wide if you take the American definition it seems to be almost any type of gents suit jacket. I think the cruise line is simply trying to get everybody to look smart and dressed formally on a few nights. Hope this helps.

 

Now denims are another story.

 

Regards John

Edited August 10, 2015 by john watson

[lebreos]

Well I'll chuck my 2p in here....(please feel free to ignore)

 

I enjoy the formal wear on formal nights and I'm 44 and usually a jeans and t shirt man myself. I also like the fact that people do dress up as it adds to the atmosphere, and personally the least you can do on a formal night is put some long trousers on and a shirt of some kind in my opinion. I realise that not everyone likes a suit but then P&O are trying to keep some dress standards to make them slightly different. I really do think flip flops and shorts on a formal night are just a bit ignorant by people. But they have paid their money so I suppose they feel they can do what they want. Depends on the seating weather I take my jacket off for the entertainment the theatre I usually leave it on but it comes of in the lounges I cant stay comfy in it with that seating.

 

Light suit will be more than fine on the formal nights and would certainly not bother me.

 

Jeans - dark not ripped wear them every night if you want to and I think they are fine definitely within the smart casual code, I mix and match with some comfy trousers to fit the food in as my jeans tend to get a bit tight towards the end of a cruise. I also don't find wearing a smart short or long sleeved shirt a bind but you'll find me in t shirts all day.

 

Personally I'd like P&O to be firmer with their formal night enforcement of the rules and refuse service to the shorts and flip flop brigade and enforce at least a long trousers open shirt as a minimum standard but I must be getting old and grumpy. I hope you have a great time whatever you decide...

[whoops]

On formal nights I doubt whether those wearing jeans or shorts or flip flops would be admitted into the dining rooms. In the evenings I dress smart casual every night and on formal nights eat in the buffet so that I don't offend anyone in my smart casual attire.

[Mr Piano]

I am sure I will be contradicted, but on my last two Ventura cruises I never noticed anyone wearing jeans, dark or otherwise in main dining room. But I suppose I wasn't inspecting other people for dress code compliance

 

I like the P&O dress code on the Ventura. I can't understand why people who don't like it, choose to cruise with P&O. The are plenty of others with a less formal dress code.

 

My next cruise is on the Azura and must admit, I would rather not have the jacket evenings, the Ventura don't have them. Purely from a luggage point of view I prefer smart casual. But we love the formal nights, great atmosphere

[laurakdy]

A lot of very valid points in the above post but it is also worth putting forward an opposing view.

 

I would say around 5% don't dress up on formal nights meaning at least 150 people.

 

Neither my wife nor I feel remotely embarrassed by opting out of the dress code. You do get the odd fuddy duddy giving you disapproving looks but so what? As we have both been successful in our respective careers we are confident enough in our own skins to ignore these people.

 

It's true you can buy a tux very cheaply but I have noticed that as soon as the meal is over, in the nightclubs especially, many gents tend to remove their jackets and place them on the back of chairs as suits are not that comfortable especially after a heavy meal. I wonder how many men wished they hadn't bothered! Indeed a few I have spoken to attend only one formal night on a 14 day cruise and you have to ask yourself is it worth lugging additional clothes around just to conform for one night.

 

One reason (but not the only one) for opting out is simply a question of the weight of the attire required for formal occasions. Also you have to spend time in the laundrette ironing the creases out of clothes and women also get their hair done. Is it really worth it? Not for us. I'm on holiday and don't want to spend a disproportionate amount of time getting ready for a formal meal.

 

We prefer to travel light because we both suffer from bad backs. We get everything in one medium size and one very small suitcase. Are we bothered? Absolutely not. I wouldn't risk cropping myself and ruining my holiday by lifting heavy cases into the car just so that my wife and I can dress up for up to 4 formal evenings.

 

At the end of the day it's down to personal choice and circumstances but nobody should let the snobbish elements put them off by feeling obliged to conform.

I couldn't agree more and have said so many times on here and by the way, I like the formal nights.

I would not and have not felt the slightest bit embarassed about not dressing up, if that's what I chose. I also wouldn't look at anyone in any kind of way if they weren't dressed up as I'm very much each to their own. I also don't particularly pay attention to what everyone has or has not got on.

I also find people on here get very concerned about the fact they may 'dress' different and always concerned about what to wear on fomal nights. Why? I seriously wouldn't give a monkeys if I was the only one dressed casual/different.

Edited August 10, 2015 by laurakdy

[wobblybob74]

For what it's worth, we love the formal nights although I feel that four during a fourteen night cruise is a one too many, especially when the fourth one is only two nights after the third!

 

On our recent Ventura cruise, we noticed that the formal dress code was very well observed by most of our fellow passengers. From memory, if you do not wish to observe the formal dress code you are not allowed into the MDRs, the Epicurean, Sindhu, Red piano bar and Metropolis. One one of the formal nights, a gent who had not observed the code but was still fairly smart was asked to leave Metropolis by staff.

 

On the subject of dark, smart jeans these are allowed in the MDR on non-formal nights but I can't really recall seeing many people wearing them. The gents seemed to stick to (not literally!) chinos or slacks and the ladies seemed to go for dresses, capri pants or loose trousers.

 

I know that it's a matter or personal preference but I do think that the ship looks wonderful on formal nights and, even though I have to look smart for my job (although I don't wear a suit) I do enjoy the chance to get dressed up and to see Mrs Wobblybob looking even more gorgeous than she normally does.

 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, whatever you decide to do, clothes-wise :D

Edited August 11, 2015 by wobblybob74

[magpieman]

I never thought in a million years I would wear a tuxedo in a posh restaurant but I bought one from Asda for around £50 got a clip on tie and got a formal shirt from a charity shop. My wife and I enjoyed it immensely it's only 3 or 4 nights on a 12 night cruise but really good and I certainly didn't feel out of place.

 

For the smart casual nights I wore a smart polo shirt and slacks, smart enough but comfortable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited August 12, 2015 by magpieman

[bluedot2014]

I never thought in a million years I would wear a tuxedo in a posh restaurant but I bought one from Asda for around £50 got a clip on tie and got a formal shirt from a charity shop. My wife and I enjoyed it immensely it's only 3 or 4 nights on a 12 night cruise but really good and I certainly didn't feel out of place.

 

 

Exactly my feelings about the formal nights. I don't understand why people don't give them a try, even just once.

*But* each to their own and we all have our own opinion :)

[dgs1956]

I am sure I will be contradicted, but on my last two Ventura cruises I never noticed anyone wearing jeans, dark or otherwise in main dining room. But I suppose I wasn't inspecting other people for dress code compliance

 

I like the P&O dress code on the Ventura. I can't understand why people who don't like it, choose to cruise with P&O. The are plenty of others with a less formal dress code.

 

My next cruise is on the Azura and must admit, I would rather not have the jacket evenings, the Ventura don't have them. Purely from a luggage point of view I prefer smart casual. But we love the formal nights, great atmosphere

 

The "Jacket Required" nights have been dropped on Azura. I never saw the point in it.

[Big Stevie]

On our recent Ventura cruise I enjoyed the formal nights more than i expected. Lobster was served on one of the formal nights. I wasn't going to bother to be honest, but bought a tux at the last minute from a department store for £130. Even got one for our 8yr old son..

 

[Josy1953]

We are booked on our First P and O cruise in August 2016 on Ventura and I am already paranoid about the dress code. I do have a Dinner Suit but when packing to travel prefer to take my Lounge Suit which is a light grey . Everything I read say a dark lounge suit is acceptable and I don't have one and as I only wear a lounge suit about 3 or 4 a year I really don't want to go out and buy a new one just to please P and O. I've also read that if you choose not to dress formal and go to the Buffet to dine there are some areas of the ship that you can't go to on formal nights if you are not dressed correctly. Is that correct?

 

Glyn

 

We have been on 15 P&O cruises and have often seen men in lighter coloured suits on formal nights, we have also seen some men in the main dining room on Ventura and Azura in smart jackets and trousers on formal nights. As long as you are smartly dressed I think that you will be OK, Ventura seems to be more relaxed than some of the ship's. My husband invariably takes his dinner suit and I love to see him in it but we never go on fly cruises so it is easy to take as much luggage as we want to.

[GLYNAGP]

We have been on 15 P&O cruises and have often seen men in lighter coloured suits on formal nights, we have also seen some men in the main dining room on Ventura and Azura in smart jackets and trousers on formal nights. As long as you are smartly dressed I think that you will be OK, Ventura seems to be more relaxed than some of the ship's. My husband invariably takes his dinner suit and I love to see him in it but we never go on fly cruises so it is easy to take as much luggage as we want to.

Thanks for the information. I seem to have caused quite a flurry on this thread with my light grey suit. I do have a dinner suit (two actually) and do have cause to wear it quite often . As I said if we're packing to fly for a cruise I just prefer to take the lounge suit.

[dgs1956]

Thanks for the information. I seem to have caused quite a flurry on this thread with my light grey suit. I do have a dinner suit (two actually) and do have cause to wear it quite often . As I said if we're packing to fly for a cruise I just prefer to take the lounge suit.

 

The amount of discussion on Dress Codes is staggering, it never ceases to create response. I wouldn't describe myself as a fuddy duddy by any means but I do like to dress smartly. I've commented before about older men in cheap jeans is completely different to younger men in expensive jeans. Some of the jeans you see are ones I would wear to do the gardening.

The vast majority of men wear dark Dinner Suits and some a white Tuxedo. Some do wear dark Suits and a few do wear jacket and trousers. I have also seen plenty of men in Highland dress and indeed one couple where the lady wore a matching tartan dress. They looked fantastic. I also came across two ladies dressed in their Sari's and they looked stunning.

Obviously there are a few who wear shorts and Tee Shirts and in fact I saw two guys in trackie bottoms, trainers and baggy tee shirts on a Formal Night (not in MDR). The cabaret singer actually commented about them. Why you would want to dress like that and be an odd want out defeats me.

So to me a light grey suit has to be far better than some attire. I really don't understand why someone doesn't produce a light grey Dinner Suit. I have come across a blue with black trim dinner suit designed by Jeff Banks but I would definitely buy a grey one if I saw one. No doubt that would get a few looks.

As English Lady says, it is generally the men who create the discussion but on a recent cruise on Britannia I was surprised at the poor standard of dress of some ladies who were accompanied by their men in Dinner Suits.

[mandylennon]

We are also booked on this cruise. The P&O website says 2 formal nights and 5 casual nights with one being tropical (bright shirts acceptable and don't know exactly how tropical it will be late October!). My husband and sons will just have normal black suits, white shirts and bow ties, so they can wear the trousers on the other nights. Half term on Ventura there will be lots of families so there will be a more relaxed attitude to dress code (hopefully). Yes, dark jeans are acceptable on family cruises as we found out on one of the first on Oceana 3 years old, when they had just changed the dress code.

All for a seven night holiday!!

[whoops]

The amount of discussion on Dress Codes is staggering, it never ceases to create response. I wouldn't describe myself as a fuddy duddy by any means but I do like to dress smartly. I've commented before about older men in cheap jeans is completely different to younger men in expensive jeans. Some of the jeans you see are ones I would wear to do the gardening.

The vast majority of men wear dark Dinner Suits and some a white Tuxedo. Some do wear dark Suits and a few do wear jacket and trousers. I have also seen plenty of men in Highland dress and indeed one couple where the lady wore a matching tartan dress. They looked fantastic. I also came across two ladies dressed in their Sari's and they looked stunning.

Obviously there are a few who wear shorts and Tee Shirts and in fact I saw two guys in trackie bottoms, trainers and baggy tee shirts on a Formal Night (not in MDR). The cabaret singer actually commented about them. Why you would want to dress like that and be an odd want out defeats me.

So to me a light grey suit has to be far better than some attire. I really don't understand why someone doesn't produce a light grey Dinner Suit. I have come across a blue with black trim dinner suit designed by Jeff Banks but I would definitely buy a grey one if I saw one. No doubt that would get a few looks.

As English Lady says, it is generally the men who create the discussion but on a recent cruise on Britannia I was surprised at the poor standard of dress of some ladies who were accompanied by their men in Dinner Suits.

 

I think people should be less judgemental. For the sake of convention I agree that non conformists such as myself should keep away from the dining rooms on formal nights but it should end there. Expressing an opinion on the standards of dress of both men and women, and those who can't understand why people don't want to dress up, is all rather shallow in my book. For me cruising is not about dressing up but if that is what people want to do then fair enough.

 

It is the substance beneath the clothes that matters. My wife - Dr Whoops - doesn't like dressing up either.

[dgs1956]

I think people should be less judgemental. For the sake of convention I agree that non conformists such as myself should keep away from the dining rooms on formal nights but it should end there. Expressing an opinion on the standards of dress of both men and women, and those who can't understand why people don't want to dress up, is all rather shallow in my book. For me cruising is not about dressing up but if that is what people want to do then fair enough.

 

It is the substance beneath the clothes that matters. My wife - Dr Whoops - doesn't like dressing up either.

 

This is a Forum and if you don't like someone having a different opinion to yourself then you shouldn't come on it. I couldn't care less what others wear. You may insult people by calling them shallow but I never said that people who don't dress up are slobs. Commenting that some people don't make an effort is only stating fact. If you want to wear trackie bottoms, trainers and a baggy tee shirt on a Formal Night then it is entirely your choice. Go for it.

[whoops]

This is a Forum and if you don't like someone having a different opinion to yourself then you shouldn't come on it. I couldn't care less what others wear. You may insult people by calling them shallow but I never said that people who don't dress up are slobs. Commenting that some people don't make an effort is only stating fact. If you want to wear trackie bottoms, trainers and a baggy tee shirt on a Formal Night then it is entirely your choice. Go for it.

 

You said this:

 

"Obviously there are a few who wear shorts and Tee Shirts and in fact I saw two guys in trackie bottoms, trainers and baggy tee shirts on a Formal Night (not in MDR). The cabaret singer actually commented about them. Why you would want to dress like that and be an odd want out defeats me."

 

I took this to be judgemental and while you state you couldn't care less what people wear your comments suggest otherwise. I'm expressing an opinion and will come onto this forum because I have found the information provided by experienced cruisers to be most useful.

 

I am not remotely bothered that we have different views. As this is a forum I'm expressing an opinion and that is as far as it goes. Surely we can agree to disagree.

Edited August 14, 2015 by whoops

[dgs1956]

You said this:

 

"Obviously there are a few who wear shorts and Tee Shirts and in fact I saw two guys in trackie bottoms, trainers and baggy tee shirts on a Formal Night (not in MDR). The cabaret singer actually commented about them. Why you would want to dress like that and be an odd want out defeats me."

 

I took this to be judgemental and while you state you couldn't care less what people wear your comments suggest otherwise. I'm expressing an opinion and will come onto this forum because I have found the information provided by experienced cruisers to be most useful.

 

I am not remotely bothered that we have different views. As this is a forum I'm expressing an opinion and that is as far as it goes. Surely we can agree to disagree.

 

Absolutely, we can disagree. That's what a Forum is about. I'm not sure we really are disagreeing. I was trying to point out that the vast majority dress up and do think that is part of cruising but some don't. If you don't you will get some people judging you. That is fact. I really couldn't care less what people wear and if I came across as that then it wasn't my intention.

[whoops]

Absolutely, we can disagree. That's what a Forum is about. I'm not sure we really are disagreeing. I was trying to point out that the vast majority dress up and do think that is part of cruising but some don't. If you don't you will get some people judging you. That is fact. I really couldn't care less what people wear and if I came across as that then it wasn't my intention.

 

One of my comments was responding to that part of your post when you said:

 

"This is a Forum and if you don't like someone having a different opinion to yourself then you shouldn't come on it".

 

 

I'm glad we have cleared up our differences (if there were any). I'm glad we both agree that it is important for varying views to be expressed so that all participants can judge a discussion from all sides. You are right about some people judging us even though we dress smart casual (no jeans) every evening including on formal nights. But, as I have said, we don't care.

[Munchkin1982]

Formal night is definitely followed by the majority of people on board - though I was somewhat surprised by the number who hadn't read the info in advance to know one is a designated "black and white" night and therefore, supposedly, the "smartest" of the formal nights - I actually commented that Tropical Night was better adhered to on our recent cruise as a dress code as the number of people in evening attire was considerably lower on Black and White night than on the other formal nights.

 

The ones who make me chuckle are the couples where the wife has dressed up and the husband is in casual on formal night - we saw a few chunnering wives as they realised they couldn't access certain restaurants or bars because their partner was in casual clothes.

 

Just don't make the mistake of assuming that smart, long shorts comply with evening casual - we witnessed one man f-ing and jeffing at the manager of the Beach House when he was told long, smart shorts didn't comply with evening casual as a dress code!