It's official! Formal nights gone, evening chic in! (3 Threads Merged)

[wallie5446]

Agreed. It appears the majority of the viewers of this board welcome the change but I will miss a night of dressing up.

 

Why would you stop dressing up?

 

Maybe the best 'compromise' would be to actually ENFORCE the dress code they make, no t-shirts in main dining room on 'chic' nights.

 

20+ years we have been sailing on Celebrity and have yet to meet anyone in "T-shirts" in the MDR on any night. It has been "ENFORCED" on every cruise we have taken.

[phbr]

Another way of looking at the Celebrity decision, is that it will allow the Elite members on early dining to fully enjoy their Drinks Vouchers between 5 and 7 without having to rush off to get ready.

 

Flippant, I know, but a view I heard expressed more than once on Reflection only last week.

Edited November 9, 2015 by phbr

[safein]

I am very disappointed that Celebrity has gone this route. While we haven't been able to cruise for a while, my husband and I enjoyed dressing up. Yes, he was in a job where wearing suits was a must; yet, he enjoyed dressing in his tux. Even when they went casual, he didn't mind to dressing up on formal nights when we cruised. It just made what he wore more special. We're in close to retirement age (not there yet, though :p) but because we dress casual every for work, we don't mind the dressing up on formal nights. And, I enjoyed dressing in my gowns too.

 

Celebrity, you've disappointed this long time fan. It was the formal nights that made us decide to stay with you and not go to your sister line, Azamara. Now, I'm not too sure any more.

[karena1]

While I do enjoy getting dressed to the "nines" for formal night, this doesn't bother me at all. I will just bring a couple nicer dresses for chic nights instead of formals. Sure makes packing easier and I was going to have to go buy new gold and silver sandals before our Silhouette cruise and now I won't have to!

 

Airlines are making it harder and harder with weight restrictions, so these changes don't really surprise me. We have seen less "formal" all all lines over the last few years. On ships that still have a true formal night, I will dress in my gowns, otherwise, just dresses.

[Fouremco]

Very disappointed with this. While packing will be easier, you have taken away what made the evenings special. While we might not have necessarily worn tuxes and formal dresses, we did enjoy wearing cocktail dresses and suits. While I am sure some will suggest bringing it anyway. It takes the fun out of it when you are the only ones dressed up. Feels more like they are lowing the bar than raising the modern elegance. Even our children enjoy dressing up. If you don't want to dress there are many more casual lines and more relaxed alternative vacations.

So, you thought it ok to dress down from what had been the standard and made the evening less special for those who continued to wear tuxes and actual formal dresses. How can you then complain about the next generation of cruisers doing the same thing?

[phbr]

I am very disappointed that Celebrity has gone this route. While we haven't been able to cruise for a while, my husband and I enjoyed dressing up. Yes, he was in a job where wearing suits was a must; yet, he enjoyed dressing in his tux. Even when they went casual, he didn't mind to dressing up on formal nights when we cruised. It just made what he wore more special. We're in close to retirement age (not there yet, though :p) but because we dress casual every for work, we don't mind the dressing up on formal nights. And, I enjoyed dressing in my gowns too.

 

Celebrity, you've disappointed this long time fan. It was the formal nights that made us decide to stay with you and not go to your sister line, Azamara. Now, I'm not too sure any more.

 

Actually there are NO formal nights on Azamara. Cunard would appear to the most 'traditional' line when it comes to formal, and I doubt they will change that for many years..

 

Brave decision by Celebrity. Time will tell if it costs them

[lakelady02]

I'm going to reserve judgement until I experience the cocktail hour and evening dining on our February cruise. That said, if elegant venues on any evening are populated with baseball caps, cutoff shorts, tank tops, workout attire etc. it will affect my planning going forward.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lois R]

Here's the link to the story: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6642

 

Hi Chris, there are at least 3 or 4 separte threads on the board about this

news....do you think they should all be combined? It is one of those topics

that folks start new threads about before they look to see if one has

already been started.

[PORT ROYAL]

 

Agree, or the difference between beach and evening.

 

This year (Antigua) DW & I were in a queue for a Taxi. A lady in front of us turned and asked as to why my DW was wearing an evening dress in the morning, enquiring if we were going to a wedding. DW was wearing a plain cotton beach dress over a swimsuit.

[MustBCruzn]

20+ years we have been sailing on Celebrity and have yet to meet anyone in "YARD clothes" I think you feel to lowly about the rest of us.:(

 

If there were a "Like" button, I'd press it! :D Personally I'm ok with the decision--particularly for European cruises where the luggage limit can become a challenge. Our cruises are such wonderful vacations with family and friends and not a minute of that precious time is spent worrying about what someone else is wearing (or not), doing (or not), etc. The only thing we worry about is trying not to sob like babies as the crew forces us off the ship on the last morning. :)

[villauk]

Hi Chris, there are at least 3 or 4 separte threads on the board about this

news....do you think they should all be combined? It is one of those topics

that folks start new threads about before they look to see if one has

already been started.

 

Shortly, I think the mods will probably add them all to the sticky that one of the hosts started earlier ;).

[Iamthesea]

I thought that was Smart Casual. The formal nights were a nice choice and option.

....Jeans? Seriously? Dress pants should be at least indicated.

 

I did too!

 

In my opinion, the dress should match the restaurant. ;)

 

All of the venues on Celebrity, with the exception of the OV Café , AQ Spa Café and Bistro on Five, are elegant, so I think that passengers should at least dress semi dressy when dining in any of them. And yes, even for lunch in the venues. No hats, t-shirts. Shorts and nice jeans OK during lunch.

 

I remember feeling a bit uneasy one evening on our recent pre-cruise stay in London. DH and I had on nice looking jeans and sweaters (I wore boots and a dressy scarf) after being out in the cold and rain all day. We came back into our hotel in the early evening and didn't feel up to dressing to go out to dinner. We asked if it were alright to eat in the hotel pub. We were escorted into a very nice dining room instead of the intended pub. I stopped the maitre d and asked if we were dressed appropriately and she said, "yes, of course." Well, we were a couple of the few that had on casual attire, though not the only ones. Just didn't feel right to be so casual in that restaurant. :rolleyes:

Edited November 9, 2015 by Iamthesea

[BosoxI]

While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

 

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

•A cocktail dress

•Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

 

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

•Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater

•Optional sport coat or blazer

 

Sounds like that wouldn't get me into any decent country club having a casual night. If that is Elegant Chic, what is smart casual?

[Spf12]

Great news.Why did Celebrity take so long?

[dx052]

I am not a seasoned cruiser myself although I do travel quite lot to different countries for holidays. I am personally very happy for the change of direction with regards to formal night dress code moving forward. If I could drive to my port of departure in my car for my cruise I would have no problem taking an extra suite carrier but carting around the extra load (for two nights only) over a 10hour flight is not fun and increases my luggage allowance which I would prefer to use for other items as its quiet limited already. Even though I might not be wearing a dinner jacket that doesn't mean that I am going to dress down though as I have more pride in my appearance, this just allows me to wear more of what I feel comfortable in and still look polished. Although I think my partner who is a bit of Celebrity cheerleader maybe crying in her pillow tonight though :)

[excitedofharpenden]

I think Celebrity have blundered here. I do formal, I do smart casual, but I'm not sure I'll ever be evening chic. Perhaps it's all to do with "modern luxury" which is equally nebulous. They are just trying to confuse us all and are having difficulty with their identity as far as I can see. It's another great opportunity for the boundaries to be pushed.

 

Phil

[rwb]

Good grief, people.

 

Celebrity is well behind the curve on this one. Most cruise lines have long since either eliminated formal nights altogether or made them optional. The cruise industry's customer base has clearly "voted" to relax the dress code.

 

You can still wear tuxes and gowns if you want to on the "evening chic" nights. And I suspect you will not feel out of place doing so on Celebrity. I will probably continue to take a tux on long cruises, but I'm in my 70s. The 30-and-40-somethings that the cruise industry needs to attract for its long term future don't think like I do and they don't dress like I do.

 

Plus, now that airlines are charging substantial fees for a second bag and for anything over 50 pounds (with some even charging for carry-ons) it is tough to justify devoting an extra 7-8 pounds of tux, shoes, and accessories for a few hours of dress-up.

[Andy]

Hi Chris, there are at least 3 or 4 separte threads on the board about this

news....do you think they should all be combined? It is one of those topics

that folks start new threads about before they look to see if one has

already been started.

 

Hi Lois,

 

Chris does not combine threads. That's our job :) . I've merged the 3 existing threads, while leaving the sticky at the top of the forum.

 

Anytime there's concerns like this, please use the alert triangle, and Walt & I will take care of it. Thanks !

Edited November 9, 2015 by Host Andy

[orlandodolly]

Very disappointing to hear the new dress code but more disappointed it came from Celebrity. Expected this to come from Carnival or even RC. On NYE cruise and we still plan on bringing our long dresses. What a concept -- long dresses and jeans.

[POA1]

I think it will help to merge the Celebrity and the Royal Caribbean demographic, which is good for business. The Royal Caribbean passengers don't usually dress up as much as the Celebrity passengers (overall, certainly.) The Celebrity passengers are very concerned with luggage weight limits. It seems like a win-win. The two groups are coming at it from a different angle, but they have a common goal: casual clothes. It might be from a baggage weight perspective. It might be from a comfy clothes point of view. Either way, it seems to please everyone.

[Andy]

Shortly, I think the mods will probably add them all to the sticky that one of the hosts started earlier ;).

 

I've merged all the threads, but I'm inquring about merging with the sticky. At least we're down to 2 threads now :)

 

Hope this helps !

[dx052]

Good grief, people.

 

Celebrity is well behind the curve on this one. Most cruise lines have long since either eliminated formal nights altogether or made them optional. The cruise industry's customer base has clearly "voted" to relax the dress code.

 

You can still wear tuxes and gowns if you want to on the "evening chic" nights. And I suspect you will not feel out of place doing so on Celebrity. I will probably continue to take a tux on long cruises, but I'm in my 70s. The 30-and-40-somethings that the cruise industry needs to attract for its long term future don't think like I do and they don't dress like I do.

 

Plus, now that airlines are charging substantial fees for a second bag and for anything over 50 pounds (with some even charging for carry-ons) it is tough to justify devoting an extra 7-8 pounds of tux, shoes, and accessories for a few hours of dress-up.

 

Well Said.

[OuiOnboard]

It seems they are recommending evening chic or dressier on the chic nights and smart casual or better on other nights in the MDR. Problem?

Edited November 9, 2015 by OuiOnboard
sp

[true45]

20+ years we have been sailing on Celebrity and have yet to meet anyone in "T-shirts" in the MDR on any night. It has been "ENFORCED" on every cruise we have taken.

 

 

I've seen it

[gsb]

Dockers and a button down would be smart casual. Evening Chic would be your black pants, beautiful purple shirt and a waistcoat....Just an example, I don't expect you to run to Banana Republic for a purple shirt :)

 

Waistcoat??:eek::confused: Just thinking about wearing one of "those" makes me uncomfortable.

Edited November 9, 2015 by gsb