What to wear on a Carnival cruise?

[buccaneer178]

We are first time Carnival cruisers and are going on Carnival Vista in 4 weeks. I am not sure what we should be taking with us, as we have always had Formal evenings on other cruise ships. Do many men wear a Tuxedo on Elegant evenings? if not what is the norm please. Don't want to be over dressed but do want to dress nicely for dinner.

[siestakeys04]

My dh wears a shirt and tie with slacks for formal night and I wear a dress. He wears a polo style shirt for all other nights and I wear slacks and a blouse for other nights. If you want to take a tux I say go for it enjoy yourselves!!!

[buccaneer178]

My dh wears a shirt and tie with slacks for formal night and I wear a dress. He wears a polo style shirt for all other nights and I wear slacks and a blouse for other nights. If you want to take a tux I say go for it enjoy yourselves!!!

 

Thank you for your response. Shirts/ties and trousers it is then. My wife will be glad, no suit to pack means more clothes for her.!!!:D

[suzycruiser2]

We have only been cruising for 8 years and Elegant night dress standards have changed greatly. On our first couple of cruises, my husband wore a suit. On the next few cruises, he wore dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie. Then it went to dress pants and shirt with no tie. Now he wears dress pants and either a dress shirt with no tie or even a nice polo type shirt.

 

I like the more relaxed standards. Much less to pack and he is much more comfortable.

[minikiss]

We get on in 6 weeks and plan on packing Hubby's Tux. I do like to see him in it.

Me I'm taking a couple of nice floaty long silk dresses.

If we are in a minority we don't care, we dress for us and not what others want to dress in.

[Cushing985]

On our last few cruises I've found cruisers cover the entire spectrum when it comes to "Elegant" nights. Some wear business casual (Docker type slacks and nice shirt), others wear suits or sport coats (with or without tie) and a few wear tuxes. Seems most people follow the suggestions Carnival puts out in their FAQs.

 

Most cruise lines are relaxing their dress codes to reflect their passenger's desires. Even Celebrity relaxed their dress code to closely reflect Carnival's.

[Redcat]

I generally wear a sports coat and no tie just like the look and it feels comfortable to me. My jackets now tend to be over the top looks just bought a new one for upcoming cruise that is sure to get a few looks

[swodog94]

This is one of those "hot topics" on these boards, not dissimilar to passports and smoking. Everyone thinks their way is best. The bottom line is Carnival hasn't called it Formal Night in quite some years. Gone are the days when folks would rent tux's thru the cruise line. It's now Elegant Night and what you wear is strictly up to you, although Carnival suggests dress slacks and dress shirt with a sport coat. Jeans, shorts, flip flops, beach wear, etc. are specifically called out as not permitted...but I've seen folks wear jeans and shorts to the MDR on Elegant Night and not get turned away (it really depends on the maitre'd).

I'm active duty Navy so wear my Dinner Dress for Elegant Night. If folks don't want to dress up, they don't have to. It would be nice if folks who don't want to dress up opted to eat on the Lido Deck on Elegant Night instead of the MDR, but again, it's up to the staff to enforce the "rules" and if they can't or won't, not much can be done. I'm not the dress code police...I'll just enjoy my cruise my own way! :)

[Port of Tampa]

It is a wide array of not dressed up at all to full formal wear. Go with what your comfortable in...my recommendation is a button-up shirt and slacks.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

[hbrote]

Carnival Vista in 4 weeks. I am not sure what we should be taking with us, as we have always had Formal evenings on other cruise ships. Do many men wear a Tuxedo on Elegant evenings? if not what is the norm please. Don't want to be over dressed but do want to dress nicely for dinner.

 

In Europe you will see more Tuxedos than in the Caribbean. We will board the Vista in a week and I just packed my dinner jacket.

[summersigh]

In Europe you will see more Tuxedos than in the Caribbean. We will board the Vista in a week and I just packed my dinner jacket.

 

I see the Vista sails the Mediterranean at this time .... They do dress up more in the Med than they do in the Caribbean. I'd have my DH take a jacket and tie at the least and I'd wear more dressy outfits than I would I would in the Carib.

[FaithfulRaider]

Last cruise was August 2014 and was Mexico/Honduras/Belize and was like 100 degrees and crazy humid! Wore my suit and tie on Elegant nights and honestly was too hot for me. Cruising again in 2 weeks and the suit is staying home!

[ja_martin]

We are first time Carnival cruisers and are going on Carnival Vista in 4 weeks. I am not sure what we should be taking with us, as we have always had Formal evenings on other cruise ships. Do many men wear a Tuxedo on Elegant evenings? if not what is the norm please. Don't want to be over dressed but do want to dress nicely for dinner.

 

In reality, you can dress how you like for formal nights. You'll see people dressed every which way, including to the nines, and unfortunately, inappropriately. You won't look out of place, but remember, it's your vacation.

 

I always have summer dresses for myself, because that's how I am most comfortable. My husband stopped taking a full suit years ago because we almost always only bring on carry-on luggage with us, no matter how long the trip. Last trip (8 weeks), we broke down and checked one bag at the airport, but still carried everything on to the ship.

 

Enjoy!

[cocoaloco]

a SMILE. :)

[buccaneer178]

Thank you everyone for your replys. Think the tux will go with us, we do enjoy dressing up, its part of the whole exerience. And we always wear a smile, after all we are cruising.!!!:D

[maldenmusic]

I have seen every manner of dress in the MDR.

[Herfnerd]

I've always worn business/smart casual to the MDR.

 

Have seen everything from tuxes and ball gowns to khakis/polo's and sundresses for Elegant night. I usually wear a suit to the first and a sports jacket to the second.

[Foxinspace]

Another consideration is if you would like to take formal pictures. We get dressed up all fancy and go for pictures. Once we've gotten some pictures on our camera and professional we count ourselves happy. After that it has been known to happen that the ties and jackets all come off and return to the room. Than for the 2nd formal night we just wear nice clothes but not the super dressy outfits.

 

Go with what you are comfortable in. 1 family member does dress pants w a shirt, one does full formal kilt and Prince Charlie jacket. We all sit at the same table and we are happy.

 

Have a great time!!

[originalgeek]

I wore this:

[OCruisers]

Honestly, not many wear a tuxedo on Elegant Nights ... but it's certainly OK to do so if you wish. :)

[rjrpar]

Tuxes are overkill on Carnival. Some posters want to believe that cruising is still an elegant vacation, which it is not. Wear a nice shirt and slacks; throw on a sports coat if you desire.

[figdu]

I wore my tux for both elegant nights on the Vista in June. There were probably a dozen others in them as well.

[DebJ14]

When we first cruised Carnival DH brought his tux. Then as it got less formal he brought a dark suit. Now, he brings a sport coat and tie. We actually saw more jackets in the Steakhouse (and lots of LBD's well accessorized) than we saw in the MDR on formal night.

 

I was pleased to see that all the men had on sport jackets and ties at the Diamond event. I told my DH he didn't have to wear one, but he said he felt he had to out of respect for our host, The Master of the Vessel. He ended up wearing a jacket and tie 4 nights out of the 5 night cruise between elegant evening, 2 steak house visits and the night we went straight from the Diamond event to dinner.

[OCruisers]

Tuxes are overkill on Carnival. Some posters want to believe that cruising is still an elegant vacation, which it is not. Wear a nice shirt and slacks; throw on a sports coat if you desire.

 

Very much agree with you on that! ;)