What would you do in the MDR?

[navybankerteacher]

Apparently you haven't noticed some of the things that I have . The Maitre D is not always at the door when people enter the MDR. He has assistants that do the seating as well , and trust me some are not under the trained eye as he.

 

Apparently you misunderstood the question: it was not some untrained assistant, but the maitre d', who seated the guests wearing the clothing at issue.

 

The maitre d' is the representative of the line - the host, so to speak, of the dinner; a guest so tacitly approved by the host should be accepted by any other guest.

 

Personally, while I do feel that attractive surroundings (be it decor, background music, intelligent conversation, well dressed fellow diners, etc.) all contribute to the enjoyability of a meal - which is why I do not particularly enjoy NCL - I have no right to over-rule my host.

[calliopecruiser]

I respectfully disagree that this is a silly question. I might have thought so at one time, but not after an experience we had on a cruise several years ago.

So you were seated at a table with someone whose appearance you didn't like........what do you do? Yeah, that's still a silly question. Or if it's not a silly question, it's a terrifically prejudiced question.

 

If you don't like the way someone looks then you are free to leave their company.

[Swells1]

Being a proper souther gal, I would smile politely at the offending person or persons. Then, I would make passive-aggressive and catty remarks to my seatmates.

[vamartha]

What someone else is wearing to dinner is simply NONE of my business.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

I had a similar problem on the first formal night of our last cruise. A very large lady a couple of tables away, in my direct line of sight, was wearing an ill-fitting sleeveless sun-dress. She was sitting side-on to me so I could see both her back and front. The armhole of the dress gaped at the back showing the band of her bra with a couple of large rolls of fat bulging around it. The front of the dress was very low, exposing most of her breasts that were only partly covered by her bra. It wasn't formalwear, and it wasn't nice to look at. :( To my relief we never saw her again for the rest of that cruise.

 

I would hardly call it a problem, or understand why it was a relief you never saw her again.:rolleyes:

[ger_77]

Being a proper souther gal, I would smile politely at the offending person or persons. Then, I would make passive-aggressive and catty remarks to my seatmates.

 

Well bless your heart. :D

 

I would welcome them to the table and include them in the conversations - most people are friendly and just want to be accepted. There could be a myriad of reasons why they may not be "dressed up" - one of which is that their luggage didn't make it to the ship.

 

We had that happen one cruise and while we ate in the Lido on formal night, I received the "up and down" look from a woman sitting beside me in the show lounge later. I just knew what she was thinking so I told her our luggage was on it's own vacation somewhere else, that I was dressed in my travel clothes until we could be reunited, and I hoped I didn't offend her. She squirmed uncomfortably, as the ice in her heart melted away and then we enjoyed a lovely conversation and shared happy hours a couple of times later in the cruise.

 

You just never know.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

[wwcruisers]

To the OP -- it's hard to tell whether you asked this as a theoretical question, or whether you've actually experienced this situation. Perhaps you should always request a 2-top in the MDR. That way, you could just enjoy the company of your cruising partner, and not be distracted/offended by what other folks are wearing. :cool:

[LMaxwell]

To the OP -- it's hard to tell whether you asked this as a theoretical question, or whether you've actually experienced this situation. Perhaps you should always request a 2-top in the MDR. That way, you could just enjoy the company of your cruising partner, and not be distracted/offended by what other folks are wearing. :cool:

 

You can't tell by my responses in the thread?

[RWolver672]

You ask the question and have answers.

Now, please tell us what YOU would do. :D

 

 

 

Me too. Short of them being naked nothing would really bother me.

 

They already did in post #3.

[maldenmusic]

I'd eat my meal as usual.

[beachbum53]

I just don't pay a lot of attention to what other people wear. Since we choose Any Time Dining (or whatever you want to call it), we're typically seated at a table for two, unless we're joining friends from our roll call group for dinner. Each cruise line has their own dress code for dinner. It's up to the Maitre D or MDR Hostess / Host to enforce the dress code, NOT the passengers. If you're really bothered by the way someone else is dressed, simply ask to be moved somewhere else, so you don't have to look at the person that's bothering you. Or, go back to your cabin and order room service. Either way, keep your uppity opinions to yourself and stop whining about what others wear to dinner. Or maybe just wear a blindfold to dinner.

[pullen0]

Do the fashion police bother to get off the ship in port to mingle with the third world peasants?

 

 

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[pris993]

Some of these visual stories are not pleasant at all.

 

I recall we had a group of chinese passengers sitting across from us with one of the men wearing a baseball cap every night to dinner... very inappropriate. We did nothing about it.

 

On the same cruise we had a very rude Head waiter...actually was more upset with the waiter. We did not do anything about it either. Keep thinking it would get better, never did... over a 10 day cruise.

 

After the cruise... I decided if I had another situition which really was not enjoyable, I would do something to change it... no reason to put up with something less than enjoyable.

 

What I would probably do is ask for a different table or skip the MDR... have done since and don't miss it at all.

[Pyrate13]

I don't care or pay attention to what others wear, my attention is on my cruise and dining mate, my wife.

[NLH Arizona]

If you are sitting at a communal table and the maitre D' sits a couple/group/or family at the table that you think is dressed inappropriately, what would you do about it? Anything?

I don't judge others on their attire and I have never had anyone's attire effect my dining experience. I would just do what I always do. I introduce myself and converse with them.

 

Wondering why you would ask? What would you do?

Edited September 10, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[pullen0]

With my reading here I typically see the same response of "it's a mass market cruise line" when someone voices displeasure with a particular aspect of a cruise or felt something didn't live up to their expectations.

 

Maybe the response should be the same for those upset about other people's attire in the MDR. Ask about wearing shorts in the MDR and its like you have leprosy.

 

Is it reasonable for the few who want to dress up to dictate to the masses that don't?

 

 

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[spookwife]

How you present yourself to others is a reflection on you. If you choose to dress slovenly or 30 years out of date or in ill fitting attire, expect to be judged for it. Silently or otherwise.

 

First opinions are hard to break and if my first sight is of you scoffing at the suggested attire( formal night or otherwise) by dressing like a slob, I will be less likely to want to get to know you better. Judgemental? Probably. But if you don't care enough to dress appropriately you won't care what I think of you anyway.

 

So, what I would do is probably roll my eyes at their attire and carry on a barely minimal for convention conversation with them. But since we choose to only dine with people we have struck up an on board friendship with, that scenario has yet to occur.

 

 

 

 

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[calliopecruiser]

How you present yourself to others is a reflection on you. If you choose to dress slovenly or 30 years out of date or in ill fitting attire, expect to be judged for it. Silently or otherwise.

 

Judging is fine -- we judge people every day all the time, though usually smart people judge by more than just clothing. And they don't share that judgement with others, allowing people to make up their own minds.

 

The problem isn't the judging, IMO, it's the behaviour some people do (or expect others to do) as a result of how you've judged them. If you've judged someone as having a different opinion of "attractive" than you do, why would you express that to them or the rest of the room? Why do you think anyone else would (or should) care about your opinion of someone's appearance?

[jennybenny]

If that was the kind of thing that would bother me, then I would not do anytime dining. I would do assigned seating for a table to accommodate my group.

 

If I booked late in the game and could not get assigned late or early dinner then I would wait in anytime dining for a table to accommodate the size of my group.

 

I've never had a problem with what people wear, but if it was the kind of thing that bothered me, I would find a way to not be bothered by it.

[pullen0]

I would tell the Maitre D to let them eat cake.

 

 

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[tip]

I don't care or pay attention to what others wear, my attention is on my cruise and dining mate, my wife.

 

Thank you. Very well-said. I feel the same way.

[LMaxwell]

What would you do?

 

Talk to them. Eat my meal. I'd never remember what they were wearing the next day if you put a gun to my head.

 

Wondering why you would ask?

 

Because a lot of people on this site spout off how offended they would be or want to dictate to others what to do.

 

Some even say they'd be okay if casual wear if the little daily newspaper said it is okay, but if it doesn't then the rules must be adhered to.

 

Then they talk about tradition when the cruise lines have made the MDR the cheapest dining experience, not the best dining experience on the ship, as it used to be.

 

It's all very dynamic and interesting so I thought I'd toss out there what would people actually do about it. I'm glad many would "do nothing" and just try to make some new cruise buddies. IMO, that's the way things should be.

 

I find it absurd that people would be looked down upon for coming to dinner in some golf shorts and a polo shirt when they are on vacation. Neat, clean, presentable, but the hem of their pants is too short so they become 2nd class riff raff? I think that is small minded, but it is not the loss of those that enjoy themselves.

[LMaxwell]

 

So, what I would do is probably roll my eyes at their attire and carry on a barely minimal for convention conversation with them.

 

Well, at least you are honest about it.

[cb at sea]

Are you KIDDING me? C'non...you chat with your tablemates...they may be more fun than you are...but whatever....just eat dinner, and don't worry about what they're wearing....jeez.

[NLH Arizona]

I find it absurd that people would be looked down upon for coming to dinner in some golf shorts and a polo shirt when they are on vacation. Neat, clean, presentable, but the hem of their pants is too short so they become 2nd class riff raff? I think that is small minded, but it is not the loss of those that enjoy themselves.

I totally agree.

 

I remember one Crystal cruise where every time I would go in or walk past the casino, there was a lady in there. One day while I was playing, the Casino Manager came over and we started talking. I asked about the lady and I was told that the woman went down to dinner the first night and her tablemates were so rude to her because she didn't dress like them (one lady actually asked her if she had other clothes that were more acceptable with her) that she never went again. In those days, you couldn't eat dinner in the buffet, so she would grab room service for her dinner. One sea day, I was playing and the lady sat down at the machine next to me and we started talking. She was amazing, she was a Professor at the University of California Berkeley and probably one of the most intelligent folks I'd ever met, was so nice and had amazing stories about her travels. Was she a little eccentric in her attire, sure but while others thought it was weird, being from San Francisco, I thought it was just the Berkeley way.