Dressing up for Dinner -11 Year Old Boy

[bostonian19]

my son is very sporty and only has a few dressy items, what do you think is acceptable to wear in main dining room?

[Alaskan Joe]

A tux......:'). Just kidding however, for an 11 yr old boy a nice pair of pants and a polo shirt (or a nice shirt, just not tee shirt) would just fine for him.

[jsglow]

Nice pair of khaki pants and a collared shirt like a button down. No need to purchase a jacket for a young boy. It'll be nice if he has 'dress' shoes (meaning something better than sneakers).

[Purvis1231]

my son is very sporty and only has a few dressy items, what do you think is acceptable to wear in main dining room?

 

Bring one pair of khakis and a polo shirt for elegant night and for the other nights almost anything that you would let him wear to a restaurant at home would be fine.

[Shaded Lady]

A tux......:'). Just kidding however, for an 11 yr old boy a nice pair of pants and a polo shirt (or a nice shirt, just not tee shirt) would just fine for him.

 

LOL! My last cruise I saw a family- husband in tux, wife in evening gown... toddler (1-2 years old) in a mini-tux! Shirt, pants, jacket, bowtie, cummerbund- the whole thing... the cutest thing I ever saw! I couldn't believe they actually made a tux that small!

[BallFour4]

Shorts and a polo shirt for all but Cruise Elegant night, then substitute long pants. Tennis shoes are fine every night.

I wear khaki shorts and a Tommy Bahama style shirt on casual and long khakis for Cruise Elegant.

It's as close to anything goes on casual, we see kids in basketball shorts and t-shirts.

Relax and don't stress about attire on Carnival.

.

[FlaMommy75]

My son is also 11 and sporty and usually prefers mesh and a race tee shirt. However, for the MDR he has a pair of khakis and a couple polo shirts that he wears just for dinner and then gets changed immediately after dinner before going to camp. He also has a 3 piece suit (inexpensive set from Macys) that he does the same thing for on formal nights.

[kctwinmommy]

Yep, we did pretty much the same as everyone else said. My son, now 13, wears nice shorts and polo shirt for dinner, except on formal nights, then we do make him wear a tie, dress shirt, and pants. He is just now wanting to dress up though, so I actually had to go buy him more dress clothes. Of course, in another year, he'll need it (he's going to a Catholic H.S. and they have to wear shirt/tie on some days). He even wanted a suit coat, which I found at a decent price at Burlington Coat Factory! But he is usually in Nike, head to toe any other day of the week! LOL! And yes, after dinner, he's back into his comfy clothes. I haven't forced the dress shoe thing mostly because his feet were growing all crazy and nothing fit comfortably. I have wide feet myself, and I know it's no fun to wear uncomfortable shoes. Nobody really looks at their feet anyway, and his shoes are usually a black color/style, so they're not standing out really.

[shellster1]

Bring one pair of khakis and a polo shirt for elegant night and for the other nights almost anything that you would let him wear to a restaurant at home would be fine.

 

I cruise often with my 9-year-old son, soon to be 10. This is exactly my rule of thumb, too. :)

[sprite]

For my 10-yo we got pant/shirt/vest set for $20 from Walmart. It's a light blue shirt and tan pant/vest so it looks real springy. For non-formal nights khakis pants/shorts and polos. Also got a pair of docksider type shoes that look cute with it all.

[teknoge3k]

I cruise often with my 9-year-old son, soon to be 10. This is exactly my rule of thumb, too. :)

 

Ditto for us as well.

[baileydog16]

My 9 year old son is the same and lives in athletic clothes. I found some khaki and navy pants from Old Navy for super cheap. They've got a drawstring waist so they should feel comfy, but will still look nice.

[elainmir]

My youngest is 15 and does a plain white button up with his bow tie ( he loves bow ties) and a satiny vest that goes over it..I bought both the vest and bow tie on Amazon for less than 15 bucks...he uses the same get up for dances at school/ prom or fancy occasions..we just change the bow tie out...

[maryred]

MDR acceptable...

Cruise Casual nights - cargo, walking, or Bermuda shorts with a s/s shirt (something a little better than a tee shirt) and leather sandals or sneakers. Jeans or cargo pants are also OK.

Elegant Evenings - khakis or Dockers pants w/ polo, button down, or Hawaiian shirt and black or tan walkers or dress shoes. (This is also the dress code for most of the up charge restaurants as well on any evening.)

Alternative on Elegant Evenings is he can dress down in shorts w/ tee shirt & flip-flops and go with the kids counselors for the kid club buffet dinner.

 

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[summersigh]

Bring one pair of khakis and a polo shirt for elegant night and for the other nights almost anything that you would let him wear to a restaurant at home would be fine.

I had to chuckle :D The thread was about kids but in our experience with CCL it works for grown men too. For "formal night" my DH wears kackais and a polo or button down. Regular nights he wears jeans and a polo or Hawaiian-type shirt.

Carnival is casual - even more so than most other large lines.;)

[cb at sea]

Golf or polo shirt is fine...as long as it has a collar!

[BallFour4]

Golf or polo shirt is fine...as long as it has a collar!

This is never enforced on casual nights. t-shirts are SOP for kids and many adults. On Cruise Elegant nights I agree with a collar being what's acceptable.

.

[mariefisher]

I think you will still find the majority of kids in shorts, tee shirts and sneaks every night, elegant or not. Yes, there will be those dressed in ties or a tux but that won't be the majority. Don't over stress on this and have a great time with your family.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

This is the first cruise for our boys, they're 7, and we found some great deals on JCPenney's website and Kohl's website today. 4 outfits, pants, long sleeve shirt, tie and vest and 4 sets of dress shoes for $119 with coupons and Kohl's cash that my wife had. If it would've been too expensive I just would've went with a nice polo shirt and slacks or shorts, but we couldn't pass up the deal on those outfits.

[mariefisher]

They should look great!

[Boston Mom]

Glad to hear that dinners are this casual. I got my two boys (ages 14 and 16) khaki shorts and polo shirts and Sperrys for the casual nights, and a pair of khakis and button downs for elegant night. I'm going to have them just wear the Sperrys with the pants, so I don't have to buy shoes that they will never wear again. They are casual sport-y dressers with the basketball shorts and T shirts during the day.

 

My daughter on the other hand is going to be all decked out the whole time.

[sprite]

 

My daughter on the other hand is going to be all decked out the whole time.

 

Sounds familiar [emoji6]

 

 

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[summersigh]

Glad to hear that dinners are this casual. I got my two boys (ages 14 and 16) khaki shorts and polo shirts and Sperrys for the casual nights, and a pair of khakis and button downs for elegant night. I'm going to have them just wear the Sperrys with the pants, so I don't have to buy shoes that they will never wear again. They are casual sport-y dressers with the basketball shorts and T shirts during the day.

 

My daughter on the other hand is going to be all decked out the whole time.

Sounds perfect to me on a Carnival cruise :D

[A&Jfamily]

You will get a lot of opinions, so I will offer mine. We have used cruising not only as a vacation for our kids, but to educate them and introduce them to different cultures, natural environments and foods just to name a few. Another lesson they have learned, just like church (and school - they are private and have dress code), there is a time and place for ratty jeans, gym shorts etc. and the MDR is not one of them.

 

From their very first cruise (8 and 2), they were in khakis and a polo on casual evenings and shirt and tie on elegant - with topsiders or dress shoes, not tennis shoes. They are now 19 and 13 and expected to be showered and ready at whatever pre-determined dinner time we have set. Since Carnival has relaxed its standards, we will allow my oldest to wear a pair of dark wash dressy jeans on casual evenings- the youngest hates jeans and happily wears his khakis.

 

I know there are a lot of advocates for "its your vacation, do what you want" but I do not feel that complies with the rules, nor teaches the appropriate lesson I wish to impart to my child: dress appropriate for the occasion with the knowledge that it is always better to have class and be slightly over dressed than under dressed. Impressions matter. Manners matter. Respect matters. And dressing appropriately is simply of way of showing your good manners and respect for the occasion and makes a good impression.

[jsglow]

You will get a lot of opinions, so I will offer mine. We have used cruising not only as a vacation for our kids, but to educate them and introduce them to different cultures, natural environments and foods just to name a few. Another lesson they have learned, just like church (and school - they are private and have dress code), there is a time and place for ratty jeans, gym shorts etc. and the MDR is not one of them.

 

From their very first cruise (8 and 2), they were in khakis and a polo on casual evenings and shirt and tie on elegant - with topsiders or dress shoes, not tennis shoes. They are now 19 and 13 and expected to be showered and ready at whatever pre-determined dinner time we have set. Since Carnival has relaxed its standards, we will allow my oldest to wear a pair of dark wash dressy jeans on casual evenings- the youngest hates jeans and happily wears his khakis.

 

I know there are a lot of advocates for "its your vacation, do what you want" but I do not feel that complies with the rules, nor teaches the appropriate lesson I wish to impart to my child: dress appropriate for the occasion with the knowledge that it is always better to have class and be slightly over dressed than under dressed. Impressions matter. Manners matter. Respect matters. And dressing appropriately is simply of way of showing your good manners and respect for the occasion and makes a good impression.

 

Agree totally.

 

Two quick stories. Got to know our maitre d on Freedom as he had set us up with a nice table for our anniversary cruise. Came by every night to talk and always personally thanked us for looking nice. It was a sincere gesture. I believe he sensed that we were properly appreciating that he had gone out of his way to do us a favor and that we were respecting that by our clothing and demeanor. Same thing has been true when we sailed with our kids who would get fawned over because they cleaned up nicely respecting the occasion.

 

Second, I can't tell you how many times we have been seated in prime seats at shows or preferred restaurant locations in Las Vegas (we have a home out there) because we dress like it's an important event worthy of our effort.