Should my husband take his dinner suit on our Westerdam Cruise?

[katzoe]

We are cruising on Westerdam on 31 March for 28 days in Japan.

I think that there are six Gala Nights. I have gathered from reading these boards that the dress code is more casual than when we we last cruised on HAL in 2007.

Would you recommend that my husband pack his dinner suit or leave it at home?

Any advise would be welcome.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We are cruising on Westerdam on 31 March for 28 days in Japan.
I think that there are six Gala Nights. I have gathered from reading these boards that the dress code is more casual than when we we last cruised on HAL in 2007.
Would you recommend that my husband pack his dinner suit or leave it at home?
Any advise would be welcome.

Take it if he likes wearing it. If he doesn’t like wearing it - leave it at home.

He will be one of the most dressed up people onboard if he wears the dinner suit and will stand out.

If he wants to blend in, bring a sport jacket and have a tie handy. You can keep or lose the tie easily based on the situation.

The only requirement for gala night now is a collared shirt and no jeans.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jars]

We are on Westerdam 17th March for 28 nights, so we’ll be on with you. We’ve just finished packing and my husband has packed his suit. He doesn’t get to wear it often, so likes the chance to get a bit dressed up.

[OlsSalt]

Yes. No question. Looks great.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I agree -- take it.  He will enjoy dressing up especially if you go to the Pinnacle Grill for a special dinner.

[katzoe]

Thanks "the inside cabin", " jars"  & "OlsSalt" for your responses. Most of our cruises in the past 10 years have been on Cunard where dressing up is a big part of the onboard experience.  We are excited about our return to HAL and we selected this cruise because the itinerary has lots of port visits.

Jars we look forward to seeing you at our first Gala Night.

[terrydtx]

If you have room to pack a suit or sport coat take it, for a long cruise like yours, I wouldn't bother with either. No dining venue on HAL requires a suit or sport coat on any night. Kakis, or slacks and a collared shirt will meet the HAL suggested dress coat in any restaurant on any night. 

[Floridiana]

Q: Who wore a tuxedo, a kilt on our 82 day cruise in Asia on the MS Amsterdam?

A: The two Brits. Actually a few more gentlemen, but they were in the minority.

 

Jackets, ties, Indonesian shirts without jackets and ties, everything decent looking goes. No jeans, no shorts, no flip flops. I didn't think that a well worn hooded sweatshirt was an appropriate addition to the one lady's dress, but it was cool and she had not brought a more elegant wrap. 

[ger_77]

If he wishes to wear a suit on gala nights, go for it.  Many people still dress for those evenings; we just returned from a 20 day SE Asia cruise and saw everything from collared shirts (no tie) to tuxedos.  DH brought his tux and enjoyed wearing it - as did I in my sparklies!

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂 🙂

[AncientWanderer]

Another thing to think about in planning...

We've found that people dress more formally at the late fixed seating.  

[POA1]

Unless you're really constrained for luggage room, I'd opt for taking it. It's easier to have the option to dress down than to try to find a way to dress up. Especially in the middle of the ocean. You can always leave the jacket or tie in your cabin if he's feeling over-dressed.

[lastlook]

I think it would be worthwhile to pack his suit especially for that many Gala evenings.  My husband still wears at least a jacket and tie on Gala nights (Caribbean and Alaska) but on longer cruises we would pack his suit and a few ties - especially for cruises abroad.

[wales4ever]

Loads dressed up (more than I thougt would) on the Niew Amsterdam  a week or two ago. I wore mine.

[boards]

8 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 

Take it if he likes wearing it. If he doesn’t like wearing it - leave it at home.

He will be one of the most dressed up people onboard if he wears the dinner suit and will stand out.

If he wants to blend in, bring a sport jacket and have a tie handy. You can keep or lose the tie easily based on the situation.

The only requirement for gala night now is a collared shirt and no jeans.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sounds good to me.  Thank you.

[Lido deck main]

9 hours ago, katzoe said:

We are cruising on Westerdam on 31 March for 28 days in Japan.

I think that there are six Gala Nights. I have gathered from reading these boards that the dress code is more casual than when we we last cruised on HAL in 2007.

Would you recommend that my husband pack his dinner suit or leave it at home?

Any advise would be welcome.

We did that cruise in the fall, our experience has been that more men wear suits or sport coats, than “just pants and a collared shirt”, which is totally acceptable.  It is what your husband feels comfortable wearing, for Gala, my husband will not go in without at least a dress shirt and a tie, but that is his preference.  We usually take longer cruises, all this talk about “slobs” muscle shirts, etc. we have never encountered, maybe that is happening on a seven day Caribbean or something like that. Have a great cruise.

[RuthC]

If he enjoys wearing his dinner suit, and you have room in the luggage---take it. People tend to dress up more on longer cruises, and cruises to exotic locations; you are on both. He will look smashing!

[katzoe]

Thanks everyone for all your helpful responses. I think we will pack the dinner suit plus a couple of jackets as we have a generous luggage allowance and both of us enjoy the formal/gala nights onboard.

[RuthC]

Good choice. It's always nice to look around and see people who like to look nice.
Enjoy your cruise.

[Himself]

I think it would be apropos on Gala Nights, in public areas other than the Lido Deck.

However on the Koningsdam and on the Nieuw Statendam the Captain has his party and greeting in the Pool area on the Lido Deck.   On my recent Nieuw Statendam Cruise the Captain went up to the Panorama Deck to address the people at the party on the Lido Deck.