Dress code?

[Chauncey Picklepants]

It’s been a minute since we’ve cruised the Caribbean but on Celebrity and Princess in the distant past, we packed trousers and “dressed up” for dinner in the dining room, did formal nights etc. Lots of stuff to lug. In fact, my wife made it her mission to dress us all in matching colors, shiny shoes -you get the picture. Now, I noticed with each sail, more people were dressing very relaxed, a nice collared shirt or polo with jeans or shorts was acceptable just as it is in pretty much any restaurant these days.

So Son is a grown man now, I’m an inch shorter and more than a few wider and Mom doesn’t pick out our outfits anymore 🙂 and we want to be comfortable. 

 

I haven’t worn a suit in years except to a funeral. Son and I both wear casual/jeans to work, so he doesn’t own a bunch of khakis or slacks, and he doesn’t want Mom buying them for a week of dinners in main dining room/specialty venues.  But Oh Boy, she would be more than happy to go shopping and have us all matching again LOL

We do plan on bringing one pair of khaki slacks each for the Chef’s table dinner but what’s the norm realistically these days in the dining rooms? My wife and daughter will still do it up right, they love it, but we would like to stay more comfortable and casual while still looking slick without embarrassing mom. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Chauncey Picklepants

[HicksRA]

No matter how you dress, if you look around, you’ll see people dressed much nicer than you and much worse than you. 
Don’t sweat it. Wear what you feel comfortable with/acceptable and enjoy. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by HicksRA

[sandc4e]

Business casual is what we choose.  We don’t wear shorts in the dining room.

[RoyalC]

You can be comfortable in dressier clothes. Maybe you should go shopping with them and try some things on. Others will appreciate you dressing up, esp. at specialty restaurants where they dress up and pay good money for a good experience. 

[CaroleC]

1 minute ago, HicksRA said:

No matter how you dress, if you look around, you’ll see people dressed much nicer than you and much worse than you.

We saw a rather large lady in a tie dye vest and track suit pants on formal night last week on Anthem. It was not a good look! 😳

[RoyalC]

1 minute ago, CaroleC said:

We saw a rather large lady in a tie dye vest and track suit pants on formal night last week on Anthem. It was not a good look! 😳

 

Poor dress is a distraction. Not so much on Carnival...

[nferr]

18 minutes ago, RoyalC said:

You can be comfortable in dressier clothes. Maybe you should go shopping with them and try some things on. Others will appreciate you dressing up, esp. at specialty restaurants where they dress up and pay good money for a good experience. 

 I pack light. No formal dress up clothes for me on a vacation. Sorry. But that doesn't mean shorts and tees on formal night. Just about anything else though, nice casual is fine.

[HicksRA]

23 minutes ago, RoyalC said:

You can be comfortable in dressier clothes. Maybe you should go shopping with them and try some things on. Others will appreciate you dressing up, esp. at specialty restaurants where they dress up and pay good money for a good experience. 

In my post, I said comfortable WITH, not comfortable IN. I could not feel comfortable walking into formal night or a nice restaurant dressed like a slob and I don’t believe most others would either.
I always dress nice, but not a suit and tie or tux. In my observations I’d say true formal attire on formal night (or dress your best) is about 15%.  

[George C]

7 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

In my post, I said comfortable WITH, not comfortable IN. I could not feel comfortable walking into formal night or a nice restaurant dressed like a slob and I don’t believe most others would either.
I always dress nice, but not a suit and tie or tux. In my observations I’d say true formal attire on formal night (or dress your best) is about 15%.  

I think true formal is less than 5 percent 

[matt1]

34 minutes ago, RoyalC said:

Others will appreciate you dressing up, esp. at specialty restaurants where they dress up and pay good money for a good experience. 

So, I’m on the fence now cancelling all of my specialty dining (Jamie's and Izumi) reservations because of comments like this. That, and threads where I’ve read that tipping EXTRA on top of the tip that’s already included in the price is almost expected, and that the pre-paid tips I’ve paid apparently aren’t going to be enough to cover everyone else. 🤔

 

Guess I’ll save all that money I would have spent on specialty restaurants and just buy me a better drink package. LOL 🤣

 

Did I cover everything: dress code, tips, and drinks, all in one post! 😉

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

53 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

No matter how you dress, if you look around, you’ll see people dressed much nicer than you and much worse than you. 
Don’t sweat it. Wear what you feel comfortable with/acceptable and enjoy. 

 

What @HicksRA said. If people want to comment on what I'm wearing I will hand them the bill for cruise and ask for a credit card. If you aren't paying my way, then back off.

[matt1]

2 minutes ago, Dat Cruisin Couple said:

 

What @HicksRA If people want to comment on what I'm wearing I will hand them the bill for cruise and ask for a credit card. If you aren't paying my way, then back off.

Thank you. 👍 

 

However, I’m self conscious enough as it is cruising solo, and not having the nicest cruise clothes. I wear a lot of jeans (no holes or frayed) and crazily designed button down shirts. And I’m having a hard enough time even just going on this cruise with all the distractions in my every day life, and having lost friends and family this year. It’s enough to make me break down and cry.

 

This cruise was supposed to be an outlet to get away for a week and really relax without worrying what everyone else is thinking about me and my attire.
 

Just went to my Cruise Planner and cancelled all of my specialty dining literally out of fear that I’d be out of place. It breaks my heart . 

[livingonthebeach]

2 minutes ago, matt1 said:

Thank you. 👍 

 

However, I’m self conscious enough as it is cruising solo, and not having the nicest cruise clothes. I wear a lot of jeans (no holes or frayed) and crazily designed button down shirts. And I’m having a hard enough time even just going on this cruise with all the distractions in my every day life, and having lost friends and family this year. It’s enough to make me break down and cry.

 

This cruise was supposed to be an outlet to get away for a week and really relax without worrying what everyone else is thinking about me and my attire.
 

Just went to my Cruise Planner and cancelled all of my specialty dining literally out of fear that I’d be out of place. It breaks my heart . 

 

No need to dress up to go to any specialty restaurants -- anything goes -- as long as it's not indecent you'll be fine.   

[not-enough-cruising]

32 minutes ago, matt1 said:

So, I’m on the fence now cancelling all of my specialty dining (Jamie's and Izumi) reservations because of comments like this. That, and threads where I’ve read that tipping EXTRA on top of the tip that’s already included in the price is almost expected, and that the pre-paid tips I’ve paid apparently aren’t going to be enough to cover everyone else. 🤔

 

Guess I’ll save all that money I would have spent on specialty restaurants and just buy me a better drink package. LOL 🤣

 

Did I cover everything: dress code, tips, and drinks, all in one post! 😉

I always wear the same thing to Specialty restaurants as I do to the MDR.  Pleated shorts and a polo or short sleeve button down (I will substitute jeans on occasion) stopped packing anything more than that years ago.

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, George C said:

I think true formal is less than 5 percent 

Depends on Cruise. Longer or Repo's on Smaller Ships runs 20+ percent. 5 Days or less I'd say 5% about right

[smokeybandit]

Wear what you want to the MDR. Short of bathing suit and tank top, no one will bat an eye if you wear shorts, even on formal night.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, RoyalC said:

You can be comfortable in dressier clothes. Maybe you should go shopping with them and try some things on. Others will appreciate you dressing up, esp. at specialty restaurants where they dress up and pay good money for a good experience. 

You can only speak for yourself. 

[Tatka]

We cruise with various lines. Royal was never overly formal line. Less formal that Celebrity or Princess for sure.

 

How surprised we were when in Oasis in September we experienced one of the best dressed crowd in years. On “dress your best” night almost 100% were dressed pretty formal, but even outside of them numerous men wore suits or sports coats. 
 

I suppose people missed opportunities to dress up.

[billslowsky]

2 hours ago, matt1 said:

This cruise was supposed to be an outlet to get away for a week and really relax without worrying what everyone else is thinking about me and my attire.
 

Just went to my Cruise Planner and cancelled all of my specialty dining literally out of fear that I’d be out of place. It breaks my heart . 

The heck with them.  If someone's dinner is going to be "ruined" because I didn't overdress for my vacation, I couldn't care less. 

 

I treasure my photo with the captain when I was wearing a hawaiian shirt (with poker playing dogs) and shorts on.

[neverbeenhere]

Okay, dress code done can we try tipping? 
 

 

(save chairhogs after ships are sailing at above 60%) 

[not-enough-cruising]

8 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Okay, dress code done can we try tipping? 
 

 

(save chairhogs after ships are sailing at above 60%) 

What is this “tipping” you speak of??

[cruiselvr04]

 Nice jeans and button down shirts are fine anywhere on the ship. I rarely wear jeans on a ship in the Caribbean because I find them hot.

 

You will see it all on the ships.  
 

Clothing doesn’t need to be expensive just appropriate to setting.

[SargassoPirate]

3 hours ago, HicksRA said:

No matter how you dress, if you look around, you’ll see people dressed much nicer than you and much worse than you. 
Don’t sweat it. Wear what you feel comfortable with/acceptable and enjoy. 

 

I often combine land travel with a cruise, so I tend to travel light with few "cruise only" clothes.  That being said, my black sport coat weighs 20 ounces and I fold it carefully and compress it inside a zip lock bag. I pack one or two pairs of nice slacks, also in a zip lock bag.  On board, in the evenings I don a pair of slacks, a red or black T-shirt with a matching pocket square, and my black sport coat.  I figure I'm right at the top of the bell curve for dress codes.

 

On my last cruise, I did a 1500 mile trip on the Harley to the port, with my minimalist cruise-only wear in one saddlebag. 

 

Don't tell me it's airline luggage fees that are preventing you from looking sharp.

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by SargassoPirate

[smokeybandit]

23 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Don't tell me it's airline luggage fees that are preventing you from looking sharp.

 

Nope. It's my personal preference to attend a dinner, not a prom, that's preventing me from looking sharp.

[luckyinpa]

my gf had a spectacular dress the 1st nite and i just let her lead me into the MDR. i seriously doubt anyone looked at me in shorts. i mean, who looks at guys anyway. all eyes on the lady.  i paid what you paid and id never let what you wear affect me and reverse should be true. the world in general would be a better place if people didnt care what others did so much.