Oceania Cruise with 6-year-old boy

[ChathamCat]

Hello all,

 

Quick question. This will be our 10th Oceania cruise, but our first one with our son. When we were childless, I never paid attention (and it's been a number of years). So here's the question, what's the dress code for a six-year-old boy in the dining room, Toscana, Polo Grill, Red Ginger, and Jacques?. Country Club casual means a lot of things at that age. My favorite outfit on our son for dinner is a button up plaid or striped long-sleeve shirt with smart shorts. Cute sucks and little ankle boots or tennis shoes. Will this work or do I need to bring long pants, loafers, etc. We're heading out for about 28 days, so less is going to be more, though if I have to bring pants, it's not the end of the world. 

 

Thanks,

 

Jill

[LHT28]

I would throw in a couple of prs of long slacks

Grown up cannot wear shorts to dinner in the restaurants  so he should  dress like the grown ups 😉

JMO

 

[mauibabes]

When we have seen sons of higher up Staff, no shorts in GDR or Specialty restaurants. No shorts, tennis shoes or sandals either. On a South America trip we saw some grandparents with a 9 year old granddaughter in tow. The Entertainment crew adopted the little girl and took her everywhere around the ship. She saw more of the ship than we ever have. When it came to touring and other activities, it was as if she had about 300 grandmother’s looking out for her.
 

 Normally there is not a lot of things to do for kids unless it is in Alaska and they have the kids program in place. 

Ciao, 

Mauibabes

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, ChathamCat said:

Hello all,

 

Quick question. This will be our 10th Oceania cruise, but our first one with our son. When we were childless, I never paid attention (and it's been a number of years). So here's the question, what's the dress code for a six-year-old boy in the dining room, Toscana, Polo Grill, Red Ginger, and Jacques?. Country Club casual means a lot of things at that age. My favorite outfit on our son for dinner is a button up plaid or striped long-sleeve shirt with smart shorts. Cute sucks and little ankle boots or tennis shoes. Will this work or do I need to bring long pants, loafers, etc. We're heading out for about 28 days, so less is going to be more, though if I have to bring pants, it's not the end of the world. 

 

Thanks,

 

Jill

Buy him some dockers khaki slacks and boat shoes like Sperry or Sebago. Add the button down shirts and your good to go. 
Don’t embarrass him with shorts.

[Lady Meer]

We sat next to an officer’s wife and small children a few times at dinner (early evening). The children were dressed in smart shorts and cotton shirts and looked fine. 

[Rosroz]

Hi, he is 6 after all and still a young child ,and it will be summer ,  by all means pack a couple of pairs of long trousers , but short trousers on a 6 year is perfectly fine. There is nothing worse than dressing a small child in adult style clothes , they can look ridiculous , I think it makes them look silly.

As long as he looks smart , that’s the main thing .

Enjoy your family cruise

[willoL]

It's worth noting that formal dress for YOUNG boys can include pressed, tailored shorts worn with tall socks, dress shoes, and the appropriate accessories. It's more of an early 20th century thing, sure, but still appropriate in many venues. Imagine the more traditional school uniforms in some former British colonies for a sense of the look.

 

When I took a preschooler on his first cruise, he wore a seersucker suit (jacket and shorts) with a dress shirt, bow tie, and suspenders. It was adorable, and I'd consider a child dressed that way to be much more formally dressed than an adult man in an open collared shirt and khakis.

 

That being said, age six crosses into the category of "school aged" rather than young child, at least IMHO. My early elementary aged child on that same voyage wore long pants, dress shirt, and a tie. (Cruise dress codes were more formal then, but I also generally expect my kids to exceed polite expectations, not just meet them.)

 

Chinos are easy to wear casually as well as to dinner. Brands like Kuhl or REI might have a not-too-technical looking pair of quick dry pants that can pass for something more traditional while packing in almost no space and working for active days as well as dinners. I wrote a blog post on this very topic a few years ago:

http://reallywonderfulthings.me/2020/02/27/a-tale-of-3-trousers-lightweight-kids-pants-for-carry-on-family-travel/

 

The most important note I have is that my well-behaved kids didn't collect nasty looks or ill comments on their first cruise on a line known for attracting seniors. (I was nervous before we sailed!) It's true they aren't particularly rambunctious kids by character, but they found plenty to enjoy on a trip geared toward adults, and were hesitant to cruise with any other line after their first wonderful HAL trip. No worries; they adjusted very easily to cruising with Crystal a few years on! 😄

[lj77346]

I was on the May 3 Regatta cruise and the dress code for Polo seemed to be other than men wearing long pants for dinner, there were no rules.  (Toscana was not open during the cruise.)  Very casual attire was prevalent throughout the cruise and no one seemed to mind.  I would not be stressed about the fashion police being concerned about what your 6 year old son wears.  Enjoy your cruise.

[LNielsen]

4 hours ago, lj77346 said:

I was on the May 3 Regatta cruise and the dress code for Polo seemed to be other than men wearing long pants for dinner, there were no rules.  (Toscana was not open during the cruise.)  Very casual attire was prevalent throughout the cruise and no one seemed to mind.  I would not be stressed about the fashion police being concerned about what your 6 year old son wears.  Enjoy your cruise.

Toscana was open the last two nights,  I believe. We ate there on the 11th and heard from others that they were dining in Toscana on the 12th.  

[Harters]

13 hours ago, willoL said:

Imagine the more traditional school uniforms in some former British colonies for a sense of the look.

At school in the UK during the late 1950s/early 60s, our "uniform" was shorts, shirt, tie, blazer. Those days are long gone with regard to the shorts and, nowadays, young children will attend school in long trousers.

[Rosroz]

As I said before there is nothing worse than a child especially a boy dressed in adult style clothes , a bow tie etc..  on a little boy is distasteful and clown like , I feel so sorry for the child if I ever see that , they are children , dress them so

[willoL]

35 minutes ago, Rosroz said:

As I said before there is nothing worse than a child especially a boy dressed in adult style clothes , a bow tie etc..  on a little boy is distasteful and clown like , I feel so sorry for the child if I ever see that , they are children , dress them so

Since it seems your intent was to insult me and my parenting, I'll add that my younger child is a flashy dresser by choice who begged for a velvet smoking jacket and his first tuxedo around age 8. 🤷‍♀️ He enjoys dressing up; he likes the positive attention he gets from adults when he wears a suit. The kid collects hats as well as silk bow ties. He's a little sad that he's almost a full grown young man now and his child-sized ties are nearly too small for his maturing face and body.

 

How is children's clothing not appropriate for a child when it fits well and they feel comfortable? You'll notice my specific suggestion to the OP was for more typical trousers her child might use daily after this one trip.

 

There's a reason my younger kid had fancier outfits compared with his more sartorially typical sibling from that first cruise until today. I respect their personalities while also respecting policies such as dress codes and asking that my kids only attend events where they are willing to meet expectations. My eldest prefers a navy knit blazer that looks as sharp as old-fashioned suiting while feeling as comfortable as a sweatshirt. Hurrah for modern fabrics and innovative design! I'm not putting toddlers in corsets as insane upper class Europeans did during the middle ages.

 

Teaching children that certain occasions require specific types of clothing strikes me as part of the most basic job of parenting. I'm sure the OP will find a wonderful option for her child that is easy to pack and travel with that suits her child's needs.

[pinotlover]

I’m at a loss. Was the original question whether children , to a certain age, are excused from meeting Oceania dress codes?

 

We already have multiple passengers that believe their senior status excuses them. We shouldn’t be carving out exceptions for children, imo. We should be enforcing the codes on those hoping to subvert those existing codes.

 

Really great article last week in one of the industry rags on slobs and slobisms . Per the article, many of the upscale establishments are now going back to dress codes and enforcing them. Seems those with codes are seeing increases in reservations and revenue. Seems a lot of people weren’t interested in spending $200-$250 per couple at a venue where the couple next to them are dressed in sweatpants and a Tshirt. Throw in a baseball hat and you had a slob environment. Total Revenue and Slobism seems to be inversely proportional. 
 

The clock is swinging back. Guess you have to be old to understand a pendulum! 😂

[NattilyAttired]

Put the boy in a shirt with a collar and buttons (i.e. not a t-shirt) and clean pants and shoes and socks and he should be fine. His behavior will be more important than his wardrobe, but at least make an effort to have him look nice. This is my opinion, not a statement of Oceania policy.

[Rosroz]

Just to put everyone in the picture , I am no way insulting any ones parenting , just that I think children dressed in certain adult style clothes can look clownish , I never pointed an actual finger , please read my post again, as to mentioning European attire in the Middle Ages , where did that come from ? Get the facts right here ,Middle Age dress was not like that .

I will no longer post on this subject as I shall be busy washing my hair !!

Edited May 24, 2022 by Rosroz

[shepherd really]

On 5/23/2022 at 9:14 PM, pinotlover said:

I’m at a loss. Was the original question whether children , to a certain age, are excused from meeting Oceania dress codes?

 

We already have multiple passengers that believe their senior status excuses them. We shouldn’t be carving out exceptions for children, imo. We should be enforcing the codes on those hoping to subvert those existing codes.

 

Really great article last week in one of the industry rags on slobs and slobisms . Per the article, many of the upscale establishments are now going back to dress codes and enforcing them. Seems those with codes are seeing increases in reservations and revenue. Seems a lot of people weren’t interested in spending $200-$250 per couple at a venue where the couple next to them are dressed in sweatpants and a Tshirt. Throw in a baseball hat and you had a slob environment. Total Revenue and Slobism seems to be inversely proportional. 
 

The clock is swinging back. Guess you have to be old to understand a pendulum! 😂

Hopefully next week there will be a really good article about snobs and snobbism, a much more common problem on high end cruise lines.

[Hawaiidan]

8 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Hopefully next week there will be a really good article about snobs and snobbism, a much more common problem on high end cruise lines.

I think perhaps it is the laze-fare   or is it fairly lazy tend to think of manners as snobbish when it restricts their  self indulgent attitude.     Others somehow, they feel must not grasp these free-sprits  importance....    

 Teaching as well as setting a good example is  never a bad thing to acquire early in life.......

[shepherd really]

5 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

I think perhaps it is the laze-fare   or is it fairly lazy tend to think of manners as snobbish when it restricts their  self indulgent attitude.     Others somehow, they feel must not grasp these free-sprits  importance....    

 Teaching as well as setting a good example is  never a bad thing to acquire early in life.......

Nah, I think of snobs as snobs and give them none of the attention they desperately seek.   

[Guppy99]

A polo shirt, shorts, and sneakers are perfect. Long pants also ok.  

On 5/23/2022 at 1:52 PM, Rosroz said:

As I said before there is nothing worse than a child especially a boy dressed in adult style clothes , a bow tie etc..  on a little boy is distasteful and clown like , I feel so sorry for the child if I ever see that , they are children , dress them so

Nothing like an adult that fails to teach their kids that how a person look can be as important as how they behave. and..that is not being snobby.  By "looks" I mean appropriate dress, that is clean, pressed, and fits well. On an upscale cruise I would also expect that to exclude: gym shorts, t-shirts,  sleeveless shirts, dirty sneakers, hoodies, denim shorts in the dining venues. However, I also would not expect a child to dress as though he's attending a semi-formal affair or that he be uncomfortable looking. He's  not a doll to be "dressed up". In short, he should dress in the same spirit of the adults. 

[Guppy99]

20 hours ago, shepherd really said:

Nah, I think of snobs as snobs and give them none of the attention they desperately seek.   

How is it you think anyone here is supporting snobby behavior? they are not. They are supporting the OP's concern about appropriate dress for their 6 year old in the dining venues.  

Only self indulgent, self-centered people feel free to do (and dress) anyway they like without regard to any dress rules or environment the venue is attempting to create or maintain.

[shepherd really]

15 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

How is it you think anyone here is supporting snobby behavior? they are not. They are supporting the OP's concern about appropriate dress for their 6 year old in the dining venues.  

Only self indulgent, self-centered people feel free to do (and dress) anyway they like without regard to any dress rules or environment the venue is attempting to create or maintain.

It would be hard to think of something more self indulgent and self centered than believing other people should conform to the way I think they should dress.  

[pinotlover]

2 hours ago, shepherd really said:

It would be hard to think of something more self indulgent and self centered than believing other people should conform to the way I think they should dress.  

Oceania established the dress codes. No one here did that. Those standards aren’t even very stringent. Why do some believe they should be exempt from them?

 

I believe most here do believe that if you don’t want to adhere to Oceania’s dress codes, you should find another cruise line whose codes suit you.

 

Those constantly trying to subvert the codes are the self indulgent.

[shepherd really]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Oceania established the dress codes. No one here did that. Those standards aren’t even very stringent. Why do some believe they should be exempt from them?

 

I believe most here do believe that if you don’t want to adhere to Oceania’s dress codes, you should find another cruise line whose codes suit you.

 

Those constantly trying to subvert the codes are the self indulgent.

The thing is I actually do dress within the dress codes.  That said, if someone else's clothing choices effect the enjoyment of your dining experience the problem is much nearer than the other person's table.  

[Guppy99]

7 hours ago, shepherd really said:

It would be hard to think of something more self indulgent and self centered than believing other people should conform to the way I think they should dress.  

no...the way the venue requests that you dress. It is self-indulgent and self centered for you to ignore the rules and do as you like without regard to the venue or other people.

[shepherd really]

10 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

no...the way the venue requests that you dress. It is self-indulgent and self centered for you to ignore the rules and do as you like without regard to the venue or other people.

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.

Henry David Thoreau