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This HAL board led me astray - Chic night attire!

newtocruiseinblue

By newtocruiseinblue,
in Holland America Line

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newtocruiseinblue

newtocruiseinblue

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Just disembarked from 7 night on Nieuw Statendam Eastern Caribbean. For every person on this board that insisted and argued that they wear golf shirt to chic night (and many insisted they wear shorts), there were a large number of people wearing suit jackets, long sleeve shirts with ties and even tuxedos. I saw several women in beaded (even long) dresses. If you don't like to dress up for your vacation, this message is not for you, but for those of us that DO - go for it! Enjoy dressing up and have a glamorous, relaxing evening on board. I didn't bring a jacket, tie or even long sleeve button down for my husband and really felt bad that we did not. Next time I will know better from my own personal experience. Cheers! 

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Florida_gal_50

Florida_gal_50

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It’s the casual people that usually suggest that I find.  Even heard people say they’ve seen shorts in the mdr.  I’ve seen everything but.  There will definitely be people that are dressed up but I find it’s getting to be fewer and fewer.  I used to bring long dresses and fancy clothes.  I’ve scaled that down a lot.

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Banditswife Great Review Rare

Banditswife

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Hubby doesn't like to dress up, but I do.  So I tell him that is the rules.  Then he sees someone in casual clothes & gives me a dirty look.  Oh well.  For casual nights we wear nicer clothes, slacks for him, dress or slacks for me.  On dressy nights: me-cocktail dress or slacks & sparkly top, him-suit jacket, tie & collared shirt.

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Infi

Infi

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I think it's the people on either extreme (very dressy or very casual) that tend to speak up the most for their respective side. Keep in mind that this board is such a tiny segment of the cruising population at large, and isn't always representative of what the broader cruising public thinks. 

 

OP (and others who are curious), I hope on your next cruise you'll dress as fancy as you like, and don't ever get too caught up in what others or this board thinks. 

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Banditswife Great Review Rare

Banditswife

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This is my opinion: Personally my meal will taste the same whether the table next to us has on shorts or formal wear.  Dress how you wish & are comfortable, within reason.  On our last HAL cruise (2021), my son was told "no shorts."  But was still allowed in the MDR with shorts after telling them this is what he brought to wear.  I think the rules have been relaxed a bit to coincide with what the majority want.

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Florida_gal_50

Florida_gal_50

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8 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

This is my opinion: Personally my meal will taste the same whether the table next to us has on shorts or formal wear.  Dress how you wish & are comfortable, within reason.  On our last HAL cruise (2021), my son was told "no shorts."  But was still allowed in the MDR with shorts after telling them this is what he brought to wear.  I think the rules have been relaxed a bit to coincide with what the majority want.

It’s not about the meal tasting the same.  Do the majority want to wear shorts in the mdr?  I know I’ve never seen any kind of survey about that.  Hal used to ask for a collared shirt.  That’s too high of a standard.  I do not want to see pj’s in the mdr. It’s like me saying the majority want to dress up.  For sure I know that isn’t true.

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Banditswife Great Review Rare

Banditswife

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1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It’s not about the meal tasting the same.  Do the majority want to wear shorts in the mdr?  I know I’ve never seen any kind of survey about that.  Hal used to ask for a collared shirt.  That’s too high of a standard.  I do not want to see pj’s in the mdr.

That's why I said "within reason."  My son's shorts were nice dress shorts & collared shirt.  I do not want to see PJs or bathing suits either.  And there are some outfits that I consider distasteful, but try to keep my mouth shut.

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Sea42

Sea42

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25 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

This is why I always eat in the Lido on Dressy nights. I do not want to dress up and many people on HAL dress up for these nights. I can still wear slippers and PJs and the lido without anyone batting an eye. 🤣

As long as you're wearing a nice bathrobe!

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oaktreerb

oaktreerb

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4 hours ago, newtocruiseinblue said:

Just disembarked from 7 night on Nieuw Statendam Eastern Caribbean. For every person on this board that insisted and argued that they wear golf shirt to chic night (and many insisted they wear shorts), there were a large number of people wearing suit jackets, long sleeve shirts with ties and even tuxedos. I saw several women in beaded (even long) dresses. If you don't like to dress up for your vacation, this message is not for you, but for those of us that DO - go for it! Enjoy dressing up and have a glamorous, relaxing evening on board. I didn't bring a jacket, tie or even long sleeve button down for my husband and really felt bad that we did not. Next time I will know better from my own personal experience. Cheers! 

We just got off the Koningsdam.  Up until the day before boarding the Navigator App listed Smart Casual as every evening’s attire.  Because of that we just took Smart Casual for every evening and didn’t feel uncomfortable on “Dressy” night.   My DH felt like he should have taken a long sleeve shirt and tie (easy to pack) but his Tommy Bahama worked fine for our sail up the Pacific Coast to San Francisco.   No shorts in the dining room though, ever.

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Mary229 "Live from...." Rare

Mary229

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I think many of us did warn that we have seen guests asked to return dressed appropriately.  
 

The only time I have seen leniency is when a guest’s luggage was lost.  Shorts? Not on any of my cruises and certainly not on gala night.  I don’t recall seeing that many formally dressed people either but I think that is mainly a late dining experience.    

Edited by Mary229
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Charlene1985 "Live from...." Rare

Charlene1985

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I love dressing up.  I wear a boring, ugly uniform to work.  I wear a long evening dress on gala nights and I wear dresses with heals every other night.

 

He wears suits on gala nights, and dress pants with long sleeve shirts on other nights.  
 

I’m going on a 10 day cruise in January.  I will have 8 knee length/above the knee dresses and two full length gowns.  And probably 8 different pairs of shoes.  
 

But again, I wear the same two ugly uniforms every single work day of my life.  

Edited by Charlene1985
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trivia addict

trivia addict

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There are so many threads on this topic. The best advice I see, and what I give is wear what you are comfortable with.
My husband and I  always bring cocktail attire for dressy nights, and in the past even did tuxes and long gowns which we do not do now, but enjoy seeing those others that  do.

My comment recently on one of these topics was that I feel that seeing people dressing for the occasion brings  a certain civility to our world,  and I was totally flamed on the board, for this opinion.

Do I wear a dress when I go to the beach? No. Do I wear a nice outfit when I go to a nice restaurant? Yes. 
Just the way I was brought up many years ago, I guess.
 

 

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