How strict is the dress code onboard?

[tinaincc]

1 minute ago, RonWL said:

Overall, we found Silversea to be fantastic.  Food was top notch.  Service was great.  Could say much more about how much we enjoyed the cruise.  Compared to the superlatives for just about every other aspect of the cruise, the dress code was, well, silly.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being fantastic) the dress code is a 4, while the food was a 10.

This is the best and most succinct description, thanks.

[tinaincc]

7 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

If true, then why do people who want to be casual all of the time continue to book SS?  And, then when they discover they don’t like the policies, why don’t they cancel their booking knowing full well they aren’t going to enjoy themselves?

 

I get RonWL’s point, because he wanted to try SS, which was more important to him regardless of any dress code on any given night or restaurant, even though he wasn’t crazy about said code.

I haven’t seen those commenting ever say they want to be causal all the time. There is a difference between a jacket and a tie requirement and casual all the time. Some of us “put up with” archaic dress codes to sail certain itineraries and certain ships. It’s OK to voice opinions here and more importantly with the cruise lines, in hopes they will move to more inclusive policies. 
 

Why do you think SSea changed the dc on Nova???

Edited October 26, 2023 by tinaincc
Spelling

[Stumblefoot]

13 minutes ago, RonWL said:

Overall, we found Silversea to be fantastic.  Food was top notch.  Service was great.  Could say much more about how much we enjoyed the cruise.  Compared to the superlatives for just about every other aspect of the cruise, the dress code was, well, silly.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being fantastic) the dress code is a 4, while the food was a 10.

Totally understand what you’re saying.  But, what you find silly another finds sensible.  This is what makes a market, I guess.  I’ll just never understand why some feel they need to continue complaining about a subject that has been discussed ad naseum, let alone ruin someone else’s joy.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Stumblefoot

[Stumblefoot]

7 minutes ago, tinaincc said:

It’s OK to voice opinions here and more importantly with the cruise lines, in hopes they will move to more inclusive policies.

Yes, of course.  No one has ever said otherwise.  Check the record of others who have expressed the same opinion as you.  Everyone is entitled.  Which is why folks will continue to question certain POVs.  
 

I for one have never found SS to be discriminatory, but rather very inclusive, providing great variability to all who wish to dress however they like.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Stumblefoot

[RonWL]

We got to the dining room a bit early one "informal" night (jackets required for men) and sat outside waiting for the restaurant to open.  The gentleman sitting next to us said that he had come to the restaurant the previous informal night without a jacket, and they actually had a jacket there for him.  (Way too big he said.)  Boy, I haven't seen that for at least 30 years!  

[tinaincc]

1 minute ago, RonWL said:

We got to the dining room a bit early one "informal" night (jackets required for men) and sat outside waiting for the restaurant to open.  The gentleman sitting next to us said that he had come to the restaurant the previous informal night without a jacket, and they actually had a jacket there for him.  (Way too big he said.)  Boy, I haven't seen that for at least 30 years!  

Ha! I bet they made him wear it to the table and the “allowed” him to take it off and put it on the back of the chair. Silly.

[Tothesunset]

Before SS sold itself to the devil it had a loyal band of repeat cruisers who clearly enjoyed the product. Since the passenger capacity has doubled in the blink of an eye the line needs to appeal to a wider audience. Part of that, along with the brashness of the new ships, seems to be a gentle diminution of dress requirements. 

 

Clearly, there are plenty of cruisers who don't want to dress according to the cruise line's code, clearly, too, the line will have to accede to that desire or lose customers. 

 

Those of us who know the line from its previous ownership were attracted by the understated elegance of the ships, the personal attention and the common good manners (mostly) of fellow guests - including the observation of dress codes. It was a particular vibe and suited the line at the time. Seems that those days are passing. 

 

Everything, in time, regresses to the mean. 

[canderson]

4 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Everything, in time, regresses to the mean. 

I think I used "least common denominator" a few dozen pages back.  We booked our first cruise with SS (for next month).  If they slide to the mean, and the current differentiation is lost, other lines become equal or better options.  Banking on garnering market share by regressing to "the mean" cuts both ways, especially for those with no previously loyalties.

 

Could be that rather than a harbinger of the future of the entire line, a different tenor is being set on the new builds to capture a different part of the market on those ships.

[Tothesunset]

2 minutes ago, canderson said:

 

 

Could be that rather than a harbinger of the future of the entire line, a different tenor is being set on the new builds to capture a different part of the market on those ships.

That would be my hope. I wouldn't bet my house on it, though. 

[Lemorvan]

6 hours ago, david63 said:

In your opinion, mine is the opposite as I am more comfortable wearing a jacket.

Wear one, but don’t expect others to do so if they don’t want to.

[ggo85]

Last night was formal on Muse.  Based on the venues I visited (Atlantide, evening show, public areas), this is what I observed:

 

Men:  Roughly 25% wore true formal (5% tux and rest dinner jackets). More than 60% wore dark pants, dark jacket and tie.  Rest wore suits. 
 

Women:  5% wore long.  70% true cocktail dresses or slacks and top.  The rest wore informal dress, dressed up with jewelry and/or heels.  

[drron29]

Though on the previous segment La Dame and Atlantide were the only places enforcing the dress code.

[ggo85]

I don’t know about enforcement - only what I observed people wearing.  We took on a lot of new passengers (ourselves included) in Hong Kong. Maybe it’s a dressier group.  It was also the first (of 3) formal nights.  In my experience, formal dress tends to diminish somewhat as the cruise goes along.  

[drron29]

Two nights before reaching Hong Kong was the last formal night of the previous segment. Virtually all men had jackets as they knew in Atlantide they would need one. About 3 men didn't have a jacket and 2 did take the offered loaner jacket. However several arrived sans ties. They also have extra ties to lend. Unlike a jacket really obvious if you take it off and hang over the chair.

[drron29]

So in the first 4 days of this segment the number of people wearing shorts after 6pm in the Panorama and Dolce vita already exceeds the numbers over the 16 days of the previous segment.

Last night a fellow in t shirt,shorts and flip flops/thongs and his partner in a bra top, shorts and flip flops were turned away from Kaiseki at dinner. It was an informal night. At lunch today a couple in their swimmers with a t shirt were allowed to dine.

I am in favour of the optional formal for all ships but I fear that won't please many of the anti dress code folks.

 

And today in my 440th day on SS I saw a first on deck 11. Not one but 2 women without the top to their bikinis.

[drkitkat123]

On 10/27/2023 at 5:31 AM, tinaincc said:

Ha! I bet they made him wear it to the table and the “allowed” him to take it off and put it on the back of the chair. Silly.

does this really happen? What is the point of wearing a jacket to walk maybe 25 yards?

[lincslady]

21 minutes ago, drkitkat123 said:

does this really happen? What is the point of wearing a jacket to walk maybe 25 yards?

Just to pacify those who tut-tut at the jacketless.  (Maybe just passengers, maybe staff who get in trouble with higher ups if they allow them in without).  .  Yes, pretty silly.

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, drron29 said:

Not one but 2 women without the top to their bikinis.

Odd, I couldn’t find any pics in the Ruminations thread. 😉

[canderson]

4 hours ago, drron29 said:

So in the first 4 days of this segment the number of people wearing shorts after 6pm in the Panorama and Dolce vita already exceeds the numbers over the 16 days of the previous segment.

Last night a fellow in t shirt,shorts and flip flops/thongs and his partner in a bra top, shorts and flip flops were turned away from Kaiseki at dinner. It was an informal night. At lunch today a couple in their swimmers with a t shirt were allowed to dine.

I am in favour of the optional formal for all ships but I fear that won't please many of the anti dress code folks.

 

And today in my 440th day on SS I saw a first on deck 11. Not one but 2 women without the top to their bikinis.

Are you able to discern the difference in the demographic from the last leg vs the current one?

[drron29]

Yes definitely a younger demographic than the previous leg.

And Stumbles a gentleman averts his eyes on second and subsequent laps. Though neither were there on my 11th lap.😉

[drron29]

5 hours ago, tinaincc said:

Seriously? Other people joking about women with their tops off and a others joking about a politician in the NE dressing casual yet my comment with a laughing emoji is not civil?
 

We should all be so privileged that our biggest problems are dress codes on cruises. This is a wonderful tool to have fun, debate and learn. Ill

continue to do just that in the future. Thanks for your concern. 

I reported an occurrence on the Muse. It wasn't a joke.

[lincslady]

Maybe one of these two current threads could be shut down, as both are getting a bit over the top.  (Sorry, no pun intended).

[MBP&O2/O]

Strict Dress Code.  Mmmm....

 

Just been on a 14d Seabourn Cruise. The MDR request was 'elegant casual'. 

One lad arrived in slacks and a round neck tee shirt with the obligatory faded motif.

Shortly after being seated he complained he was cold so they gave him a blanket to wrap around his shoulders.

I suppose the way the blanket was draped was Elegant and the rest was  Casual. 

Adherence? 😵‍💫😄🙄😁

[Hlitner]

As one who recently booked their first SS cruise, I find this thread enlightening and somewhat amusing.  DW and I are somewhat unique in having cruised on 17 different cruise lines (18 and 19 booked) ranging from budget lines (long gone) to luxury lines like SS.  Over the decades we have watched/experienced the change in dress codes, and attitudes, on every line.  The reality (hard to accept for some) is that the globe has gradually been moving away from formal/informal to "business casual" or even casual.  Consider that the new Explora Journeys cruise line, although being a high-end wonderful product, has simply adopted a "Business Casual" dress code (for all nights and in all venues).  On our recent cruise with that line, fewer than half the men wore jackets and women were dressed in everything from casual to near-formal.  

 

Our recent Seabourn cruise (a 32 day voyage) really showcased the changes in society.  SB used to be a line that had a mix of business casual with a few "formal" nights.  In the past, I would wear my tux on the formal nights along with as many as half the men (most others were in suits, blazers, etc).  But on this most recent voyage, I would estimate that no more than 20% of the men wore tuxes/suits with sport coats/blazers being much more common on the "formal" nights.  Seabourn recently revamped its dress code and now allows decent jeans in their Restaurant!    We could also look at Oceania (most would call it a Premium Line) which has a business casual standard (no formal nights or jackets required) and has developed a following from folks who prefer the line because of its relaxed dress code.

 

So we are left with SS, and to a much lesser extent the QM2 (especially in the grills) to be about the last to try and maintain formal nights.  Princess still has formal nights, but that is really in name only!

 

Those of us who enjoy dressing are truly running out of venues that maintain much of a standard.  On my recent 18 day Explora 1 cruise I brought along a Blazer and only wore it to one dinner (in their very upscale and expensive Anthology restaurant where a 2 Star Michelin Chef prepared our dinner).  On our next three cruises (Princess, Oceania and Seabourn) I am not sure I will even bother to pack a jacket!  As to SS, we will wait until near our cruise to read (here) about the current standards.  No problem bringing along true formal-wear, but we would not bother if we were among a very small miniority.

 

Hank

[A Tucson Guy]

Getting on the Nova again in 17 days and I love the "new" dress code!!