Formal nights

[West Windsor girl]

How dressy are formal nights in the Caribbean?

[TER777]

How long is the cruise? Is it the holiday cruise?

[latsyrc]

black slacks and a top with a little sparkle and you'll be fine.

[AtA]

As Terr implies if it's for the holiday cruises, people do tend to glitz it up a bit but normally a nice skirt, summer dress or pair of pants and a nice top suffice in the Caribbean.

[Amber14]

It seems odd to me that women can wear pants, nice tops & summer dresses while men must wear suits or tuxes with ties. I just associate suits & tuxes with women's formal gowns or cocktail dresses.

[History&Wine]

3 minutes ago, Amber14 said:

It seems odd to me that women can wear pants, nice tops & summer dresses while men must wear suits or tuxes with ties. I just associate suits & tuxes with women's formal gowns or cocktail dresses.

+1

[tnm6217]

@West Windsor girl, I'm bringing a full length formal on my Caribbean sailing in two weeks, but that decision is entirely based on my own desire to get all dressed up! I say dress the way that will make you feel however you're hoping to feel, whether that's chic and casual or dressed to the nines! I imagine there will be many different variations onboard but that everyone will look lovely.

[Texas Tillie]

19 minutes ago, Amber14 said:

It seems odd to me that women can wear pants, nice tops & summer dresses while men must wear suits or tuxes with ties. I just associate suits & tuxes with women's formal gowns or cocktail dresses.

 

Men are no longer required to wear ties, just a jacket with nice slacks. It is no longer "formal". I've cruised Crystal since 2007 and have never worn a formal gown or a cocktail dress. My last formal gown was the senior prom! 🤪😉😱

 

Patty

[Amber14]

2 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Men are no longer required to wear ties, just a jacket with nice slacks. It is no longer "formal". I've cruised Crystal since 2007 and have never worn a formal gown or a cocktail dress. My last formal gown was the senior prom! 🤪😉😱

 

Patty

Thanks for the correction! I just looked back at Crystal's FAQ's and it does say ties optional. It is a little misleading though as it does state that there is still a formal night (2 for me since we will be 13 nights) and does list gowns, cocktail dresses, suits and tuxes. I was assuming ties since I have never seen my husband wear his suit without a tie! I have several formal gowns and cocktail dresses from other cruises with other cruiselines so I will be wearing two of these on our cruise in Jan. (And my hubby will be wearing his suit with tie) I am not really concerned with what others are wearing. I am sure as someone else said that everyone will look nice. It sounds like Crystal is still trying to figure out what they want (formal or not) or maybe they just want to leave it up to the individual which is nice.

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, tnm6217 said:

@West Windsor girl, I'm bringing a full length formal on my Caribbean sailing in two weeks, but that decision is entirely based on my own desire to get all dressed up! I say dress the way that will make you feel however you're hoping to feel, whether that's chic and casual or dressed to the nines! I imagine there will be many different variations onboard but that everyone will look lovely.

Yes in the end, I would do what makes you happy.

 

We have varied it up over the years.

 

This year we wanted to be more formal so I brought my Tuxedo which I didn't do in 2020.  2021 didn't have formals based on the length of the cruises.

 

I also don't worry about what others wear.  I only pay attention to what my wife wears.  😀

 

Have a great time.

 

Keith

[Old Sea Dog]

Aboard Symphony tonight was formal and an approximate 60-40 split in favour of formal

Waterside looked very fitting of the occasion 

[May B]

15 hours ago, AtA said:

As Terr implies if it's for the holiday cruises, people do tend to glitz it up a bit but normally a nice skirt, summer dress or pair of pants and a nice top suffice in the Caribbean.

I don’t recall anything I’d call a summer dress on a formal night. That would be what I’d expect to see on the other nights.

 

I wear pants and a nice top on the other nights, and a silky skirt and dressy top on the formal nights.

 

I look forward to paying attention, Nov. 2-12!

[gojirra]

On 10/22/2023 at 5:15 AM, Amber14 said:

It seems odd to me that women can wear pants, nice tops & summer dresses while men must wear suits or tuxes with ties. I just associate suits & tuxes with women's formal gowns or cocktail dresses.

For men, tie is optional even for formal night, I just finished a cruise on Serenity last week and didn’t even bring a tie, no problem.

[ctjon]

I hope men aren't wearing sneakers with suits as seems to be a style you see on TV these days.

[Txcotn]

1 hour ago, ctjon said:

I hope men aren't wearing sneakers with suits as seems to be a style you see on TV these days.

Many people of a certain age have major foot issues and sneakers are all they can wear, so just don't look down.🤣

[ctjon]

1 hour ago, Txcotn said:

Many people of a certain age have major foot issues and sneakers are all they can wear, so just don't look down.🤣

That I understand but if you watch TV a lot of the dress up (suits stuff) now wear white sneakers which, to me, looks stupid but...

[Txcotn]

1 hour ago, ctjon said:

That I understand but if you watch TV a lot of the dress up (suits stuff) now wear white sneakers which, to me, looks stupid but...

What TV is that?! Must be the in thing if it’s on TV🤪

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, ctjon said:

That I understand but if you watch TV a lot of the dress up (suits stuff) now wear white sneakers which, to me, looks stupid but...

It’s definitely in-fashion right now, but in fairness, people aren't wearing sneakers with the kind of old-school dark business suits that most Crystal passengers (including myself) are wearing…. They’re typically more modern, more stylized suits that lend themselves to more fashionable footwear.

 

Vince

[Keith1010]

This is the second time the past few months when wearing sports shoes has come up.

 

I don't spend a lot of time looking to see how others dress. What I can say though is that whether or not wearing sports shoes in formal attire is a trend I didn't not this on the formal evenings on board our two Crystal cruises this year.

 

On occasion have I seen someone on a formal night on past cruises in sports shoes? Absolutely. Was it because they liked the look, wanted the attention they would get from that,  or had a foot issue? I have no idea. 

 

Keith

[kool kruiser]

Great to see the really important issues being debated again🤩. For me, I just want to get back on board...

[History&Wine]

Interesting comments on shoes.  In the past I have packed a pair of nice hard sole dress shoes for wear exclusively on formal nights of a world cruise.  With size 15 feet, I could save packing room by leaving these out.....

[Keith1010]

Then there is the totally relaxed look going without shoes.  And yes I saw this once but only in the Crystal Cove and it wasn't on a formal night.  🤣

[BWIVince]

Just now, Keith1010 said:

Then there is the totally relaxed look going without shoes.  And yes I saw this once but only in the Crystal Cove and it wasn't on a formal night.  🤣

 

With Windjammer out of the picture for so long, it opens the door for Crystal to grab the branding, Crystal Barefoot Cruises.  😄 

[Emdee]

19 hours ago, Txcotn said:

Many people of a certain age have major foot issues and sneakers are all they can wear, so just don't look down.🤣

So true. Last cruise my DH stubbed his toe and wore his walking sandals for the last night of the cruise. Not a formal night, though. 

Once on the Symphony going down to dinner for formal night  a gentleman complimented me on my very ornate gold embroidered Indian top. I returned the compliment as he was wearing dark socks in his black walking sandals. He had forgotten his dress shoes so the dining room manager…I think it was Slavko told him to wear black socks so his lack of dress shoes would be less visible. Crystal always finds a solution at a pinch. 

[Txcotn]

1 hour ago, History&Wine said:

Interesting comments on shoes.  In the past I have packed a pair of nice hard sole dress shoes for wear exclusively on formal nights of a world cruise.  With size 15 feet, I could save packing room by leaving these out.....

15? I can sympathize - DH wears a 12 and he limits himself to 1 pair of dress shoes, 2 pair loafer of type and 1 pair of sandals - I make him wear the sneakers on the plane! I can usually fit all mine either inside his or all around but it's still an entire layer of the suitcase!