Smart Attire for Men--Nice Jeans and Collared Pullover Sweater?

[Victoria2]

53 minutes ago, NE John said:

I’m interested to see next summer if Alaska pax and Cunard hold the same dress code standards as during our June TA. Or more importantly, if Cunard enforces stated dress code for Alaska. Does anyone have first hand experience of this? All our Cunard voyage experiences have been pre-Covid (even 2022 seemed dicey with Covid tests and masking). The dress code was easier for Cunard to explain and for us to follow pre-Covid. 
DW and I don’t want to lug around Gala night and (I still call it) semi-formal dress on a 10 night voyage to be surrounded on a ship of mixed dress compliance. 
However, as @Victoria2stated, I’ve seen 99% compliance this summer. 

Does it matter?

Maybe cut down on jackets if lugging is an issue but still take formal wear and to be frank, all my non formal wear- no dresses, just [very] smart trousers and tops/floaty overshirts, these days would be worn as formal by many as I have mixed and matched to Gala dinners too. We wear what we want and not what fits in with others and are utterly compliant with the advisories.

 

D&N has expressed it well in  #25 and whilst his idea of day wear is miles apart from ours, he is dressing to please himself and staying more than compliant and blow [in the nicest of ways 🙂] what others wear.

That saying, you may be happily surprised and the ship of an evening no different from any other destination.

 

 

 

 

[david63]

1 hour ago, NE John said:

if Alaska pax and Cunard hold the same dress code standards as during our June TA

What difference does itinerary make?

[NE John]

44 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Does it matter?

Maybe cut down on jackets if lugging is an issue but still take formal wear and to be frank, all my non formal wear- no dresses, just [very] smart trousers and tops/floaty overshirts, these days would be worn as formal by many as I have mixed and matched to Gala dinners too. We wear what we want and not what fits in with others and are utterly compliant with the advisories.

 

D&N has expressed it well in  #25 and whilst his idea of day wear is miles apart from ours, he is dressing to please himself and staying more than compliant and blow [in the nicest of ways 🙂] what others wear.

That saying, you may be happily surprised and the ship of an evening no different from any other destination.

 

 

 

 

I will pack like I always do to happily comply. I was wondering if Alaska is any different from any prior experience. 
I certainly look forward to being happy onboard. 

[NE John]

7 minutes ago, david63 said:

What difference does itinerary make?

I read somewhere that some pax treat Alaska differently, dress code wise. 
That could be fake news however…

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, NE John said:

I read somewhere that some pax treat Alaska differently, dress code wise. 
That could be fake news however…

Many years ago, one of our non Cunard Alaska cruises featured in The Times Travel section. The journalist termed it 'The Parkas and Pearls' Cruise.

Ultra casual during the day to fit in with 'exploring the frontier' etc, and the pearls came out at night time.

It will certainly be different from a TA but that's no reason to change one's evening attire.

[corporate services]

My husband will be wearing formal wear on appropriate nights, but on some 'smart attire' nights he might wear black trousers with a black sweater and a velvet jacket.  Personally I think it will look great.

[NE John]

6 minutes ago, corporate services said:

My husband will be wearing formal wear on appropriate nights, but on some 'smart attire' nights he might wear black trousers with a black sweater and a velvet jacket.  Personally I think it will look great.

Not that I’m the expert, but that sounds like a great combo. I don’t think he’ll feel underdressed. 

The whole debate about jeans being appropriate after 6pm during “Smart Attire” nights is that neat jeans are acceptable only in the buffet/pub/G32/Yacht Club etc but not in Britannia/Grills/QR/Theatre during SA night. 
Bottom line, to me, is to dress to reflect the classic look and decor of the ship and to show courtesy to fellow pax who travel on Cunard specifically to spiff-up in the evenings. 

[TowandaUK]

Had to smile when I saw the pictures of the Prince of Wales family photo on their Christmas card. I spied ……….jeans!  Hope they aren’t planning to eat in dining rooms on Cunard!  🤣😉

[Victoria2]

On 12/7/2023 at 4:48 PM, NE John said:

Not that I’m the expert, but that sounds like a great combo. I don’t think he’ll feel underdressed. 

The whole debate about jeans being appropriate after 6pm during “Smart Attire” nights is that neat jeans are acceptable only in the buffet/pub/G32/Yacht Club etc but not in Britannia/Grills/QR/Theatre during SA night. 
Bottom line, to me, is to dress to reflect the classic look and decor of the ship and to show courtesy to fellow pax who travel on Cunard specifically to spiff-up in the evenings. 

I agree but let's put this to rest.

Jeans are usually denim, be they 1000%cotton or man made fibre/cotton mix and are of a definite style and mostly of a blue colour. Said jeans after six pm are not welcome in many areas of the ship.

 

However, not all denim trousers are jeans and definitely not all are of a blue hue so it's the style of the garment, the colour and how the garment is worn which dictates its place in Cunard dress code categories.

 

Edit

Unfortunately, not all are up to deciding what is/isn't appropriate wear hence a blanket ban on jeans...unless the dress code stand outside the restaurant specifically says non ripped jeans can be worn.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Victoria2

[david63]

1 hour ago, TowandaUK said:

Had to smile when I saw the pictures of the Prince of Wales family photo on their Christmas card. I spied ……….jeans!  Hope they aren’t planning to eat in dining rooms on Cunard!  🤣😉

But they do have collard shirts!😄

[NE John]

5 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

Had to smile when I saw the pictures of the Prince of Wales family photo on their Christmas card. I spied ……….jeans!  Hope they aren’t planning to eat in dining rooms on Cunard!  🤣😉

Optional shoelaces on the children too!

[rj1227]

For whatever it is worth, I just completed a TA crossing. On the "smart attire" nights, I wore several times a light mock turtleneck with sports coat and dress pants. One, my dress looked just as nice as that of anyone wearing a collared shirt. Two, my dress was never questioned. Three, others wore a turtleneck. Four, because you can wear a mock turtleneck repeatedly, you save money and packing space by bringing it rather than a number of collared shirts. An option for men to consider on Cunard in cool-weather months.

[NE John]

24 minutes ago, rj1227 said:

For whatever it is worth, I just completed a TA crossing. On the "smart attire" nights, I wore several times a light mock turtleneck with sports coat and dress pants. One, my dress looked just as nice as that of anyone wearing a collared shirt. Two, my dress was never questioned. Three, others wore a turtleneck. Four, because you can wear a mock turtleneck repeatedly, you save money and packing space by bringing it rather than a number of collared shirts. An option for men to consider on Cunard in cool-weather months.

Nice… I think that’s a great combo for SA nights. And you probably felt comfortable within the QM2 surroundings. I believe a goal of the dress code is to fit in with the surroundings, feel comfortable within a dressier environment, and show respect to the vast majority of other pax who abide by the code. It’s not that difficult. 

[D&N]

@rj1227

"my dress looked just as nice as that of anyone wearing a collared shirt". That's your opinion. It's possible others wouldn't agree.

"my dress was never questioned" and "others wore a turtleneck". That doesn't mean it complied with the stated dress code.

You can wear other garments repeatedly if you don't sweat much, wear under garments and don't spill food down them. If you need them cleaned there is a cleaning service and free self service laundries.

 

What is the difference between cool-weather months and others? The ship has climate control, it won't be any different than other times of year.

 

We probably wouldn't have noticed you either.

[david63]

1 hour ago, rj1227 said:

because you can wear a mock turtleneck repeatedly,

Are you saying that you wear the same shirt/turtle-neck/whatever more than once? - I always believed that you would only wear the same outfit once on a cruise!

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, david63 said:

Are you saying that you wear the same shirt/turtle-neck/whatever more than once? - I always believed that you would only wear the same outfit once on a cruise!

Why? Hygiene or variety for its own sake?

[rj1227]

A few comments in response:

 

1. If it brings the above poster any sense of relief, I wore the mock turtleneck with sports coat in the evening to attend the entertainment events in the theater, not to dine in the Britannia restaurant.  

 

2. I think wearing a mock turtleneck in the summer months inappropriate in any setting regarding of the air conditioning. It is winter clothing.

 

3. Yes, I was expressing my opinion. That seems to be the purpose of this forum.

  

4. I do not wear dirty or soiled clothing. 

 

5. If someone with Cunard had asked me to change my clothing, I would have done so without complaint. And if others would not have noticed anything amiss about my dress, then I certainly did not diminish the evening for anyone who thought my dress did not literally comply with any Cunard requirement that men wear a collared shirt. 

 

6. As evidenced by the measured tenor of this response, I try to be considerate of others.

 

 

[RJChatsworth]

As some aficionados might argue that white jackets on formal evenings are inappropriate at certain times of the year in the northern hemisphere!

[D&N]

I'm unlikely to note what most folk are wearing. The main exceptions being ladies wearing really stunning outfits and men looking really scruffy.  My wife's only lasting memory of what others wore in 14 nights on QM2 was a woman on a nearby table in the second week. She wore loose fitting jeans and a jumper most nights. I noticed her too. I noted that she seemed to be drawing disapproving looks at those that were dressed up. My wife felt that too. Neither of us are experts in body language so we could easily have been mistaken. I think she wore a skirt of some sort on gala nights. My wife thinks she didn't appear on the second gala night and assumed the Maitre D had a word on the first. Anyway, enough of that; it just illustrates that we don't pay that much attention to anyone other than ourselves.

 

What I do find slightly concerning though is a general disregard of dress codes.

If we're invited to a black tie event or pay to go to a black tie event, we expect to dress to that standard and would hope that everyone else would do likewise. And if Cunard say that in certain venues you should wear trousers and a collared shirt, then it would be nice if everyone would regard that as a minimum standard. If they then wish to add a tie and/or a jacket, or dress in a Tux/DJ even though it's not a gala night, then so be it.

 

But there always seem to be folk that want to challenge the dress code because they like wearing particular outfits and don't want to conform.

 

We're not really that bothered. As long as we are permitted to overdress as much as we like and get to dance from Southampton to New York and back, we don't really care.

If we encounter someone dressed in a way that looks out of place we may have a 30 second chuckle between ourselves about it over dinner or drinks and then go on to more important things.

A "light mock turtleneck" is unlikely to attract our attention. Thanks for the education. I wasn't aware of such a garment before. I haven't possessed a jumper of any sort for at least 30 years.

 

 

[D&N]

@rj1227

Just read your post in QM2 crossing review.

That adds a bit more context and It's a shame that the overall package was not your "cup of tea".

 

 

I was brought up about seven miles from where QE2 was built and have been aware most of my life what to expect from a Cunard crossing. On our first (once in a lifetime) B2B crossing in 2022 we dressed for six gala nights of fourteen as that was what was advertised when we booked. It was subsequently downgraded to four. But we felt like it wouldn't be a problem to dress like that every night and that's what we'll do in 2025 and each year until something stops us. We eat three light meals a day in the MDR and dance as much as we can in evenings and exercise (mainly gym) during the day.

QM2 and it's package is just ideal for us, but we can appreciate that won't be the case for everyone.

[Victoria2]

10 hours ago, D&N said:

...A "light mock turtleneck" is unlikely to attract our attention. Thanks for the education. I wasn't aware of such a garment before. I haven't possessed a jumper of any sort for at least 30 years.

Oops, needs an edit.

We have dined in some pretty smart US restaurants over the years. The sort which have the equivalent of Cunard 'smart' dress code and adhere to it. A  mock turtle, as opposed to a pukka turtle, and jacket has been a familiar style of dress on those occasions,  the combo of which can look 'smart' when, she says delicately,  worn by those with the figure to carry it off.

I know the blurb states collard shirt, but a mock turtle and jacket to my mind looks way better than an open necked shirt and no jacket.

 

Sartorial minefield, as ever.🙂

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Victoria2

[exlondoner]

This is a genuine question. What is a mock turtle. I thought it was a type of soup! I think I may be living in the wrong century, or possibly the wrong universe.

[Winifred 22]

31 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

This is a genuine question. What is a mock turtle. I thought it was a type of soup! I think I may be living in the wrong century, or possibly the wrong universe.

I am glad you asked because I was wondering the same thing. I too was thinking soup. 

[john watson]

3 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I am glad you asked because I was wondering the same thing. I too was thinking soup. 

 

I think it is synonymous with roll neck sweater.  The term "mock" seems a bit superflous as it would never be the genuine creature about one's neck.

 

Regards John

[Winifred 22]

Ended up googling it. It is a neckline higher than a crew and not as high as polo neck and doesn’t seem to be rolled over like a polo. I think the mock part of the description is irrelevant and misleading. Funnily enough when I typed it in to google mock turtle soup was the first suggestion. 😀