Dress Code for Men

[WantedOnVoyage]

It is curious that  "pomposity" is a quality oft ascribed to those wishing to dress "over" the minimum (and it is, too) dress code while it is no less pompous to insist, as some do, that "it's my holiday" and I can dress as I darn please.  It may be your holiday but you are sharing with it, in close confines, with others.... a ship is a community. Always has been. I am not sure, too, how one dressed for work has anything to do with the unique environment of a Cunarder... the only ships in the world that even aspire something to anything above "chinos" and "polos".  If the dress code is so onerous, why there are 99.7 percent of the rest of cruise ships to sail on. 

Edited April 22 by WantedOnVoyage

[TowandaUK]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Is it bad manners to mention you admire someone’s dress? Surely not. It is only disapproval one should be wary of expressing, I should have thought? On the other hand, perhaps it is not as simple as that, for, if someone expressed admiration to me, I should assume they were being sarcastic, which isn’t good either. So perhaps it is best not to say anything in any circumstance.😀

On our last cruise with another line we dressed up for formal night. Me in a long sparkly dress and my other half in tux and bow tie. We were in the minority, although enough people had made the effort so we did not feel out of place. While walking through one of the lounges a lady with a broad smile on her face stopped us. She remarked how lovely it was to see we had both made the effort and admired our clothes. I have no doubt she was 100% genuine, and it made our night. 

[buchanan101]

Just now, WantedOnVoyage said:

It is curious that  "pomposity" is a quality oft ascribed to those wishing to dress "over" the minimum (and it is, too) dress code while it is no less pompous to insist, as some do, that "it's my holiday" and I can dress as I darn please.  It may be your holiday but you are sharing with it, in close confines, with others.... a ship is a community. Always has been. I am not sure, too, how one dressed for work has anything to do with the unique environment of a Cunarder... the only ships in the world that even aspire something to anything above "chinos" and "polos".  If the dress code is so onernous, why there are 99.7 percent of the rest of cruise ships to sail on. 

No - it's the attitude to those who think others aren't dressed to the standard they want despite there being no problem on board with people dressed a little differently

 

I never said i could dress as I "darn pleased" - I will dress in line with what the requirements say and which is perfectly acceptable on board. If it's not up to your standards, then, sorry, but "tough"

 

As for the rest of your post, I think you've proven my point

 

 

[King Amo]

6 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

It is curious that  "pomposity" is a quality oft ascribed to those wishing to dress "over" the minimum (and it is, too) dress code while it is no less pompous to insist, as some do, that "it's my holiday" and I can dress as I darn please.  

I would say the latter is a different kind of ignorance and disrespect than the word pompous conjures up, and in many ways worse (not least given the abundance of alternatives as you describe). 

 

I hope that nothing in this thread (at least written by me, but also those who have been sharing similar views) comes across as the above. I have been clear throughout that making an effort to conform to the requirements is key, but a little tolerance and recognition that the outcome of that effort may not fit with individuals' interpretations of some less than specific rules, would make the cruise a better experience for all. 

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, buchanan101 said:

Hence my comment about more pomposity on occasion on here than seen on board.

 

@D&N Don't miss wearing suits or even a tie at work - that went out decades ago in the business I am in (engineering consulting). The only concession I tend to make is not to wear jeans when seeing a client! Even then, depends on the client...

My experience of onboard showing off pomposity had nothing to do with how anyone was dressed.

[King Amo]

9 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

My experience of onboard showing off pomposity had nothing to do with how anyone was dressed.

That could be a whole other thread!

[Victoria2]

10 minutes ago, King Amo said:

That could be a whole other thread!

Grief, no thanks. I might be very rude [can't abide the pompous] and Host Hattie might have to rap my knuckles! 😁

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Grief, no thanks. I might be very rude [can't abide the pompous] and Host Hattie might have to rap my knuckles! 😁

You would think there would be huge scope for it in the area of wine, but, oddly enough, I can’t recall encountering any.

[D&N]

I certainly hope I don't come across as being pompous. I just asked my wife. She says, "that in her opinion I'm not, but I like to do things the right way". 😀

 

When we booked crossings for 2020 there were galas on the middle nights without themes. By the time we travelled in 2022 those had gone and there were only two each week. By then we had planned our outfits, so we just stuck with the plan. I didn't feel overdressed in the ivory tux on those nights. Therefore, I don't think I'll feel out of place wearing a tux every night.

There was only one comment; we were having pro photos taken when a lady wearing faded light blue jeans and a red and white striped T-shirt approached me to ask if "she'd missed something" and "was it a gala night?" I wasn't sure if she was genuinely concerned that she might have missed such information, or she wanted to let us know that she didn't approve of us "over dressing" for the evening.  As an aside, I think the jeans/t-shirt outfit might have been associated with a sort of jive that her group were doing, possibly hip hop.

 

Nora has so many outfits that didn't fit for years, plus lots of stuff that's been bought since she shrank. She couldn't possibly get through it all going out once a week, and she rarely gets a chance to wear the longest gowns. Two weeks on QM2 is an opportunity to wear as much as possible. I don't get many formal events that I can wear tuxes to, so I might as well get some use from them and complement her outfits.

 

And for us cruises/crossings are not holidays. They are an experience. Holidays are staying at home in our seaside resort.

 

 

[NE John]

While no cruise line is going back to the days of what pax wore on the QE2 and beforehand (or even from my first QM2 Crossing in 2008) Cunard is the last line that promotes (in their wordy and muddled way) a more formal type of attire and many sail with Cunard mainly because of that heritage. Cunard, not the passengers, need to better communicate what they want out of the dress code and what is expected onboard. IMHO, passengers are only required to try their best, dress code wise, as those on this thread are indeed discussing. The sum of our onboard experience is a cumulation of each part we play. 
 

PS - to be fair, I also am wordy and muddled most of the time too…
 

Edited April 22 by NE John

[Windsurfboy]

Cunards dress code is clear. So I never understand these threads. And the dress code fanatics, who don't  want to understand what is in black and white. 

 

 By the way Saga has a more strict dress code, no polo shirts for smart casual.  Also far less places where you can go if you don't want to adopt formal code on formal nights. So I don't understand Cunards reputation as a formal line.

[david63]

6 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Cunards dress code is clear. So I never understand these threads. And the dress code fanatics, who don't  want to understand what is in black and white.

Cunard's dress code is clear but unfortunately due to variations in the common language it is interpreted differently, and quite often in a way that suits [sic] the individual.

[david63]

16 hours ago, D&N said:

I like to do things the right way

And therein lies the problem. What one person considers as the "right way" may not be the same as somebody else's interpretation.

[Victoria2]

48 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Cunards dress code is clear. So I never understand these threads. And the dress code fanatics, who don't  want to understand what is in black and white...

 

 

I prefer the term 'dress code traditionalists' rather than fanatics and no, I don't think Cunard are clear. They fudge that.

 

david63 has got it nailed in his last two posts.

 

I'm a relative newbie to Cunard and don't have the connections to the  Cunard past many have so maybe that's why I can see both sides of the coin but I look to where the future of Cunard lies, the stability and ongoing existence of the line  and in 2024 onwards, it's no good looking back. Like it or not, the future is still of a well dressed passenger cohort but with tweaks which bring on a more relaxed style and if the ships sail full, or very nearly, then that's is what is demanded from 'today's' passengers.

[buchanan101]

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

I prefer the term 'dress code traditionalists' rather than fanatics and no, I don't think Cunard are clear. They fudge that.

 

david63 has got it nailed in his last two posts.

 

I'm a relative newbie to Cunard and don't have the connections to the  Cunard past many have so maybe that's why I can see both sides of the coin but I look to where the future of Cunard lies, the stability and ongoing existence of the line  and in 2024 onwards, it's no good looking back. Like it or not, the future is still of a well dressed passenger cohort but with tweaks which bring on a more relaxed style and if the ships sail full, or very nearly, then that's is what is demanded from 'today's' passengers.

 

 

Precisely

 

And...does it matter provided people are reasonably smart and respect the "fudged" requirements however they interpret them; it's pointless trying to insist otherwise. (Do maitre d's police dress at all?).

 

People are getting more relaxed in dress in general and Cunard have to fill their ships; they are less likely to do that if they insist on stricter dress codes and that'll be the judgement they've made (especially now they have 4 ships to fill - and their capacity has gone up from ~6800 to ~9800). Whatever happens, Cunard will still be - and always will be - a bit different

[D&N]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

And therein lies the problem. What one person considers as the "right way" may not be the same as somebody else's interpretation.

Since you quote me; perhaps if you're talking about someone else....

 

In my case what she means is if I'm sorting stuff to put in the communal recycling I flatten cardboard boxes, crush plastic containers and cans, and make sure the correct things go in. Some of our neighbours put in huge empty boxes without breaking them up, which makes the bins fill much quicker. Or if I'm doing some sort of DIY job you can be sure it won't fall down the first or ten thousand and first time the cats jump on it. And I like to keep an eye on a friend who visits and when in the kitchen is liable to let the coffee machines overflow or try and wreck appliances by trying to use them by trial and error when he doesn't know how, rather than asking.

 

She's not talking about dress codes.

[Windsurfboy]

The Cunard dress code is absolutely  clear 

 

Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

The Cunard dress code is absolutely  clear 

 

Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers

Except the term dress shirt is unclear, meaning something different depending on where you are. 

[bluemarble]

5 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

The Cunard dress code is absolutely  clear 

 

Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers

 

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

Except the term dress shirt is unclear, meaning something different depending on where you are. 

 

And once on board, the dress code for Smart Attire reads "collared shirt and trousers". The term "dress shirt" does not appear in the Smart Attire dress code description found in the daily programmes once on board. That's were some the muddle with the dress code we've been discussing here comes from.

[buchanan101]

 

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

Except the term dress shirt is unclear, meaning something different depending on where you are. 

 

...and it says differently elsewhere.

 

I don't know how many times Windsurfboy wants to go round this, but it's not "absolutely clear", and no one comes up to you and tells you what you are wearing is wrong. Cunard are possibly being a bit vague somewhat deliberately. It has to put bums on seats

 

...and it's not the army, or school, but a holiday (or experience as someone said recently)

[buchanan101]

1 minute ago, bluemarble said:

 

 

And once on board, the dress code for Smart Attire reads "collared shirt and trousers". The term "dress shirt" does not appear in the Smart Attire dress code description found in the daily programmes once on board. That's were some the muddle with the dress code we've been discussing here comes from.

A dress shirt in UK English is also somewhat more formal; I always thought of it as something you wear with a DJ (and wikipedia seems to back me up, if you can believe that as a reputable source) so to me that requirement has always seemed nonsense, whereas the "collared shirt" didn't (i.e. mainly not a T shirt)

 

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

 

 

...and it says differently elsewhere.

 

I don't know how many times Windsurfboy wants to go round this, but it's not "absolutely clear", and no one comes up to you and tells you what you are wearing is wrong. Cunard are possibly being a bit vague somewhat deliberately. It has to put bums on seats

 

...and it's not the army, or school, but a holiday (or experience as someone said recently)

I would hate to use the word deliberately of anything perpetrated by Cunard shoreside. 😀 In fact I rather suspect some of their stuff is written by people unaware that UK and US English can differ.

[King Amo]

And don't get anyone started on whether trousers can be made of denim etc. 

[buchanan101]

4 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I would hate to use the word deliberately of anything perpetrated by Cunard shoreside. 😀 In fact I rather suspect some of their stuff is written by people unaware that UK and US English can differ.

Or different parts written by Americans and Brits...

 

(In other news the Shareperks system seems to work well...)

[buchanan101]

2 minutes ago, King Amo said:

And don't get anyone started on whether trousers can be made of denim etc. 

They can probably be made of anything you want...

 

But even I am not suggesting that this fits Cunard's dress code for evenings

 

How about cargo pants on a golf course?