Formal night ?

[St.Love]

Just how formal is formal ;) ? My husband and I are taking our 4 kids with us so we dont know just how low you can dress to be acceptable? My sister just got off a Disney cruise a few days ago and said that some people wore blue jeans with dress shirts :confused:

[IrishDolphin]

formal means formal - we had guys in tux/women in ballgowns (my own dh was in a suit/tie) - it was veryyy nice, you will treasure those photos (if you choose to partake) - we dressed up our 3 girls (ages 7,9,11) to the nines and so did everyone else, our maitre d' did turn away jeans/shorts that I saw

 

have a great cruise!!! :)

[missyal]

St.Love--You don't say how old or what gender your children are, but generally for boys a nice pair of khaki or navy pants with a "collar" shirt( as my kids call them!). We did that until we hit teen years and then they started wearing a sport coat w/khakis. That seemed to be the norm for older kids/teens. Girls can always wear a pretty skirt and top or a dress. Think of "Sunday church" clothes, that might help. I know dressing 4 kids can bankrupt you, you always have the option to pass on formal night and dine at the buffet.JMHO

 

Missyal

[crazycruzer68]

My daughter wore what some might consider an Easter dress, the boys traveling with us wore khakis and just a shirt and tie. My friend got their shirts and ties as a set at Wal-Mart. Most kids on our cruise did not dress to the nines, but I certainly didn't see any with jeans on in the dining room either. I would check at your local consignment store, no need to spend alot of money on something they probably aren't going to wear again.

[IrishDolphin]

absolutely, don't go out and spend a fortune, we have a store here called once upon a child (gently used) and got all the girls dresses there - we saw little boys in suits and khakis (younger than say 14) - but you will definitely get varied answers on this question :)

[lyndamarie6]

I am 43 and been on 30 cruises, the past 6 cruises have been on Carnival. There has been a dressed down atmosphere within the past 3 years. I used to dress in evening gowns, my husband never wore a tuxedo but wore a dark suit with die and shoes. Some of you will argue but I am going to tell you as it is from my experiences.

 

Firstly I am sick and tired of bringing formalwear to just wear to a dinner as after dinner 90% of people dress down into shorts and shirts. I cannot see lugging all that heavy excess formalwear to just wear 2-3 hours for dinner. As a result, we started dressing down ourselves where I would wear (first formal evening is always more formal) a cocktail dress and the second black pants and a fancy nice shirt. My husband wore a suit, dress shirt and tie. The past 3 cruises we decided to dress more down as so many others are doing the same. I have seen men in just collared polo shirts or short sleeve dress shirts and women in pants or skirt.....I now bring one pair of nice black pants and bring 2 seperate nice blouses and my husband will wear dark pants with a long sleeve dress shirt with tie the first evening and no tie the second no jacket. Its fine, trust me you will not have a problem, you will see some in long gowns to cocktail dresses to pants and even some fancy non denim long shorts.

 

Now some of you will argue but a question was asked here and I am just speaking with my experience and answering what I wear on formal nights. Leaving tomorrow Bon Voyage!!

[caribbean dreams]

 

Firstly I am sick and tired of bringing formalwear to just wear to a dinner as after dinner 90% of people dress down into shorts and shirts.

 

That just is not true that 90% dress down, i would say 10% dress down, i don't understand why some people would mislead new cruisers like that unless is is just to make themselves look better when they show up on formal night in shorts.

[SOPHIELYNNE]

We take our five children on a cruise every January and they LOVE formal night. My three boys wear suit & tie; my girls wear "Sunday/Easter dresses", my husband wears dark suit/tie and I usually wear a cocktail dress. If the children are young, I agree with an earlier post who mentioned buying a shirt/tie set from walmart for the boys and sweet dress for the girls. You dont have to wear a ball gown and tux per se to fit in, but I would NOT wear jeans, shorts, or casual khakis to this dinner. We enjoy the whole evening of getting dressed up and playing the part so to speak. IF it were an inconvenience to us, we would choose to dine instead in the less formal buffet line. :)

[zydecocruiser]

Most people I know can't wait to lose the formal clothes after dinner and don't be surprised if you do see people wearing jeans before, during, and after dinner. There is very little forbidden (shorts at dinner is one) and even less inforced.

 

Formal has not meant formal in years. Decades? Most men will not be wearing tuxedos.

[hdawson]

I agree with Caribbean Dreams. In the dining room 90% will dress to the expected standards of dress. The other 10% don't think enough of themselves to dress appropriately.

[momof4boys]

My 4 boys were quite a hit last year in tuxes! They loved dressing up and getting all the attention! The older ones especially liked the attention from the dressed up young ladies!!:D

 

Carnival requests "formal attire"- for children as well as adults---suites, tuxes, what one would dress at a formal function. At the very least---Best church attire"

 

Have fun!:)

[serene56]

That just is not true that 90% dress down, i would say 10% dress down, i don't understand why some people would mislead new cruisers like that unless is is just to make themselves look better when they show up on formal night in shorts.

Well then on the Liberty those 10% of people sat all around me.

As we were leaving we stopped at the Matre de to make a comment that we were not happy with the dress code not being enforced at all.

We were in the 6:15 dining room and maybe that had something to do with it.

The dress code states no shorts or bathing attire. Formal night one family looked like they just came from the pool. the mom wore the swim suit coverup- (please it could not pass as a dress)

The dad and 2 sons wore cargo shorts and sandals. (this was only one family- )

we wore a nice dress. SO wore a nice suit-tie the whole thing.. we felt soooo overdressed.

[lyndamarie6]

Serene56 thank you!

 

As for the rest of you, if you read my post correctly it states 90% of people change after dinner. But people are dressed down on formal nights more on Carnival than any other cruise lines and I have cruised on many other cruise lines in the past.

 

So that goes to show you how some people here just want to cause trouble and give false information. I will tell it as it is and as I see it. :) Bye All......

[petro772]

I am 43 and been on 30 cruises, the past 6 cruises have been on Carnival. There has been a dressed down atmosphere within the past 3 years. I used to dress in evening gowns, my husband never wore a tuxedo but wore a dark suit with die and shoes. Some of you will argue but I am going to tell you as it is from my experiences.

 

Firstly I am sick and tired of bringing formalwear to just wear to a dinner as after dinner 90% of people dress down into shorts and shirts. I cannot see lugging all that heavy excess formalwear to just wear 2-3 hours for dinner. As a result, we started dressing down ourselves where I would wear (first formal evening is always more formal) a cocktail dress and the second black pants and a fancy nice shirt. My husband wore a suit, dress shirt and tie. The past 3 cruises we decided to dress more down as so many others are doing the same. I have seen men in just collared polo shirts or short sleeve dress shirts and women in pants or skirt.....I now bring one pair of nice black pants and bring 2 seperate nice blouses and my husband will wear dark pants with a long sleeve dress shirt with tie the first evening and no tie the second no jacket. Its fine, trust me you will not have a problem, you will see some in long gowns to cocktail dresses to pants and even some fancy non denim long shorts.

 

Now some of you will argue but a question was asked here and I am just speaking with my experience and answering what I wear on formal nights. Leaving tomorrow Bon Voyage!!

 

AFTER dinner 90% of the people dress down.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Just how formal is formal ;) ? My husband and I are taking our 4 kids with us so we dont know just how low you can dress to be acceptable? My sister just got off a Disney cruise a few days ago and said that some people wore blue jeans with dress shirts :confused:

Just going back to the OP...

Formal means different things to different people.

For me personally (I have been cruising since I was a kid), it wouldn't feel right, or feel like a cruise if I didn't dress up. It's part of the experience that you don't really get on other vacations.

That being said, it is "respectful" to dress up according to the cruise guidelines. But that is up to you.

I would say that one big advantage is that you have the opportunities to get some great pictures of your family that you would have to pay much more for otherwise. I know that my mom and grandmother have pictures of us kids from cruises (dressed up), that they treasure.

So do what you would feel is "respectful" in the context, and really think about the opportunity to get some great pictures of your family.

CJW

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I agree with Caribbean Dreams. In the dining room 90% will dress to the expected standards of dress. The other 10% don't think enough of themselves to dress appropriately.

 

Those stats sure didn't hold true on the Fantasy last week. Dress was all over the map with some in sneakers. Saw some in full suits but not many. I told my wife I wasn't taking my tux and she asked why. I told her it's because we're going on CCL. I'm glad I didn't because i would have felt out of place with a tux.

 

I wore a pair of Dockers pants witha button down shirt, tie, and sportscoat. I feel like I fit in perfectly.

 

After dinner you wouldn't even have a clue it was formal night. Most got changed.

 

This was a 5 day cruise. We had dinner at 5:45pm in the Jubilee dining room.

Don't know if the 7 day cruises have a higher percentage of formal clothes.

 

Bill

[petro772]

I get the strange feeling that people see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear.

[enester]

When my wife and I brought our boys (10 & 12) we put them in slacks, a white shirt, tie, and dinner jackets (from Goodwill) - They looked great and had a good time. It's not that difficult to keep formal night formal. If it's that big of a problem, I'd skip it alltogether.

 

(I'm glad those that don't like swim wear don't show up to the pool under dressed!..... Er, well, I guess there could be some exceptions to that. ;) )

[kimmy cruise]

CJW- I totally have to agree with you. Formal night is a part of the experience. And ditto feelings about the great pics. My 20 Yr. old daughter is going on her first cruise with me and is looking forward to the formal night experience. What does it matter that people change after dinner, at least they can say they enjoyed the formal night experience. It is a VACATION lighten up everybody!!! Have fun with it. On the Triumph in December, we had many women wearing flashy, glittery,sequense gowns and they were loving it!! It's a fun part of the cruise. And a LOT of people stayed dressed up even during karaoke that night. So go ahead and go for the gusto. The kids will probably love it too. I say "long live formal night"

Kimmy cruise

[Middleager]

Formal means tux for men and long gown for women. Semi-formal is suit and tie. So if any man wants to say he dressed for the formal, it does NOT mean suit and tie.

 

When I go on vacation, especially cruising in W. Carribean, I don't like to take a lot of luggage. So I'm not sure if I want to bring a suit, or just go to the buffet on formal nights. Even if I bring a suit, it is NOT formal, it is only semi-formal.

[enester]

Formal means tux for men and long gown for women. Semi-formal is suit and tie. So if any man wants to say he dressed for the formal, it does NOT mean suit and tie.

 

When I go on vacation, especially cruising in W. Carribean, I don't like to take a lot of luggage. So I'm not sure if I want to bring a suit, or just go to the buffet on formal nights. Even if I bring a suit, it is NOT formal, it is only semi-formal.

 

Sorry middleager, I'm low rent.....

:o

[lyndamarie6]

You do not have to eat at the buffet if you don't have a gown or tux. If you go to the dining room decent and that means at least men wearing a nice shirt shirt and color pants and a woman going even in black pants and nice blouse you will never be turned away. Part of the cruise experience is eating in the dining room so go.

 

For those who mention about pictures and such, you have a point there if you are into the picture thing. Quite frankly I find most of the pictures that were taken of us (in formalwear in the past) to us weren't of quality pictures. I recall photo's where they did not center us nicely and arm of my son or husband was almost cut off or my husbands head was to the very tip of the picture or they were not taken straight. The prices of the photo's are quite out of hand for the quality. I do admit I have seen photo's that are wonderful just with our experience we just didn't think they were worth the money and the time to find the photo's and stand on line to get them. But to those who do not get pictures or take pictures as we do then I can understand wanting them, but to me, the best pictures are the ones of the way we truely look like and dress and act. I bring my digital camera with me and on formal evenings take pictures of the kids and people gladly will take a picture for you with your camera of the entire family. When we get home we go through all the pictures and choose the ones we wish to blow up with kodak paper. They look the same and we save all that money, choose the photo's we like and choose the sizes we want printed up.

 

I suggest to everybody when you go on vacation take a camera even if it were one of those disposable camera's, on formal night you can find so many great places to take your pictures. :) :)

[gfsmith]

Blah, Blah, Blah!

 

 

I really hate dress code conversations............lol Allthough this one has been fairly gentle;)

 

Anyway back to the OP. Don't stress over it, I would stay away from jeans and sneakers if at all possible and try to remember to comb your hair that always helps. Mini skirts and tube tops are a deffinet NO NO!

 

I do agree with the poster that said most people change after dinner.

 

We always end up in the casino and who would want your spot clean only sequin dress to smell like smoke...YUCK!

 

Most important thing is to enjoy your cruise, be respectful to the people around you and don't jump overboard (unless you accidently bumped your husband and he fell over and your going after him) It only happened once and i swear it was a accident :eek:

 

Have fun!

[Leo Jay]

I wear a tux and stay in it afterwards (I figure why dress up, only to go through the bother of changing?). But even so, I think a suit or even a blazer and dress slacks is fine. I think khakis is pushing it for an adult (maybe if they're dressy and well-pressed), but they're certainly fine for kids. I don't think a young boy doesn't even need a jacket if he doesn't already have one (or if you want to cut down on packing).

[sweetpea-2]

Just how formal is formal ;) ? My husband and I are taking our 4 kids with us so we dont know just how low you can dress to be acceptable? My sister just got off a Disney cruise a few days ago and said that some people wore blue jeans with dress shirts :confused:

 

it means alllot of different things to different people however it means that there are no shorts, jeans, t-shirts or tank tops allowed....