Can you help my husband with clothing choices?

[medcruiseplanner]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are going on a 13 night cruise this fall. My husband looked over the dress code. He is unsure about what to take for the informal nights. He has suits for the formal nights. He was wondering about having to wear both the jacket and tie on the informal night. If so, he needs to do some serious shopping as he only has 3 suits in his wardrobe. Can he wear dress slacks and shirt and tie? Does he need to purchase some sport jackets? We like to be appropriately dressed and always try to follow the guidelines at resorts etc.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Ma Bell]

He should wear a jacket for informal nights, the tie is optional.

[golfnkitties]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are going on a 13 night cruise this fall. My husband looked over the dress code. He is unsure about what to take for the informal nights. He has suits for the formal nights. He was wondering about having to wear both the jacket and tie on the informal night. If so, he needs to do some serious shopping as he only has 3 suits in his wardrobe. Can he wear dress slacks and shirt and tie? Does he need to purchase some sport jackets? We like to be appropriately dressed and always try to follow the guidelines at resorts etc.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

It's his vacation also ! My DH hates to wear the jacket on informal nights. Living in Las Vegas, the overall dress code is very, very relaxed and even in church one very seldom sees Sports Coats. He has tons of very beautiul, expensive, custom made silk shirts that he wears, with dress slacks. He fits right in as the more and more we cruise, the fewer fellows wear Sports Coats.

 

I just say, what ever he feels the most comfortable in !

 

I know lots of folks will not agree, but tons, and tons, don't read the Cruise Critic Forums.

[shofer]

My DH has found that renting a tux for the formal nights is the best and easiest way around that problem. So much easier than bringing a suit and all that goes with it. It is worth the $85 and they give you 2 shirts.

 

He brings 1 sports coat and alternates shirt and tie w/some silk turtlenecks for the informal nights. With the weight restriction on luggage for the airlines, it gets too hard to bring all these items.

[chessbriar]

Pick up one sports coat and he can wear it each informal night. Mix up shirts and ties

[GramaFran]

We did the 13 night cruise last Sept. My DH rented a tux with 2 shirts plus dress shoes. We were traveling on intra Europe fights that allow 1 suitcase each at 44 lbs. So we had to pack light. He wore a navy blue sport coat on the flights and we packed 3 different slacks to go with it. With dress shirts and casual shirts for casual nights he was all set. a couple pairs of shorts and dockers covered the shore excursions. Plus 2 pair of shoes. It really all fit in one suitcase under 44 lbs. Now mine was a little harder.

 

On the 13 night cruise there is 3 formal nights so we just sent one of the shirts to the laundry. If you go to the speciality dinning room he will need a jacket also.

Hope this helps,

Francine

[Rev22:17]

medcruiseplanner,

 

Hi Everyone,

 

We are going on a 13 night cruise this fall. My husband looked over the dress code. He is unsure about what to take for the informal nights. He has suits for the formal nights. He was wondering about having to wear both the jacket and tie on the informal night. If so, he needs to do some serious shopping as he only has 3 suits in his wardrobe. Can he wear dress slacks and shirt and tie? Does he need to purchase some sport jackets? We like to be appropriately dressed and always try to follow the guidelines at resorts etc.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

The packing lists in the first post in this thread should be about right for your cruise, with the modifications noted for European itineraries with regard to the number of pairs of shorts. If your cruise is thirteen nights, the "redeye" flight to Europe will make a fourteenth so leave the quantities of "casual" attire as they are (15 sets) in case you need an extra change of clothes along the way.

 

Your husband can wear a business suit with a necktie on the "formal" evenings, so long as it is DARK. One business suit is enough since there's plenty of time to get it cleaned between the "formal" evenings in case of a spill or whatever, but he probably will want to bring three shirts and three neckties, as indicated in the packing list, to avoid the need to do laundry.

 

The proper gentlemen's attire for "informal" evenings is a sport coat or "blazer" with slacks -- NOT a business suit (which would be "semiformal"). Again, one sport coat is sufficient.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Norm.

[osiebosie]

On the Constellation last fall, we took a cold weather cruise. DH had his suit for formal nights. He had a jacket for informal nights, but our son-in-law didn't, so DH didn't wear his jacket so SIL wouldn't feel out of place. They were both prepared to go back to the cabin to get their jackets (DH's jacket and SIL's suit jacket) if they had to. There was no need.

 

They were both dressed in nice slacks with shirts and ties. We saw a few with no jackets, and actually saw an older man with a windbreaker-style jacket on! (Hey, it was a jacket!!)

 

DH and SIL mixed and matched shirts and ties throughout the cruise, to make packing lighter. Also wore slacks more than once.

 

On casual nights, DH and SIL wore slacks with nice shirts.

 

Have fun,

 

Shay

[SleepingUgly]

I am just curious -- but what do gentlemen, who may not know how to tie a bowtie but wish to rent a tuxedo on board, do? Is someone available to help them?

 

I am guessing that some people who want to rent a tuxedo do not own one, and therefore, may not have had much (if any) experience with bowties. So what then?

 

Linda

[bububr]

I would bring a dark suit, or tux. If you want to cut down on packing, rent the tux and don't bring the suit.

 

A navy blazer with khaki slacks and a tie is good for informal nights, and the pants can double for casual nights also.

 

Laundry is available on the ship and it is reasonable.

 

The weight limit is PER suitcase, not total.

 

For my upcoming Med. cruise I am bringing my black tux, dinner jacket, navy blazer, khakis, and a few sports shirts to get me through the dinners. I have laundry and pressing done once usually.

 

I usually pack 1 three suiter on wheels, one small duffle and a carry on for 10 day or longer cruises. I have never gone over the weight limits.

 

As americans we tend to overpack and not rewear the same clothing twice with out washing it. On a ship, unless you sweat profusely, or spill something on your dinner clothing it does NOT get soiled and can be worn again. that is of course if you wash before you dress.

 

Have fun on your cruise, and remember its better to be correctly prepared and not have to wear something, than not have the correct attire and be turned away from an event you might want to attend.

 

As far as I know, X has been starting to crack down on the dress codes especially on the longer cruises. What used to say 'suggested' is now phrased 'required' in some of the dailies.

 

On the other hand if you want to eat in the speciality restaurants a minimun of jacket and tie is required.

 

Dave:eek:

[Squirrel's Mom]

Linda,

 

The rental tuxes come with a pre-tied bow tie. A snap on thing with a strap. Otherwise, we'd still be in the cabin dressing for dinner!

[GORDONCHICK]

Check the X website about a month before your cruise for dress code, but there is a rumor that X may be doing away with informal like HAL.

[land lover]

We are recently back from a 11 day cruise.....our first X...on all our past cruises DH just takes a dark suit...when I asked what sports coat he wanted to take...he said I'll just bring another pair of slacks and wear the suit coat and that is what he did...more room for me:)

 

Some men were in long sleeve dress shirts but not alot in our area of the dining room.

 

So if you want to limit what you bring and not "hassel" with a TUX go with one suit and a contrasting pair of slacks, a few shirts, ties..less is better.

[joeinsb]

My husband has always enjoyed wearing a tuxedo on formal nights -- it's one of the things that makes cruising so special (and let's face it a tux makes every man look like Cary Grant) -- so one of the first things we did when we retired in 2001 was head to a wedding store and buy him a relatively inexpensive but nice looking tux outfit.

 

The entire ensemble including shirt, tie and shoes cost $375. Since we have sailed on 13 cruises since then you can see that at $85 per tux rental, we paid for that purchase by the fifth cruise. Our advice is that if you plan to do a fair amount of cruising for the rest of your life, buy a tux now. You won't be sorry.

 

Since that original purchase, we have added a couple more shirts, a silver vest with silver bow tie and a black vest with red bow tie, so along with the original black bow tie and cummerbund that came with the tux, he can now change outfits on a three-formal-night cruise.

 

By the way, the pants have expandable side vents that take them from a size 34 to 37, so we expect the tux to serve him well for a very long time.

[Rev22:17]

Linda,

 

I am just curious -- but what do gentlemen, who may not know how to tie a bowtie but wish to rent a tuxedo on board, do? Is someone available to help them?

 

I am guessing that some people who want to rent a tuxedo do not own one, and therefore, may not have had much (if any) experience with bowties. So what then?

 

I'm biting my tongue very hard to resist the overwhelming temptation to ask in which hole you have been borrowed for the past three or four decades, as such a comment probably would not come across in the right way. It has been nearly impossible to find bow ties that require tying for about that long. so very few men under about seventy know how to tie the "real" bow ties. The bow ties nowsold or rented with formalwear have a hook behind the bow and an adjustable neckstrap with a small ring that catches on the hook. It's a very simple, but reliable, mechanism that leaves nothing to tie. but nonetheless has the band around the neck that "shows" when worn with a wing collar shirt (unlike the "clippies" of three or four decades ago).

 

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

GORDONCHICK,

 

Check the X website about a month before your cruise for dress code, but there is a rumor that X may be doing away with informal like HAL.

 

So far, the source of that rumor seems to be completely unfounded speculation on discussion boards. We really owe it to people to present fact here rather than rumor.

 

Also, Celebrity's web site is not a reliable source of information. There are many discrepancies between the information on Celebrity's web site and what happens aboard ship -- including the dress codes.

 

Norm.

[SleepingUgly]

Linda,

 

 

 

I'm biting my tongue very hard to resist the overwhelming temptation to ask in which hole you have been borrowed for the past three or four decades, as such a comment probably would not come across in the right way. It has been nearly impossible to find bow ties that require tying for about that long. so very few men under about seventy know how to tie the "real" bow ties. The bow ties nowsold or rented with formalwear have a hook behind the bow and an adjustable neckstrap with a small ring that catches on the hook. It's a very simple, but reliable, mechanism that leaves nothing to tie. but nonetheless has the band around the neck that "shows" when worn with a wing collar shirt (unlike the "clippies" of three or four decades ago).

 

Norm.

 

I ask because I honestly do not know. My husband (who is decades under 70, thank you very much, as am I, so actually, four decades ago, I was not a resident of any "hole") owns a tux, but it's the kind with the black necktie, NOT a bowtie. And being a married woman, I've not seen other men get dressed in private, so I would not know how other men function. And prior to my getting married, I also attended formal functions, and believe it or not, most of the guys I knew tied their own bowties. The only people I knew who had "clip-on" bowties were the college boys with whom I attended formals. I guess I always equated those with the "clip-on" neckties.

 

The "hole" I've been burrowed under is the Washington, DC area, where we attend many black tie / formal events, both for fun and for work. I meet many men at these events (no, not like that, haha!), but gosh darn it, I've never thought to ask them how they tied their bowties. Maybe next time, I'll ask the ladies which leg of their pantyhose they put on first. :D

 

Oh, and my husband is also European, so they are quite a bit more formal as well. For instance, he rarely wears a suit without his vest -- something that hardly anyone here in the U.S. does anymore. So I guess my viewpoint about men's formalwear is a bit distorted, compared to the average 30-something American. My apologies!

 

Thanks for enlightening me, however, as we may now consider renting a tux for my husband, instead of having him drag his along for our cruise. At least we won't have to have worry about him not knowing how to handle the bowtie, right?

 

Linda

[tarps]

Just off the Summit 14 day cruise. Seems a lot of people have trouble interpreting "informal". Most men appeared wearing sports jackets, half with ties, the rest (including my husband), without ties.

[VacationJunky]

My DH has found that renting a tux for the formal nights is the best and easiest way around that problem. So much easier than bringing a suit and all that goes with it. It is worth the $85 and they give you 2 shirts.

 

He brings 1 sports coat and alternates shirt and tie w/some silk turtlenecks for the informal nights. With the weight restriction on luggage for the airlines, it gets too hard to bring all these items.

 

Hi Shofer,

When you rented the tux, was it for the entire cruise for $85 or is there a per day charge? If for the whole cruise, that sounds like a very cost effective alternative. Thanks for the insights.

[VacationJunky]

My DH has found that renting a tux for the formal nights is the best and easiest way around that problem. So much easier than bringing a suit and all that goes with it. It is worth the $85 and they give you 2 shirts.

 

He brings 1 sports coat and alternates shirt and tie w/some silk turtlenecks for the informal nights. With the weight restriction on luggage for the airlines, it gets too hard to bring all these items.

 

Hi Shofer,

When you rented the tux, was it for the entire cruise for $85 or is there a per day charge? If for the whole cruise, that sounds like a very cost effective alternative. Thanks for the insights.

[DaveFr]

Hi Shofer,

When you rented the tux, was it for the entire cruise for $85 or is there a per day charge? If for the whole cruise, that sounds like a very cost effective alternative. Thanks for the insights.

The $85 tuxedo rental fee is for the entire cruise. The fee may increase if your cruise is longer than a certain number of days but I only paid $85 on my recent 16-day TA on the Millennium.

[caviargal]

Hi Shofer,

When you rented the tux, was it for the entire cruise for $85 or is there a per day charge? If for the whole cruise, that sounds like a very cost effective alternative. Thanks for the insights.

 

 

We rented on X in November. It is per cruise and they provided two shirts.

[The Bush]

I agree, just take a sport coat and you will be fine. A blue blazer is appropriate everywhere.

 

 

WWP

Marietta, Ga.

[Rev22:17]

VacationJunky,

 

When you rented the tux, was it for the entire cruise for $85 or is there a per day charge? If for the whole cruise, that sounds like a very cost effective alternative. Thanks for the insights.

 

That price would be for the whole cruise. There's no "per day" charge.

 

Norm.

[whm]

Celebrity's website and brochure both clearly state what is considered "informal". Read it, accept it, and get on with life. Why ruin the experience by trying to change things?