Do you skip the formal nights

[ccletzgo]

I just had another thought that has alot to do with my feelings about formal night. About every other year we do a family reunion cruise. The formal night is really alot of fun. There is always alot of preparation and I love seeing my children all dressed up. There is no other time that we have the opportunity to go out as a family to a formal event. Also seeing the extended family members all gussied up is alot of fun.;)

 

If we do a Christmas Cruise as a family I fully expect everyone to participate in formal night. (mom rules);)

[hylasgirl]

I may be all wet here, but I don't think the OP was asking anyone if they thought he should go...or how to do it.

 

That being said, I am with you OP. Formal night is not something that we look forward to. We usually do it once on a 7 night, but not twice. And I agree about the lobster, not very good (this is after several tries).

 

We are doing b2b next week and still debating whether or not to bring the suits, shoes, belts, ties, dress shirts, tie clasp and then there is all my stuff.

 

 

Yes, I believe you are right...:) The OP wasn't asking for hints or tips on how to dress up. Funny how everyone wants to get others to do this though... I personally haven't skipped formal nights, but... they are getting less and less great. The food isn't all that better anymore... and dressing up is getting less and less fun. I think I may be with the OP here pretty soon.

[bobbyleduck]

I wouldn't think of skipping the formal nights. I retired nearly 12 years ago, and since then I rarely wear a suit or tie, but I pack my tuxedo that I bought for a cruise, about 11 years ago, add the additional accessories that I've purchased, and very much enjoy the whole experience. As for lobster, or any other seafood, I do without and have never found the experience lacking.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[FinelyCruising]

Well, what if you book Murano's on a formal night?

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong ---

 

but I believe formal night is formal night even in the specialty restaurants.

 

I can share that when I went to Tuscan Grille at boarding last week to make a reservation there was a plackard at the desk defining the nights and the dress code.

 

We had already a reservation for Murano's on one of the two formal nights and did dress accordingly and so did everyone else in the room that evening as well.

[dutchess43]

We do not miss formal night but to be quite honest after 25 cruises(cruising since the 80's) if they did away with them it would be fine with us.

[richsea]

We do not miss formal night but to be quite honest after 25 cruises(cruising since the 80's) if they did away with them it would be fine with us.

 

Agree 100%!!!!

[texancruzer]

 

You all know that when DW is happy everyone is happy. Good cruising to all.:D

 

Don

 

 

I bet you are a very happily married man ;)

[dkjretired]

Thank you, grandma! I'm just happy there are some options if I decide to skip it altogether.

 

Celebrity does not have a traditional buffet for dinner on any of their ships. They have various options such as sushi, pasta, pizza, the grill, etc. but they do not have a buffet as you would find for Breakfast and Lunch.

[KULPN]

Agree 100%!!!!

We have skipped formal night a few times & were very happy to do so. Even if I do dress up in my formals, the shoes kill me & I end up changing right after dinner.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

On the last formal night on our cruise, Lin wasn't feeling well so we decided to have room service. We noticed how quiet it was by ourselves and loved the quiet. The MDR is very noisy and we could hardly converse.

 

So we learned something out of that situation. We prefer the quiet and on our next cruise there will be no formal nights for us. We will probably eat less often in the MDR now too. Not because of formal or not formal, but because we like a quiet, intimate dinner instead where we can have pleasant conversation.

 

We can always find somewhere on the ship where it isn't so darn noisy.

[Shirley C]

I agree with the earlir posters. On one cruise we had unbearable table mates. One night, we opted to eat on our balcony. That did it for us. We are getting ready to leave on Sunday on the Solstice, and not sure how many nights we will even be in the MDR.

[Mysticks1]

I agree with the OP in that I don't like formal nights in fact that is probably one of the only things that I don't like about a cruise and usually dress at a minimum for "formal" because DH wants his lobster(& escargot).

On our upcoming 11 night Med cruise we might only eat in Blu one of formal nights and choose to order from the MDR menu and eat on our balcony on some of the other nights.(On the past cruises that wasn't an option.) On a very port intensive cruise a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us sounds very inviting after a long day of touring. This is our first cruise with just the two of us. ;)

[snowglobe]

Even if I do dress up in my formals, the shoes kill me & I end up changing right after dinner.

 

As I am preparing for my first cruise, I seriously debated missing the 2 formal nights because I can only wear klunky shoes. I initially thought that if I wasn't wearing dressy footwear, that I would be thought of as a "frump" or a "rule-flogger". :eek:

 

Wasn't that totally silly?! :rolleyes:

Reading CC has greatly reassured me -- I'm giving the formal nights a try.

 

I'm not sure that the pomp and novelty of it will carry forward to future cruises... but just seeing DH wearing a tux next month will be priceless!! :D

[frisbeeace]

I don't enjoy formal nights either and would not even consider to carry a suit, belt, shoes, tie and dress shirt in my luggage during my 2-week long european trip. However, I won't waste a night eating at the buffet. So, I booked at Silk Harvest for the first night and plan to eat at Bistro for the other formal night. I will just wear a dark blue coat, no tie, and won't care what other people think about that.

[SusieV]

Personally, we love formal nights. We'll even pay the extra luggage fee to bring them along in a garment bag. The ambiance is special to us. My husband brings his tuxedo and I wear a different long dress every night.

 

We would be very disappointed if the tradition of formal nights came to an end.

 

We don't find it much more difficult to put on formal attire than to wear smart casual clothes, and the pictures are always lovely!

[Cruise Junky]

We've very gladly skipped them our last couple of cruises..however, DH's tux is currently sitting on the spare bed to see if it still fits before our Alaska Cruise..taking a cab to the port, I can't really complain about extra luggage weight :) and we haven't done the full formal thing in a while. Mexico I'll probably be back to skipping it.

[Napi's Mom]

I agree with the OP in that I don't like formal nights in fact that is probably one of the only things that I don't like about a cruise and usually dress at a minimum for "formal" because DH wants his lobster(& escargot).

 

On our upcoming 11 night Med cruise we might only eat in Blu one of formal nights and choose to order from the MDR menu and eat on our balcony on some of the other nights.(On the past cruises that wasn't an option.) On a very port intensive cruise a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us sounds very inviting after a long day of touring. This is our first cruise with just the two of us.

Tell him that the lobster is now just a half of a small tail, with a couple scallops, couple shrimp and oysters. Tail was overcooked and tasteless. Sorry didn't see ANY escargot in the main Dining room on Mille. anyway:rolleyes:

 

Sooner they do away with formal the better...it's over-rated! On our last cruise we had an overnight in Sydney Au. at the end of our cruise and so had set up a very long tour (as it turned out) to the Blue Mts. After a couple snafus we arrived back at 7pm, well after our early dining (another + for open dining) was half fed. Thought about the buffet but as od stated it's not a full service. Met our attendant...were obviously exhausted, and when saying we were going to find someplace to eat, he suggested room service! We thought that was a wonderful idea, as we still had packing...as we sat and ate on our wonderful aft balcony in Sydney Harbor, watched our last day turn into evening...it was a magical ending to our cruise. We never got to say goodby to our tablemates but that was ok.

[FinelyCruising]

Tell him that the lobster is now just a half of a small tail' date=' with a couple scallops, couple shrimp and oysters. Tail was overcooked and tasteless. :rolleyes:

 

[/quote']

 

I had a tail in a specialty venue that was huge and was cooked in three ways to my linking. We happened to select formal night for this dining event and we were comfortably formal; for this night I did not have on a gown but a cocktail dress and DH had a tux with a tie and buttoned coat rather than a bow tie with a cummerbund.

 

It was formal dress down and felt good.

[JanineM]

I personally love formal night. I love dressing up! DH has a tux and is happy to wear it since he's invested the $$$ in it.

 

That said, we normally eat in specialty dining on at least one of the formal nights. I'm allergic to shellfish so we steer clear of the lobster. But we will eat in specialty dining that night and we still dress up.

 

I guess I don't understand the fuss. If you do any homework in advance then you know that Celebrity requests passengers to dress formally on formal night.If you don't want to participate then there are many other options available to you --- either on X or on other ships. I hope that we never get to the point where all cruise lines are alike.

 

BTW - on our last cruise I debated bringing sufficient dresses for all 3 formal nights and finally decided that I would. As it turned out, we were invited to the Captain's table and I was glad to have something appropriate to wear. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think it's respectful to follow the dress suggestions.

[Lois R]

I personally love formal night. I love dressing up! DH has a tux and is happy to wear it since he's invested the $$$ in it.

 

That said, we normally eat in specialty dining on at least one of the formal nights. I'm allergic to shellfish so we steer clear of the lobster. But we will eat in specialty dining that night and we still dress up.

 

I guess I don't understand the fuss. If you do any homework in advance then you know that Celebrity requests passengers to dress formally on formal night.If you don't want to participate then there are many other options available to you --- either on X or on other ships. I hope that we never get to the point where all cruise lines are alike.

 

BTW - on our last cruise I debated bringing sufficient dresses for all 3 formal nights and finally decided that I would. As it turned out, we were invited to the Captain's table and I was glad to have something appropriate to wear. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think it's respectful to follow the dress suggestions.

 

Janine, hope I see you and your hubby next week on formal

night:D

[willysgrandma]

Celebrity does not have a traditional buffet for dinner on any of their ships. They have various options such as sushi, pasta, pizza, the grill, etc. but they do not have a buffet as you would find for Breakfast and Lunch.

 

That is correct. That is why I said I would have eaten at the Bistro on 5 both nights - the food there was much better than the buffet.

[FinelyCruising]

OK Moving On.:rolleyes:

[elena7seas]

Tell him that the lobster is now just a half of a small tail' date=' with a couple scallops, couple shrimp and oysters. Tail was overcooked and tasteless. Sorry didn't see ANY escargot in the main Dining room on Mille. anyway:rolleyes: [/quote']

 

 

It appears from her post that Mysticks1 has Blu as her main dining room.

 

Lobster tail IS offered in Blu on the last formal night; it was full-sized and it was delicious. We had originally reserved Murano's for the last formal night, but the food in Blu had been so good that we decided to remain in Blu. We had the lobster and were not disappointed.

[Mysticks1]

It appears from her post that Mysticks1 has Blu as her main dining room.

 

Lobster tail IS offered in Blu on the last formal night; it was full-sized and it was delicious. We had originally reserved Murano's for the last formal night, but the food in Blu had been so good that we decided to remain in Blu. We had the lobster and were not disappointed.

 

That is correct. I had read somewhere that the lobster was better in Blu. Thank you for confirming that. :)

[rua642]

To answer the original question, my husband and I do the formal nights but we'd be quite happy if they were reduced to one or, better yet, none.