informal dining on river cruises?

Hi, Can anyone tell me if there are any river cruise lines which have informal dining. my husband refuses to take a jacket or tie on holiday with him and i'm keen to try a river cruise. we have done 14 ocean cruises with Thomsons where it is possible to avoid any formal nights and have really enjoyed them but time for a change.

Morning Holidaydiva,

I would say pretty much most of them as cruise casual is what most do.

There are some instances where a coat an tie might look more fitting but nothing written that says required.

We are cruising once again with Scenic and at say Table La Rive, Portobello's, Captains Table would be some of those times but have lots of folks that think just like your husband and like I said not required.

For us if my wife goes out of her way to dress nice for me I think that she deserves the same from me.

Not formal attire. Polo, nice dress slacks.

More a matter of going and having a wonderful time.

For us we shall be celebrating a Wedding Anniversary so yes there shall be a reason for possibly a coat and maybe even a tie.

We are doing Spectacular South of France with Paris and Monte Carlo September 24,2017 and on there new Ocean Ship the Eclipse for October 18,2018 Cuba in Depth.

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Hi, Can anyone tell me if there are any river cruise lines which have informal dining. my husband refuses to take a jacket or tie on holiday with him and i'm keen to try a river cruise. we have done 14 ocean cruises with Thomsons where it is possible to avoid any formal nights and have really enjoyed them but time for a change.

Your husband sounds just like mine!!! We've done 8 with Vantage and this is what we wear to dinner every night:

Him: khaki slacks with a collared shirt and walking shoes..no tie no jacket.

Me: black jeans with a gauzy white top and black ballet slippers.

The only thing they will not allow in the dining room at night are blue jeans, shorts and tee shirts..but I've never seen anyone turned away.

The downside to doing 8 cruises with the same company is that now we're invited to sit at the Captain's table one night on each cruise...so I have a gauzy white skirt that I bought in Mexico to go with a black gauzy top and he brings a jacket and tie. If I had my druthers I would rather have a champagne reception with the Captain and then sit with my friends for dinner but nobody wants to take my invitation!! :D

I agree with the first reply. In contrast to Uniworld's brochures with some men in sport coats, there are always several if not most men in collared shirts without ties or coats, or polos. After our first river cruise, DH stopped packing a sports coat. It is suggested that jeans not be worn for dinner. But no one seems to care about what others wear. It's a relaxed, enjoyable way to travel.

I agree with the first reply. In contrast to Uniworld's brochures with some men in sport coats, there are always several if not most men in collared shirts without ties or coats, or polos. After our first river cruise, DH stopped packing a sports coat. It is suggested that jeans not be worn for dinner. But no one seems to care about what others wear. It's a relaxed, enjoyable way to travel.

Scenic by far had more dressed up passengers (in their specialty venue and for a special offsite dinner) than any other line we have cruised with, including Uniworld, which was surprisingly casual.

I never felt the need for a jacket on AMA -- and didn't bring a tie.

Hi, Can anyone tell me if there are any river cruise lines which have informal dining. my husband refuses to take a jacket or tie on holiday with him and i'm keen to try a river cruise. we have done 14 ocean cruises with Thomsons where it is possible to avoid any formal nights and have really enjoyed them but time for a change.

This is from the Viking web site and one of the reasons we chose Viking"Is there a “dress code” on the ship?

Dress during the day is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), trousers or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. There are no “formal nights” and recommended evening dress is “elegant casual” such as a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse for ladies; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. Ties and jackets are optional. We suggest you pack comfortable walking shoes, dressier shoes, a collapsible umbrella/lightweight rain gear; items you can layer like lightweight jackets/sweaters; sunglasses, a sun hat/visor, sunscreen; and toiletries including a travel-sized hand sanitizer. Depending on the season and destination, you may also want to add a warm coat, gloves and water-resistant footwear."

My husband also doesn't like dressing up. I've spoken with people who have sailed with Viking (our first river cruise is coming up at the end of August) and they all said, it's very casual. Some just wear whatever they wear during the day. Mostly from the photos I've seen the men are wearing collared shirts - woven or knit like golf shirts. Women are wearing pants or capris and a nice top.

My husband is bringing dockers and golf shirts. I'm bringing pants and LL Bean type t-shirts which I plan to wear with a nice piece of costume jewelry or a scarf. I'll wear them again for tours - double duty, less packing ;)

I think Avalon and AMA are casual as well. Those were other lines I looked at before choosing Viking.

Quoting option not working again. :mad:

<I think Avalon and AMA are casual as well.>

On our AMA cruises, guests did dress up for Chef's Table and there was bling on Captain's nights. DH generally wears a button down to dinner with dress slacks and I wear a dress or nice slacks and top. For special evenings, we take it up a notch, as that is our preference. YMMV.

We always shower and change for dinner after a day out exploring.

 

We always shower and change for dinner after a day out exploring.

Aha! Maybe that's why we always get a table for two... :D

To the OP: jacket and tie are totally optional on Uniworld. Equally comfortable with or without.

My experience on Uniworld (2 trips) is that if you get back from the day's tour late, people will show up in the dining room in jeans or shorts.

There is never a reason for a jacket (unless you want one) and certainly not for a tie.

I think Avalon and AMA are casual as well. Those were other lines I looked at before choosing Viking.

Yes, our Avalon trip was very casual at dinner. My husband wore a button down and/or a sweater & pants every night (neither he nor I travel with jeans for various reasons)

My FIL might have worn jeans for dinner - not sure. (it was a Dec cruise) None of the men I was with brought sports coats that trip.

Scenic by far had more dressed up passengers (in their specialty venue and for a special offsite dinner) than any other line we have cruised with, including Uniworld, which was surprisingly casual.

We are travelling with Scenic next year and have no intention of dressing up, this is suppose to be our holiday and my husband always says I do not want to dress like a penguin LOL. Actually Oceania cruiselines is also a casual line even if it is a highend regular cruiseline company.

Marlster

Quoting option not working again. :mad:

I don't know why that happens - it seems random.

We usually shower and change - this is our first river cruise. I'm hoping to have time! I figure nice t-shirts (not the ones with the graphics on them :) will work for dinner with some dressing up.

We drive to our ocean cruises (at least so far) so luggage is not an issue, but I'm trying to be "good" because we're flying. I've got some really nice scarves and a couple of vests to change up

My experience on Uniworld (2 trips) is that if you get back from the day's tour late, people will show up in the dining room in jeans or shorts.

 

There is never a reason for a jacket (unless you want one) and certainly not for a tie.

Same here. My husband brought a jacket that he wore once on the final evening (mostly because he had packed it) and no ties. I think we probably saw a total of 2 or 3 men with ties at dinner the entire week.

On Scenic's Gems of the Danube dress was very informal at dinner even at Portobello's and Table l'Rive.

I've got some really nice scarves and a couple of vests to change up

It's all about the accessories. :) I pack scarves, nice costume jewelry and some sparkle. We travel light and I find that it is all about the fabric.

On Scenic's Gems of the Danube dress was very informal at dinner even at Portobello's and Table l'Rive.

Quite the opposite of the Diamond where in both specialty venues jackets were the norm. And for the signature evening event, they requested cocktail attire and 95% of the guests complied. It was the most dressed up crowd of any of our river cruises.

As much as I hate dressing up on vacation, and the fact that the Viking cruises we have taken have always been casual dress, and the fact that I have worn shorts in the dining room on occasion, it is still wise to pack a jacket/blazer and tie on any cruise you take. You may decide to eat off the boat when docked in a particular city, and having a coat and tie available, will give you more options. Also, if you are doing a pre or post-cruise stay, you again will have more dining options if you bring one. I hate packing it, because it usually just takes up space, but it did come in handy when we ate dinner off the boat while docked in Lyon. I also wore both coat and tie when we went to the opera in Vienna. However, dressing up did not interrupt my sleep during the performance. :D

Just got back from an Avalon cruise on the Danube. We saw no-one at all in jackets or ties. They did ask you not to wear shorts in the evening but most wore jeans or chinos at night with a shirt.

We're going on Avalon Danube soon.

We are planning on going to the Grand Masters concert in Prague at the Clementinum. Do you think my husband will need a tie for that?

He's planning on bringing a jacket...

Thanks,

Chris

We're going on Avalon Danube soon.

 

We are planning on going to the Grand Masters concert in Prague at the Clementinum. Do you think my husband will need a tie for that?

 

He's planning on bringing a jacket...

 

Thanks,

Chris

A tie is so light and if he's bringing a jacket anyway...if you were going to a pop concert I'd say no, but Grand Masters sounds like it could attract a dressier crowd...although we went to ballet in jeans and were not underdressed. He could put tie in jacket pocket and have it if he felt uncomfortable.

Cruising the Seine with CroiseEurope from next Friday. First time I went with them I packed suit and tie for the gala evening. These were not needed as only a handfull of men wore a suit (mainly those from Australia). Last year only a very small minority, including me, wore a tie. So this year I shall be leaving my tie at home along with my jacket.

We have been on 10 Uniworld cruises and have the 11th booked. I only brought a sports jacket on the first and never wore it. Pants, collared shirt, and shoes are the norm for men.

My husband took a sport coat on our recent Scenic cruise for the evening at the castle with concert, temperatures were cooler so it worked out well. Dining room dress was informal.

Same here...we've been on 8 river cruises. Viking, Vantage and GCT. Brought a jacket and tie on the first, wore it one night. Haven't brought it after that and never wished I had.