Dress Code

This is a problem with no answer. Some people love theambiance of formal evening (like Us) with everybody dressing up to make it an occasion,Other say how I dress does not affect you and you can dress how you like . Neitherwill see the others point of view. I thinkon sea days you have lots of time to get ready for the evening others will sayI am on holiday and will dress how I like..

I do not think it is going to get better:)

Dalliowmer, sadly, I think you are right. Only going one way.

Although my DH does not often wear a jacket to dinner - though looking respectable - we usually seem to be well looked after by the dining room staff. I put this down to two factors - we have done a lot of SB cruises, and so usually know a few of them already, and we do try to be smiling and friendly, which I am convinced makes a difference, as it should.

Although my DH does not often wear a jacket to dinner - though looking respectable - we usually seem to be well looked after by the dining room staff. I put this down to two factors - we have done a lot of SB cruises, and so usually know a few of them already, and we do try to be smiling and friendly, which I am convinced makes a difference, as it should.

This is our experience also. Early on during our 35 years plus of cursing we use to take the tux and formal gowns, the informal suits and fancy dress and the nice casual clothes and as many as 7 suitcases to carry it all for our 6 week cruises and land add-ons.

Thankfully that is no longer required. True formal wear is no longer required on cruise lines we enjoy including Cunard's Queens Grill (a sports coat and tie pre code) and Seabourn (sports coat, no tie). The cruise lines have listened to their passengers and set a dress code that allows people to dress for dinner in what is comfortable for each person, be it formal or country club casual. If you like to dress up, the option is yours, if not, you are still welcome and enjoy the same great service.

We have all ways been treated extremely well by the cruise staff...nice tables and other special requests met with a smile. We have always tired to be kind to the people providing the great service. We now also enjoy the relaxed dress code and the fact that we no longer need more than one or two pieces of luggage. Especially since I now use a pair of walking sticks.

My question is not about the dress code but about how people actually dress. My travel agent insists I will be comfortable on Seabourn. I think not, but am willing to ask.

We've been on 21 ocean cruises but nothing more upscale than Regent. I haven't taken a sports jacket out of the U.S. in 15 years. Everything I own is wash and wear. I travel with one pair of black shoes - I would call them walking shoes. At dinner I wear a long sleeved collared shirt and slacks or chinos.

What percentage of men would be dressed like that on a normal evening in the main dining room? Would I stick out like a sore, lower class thumb?

If I tossed a blazer in the suitcase, would that be enough to blend in?

If it's warm, I walk around during the day in a polo shirt, cargo pants and sometimes sandals. Again, would I stick out like a sore thumb?

Thanks in advance for any serious advice.

My question is not about the dress code but about how people actually dress. My travel agent insists I will be comfortable on Seabourn. I think not, but am willing to ask.

Your travel agent has a vested interested in selling you the Seabourn cruise and you are sensitive enough to ask if you will feel comfortable.

The very fact that you are in doubt indicates you will not be comfortable. Some people make a point about not caring about dress code. You clearly do.

If I tossed a blazer in the suitcase, would that be enough to blend in?

I'd say Yes. You will see people without jackets but you will look smarter and, being the person you are, you'll feel more comfortable.

If it's warm, I walk around during the day in a polo shirt, cargo pants and sometimes sandals. Again, would I stick out like a sore thumb?

No. You won't.

Thanks in advance for any serious advice.

That's mine and I take how I dress seriously as I think it matters alongside good manners and personal hygiene.

Tony

We board the Sojourn this Thurs. My DH always takes one pair of nice casual shoes...black lace style, but rather sporty plus something like sandals for daytime. The rest of his clothes sound like your choices. We cruise on both Regent and Seabourn. You will be fine. The only time he will wear a jacket (sports jacket) is on the formal optional nights if we actually go to the dinning room. Sometimes we treat ourselves to room service that night.

Really Seabourn is no more upscale than Regent. Regent just adopted a more relaxed dress code before Seabourn did. They are both "luxury" cruise lines. They both offer a very nice experience.

The very fact that you are in doubt indicates you will not be comfortable. Some people make a point about not caring about dress code. You clearly do.

Thanks for your reply, Tony.

No, I don't care about dress codes. I care about not being someplace where I feel unwelcome.

I fit in fine with the casual dress on Oceania and Regent. But Seabourn's dress code, catalogs and website give me the impression that the expectation of a Seabourn passenger is seriously different. That's what I'm trying to check out.

You'll find Seabourn passengers are too polite to make you feel unwelcome. Even if, in private, they feel you are letting the side down they will not ostracise you.

Only people who have not been brought up properly would do that and, in all my Searbourn cruising, I have never seen anyone do it as it is pure bad manners.

We like sailing Seabourn as we find our fellow passengers generally friendly and easy to chat to. Nobody is going to ask you if you actually do own a jacket or why your shoes are scruffy. You might get that in a more downmarket liner - but not on Seabourn.

We tend to dress smartly as (a) we like to and (b) out of respect to our fellow travellers and the crew. But it is not compulsary and certainly does not apply to lots of Seabourn customers.

Tony

PS. Forget about the pictures you see in the brochures. They are professional models and bear no relation to 99 out of 100 passengers you'll see at sea.

I find I have the best time when I worry about how I feel and not others. Bring a blazer and the rest of the time you'll be fine with what you describe. I'd put my energy into how I will get the most out of every port, enjoy the different people and cultures and food. Do you actually remember what anyone else has worn on the 21 cruises you have taken?

As a veteran of Radisson and then Regent, I am assuming that the "smart" country club casual of this line will be fine on Seabourn. I would doubt very much if we will not pass muster, despite husband not wearing a sports jacket.

........

 

No, I don't care about dress codes. I care about not being someplace where I feel unwelcome.

 

I fit in fine with the casual dress on Oceania and Regent. But Seabourn's dress code, catalogs and website give me the impression that the expectation of a Seabourn passenger is seriously different. That's what I'm trying to check out.

As Wripro says, you will fit right in. There was a time on Seabourn when it was much more dressy as was true for most cruise lines. That has changed even on Seabourn. If you were comfortable with you dress on Regent you will be comfortable on Seaboun also. Just add a blazer on "formal nights" for the dinning room.

One thing we love are the occasionally hosted tables, where you are invited to join an officer's hosted table of 8 to 10. If interested let the Maitre D' know. Reminds me of the "good old days" when we were lucky enough to draw an Officer's table for the duration of the cruise! But the down side was we also wore tuxs and ball gowns and traveled with 7 pieces of luggage! Not so today, just a pleasant relaxed evening.

Enjoy your cruise...we love Seabourn, but do cruise Regent for a good itinerary.

We now travel a lot with Seabourn as the old fashioned formality has gone. It’s much the same as Regent. We avoid Silversea because they are still in the nineteenth century regarding dress codes.

You'll find Seabourn passengers are too polite to make you feel unwelcome. Even if, in private, they feel you are letting the side down they will not ostracise you.

 

Only people who have not been brought up properly would do that and, in all my Searbourn cruising, I have never seen anyone do it as it is pure bad manners.

 

We like sailing Seabourn as we find our fellow passengers generally friendly and easy to chat to. Nobody is going to ask you if you actually do own a jacket or why your shoes are scruffy. You might get that in a more downmarket liner - but not on Seabourn.

 

We tend to dress smartly as (a) we like to and (b) out of respect to our fellow travellers and the crew. But it is not compulsary and certainly does not apply to lots of Seabourn customers..

Well, I will admit that this response is one of the most passive-aggressive posts that I've read on CC. It was quite clearly stating that, "Toolworker, you are welcome to follow the Seabourn dress code but will be adversely judged by those of us SB stalwarts who will be far too "polite" to point out to you that you're not wearing a jacket and that you have scruffy shoes."

Even by the somewhat peculiar standards of this CC board, which has a few posters who delight in reminding the rest of us that there are quite particular ways in which "gentlemen dress for dinner on a ship", the post that I quoted stands out as a monument to snobbery.

Irrespective of certain posters' disagreement with SB's changes in dress code over the last few years, the dress code does not require jackets on any evening in the main dining room except for the Formal Optional evenings. On those Formal Optional evenings, passengers are quite welcome to eat in the Colonnade wearing casual attire, according to the Hotel Director on our last Quest cruise. It is only in the MDR that the Formal Optional dress code applies, not in the other dining venues or in the lounges. We chatted with the Hotel Director at some length about this issue during a lively single malt scotch tasting. He was both adamant and unambiguous with regard to this matter.

So, Toolworker, it may come down to something like this: Do you really care what a certain segment of the passenger mix which doesn't agree with the changes in the SB dress code policy thinks; or do you choose to enjoy the manifest pleasures on a SB cruise while ignoring the possible snubs of those people? All things considered, one might imagine that being snubbed by such people is somewhat of a badge of honor, no? :evilsmile:

As for my partner & me, we managed quite nicely on our last Quest cruise with only a blazer (and no tie) on Formal Optional evenings, yet were approached by many people in the lounges to share drinks and conversation, including (gasp...) people who were in full traditional formal attire. Indeed, on our next Quest cruise, in Canada, we will not even be taking blazers, as we will happily dine in the Colonnade on the Formal Optional evenings.

Toolworker, please do not allow a few posters on these CC boards to unduly influence your decisions regarding cruising on SB (except for my post, of course, which should be take as absolute gospel :halo: ).

Cheers, Fred

Toolworker.

Freddie claims I said "Toolworker, you are welcome to follow the Seabourn dress code but will be adversely judged "

What I actually said was you are welcome not to follow the Seabourn dress code.

Freddie talks about "while ignoring the possible snubs of those people".

In all my days of Seabourn cruising I have never seen any case of snubbing and I am surprised that Freddie has (on Seabourn anyway).

I hope, Toolworker, that you did not find my post passive-aggressive (sic), and look forward to meeting you aboard sometime. We'll be able to share a joke about how many cans of worms these threads find to open!

Tony

"I don't think it has anything to do with richer vs. poorer. More likely it's older vs. younger. "

 

The change we noticed on our Anchorage/Vancouver Seabourn trip a month ago was the increased number of obese passengers. Several had to use wheeled zimmer frames to move around. I watched, with morbid curiosity, to see what they chose at the buffets and I am sure their condition was caused by greed rather than ill health.

 

 

A fellow passenger expressed the opinion that Holland America are more involved with the Seabourn marketing and selling hard the 'as much food and drink as you want' as a feature.

 

 

Also more obvious was the number of people sitting down for lunch the instant the deck buffet was opened - something we never noticed before.

 

 

No, we did not see more young people but we did see more fat ones - and inevitably their dress code was in a world of its own.

 

 

Tony

Tony I have just read your post which made me laugh out loud. Perfect and true with no PC just the truth . Must be down to you coming from the same part of the world as me :D

I find I have the best time when I worry about how I feel and not others.

Thanks, me too. I would feel uncomfortable if I were the only person in the room without a jacket or tie, regardless of what other people were thinking.

From what most people are saying, it sounds like I should come along on Seabourn, but pack a blazer and tie for the first time in 15 years, just in case I wind up feeling uncomfortable without them, and though I might offend a few better-bred people, I am unlikely to be voted off the ship. ;)

Spot on Toolworker. You have got the message.

If you could ever be bothered to work back over this thread you will find the most vocal are those who want to challenge the suggested dress code. I use the word suggested as nobody is saying it is compulsary. Read that message that followed mine.

"Do you really care what a certain segment of thepassenger" and "As for my partner & me, we managed quitenicely..."

It is as if not conforming with the dress code gave one the edge over those that do. Rather akin to the behaviour of a naughty schoolboy.

You'll see the odd message from people who say they like the excuse to dress up but these are in the minority compared with all those who post at length at it not being COMPULSARY.

My wife and I are going to the theatre tomorrow evening. I shall wear a jacket and tie. It is not obligatory but it makes the evening more special for me. And that, to us, is partly what cruising Seabourn is about. Doing something a bit special that most people don't know even exists. I didn't until four years ago!

My advice yesterday was that if you thought it a worry then chuck your blazer in your suitcase. It will take no space and it's there if you feel like something different to your shirt and sweater.

Have fun. You will find Seabourn addictive. You can do what you want, when you want and wear what you want. And there will be 300+ folk on the boat all doing their own thing and not caring a toss about you - until you start chatting to them and they discover what good company you are.

Tony

Spot on Toolworker. You have got the message.

If you could ever be bothered to work back over this thread you will find the most vocal are those who want to challenge the suggested dress code. I use the word suggested as nobody is saying it is compulsary. Read that message that followed mine.

"Do you really care what a certain segment of thepassenger" and "As for my partner & me, we managed quitenicely..."

It is as if not conforming with the dress code gave one the edge over those that do. Rather akin to the behaviour of a naughty schoolboy.

T&C - Although it is almost certainly an exercise in futility to attempt to point out your remarkable mischaracterization of my post, I will knock my head against the wall and do so.

I did not for a moment or for a phrase suggest that one should not conform to the Seabourn dress code and thereby gain "the edge over those that do". We conform quite assiduously to the ship's dress code, however much that dress code may or may not be what you wish it to be.

Perhaps the "naughty schoolboy" in this case is in fact someone who tells a sincere inquirer that his following the Seabourn dress code might be quite fine with Seabourn but would not be up to snuff for the likes of said schoolboy. One might respectfully suggest that said schoolboy consider that his personal sartorial preferences are his own concern and that his wish to impose them upon other passengers is presumptuous.

In this matter, Seabourn sets the code. If any particular passenger is not happy with that code and wishes that it was still as it once was, that passenger is at full liberty to dress in whatever finery appeals to him. However, to make such a clear statement that by merely following the ship's present dress code a fellow passenger would be "letting the side down" is both contrary to the reality of a Seabourn cruise and offensively elitist.

Cheers, Fred

Although it is almost certainly an exercise in futility to attempt to point out your remarkable mischaracterization of my post, I will knock my head against the wall and do so.

Don't misjudge yourself. Nothing you say is futile.You say We conform quite assiduously to the ship's dress code,

Splendid.

What frustrates me is when people post on this thread that they know there is a dress code and take pride in saying they don't conform to it. Might it be like going to an Indian restaurant and complaining that all they serve is curry?

I run an annual Black Tie event that is attended by about 2,500 people. We rigorously refuse entry to gentlemen not wearing a proper bow tie. We don't allow those stringy black tie jobs that are sometimes now worn at Oscar ceremonies. If they have bought a ticket we tell them to come back the next day and they can have their money back. The 2,490 people who get through the system applaud us for our rigidity and vote our event as the best in the year.

I know Seabourn would never get away with such discipline but there are London restaurants (mainly in Clubs I admit) that still do - and they do not struggle for custom.

Why do I post here? To try to help Toolworker who does show genuine concern. The I am not going to be told brigade are already a lost cause as you and I know.

Tony

Can any experienced Seabournites describe their experiences aboard an Antarctica cruise with respect to average dress? Is it more or less casual than a typical Seabourn cruise?

I don't know why people would think that on cruises to Antarctica (or Alaska ) would vary from the "average." The only adjustments I noticed on our Antarctica cruise had to do with the obvious -- the weather. Seabourn passengers in general dress per Seabourn dress code irrespective of the itinerary. There were one or two first time passengers who seemed to think they were on a true expedition ship where anything goes as far as Dress and were turned away from the MDR at night in their hiking pants, thermal tops and boots.

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First formal night on the last Alaska cruise of the season was last night and the dress was up to the Seabourn standard. We were at the Engineers table and there was one tux, one suite, and two blazers and the Seabourn dress uniform plus 5 ladies in cocktail dresses. The dress code was followed from all I could see.

Can any experienced Seabournites describe their experiences aboard an Antarctica cruise with respect to average dress? Is it more or less casual than a typical Seabourn cruise?

We were on the first cruise of the second Seabourn Antarctic seaon (Nov/Dec 2014)

Unfortunately we found the dress much more casual than usual, in fact I remarked on this forum at the time that some of the clothing that was being worn, I wouldn't have been allowed to wear for gardening !

We even had a couple of middle aged men who wore blue demin Bib & Brace Overalls (Dungerees?) the whole time, admiitedly they did resort to wearing checked flannel shirts under them when the weather became cooler !:o

That said, there is no excuse for not looking neat and clean, after all the clothes weigh the same.

I find posters care more than actual passengers. The posters of late on this thread are nasty. Get a life. No one cares what anyone is wearing other than maybe 5% of passengers, none of whom the other 95% care about anyway, and who sound like absolute boors.