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How to dress for MDR (teens/tweens)


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OK, I feel like I have general sense of what to wear for MDR nights. In short, I prefer to follow the suggestions and keep it on the more formal side, as requested. That said, I have kids who will be 13, 11, and 10. On non-formal nights, should they be wearing pants as well (no nicer shorts)? What about shirts on those nights? I assume they can wear a short sleeve with a collar. ??

 

Any other tips on trying to stick with their rules/suggestions? TIA.

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OK, I feel like I have general sense of what to wear for MDR nights. In short, I prefer to follow the suggestions and keep it on the more formal side, as requested. That said, I have kids who will be 13, 11, and 10. On non-formal nights, should they be wearing pants as well (no nicer shorts)? What about shirts on those nights? I assume they can wear a short sleeve with a collar. ??

 

Any other tips on trying to stick with their rules/suggestions? TIA.

Here's a brief topic on shorts in the dining room:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2238812

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OK, I feel like I have general sense of what to wear for MDR nights. In short, I prefer to follow the suggestions and keep it on the more formal side, as requested. That said, I have kids who will be 13, 11, and 10. On non-formal nights, should they be wearing pants as well (no nicer shorts)? What about shirts on those nights? I assume they can wear a short sleeve with a collar. ??

 

Any other tips on trying to stick with their rules/suggestions? TIA.

 

When my son was a teen, we always wore khakis and a polo shirt to dinner on casual nights. He would come back from hanging out on the sports deck, take a quick shower, change, eat dinner and then be back in shorts and a tshirt for the rest of the night. He only needed a couple of pairs of pants for the whole week since he wore them for about an hour and a half each night.

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My daughter wears a sundress to dinner, which is pretty easy for girls. For the boys im not sure, but most people aren't going to judge you for letting them come as they are, especially since most kids don't have a lot of "formal" clothes or office wear and certainly shouldn't be expected to buy it special for a vacation. But if they have a pair of church clothes or holiday clothes, bring those :)

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I am assuming you are speaking of 3 young men....yes, they should wear pants, polo or short sleeve button down is fine.

 

 

Now if you are on a Caribbean or Mexican cruise all bets are off...

Edited by land lover
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Thanks. It is Caribbean. Three boys, ages 13, 11, and 10. So, somewhat young men, but not 'men' yet. I just don't want to buy a too many formal clothes since they don't wear them typically. I will have to find a way to mix and match and make sure they don't stain the pants too quickly so they can re-wear them a few times. Thank you.

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Thanks. It is Caribbean. Three boys, ages 13, 11, and 10. So, somewhat young men, but not 'men' yet. I just don't want to buy a too many formal clothes since they don't wear them typically. I will have to find a way to mix and match and make sure they don't stain the pants too quickly so they can re-wear them a few times. Thank you.

 

Long pants don't need to be 'formal' something like dockers/khakis with a polo shirt is absolutely fine

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Thanks. It is Caribbean. Three boys, ages 13, 11, and 10. So, somewhat young men, but not 'men' yet. I just don't want to buy a too many formal clothes since they don't wear them typically. I will have to find a way to mix and match and make sure they don't stain the pants too quickly so they can re-wear them a few times. Thank you.

 

 

Darker tan khakis, or even navy khakis will be just fine with a couple of inexpensive polo shirts. Pack a Tide-to-Go pen for small stains that might need attention.

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On the Freedom last summer, most young men/boys were in nice shorts on non formal nights.

 

Just a quick comment. If you are going to try and get into the MDR for dinner in shorts, be sure to have some long pants as a back up. It is posted that shorts are banned during dinner in the MDR. Sometimes it's enforced and sometimes it's not. So if your kids show up in shorts they could be turned away. Seems to depend on the ship and dining room staff.

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When my son was a teen, we always wore khakis and a polo shirt to dinner on casual nights. He would come back from hanging out on the sports deck, take a quick shower, change, eat dinner and then be back in shorts and a tshirt for the rest of the night. He only needed a couple of pairs of pants for the whole week since he wore them for about an hour and a half each night.

 

This is a PERFECT reply:)

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When my son was a teen, we always wore khakis and a polo shirt to dinner on casual nights. He would come back from hanging out on the sports deck, take a quick shower, change, eat dinner and then be back in shorts and a tshirt for the rest of the night. He only needed a couple of pairs of pants for the whole week since he wore them for about an hour and a half each night.

 

My husband does the same thing on non-formal nights. I pack a pair of khakis and a couple of matching polo shirts, and he wears them to dinner (and sometimes to the show afterwards) and then switches back to shorts and a TShirt. The "dinner clothes" can be worn multiple times, since they don't really get dirty (unless he spills something on them, which I usually can spot-clean)

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Thank you all. I'll have a little shopping to do before we leave to ensure we have the right clothing for them. They have some now, but I don't think it's enough for an entire week. Thanks.

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My 10 year old son really got into dressing for dinner... just a polo shirt or button up (a little fancier on formal nights) but he likes to wear his cross necklace, watch and comb his hair nice... actually a nice treat to see.

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Thank you all. I'll have a little shopping to do before we leave to ensure we have the right clothing for them. They have some now, but I don't think it's enough for an entire week. Thanks.

 

Well, don't worry about overpacking for them. Usually a couple pairs for pants are fine for the casual nights, if you wear each pair two or three times. You can mix and match them with different shirts like polos or Hawaiian style shirts. (Same kinds of shirts you might pair with "nicer shorts.") :cool:

 

Edit - Didn't mean to be redundant. I see you've already gotten the same advice a couple times over. Most of all, though, just don't let it stress you out. Enjoy the preparation and anticipation.

Edited by Paul65
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First of all don't dress them in what you or I may think is fashionable . By the way I am over 60.

 

Let them understand what the dress code says and select something they and their friends think looks cool. Providing that it is within reason they will be good to go and happier.

 

Remember jeans (not ripped) are OK in the MDR on non formal night. That is of course if they like wearing jeans.

Edited by woodyren
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OK, I feel like I have general sense of what to wear for MDR nights. In short, I prefer to follow the suggestions and keep it on the more formal side, as requested. That said, I have kids who will be 13, 11, and 10. On non-formal nights, should they be wearing pants as well (no nicer shorts)? What about shirts on those nights? I assume they can wear a short sleeve with a collar. ??

 

Any other tips on trying to stick with their rules/suggestions? TIA.

 

Our rule when our sons were teenagers was long pants and a collared shirt for the MDR on non-formal nights. Period.

 

My oldest son went on a long hiatus from cruising, and went to several land resorts for vacations and weddings. He was surprised when we took the whole family on a cruise in 2008 that he couldn't wear long shorts and flipflops to dinner. I just told him (again, after many years): "If you want to eat with us we will be in the MDR, and it's collared shirt and long pants. Otherwise, the Windjammer is great for dinner, and we'll see you later". He just wore his suit pants every night with a shirt.

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Will agree with many others here. What we have done is bring a pair or dark pants (black or navy) and a pair of khakis. You can then dress those up or down as desired for both formal and casual nights. Since they are just worn at dinner, you can usually get away with just the 2 pair on a 7 night cruise.

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OK, I feel like I have general sense of what to wear for MDR nights. In short, I prefer to follow the suggestions and keep it on the more formal side, as requested. That said, I have kids who will be 13, 11, and 10. On non-formal nights, should they be wearing pants as well (no nicer shorts)? What about shirts on those nights? I assume they can wear a short sleeve with a collar. ??

 

Any other tips on trying to stick with their rules/suggestions? TIA.

 

the suggested dress code is for ALL cruisers old enough to dress themselves.

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Thank you all. I'll have a little shopping to do before we leave to ensure we have the right clothing for them. They have some now, but I don't think it's enough for an entire week. Thanks.

 

I have teen boys and on our recent Allure Spring Break trip all they needed was 2 pair of long pants and 3 collared shirts each. The minute they are done eating it is back in shorts and tee shirts.

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Thanks. It is Caribbean. Three boys, ages 13, 11, and 10. So, somewhat young men, but not 'men' yet. I just don't want to buy a too many formal clothes since they don't wear them typically. I will have to find a way to mix and match and make sure they don't stain the pants too quickly so they can re-wear them a few times. Thank you.

 

When we took our "young men" if it was a warm cruise one pair of pants and a few polos or button downs, now we did get into the formal wear as I purchased them tuxes, just something I wanted to do because I never had girls, and wanted all my men to pose for formal photos and the easiest way was to get them on a ship.LOL

But this was 7 years ago and so much has changed on cruise lines.

 

But really, your guys will be in board shorts all day long, so honestly you can get by with very little.

 

But, this is my suggestion for some of your packing list:

 

2pts. 1 light, 1 dark(for formal nights)(either pair can be worn on the plane) Often after all day in the sun and water it's nice to have a pair of long pants for the evening so you are not chilled.

3 polos or button down(print can hide stains)

1 shorts

1 rash guard...which will probably be worn the most, but easy to rinse every night and will be dry by morning

2 board shorts.... can be worn on all excursions as shorts and again easy rinse and dry

2 t shirts at the most(shirts used in the evening can be used during the day)

hoodie

 

Don't worry about small stains, or bring the stick as another poster mentioned.

 

I don't know about you but I enjoyed seeing my sons when they were young being a little more "formal", I know they certainly got the compliments.

 

BTW DH & I always change out of our formal wear, because I like to gamble in the evening and the smoke smell often sticks to formal attire.

 

Also I might mention that I am the leave it lady. If the boys have some items you are ready to discard or are being close to be out grown bring them use them one last time and leave them.....I do the same for my DH and me.

Edited by land lover
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BTW...we often think our guys are going to be stinky etc.....LOL but it's not like they are sweating up a storm on a cruise ship, they are swimming in the pool and sea, there is usually a breeze and really, it's true not that much is worn when you are on a Caribbean cruise. Only unless you are like me and can't be seen in the same thing twice:rolleyes:

Edited by land lover
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When we took our "young men" if it was a warm cruise one pair of pants and a few polos or button downs, now we did get into the formal wear as I purchased them tuxes, just something I wanted to do because I never had girls, and wanted all my men to pose for formal photos and the easiest way was to get them on a ship.LOL

But this was 7 years ago and so much has changed on cruise lines.

 

But really, your guys will be in board shorts all day long, so honestly you can get by with very little.

 

But, this is my suggestion for some of your packing list:

 

2pts. 1 light, 1 dark(for formal nights)(either pair can be worn on the plane) Often after all day in the sun and water it's nice to have a pair of long pants for the evening so you are not chilled.

3 polos or button down(print can hide stains)

1 shorts

1 rash guard...which will probably be worn the most, but easy to rinse every night and will be dry by morning

2 board shorts.... can be worn on all excursions as shorts and again easy rinse and dry

2 t shirts at the most(shirts used in the evening can be used during the day)

hoodie

 

Don't worry about small stains, or bring the stick as another poster mentioned.

 

I don't know about you but I enjoyed seeing my sons when they were young being a little more "formal", I know they certainly got the compliments.

 

BTW DH & I always change out of our formal wear, because I like to gamble in the evening and the smoke smell often sticks to formal attire.

 

Also I might mention that I am the leave it lady. If the boys have some items you are ready to discard or are being close to be out grown bring them use them one last time and leave them.....I do the same for my DH and me.

Leaves room for a few souvenirs.

so weird was trying to add something and it quoted and then you got my sig ...oh well

Edited by land lover
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