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Dress code help needed


Csardas
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Our first Oceania cruise is in July, in the Med. I've read all the information on the website but as we're Scottish and don't have Country Clubs, CC casual means absolutely nothing to me!

I don't want to be over or under dressed in the evenings. We've only cruised with Cunard before; would items worn for their Informal nights be too dressy?

Ladies-help!!

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Never been on Cunard

for the ladies

Think Nice slacks or skirt & nice top, sparkles not required

A simple black dress with some jewelry or scarf

 

men

Nice slacks ..not sure if you have Dockers in the UK

Nice button down shirt with a collar or polo shirt (golf shirt In North America )

Jacket/blazer not required

 

Smart dress will be fine

No shorts, sneakers, flip flops or T shirts in the dining venues for dinner except the Terrace where it is more casual

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Our first Oceania cruise is in July, in the Med. I've read all the information on the website but as we're Scottish and don't have Country Clubs, CC casual means absolutely nothing to me!

I don't want to be over or under dressed in the evenings. We've only cruised with Cunard before; would items worn for their Informal nights be too dressy?

Ladies-help!!

 

 

Cunard informal nights is fine.A collar for men,as LHT28 says,shirt (short sleeve is fine) or polo shirt.My husband took a light jacket and he wore it once,on our first specialist restaurant booking.I wore a dress at the speciality restaurants,knee length,but didn't have to.No pearls necessary! I wore casual trousers or cropped trousers with a pretty top when dining outside in the evening.

It is really smart casual.

I have cruised Cunard in balcony cabin and Princess Grill and prefer Oceania now.

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I agree with Ron. Country club casual doesn't mean much to us either, but the emphasis is on "nice casual" perhaps. Dress nicely without formality ... does that help?

 

I have often had casual long outfits for dinner time ... wore out the last one, unfortunately! A nice top (it doesn't have to be beaded!) with "loungey" pants will work well for dinner for you. On occasions I've seen people in true formal attire and I figure that is because they WANT to dress that way, and that is okay as well. But it's a lot easier not having to bring along formal wear for a cruise.

 

I( did have one trip many years ago (not a cruise) where I had to bring a formal gown in case I made the finals in an opera competition. I didn't, and so dragging that dress around was a real pain!)

 

For the woman, take a couple of nice tops that will coordinate with a couple of nice pants/slacks/skirts and you'll be fine. For the man, a nice shirt and pants will also do well. Hubby doesn't need a jacket but if he wants to wear one, he won't be alone.

 

I've told this story before ... we shared a table with another couple a few years ago. The husband was in a suit. He immediately asked about the dress code,and I filled him in. We saw them the next night in one of the specialty restaurants and he was sans tie and jacket ...

 

Mura

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This seems to be a constant question about Oceania and what everyone has stated so far is consistent, no jeans or shorts, collared shirt and trousers for men, skirt/dressy pants and blouse or sun/cocktail dress for women.

 

Personally, I plan to pack two blazers/sportcoats and shirts and slacks to match to get me through the 10 day cruise. While that may be considered overkill for Oceania, that's what I wear into town for a nice dinner and/or show with drinks, so I couldn't imagine dressing more casually on a cruise with fancy food and restaurants.

 

I will probably bring only a one or two ties, but expect to bring a number of pocket squares to mix it up a bit. Not sure how much this impacts your planning, but the Oceania marketing material I saw had folks dressed up pretty nicely, most men were wearing jackets.

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Bring what you want to bring and makes you comfortable, but the advertising material is generally misleading ... Most of us aren't that attractive, for starters.

 

And mostly we dress neatly ... your jacket isn't necessary but if you want to wear one you won't be the only gentleman doing so!

 

Mura

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... the Oceania marketing material I saw had folks dressed up pretty nicely, most men were wearing jackets.

 

Oceania could do its new cruisers a world of good if the advertising photographs really captured a more realistic version of "Country Club Casual." The way people look in the marketing brochures depicts no more than 15% of the cruisers on a port-intensive cruise. That number rises somewhat for people cruising over the Christmas/New Year's holidays or a cruise with many at-sea days.

 

Some readers may take issue with my specific number, but I think everyone agrees that the look shown in brochure photographs is atypical.

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As a fellow Brit female, I thought I would just add my thoughts, pretty much agree with all previous posters, I like to dress up a bit in the evening, but very rarely wear dresses, I take several pairs of trousers in different colours and team these up with floaty tunic type tops, think Sahara or Phase Eight in the Uk and you will know where I am coming from. Add a nice pair of sandals and some jewellery and you will be spot on. My husband does take a blazer type jacket, which he wears some nights, other than that chino type trousers with a smart casual shirt. Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise, I am sure you will love it.

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As a fellow Brit female, I thought I would just add my thoughts, pretty much agree with all previous posters, I like to dress up a bit in the evening, but very rarely wear dresses, I take several pairs of trousers in different colours and team these up with floaty tunic type tops, think Sahara or Phase Eight in the Uk and you will know where I am coming from. Add a nice pair of sandals and some jewellery and you will be spot on. My husband does take a blazer type jacket, which he wears some nights, other than that chino type trousers with a smart casual shirt. Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise, I am sure you will love it.

 

 

Glad to hear about the sandals as that is what I usually bring but I read somewhere no sandals at dinner?

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Glad to hear about the sandals as that is what I usually bring but I read somewhere no sandals at dinner?

There are dress sandals & there are beach sandals

 

What would be more appropriate for dinner in a nice restaurant ?

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Oceania cruises don't appear to be a one size fits all affair for dress (forgive the pun). The Carribean cruises seem to have a different drift of their own,being somewhat more casual overall, however, for most of the European and Asian based cruise, it has been my experience that in the Specialty Restaurants about 50%+ of the gentlemen wear sports jackets, while in the MDR, for dinner, the number is far lower ~ 15-20%. Ties are rarely worn. The Ladies often dress equivalently, or nicer, than their husbands. So you can take that as an example.

 

If you are on an O ship (Marina or Riveria) and go to an evening in La Reserve, it has been my experience that 75%+ of the gentlemen wear jackets.

 

As has been earlier stated, sports jackets are never required, however, many of the gentlemen view the Specialty Restaurants (in particular) as equivalent to going to fine upscale restaurants in the US or Europe and dress as they would if going to one of those. Some people choose to dress to the lowest standards possible to get into the door, and you may well be seating (while sharing) next to them. So enjoy your meal and be comfortable within your own standards of dress.

 

The Terrace is for those wanting to dress more casually for dinner.

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Our first Oceania cruise is in July, in the Med. I've read all the information on the website but as we're Scottish and don't have Country Clubs, CC casual means absolutely nothing to me!

I don't want to be over or under dressed in the evenings. We've only cruised with Cunard before; would items worn for their Informal nights be too dressy?

Ladies-help!!

 

 

There are no "formal" nights on Oceania. Just don't dress for dinner like you're going to a fast food outlet or amusement park. For men: slacks and collared shirts with deck shoes are perfect in all venues.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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This seems to be a constant question about Oceania and what everyone has stated so far is consistent, no jeans or shorts, collared shirt and trousers for men, skirt/dressy pants and blouse or sun/cocktail dress for women.

 

Personally, I plan to pack two blazers/sportcoats and shirts and slacks to match to get me through the 10 day cruise. While that may be considered overkill for Oceania, that's what I wear into town for a nice dinner and/or show with drinks, so I couldn't imagine dressing more casually on a cruise with fancy food and restaurants.

 

I will probably bring only a one or two ties, but expect to bring a number of pocket squares to mix it up a bit. Not sure how much this impacts your planning, but the Oceania marketing material I saw had folks dressed up pretty nicely, most men were wearing jackets.

 

You won't be out of place, but neither will the person wearing just a nice shirt and slacks, including nice designer jeans. They are not prohibited, only casual jeans.

 

It seems so many people focus on the Country Club aspect of the dress code and overlook the Resort Casual in the same sentence. From the Oceania website;

 

" For evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is suggested"

It's a pretty simple dress code, no need to complicate it. Most folks look nice, but there are always a few that either push it or just have poor taste.

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Oceania cruises don't appear to be a one size fits all affair for dress (forgive the pun). The Carribean cruises seem to have a different drift of their own,being somewhat more casual overall, however, for most of the European and Asian based cruise, it has been my experience that in the Specialty Restaurants about 50%+ of the gentlemen wear sports jackets, while in the MDR, for dinner, the number is far lower ~ 15-20%. Ties are rarely worn. The Ladies often dress equivalently, or nicer, than their husbands. So you can take that as an example.

 

If you are on an O ship (Marina or Riveria) and go to an evening in La Reserve, it has been my experience that 75%+ of the gentlemen wear jackets.

 

As has been earlier stated, sports jackets are never required, however, many of the gentlemen view the Specialty Restaurants (in particular) as equivalent to going to fine upscale restaurants in the US or Europe and dress as they would if going to one of those. Some people choose to dress to the lowest standards possible to get into the door, and you may well be seating (while sharing) next to them. So enjoy your meal and be comfortable within your own standards of dress.

 

.

 

 

While I generally agree with Pinotlover, certainly with regard to the Carib. We have experienced lower percentages of Sport Jackets on European cruises. Perhaps 10-15% in the MDR and +/- 30% in the specialties. Less than 50% in two La Reserve dinners.

 

We are Northwesterers and jackets are rarely seen even in the poshest of restaurants in Seattle or Portland. There is exactly one restaurant in Seattle that requires men to wear jackets. So, I am not accustomed to wearing a jacket to dinner although I do on occasions that are special to us. Point being, there is a regional variation is dress standards. I have spoken to men who tell me their country club "casual" requires jackets. That's not going to happen around here :cool:.

 

Doesn't really matter - it's all up to you (and your spouse :D)

 

 

We often combine our European cruises with extended land trips, often by train. Keeping the baggage down to one reasonably sized bag is a wonderful blessing when you are manhandling your bag on and off trains on short stops and hiking to city center hotels. We love Oceania dress policy.

 

Robbie

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We leave in less than a week and our travel companions are wondering if dressy jeans are okay in the GDR and the specialty restaurants. Advice, please?

 

 

Here's a link to a 10 page thread with the title "The Stigma Against Jeans??" on this board from April last year. NOthing of substance has changed on this topic.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2350391

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Do they not own a pair of nice dress slacks? Why do they want to press the limits with jeans? If this is merely a game of how far they can dress down then here is the only accurate answer: the Maitre de at each restaurant will unilaterally make the decision, when they show up, as to whether , in the maitre de's mind , the jeans are dressy or casual and ,if the latter, your companions must go change. Your , or their , opinion doesn't matter only the maitre de's. You figure out if the game is worth it.

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