What dress code on a 3 night cruise

Hi...we are doing a 3 night cruise in January and have been told there will not be a formal night..ie...dinner suit/ball gowns.. but that all nights tend to be formal so what can we expect...just jacket and trousers but no tie for men? Will there be any themed evenings...like a red/white & blue British evening etc?

That is a departure from what I have previously known on Fred ships as I have always experienced a formal, even on a two night mini cruise, so looks like they are relaxing dress codes. Is it Fred who told you that there will not be a formal though as you may have been mis informed? If there is a formal, then a lounge suit and tie is quite acceptable for men and a proper evening dress is not required for ladies.

The other evenings will likely be smart casual as they no longer have semi formal nights when either a jacket or tie was required for men. Hence jacket probably not needed unless you are told otherwise.

Fred's smart casual does tend to be fairly smartish clothes, they do say smart dark jeans are acceptable, but would be very unusual in the main restaurant. My husband would wear smart trousers and a shirt (short or long sleeved) and I would wear a decent top and skirt or smart trousers or day dress. A plain ladies tee shirt is fine, but I am talking about the sort of thing worn if going out to a decent restaurant - not a trip to the beach. Men are seen in polo shirts at times, though shirts are more common, (I think Fred do say a collar is needed). The self service is less formal but shorts are not accepted at night.

Sandals can be scorned for men - an American was sent out of the self service restaurant for the late night snacks on our recent cruise, though my husband has worn black leather sandals with black socks and long trousers in the main restaurants on smart casual nights and got away with it. We are thinking the American may have had bare feet, though still we considered it discrimination, as women with sandals and bare feet are quite acceptable and that is always my foot attire in the main restaurants - even on formal nights! I do wear smart sandals though.

They do have British evenings, but not everyone bothers with that. Many people wear something, red white or blue though, even if coupled with other colours. So basically nothing special required.

Thank you tring for reply. I enquired direct with Fred O and that is what I was told by them....no formal evening as such but all evenings tend to be formal so I was slightly confused by the reply...thinking she must mean no jeans/shorts/sandals etc allowed in MDR although from your reply no shorts/sandals in the SS for late night snacks

We used the self-service restaurant on Balmoral and it is fairly relaxed in the evenings. I did wear smartish polo shirts or open-necked shirts with trousers but certainly no shorts, sandals or vests. It's worth pointing out that in the day time beachwear is not tolerated even in the self-service area, a chap coming in from the pool area in only a vest (and shorts of course!) was quickly frog-marched out. The shorts were fine, it was the vest wot done it ! Enjoy !

Hi...we are doing a 3 night cruise in January and have been told there will not be a formal night..ie...dinner suit/ball gowns.. but that all nights tend to be formal so what can we expect...just jacket and trousers but no tie for men? Will there be any themed evenings...like a red/white & blue British evening etc?

We have always had a formal night on the 3 night cruises but not the 2 night but no other themed evening. You will find out for sure when you get your tickets through.

We have always had a formal night on the 3 night cruises but not the 2 night but no other themed evening. You will find out for sure when you get your tickets through.

This is what I was thinking - the dress code will not be decided yet, so it seems strange that FO have said there will not be a formal, unless their policy has changed regarding mini cruises. We had a formal on a two night cruise about 3 years ago and it was the first night as well, though the ship did sail very early on that one.

I think the dress codes come up on "Manage my Cruises" nearer to the time, so may not have to wait for tickets.

We went on a 3 night mini cruise last year, and there was no formal night. However, everyone dressed smartly - hubby wore short sleeved shirt and trousers and I wore dress - also, as well as dresses, other ladies had skirt/ trousers and smart tops. Hope this helps.

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