I very much enjoy the experience of dining in the MDR. It is not just about getting dinner; they will deliver the MDR menu to my room if I only want the food. There are many elements to the experience; decor, attentive service, china, flat ware, food, wine, coffee, conversation, how the staff dress, and even the design of the room itself. Another part of the experience of dining, for me, is how the other guests dress and their behavior. Kinda like Rockey Horor Picture Show, or Japanese Kabuki theater, audience participation is part of the experience.
It has nothing to do with judging someone else about how they like to dress or what they like to do on their vacation. By all means, you do you. But when someone else decides to ignore the clearly written direction on how to dress, you deny me my experience. Please let me be me.
I will be taking my first Celebrity cruise this August. I changed from NCL specifically because I hoped Celebrity would be somewhat more traditional and calmer. One of my top hopes for Celebrity specifically was that the MDR dining would a more traditional, full dining experience. I think it is great that people want to have a crazy silly time with their kids on vacation, or that 20-somethings want to be up drinking and dancing until 2am. I think it is great that people want to wear flip-flops and shorts to their dinner (on NCL anywhere or Celebrity at the buffet dinner). I chose Celebrity because I am looking for a somewhat different experience. It is discouraging to see I may not find it because someone else has decided that because dressing "to code" does not matter to them, and they are going to make that decision for me.
Finally, I see lots of people on this thread who say they like to wear shorts and flip-flops on their vacation dinner, but that they either eat at the buffet or put on pants and shoes anyway for the MDR. Thank you for your consideration, and there will be at least one passenger in August who appreciates it.