VaTraveler

I am booked for the Royal Dolphin Swim and am curious about the biodegradable sunscreen policy. Does anyone have any experience with any of these sunscreens? Are they effective? I understand they are sold at the park, but is there anywhere else they can be bought other than online?

Dibbitz, I think any of the dresses you describe would not be in the least bit out of place. We took a European (Greek Isles) cruise in October of 2007, twelve day, with Princess, and again I saw lots of all types of dresses. It was certainly more formal than this one was, but the short dresses and pants with dressy tops were still in the majority. Trust me, you will not feel out of place in any of them.

I kind of hate to see the true formal night disappear. As I'm sure you know, we don't have many formal occasions in this area, so I enjoy the opportunity to dress up on the ships.

Since I started this thread, I thought I would get back on and report on my experience on the Veendam regarding formal wear. It was a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise. I've been on several 7-day Caribbean cruises before on different cruise lines, and I can say this was the LEAST formal of any cruise I've ever been on. I wore my short cocktail dress the first night--red sheath with a small amount of beading. I was among the most dressed of anyone I saw. The second night I had a long, black formal, and I was much more formal than anyone else I saw. It was really crazy how casual the majority of the people were. I did see quite a few men in tuxes, although I also saw a large number in suits and even sport coats. It was the women who were dressed more for church than for a formal night. Of the few who did have on something I would consider close to formal wear in many cases had shoes that were flat sandals of the EasySpirit or Naturalizer variety.

So, that was my experience. I guess all cruises are getting less formal. This Holland America was less formal than any others I've been on.

Hmmm. Now I'm undecided again. The fact that it is a seven-day Caribbean was what made me think it may not be as formal. From what you said, that may be true. Maybe I'll take an extra short one just to make sure.:confused:

Thanks to all. I think I've decided to wear the shorter cocktail dress one night and go all out in the long dress the other. I don't get that many opportunities to dress up.:D

HoyaHeel, I think I was posting at the same time as you were responding to my post. I appreciate the insight. I would not wear anything less dressy than a cocktail dress, so I guess I will be OK.

Jenivive, I thank you for your reply. Actually, I would prefer to go less dressy this time because I just don't want to be bothered packing the long gowns, but I don't want to be under dressed in comparison to everyone else. I've been led to believe that Holland America is a different demographic than the cruise lines I am used to, and I was just wondering what the norm is for this line. I believe 7-day Caribbean cruises tend to be less formal in general, but I'm not sure about Holland America.

We are taking our first cruise on Holland America in two weeks. It's a Western Caribbean, 7-night cruise. We've previously been on several with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Princess. I have always done the long formal on formal nights, but I have recently begun to feel I was dressed more formally than the majority of passengers. Does anyone have experience with Holland America? Do most wear long dresses or cocktail?