Are jeans, flip-flops, and a halter top good for formal night?

Okay..haha, obviously a joke.

I was just curious about the dress for formal nights on Alaskan cruises. I post on the Alaskan boards but posting here for more variety.

Is it true that dress is less formal on these cruises? We are not planning on taking dresses but instead just black dress pants and a nice top.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

People aren't going to take time to answer you with that title. I find people dress just as formal in Alaska as anyplace. It is time to take your long sleeved formals as it can be cool in the evening. It is fun to dress for a special occasion, you wouldn't want to look out of place.:o

If that's formal night for you, I know a few guys who'd like to meet you on informal night. ;)

Seriously, I'v never heard of Alaskan cruises to be any more or less dressy than other itineraries per se. Except that maybe AK isn't as much of a "letting your hair down" type cruise as, say, the Caribbean. But I'd think that Alaska, Europe, South America or Asia are in the same league in this respect. Either way, you'll be fine with pants and a top, I'm sure.

G.

I personally would feel extremely out of place wearing dress pants on a formal night. My mom did this once, but the next time she was sure to pack a nice formal dress - that i found at one of the department stores on clearance for $14 bucks i might add! You can often find nice formal dresses on clearance after prom season or homecoming season. Or you could ask some of your friends if they have anything you could borrow. I know that alot of times, people shy away from formal attire because it isnt something they think they will ever wear again. But I wear mine over and over and they havent ever gone out of style.

On non formal nights, I usually wear dress pants or capris with a nice top (ok ill admit that its a halter!) and dress sandals (not flip flops)

Hope this helps!

I think jeans with rhinestones and bejewelled flip-flops would be perfect on formal nights! Just make sure your halter top is "belly-shirt" length!

OK--just kidding!!!!

Way to grap everyones attention!! We returned 2 weeks ago from the voyager....I wore dressy black pants both nights and two different dressy tops did not feel out of place at all Actually was dressier than many... Don't get me wrong there were plenty way dressier (sp?) than me But I did not feel out of place at all!! Have fun :D

Thanks for all your posts. I'm surprised that more people didn't say that they saw this as customary on AK cruises.

Have any of you personally been on a AK cruise to know this for sure?

Thanks again.

Alaska was just as dressy as Caribbean cruises...the most dressy cruises, where the Med where over 90% of the men where in tux's.."who knew"

We are going on the splender of the seas for Easter. My husband is wearing a suit, my daughter and I each have semi-formal dresses, can the teen age boys get by with dress pants, dress shoes, shirt and tie? With the way the grow, I cannot see buying a jacket because they do not wear them here. School dances do not require it. I hope they will not be out of place.

Cathy

I'm sure the title of this post got a few people's heart rate up faster than a jog around the block!

I've been on a couple Alaska cruises.

I did not find them to be less formal; black evening pants with sparkle like tops and mid-calf to long gowns.

I will say it seemed that less men were in tuxes on my second cruise there. That could have just been the difference in cruise lines tho.

Formal nights are no less dressy in Alaska than anywhere else.

I think the more casual comes from day wear, when most are wearing jeans and T's. Although, on almost every other cruise, casual wear is what everyone wears during the day.

We cruised Alaska on Celebrity and every night people were well dressed, not necessarily to the nines, but I don't recall anyone in jeans and T's at all, even the children were well turned out.

People aren't going to take time to answer you with that title. I find people dress just as formal in Alaska as anyplace. It is time to take your long sleeved formals as it can be cool in the evening. It is fun to dress for a special occasion' date=' you wouldn't want to look out of place.:o[/quote']

 

Six Alaska cruises and the formal nights are just as formal IME.

Just got off the Voyager 0n March 10th. We ate at the Magic Flute and all 7 nights people were admitted wearing jeans, t-shirts and shorts. Don't know how thet were dressed on the other two levels. There use to be a sign at the entrance that stated "No swim suits, bare feet, blue jeans, or shorts". I didn't see the sign, so apparently RCL is changing the dress code. There was one night I didn't feel like dressing up so ate at the Windjammer but numerous others didn't.

Just got off the Voyager 0n March 10th. We ate at the Magic Flute and all 7 nights people were admitted wearing jeans, t-shirts and shorts. Don't know how thet were dressed on the other two levels. There use to be a sign at the entrance that stated "No swim suits, bare feet, blue jeans, or shorts". I didn't see the sign, so apparently RCL is changing the dress code. There was one night I didn't feel like dressing up so ate at the Windjammer but numerous others didn't.

RCI seems to have adopted an "anything goes" attitude in the dining rooms on their ships these days. I saw it all as well on my last few cruises.

People aren't going to take time to answer you with that title. I find people dress just as formal in Alaska as anyplace. It is time to take your long sleeved formals as it can be cool in the evening. It is fun to dress for a special occasion' date=' you wouldn't want to look out of place.:o[/quote']

 

You under estimate the people who post on these boards.:)

We were on the Alaskan cruise and were surprised to see so many sweatpants and sweatshirts all over the ship. We left ours at home but bought some in Alaska. Most of those people had been before so knew what they would need and while it was one of our best trips yet it was very wet and muddy in town. We even bought clear rain boots to wear over our new sneakers. They were ruined the first port day before we got the boots but it kept them dry. No matter how nice we looked at night we still put a sweatshirt/jacket over our outfit while walking around the outside decks. If you happen to get bored while in line for the dining room to open notice the clothing. We found at least 50% to be jeans, sweatpants, (not the grey or black garden variety but still sweats) and shorts. My husband did wear a suit every formal night and I wore a dress or dress pants but found very few who wore true formal wear. Some seasoned passengers did wear gowns or formal dresses. I personally would rather see a new pair of $15 dress pants than an old prom dress from days gone by. No offense, I also have older clothes and still wear them. I'm just saying in my opinion if new and cheap can look good and isn't considered shorts, beachwear, tanks or t's what's the problem. I'm actually surprised to see so many say the opposite, I thought the dress code went the way of the dino long ago. We have only been on 5 different lines but always saw a mixture of dress, casual and even shorts in every dining room on each of those lines.

DRAT!:D i thought this was a legitimate post, i was gonna go make some popcorn and reserve my ringside seat!;)

Okay..haha, obviously a joke.

 

 

I was just curious about the dress for formal nights on Alaskan cruises. I post on the Alaskan boards but posting here for more variety.

 

Is it true that dress is less formal on these cruises? We are not planning on taking dresses but instead just black dress pants and a nice top.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

No, no, no. This is just plain wrong, and is an example of declining standards. Everyone knows it gets chilly in Alaska, and you should wear wooly socks and Birkenstocks instead of the flipflops.:D

thanks everyone for your posts. this is quite contradictory to the responses on the Alaskan boards, so I'm not sure what to do?

thanks everyone for your posts. this is quite contradictory to the responses on the Alaskan boards, so I'm not sure what to do?

Do what you think is best. I have been on six Alaska cruises and have two more booked.

Really, the differences of opinion are not any more dramatic than the normals heated debates on dress codes in the Caribbean!

The cruise line makes the recommendations, they are no diffferent in the evenings from Alaska to the Med, and it is up to the individual to comply or ignore.

Have a great cruise!

thanks everyone for your posts. this is quite contradictory to the responses on the Alaskan boards, so I'm not sure what to do?

Ok, ok. I'll give you the standard answer for an Alaska cruise. I've been on one.

Alaska cruises tend to be a little more formal than Caribbean cruises. More people go all out and wear very dressy formal wear on formal nights. The reason for this is a slightly older and more mature group of passengers. After all, the cruises cost a bit more and not as many younger people can afford these cruises.

Is that the basic answer you get at the Alaska boards? It might be true. But then again, it just depends on who shows up on your particular cruise.

Another way of thinking could be - No, people don't dress up as much. This could be due to the fact that it's colder in Alaska and the luggage space is filled with cold weather clothing leaving not as much room for long formal wear.

I do remember wearing a black cocktail length dress one night in Alaska. I can't remember what I wore the other formal night. You'll be fine in long black pants. As you know, no one will kick you out. :) And that is far dressier than some are on a Caribbean cruise.

Alaska cruises tend to be a little more formal than Caribbean cruises. More people go all out and wear very dressy formal wear on formal nights. The reason for this is a slightly older and more mature group of passengers. After all, the cruises cost a bit more and not as many younger people can afford these cruises.

That was my experience as well, except on NCL which has no traditional formal nights. Passengers were very dressed up for formal nights. Since nightlife is pretty minimal, dinners were a main event.

I don't know what they are telling you on the Alaska boards, but I was on Radiance in May for Alaska and the two formal nights I wore cocktail dresses. Men wore suits and ties (and I saw a few in tux). I saw plenty of women in black pants with sparkely tops, or dressy pants suits. If I didn't want to dress up, I would have eaten in Windjammer. In fact, one night we did because we were way to tired to change from our daytime jeans and would not feel comfortable going into the dining room like that. I've seen some do it, but for me it's sort of a "respect" thing. You know, like respecting the rules. Some people just don't like to follow rules and just don't care. I do. You are dining like in a very nice restaurant and I would not go to a very nice restaurant at home wearing jeans.