Avalon waterways and jeans at dinner?

I live in a VERY casual town (Austin, TX) and actually do not own a pair of dressy slacks and my church/party/funeral dresses will most likely be too summery for April on the Danube.

I would rather not have to go buy clothes for this trip that I will probably not wear again and I am planning on bringing jeans and one skirt on our April Danube cruise unless I am advised otherwise.

Will it be acceptable to wear jeans to dinner most nights and the skirt to the welcome/goodbye dinners? I've tried searching posts but have not had good, recent results....

Thanks!

Not sure how where you're from dictates how you dress for various activities in other parts of the world...

CILCIANRQTS,

I was actually trying to avoid being too wordy, not rude in my question.🙂

In response to your question, I have added a lengthier explanation. I apologize in advance if you feel it still sounds like a rude American. That was not my intention. It may likely be an incorrect assumption, but I had thought I would be in a room filled mostly with Americans for the event I am inquiring about...

We were on an American cruise line cruise last summer and had packed clothes for what were advertised as Country club wear dinners to discover no one dressed up and our suitcases were half full of clothes for dinner we wore the first night only.

Not sure how where you're from dictates how you dress for various activities in other parts of the world...

On our Avalon cruise two years ago, many passengers, both men, and women, wore jeans to dinner. We also traveled in April. Their website does not mention jeans as an exclusion for the dining room.

Robin

I'll defer to Avalon cruisers for a practical response re: their policy.

The jeans issue comes up frequently on CC, and I doubt it's subject to a fixed answer. Sort of a "great taste! less filling!" Issue, if you're old enough to remember that advertisement.

Like you, I look to this site for input, not absolute answers.

Enjoy your cruise!

Gladgirl,

Have a wonderful cruise wearing what you feel comfortable in. Let's face it, while sitting at the dinner table no one is going to see what you are wearing on your lower half. And if someone finds it offensive they don't have to sit with you ...and...you probably wouldn't want to sit with them, either. 😉

RB

Avalon's wording: Clothing https://www.avalonwaterways.com/Avalon-Cruises/FAQs/

Dress aboard and on shore is casual. Please bring comfortable walking shoes for sightseeing. Dinner attire is casual—open-neck shirts, slacks, dresses. Coats and ties may be worn. The Captain's Welcome and Farewell Dinners in Europe are dressy, but not formal. On the Mekong, Irrawaddy, Amazon and Galápagos coats and ties are not recommended due to the warm humid climate and dressy outfits are not required.

Our cruise was Nov/Dec (Christmas Markets) and some people wore jeans but more wore "slacks" (khakis that may or may not have actually been khaki colored, cords, black dress slacks for women, etc). Even my in-laws - who HATE to dress up - didn't wear jeans at dinner except maybe once. Can you do it? You're not gonna get kicked out for it if your jeans are in good repair.....Is it common? Not so much, at least on our cruise. Temps are going to be different for you, of course....

Personally, I don't find jeans very practical for travel. They are uncomfortable if they get wet, especially if it is cold, they are uncomfortable if it is too hot, and they are hard to wash and take a long time to dry. I don't understand it, but I know that lots of people love their jeans.

Are all your jeans blue? Black jeans or dark rinse jeans and a nice top can look dressier

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I live in a VERY casual town (Austin, TX) and actually do not own a pair of dressy slacks and my church/party/funeral dresses will most likely be too summery for April on the Danube.

I would rather not have to go buy clothes for this trip that I will probably not wear again and I am planning on bringing jeans and one skirt on our April Danube cruise unless I am advised otherwise.

 

Will it be acceptable to wear jeans to dinner most nights and the skirt to the welcome/goodbye dinners? I've tried searching posts but have not had good, recent results....

 

Thanks!

I know exactly what you mean, we aren't dressy people either. We both wear jeans for work, so don't really own anything other than Church/Funeral clothes for dress...and I'd rather not wear them while on holiday.

I chose Avalon especially because they do seem more relaxed and casual. I do own some capris that I will have, but my longer pants will be jeans. We have the advantage of travelling in May, so hopefully it will be a bit warmer. I did get some nicer sleeveless tops (easy to pack, and I can wear them under a sweater), so I figure sitting in the dining room, no one will notice if I have jeans on or not, and if it bothers them, then that's their problem.

I'm going with the attitude that I am on holidays, and I want to be comfortable & enjoy myself, not please fellow guests.

I live in a VERY casual town (Austin, TX) and actually do not own a pair of dressy slacks and my church/party/funeral dresses will most likely be too summery for April on the Danube.

I would rather not have to go buy clothes for this trip that I will probably not wear again and I am planning on bringing jeans and one skirt on our April Danube cruise unless I am advised otherwise.

I can relate...

I've spent most of the last 10 years working mainly in Dallas, TX and even our corporate banking team would wear jeans to a business meeting.

Just think of it as Texas formal wear :)

Personally I tend to live, work and travel in jeans including hot climates (not that all that many get hotter than Dallas in the summer).

One of the great things about river cruising is the much more informal dress code onboard, and certainly no need to dress any differently there than you would at home for an evening out...

Personally I will sometimes switch out the jeans for chinos in the evening but that is more of a style choice than a necessity.

I live in a VERY casual town (Austin, TX) and actually do not own a pair of dressy slacks and my church/party/funeral dresses will most likely be too summery for April on the Danube.

I would rather not have to go buy clothes for this trip that I will probably not wear again and I am planning on bringing jeans and one skirt on our April Danube cruise unless I am advised otherwise.

 

Will it be acceptable to wear jeans to dinner most nights and the skirt to the welcome/goodbye dinners? I've tried searching posts but have not had good, recent results....

 

Thanks!

Jeans will be perfectly fine! Lots of people wore jeans to dinner on our Avalon cruise last May. In fact when the Cruise Director was talking about attire for the “dressier” captains dinner he said dressy for Avalon means you are ok as long as you don’t show up for dinner in your bathing suit. Anything else is fine. Enjoy your cruise!

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I don't travel with jeans either - for most reasons you mention, gnome12 ;-) But also, I almost never wear jeans at home either - I'm much more a black pant sort of woman....dress up, dress down etc....

Also, do you not still have these clothes?

We were on an American cruise line cruise last summer and had packed clothes for what were advertised as Country club wear dinners to discover no one dressed up and our suitcases were half full of clothes for dinner we wore the first night only.

Thank you so much for all of the great replies! I feel much more confident and prepared to pack now :)

Jeans are very impractical IMHO for international travel. That said, I don't think anyone on Avalon will say a thing to you, and you are likely not to be the only person wearing jeans. There really is no dress code.

I used to wear technical clothing usually in dark colors, think North Face hiking pants (although I often wore other brands). These are comfortable, more water resistant and since they are dark color you look more European. I now where a different brand Kuhl. They have a pant called Renegade that I wear almost exclusively, they have zip pockets on the sides to make it harder for pickpockets which are sometimes a concern when travelling through airports and big cities in Europe. They have an upgraded version for when you are really concerned about pickpockets called the Destroyer. Both of these pants are very water resistant, available in black for wearing anywhere at any time while on vacation. We walked about in the rain all day in Budapest at the end of a river cruise in 2014 and while I was damp I never felt wet or uncomfortable.

I say ditch the jeans, although the brand I mentioned makes very comfortable jeans too.

JC

I don't pack a lot of jeans because they're heavy and they take a long time to dry. There are pants made out of lightweight, quick drying fabric that are a lot more practical for travel.

Roz

Jeans are very impractical IMHO for international travel. That said, I don't think anyone on Avalon will say a thing to you, and you are likely not to be the only person wearing jeans. There really is no dress code.

 

I used to wear technical clothing usually in dark colors, think North Face hiking pants (although I often wore other brands). These are comfortable, more water resistant and since they are dark color you look more European. I now where a different brand Kuhl. They have a pant called Renegade that I wear almost exclusively, they have zip pockets on the sides to make it harder for pickpockets which are sometimes a concern when travelling through airports and big cities in Europe. They have an upgraded version for when you are really concerned about pickpockets called the Destroyer. Both of these pants are very water resistant, available in black for wearing anywhere at any time while on vacation. We walked about in the rain all day in Budapest at the end of a river cruise in 2014 and while I was damp I never felt wet or uncomfortable.

 

I say ditch the jeans, although the brand I mentioned makes very comfortable jeans too.

 

JC

REI has a lot of Kuhl pants on sale right now.

Jeans are very impractical IMHO for international travel. That said, I don't think anyone on Avalon will say a thing to you, and you are likely not to be the only person wearing jeans. There really is no dress code.

 

I used to wear technical clothing usually in dark colors, think North Face hiking pants (although I often wore other brands). These are comfortable, more water resistant and since they are dark color you look more European. I now where a different brand Kuhl. They have a pant called Renegade that I wear almost exclusively, they have zip pockets on the sides to make it harder for pickpockets which are sometimes a concern when travelling through airports and big cities in Europe. They have an upgraded version for when you are really concerned about pickpockets called the Destroyer. Both of these pants are very water resistant, available in black for wearing anywhere at any time while on vacation. We walked about in the rain all day in Budapest at the end of a river cruise in 2014 and while I was damp I never felt wet or uncomfortable.

 

I say ditch the jeans, although the brand I mentioned makes very comfortable jeans too.

 

JC

REI has lots of Kuhn pants n sale right now.

On our cruise we had one guy that wore t-shirts and shorts to every meal. No one bothered him.

On our cruise we had one guy that wore t-shirts and shorts to every meal. No one bothered him.

Maybe nobody bothered him, but really, the restaurants are lovely elegant places. The guy didn’t even own one collared golf shirt? You can buy one for $9.99 on sale.

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REI has lots of Kuhn pants n sale right now.

The REI stores around where I live never have the models with the fabric that I prefer, the ones in our REI stores tend to have more cotton in them. Which makes them practical jeans/khakis, they are not the best that Kuhl offers for travel.

You may be blessed with better REI stores than I regularly visit.

JC

The REI stores around where I live never have the models with the fabric that I prefer, the ones in our REI stores tend to have more cotton in them. Which makes them practical jeans/khakis, they are not the best that Kuhl offers for travel.

 

You may be blessed with better REI stores than I regularly visit.

 

JC

I noticed they didn’t list the models you suggested when I looked online. I’ll have to take a look next time I go . What you describe sounds great. I bought similar Columbia pants there.

Maybe nobody bothered him, but really, the restaurants are lovely elegant places. The guy didn’t even own one collared golf shirt? You can buy one for $9.99 on sale.

 

 

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Never saw a one. Not everyone cares about dressing up and aren't worried about other's opinions. We dressed business casual and we were fine. How he dressed didn't impact my enjoyment so I wasn't bothered. Life's too short to be unhappy or uncomfortable.

I noticed they didn’t list the models you suggested when I looked online. I’ll have to take a look next time I go . What you describe sounds great. I bought similar Columbia pants there.

You can go to Kuhl's home page. That is where I buy mine. They are not cheap, and they never discount them online and you pay shipping. That said, the pair I like for general good looks and water resistance and lack of wrinkling are about $80.

JC

We haven't cruised with Avalon but dear friends have and they say it is all about the traveller being comfortable and enjoying the cruise. That is also our experience in Viking. The focus is on seeing new places, port excursions, good food, good wine, new friends and enjoyment. We still keep in touch with a few we met on board but darned if I can recall what they wore to dinner. LOL.