New Dress Code

We will be on the Eurodam from 18th May and are wondering whether or not to pack DH's dinner suit and my frocks. Does anyone know please just how formal the gala nights are now they have loosened the dress code? We have never sailed with HAL before and are really looking forward to it.

Thanks

We will be on the Eurodam from 18th May and are wondering whether or not to pack DH's dinner suit and my frocks. Does anyone know please just how formal the gala nights are now they have loosened the dress code? We have never sailed with HAL before and are really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks

On our Med cruise last summer I did not feel out of place in black tie. The overwhelming majority were smartly dressed with a significant minority in black tie.

Enjoy your cruise!

On the Eurodam in the Caribbean last Thanksgiving week about 40% of men wore jacket and tie, 30% jacket or tie, 15% each for neither, and 15% tuxes. In the Med I would expect that to skew a bit more upscale.

p.s. - That was for early seating. Late seating is probably a little more upscale than early.

On our Caribbean cruise in Feb. I was surprised at the amount of men in suits. With the new relaxed dress code there were more than I thought there would be. With that said quite a few in nice shirt and tie. Whatever you feel comfortable with will be appropriate. Some like to cling to the old ways, for that I say good for them. Myself no more packing a suit, shirt and tie for Gala nite will suffice.

We will be on the Eurodam from 18th May and are wondering whether or not to pack DH's dinner suit and my frocks. Does anyone know please just how formal the gala nights are now they have loosened the dress code? We have never sailed with HAL before and are really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks

I'm not too sure about the Eurodam, but my experience of Gala evenings ( and most evenings in general) on the new Koningsgdam the other week ( April 8th- 27th) were a joke.

Now you would have thought that this being the maiden voyage of a new ship, people would have made some sort of an effort.

It was my first introduction to HAL ( A Cunarder stepping out of his comfort zone) I took far too many clothes with me, I felt far too overdressed and within 15 minutes of the first Gala evening, I had to return back to the cabin to change out of my Tux.....I was still too over dressed in a suit and open neck 'collard shirt'.

Thank goodness for a handful of Europeans ,mainly the Dutch and a handful of older seasoned HAL guests who made an effort. At least they did have a shower and changed into something elegant casual from what they had been wearing during the day.

Evenings ( after 7pm) on the Koningsdam were never a sense of occasion for most of the demographic of guests . I've seen folk better dressed at a beach barbecue. Leave some of your best frocks at home and your hubby might not even need a jacket, just as long as he has the obligatory baseball cap.... worn back to front of course .

On our recent 21 day repositioning cruise from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego, many men wore only shirt and tie on Gala nights -- even in the Pinnacle. We were on the Westerdam.

The first Gala night a lot of people dressed up -- suits and fancy clothes. But the last 3 Gala nights -- the above was what we noticed.

On my Nieuw Amsterdam 39-day series of Europe/trans-Atlantic cruises last fall, one would not have known there was a relaxed standard. I have always found Europe cruises dressier than US cruises, though.

True, there were fewer tuxedos than in the past (although there were some), but those were replaced by an increase in suits and sports jackets (which met the former "formal" standard).

There were some who dressed to the "smart casual" level, but many of them also tended to fall below that standard on smart casual nights.

And, of course, there was the usual smattering of people who can't manage to climb out of their daywear any night. :rolleyes:

If you like to dress up, by all means bring those clothes and enjoy them, and you will not be out of place. If you prefer to dress down more, then you will not be out of place, either.

I'm not too sure about the Eurodam, but my experience of Gala evenings ( and most evenings in general) on the new Koningsgdam the other week ( April 8th- 27th) were a joke.

 

Now you would have thought that this being the maiden voyage of a new ship, people would have made some sort of an effort.

 

It was my first introduction to HAL ( A Cunarder stepping out of his comfort zone) I took far too many clothes with me, I felt far too overdressed and within 15 minutes of the first Gala evening, I had to return back to the cabin to change out of my Tux.....I was still too over dressed in a suit and open neck 'collard shirt'.

 

Thank goodness for a handful of Europeans ,mainly the Dutch and a handful of older seasoned HAL guests who made an effort. At least they did have a shower and changed into something elegant casual from what they had been wearing during the day.

 

Evenings ( after 7pm) on the Koningsdam were never a sense of occasion for most of the demographic of guests . I've seen folk better dressed at a beach barbecue. Leave some of your best frocks at home and your hubby might not even need a jacket, just as long as he has the obligatory baseball cap.... worn back to front of course .

I'm sorry you changed. I like that everyone can wear their own interpretation of gala attire. Whether it be you in your tux or someone else simply in a golf shirt. It's everyone's vacation. What another guest is wearing shouldn't bother another.

... It's everyone's vacation. What another guest is wearing shouldn't bother another.

Exactly! Now smoking does impact others, but that is an issue for another thread.:D

On our recent Westerdam Caribbean cruise, on one gala night in the Pinnacle grill we sat opposite a guy in a Hawaiian shirt and sneakers, and on another gala night in the MDR we saw a guy in tee shirt and jeans. At one time, he would have been sent to the Lido for not being properly attired - but not now. My DH definitely felt overdressed in a lounge suit, collar and tie.

... and on another gala night in the MDR we saw a guy in tee shirt and jeans. At one time, he would have been sent to the Lido for not being properly attired - but not now.

The man dressed in a tee shirt and jeans still didn't meet the definition of Smart Casual, so was not properly attired under any code---previous or current.

I'm not too sure about the Eurodam, but my experience of Gala evenings ( and most evenings in general) on the new Koningsgdam the other week ( April 8th- 27th) were a joke.

 

Now you would have thought that this being the maiden voyage of a new ship, people would have made some sort of an effort.

 

It was my first introduction to HAL ( A Cunarder stepping out of his comfort zone) I took far too many clothes with me, I felt far too overdressed and within 15 minutes of the first Gala evening, I had to return back to the cabin to change out of my Tux.....I was still too over dressed in a suit and open neck 'collard shirt'.

 

Thank goodness for a handful of Europeans ,mainly the Dutch and a handful of older seasoned HAL guests who made an effort. At least they did have a shower and changed into something elegant casual from what they had been wearing during the day.

 

Evenings ( after 7pm) on the Koningsdam were never a sense of occasion for most of the demographic of guests . I've seen folk better dressed at a beach barbecue. Leave some of your best frocks at home and your hubby might not even need a jacket, just as long as he has the obligatory baseball cap.... worn back to front of course .

As a Cunard cruiser too, I have to comment on your message. I am sorry you felt the need to change, we never do, we cruise Princess, Holland American, Celebrity, Cunard and even NCL. My dh wears his tux and white dinner jackets as he pleases. He looks great!! He too is from Europe/Paris and appreciates a well dressed group but we enjoy our cruises as we please no matter what others do. We always get a table for 2 and dine late. Even on Cunard standards are not the same, last cruise in the 2016 in the fall, on QM2, a tie was optional which we thought was disappointing and we saw men allowed in the MDR without a jacket. Regardless, we never lower our standards. Happy cruising.

Just off the Oosterdam. The demographics were US, Canada, AUS/NZ, and a good number of Dutch. Dress was decidedly off 'gala.' For the first Med cruise for this season I was pretty surprised. I figure that folks just opted not to take a lot of clothes. There appeared to me to be no attempt by the dining room to 'enforce' any modicum of smart casual or gala. We did not care, but it did look more like a Carnival cruise. We will dress for ourselves, at least as well as out-on-the-town at home. Now this was our first time dining in lower level dining room if that makes any difference in people's experience.

Dennis

Now this was our first time dining in lower level dining room if that makes any difference in people's experience.

Bob bought a new suit, for our last cruise, and I doubt he'll go back to his tux, anymore.

Well on our cruise in ten days, for the first time ever I am not taking a tux. I will have a jacket and tie instead. I will still take the tux on the WC next year.

It does. People who choose Fixed dining are generally more traditionalists, and IMO those who choose 2nd seating are more traditional than early diners.

:)

Well I guess I will have to get used to it. My wife decided she did like eating at 6:30 every night. I think it will be a cold day in hell before she let's me request 'upper-fixed late' anymore. The tux and dinner jacket will still be packed, though.

Dennis

The man dressed in a tee shirt and jeans still didn't meet the definition of Smart Casual, so was not properly attired under any code---previous or current.

Yet! Coming to a movie theatre in your neighborhood sooner than you hoped for. So far Cunard and a few of the smaller European lines have held to the proper way to dress for dinner and an evening out on the town. Pray they remain so.

For our upcoming November Koningsdam cruise I'll bring a jacket and wear sans tie. I love wearing ties (and do for work very often) but for dining actually hate it, I'm always worried it'll get in food.

Bow ties :)

The new bar staff uniform for the Gallery Bar when open during the day includes a bow tie. I taught the staff to tie one on the Oosterdam last week.

:)

Dennis

For our upcoming November Koningsdam cruise I'll bring a jacket and wear sans tie. I love wearing ties (and do for work very often) but for dining actually hate it, I'm always worried it'll get in food.

Scotch Guard. Spray lightly from a distance, and allow to dry thoroughly. Spray your ties outside or in the garage because of the fumes.

On our Zuiderdam cruise last month we saw a gentleman turned away from the MDR wearing smart casual on gala night. However, a little while later we saw them admit a man wearing a black t-shirt with a tux printed on it. Go figure! It seems the code is so arbitrary that from one person to the next it was either enforced or not enforced.

I'm not too sure about the Eurodam, but my experience of Gala evenings ( and most evenings in general) on the new Koningsgdam the other week ( April 8th- 27th) were a joke.

 

Now you would have thought that this being the maiden voyage of a new ship, people would have made some sort of an effort.

 

It was my first introduction to HAL ( A Cunarder stepping out of his comfort zone) I took far too many clothes with me, I felt far too overdressed and within 15 minutes of the first Gala evening, I had to return back to the cabin to change out of my Tux.....I was still too over dressed in a suit and open neck 'collard shirt'.

 

Thank goodness for a handful of Europeans ,mainly the Dutch and a handful of older seasoned HAL guests who made an effort. At least they did have a shower and changed into something elegant casual from what they had been wearing during the day.

 

Evenings ( after 7pm) on the Koningsdam were never a sense of occasion for most of the demographic of guests . I've seen folk better dressed at a beach barbecue. Leave some of your best frocks at home and your hubby might not even need a jacket, just as long as he has the obligatory baseball cap.... worn back to front of course .

Sure does make one appreciate Cunard does it not?

Thankfully here is one bastion of traditional civility left on the open seas.

For our upcoming November Koningsdam cruise I'll bring a jacket and wear sans tie. I love wearing ties (and do for work very often) but for dining actually hate it, I'm always worried it'll get in food.

If one sits up properly instead of leaning into the plate ala BBQ style then one never needs to worry about dipping the tie into the food. Just a thought.

The man dressed in a tee shirt and jeans still didn't meet the definition of Smart Casual, so was not properly attired under any code---previous or current.

And Ruth, I wouldn't have wanted to sit across from him on a gala evening. A t-shirt isn't even Smart Causal, let alone Gala Wear. It is not that difficult to change into a collared Long sleeve shirt. At least those who don't like ties don't have to wear them. And one long sleeve shirt doesn't take up that much room in a suitcase.