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Celest. Crystal to Cuba - "Relaxed" dress code for dinner, right?


mlbcruiser
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From what I understand, when the Celestyal Crystal does it's Cuban (only) itinerary, people dress pretty casually for dinner and there are no formal nights, correct? Plus, a man can get away without ever wearing a coat and tie - ? If this is NOT correct, please set me straight. From the few photos I've seen, it appears most of the men shown seated at dining tables are in polo style shirts or Hawaiian/tropical print shirts. Women seem to mostly be in capris and tops - nothing fancy at all. Wondering if there is a dining room dress code requiring men to wear closed toed shoes? Would non-athletic, non-flip flop type "nice" leather sandals - of the style you usually only see in the tropics or Mediterranean in summer - be o.k. for men - ?) Are longish shorts allowed or jeans allowed in the main D.R. at any time?

 

My questions aren't intended to bring on a discussion of the merits or drawbacks of various dinner dress codes on cruise ships. I'm just trying to find out what the norm is on this particular ship when it goes to this destination.

Hope some of you with experience will reply!

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From what I understand, when the Celestyal Crystal does it's Cuban (only) itinerary, people dress pretty casually for dinner and there are no formal nights, correct? Plus, a man can get away without ever wearing a coat and tie - ? If this is NOT correct, please set me straight. From the few photos I've seen, it appears most of the men shown seated at dining tables are in polo style shirts or Hawaiian/tropical print shirts. Women seem to mostly be in capris and tops - nothing fancy at all. Wondering if there is a dining room dress code requiring men to wear closed toed shoes? Would non-athletic, non-flip flop type "nice" leather sandals - of the style you usually only see in the tropics or Mediterranean in summer - be o.k. for men - ?) Are longish shorts allowed or jeans allowed in the main D.R. at any time?

 

My questions aren't intended to bring on a discussion of the merits or drawbacks of various dinner dress codes on cruise ships. I'm just trying to find out what the norm is on this particular ship when it goes to this destination.

Hope some of you with experience will reply!

 

Boarding Friday January 20. Not taking anything dressy. Plan on capris for dinner.

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Thanks steamboat. I had forgotten where I had seen mention of some formal wear. (nansi's post was it.) Someone else who did the cruise last year stated that it seemed almost no one dressed up. So does that mean almost no one went to the Captain's party, or that they just went "resort casual" at best?

 

cawags, I'm sure many of us would appreciate it if you wrote a review when you return from your cruise. I'd be very interested to hear what most people considered dressy enough to wear to the Captains party/formal night (esp. for my dh). I'd especially like to know if very many men were NOT wearing jackets. Plus if most of those who didn't at least wore a tie or if quite a few were even without ties?)

 

If anyone else who has done this cruise cares to chime in, please do!

 

Thank you for the replies!

Edited by mlbcruiser
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Thanks steamboat. I had forgotten where I had seen mention of some formal wear. (nansi's post was it.) Someone else who did the cruise last year stated that it seemed almost no one dressed up. So does that mean almost no one went to the Captain's party, or that they just went "resort casual" at best?

 

cawags, I'm sure many of us would appreciate it if you wrote a review when you return from your cruise. I'd be very interested to hear what most people considered dressy enough to wear to the Captains party/formal night (esp. for my dh). I'd especially like to know if very many men were NOT wearing jackets. Plus if most of those who didn't at least wore a tie or if quite a few were even without ties?)

 

If anyone else who has done this cruise cares to chime in, please do!

 

Thank you for the replies!

 

I will let you know. Heading to Baltimore today. Fly to Jamaica in the morning. Spending 2 days on my favorite island before we board. Even if we don't do the Captains dinner I will check how the passengers dress. For me the formal thing should totally go away. My "prom" was 50 years ago. LOL. Not my thing! Been there done that.

 

Carol

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Personally, I'm over the usual formal night dress code as well, although we do cooperate when necessary. Still, with the luggage weight maximums. My husband's big shoes take up too much room as it is, and the dress shoes, esp., are really heavy!

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Hi I just got back from my Cuba Cruise and the only night deemed elegant was the captain's cocktail party. The clothes ranged from very sparkly for women to nice tops and slacks then a suit to good dress shirt and slacks for men. I wore a nice cotton print dress and I felt fine.

 

As for shoes - no sandals at any time in the dining room. There is also the usual no swimming attire rule in any dining venue.

 

Shar

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Hmmm. On another thread someone posted that they saw men wearing the Cuban style guayaberra shirts. (They are sometimes even worn to dress-ish occasions in some places in FL. I used to live in Tampa and saw men wearing them all the time.) Someone also posted that the only shoes not allowed in the dining room are flip flops. I don't know about that, but wouldn't expect jogging or exercise type shoes (like Nikes) would be allowed in the D.R., but my husband has some "nice" sandals that cover most of the toes and much of the foot that he prefers to wear. Don't know how strict this ship is, but I made him take dress shoes to an all inclusive where the dress code for men in the dining rooms (not buffet) said "no sandals". Turned out he didn't need the dress shoes at all. So I got the ol' "I told you so" speech. :rolleyes: Guess it's better safe than sorry!

Thanks for the reply.

Edited by mlbcruiser
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From what I understand, when the Celestyal Crystal does it's Cuban (only) itinerary, people dress pretty casually for dinner and there are no formal nights, correct? Plus, a man can get away without ever wearing a coat and tie - ? If this is NOT correct, please set me straight. From the few photos I've seen, it appears most of the men shown seated at dining tables are in polo style shirts or Hawaiian/tropical print shirts. Women seem to mostly be in capris and tops - nothing fancy at all. Wondering if there is a dining room dress code requiring men to wear closed toed shoes? Would non-athletic, non-flip flop type "nice" leather sandals - of the style you usually only see in the tropics or Mediterranean in summer - be o.k. for men - ?) Are longish shorts allowed or jeans allowed in the main D.R. at any time?

 

My questions aren't intended to bring on a discussion of the merits or drawbacks of various dinner dress codes on cruise ships. I'm just trying to find out what the norm is on this particular ship when it goes to this destination.

Hope some of you with experience will reply!

 

Restaurant dress code: no tank tops, short shorts, slip flops or swimwear. Yes leather sandals are fine. Most not wearing jacket or tie just nice shirts and pants. Jeans are allowed. Shorts at lunch.

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Hi I just got back from my Cuba Cruise and the only night deemed elegant was the captain's cocktail party. The clothes ranged from very sparkly for women to nice tops and slacks then a suit to good dress shirt and slacks for men. I wore a nice cotton print dress and I felt fine.

 

As for shoes - no sandals at any time in the dining room. There is also the usual no swimming attire rule in any dining venue.

 

Shar

 

My husband and I both wore our sandals to the dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Restaurant Dress Code says no flip flops are permitted not sandals.

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Thanks steamboat. I had forgotten where I had seen mention of some formal wear. (nansi's post was it.) Someone else who did the cruise last year stated that it seemed almost no one dressed up. So does that mean almost no one went to the Captain's party, or that they just went "resort casual" at best?

 

cawags, I'm sure many of us would appreciate it if you wrote a review when you return from your cruise. I'd be very interested to hear what most people considered dressy enough to wear to the Captains party/formal night (esp. for my dh). I'd especially like to know if very many men were NOT wearing jackets. Plus if most of those who didn't at least wore a tie or if quite a few were even without ties?)

 

If anyone else who has done this cruise cares to chime in, please do!

 

Thank you for the replies!

 

Very few in jackets or ties just shirts and long pants. Men can wear sandals just not flip flops. Women in pants, Capri, dresses. Very few dressed "formal". And yes it was well attended the busiest night of the cruise.

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A huge THANKS to you for that piece of info, Catlet! You just saved us some luggage space and weight! (I know everyone reports what they saw. It's just that we don't always notice everything if we are not looking for it.) I appreciate all the input on this subject.

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Hmmm. On another thread someone posted that they saw men wearing the Cuban style guayaberra shirts. (They are sometimes even worn to dress-ish occasions in some places in FL. I used to live in Tampa and saw men wearing them all the time.) Someone also posted that the only shoes not allowed in the dining room are flip flops. I don't know about that, but wouldn't expect jogging or exercise type shoes (like Nikes) would be allowed in the D.R., but my husband has some "nice" sandals that cover most of the toes and much of the foot that he prefers to wear. Don't know how strict this ship is, but I made him take dress shoes to an all inclusive where the dress code for men in the dining rooms (not buffet) said "no sandals". Turned out he didn't need the dress shoes at all. So I got the ol' "I told you so" speech. :rolleyes: Guess it's better safe than sorry!

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm guessing they're not very strict, because on the website it definitely says no sandals!

 

"What is the dress code for dinners?

Smart casual, no shorts or sandals for the gentlemen. For the Captain’s dinner and gala event, elegant attire is encouraged but is entirely optional. Swimsuits and flip-flops are not allowed in the restaurants. Shorts or Bermuda shorts may be worn at dinner time in the Leda Casual dining on deck 9."

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  • 1 month later...

I can now add my own experience to those above who answered my original inquiry by saying suits and ties, evening gowns and such are NOT required to attend the formal night/Capt's. welcome aboard evening. Of course there were some people who dressed formally in sparkly dresses, suits, etc. However, most passengers did not. The majority of people seemed to be dressed a tiny bit nicer than on other nights, but I'd say close to half of the men did NOT have jackets of any type. Tropical style shirts with collars and guayabera stye shirts were everywhere. No shorts, though, of course. Women wore things they might have worn for a night out at a nice-ish restaurant, but not that many dressed in a truly formal manner. Some people wore dressy-ish clothing every night but they were few and far between as a rule. And I DID pay attention to this so that I could report back with accuracy. Unfortunately, my "just in case" tendency took over and we did drag DH"s nicest, super heavy dress shoes, a tie and a L/S dress shirt along. However, they weren't needed or used. (What surprised me was seeing men wearing fairly nice slacks - not just khaki's - with jogging shoes about every night!). Hope this helps someone else with packing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for posting this. We will be on the cruise in August. We are booked though Globus small group and will be taking a charter flight from Miami to Havana. We will be boarding in Havana. Weight limit is less on the charter flight so I know my husband would not want to take a jacket and heavy shoes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

You're welcome, llund. I am glad to know my post helped someone. The passengers on this particular cruise wore the least formal or fancy dress that I've EVER seen on over 40 cruises on a number of different ships and cruise lines. That includes NCL ships with no formal dress required at all. However, I do want to mention that I read somewhere prior to even booking our Cuba cruise that on Celestyal's other (Mediterranean) cruises the dress code is more formal. It's just their Cuban cruise where the dress code is more casual.

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