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Rent the Runway for Gala Nights


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This is kind of an FYI...

 

I have an Unlimited subscription to a site called Rent the Runway. For $135/month, I get a 3 items at a time with no limit on time. It's kind of like Netflix for clothes.

 

I have read many posts about Gala Nights, and women saying they just don't have room to pack dresses anymore. This service might solve that issue!

-they will deliver to a hotel (give concierge head's up beforehand)

-returns must be from within US, but it does include Alaska and Hawaii

-they arrive in a black "carry-on" case (image added. This contained 3 prom dresses, btw)

 

I plan to have some formal dresses sent to our Anchorage hotel, and then ship back from one of the AK ports. So I get to look very fancy but not have to worry about extra bags or the fees that now entails. Also- no need to spend $$ on formal wear I would never wear again.

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I wouldn't bother unless it is very important for you to wear formal wear. Few people will be dressed formally. Most men will not wear jackets nor ties, but collared shirts.

 

 

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This is kind of an FYI...

 

I have an Unlimited subscription to a site called Rent the Runway. For $135/month, I get a 3 items at a time with no limit on time. It's kind of like Netflix for clothes.

 

I have read many posts about Gala Nights, and women saying they just don't have room to pack dresses anymore. This service might solve that issue!

-they will deliver to a hotel (give concierge head's up beforehand)

-returns must be from within US, but it does include Alaska and Hawaii

-they arrive in a black "carry-on" case (image added. This contained 3 prom dresses, btw)

 

I plan to have some formal dresses sent to our Anchorage hotel, and then ship back from one of the AK ports. So I get to look very fancy but not have to worry about extra bags or the fees that now entails. Also- no need to spend $$ on formal wear I would never wear again.

 

Wife and I avoid formal/gala nights but I would like to commend you for finding this service and posting this information. I'm sure there will be some who will be very appreciative.

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I was surprised how many did have gowns and tuxes on our last 11 day Nieuw Amsterdam Caribbean cruise. The one time we did not bring full formal attire and we ended up wishing we had.

 

DH loves to wear a tux so that is never a problem. Women in general still tend dress up more because it is easy to go sparkly something. but this time even I was surprised at the number of serious full gowns. So the long black velvet dress, and tux are going back into the suitcases for our next cruise.

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I'm glad that you have had good luck with them. Unfortunately, my daughter had a nightmarish experience with them.

 

The dress she wanted was delivered...it didn't fit. She called them right away but there wasn't time for another dress to be shipped, so she was told to go to the local brick and mortar and 'hopefully' they would have something that would fit her and she could wear to the wedding she was going to...that day. Or a credit, because they don't do refunds There was one 45 min from her house.

 

Then another dress was delivered...the same one that didn't fit, the day of the wedding. Now she had two. Took them both to the brick and mortar. She found a dress, but it wasn't nearly as nice as what she wanted originally, but she felt she had no choice because they refused a refund.

 

She'll never use them again.

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If I had a list of things to never ever do---not even once in this lifetime, ordering rental clothing online would be right near the top. :o What could possibly go wrong eh?

 

All that is needed for gala nights is a nice cocktail dress or pants with a dressy top. Very few people wear long gowns anymore. My husband wears a business suit.

 

Honestly, as we and our friends sat in the Ocean Bar for pre dinner drinks for 27 days last month, we wondered why we even bothered anymore. People were going to dinner dressed like they were going gardening. It was such a marked departure from our previous experiences that in some cases it was absolutely jaw dropping.

 

To be fair there were some very stunning outfits as well. However, the bar is steadily lowering.

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Pehaps formal nights on Cunard are very formal...don't really know.

 

One thing is for certain, DW would never go through those machinations for a HAL, Celebrity, or Princess cruise and most especially not for a cruise on the Alaska route.

 

Besides, the gown would not fit into her carry on.

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Wow- most of these posts replies are so jaded and cynical! My daughter and I love Rent the Runway because we have a blast playing dress-up. I am not at all concerned about what other people are wearing. A vacation is a chance to have fun and be adventurous. I will love to stand out! :)

 

"Besides, the gown would not fit into her carry on"

I guess I wasn't clear and the picture didn't do it justice: you wouldn't need to pack it. Clothes are delivered (to the hotel) in this very nice black bag that you then mail back (at a port). It has handles and looks like a carry-on in and of itself.

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I asked her. She has one carry on. Not interested in another one, even if it is a nice black bag with handles that she has to drop off somewhere.

 

DW orders a fair amount on web. She knows well the vagaries of sizing variances between cuts and between manufacturers/labels.

 

No sale.

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RTR has gorgeous designer cocktail dresses, daytime dresses and even dressy pantsuits and jumpsuits last time I looked, not just formal gowns.

I was unaware they offered this type of subscription service.

What a great opportunity to wear a fabulous outfit I would never otherwise purchase on gala night!

Much thanks to the OP!

 

 

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I asked her. She has one carry on. Not interested in another one, even if it is a nice black bag with handles that she has to drop off somewhere.

 

DW orders a fair amount on web. She knows well the vagaries of sizing variances between cuts and between manufacturers/labels.

 

No sale.

Your wife sounds like a very wise lady.

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RTR has gorgeous designer cocktail dresses, daytime dresses and even dressy pantsuits and jumpsuits last time I looked, not just formal gowns.

I was unaware they offered this type of subscription service.

What a great opportunity to wear a fabulous outfit I would never otherwise purchase on gala night!

Much thanks to the OP!

 

THANK YOU. All the Debbie Downers are bumming me out.

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Thanks for the tip. As a counterpoint to the "men don't wear jackets" comment, it was about 75% if you factored in sport coats (with or without ties,) suits and tuxedos on the Eurodam the week before Christmas. It was a young crowd for HAL, with an average age quite possibly just under 50. There were many women in long dresses, particularly the young ones. (Women, not dresses.)

 

The tux count was way down though. I've given up on trying to guess what the crowd is going to be wearing. I use the foolproof method of dressing exactly like my wife tells me to.

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Wow- most of these posts replies are so jaded and cynical!

I don't think the intent sounded " jaded and cynical". Having cruised on a variety of cruise ship lines their posts are the current day reality of dress-up nights aboard. I think they were just giving realistic observations based on their own cruises.

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Thanks OP! I'd never heard of them before. Going to go check them out. I too love to dress up and get sparkly (as my niece used to say when she was younger) but don't have the closet space or need to have fancy clothes on hand.

 

Go ahead, get your shine on and enjoy yourself. I plan to do it. :)

 

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THANK YOU. All the Debbie Downers are bumming me out.

 

I don't think its being Debbie Downers so much as being realistic. Sadly, the days of dressing up for formal night are gone, and to see someone in a gown is a treat, but unusual. I recently did a Caribbean followed by a 20-day repositioning, and saw a handful of tuxes - if that - and even fewer gowns the whole time. We simply do cocktail dress for me and suit for DH these days.

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I don't think its being Debbie Downers so much as being realistic. Sadly, the days of dressing up for formal night are gone, and to see someone in a gown is a treat, but unusual. I recently did a Caribbean followed by a 20-day repositioning, and saw a handful of tuxes - if that - and even fewer gowns the whole time. We simply do cocktail dress for me and suit for DH these days.

That's actually still pretty dressed up. I'm sure you looked nice.

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Thanks, OP, for the information. I only looked through the formal gowns, but there were some really lovely, eye-catching ones. Over the years, I've bought so many formal outfits that I doubt I'd ever rent anything. Most of my formal wear packs easily and doesn't take up much room, so I'm still willing to bring at least two on longer cruises.

 

DH & I still enjoy dressing for Gala Nights, even if we're among the few who do on some cruises. During our last cruise, 1st week of April on Oosterdam, we were surprised by the number of tuxes and long gowns/cocktail dresses. In the MDR, if men weren't wearing at least a jacket, they were turned away on the two Gala evenings. On some cruises we've seen this happen, on others the MDR doesn't seem as strict. Go figure.

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During Wedding season, Sundays are busy collecting packages from the wedding guests, usually the 20-30 something set. They are returning the rental clothes from the wedding. The young women are doing RTR and the young men are renting suits and tuxes from Men's Warehouse and The Black Tux (they both do suits and tuxes). The older set seems content to go and buy.

 

A hint for the OP: if you want to bling it out on an Alaskan cruise, go ahead. Be confident in your choice. BUT, go to the UPS website and find out IN ADVANCE where the locations (and hours) are in the ports; that will minimize the time you waste returning the dress.

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