Breakfast attire in dining room

(bold is mine) You do know the rule about no white shoes after Labor Day, right?

That might be some obscure US habit of old, but it is not at all valid for the rest of the World, including Europe, and all HAL ships are European EU territory 😀😉

We will proudly wear white on our October cruise.😝🇧🇪🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺

That might be some obscure US habit of old, but it is not at all valid for the rest of the World, including Europe, and all HAL ships are European EU territory 😀😉

 

We will proudly wear white on our October cruise.😝🇧🇪🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺

Sorry, poor attempt at humor...

(But if my mother were still alive, she'd be enforcing it)

My spouse hails from a small town in a very conservative rural area.

To this day she still snickers when she sees a man wearing a white belt and white shoes. She is looking for the rest of the ensemble -patterned shirt and polyester leisure suit.

My spouse hails from a small town in a very conservative rural area.

 

To this day she still snickers when she sees a man wearing a white belt and white shoes. She is looking for the rest of the ensemble -patterned shirt and polyester leisure suit.

Wow, that's a flash from the past!!

The cruise line sets, and enforces the standards.

And doesn't enforce the standards in most cases is probably more accurate.

Wow, that's a flash from the past!!

Not so "from the past". I saw plenty of similarly attired men in Palm Springs this past weekend! Some HAL people here would be very happy and feel in place there - it's like it never emerged from the 50s n 60s...

And doesn't enforce the standards in most cases is probably more accurate.

And THAT is their prerogative. You do have the prerogative to be a boor and confront people on their clothing choice.

Why enjoy our cruises. We do not have the time or the inclination to be a couple of interfering busybodies making judgement calls on what others happen to be wearing.

Not our place. Not the focus of our cruise....otherwise we would simply go downtown and do some people watching for a significantly smaller expenditure of time and money.

Not so "from the past". I saw plenty of similarly attired men in Palm Springs this past weekend! Some HAL people here would be very happy and feel in place there - it's like it never emerged from the 50s n 60s...

You're exactly right about Palm Springs. We go there once or twice a year for a quick getaway, and it never changes. It's like we enter a time warp (back) every time we go.

And THAT is their prerogative. You do have the prerogative to be a boor and confront people on their clothing choice.

Agreed, no argument there. I've never confronted, nor would I ever confront a fellow cruiser for what they choose to wear, in the MDR or otherwise. But I do find it disappointing when folks blatantly ignore the established guidelines, but again I wouldn't confront them. Not really my business to do so. But it is unfortunate that most often, dining room staffs fail to do their jobs by not enforcing the standards.

The point I was trying to make in my response to your post was that you had made a statement implying (incorrectly IMHO) that the cruise lines set and enforce their standards. My point was that in reality, those standards are rarely if ever enforced.. that's all.

It is presumptuous to say that they "fail to do their jobs" because they don't do what you want. Their job is to satisfy customers, all of them, and so when a certain situation pleases one customer and displeases another they have to make the decision that serves their interests the best. We see this everywhere: Companies allowing customers to use expired coupons as long as they're "too expired"; cruise lines giving FCC even when the cruise contract says that the passenger is owed no compensation; etc. I'm sure that there is some amount of noncompliance that "get's through" but I think it is safe to assume that the cruise line, like every other such entity, is strategically managing compliance and noncompliance with their stated code.

Why enjoy our cruises. We do not have the time or the inclination to be a couple of interfering busybodies making judgement calls on what others happen to be wearing.

 

Not our place. Not the focus of our cruise....otherwise we would simply go downtown and do some people watching for a significantly smaller expenditure of time and money.

Class never goes out of style.

It is presumptuous to say that they "fail to do their jobs" because they don't do what you want.

Not presumptuous at all to have a reasonable expectation that the dining room staff consistently enforce their own established and published guidelines.

Has nothing to do with what I or anyone else wants.

For the reasons I outlined above, we'll have to agree to disagree. It's their ship; their rules, including the extent to which they choose to enforce them.

Not presumptuous at all to have a reasonable expectation that the dining room staff consistently enforce their own established and published guidelines.

 

Has nothing to do with what I or anyone else wants.

Not being critical, but if enforcement is important to you:

Next cruise, demand a meeting with the Dining Room Manager and Hotel Manager. Express your displeasure at the establish and published guidelines for entrance into the MDR being willfully ignored by staff. Ask that they go with your to the MDR and stand at the door and watch who is let in when they are not dressed to guidelines. Ask them what they are going to do about it. Tell them you took this cruise because of the destinations and how HAL wrote of a specific dress guideline to assure an upscale experience. Ask for service recovery for their failure to enforce...

I suspect if the rule to be enforced was the NO SMOKING ones and you had a chain smoker on the balcony next door that many people would be a bit more emphatic about rule enforcement. The clothing choices don't really bother me as long as it's not tank tops or worse in the MDR but i suspect it does bother some people. My personal pet peeve is joggers on the Lower Prom deck...good luck having HAL enforce that one even though there are several signs clearly stating NO JOGGING.

For many years, many venues very casually enforced smoking restrictions. It was not always as stringently enforced as it is today.

On our city's rapid transit there is a code of conduct. Some parts of it (like the rule against panhandling) are very stringently enforced while other parts (like the rule about other passengers not hearing your music) less so - and that's not even a commercial enterprise worried about customer satisfaction, but rather a civic agency.

I suspect if the rule to be enforced was the NO SMOKING ones and you had a chain smoker on the balcony next door that many people would be a bit more emphatic about rule enforcement. The clothing choices don't really bother me as long as it's not tank tops or worse in the MDR but i suspect it does bother some people. My personal pet peeve is joggers on the Lower Prom deck...good luck having HAL enforce that one even though there are several signs clearly stating NO JOGGING.

I knew there was a reason for NOT booking a cabin on the Lower Prom deck. You would think that and smoking would be enforced. If I am walking and some jogger comes by, it will take a lot of restraint to not say something.

Sorry, poor attempt at humor...

 

(But if my mother were still alive, she'd be enforcing it)

I thought it 😂. A friend and I have ongoing ribbing going about white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. I don't do it, she does. But then, I don't own any white shoes😊

Class never goes out of style.

I would like to second that sentiment.

As far as enforcement goes, rules are mainly set with the real hard cases or challenged people in mind. Like the guy who came to the MDR on Formal Night (this was a while ago), very nicely dressed, nice suit, nice shirt and tie, but no slacks (yes, underwear, thankfully). He was turned away, really, really quickly and escorted out. I hope they took him back to his cabin.

For the reasons I outlined above, we'll have to agree to disagree. It's their ship; their rules, including the extent to which they choose to enforce them.

And for the reasons I outlined above, agree to disagree.. ;)

Not being critical, but if enforcement is important to you:

Next cruise, demand a meeting with the Dining Room Manager and Hotel Manager. Express your displeasure at the establish and published guidelines for entrance into the MDR being willfully ignored by staff. Ask that they go with your to the MDR and stand at the door and watch who is let in when they are not dressed to guidelines. Ask them what they are going to do about it. Tell them you took this cruise because of the destinations and how HAL wrote of a specific dress guideline to assure an upscale experience. Ask for service recovery for their failure to enforce...

Yes, enforcement is important to us, and we are disappointed when guidelines are not enforced. That is the extent of it, and as far as it goes. As to your babble about what we should do about it is nonsense as far as we're concerned.

I suspect if the rule to be enforced was the NO SMOKING ones and you had a chain smoker on the balcony next door that many people would be a bit more emphatic about rule enforcement. The clothing choices don't really bother me as long as it's not tank tops or worse in the MDR but i suspect it does bother some people. My personal pet peeve is joggers on the Lower Prom deck...good luck having HAL enforce that one even though there are several signs clearly stating NO JOGGING.

Bingo! A lot of folks seem to selectively support which rules should or should not be enforced.

For many years, many venues very casually enforced smoking restrictions. It was not always as stringently enforced as it is today.

 

On our city's rapid transit there is a code of conduct. Some parts of it (like the rule against panhandling) are very stringently enforced while other parts (like the rule about other passengers not hearing your music) less so - and that's not even a commercial enterprise worried about customer satisfaction, but rather a civic agency.

Okay, so what does that have anything to do with this discussion? :confused: