Who Wants an End to HAL Formal Nights Entirely?

[Blondydoon]

of going on a cruise is the opportunity to dress up and enjoy the ambiance. When you are home, you get to cook and clean and all the mundane chores of life. I think it's wonderful to get away, get dressed up, have wonderful food and great conversation, etc. and the memory of these nights keep you going through all the 'casual' nights you can enjoy at home! Keep the formal nights - they make it soooo much more attractive. I am personally looking forward to 3 formal nights aboard the Holland America Line very soon....

[Opinions]

[quote name=RuthC; "formal optional" night is "neither fish nor fowl"' date=' as it were, and satisfies no one.

QUOTE]

 

No one?...My wife and I were satisfied with the formal optional night we had on our HAL cruise...It was on a port day and many did not feel like dressing formally after a long day touring...For those who wanted to dress up it was another opportunity they seemed to appreciate...We all have our opinions but no one speaks for everyone.

[Parrot57]

I would like to see formal night ended. I am on vacation. I don't want to have to dress up just to eat. The lack of a formal night will not prevent those to like to dress to the nines from doing so.

[cccole]

I know you only want a "yes" or "no" but I would like to give my preference. I would love to see a black tie dinner event on deck or in one of the specialty restaurants for only those who want to dress formal. Cherie

[PhylHarv]

Yes, keep some formal nights. We don't go overboard on our dress but do enjoy wearing something special occasionally when we are cruising.

[Bobs cruising]

I go with the majority, less formal nights. On a 7 day cruise 1 is enough and then everyone is happy. :D

I agree with the posters that say we should have a choice. :cool:

The upper section of the MDR for formal any night of the week and the lower section smart casual every night. :cool:

This way us men will not in get trouble with our DW's for not wearing a tux, unless agreed on. :D

[WhansaMi]

Agree! Whatever one's reason for not wanting to dress formal, the "extra weight" of formal wear is not a legitimate excuse. My husband's tux weighs less than a suit of clothes. My formal, long dresses take up very little room because they are either silk or polyster (usually the latter). They take up less room, in fact, than do t-shirts and shorts.

 

While the "luggage issue" is a very small part of why I would not mind doing away with formal nights, I do see it as an issue. While my formal dress may not take up any more space than a pair of slacks and a blouse, the latter is much more versatile.

 

Let's say someone actually stays dressed the whole evening on formal night, and even that they wear the same outfit for two nights. We are talking about utilizing luggage space for a total of 6 to 8 hours of the entire cruise. The slacks and blouse can be worn for many more hours, sea days and port days, day and night. Send them to the laundry, match separates, and you much more bang for your luggage-volume buck.

 

Law of physics: two pieces of matter cannot exist in the same place at the same time. To me, when looking at trying to limit the number and size of the luggage I'm taking with me, choosing a multipurpose garment over a specialized one makes more sense.

[Storylady]

This whole discussion reminds me of when we used to attend musical theatre performances in LA. Everyone would dress very elegantly, the women in long dresses and the men in tux's or in suits. Then the crowd that hated to dress started showing up in blue jeans. We started to feel very uncomfortable wearing elegant clothes. We really felt out of place. And the evening at the theatre didn't seem to have the same cachet even though the music was the same. It didn't feel special.

 

I guess that is one of the reasons I love HAL. The elegance of the ships interiors and the elegant dining.

[solocanadian]

There are so many people who say they will eat in Lido rather than dress formal, that I wonder at what point, it's time to do away with formal nights - to go all 'elegant casual'.

 

Maybe it is mainly because of airline weight restrictions and people don't want to lug the formal clothing or maybe it is because formal is alien to their lives and they don't want to experience on vacation but it seems many folks say they don't wish to participate.

 

You want it to continue or not?

I don't care about the packing. I love the formal nights and since I don't mix with the local Social Scene it's the only chance I get to dress up. I'd forgoe HAL if there were no more formal nights. I appreciate the effort people put in to dressing up on such occasions.:D

[Tamaracboy]

Sacrlidge ! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

R.

PS: And if you need a second word Heresy !

[room010]

I enjoy the ambiance of a formal night but not having one wouldn't really matter to me. However, if it's absence means people giving themselves permission to turn up for dinner looking like slobs because "I'm on vacation" it's just another manifestation of the general dumbing down that seems to be more and more prevalent.

[I_r_a]

Hi S7,

 

I could live without it, but my Lady Wife enjoys dressing up so I bought a formal outfit.

 

IIRC, A blazer and tie is acceptable for "Formal Night".

 

That being so, I would stick with the formal nights, and let those who don't wish to get all gussied up dress as if they were adults going out to dinner.

 

((I))

[sevigny]

Well, as someone who just bought a tux for her husband last night... We are traveling on the Prinsendam this May, with six formal nights. We enjoy dressing up, even though it is a pain in the neck to pack that much in formal clothes. If we don't want to dress up on a formal night, we have room service. I don't think it would be the same HAL without formal nights. As it is, with elegant casual, there's already been some "extension" of what is acceptable to wear in the dining room. HAL already provides the Lido service if people don't want to dress formally. To me, it's part of what makes HAL HAL. There are so many different cruise lines - if you'd rather not dress formally, there are lots of other options. We like formal nights, and we hope they will continue!

[cruiserking]

There has been so much discussion on these boards regarding formal wear. I was curious. I counted up all of the hard answers either yea or nea and so far Keep Formal Night is ahead.

 

Keep Formal Night - 72

 

End Formal Night - 41

 

Jonathan

 

Updating from yesterday the consensus continues to be in favor of Formal Nights by a pretty healthy margin, 24 to 8.

 

Keep Formal Nights - 96

 

End Formal Nights - 49

 

Cruiserking

[sail7seas]

Thanks for keeping the score, CruiserKing. :)

 

Thanks to everyone for all the opinions. Been really fun reading all of them.

I admittedly am surprised at the overwhelming preference to keep formal nights. I was incorrect in thinking the majority would vote to end them.

 

We never go to a ship without Tux/dinner jacket and at least a few dresses or dressy outfits for me.

 

 

 

 

 

[Opinions]

Updating from yesterday the consensus continues to be in favor of Formal Nights by a pretty healthy margin, 24 to 8.

 

Keep Formal Nights - 96

 

End Formal Nights - 49

 

Cruiserking

 

24 to 8? ..Perhaps you should check your math.

[maxxedout2]

I offer up this stir-the-pot-post:

 

As a one-time cruiser...I admire all who dress up.

Can't understand it for a second but, y'all look

wonderful as you try to impress each other.

 

I never suited up for anything/ever but D,D,D,DW bought a

dark jacket for me to wear on our first cruise.

 

The short story is: Yes, I did suit up for dinner (for D,D,D,DW) but

refused to wear underwear or socks.

 

....It is traditional with me to always go Commando

and no cruise line is going to change that.

 

hehe...

 

>>>>>BACK ON TOPIC... I'd like to see it listed as

FORMAL NIGHT (Optional)

 

Carrying it further, when booking you check a box for FORMAL

or Casual/Commando.

 

Then dining areas could be assigned quite easily by knowing

how many seats are needed based on attire.

 

Only joking.....leave Formal Night for those that enjoy it....

after all it is tradition....

 

:cool::cool:

[cruiserking]

24 to 8? ..Perhaps you should check your math.

 

 

Initially there were 72 in favor of Formal and 41 against it.

 

In the balance of time since my first tally there were 24 additional pro votes for Formal and 8 dissenting votes.

 

The Math is accurate.

 

Jonathan

[taxmantoo]

Initially there were 72 in favor of Formal and 41 against it.

 

In the balance of time since my first tally there were 24 additional pro votes for Formal and 8 dissenting votes.

 

The Math is accurate.

 

Jonathan

 

Most of us tux wearers understood right away what was meant ;)

[cruiserking]

Most of us tux wearers understood right away what was meant ;)

 

 

Thanks Taxmantoo, I guess we tux wearers do speak a different language. ;)

 

Jonathan

[Pudgesmom]

We traveled several times on HAL, and enjoyed it. Neither of us liked dressing up, which was one of the reasons we don't sail on HAL anymore. And as others have pointed out, we are free to choose another line. If I were allowed a vote here, it would be to end formal mights.

 

I would venture to guess that others have made the same decision we have, and that the cruise lines which offer formal nights will have to consider dropping them in the future as we all seem to go more "casual."

[Piet_Hein]

Who needs a tuxedo? How parvenu. I prefer my rrrruff.

 

Now this is fashion!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Pieterszoon_Hein

[LoyHAL]

Dear Maxsmomma,

My husband, too, is tall with large feet [heavy shoes!]. We always just rent tux shoes for him -- only about $16. Really helps with the packing!

Cheers,

LoyHAL

[Jemima]

How are you coming up with the pro and con numbers? There are lots of variations in the posts. For example, my post suggested 0 to 1 per cruise.

[May4]

You are hereby warned. I am a traditionalist and an unrepentant cheerleading sheeple.

 

Yes, I confess I am a sucker for elegant dining at a lovely and beautifully set table. I feel pretty all dressed up, and I appreciate being part of the subset who enjoy it as well. We look marvelous, darlings.

 

It's funny. The getups I wear for formal night are very comfortable for me. I think that's because they keep me warm. I'm one of those who has on long pants and a cardigan when others are in tank tops and shorts. A girl gets chilly.