Who Wants an End to HAL Formal Nights Entirely?

[leeh]

True..but then you have the option to dine in the Lido....but for those who want to experience the Formal night, they would still have the chance, And for those on longer cruises, it would keep the "Special" feel, that an over-abundance of them seems to lose.

[Opinions]

I like the designation..."Formal ...or Not !" ....if there has to be a second dressy night, maybe that could be it ??

 

We were on a 24 day HAL med cruise...There were only 3 sea days...One of the formal nights was scheduled to be on a very busy port day...It was changed to "Formal-Optional"...One had the choice of dressing formally or elegant-casual...We chose the casual as did many others.

[OCruisers]

Gosh, I'd miss Formal Evenings!

 

Times change and things are what they are ... but, I'd hate for Formal Evenings to become one of those "Back in the Good Old Days" memories!

[navybankerteacher]

Formal nights do lend a special atmosphere to a cruise. I would prefer that HAL continue them -- but that they make it serious: advising people who did not want to participate that they were not welcome in the MDR on those nights. The problem with the "elegant casual" idea is that it relies upon undefined terms --a formal night is understandable: tux or dark suit for men. cocktail or evening dress or formal pant suit for women-- not hard to understand; while "elegant casual" brings out the "dressy jeans", "nice trousers" and "long shorts" concepts -- which wind up making every night an NCL sort of freestyle experience.

 

Variety is what makes life interesting - and it seems unfortunate that the occasional formal night is a kind of variety which is going by the boards.

[TracieABD]

I vote to keep them!

[Rutland Gate]

I vote to keep them!

Me too!

[expectGREATthings]

I'd like to keep them as well. Now that the vast majority of people seem to want to have a formal night of some sort maybe we can put this thing to rest.

[CaveDiving]

Hi,

 

In our opinion, definately keep the formal nights. To us, dressing up is an important feature of ocean cruising. We also like to feel comfortable wearing fine jewelry.

 

Scott & Karen

[BoiseIdahoSpud]

We are a younger cruising couple (33 and 38). We're also realtively new to cruising compared to many on these threads. We really love formal nights. Those nights are a part of the "fantasy" experience when you combine it with the lovely food and service in HAL's classic dining rooms. We feel special on formal nights - and isn't that one of the best parts of cruising? We rent our tuxes so there always fresh and in our closet on arrival. Super easy.

 

Let the other mainstream lines continue to shed tradition and elegance to broaden their audience. We would be very disappointed if HAL stopped formal nights and would have to look to another line that keeps the tradition if that were to happen. But I just don't see HAL eliminating formal nights.

[Seavoyage]

After 7 suitcases on the wonderful Zuidy last year (10 days) - I was opting for fewer formals but I found the absolutely cutest dresses for this year's cruise! So 2 big votes for STAYING FORMAL!!!! :p

[CowPrincess]

I found the absolutely cutest dresses for this year's cruise! So 2 big votes for STAYING FORMAL!!!! :p

 

Hi,

 

We also like to feel comfortable wearing fine jewelry.

 

Scott & Karen

 

Two of the BEST reasons I've heard for maintaining formal night. :) I'd have nowhere to wear my good jewelry! And no acceptable reason for buying new clothes. Thank you, thank you!

[dutchgal46]

We are retired and LOVE to dress up for formal nights.

We have always hand carried our Formal wear on airplanes.

So we vote to keep formal nights!

[Cqis]

I attend a lot of formal dances. I would not think of embarrassing my host by not dressing appropriately. We have gotten so casual that our children don't know how to dress appropriately. We don't respect God's house, we wear shorts to church. We wear jeans to weddings and our pants below our butts. Is this what we really want . It starts somewhere, I think it has to do with how we respect ourselves. Does dressing up hurt your self-esteem? Does your entire life revolves on how shabby can I get away with. Look at yourself in the mirror when you are "dressed up" and when you are "shabby chic" . I would bet that you really look good dressed up. As you can see I say yes to 'Formal Nights."

[pris993]

Not us, we have been cruising for 25+ years, on our 36 cruise in a couple of months, dressing for dinner is something we love to do. Formal, informal and smart casual -- we will continue to dress no matter what the cruise lines do:).

[rozndon]

Yah, maybe a Poll but it would simply be a yes or no. Vote yes or vote no.... :D I wasn't looking for a maybe.

 

We do vote either by participating and dressing up for formal night or not doing it. I don't understand why people feel that formal night should be discontinued because they don't want to dress up. If you don't want to, just don't! It seems to me that in my limited cruising experience, there were always many people looking elegant in the MDR on formal nights. My husband and I always look forward to it. If we didn't, we just wouldn't go and would eat in the Lido.

[sail7seas]

We do vote either by participating and dressing up for formal night or not doing it. I don't understand why people feel that formal night should be discontinued because they don't want to dress up. If you don't want to, just don't! It seems to me that in my limited cruising experience, there were always many people looking elegant in the MDR on formal nights. My husband and I always look forward to it. If we didn't, we just wouldn't go and would eat in the Lido.

 

 

Just for the record.......

 

DH and I have never failed to dress for formal night and never will. If we sail HAL and they have formal nights, we will be dressed appropriately for it.

 

Some great responses here. Good reading. Thank you.

[mahassiddasairy]

We do vote either by participating and dressing up for formal night or not doing it. I don't understand why people feel that formal night should be discontinued because they don't want to dress up. If you don't want to, just don't! It seems to me that in my limited cruising experience, there were always many people looking elegant in the MDR on formal nights. My husband and I always look forward to it. If we didn't, we just wouldn't go and would eat in the Lido.

 

I agree. Not dressing up for formal night seems akin to showing up at trivia with a pack of cards. I'm not looking forward to many "ship" things on our upcoming cruise, but formal night is something I can't wait to participate in. I work form home, and am usually in sweatpants and a T-shirt (if not pajamas). It's nice to have a real reason to get completely gussied up.

[fayruz]

YES.

 

Formal nights are not 'imposed' like you say on many other cruise lines. Go on cruise lines WITHOUT any formal nights. Why not go with a cruise line which is more in line with the vacation experience you want. You do not have to sail HAL.

 

Hal passengers as a whole want and love formal nights, try another cruise instead of imposing your personal choice on others. HAL is an experience and that experience includes formal nights. The choice is out there.....choose your venue.

 

Also this elegant casual is a joke, most people are simply sloppy. Wearing the same thing at night than what they wear to go sit on a beach or go on excursion is not my definition of smart or elegant casual. Elegant casual way too often is ''''extremely casual''''. And it becomes downright sloppy more than once.

 

Louise

no italian is ever "sloppy" and I normally dress Valentino.

I am not "imposing" anything, not even throwing overboard nervous persons.

[MATHA531]

But here is what I don't understand.......if they didn't have a formal night (or two or three), you could still dress up if you wanted to.....why should those who don't believe in this nonsense then be excluded from ship activities because they don't want to increase the amount of stuff they have to cart around with them with formal clothing? And the other point. I am doing a 12 night cruise and the documentation says 3 formal nights. You want one formal night, fine. I can live with that. But 3 are 2 too many.

[ot73nl]

You want one formal night, fine. I can live with that. But 3 are 2 too many.

 

Please cancel your HAL reservation and go with NCL.

 

As for me, I choose to sail with HAL because of there dress code policy. I do enjoy dressing up. I do like to see another people looking good at dinner too. My next cruise will be 10 nights on Eurodam and there are 3 formal nights only. I would like it to be 10...

[navybankerteacher]

But here is what I don't understand.......if they didn't have a formal night (or two or three), you could still dress up if you wanted to.....why should those who don't believe in this nonsense then be excluded from ship activities because they don't want to increase the amount of stuff they have to cart around with them with formal clothing? And the other point. I am doing a 12 night cruise and the documentation says 3 formal nights. You want one formal night, fine. I can live with that. But 3 are 2 too many.

 

It shouldn't be that hard to understand: what makes a formal night formal is the atmosphere created. It is not formal if there are a significant number of people ignoring the formal dress code.

 

It is comparable to having a "moment of silence" -- it only really works if everyone participates. Three people out of a thousand chattering during a moment of silece changes it for the other 997. Similarly, three people in "nice jeans" with "dressy tee shirts" will remove the "formal" from formal night.

[Former Goalie]

We do vote either by participating and dressing up for formal night or not doing it. I don't understand why people feel that formal night should be discontinued because they don't want to dress up. If you don't want to, just don't! It seems to me that in my limited cruising experience, there were always many people looking elegant in the MDR on formal nights. My husband and I always look forward to it. If we didn't, we just wouldn't go and would eat in the Lido.

I dislike dressing in "formal" clothing (and HAL stretches that definition IMHO), but I am not against formal nights. We seldom go to the MDR anyway, so we either take room service, or slap on a coat, tie, and slacks for a trip to the Pinnacle or Tamarind. I think I've worn a tux once in my life, and that was one time too many.

[Crazy Gramps]

My vote is KEEP the formal nights.

I like getting dressed up.

I love my wife all dressed and looking fantastic.

I like almost everybody on the boat looking terrific.

 

A cruise is something special.

[RuthC]

But here is what I don't understand.......if they didn't have a formal night (or two or three), you could still dress up if you wanted to.....

No, they can't. At least not if they have any sense of decorum, anyway. It is just as incorrect to be overdressed as it is to be underdressed. The dress code for the evening sets a range of what is appropriate to wear. Going outside those parameters, in either direction, is not appropriate.

...why should those who don't believe in this nonsense then be excluded from ship activities because they don't want to increase the amount of stuff they have to cart around with them with formal clothing?

At least for a woman you aren't increasing what you are bringing. You do still have to wear something at night, don't you? And even if you wear "smart casual", you aren't wearing what you would wear in the daytime, (at least I hope you aren't :rolleyes:), so it's no big deal to pack something dressy instead of something not dressy.

And diamonds aren't all that heavy. Pack a bunch of 'em.

 

A man needs slacks and a shirt at night anyway, so adding a tie is nothing. The jacket is all the "increase" he has to pack. He can wear that, so no extra packing to do there, either.

Or, he can decrease what he takes by renting a tux.

 

Now do you understand?

[fayruz]

And diamonds aren't all that heavy. Pack a bunch of 'em.

I love you for this :) one