Very late change to dress code

[DaveA]

I've just received a notification from Silversea that the dress code for our cruise on Whisper next week has been altered. The number of formal nights is reduced from 2 to 1 with an extra casual night instead.

 

It's not a big deal (although my wife may think otherwise when she finds out later today) but I do wonder why they would make a change with only a week's notice like this?

 

Dave

[Tillylovesseabourn]

I do hope this isn't a sign of things to come,as so many like SS for the formal nights.

 

In my opinion 1 night is worse than having two, if the tux / gowns need packing its a real annoyance just for one evening. SS will I'm sure be inundated with disappointed customers, who like me enjoy the formal nights and have moved away from Seabourn/Regent because of the lack of formality!

[Observer]

I confess that I am not a fan of formal nights. Nonetheless, whether or not there are formal nights is not a decisive factor for me in selecting cruises.

 

How about a compromise -- if formal nights must continue?

 

On those selected formal nights there would be two sittings in the dining room. The first, at 6:30, would be casual. All the casually dressed people would thus be in the Restaurant and not polluting the bars with their shabby clothes. The second sitting, at 8, would be formal.

 

Thoughts?

[TLCOhio]

I do hope this isn't a sign of things to come,as so many like SS for the formal nights. In my opinion 1 night is worse than having two, if the tux / gowns need packing its a real annoyance just for one evening. SS will I'm sure be inundated with disappointed customers, who like me enjoy the formal nights and have moved away from Seabourn/Regent because of the lack of formality!

 

As we get ready for our July 1-16 Norway Coast cruise on the Silver Cloud, they are still holding at four formal nights out of the 15 total evenings on the ship. We are more focused on the ports and reaching where we want to go and what we want to see. Worrying too much about how dressed up people get is fairly low on our list of concerns. I can see and understand BOTH sides of this "formality" debate. As a cruiser, we can be happy either way.

 

From my marketing/research background, I comprehend the audience struggle that cruise lines are facing as they try to attract future customers in the 30-55 age group. Those younger are not as loyal to institutions and formality. That's reality! Sorry! Maybe some don't like it or it does not fit their view of the world. On the other side, we have seen on the Ohio State University campus recently, more women wearing dresses or skirts when going out to bars, etc. Among some these young people, wearing jeans and "dressing down" is not as "IN" or cool as it once was.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[DaveA]

I agree with you, Terry, about the market moving toward less formality to attract younger customers, but that doesn't explain why SS would change the format for a cruise departing next week. It's hardly likely to impact their ability to sell any remaining vacant suites, but it is likely to irritate customers who have already done their packing and left home.

 

Dave

[Keith1010]

Dave, are you on the seven day cruise that leaves June 30. I am not sure why they would have scheduled two formal nights in the first place given not only the lenght of the itinerary but the fact that there is only one sea day which would be the logical time for the first formal night. So, I am wondering if they errored to begin with by having shown two formal nights.

 

Keith

[Neilio]

Dave, are you on the seven day cruise that leaves June 30. I am not sure why they would have scheduled two formal nights in the first place given not only the lenght of the itinerary but the fact that there is only one sea day which would be the logical time for the first formal night. So, I am wondering if they errored to begin with by having shown two formal nights.

 

Keith

 

We were just on seven day cruise June 5-12 on silver spirit. There were 2 formal nights. Also, there was a bbq on the last night. We had 2 formal, 3 informal and 2 casual.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

From my marketing/research background, I comprehend the audience struggle that cruise lines are facing as they try to attract future customers in the 30-55 age group. Those younger are not as loyal to institutions and formality. That's reality!

 

 

 

 

Nice idea, however I am in my early thirties!! I would hate not to have formal nights, my husband loves them too and he is younger than me!!:D

[Keith1010]

We were just on seven day cruise June 5-12 on silver spirit. There were 2 formal nights. Also, there was a bbq on the last night. We had 2 formal, 3 informal and 2 casual.

 

The itinerary that Dave is talking about is really not conducive to two formal nights. It makes sense to have one on July 1st and I am sure there will be one. However, the next best port would be in Tallinn because the ship is there till 4:00 PM but they are not going to have two formal nights in a row. On July 5 when normally there might be a formal night they are just not going to do one given the two overnights in St. Petersburg and the fact that the ship leaves port at 6:00 PM. And the final night is not possible.

 

So as I said I suspect it was a mistake that they originally showed two formal nights because while I love formal nights I can't see how two would have worked well with this itinerary.

 

The itinerary follows so you can see what I am talking about.

 

Keith

 

30 Jun 2010 Wed Copenhagen, Denmark 11:00 PM 01 Jul 2010 Thu Day At Sea 02 Jul 2010 Fri Tallinn, Estonia 8:00 AM 4:00 PM 03 Jul 2010 Sat St. Petersburg, Russia 8:00 AM 04 Jul 2010 Sun St. Petersburg, Russia 05 Jul 2010 Mon St. Petersburg, Russia 6:00 PM 06 Jul 2010 Tue Helsinki, Finland 8:00 AM 4:00 PM 07 Jul 2010 Wed Stockholm, Sweden

[BILLP1]

68 years old and the less formal nights the better as far as I am concerned. I will book no matter what the dress code is but younger people will be less inclinded to want to dress up for dinner. It is a different era and generation .

[Keith1010]

I am not sure why each time someone asks a question such as in this case that the thread has to evolve into a discussion about whether folks like or dislike formal nights.

 

The question was quite simple and I do believe that the reason there is one formal night has nothing to do with the direction that Silversea is taking. Rather, I believe it was because they inadvertently listed two formal nights on an itinerary where having two was close to impossible.

 

I am sure there are some who llike formal nights and some who don't. Maybe those who think it's worth discussing should start a new thread or better yet just take a poll on the board which has been done on some of the other boards.

 

But again, the reason for one formal night on this itinerary is very logical IMHO.

 

Keith

[tbgc]

We are leaving for cruise on July 10th, and I just received our tickets and noticed there is only one formal night as well on our 7 night cruise from Rome to Barcelona. How do you find out which nights are formal, informal and casual? I would like to book my reservations at the restaurants with this information at hand?

[Neilio]

We are leaving for cruise on July 10th, and I just received our tickets and noticed there is only one formal night as well on our 7 night cruise from Rome to Barcelona. How do you find out which nights are formal, informal and casual? I would like to book my reservations at the restaurants with this information at hand?

 

Once you are on the ship there will be a newsletter in your suite which specifies the dress for each night on your cruise. Once onboard you can make your reservations. My wife and I did this on our June 5-12 spirit cruise. We actually went to each restaurant and introduced ourselves to the manager and made our reservations. I think at least 2-3 times during the cruise we changed reservation times and it was never a problem.

[DaveA]

The question was quite simple and I do believe that the reason there is one formal night has nothing to do with the direction that Silversea is taking. Rather, I believe it was because they inadvertently listed two formal nights on an itinerary where having two was close to impossible.

 

Thanks, Keith. I suspect you are spot on.

 

Dave

[Keith1010]

We are leaving for cruise on July 10th, and I just received our tickets and noticed there is only one formal night as well on our 7 night cruise from Rome to Barcelona. How do you find out which nights are formal, informal and casual? I would like to book my reservations at the restaurants with this information at hand?

 

As Neilo mentioned the day you board you will get the information as to the breakdown of dress.

 

My guess is it will be July 15 as this is your only sea day.

 

Keith

[Emtbsam]

There is nothing wrong with dressing up in formal attire even if the "dress code" for the evening is informal! If you're going to pack a tux and a gown, you might as well wear them more than once. Frankly, one of the reasons we shun short cruises is that we like formal nights!

[lord of the seas]

There is nothing wrong with dressing up in formal attire even if the "dress code" for the evening is informal! If you're going to pack a tux and a gown, you might as well wear them more than once. Frankly, one of the reasons we shun short cruises is that we like formal nights!

 

Not a good thing for a lady to be seen in the same ballgown, twice in one cruise.:eek:

[ppiew]

I think airline weight restrictions and charges are a big impetus in the cutting back of ALL clothing - and the first to go would be formal attire. That said, there is nothing wrong with wearing your formal attire on any night. We have been to a Gala recently where 2 people were dressed in ball gowns and the attire varied all over the map. It didn't seem to bother anyone so why not do what you are most comfortable in.

[cruzemaven]

Just got our docs yesterday for the back to back we're doing on July 17. The dress code is one formal night per 7 day cruise.

[Goldens4]

1 formal night for a 7 day cruise is reasonable. On our 9 day cruise we had 2. However, on a 10 day we had 3 which some people thought was a bit much. I can see their point. The rule of thumb (imo) should be 1 formal night per 5 nights of cruising.

 

Have a great time on your cruise, Cruzemaven. Once you receive your docs, you are almost there.:)

[cruzemaven]

1 formal night for a 7 day cruise is reasonable. On our 9 day cruise we had 2. However, on a 10 day we had 3 which some people thought was a bit much. I can see their point. The rule of thumb (imo) should be 1 formal night per 5 nights of cruising.

 

Have a great time on your cruise, Cruzemaven. Once you receive your docs, you are almost there.:)

 

Thanks and crossing my fingers that there are no unruly toddlers onboard.

[Sweetpea711423]

I am quite surprised and unhappy that Silversea would change the number of formal nights with only one week's notice. We have a 10 night cruise coming up August 3 that is listed as having 3 formal nights and that is what I am counting on. I would be very disturbed if the number were reduced. For my husband and me, a major reason for choosing Silversea is the number of formal nights. For us dressing up like this is fun and we look forward to it. If Silversea were to move away from that we might as well consider some of the other lines. Hopefully it won't come to that.

[pamfj]

We were on the Shadow from the 10th to the 17th and there were two formal nights scheduled. The first was on a night when there were very rough seas and almost no one made it to dinner. I expected that it might be rescheduled, but it was not (although the Captain's reception was).

 

Throughout the cruise I noticed a lack of formality (which surprised me given discussions on this board) and even jeans in the dining room at dinner. We were in AK, so maybe that was part of it. Poor Gilbert was trying in vain to enforce the dress code, but I think he finally gave up--he told me one fellow packed only shorts and jeans.

 

When I talked to Gilbert about it he said "they" were talking about doing away with fromal dress because the younger crowd did not like to dress.

 

I would definitely not have been happy to have heard of a change in dress code that close to sailing. It would make more sense to do it at the beginning of a season.

[lord of the seas]

It is only a matter of time (not long now) before Silversea change the dress code required in the evenings.With the introduction of the newer,larger ship Silversea need to fill the space and will have to attract a younger crowd that will help keep the line going in the future.

I have seen it happening on Seabourn, on the larger ships also.

I like to dress for dinner but you only have to go to most top restaurants around the world to see the demise of a dress code.It would be nice if Silversea and Seabourn made their smaller ships more formal than the large ships,then they could please most cruisers.

[unfathomable]

Late changes to dress code are not unknown, even mid-cruise -- especially if the CD is not well organized.