Objection to Tuxedos and Gowns?

[Opinions]

The difference is HAL has no dress code suggestion that people dressed formal on formal night NOT go to Lido if they wish. They do say people who are not dressed according to the code set by HAL should NOT go to the MDR.

It's HAL's ship; they get the final say.

 

 

Since HAL has the final say why don't they just say required instead of "suggestion"?

[sail7seas]

I don't have a clue. :D

 

[maxout]

Since HAL has the final say why don't they just say required instead of "suggestion"?

 

 

I don't have a clue. :D

 

 

Indeed! :D

[Bill B]

Anyone 'with a clue' would not ask the original question in the first place.

 

Good 'troll' S7S... it worked!

[I_r_a]

>...I do not own, nor do I intend to obtain, a tux.....<

 

I used to feel that way, too.

 

However, to please my Lady Wife, On a visit to our local charity consignment shop I obtained an Italian-made tux, frilly shirt and trousers for $9.00.

 

An English-made blue blazer with brass buttons was an additional $3.

 

I am somewhat peeved that I had to pay $7 for a black bow tie.

 

Ira

[2ndtimer47]

Formal evening wear is great for when you just do a cruise but when you have to fly from Australia and are travelling before you start your cruise it makes it a lot harder to pack suits and formal clothes in only 20kg luggage allowance, especially having to pack warm jackets and raingear as well, but it is enjoyable to dress up, don't know how I'll go next cruise, booked on 15th May, 2011 cruise out of Seattle after doing land travelling with Scenic Tours. :p

[serendipity1499]

Formal evening wear is great for when you just do a cruise but when you have to fly from Australia and are travelling before you start your cruise it makes it a lot harder to pack suits and formal clothes in only 20kg luggage allowance, especially having to pack warm jackets and raingear as well, but it is enjoyable to dress up, don't know how I'll go next cruise, booked on 15th May, 2011 cruise out of Seattle after doing land travelling with Scenic Tours. :p

 

I'm confused..:confused:Psgrs from Australia & New Zealand always say their baggage allowance is only 20 kgs (44 lbs ) as opposed to our weight allowance of 50 LBS (22.7 kgs).. However, I've just done a search of both Quantas & Air New Zealand..Both state each Psgrs is permitted 2 bags at 23 kgs flying to & from the Americas or on International flights..

This is the Quantas WEB site for International flights to & from the Americas for economy class Psgrs..

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/checked-baggage/global/en#jump2

Look at the section entitled : International to/from The Americas

Now we here in the U.S. are only permitted one bag at 50 lbs (22.7Kg) domestically..

So many U. S. Psgrs are unwilling to pay an extra $25.00 to $35.00 to check an additional bag & I wonder why..We are spending thousands on a cruise, why not add an additional $25 to $30 to check one extra piece..

When we went to Alaska, we had an eight day land tour before our cruise, & decided from the get go, to just add $25.00 to $35 more to our cruise budget for one extra bag..It worked out well for us..Did the same this past Aug. when we flew to NyC..Left our cruise bag unopened while we visited with our family.. We don't worry about carrying it, as always check them at the curb, give the porters a nice tip & claim them at the arrival..

We packed all our formal (Tux or Suit for DH & fancy dresses for me) & smart casual evening attire in a rolling garment bag which only weighed about 35 lbs...That garment bag with out clothes weighs about 22 lbs....We paid an extra $30.00 going to Alaska but not on the return since it was an international flight..However when we cruised on the Veendam in Aug. we paid $30 for the extra bag both ways..

Cheers....Betty

[terigo]

i just don't care, actually.

people should please themselves, not other passengers.... as long as there is some semblence of common sense....

i mean, i don't think bikinis would be especially appropriate..... :p

[serendipity1499]

Well DH finally did it!;) We went out yesterday & found a beautiful new Navy Blue suit for him..It's a perfect fit, & he does look very handsome in it..So instead of the TUX, he will wear his new Dark Suit on our Noordam Cruise..

He never even balked at the price, but I had warned him earlier that good wool suits are not the same price as they were before he took early retirement 22 years ago..:eek:

Of course I quickly paid for it while he was changing in the dressing room..;)

 

 

>...I do not own, nor do I intend to obtain, a tux.....<

 

I used to feel that way, too.

 

However, to please my Lady Wife, On a visit to our local charity consignment shop I obtained an Italian-made tux, frilly shirt and trousers for $9.00.

 

An English-made blue blazer with brass buttons was an additional $3.

 

I am somewhat peeved that I had to pay $7 for a black bow tie.

 

Ira

 

What a good buy!...In what town did you find this wonderful consignment shop...DH now needs a new blue blazer...LOL:D

Enjoy your TUX & I't's nice to know that you are pleasing your wife..My DH has worn his TUX for years & always looked so handsome in it..

Cheers....:)Betty

[drcpa]

i just don't care, actually.

people should please themselves, not other passengers.... as long as there is some semblence of common sense....

i mean, i don't think bikinis would be especially appropriate..... :p

 

No, no...bikinis would be just fine. ;)

[zalusky]

This subject always amuses me. Its an interesting sociological discussion.

 

From a practical point of there really is not much difference(Men). They both have pants, shirts, socks, shoes, belts. One has a jacket, and a tie and sometimes cuff links.

 

The amount of time to get dressed really is not any longer. The only real difference is packing and perceived class. Packing can be mitigated by renting.

 

I think the whole thing has to do with attitude. People probably feel like they are rebelling against the man and do not want to be associated with the man.

 

From a woman's point of view it is more complicated because the outfits are generally not repeated and so they have to think about and probably spend more. They tend to devote a lot more time and money to primping but I don't think the guys ever consider that a factor in their complaining.

 

The whole dress up thing is not really about the cruise lines as they have lots of casual photos now to make money. In fact our best photos have been the casual poses.

 

My personal analysis is that people are not comfortable about associating with what they feel are upper class snobs.

[serendipity1499]

This subject always amuses me. Its an interesting sociological discussion.

 

From a practical point of there really is not much difference(Men). They both have pants, shirts, socks, shoes, belts. One has a jacket, and a tie and sometimes cuff links.

 

The amount of time to get dressed really is not any longer. The only real difference is packing and perceived class. Packing can be mitigated by renting.

 

I think the whole thing has to do with attitude. People probably feel like they are rebelling against the man and do not want to be associated with the man.

 

From a woman's point of view it is more complicated because the outfits are generally not repeated and so they have to think about and probably spend more. They tend to devote a lot more time and money to primping but I don't think the guys ever consider that a factor in their complaining.

 

Since when don't ladies repeat their outfits..Maybe on a 7 day cruise ladies don't repeat, however most of us who take the longer cruises, and there are many of us, always repeat our outfits..For a 20 to 28 day cruise there is no way I could pack 20 to 28 different outfits..DH would kill me!.. For our 20 day cruise next month I'm trying to figure out & do with just 10 evening outfits & plan to send out laundry...It's the shoes which get out of control though:eek:..

 

 

The whole dress up thing is not really about the cruise lines as they have lots of casual photos now to make money. In fact our best photos have been the casual poses.

 

My personal analysis is that people are not comfortable about associating with what they feel are upper class snobs.

 

Do you actually believe that our fellow Psgrs perceive those who wear a Tux or fancy dresses as upper class snobs?:eek:

Cheers....:)Betty

[iancal]

I sure don't think that you are snobs. Go ahead and dress up to the nines if you wish and more power to you if this is what you enjoy. Snobbery is about attitude, manners, and behavior- not attire.

[zalusky]

Do you actually believe that our fellow Psgrs perceive those who wear a Tux or fancy dresses as upper class snobs?:eek:

Cheers....:)Betty

 

I don't have answer what I am saying is this is a heated topic and a fair amount of people don't like to dress up. I was trying to suggest we get at why. I am guessing that more men don't want to dress up than women just by comparing thehe size of the clothes section in most stores.

 

I don't get why it's a big deal for men since it's about the same amount of work. So thinking out of the box I threw amount another possibility.

 

What are your theories?

[annierie]

I don't have answer what I am saying is this is a heated topic and a fair amount of people don't like to dress up. I was trying to suggest we get at why. I am guessing that more men don't want to dress up than women just by comparing thehe size of the clothes section in most stores.

 

I don't get why it's a big deal for men since it's about the same amount of work. So thinking out of the box I threw amount another possibility.

 

What are your theories?

 

Speaking as a woman who doesn't give a darn about clothing, I think your generalizations reflect a somewhat narrow personal view of the world.

 

I worked for years with female engineers and scientists who spent virtually nothing on clothes, the same as the technically trained men in our profession. I could make observations based on that narrow view that would not match yours, but since I also worked and associated with some real clothes horses, I know there are vast differences in what people spend their time and money on. I worked with one woman who kept a calendar to make sure she didn't repeat outfits for certain functions. ;)

 

Some of us, believe it or not, don't make formal dress clothing the priority when we pack. We decide what we need to take to enjoy our vacation our way. If I want to hike, or kayak, or bird watch, or snorkel, or bike while in ports, then the clothes and accessories for my vacation will match that.

 

Taking a sports jacket and a couple of shirts and ties will be adequate for DH to wear on and off the ship. It also doesn't require making room for size 11 EEE black dress shoes, since his dress loafers will be used every night for dinner whenever and wherever. That's the difference for me, being versatile and setting our priorities for our vacation.

 

As said by others, use common sense and bring what works for you. :)

[mr green]

I do not object to those who dress in any reasonable way on formal nights. However I do object to those few who test the status quo by trying to find out what they can 'get away' with. Are they trying to relive their respective childhoods?

 

john

[svetty]

Dressing up for formal night makes me feel like a princess and having my so all dressed up too makes me feel like we are on our first day all over again after 5 years together, I know it's not much , but we are in early and late 30s:))

If someone doesn't feel comfortable they should not be forced to wear tight shoes and dresses , everyone should do whatever make them feel happiest, after all you spend all that money to relax and be happy not to have extra stress!

For me it is pleasure and part of preparation for the cruise it's my tradition and. Something that makes me happy:))) I knwomi would not feel comfortAble if everyone was overdressed and I wasn't, however I am totally fine being overdressed myself:)) as long as it's appropriate of course!!

[ilv4cruising]

At the risk of getting some bad responses I thought I would give my opinion on formal nights. I personally love them. I enjoy getting dressed up, having a nice dinner, going dancing etc. No, I'm not old just normal middle aged :). I have been on many types of cruises and have travelled a lot since I was a kid. I can understand the concern about luggage restrictions since I always have to fly for any cruise port since I don't live close to one.

 

My "tip" for choosing formal wear. I choose to buy a long dress in jersey material. The material flows beautifully and it travels really well. I like long because I can bring 1 pair of strappy heals that will work with other shorter dresses or pants (nothing that sparkles). For the 2nd formal night I take a cocktail dress in the same colour (same jersey) bling it up with some jewellry, same shoes. This cuts back on the number of shoes. The jersey material allows me to use a normal suitcase. My husband brings 1 nice dark suit (or tux) with a 2nd pair of pants. Sometimes he brings a lightweight second jacket for the other evenings. He also buys dress shoes that can be worn with other pants. I try to keep the number of shoes to a minimum (not always easy :).

 

I am always under weight on my luggage. I tend to buy "versatile" clothing (ever heard about reversible resort dresses, they are great as you can wear them a multitude of ways on both sides) - they are amazing and really cuts down on how much I take for a trip.

 

I hope HAL or others lines don't get rid of formal nights.

[north29]

I know, some like formal nights, but many of us could care less, I do like to dress well, but but but, in this day and age of Travel, to have all the cloths like tux etc it would take more than one over loaded suit case for much over a 7 day cruise. I simply will not be forced to wear a TUX or even a Sport coat, and tie, unless they will fit easily in my big suit case and the cruise is 7 days or less.

I simply think that EVERY CRUISE LINE, should make special effort to seat all the Tux people together, and have a joyous event but leave us under dressed or under classed people to enjoy the MDR at our own discrimination.

HAL just sent me some literature on some great long trips and I had entertained one of them for next year, but if I have to be looked down upon because I chose to dress nicely, but not elegantly. I do not need to go on HAL and giving up a night in the MDR because of dress is not acceptable.

Having said all that, I do think the dress code for many cruise lines has come down a bit tooooo much, like shorts and flip flops in the MDR.

It is funny how this came to my attention, like I said, I was entertaining a HAL trip, and decide to visit this board to see what others were saying about HAL.

[mr green]

I simply think that EVERY CRUISE LINE, should make special effort to seat all the Tux people together, and have a joyous event but leave us under dressed or under classed people to enjoy the MDR at our own discrimination

 

This, if you think about it would be very very difficult to do.

 

john

[maxout]

I know, some like formal nights, but many of us could care less, I do like to dress well, but but but, in this day and age of Travel, to have all the cloths like tux etc it would take more than one over loaded suit case for much over a 7 day cruise. I simply will not be forced to wear a TUX or even a Sport coat, and tie, unless they will fit easily in my big suit case and the cruise is 7 days or less.

 

I guess you meant you couldn't care less? Renting would solve your packing problem and there are other dining choices on formal nights that don't require you to "Dress up".

[world~citizen]

As has been stated may times on CC, the dress code issue seems never to come to the surface on board even as it brings the roof down in numerous threads online.

 

What does that tell us?

[WhansaMi]

I simply think that EVERY CRUISE LINE, should make special effort to seat all the Tux people together, and have a joyous event but leave us under dressed or under classed people to enjoy the MDR at our own discrimination.

 

The thing is, not all of the "Tux people" care about what others are wearing, so that could be a problem.

 

On the Prinsendam this summer, we had three parties at our table: on one formal night, the attire ranged from a tuxedo to a sportscoat with no tie. We all enjoyed one another's company immensely, so much so that we were always among the last tables to leave.

[HamOp]

Since HAL has the final say why don't they just say required instead of "suggestion"?

 

I woud think it's the paying customer who has the "final" say.....

[slotl]

I cannot imagine what kind of person would make a derogatory remark to someone( they don't know ) on their attire (should they be under or over dressed.)

How someone else dresses has no beatring on my choice of outfit and how I dress should be no concern of theirs (short of wearing a bathrobe to dinner;))

My smart casual may be someone's idea of "code acceptable" formal and my idea of formal maybe over the top to some.....

I dress to please myself and one other person....the rest are of no consequence to me.

 

I was on a 12 day cruise from Papeete to Hawaii a few years ago (on Princess). My luggage never met me in Papeete....it never got transferred in LA. Bottom line, we had NO CLOTHES except what we wore. In those days we were not smart enough to pack some extra clothes in carry on. So, the cruise ship gave us some shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, tooth brush, tooth paste, etc. Papeete is NOT a thriving metropolis and finding clothes, underwear, swimsuits, and toiletries was very difficult if not impossible. We found NO UNDERWEAR and washed out the one pair of undies we had every night. That brings us to formal night. I had no make-up, sneakers, and socks. The ship was willing to "loan" us some formalwear. Well, sneakers do not go well with formal attire, so I asked the ship for a tuxedo and shirt to wear.

 

I experienced the "distain" of fellow passengers, like "what kind of statement is she trying to make"? Finally, I got so sick of "the looks", that I turned around and said......."How would you like it if your luggage didn't arrive"?

 

Shut them up quickly!!! .....and it felt good. BTW, our luggage met us in Hawaii 9 days into the 12 day cruise.

 

Now, my feelings on formal wear. With the weight restrictions on luggage with the airlines, I find it impossible to pack formal wear for me and a tuxedo for my hubby and meet the weight standards for the luggage. As far as I am concerned, it is added weight for no reason. I pack black pants and nice blouses and my hubby packs his business suit. Still extra weight I would rather not need. Thank goodness "informal" nights have been eliminated. I do NOT like the folks who choose to wear blue jeans in the dining room at dinner. I do not think it is appropriate attire for dinner.

 

I have traveled Azamara a few times and LOVE their business casual dinners. Nice golf shirts and docker pants EVERY NIGHT. LOVE IT!!