To Suit or not to Suit? Formal wear...

[MTL=CRUISEFAMILY]

First NCL Freestyle cruise, not sure if I need to pack a suit or any formal wear..

 

Are there formal or dress nights NCL Dawn?

 

Thanks in advance

[sparks1093]

NCL has "dress up or not" nights so you may leave the suit at home if you are so inclined (or you may bring it and wear it if you are inclined that way).

[MTL=CRUISEFAMILY]

NCL has "dress up or not" nights so you may leave the suit at home if you are so inclined (or you may bring it and wear it if you are inclined that way).

 

Thanks..I guess my question should be, Will I be in the minority if I wear a suit?

..Or will I stand out?

[johnql]

Thanks..I guess my question should be, Will I be in the minority if I wear a suit?

..Or will I stand out?

Yes, you will definitely be in the minority, but so what? Do as you please (within reason, of course) - that's the beauty of Freestyle.

[Don Haynes]

Resort casual is welcomed in every dining room and restaurant every night with NCL. If you wish to dress formally for any reason you can do so any night, but don't expect everyone else to do the same.

[Tiggertastic]

We always take the suits on NCL and on the dress up or not nights book to eat in one of the speciality restaurants - if we've flown them all the way from the UK, they are going to be worn!

 

This time we're taking tuxedo's too as we will be wearing them new years eve

 

We like to do a dress up night when away.

 

Although we have to admit being really unimpressed with Royal Caribbean last month when we flew the suits 4000 miles to wear on formal night to find only 1 in 8 was dressed up and the restaurant went to sit us with a couple wearing jeans and fleeces on formal night and my DH had his tuxedo on - we insisted that they find us a table with others dressed up

[Why Knot Me]

No suits for us, but I enjoy seeing others wear them and never think of them as being out of place.

[dwjoe]

Thanks..I guess my question should be, Will I be in the minority if I wear a suit?

..Or will I stand out?

Suits were in the minority on "Dress Up or Not" nights on the Dawn. But it wasn't a tiny minority... I noticed several families dressed up. You should not feel uncomfortable dressing up, if that is your preference.

[valleyvillage]

I never dress up for these nights but I see plenty of folks doing it, really enjoying themselves. Lots of them getting photographs taken! I would not think you would feel out of place. Once again, it's the beauty of Freestyle!

 

I love it.

[npsh]

If you wish to dress up on the "dress up or not" nights in your suit, shirt and tie or a tux or if you wish to formal dress every night, that is your choice and ultimately your decision to do so. Yes, with NCL you will be in the minority but really should that bother you if you like to dress. Nobody will really care, nor should you. Be forewarned though, you will see people like myself (who absolutely refuses to wear a suit and tie on vacation) wearing jeans and a t-shirt or some sort of casual shirt and sandals as well in all the dining venues simply because NCL is freestyle which caters to cruisers like myself and that is the main reason I will continue with NCL.

It's beyond me why posts are still ongoing on dress requirements, formality and the like when it is abundantly clear NCL is a freestyle carrier, doesn't have official formal dining nights and there are nil restrictions on dress outside of swimwear, trunks and tank tops.

[MTL=CRUISEFAMILY]

Thanks for the great replies...

 

The last two cruises had formal nights, and it is fun to dress up. But I work with a tie so, vacationing with it too is not my ideal.

 

I just want to be prepared...Guess I will keep the suit packing to the last minute and if I can squeeze it in I will...

 

Enjoy!

[Sauer-kraut]

Leave it at home, leave space for ALL the other stuff you'll end up bring back home with you.

 

I would like to point out as well, that on our transatlantic I only saw one dress up or not one time, but every evening there were people dressed up so it is truly DO AS YOU WISH. If you are celebrating something wonderful and plan to paint the ship red, of course smash the suit into the case, but it really isn't neccessary. ;)

 

You can always just pack a blazer/sports jacket and you'll be fine that way as well.

[STARFISH*4]

why we LOVE FREE~STYLE our choice to DRESS-UP or NOT...hubby takes slacks, shirt and tie for one of the DRESS-UP or NOT nights (usually so we can TRY to get a nice picture)...but its OUR CHOICE...

DRESS if YOU LIKE...take your suit, or dont....your choice

sometimes we find more dress-up during the holidays, but then it depends on the sailing and ship....havent been on the Dawn.

[By&Ro Canada]

Thanks for the great replies...

 

The last two cruises had formal nights, and it is fun to dress up. But I work with a tie so, vacationing with it too is not my ideal.

 

I just want to be prepared...Guess I will keep the suit packing to the last minute and if I can squeeze it in I will...

 

Enjoy!

 

We were on the Jade in October for our first ever cruise. I only packed a suit at the last moment because there was room and, not knowing what to expect, wanted to be prepared. We ended up getting dressed up one night and really enjoyed it. For us it felt great to have a bit of a special date... pictures with the sunset in the background taken by a fellow in shorts and t-shirt who happened to be strolling by. (We had a nice conversation with him afterwards.) Later we stopped for what turned out to be a very nice portrait then enjoyed a great meal and finally enjoyed strolling around the ship stopping for drinks here and there. During the cruise we never ever felt like we should or shouldn't get dressed up and either way didn't feel out of place for one second. In fact, one of the best impressions we took from the cruise was the way people seemed to mingle and blend with no hassle.

 

I'll mention that I often wear a suit for work but that feels completely different... then they're work cloths :).

 

By&Ro

[geekonacruise]

I noticed on our cruise last week (NCL Epic, over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday) that many people were dressed up on Thanksgiving as well as the earlier "Dress Up Or Not" at-sea night. I suspect more dress up over holidays. Mom and I enjoyed wearing our formal clothes those nights.

 

Later on Thanksgiving Day, well after dinner, I changed back into shorts and felt very under-dressed in the casino and in the music venues of the ship. That many people had dressed up, or at least put on slacks. I went back up and put on slacks, but I would have been fine in shorts on the pool deck, to be sure :)

 

Honestly though, it is Freestyle, so if you have room and want to bring formal attire, it's a lot of fun to do so. But, as others have said, do not feel required to do so - it works either way.

 

Wearing shorts into some of the restaurants is not permitted and I saw some people being asked to change into slacks. Again, due to the holiday week, enforcement of this was probably stricter than normal, as on the Dawn I saw people even in Cagney's with shorts last year. I didn't complain - they're on vacation, too.

[VUCruiser]

on our Dawn repo in October, we were pleasantly surprised to see a large % dressed up on the dress up or not. My DH wore a sportcoat and I wore a cocktail dress. We did not feel out of place. Folks also stayed dressed further into the evening than we had seen on previous NCL cruises. We saw one Tux as well as many suits. We like dressing for dinner on our cruises, others don't. beauty of freestyle both are accepted and OK with most.

[MTL=CRUISEFAMILY]

Suits were in the minority on "Dress Up or Not" nights on the Dawn. But it wasn't a tiny minority... I noticed several families dressed up. You should not feel uncomfortable dressing up, if that is your preference.

 

...HOW ABOUT KIDS.13 AND UNDER, Will bermudas or dress shorts be OK in the dining rooms?(evening)

 

..other lines are tolerant, just want to guage this line

Thanks in advance.

[bigtoeswim'n]

Dh and I will be on our first NCL this Dec 2011 in Hawaii. So, I cannot directly address this question. That said, what we did on our last six cruises is the hubbie takes just a black vest, long-sleeve button-down dress shirt, nice tie and he wears his blue jeans (dry cleaner pressed and very new) with black tennis shoes. He looks dressed up enough from the waist up. Never had a problem with this.

 

I just throw something splarkling top and black skirt in suitcase and some nice almost flat dress shoes.

 

We don't like to dress up, but from what I have seen, many, many people do. All the power to them. We like to travel very light, one roll-on overnight suitcase each. This makes plane travel very easy and not dealing with waiting on luggage, etc.

 

Hope this helps.

[retired rascal]

The reason we sail NCL is exactly because you do NOT have to dress up...."close toe shoes, not jeans long pants, shirt with collar" is the dressiest a man needs to get to go anywhere on the ship....decent shoes, Dockers, nice polo shirt will do it. If you love to dress, enjoy that too. You will see a tux or 2 and many suits....but most people go more casual.

[sparks1093]

...HOW ABOUT KIDS.13 AND UNDER, Will bermudas or dress shorts be OK in the dining rooms?(evening)

 

..other lines are tolerant, just want to guage this line

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like they'll be overdressed:D. Actually on the Sky shorts were allowed in one of the MDRs. On dress up or not night I was wearing a suit and a guy at the next table was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Didn't put me off my feed at all:cool:.

[Natanni]

First NCL Freestyle cruise, not sure if I need to pack a suit or any formal wear..

 

Are there formal or dress nights NCL Dawn?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Thanks for posting this!! Our first sailing on NCL is coming up in April and we had no idea if we would look funny should we wear a cocktail dress & sportcoat/dress pants! I have no issue with anyone wanting to kick back in the dining room in shorts & t-shirt....I just didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb in a dress and heels...and hubby doesn't wear a suit for work, he has always looked foward to formal nights :)