Dress to Impress - time to revive?

[Single Cruiser]

Speak for yourself, not 'younger people'. I'm in my early 30s and I 'care' what people wear. I think it shows respect to others if you take care of your appearance. I like the fact that people are to 'dress for dinner'. I think there are plenty of ships who cater for those who don't care but I choose P&O mainly because they do.

 

BnB

 

If you read my post it said "most" not "all". I respect the person not the visual image.

[Single Cruiser]

Maybe someone from Cruise Critic could ask P&O top brass at next meeting why the mixed messages and for a definitive statement.. ;)

[wilson2579]

Has anyone done a statistical analysis of the P&O threads with the most posts? I wonder what it would be ;)

 

Apparently my M&S dinner jacket etc will not be deemed expensive enough by some on my upcoming Ventura cruise although I must say I do look smart in it. People keep confusing me with Richard Attenborough.

 

Ducks below parapet :)

I hope hubby will look smart also as I have just bought him a M and S dinner suit:eek:

[William Dean]

I will take my dinner jacket on Ventura this summer but it looks as if I will be nipping back to my cabin after dinner to change into something more comfortable. as long as some bars and the casino don't mind my smart casual I will be happy.

 

And I thought that untying one's bow tie before Midnight (and only then when there were no Ladies present) was frowned upon.....

 

WD

[William Dean]

It was so easy when I started cruising....

 

Sea day - dinner suit

Port day - lounge suit.

 

WD

[thranite]

And I thought that untying one's bow tie before Midnight (and only then when there were no Ladies present) was frowned upon.....

 

WD

 

I am sure that I have seen people wearing pre-tied bow ties which would make untying somewhat difficult.

 

:confused:

[Cruachan]

I am sure that I have seen people wearing pre-tied bow ties which would make untying somewhat difficult.

 

:confused:

 

Personally I wear a pre-tied one and carry a self-tiedone. Then, when the "James Bond Casual" look is required, I simply swap them over. Seemples!

 

J

[Merlin7]

That may happen on the ships but is NOT the rules. Not according to P&O. Until I get one from P&O that says that I'll book elsewhere, simple. If they confirm it's only MDR and a few bars I can steer clear off but still go to the theatre I'm booking this year!!.. simples..

 

Just checked...

 

Good afternoon

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I can advise that depending on the number of nights your cruise is will depend on which evenings will be which on board, the evenings are split up in to two categories, formal and smart casual. The order in which these nights take place is determined on board by the Cruise Director and then advertised each day in the ship's newspaper. It is not compulsory to join in on the theme nights, for example, western or 60's. The dress code for each night is applicable to all passengers in all areas of the ship except for the 24 hour restaurant, so if you did not feel up to dressing up that particular evening, this is always an option.

 

Formal: This is the opportunity for ladies to wear formal evening wear such as an evening dress, trouser suit or a cocktail dress. For men, a dinner jacket or tuxedo are the norm, otherwise a dark suit and tie or a kilt and jacket is fine.

 

Smart casual: Stylish resort or leisure wear, e.g. casual separates dresses or smart jeans for ladies and open-neck shirts, polo shirts and trousers or smart jeans for men. Attire such as shorts, trainers, tracksuits and football shirts should not be worn in the evenings.

 

Whilst the dress code is not always strictly enforced on board, you will find that it is expected that the main dining rooms and all public areas will adhere to this code. The ships staff do have the right to request that any passengers inappropriately attired vacate any of the dining rooms/public areas. We would therefore ask that all passengers dress appropriately for the dress code of that evening whilst in the public areas, other than the 24 dining venue.

 

I hope this information has helped to answer your enquiry and look forward to welcoming you on board in the future.

 

Kind regards

Kat Tupper

P&O Cruises

Customer Solutions

Carnival UK

 

 

Have you been on a P&O cruise??

 

We have hundreds of nights on board and I can assure you that that what I posted previously, is perfectly acceptable on Aurora, Oriana, Arcadia and Oceana.

 

Ignore the stick in the mud P&O'ers who try to dictate to all and sundry, what THEY want to see adhered to on board, and go with what actually happens on board a P&O ship, from those that know.

 

I hope that other regular P&O cruisers will support what I have posted, but doubt it, as many of them live in the past and dictate what THEY wish to see on board and NOT what is accepted, once you ARE on board.

 

I am sure that the brochure also says, 'minimum smart casual in areas other than the MDR and certain bars.'

 

Ignore shoreside, they haven't a clue, IMO and experience, and trundle out the same old reply for every enquiry. They haven't a clue as to what actually happens.

 

Are some posters just trying to find an excuse to rubbish P&O and be contentious, as per their dress code??

 

IN words of one syllable, you DO NOT have to dress up every evening. There are altenatives and an option to not do so.

 

Please stop the, 'I am a victim,' feeling that I get every time that this subject is broached, by certain members.

 

P&O is an option for everyone., not just those that are completely up their proverbial.

[thranite]

Personally I wear a pre-tied one and carry a self-tiedone. Then, when the "James Bond Casual" look is required, I simply swap them over. Seemples!

 

J

 

 

As one would expect from a former stalwart of the Apathetic and Slothful Hooligans.

 

:)

[daiB]

For those of you new to this. We are looking at the continuing campaign by ex. OV cruisers to get p&o to change one or more ships to suit them. ie casual.

 

In the other corner we have p&o cruisers who do not want change.

 

The only confusion is that created by the former.

 

This topic would have no legs without the OV cruisers.

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

[cruiseanywhere2]

We were on Oriana in 2007 and the only bars where the dress code of the evening applied was the Crows Nest and Andersons and specialist dining. My husband used to change and wear a smart pair of trousers and shirt after dinner. Does anyone know which bars on Oceana follow the dress code to the letter?

[Merlin7]

We were on Oriana in 2007 and the only bars where the dress code of the evening applied was the Crows Nest and Andersons and specialist dining.

 

Spot on, thank you for endorsing a previous post of mine. Ditto, Aurora.

[cruiseanywhere2]

Just telling it like it is. Who on this forum has cruised on Oceana lately and can tell me which bars adhere to the dress code?

[littlesteelo]

For those of you new to this. We are looking at the continuing campaign by ex. OV cruisers to get p&o to change one or more ships to suit them. ie casual.

 

In the other corner we have p&o cruisers who do not want change.

 

The only confusion is that created by the former.

 

This topic would have no legs without the OV cruisers.

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

 

Good point. I'm definitely not someone who hates people who don't stick to dress codes, far from it, but I think having set formal nights adds to the overall ambiance of the cruise. P&O isn't, and in my opinion should never be like OV. They need to provide for people who want both formal and casual nights, not just those who prefer a completely casual cruise. Also, people will have very different ideas of what 'dress to impress' is like.

[Merlin7]

For those of you new to this. We are looking at the continuing campaign by ex. OV cruisers to get p&o to change one or more ships to suit them. ie casual.

 

In the other corner we have p&o cruisers who do not want change.

 

The only confusion is that created by the former.

 

This topic would have no legs without the OV cruisers.

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

 

Not new to this topic at all, neither am I confused!

 

We have never cruised on OV, BUT why should previous loyal customers of OV be put off cruising wth P&O becuase of the insulting posts, made by some members of this site? People who cannot and will not accept that times have changed and P&O with them.What happens on board, and you Dai have almost as many cruises as we have, to support this,should know that what I posted previously is the norm.

[daiB]

Not new to this topic at all, neither am I confused!

 

We have never cruised on OV, BUT why should previous loyal customers of OV be put off cruising wth P&O becuase of the insulting posts, made by some members of this site? People who cannot and will not accept that times have changed and P&O with them.What happens on board, and you Dai have almost as many cruises as we have, to support this,should know that what I posted previously is the norm.

 

Merlin,

 

I do not expect you to be confused at all. As you must know the OV cruisers have been posting along these lines since they knew OV was going.

 

With regard to the norm. In my experience 99%+ conform to the dress code on formal nights. After that some take off their jackets and even their ties but very few go and change. So this is not the norm. These people stand out. Most people who read these forums want to find out what every one actually does and do not want to stand out.

 

If people do not like this then, as you have said in the past, find another cruise line.

 

Clearly the OV type of operation was not making enough money. So it closed. The p&o type does so it continues. Why then change a p&o ship back to the OV style?

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

[geecee1]

Merlin,

 

I do not expect you to be confused at all. As you must know the OV cruisers have been posting along these lines since they knew OV was going.

 

With regard to the norm. In my experience 99%+ conform to the dress code on formal nights. After that some take off their jackets and even their ties but very few go and change. So this is not the norm. These people stand out. Most people who read these forums want to find out what every one actually does and do not want to stand out.

 

If people do not like this then, as you have said in the past, find another cruise line.

 

Clearly the OV type of operation was not making enough money. So it closed. The p&o type does so it continues. Why then change a p&o ship back to the OV style?

 

Gan canny

 

 

 

 

Dai

 

Heard from one source that Ventura is the most profitable ship in the fleet.

If true, I find this strange as our cruise on Ventura(Dec 10), was cheaper than our last two cruises on OV(Jan 08, Jan 09).

Ithink the issue with the OV ships may have been older engine technology and Ventura may have economies of scale.

By the way, dressed smart casual throughout the cruise and did not find it a problem.Accessed all areas of the ship on formal nights apart from MDRs ,Red Bar and Metropolis.

One final point on the Dress Code and 99% adherence, this was certainly not the case on our 4th such occasion, when the buffet was full of people in smart casual.

[Single Cruiser]

Merlin,

 

Clearly the OV type of operation was not making enough money. So it closed. The p&o type does so it continues. Why then change a p&o ship back to the OV style?

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

 

And your source for this is??

 

Carnival UK spent all their budget on P&O Ventura and Azura - were not filling berths so took out the older OV inefficient ships cost too much to keep going when fuel prices went up and an offer from P&O Aus division came in.. The idea being then that OV pax were moved onto Ventura and Oceana.

 

Read this.. From the MD:

 

great holiday choice.

Why is Ocean Village phased out if it's been so successful?

Booking levels are good and Ocean Village is an award-winning cruise line which has consistently delivered high quality and great value, but the increase in fuel and flying costs over the last two years have meant that the economics are less favourable.

What are the options if I'm looking for an informal holiday option?

While still upholding some of the established cruise conventions, both P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises offer increasingly informal experiences on a number of their ships.

 

source: http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/ocean-village-corporate-announcement.aspx

[jeanlyon]

What a silly thread. I dress in what I think suits me and hopefully what my husband likes me in. Couldn't care less whether I am impressing anyone or not!!

[Denarius]

It appears to me after reading all the replies to my initial post, that no one has answered the question I posed.

Is it now an opportune time for P&O to revive its Dress to Impress concept, in lieu of Formal and Semi-formal, in order to be at the forefront of the dress code revolution which has taken place across the cruise industry over the past few years rather than being a seemingly reluctant follower?

As I said, times have moved on and what was revolutionary then no longer is. Most of P&Os sector no longer have semi-formal, and restrict formal to the MDR. Some - NCL and Regent come to mind - no longer have compulsory formal but have special occasions when passengers are invited to dress more formally if they wish - I believe NCL use the term Dress Up or Not, Regent Optional Formal. These are not so different from P&Os Dress to Impress.

Time to give it another try, and hopefully square the circle between the traditional and casual camps with something which neither may regard as ideal, but both could hopefully live with?

[Denarius]

For those of you new to this. We are looking at the continuing campaign by ex. OV cruisers to get p&o to change one or more ships to suit them. ie casual.

 

In the other corner we have p&o cruisers who do not want change.

 

The only confusion is that created by the former.

 

This topic would have no legs without the OV cruisers.

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

Not quite so simple, Dai. There are many established P&O cruisers, even Portunus Goldies such as I, who sail with P&O because we like the overall product and are prepared to put up with (and indeed participate in) a few formal evenings as part of the package. Given the choice, however, we would opt for no formal or semi-formal, all smart casual.

[Oarsman55]

who sail with P&O because we like the overall product and are prepared to put up with (and indeed participate in) a few formal evenings as part of the package. Given the choice, however, we would opt for no formal or semi-formal, all smart casual.

 

I agree, as do many of the people we've actually met on board P&O, Fred.Olsen and Cunard ships.

 

The views on this forum represent a tiny minority of British cruise passengers and does not reflect the views of many who wish to cruise without flying, and have limited choice away from the three formal lines named above. Just about the only option at present is to go on one of the giant floating municipal offices sailing from the UK.

 

Peter

[daiB]

What a silly thread. I dress in what I think suits me and hopefully what my husband likes me in. Couldn't care less whether I am impressing anyone or not!!

 

Quite right, that's what the ladies do. In this respect the ladies have it easy.:rolleyes:

 

Gan canny

Dai

[daiB]

Craig,

 

I will reply when on my computer my my phone.

 

 

 

Gan canny

 

Dai

[ROSEBASKETS]

Craig,

 

I will reply when on my computer my my phone.

 

 

 

Gan canny

 

Dai

 

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: