Appropriate dress on HAL ships

[ISurfTooMuch]

DW and I are going on our first HAL cruise in March aboard the Niuew Amsterdam. This will be our fourth cruise, with the other three being on Carnival ships. From reading the HAL site, I get the impression that they are a bit more formal than Carnival, at least on paper. Can someone give me an idea of how this works in practice? For example, they discuss their "smart casual" policy in the evenings, except when formal nights are held, at which point, guests are expected to wear more formal attire. They mention that this is enforced in all public areas. Are they talking about the MDR and lounges, the Lido area, the open decks, or all of the above? I'm guessing that days are pertty casual, more in line with Carnival ships. Is that right?

 

Just wondering what to expect.

[KirkNC]

DW and I are going on our first HAL cruise in March aboard the Niuew Amsterdam. This will be our fourth cruise, with the other three being on Carnival ships. From reading the HAL site, I get the impression that they are a bit more formal than Carnival, at least on paper. Can someone give me an idea of how this works in practice? For example, they discuss their "smart casual" policy in the evenings, except when formal nights are held, at which point, guests are expected to wear more formal attire. They mention that this is enforced in all public areas. Are they talking about the MDR and lounges, the Lido area, the open decks, or all of the above? I'm guessing that days are pretty casual, more in line with Carnival ships. Is that right?

 

Just wondering what to expect.

 

Here are the "rules":

 

The right clothing can make a big difference in the enjoyment of your cruise. First and foremost, dress for comfort. Daily life aboard ship and in ports of call is relaxed and casual. Warmer climates call for clothing made of lightweight, breathable fabrics. For cooler climates, we suggest casual clothes that can be layered easily and possibly a raincoat and waterproof hat or umbrella and gloves. Certain shore excursions may require particular attention to clothing. For example, certain churches or other places of worship may not allow tank tops or short pants. Bring a swimsuit as all of our ships have pools and whirlpools. You may wish to bring more than one outfit for the water. We ask that you wear shoes and a cover-up over a bathing suit when walking through the interior of the ship. If you would like to jog on the sports deck or work out in the fitness center, bring workout gear. Footwear should include comfortable walking shoes for visits ashore and sandals or rubber-soled shoes for strolling on deck.

 

Evening dress falls into two distinct categories: Formal or Smart Casual. Smart Casual can be defined as slacks and collared shirts for men and casual dresses, slacks and informal evening wear for women. T-shirts, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the restaurants or public areas during the evening hours. On festive Formal evenings, ladies usually wear a suit, cocktail dress or gown and gentlemen wear a jacket and tie, dark suit or tuxedo. There are approximately two formal nights per week.

 

In order to complement your fellow guests, Holland America Line asks that you observe the suggested dress code throughout the entire evening.

 

 

I highlighted the parts that relate to your question. In general you will find HAL a little dressier than Carnival. But you will also find the dress code is not consistently enforced (which is discussed at length here on CC). Note that HAL uses words like "suggested" and "asks" in their dress code so some aspects one could argue are optional. One case in point refers to "formal attire throughout the entire evening", in my experience this is the least likely aspect of formal night to be followed, guest frequently change into more comfortable attire to go to a show or the casino.

 

You also asked about what areas of the ship the formal code applies and the answer is the whole ship. You can eat in Lido in smart casual on formal nights and you will see plenty of people moving around the ship in formal nights in non-formal attire. The term "enforced" really does not apply, it is really up to the guests to follow HAL's "suggestions".

 

On sea days it is casual, shorts, t-shirts, bathing suits (with cover-ups away from the pool), not really any different than Carnival.

 

Kirk

Edited February 26, 2011 by KirkNC

[SwissMyst]

Take a look at personal photos that get posted here from time to time and you will see what real passengers wear, instead of what image the cruise line brochures create which is rarely what ship board life actually looks like.

 

However, ships are where one can still wear long gowns and tuxes and feel perfectly at home on formal nights. And what you see in any shopping mall in the US on a weekend defines what ship board casual dress also looks like.

 

And the rest is somewhere in between depending on your own dress comfort level, luggage space, travel fabric choices, expected weather demands, and packing efficiencies. These ships carry at least 1000 -2000 plus passengers. No one individual dress style dominates or stands out. (Obscene logo t-shirts excepted).

 

However, enjoying the specialness of the cruise ship setting does make some passengers want to take things up a bit from at-home casual because the HAL ships setting strives to be a little more formal than a visit to Walmart and the occasion is special because one is getting away from their normal routine, so why not dress a bit more for the occasion to honor this all around is what I think?

 

I never wear "glitter" at home, but it feels just right to add a bit of sparkle even in tee-shirts when on a cruise ship. That really is all one may want to add to make it feel a bit more special and add in their own way to make the entire setting special for their fellow passengers. But there is no reason at all to buy a whole new wardrobe or to even think for a moment, this matters to your own personal comfort level.

 

I think it is more like going to a football game where people choose team colors and wear silly thing they would never wear on the streets at home, but the occasion both asks and allows for some specialness. Cruises are like that -- a special time and place and a bit to make it stand out a bit more both for yourself and your other passengers as well.

[bcirish]

I find the dress more relaxed in the Caribbean than it is in Europe. I wear dress pants and a nice top for dinner in the dining room and I like to dress for formal nights so have a gown but when I go transatlantic I wear a long skirt and bring several glittery tops to wear since they take less space. DH brings a dark suit and has purchased tux shirt and accessories for TA and dark suit and tie for Caribbean. If we are going to the shows then we stay dressed appropriately but if we are headed to the casino I change to more casual - so my feet do not hurt. I have seen people turned away from the dining room for wearing shorts and tee shirt- they can always go to the Lido so what is the deal . THe funniest that I have seen yet is the formal night we went to the Pinnacle grill and discovered folks in dress casual who did not want to do formal night so go figure:D.

I do think it depends on the ship so come prepared - you can wear the same thing every formal night and 5 nice blouses and you are set for dressy casual _ or the same one every night if you don't spill. There is always the Lido and the only limitation there is no bathing suits so ultimately it is all up to do . Go and enjoy. BTW - we love HAL and hope you have fun

[tcook052]

A CC HAL forum search using the keyword "formal" will yield a veritable plethora of threads on the topic as it's one that comes up all the time.

[mbodamer]

Having worked on the Zaandam the last 5 months I can tell you what I experienced. My job required smart casual during the day and a coat after 6pm, and formal nights a tux. In reality I wore smart casual all day everyday and formal I wore a normal suit.

 

I would say all the above advice holds true. On most days people wore "normal" everyday attire. Jeans, t-shirts, polo shirts, dockers, sun dresses, etc... just nice presentable clothes. On formal nights you had the full gamut. Some wore tuxes and had their lovely ladies wearing formal gowns, and others wore suits and their ladies complemented them with nice slacks and a nice blouse. I have seen dress kilts (and dont ask them what they wear under them :-) ) and I have also seen dress military uniforms on formal nights.

 

I would say the ONLY thing I saw enforced was a coat is required in the MDR on formal nights. They have coats available to loan you if you do not have one. I saw a man in a motorized wheelchair that wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt at all times (perhaps due to his condition and for comfort) and on a formal night when he arrived at the MDR they simply provided him a sport coat to put over his sweatshirt. So they are very forgiving yet they want to provide a nice atmosphere for those who enjoy the glitz and glamour and use your judgement.

[rplc882]

Just returned last night from the NA, still NO enforcement of dress in the MDR or the showroom. Though I did see more tuxes this trip. So again whatever makes YOU comfortable to be in is what you can wear.

[JJGlanton]

Been lurking for awhile, thought I'd chime in on this thread. A little background - my wife and I are in our 40's and took our first cruise ever last year - a 7 day Eastern Carribean on the Eurodam - and we are now cruising converts :).

 

Anyway, re the dress code - on that first cruise not knowing what to expect, I brought a dark suit, different dress shirts and ties for formal nights in the MDR and when in the Pinnacle. Looking back, I think anyone (men that is) would be appropriate and comfortable with khaki's and a blazer for formal nights/Pinnacle dining. After all, it is the Carribean, we are on vacation, and there's not a lot of storage in those cabins - we were in a regular veranda - so packing light will be a priority for our upcoming cruise (a week on the Westerdam next month).

[GeriatricNurse]

Just returned last night from the NA, still NO enforcement of dress in the MDR or the showroom. Though I did see more tuxes this trip. So again whatever makes YOU comfortable to be in is what you can wear.

 

First I heard that one has to wear formalwear in the showroom on formal night!:confused: Thought that just pertained to the MDR & PG!:confused:

[iriemon]

When we were on the Westy earlier this month, on non formal nights you could wear slacks and blouse, slacks and a collored shirt for the guy. Formal night was a mixture of everything for men and women. At our table of eight we had Men - tux, suit, jacket no tie, shirt, no jacket or tie. Women - long dress, skirt and top, pants and top, regular dress. I would say we were pretty representative of the whole ship. We ate in the Pinnacle Grill 2 nights, and wore a suit one night since it was formal night and shirt and pants other night. When we didn't feel like dressing up we left on our shorts and t shirt and ate in the Lido. I can see how a new cruiser can get confused, basically you can wear anything and then go to the place that is appropriate for that type of dress (no shorts in the DR)

[KirkNC]

First I heard that one has to wear formalwear in the showroom on formal night!:confused: Thought that just pertained to the MDR & PG!:confused:

 

Nope, refer to my previous post and highlight in this thread where "Holland America Line asks that you observe the suggested dress code throughout the entire evening"

 

Kirk

[sophienfred]

when I saw a thread here somewhere that asked what gowns people were wearing to the formal nights! With pictures!!! Hubby doesn't put much effort into the planning, he leaves it all happily to me and just says 'yes dear' usually :)

But he was dragged in to view the CC site and we both agreed that it's our cabins for us on formal nights.

For one thing, he doesn't even own a jacket except winter tweedy ones for business and certainly not a black dinner styled one. He dresses nicely for work in business shirts and pants but this formal stuff is beyond us.

For another thing we have severe restrictions on our baggage and lugging big dresses and jackets half way round the world just doesn't make sense.

 

We'll look a mass of dash on every other night and won't embarrass any of our table mates ;) I am praying they'll allow us into the Pinnacle on the first night (our 40th wedding anniversay) with him just in shirt and tie ... oh well trousers too of course.

 

I guess for us the top priority for our trip is the PLACES we'll visit and the ship is what's carrying us to these places. Having said that we are looking forward to the great food and the super people we'll be meeting. It's going to be great!

[SwissMyst]

It used to be easy to say "what you would wear to church, going out to a nice restaurant or theater, or the office" to describe dressing up a bit.

 

But I gather those are meaningless descriptions today. If you are old enough to have remembered this, then that is the degree of dress up that works for dinner most nights. Formal night is more like what we used to think of as good old prom night (whether we got invited or not we knew what that meant). And happy for it. There are so many easy ways and packable, stretchy, sparkle type fabrics today that dressing up at least for women is even easier than dressing down.

 

For women, remember the advice often given most people only see what you are wearing that shows above the dinner table so the dress up part can be only a special top over a neutral skirt or pants. Men have it easier -- one good dark suit or tux goes a long way on a cruise.

 

Smart casual can often mean something really casual but dressed up a bit with different shoes and accessories that take it up a notch or two. Kind of a more pulled-together "outfit" feel, casual jacket or sweater topper can make it work too.

[ricki]

On our recent Ryndam cruise, it was a bit disconcerting to see a mother and daughter in the MDR on formal night in matching Hard Rock Cafe hooded sweatshirts!

 

Ricki

[Pam in CA]

On my past couple of HAL cruises, I've chosen to not dress up on formal night, going instead to either the buffet or Canaletto. Both were full with people in smart casual dress. There's no way I'd eat in the buffet and then go get all dressed up in order to go to a show or a drink after dinner in a lounge. HAL can ask you to please respect the dress code throughout the ship but it isn't the reality. It doesn't make sense for HAL to say, "If you don't want to get dressed up, you can go to the buffet but then you can't go anywhere else on the ship other than back to your cabin."

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

On our recent Ryndam cruise, it was a bit disconcerting to see a mother and daughter in the MDR on formal night in matching Hard Rock Cafe hooded sweatshirts!

 

Ricki

 

How did the food taste?

[Pam in CA]

On our recent Ryndam cruise, it was a bit disconcerting to see a mother and daughter in the MDR on formal night in matching Hard Rock Cafe hooded sweatshirts!

On the Amsterdam a couple of years ago, I saw an attractive young woman with a nice figure being led to a table by the Maitre d' -- in a Daisy Duke outfit, the shorts so short and tight her buns were showing. She obviously hadn't been told to change by the Maitre d'. :)

[SwissMyst]

Heading out back on a Crystal Cruise in a few weeks so I will be taking notes on how formal and how enforced. I think they are fairly strict still and have more people who really do love dressing up every night.

 

Long gowns were very normal a few years ago on this ship and some of the suites passengers looked like they brought steamer trunks of fashion plate cover of Vogue outfits. And probably did.

 

There was a high contingent of international travellers on that particular cruise and they did pull out all the stops, particularly the new wealth Russians who never saw logo wear with glitter they did not want to wear on every item, matching or not.

 

However, the most superbly elegant woman on the ship wore an exquisitely tailored gray pin stripe suit with varying degrees of dress up or dress down accessories almost every night. Her husband wore a tux on formal nights while she just upped the ante with gorgeous jewelry and dressier top she wore under her same gray pinstripe suit jacket.

 

She knew how to wear her clothes and they never wore her. She was a classic understatement that virtually shouted excellent, quiet good taste. Very interesting to see and learn how less can be more.

[dockrocker]

There was a high contingent of international travellers on that particular cruise and they did pull out all the stops, particularly the new wealth Russians who never saw logo wear with glitter they did not want to wear on every item, matching or not.

 

This makes multiple times I've seen you snark about "new-wealth Russians." I understand that your intent is to illustrate someone's lack of taste and judgment. I'm just not sure you realize whose is being demonstrated.

Edited March 13, 2011 by dockrocker

[Gotta Go Cruisin]

Maybe they ought to bring back the All Nude Cruise, where nobody cares what anybody is wearing mainly because their not. Of course that would probably open up another line of judgmental comments and criticism, but the cruiselines could have a good time creating the non-dress code guidelines. :)

Edited March 13, 2011 by Gotta Go Cruisin

[Nelie]

Ill admit i was a little worried about how to dress on HAL every night not just Formal night.

 

I read in another post about formal wear "that many people claim they dont have room in there luggage, when really they are just lazy":eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

Ill be coming from Australia so wont just be doing a 1 week cruise ill also be doing a 2 week land tour. Gotta make flying for nearly 20 hours worth it. The land tour we are hoping to do has a 1 suitcase rule. I also like buying gifts to take back home so i dont have alot of room in my suitcase for lots of gowns.

 

However ill do my best with my limited space just dont :eek: if you see me in the same dress twice haa haa

[kazu]

Ill admit i was a little worried about how to dress on HAL every night not just Formal night.

 

I read in another post about formal wear "that many people claim they dont have room in there luggage, when really they are just lazy":eek:

 

Ill be coming from Australia so wont just be doing a 1 week cruise ill also be doing a 2 week land tour. Gotta make flying for nearly 20 hours w:eek:orth it. The land tour we are hoping to do has a 1 suitcase rule. I also like buying gifts to take back home so i dont have alot of room in my suitcase for lots of gowns.

 

However ill do my best with my limited space just dont :eek: if you see me in the same dress twice haa haa

 

Nellie - don't worry about the same dress twice or the same skirt. We tend to do longer cruises where there can be 5 formal nights. I don't pack 5 formal outfits - I have no problem if I am 'seen' in the same outfit twice :)

[JJGlanton]

Ill admit i was a little worried about how to dress on HAL every night not just Formal night.

 

I read in another post about formal wear "that many people claim they dont have room in there luggage, when really they are just lazy":eek:

 

Ill be coming from Australia so wont just be doing a 1 week cruise ill also be doing a 2 week land tour. Gotta make flying for nearly 20 hours worth it. The land tour we are hoping to do has a 1 suitcase rule. I also like buying gifts to take back home so i dont have alot of room in my suitcase for lots of gowns.

 

However ill do my best with my limited space just dont :eek: if you see me in the same dress twice haa haa

 

My wife and I long ago discovered the joys of packing light when travelling - 'luggage' can quickly become 'baggage', if you know what I mean :)

 

So pack what you like, wear what makes you feel good, and don't concern yourself with the few folks who have appointed themselves HAL's 'fashion guardians' lol.

 

BTW you can get laundry done on the ship - a big plus for us light packers :D

[Nelie]

My wife and I long ago discovered the joys of packing light when travelling - 'luggage' can quickly become 'baggage', if you know what I mean :)

 

So pack what you like, wear what makes you feel good, and don't concern yourself with the few folks who have appointed themselves HAL's 'fashion guardians' lol.

 

BTW you can get laundry done on the ship - a big plus for us light packers :D

 

Dont suppose you know how much laundry was or how long it took to get back. The land tour company we are thinking of going with we have used before and the tour guide was really good about letting us know ahead of time where there will be places to wash our clothes.

 

I also love buying tops with the name of the place i have been on it. Then wear them on tour so i dont have to pack as many shirts initially. Just dont tell my sister i wore the t shirt i bought for her before i gave it to her :p

[erewhon]

when I saw a thread here somewhere that asked what gowns people were wearing to the formal nights! With pictures!!! Hubby doesn't put much effort into the planning, he leaves it all happily to me and just says 'yes dear' usually :)

But he was dragged in to view the CC site and we both agreed that it's our cabins for us on formal nights.

For one thing, he doesn't even own a jacket except winter tweedy ones for business and certainly not a black dinner styled one. He dresses nicely for work in business shirts and pants but this formal stuff is beyond us.

For another thing we have severe restrictions on our baggage and lugging big dresses and jackets half way round the world just doesn't make sense.

 

We'll look a mass of dash on every other night and won't embarrass any of our table mates ;) I am praying they'll allow us into the Pinnacle on the first night (our 40th wedding anniversay) with him just in shirt and tie ... oh well trousers too of course.

 

I guess for us the top priority for our trip is the PLACES we'll visit and the ship is what's carrying us to these places. Having said that we are looking forward to the great food and the super people we'll be meeting. It's going to be great!

 

From one "kiwi" to another, please don't hide in your cabin on "Formal" night.

 

You can always have dinner in the Lido, or the Canaletto ( reservation necessary.)

On formal nights we have seen all types of attire in the Main Dining Room, from a lady wearing a track suit type oufit, nice trousers or skirts with a pretty blouse, "little black dresses", sunfrocks, to long dresses.

 

Have seen men wearing what sounds like your husband wears to work, plus a tie, as for men in jackets have seen what appeared to be nylon "windcheater", blazers of assorted colours, tweedy sports jackets, linen jackets, business suits, tuxedos and kilts.

 

Everyone looked neat and tidy.

 

May I suggest that on the first formal night you have dinner in the Lido, and have a stroll around the ship, you will probably be surprised to see what others are wearing, then consider eating in the Main Dining Room on the second formal night?

You will probably find that you will fit in just fine.

 

Last year we were on board the ship for 36 days, we only took 2 suitcases and 2 cabin bags, plus of course my handbag, we used the ship laundry service, which was very good.

 

Congratulations on your 40th Wedding Anniversary.

Have wonderful time on the Noordam, we have friends sailing on her later in the year. We have told them not to stress over "Formal "nights.