What to do if you don't want to participate in Formal night?

[Jstanovic]

We will be sailing on Slostice March 6th. Travel Agent picked this ship. Looks great and we can't wait. I plan on bringing my usual, navy blazer, a couple of oxford shirts, ties and a few kaki pants. That always worked on other cruises. Won't be bringing a tuxedo or a dark suit...Will I be dressed "up enough" for formal nights and if not, what are our options? Also which nights are formal nights?

[Spf12]

We will be sailing on Slostice March 6th. Travel Agent picked this ship. Looks great and we can't wait. I plan on bringing my usual, navy blazer, a couple of oxford shirts, ties and a few kaki pants. That always worked on other cruises. Won't be bringing a tuxedo or a dark suit...Will I be dressed "up enough" for formal nights and if not, what are our options? Also which nights are formal nights?

You are OK by my definition.I wear a midnight blazer,matching slacks ,a shirt and tie,no dark suit or tuxedo.

[dennbr9]

Sounds reasonable to me also. No one should even notice as long as you have the coat and tie on. Bet their will be some dressed down more than you. Enjoy!

[eandj]

Yes you will be fine! Don't worry, as most men just wear suit and tie, but some will have on sport coats and tie too. Some tuxes. Dark navy blazer would be dressier with charcoal pants than khakis, but I wouldn't avoid the dining room for sure.

 

Day 2 and Day 6 will be the formal nights. (Monday and Friday)

[Jstanovic]

Thank you everyone!! What nights are "Formal"? We have already put in our reservations for Monday (just the Wife and I) and Friday (adding the In-Laws) Friday at the Murano

[Jstanovic]

Thanks again..sounds like we will miss both formal nights..This is a wonderful site and has provided us with a great deal of info!!!

[auggiemom]

With the price of bags on flights now, we too, my opt out of formal night. If that is the case, can we still book a specialty restaurant and dress "smart casual", such as khakis and a nice shirt?

[kitty9]

James, may I offer you a bit of advice? On the left side of the page, under location, you have your email address. You might want to change that as this is a public forum and you could receive some very unwanted email. There are some unsavory characters who look on websites and then spam your email. It might not be a pleasant experience. You could just leave that area blank.

 

This could be especially bad if your email address uses your real name. It's never a good idea to use your real name on any public website.

[SusieV]

With the price of bags on flights now, we too, my opt out of formal night. If that is the case, can we still book a specialty restaurant and dress "smart casual", such as khakis and a nice shirt?

 

You can, as the specialty restaurants are always smart casual. However, on formal nights at Murano at least, you will likely see most other patrons wearing formal attire. The ambiance is quite formal there and I would feel out of place dressed casually. Even on a smart casual night we dress formally to eat at Murano. At Tuscan Grille or Silk Harvest I would feel comfortable in smart casual attire.

[eandj]

Thanks again..sounds like we will miss both formal nights..This is a wonderful site and has provided us with a great deal of info!!!

 

I wouldn't worry about missing the formal nights in MDR. The specialty dinners are very nice and easily are more special than formal nights in the MDR. Have a great cruise!;)

[eandj]

With the price of bags on flights now, we too, my opt out of formal night. If that is the case, can we still book a specialty restaurant and dress "smart casual", such as khakis and a nice shirt?

 

Yes you can. Muranos is a pretty sedate formal restaurant. But you will be dressed according to guidelines which say smart casual every night.

 

Some patrons do dress up on formal nights no matter where they eat. But many don't, to avoid having to pack sport coats or suits to eat in the mdr.

 

We did not do a formal night in Muranos last month and saw only 3 men in sport coats. A couple had on ties. The rest wore nice shirts and khakis or dark slacks.

[espo56]

We will be sailing on Slostice March 6th. Travel Agent picked this ship. Looks great and we can't wait. I plan on bringing my usual, navy blazer, a couple of oxford shirts, ties and a few kaki pants. That always worked on other cruises. Won't be bringing a tuxedo or a dark suit...Will I be dressed "up enough" for formal nights and if not, what are our options? Also which nights are formal nights?

 

We are going to the specialty restaurants on both formal nights as they are smart casual and my husband dies not want to wear a tie on vacation in the Caribbean.

[SID1962]

We opted out of formal nights 5 cruises ago and have never regretted the choice.

 

On Solstice last year, we went to the Tuscan Grill one night, and ate at the buffet another. One of those times we changed back into swim suits and went to the Solarium and read. We were the only ones there for awhile, and it was nice and relaxing.

 

The first time we opted out was on Adventure of the Seas. We informed our waiter and table mates that we would not be there on the first formal night. Our waiter said to come any way and there would be no problem. We did, and it was a big mistake. Everyone else at the table was dressed to the nines, and there we were, smart casual. We were so uncomfortable, that we have never done that again.

 

The whole issue of formal night has been discussed ad infinatum on this and other boards. There are purist who insist that it is the right thing to do, and God bless them. But for us, it's over.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Solstice is a beautiful ship.

 

Sid1962

[SomersetBoy0]

If I don't want to participate in formal night and don't want to go to a specialty restaurant, where else can I eat?

[teajak]

James, may I offer you a bit of advice? On the left side of the page, under location, you have your email address. You might want to change that as this is a public forum and you could receive some very unwanted email. There are some unsavory characters who look on websites and then spam your email. It might not be a pleasant experience. You could just leave that area blank.

 

This could be especially bad if your email address uses your real name. It's never a good idea to use your real name on any public website.

Very good advice, you really need to be careful.:eek:

[Lois R]

If I don't want to participate in formal night and don't want to go to a specialty restaurant, where else can I eat?

 

They have a buffet, not as extensive as lunch...here is a link to it.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/whyceleb/heroSingleTxtSub.do;jsessionid=0000ptrI90Ob7TuPCa9TNYytpa4:12hdbcveb?pagename=casual_dining

 

It is called the "International Marketplace"

 

And you can also eat at Bistro on 5.....crepes, panninis, salads and desserts.

5.00 per person.

[SomersetBoy0]

They have a buffet, not as extensive as lunch...here is a link to it.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/whyceleb/heroSingleTxtSub.do;jsessionid=0000ptrI90Ob7TuPCa9TNYytpa4:12hdbcveb?pagename=casual_dining

 

It is called the "International Marketplace"

 

And you can also eat at Bistro on 5.....crepes, panninis, salads and desserts.

5.00 per person.

 

That's great, thanks.

 

Main reason is that I have 9 nights on holiday in total, and not sure I have space to pack a suit.

[dzcruisers]

If I don't want to participate in formal night and don't want to go to a specialty restaurant, where else can I eat?

 

You can ask your room steward for a dining room menu earlier in the day. Then you can call room service and order your dinner for your cabin. They usually send it between sittings being served around 7 or 7:30 or so. It's fun to have a nice dinner on your balcony or in your cabin if you choose. We've done that when we just didn't feel like dressing up and wanted to have the MDR meal.

[hylasgirl]

We opted out of formal nights 5 cruises ago and have never regretted the choice.

 

On Solstice last year, we went to the Tuscan Grill one night, and ate at the buffet another. One of those times we changed back into swim suits and went to the Solarium and read. We were the only ones there for awhile, and it was nice and relaxing.

 

The first time we opted out was on Adventure of the Seas. We informed our waiter and table mates that we would not be there on the first formal night. Our waiter said to come any way and there would be no problem. We did, and it was a big mistake. Everyone else at the table was dressed to the nines, and there we were, smart casual. We were so uncomfortable, that we have never done that again.

 

The whole issue of formal night has been discussed ad infinatum on this and other boards. There are purist who insist that it is the right thing to do, and God bless them. But for us, it's over.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Solstice is a beautiful ship.

 

Sid1962

 

Ahhh, nice to hear. We have decided to opt out of our next European cruise. It's just too much luggage. Dresses and tuxes and shoes... just not going to do it. It's nice to hear that the Tuscan Grill is an option if you are not dressed in formal wear. We'll still look nice, but we won't be formal. I think it's great for those that want to continue the tradition, but I'm so over it. After soooo many cruises, we just don't care anymore.

 

We love the Solstice too!

[fleckle]

You can ask your room steward for a dining room menu earlier in the day. Then you can call room service and order your dinner for your cabin. They usually send it between sittings being served around 7 or 7:30 or so. It's fun to have a nice dinner on your balcony or in your cabin if you choose. We've done that when we just didn't feel like dressing up and wanted to have the MDR meal.

Those quiet, romantic dinners on the balcony are our favorite cruise ship dinners of all, especially when cruising through a scenic area at sunset. It almost feels like being on our own private yacht, a nice way to escape the noisy, crowded dining room.

 

If you do it on lobster night and like lobster tail, order an extra portion because they only put a small half lobster tail on the plate these days. We sometimes order an extra dessert and put it inside the mini-bar to enjoy later as a late night snack. You can order as many as you like of whatever you want from the main dining room dinner menu, the same as in the dining room.

 

[auggiemom]

Those quiet, romantic dinners on the balcony are our favorite cruise ship dinners of all, especially when cruising through a scenic area at sunset. It almost feels like being on our own private yacht, a nice way to escape the noisy, crowded dining room.

 

If you do it on lobster night and like lobster tail, order an extra portion because they only put a small half lobster tail on the plate these days. We sometimes order an extra dessert and put it inside the mini-bar to enjoy later as a late night snack. You can order as many as you like of whatever you want from the main dining room dinner menu, the same as in the dining room.

 

OMG, this is such a wonderful romantic idea! My husband will be thrilled. And then visiting the solarium in the quiet of the ship sounds like a fabulous evening to me!

[happy cruzer]

You can ask your room steward for a dining room menu earlier in the day. Then you can call room service and order your dinner for your cabin. They usually send it between sittings being served around 7 or 7:30 or so. It's fun to have a nice dinner on your balcony or in your cabin if you choose. We've done that when we just didn't feel like dressing up and wanted to have the MDR meal.

 

Do you need to call at a particular time to get the MDR menu at dinner? Do you just call room service? Can you do it for lunch too? Do you call for them to pick up the plates when you are finished?

 

Thanks.