Formal Night - Yay or Nay

[wwcruisers]

I love formal nights and Halloween on board! :p

We always find a way to pack what we need -- even with the Draconian airline bag restrictions. One thing that works well for us is tux rental. We find the prices to be reasonable, and the tux magically appears (and disappears) from your cabin -- that much less to worry about packing! :cool:

[julia]

Gonzo... yet another dress code thread?! :eek: You're already in ten others as I type! :p

[margeg]

I vote yes to get rid of them. My dh gets all dressed up and right after dinner he runs back to the cabin to dress down again.

[Wordzz]

I vote to keep them, and enforce them.

I think the argument about luggage weight is complete nonsense. We flew from London to Vancouver last year for a cruise to Alaska; I took tux, shoes, etc., and my wife took her formal gear, plus clothing for a land tour, etc., and we were still well within the weight limits. It's not about weight, it's about priorities.

[grayjay]

Hurray - another controversy about formal nights :D .... Even if I have not been a member of CC for a long time, it's interesting to read the postings because it's one of the topics where a lot of people don't seem to be able to compromise.

I like to watch the dressed-up people, even if I would not want to wear a long evening dress with trimmings - I'm not that kind of person. And dear husband tries either to avoid this evening or grumblingly wears a suit, mumbling that he should not be forced to wear formal attire even after his working life is over. But we respect the dress code and dress up, even if we would be happy with - let's say - one formal Captain's dinner with special food and a more festive athmosphere ( decoration, waiters, food specialties etc.) At the moment there are formal evenings, but the only thing that changes is peoples' attires - the rest is like any other other evenings.

[Esprit]

Definitely keep formal nights and strictly enforce the dress code.

 

I don't buy the weight restriction excuse either. I manage to keep withn the 20 kg allowance with a white tux' and black dinner jacket included

[hapicruisin]

We would be most unhappy if Celebrity were to lower its standards and no longer have formal nights. My DH looks so wonderful in his tux - as do all the other gentlemen who take the trouble to dress formally. I love to see the Ladies in their splendid outfits. How elegant/handsome they all look.

 

Please Celebrity keep up the standards of cruising - that is why we and so many others have Celebrity as their choice of cruiseline.

[CHAMPAGNELASS]

My future DH has worn a suit every working day since he left school but still loves to get dressed up in a tux or full kilt outfit for special ocassions.

He likes to feel just as good dressed up as I do.

A cruise is a special ocassion for most of us and wearing formal wear for a couple of nights adds to the whole experience.

 

If dress codes stop being enforced ,eventually some people would come to dinner in the main dining room looking like they have just stepped off the beach.

 

When dress standards start to decline it will be a slippery slope downwards until some people start to push the boundaries of decency.

[Glammy Grammy]

Ohhh please keep them, I just adore putting all my finery on, my DH looks superb in his white tux, formal nights just feel so special with everyone looking 'faaaabulous dahling'. It would be a hug shame to lose them.

[BrusselsGirl07]

We vote to keep them too! My husband wears a suit everyday, as do I, but we love getting dressed up for the formal nights. We don't get the opportunity to dress up too much in real life, and the ship has such an elegant feel on formal nights, everyone looks so nice. My husband usually takes his tux and another dark suit and the one pair of shoes for both. And I buy dresses that are light and uncrushable. We manage to keep under the weight limits as well. Dressing up on formal nights is something we really look forward to.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Keep it but just don't force me to comply. :cool:

[A Sixth?]

Don't think of getting rid of penguin night as a down grade to NCL, think of it as an upgrade to lines like Azamara Club Cruises, Windstar, Oceania Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club.

 

I'd love for Celebrity to get rid of formal night as an upgrade to the brand as many of the six star lines have.

 

[Minoushka]

We live in a town that does not offer much chance to dress up so we enjoy the couple of formal nights on a cruise. Fly Southwest and avoid those heavy bag fees;)

 

Bev

 

 

SOUTHWEST does NOT fly from MOntreal I WISH it did

[karonius]

Don't think of getting rid of penguin night as a down grade to NCL, think of it as an upgrade to lines like Azamara Club Cruises, Windstar, Oceania Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club.

 

I'd love for Celebrity to get rid of formal night as an upgrade to the brand as many of the six star lines have.

 

Don't forget Regent.

[YOW]

SOUTHWEST does NOT fly from MOntreal I WISH it did

 

I wish it did also. ;)

 

FWIW Westjet and Air Canada include one checked bag per passenger up to 23kg/50lb.

[kathcoll]

I enjoy formal nights BUT I do NOT enjoy paying excess baggage fees because this stuff weighs a lot . I think it should be optional and men should NOt be obliged to wear jackets How about ladies in cocktail dresses men in slacks shirt and ties no need for jackets

 

This would be my choice, too.

slacks, shirt and tie wouldn't add much bulk or weight for packing, and dressy top with slacks or cocktail dress would serve the same purpose.

 

I like the dressier nights, but full battle gear takes too much room and weight in these days with airlines restricting baggage.

[cruzeluver]

Keep formal nights and start enforcing the dress code. One of the very few cruising traditions that still exists ( barely). Cruising is becoming less and less special.

 

Sorry, but I despise the argument that dressing up doesn't make the food taste any better. Of course it doesn't! It does create a lovely atmosphere, and people tend to behave in a more congenial manner.

[kathcoll]

I don't usually write reviews. instead I write photojournals.

This is my wonderful first transatlantic experience.

http://kathcoll.shutterfly.com/2659

 

when the photos load, click "full screen" and single page view right above the book if you want to read comments about the trip.

:p

[commodoredave]

I've gone full circle on this issue. I used to enjoy wearing my tuxedo on formal nights aboard a ship. But then my tuxedo "shrunk" after many cruises (I have always suspected that salt air was the problem) and I had to get rid of it. I went without one for many years, just wearing a blue suit. Then I heard about the tuxedo rental companies and began to rent. Now that we enjoy crossing on the QM2 which has 5 formal nights, I took my wife's advice and just bought a new tux. I am hoping the salt air does not shrink it again this time.;)

[TLCOhio]

I was very, very torn and strongly conflicted in making this pick. I can see the valid pro/con reasons on both sides. I didn't do the tux thing on our cruise, but did wear a nice dark suit, classy/dressy gold tie, white shirt, etc. It was disappointing on the formal nights to see some people there with marginal light suit coats, poorly matched sport coats, poor shirt color choices, etc. Those dressed up looked very nice and enjoyed it. My bottom line is practical given the air/luggage challenges, PLUS . . . it is a vacation!!! People should be able to enjoy their travels, not try to recreate the good, old days at the country club or a business situation when they were important by being so dressed up. On our Med cruise for the three formal nights in the MDR, I would estimate that about 35-40% of the men had tuxes.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

You can see all of the details and lots of visuals on our June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Lots and lots of special pictures with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., plus much on Barcelona are covered. These postings are now at nearly 13,000 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity. Don't be shy in asking any questions, making comments, etc. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[A Sixth?]

Keep formal nights and start enforcing the dress code. One of the very few cruising traditions that still exists ( barely). Cruising is becoming less and less special.

 

Sorry, but I despise the argument that dressing up doesn't make the food taste any better. Of course it doesn't! It does create a lovely atmosphere, and people tend to behave in a more congenial manner.

 

 

By all means, dress up... but designate an area for those who want to dine in formal attire and heck, make it every night like it used to be... (like on the Titanic! :p )

 

Like the argument here awhile back that NOBODY wold like My Time dining, only to see that it's become the first seating to sell out on most cruises, loosing formal night IMHO would be a hit.

 

[YOW]

I don't usually write reviews. instead I write photojournals.

This is my wonderful first transatlantic experience.

http://kathcoll.shutterfly.com/2659

 

when the photos load, click "full screen" and single page view right above the book if you want to read comments about the trip.

:p

 

Did you mean to post this in a new thread? :confused:

 

Nicely done, BTW, w/ photos, layout, and commentary. :)

[texancruzer]

I voted YAY.....we love formal nights.

 

That said, I think that the itinerary could be the key .......

 

Caribbean - more relaxed and lots of people don't want to bother.

Europe - more upscale and we have noticed more "formal" on formal nite

[PS90]

I think the results of this are interesting. +/- 65% for formal nights right now.

 

Personally, I would like to see an actual, scientific poll done by an independent group, with a random sampling of all Celebrity cruisers, and see what people really want. This would help X determine if formal nights should continue or not.

 

Let's face it - this poll is interesting, but probably doesn't mean a whole lot, considering the actual number of people who cruise Celebrity compared to the number of people who are frequent posters on CC.

 

After all, we all know that the Celebrity board of CruiseCritic is quite skewed with a certain specific demographic that may or may not fit with the general population of Celebrity cruisers. And that's all I will say about that. :)

[SusieV]

I'm sure you all know where I stand on this one :) We dress formal even in specialty restaurants and stay in our formalwear all night. It's fun to get dressed up!

 

When we were in Vegas last month we brought dressier clothes, too.