Casual & Informal (difference???)

[Charisse4]

:o Can anyone tell me (using an example) what is the difference between informal and casual nights on Celebrity? Help.......leaving in two weeks and don't know how to pack.

 

To me Casual and Informal sound the same. Am I right or wrong?

Charisse

[cathykb]

Charisse,

 

I think there is a big difference - for the men. Take a look in your documents, the acceptable clothing for each is very well defined there. Informal is jacket, shirt and tie for men, and dress or pants outfit for women. Casual is sport shirt and slacks for men and pantsuit or sporty outfit for women.

 

Good luck with the packing, and have a wonderful time.

 

Cathy

[patrioticgirl]

Charisse, here is the text of a prior post that I wrote in regard to a similar question. Hope it helps.

On the 12 night Horizon repositioning trip

I did last April, there were definitely 3 formal nights: I believe there were 4 informal nights, and 5 casual nights. Here is the wording regarding dress from the daily flyer, along with my comments in parentheses:

Formal:

 

 

Ladies: A dressy outfit. Formal gown or cocktail dress. (There were about half and half....... I wore floor length gowns on two nights and a very dressy cocktail dress on the third.)

Gentlemen: Dark Suit and tie, dinner jacket or tuxedo. (There were quite a few men in tuxedo.)

Informal:

Ladies: Informal dress, or pants and blouse. (On this particular sailing, the crowd was older and there were very few children onboard. Informal was more along the lines of more simple short length cocktail or very "dressed up" dresses, silk blouses and slacks, or nice coordinated dressy pantsuits ... with nice sandals or heels. Very few were in plain old "pants and blouse," so to speak. Shoes were nice sandals or heels; you did not see everyday wear sandals on informal nights.)

Gentlemen: Jacket, slacks. No jeans.

Casual:

Ladies: dress, pantsuit, or sporty outfit. (Casual

does not mean shorts

... a no-no. Plan on short sleeve casual dresses and sundresses, capri coordinated outfits, nicely fitted slacks and matching tops.The one evening I wore a pair of khaki slacks with a short sleeved silky sweater and slip on flat sandals, I felt underdressed.)

Gentlemen: Sports shirt and slacks.

 

 

When I sailed on the Connie in December

, formal nights probably had just a few more people in shorter cocktail dresses than in long gowns. Some people were

very casual

on the casual nights... I even saw a lady wearing shorts :eek: in the dining room, but I do not recommend it. For the most part, I would say to stick to the dress code, but go with things that make you feel like a million. I personally enjoy the dressy nights.... it gives me a chance to wear nice things and strappy high heels that I don't have much occasion to wear at home! :)

 

 

 

[C 2 C]

Other than the excellent info above... I wish Celebrity would use the term smart casual that is used aboard Princess. Too many people equate casual with sloppy.... blue jeans, shorts, t-shirts, track suits, gymn wear...

 

You are taking a date to a fancy restaurant and the theatre, not to a backyard barbecue... How would you like your loved one to see you at your best in the styles indicated?

 

This topic draws too many flamers so I'll stop now..

[Ma Bell]

They really should call it semi-formal which is more descriptive and less confusing.

[C 2 C]

informal is a lot like inflammable.... for heated debate

 

semi-formal makes a lot more sense..

 

Formal

Semi-formal

Smart casual

 

Now how to get Celebrity to adopt some good input?

[hajekfam]

When Celebrity was under Chandris (pre-RCCL), the dress code was called formal, semi-formal, and informal. The appropriate dress description under each type matched today's dress breakdown of formal, informal, and casual as listed above.

I think the dress code terms is part of the problem with seeing people who do not follow the dress code. Casual dress to most people means what you would wear to a picnic or backyard barbeque - not what Celebrity considers casual.

Even smart casual doesn't fit the dress code for me - smart casual is still backyard barbeque or picnic but instead of cutoffs and tee shirt, for warm weather, it's a coordinated shorts outfit (shorts or skort with matching top and possibly jacket.

For me, business casual fits Celebrity's definition of casual - no jeans, no shorts, no flip-flops or sneakers. You must wear socks with shoes, collared shirts, etc.

Those are my defiitions of the terms based on what I am used to.

Maybe Celebrity should just label their dress code for the night as A, B, and C and just define those terms. That way there would be no differences in interpretation of terms.

[gene624]

In my college days --many moons ago -- informal meant black tie! Formal meant white tie and tails! That has obviously changed. Now everyone equates formal with Black Tie (Tuxedo) and no one wears White tie and tails

unless they are getting married!!! And that is rare these days.

Signed: The Old Codger from Birmingham

[Cruisin Rick]

I always take a Blazer for informal night, Jusr a nice pair of slacks, sport shirt and the Blazer, Most did not wear a tie,

 

Formal nights was an equal blend of tuxcedo's an dark suits. I always wear a dard suit. (it's my Marryin, Buryan suit)

Casual night is sinply slacks and a sport shirt, e/asye nough.

My roblem was that ir was sometrimes warm and I really didn't care to put on the Blazer for informal night. aparently, I wan't alone. few guys wore a dinner jacket on informal night and I quit wearing one also. I do like dressing uo for dinner though and enjoy the formal nights, It;s always special and there's plenty of good photo ops around ship.

 

 

(please excuse my mispelled words. I'm still dixxy and a little incherhent from the after effects fo thje criuse. If I'm not brtter by monday i'm going to thr doctor.

 

Cruisin Rick

[Leela]

In my college days --many moons ago -- informal meant black tie! Formal meant white tie and tails! That has obviously changed. Now everyone equates formal with Black Tie (Tuxedo) and no one wears White tie and tails

unless they are getting married!!! And that is rare these days.

Signed: The Old Codger from Birmingham

 

And...you'll NEVER see men (in the US at least) in formal daytime wear any more, even for weddings (they'll wear tuxedos before 6pm instead). When was the last time anyone saw, much less wore, a cutaway or a morning coat?

[Happy ks]

Cruisin Rick, Thank you for the explanation of all the typos, I was getting dizzy just reading it.

[RubyLee]

And...you'll NEVER see men (in the US at least) in formal daytime wear any more, even for weddings (they'll wear tuxedos before 6pm instead). When was the last time anyone saw, much less wore, a cutaway or a morning coat?

 

Morning All,

Could you describe "a cutaway or a morning coat"? :confused:

 

Thanks,

Jinny

 

Mercury - Alaska

[Leela]

They are the daytime equivalents of tuxedos and tail coats. Theoretically, if someone was having a very formal morning or afternoon wedding, the men would wear one of these depending on the degree of formality. Men aren't supposed to wear formal evening wear (tuxedos and tail coats) to events that start before 6pm.

 

Howerver, these days men either wear a nice suit for daytime events, or go ahead with the tuxedo in the daytime (which makes my mom cringe, but so be it).

 

For a visual, think about what the men wear to Ascot in "My Fair Lady," but in more conservative colors (charcoal grey, pearl grey, dove grey, pinstriped).

 

A tuxedo is technically black tie, which is less formal than white tie, but now just about everyone thinks tuxedos are the most formal. In reality, the most formal evening wear for men is a tail coat with a white shirt with wing collar, white bow tie, and white waistcoat. The only place I ever see this anymore is at ballroom dance competitions and when the Nobel prizes are awarded. :)

 

Black tie originally referred to the man wearing his tail coat with a black tie and cummerbund rathe than a white tie and waistcoat. Then, in the late 1800's, men at the Tuxedo Country Club started wearing dinner jackets that didn't have tails. One story goes that the men got tired of sitting on their tails and so cut them off :) Thus, the tuxedo was established as the black tie garment of choice, with the full-on tail coat still reserved for white tie events. A conservative business suit has always been considered the appropriate alternative to the tuxedo at black tie events, although over time the designations have become confused. Like, a lot of people think black tie is the most formal, and it's not (white tie is), and that a nice suit isn't acceptable at a black tie event -- but it is.

 

Basically, the "formal" nights on the traditional cruise ships are black tie, the "informal" nights are what a lot of people now call "business casual", and the "casual" nights are what some places now call "smart casual," also referred to as "resort" wear or "country club" wear.

 

Anyway, sorry to meander, I'm a costume desginer who also does evening gowns for women, so I have researched some of this just for the heck of it.

[RubyLee]

Thanks for the info :) Jinny

[gene624]

Thanks Leela for the added info. Only a few of us are aware of the various "old" levels of formalwear.

I like to wear my white dinnner jacket in summer and traveling in the Carib.

However, I am about to go on Constellation and NOT wear a tux or dinner jacket. I will wear a dark suit/tie, etc. (I am taking a guest who does not have a Tux or dinner jacket, and wanted to put him at ease.)

Gene in Birmingham

[Leela]

The list of and history of men's formal wear is quite interesting to me -- mainly because men's styles and trends evolve so SLOWLY. If you think about it, the tuxedo today is still very much like what started appearing well over 100 years ago. Meanwhile, women's clothing has gone through a couple of revolutions since then! I love to watch old movies, and it's always amused me to see that the men in evening dress in the 1930's and 1940's look perfectly acceptable by today's standards, and that you can always spot the era by the women's dress styles. One trend in men's evening wear that I've noticed are Nehru-style collars. I bring them up because they are still considered rather avante-garde in men's clothing, yet they stretch back to the 60's in European/North American clothing (and way way way back in Indian clothing). That just shows you how slowly things change for the men....

 

Which brings me, quite obliquely, to a barely-related question: I am not of Indian descent, yet I own a really beautiful sari. I would so love to wear it on one of the formal nights: it's mango colored, with gold embroidery, and falls to the floor. I bought it to wear to a Hindu wedding in California, and haven't had the chance to wear it since. Would it be too odd for me to wear it on a formal night? If I were Indian, I woudln't think twice about it, but since I'm not, I thought I'd ask what people think. The Indians I know certainly didn't have a problem with me wearing it at that wedding -- in fact, I got a ton of compliments. I'm just wondering what the average cruiser would think.

[nho9504]

Many people may not even recognize it is a Sari - but if it is the very ornamental kind with gold embroidery, and your body can carry it, I would say wear it.

[mferranti]

And...you'll NEVER see men (in the US at least) in formal daytime wear any more, even for weddings (they'll wear tuxedos before 6pm instead). When was the last time anyone saw, much less wore, a cutaway or a morning coat?

I wore the complete formal daytime outfit when Irene & I were married in 1976: cutaway, striped trousers, wing-collar shirt with ascot, grey vest.

[hajekfam]

And...you'll NEVER see men (in the US at least) in formal daytime wear any more, even for weddings (they'll wear tuxedos before 6pm instead). When was the last time anyone saw, much less wore, a cutaway or a morning coat?

The wedding may be in the morning or early afternoon, but the reception is in the evening. Which do they dress for - in between the wedding and reception is pictures, pictures, and more pictures. Our church only does 2 weddings at the most on a Saturday with the latest time for a wedding being 3 p.m. and the reception was at 6:30 p.m. That is the way it was when I got married over 35 years ago also (same church). They had to decide which to match to and figured that they would be at the reception a longer period of time than at the actual wedding service, so the groom dressed appropriately for the reception.

[Leela]

I wore the complete formal daytime outfit when Irene & I were married in 1976: cutaway, striped trousers, wing-collar shirt with ascot, grey vest.

 

Awesome! Are there any pictures online?

[Leela]

The wedding may be in the morning or early afternoon, but the reception is in the evening. Which do they dress for - in between the wedding and reception is pictures, pictures, and more pictures. Our church only does 2 weddings at the most on a Saturday with the latest time for a wedding being 3 p.m. and the reception was at 6:30 p.m. That is the way it was when I got married over 35 years ago also (same church). They had to decide which to match to and figured that they would be at the reception a longer period of time than at the actual wedding service, so the groom dressed appropriately for the reception.

 

There are ways to make things like this work if one decides it is a high enough priority to do so. For instance, we had our photo shoot before the ceremony so that our guests wouldn't be left with a big space of time between the ceremony and the reception. But that's a whole other discussion that doesn't belong on these boards.

[katiel53]

I think on the ships we have been on, Formal is tux or dark suit. Informal is jacket, with/without tie. Casual is a pair of dockers with a golf shirt. Women are more fortunate, in that formal is a cockatil dress or dressy dress. Informal can be a nice blouse with a pair of capris and casual is capris with a blouse (pretty much the same). I guess it all depends on how dressy one needs to be.

[bonbon663]

Could someone please come and pack for me. After all the threads I've read, I'm still confused. I have a dress that may be too "formal" for "informal" night. Help me!! Or, should I stick with black pants and tops for informal nights? As fas as casual...does that mean anything but jeans??

 

:confused:

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Leela - Wear you Sari with pride and Dignity. You will stand out in the corwd, and with your hair dne to the nines and some simple, elegant jewelry will stop the show!!!!

 

For Formal Nights I go back and forth on the Tux/Dark suit issue - Longer cruises tux, 7 nights or less suit. I always wear jacket and tie on informal night and slacks with a botton down shirt and / or a dressy (cashmere) sweater for casual nights. I feel that it is hard to feel over dressed, but very easy to feel underdressed. I would NEVER think of roaming the ship after about 1730 in shorts or jeans - even if I plan to "just" eat in the buffet that night. To me it shows a lack of respect for the other cruisers.

 

BTW - I am a 34 year old male from the South. We ain't all bubbas after all ;)

 

Tschüss - Scott

[tserface]

I would NEVER think of roaming the ship after about 1730 in shorts or jeans - even if I plan to "just" eat in the buffet that night. To me it shows a lack of respect for the other cruisers.

 

BTW - I am a 34 year old male from the South. We ain't all bubbas after all ;)

 

Hi Scott,

 

Just curious: why would wearing "jeans" after 5:30p show a lack of respect for the other cruisers. What if one is coming in from an excursion or just walking around the deck? We're sailing week after need and I'm just wondering. I certainly don't want to disrespect anyone, but I've never been on a cruise where they expect you to dress up to sit out on the deck or go to the disco at night. And, I bet my jeans cost more than a lot of people's dress up clothes. I know... my daughters bought them for me and said they are "dress jeans".

 

I can see dressing appropriately for the dining room or perhaps attending the shows (although I don't care to die on that hill), but ... I'm not so sure I want to go gambling or dancing at a disco dressed like I just came from a wedding either.

 

Tom