Elegant Night or Not?

[jtdlmc]

John Heald asked a question on Facebook as to whether people still enjoyed Elegant night (and the Captain's Party)? There were several ideas brought up as to how Carnival could keep everyone happy. I personally do not care what anyone wears in the dining room as long as they are clean and do not have body odor as that would ruin the meal for anyone within smelling distance. What someone else is wearing has absolutely no bearing on whether I enjoy my meal or not. So, my preference would be to have something like another cruise line has where you can dress up or not and nice jeans can be worn in any eating establishment on that line. IMO jeans and a nice shirt are fine - especially when it comes to paying for extra baggage when flying and purchasing these clothes that will probably never been worn again. What would you prefer?

[gardengirl2011]

I think they should continue to require more elegant attire in the MDR. If you do not want to dress up there are other dining venues where you may dress more casually.

[elklemi]

I agree for sure, do not like to have to be forced to wear a coat and tie to meet others standards in order to enjoy the lobster. If the lobster was available at the Lido buffet I would gladly go there for dinner. I dress nice but "fancy" and to bring all the dress items for 1 or 2 nights makes no sense to me.

[fun!melis]

The option to do it or not...........;)

[Room Service!]

Option 3. Elegant or not.

[breenw]

I vote for enforcing the current dress code. I know that with the travel restrictions and cost of checked luggage, we are all trying to not pack so much. But..... last time I cruised, there were people coming into the main dining room in gym shorts, flip flops (not sandals), baseball caps, etc. I just found it sad that people are so opposed to putting on a nice pair of slacks and a shirt vs. dressing like they just got out of the swimming pool or going to shoot some hoops. Here we are all being served a multi-course meal on china, linens and crystal, and served by a waitstaff in uniform, yet some people think it is acceptable to dress down so much. I get not wanting to cart the tux and long formal gown but surely there is a compromise between that and gym shorts???

[ccruisequeen]

I think one DR for elegants, the other or Lido for not-so's-- DF wears his suit jackit on Embarkation so he doesn't have to pack & is glad he doesn't need a tux any more!

[blondietink]

We live in a very rural area and the only opportunity to get dressed up here is either for a wedding or a funeral. So, we enjoyed being able to get dressed up, even just a little, for Elegant night. Men just wore dress shirt and tie, while I wore a simple cocktail dress.

[newbiecruiser-texas]

I vote for enforcing the current dress code. I know that with the travel restrictions and cost of checked luggage, we are all trying to not pack so much. But..... last time I cruised, there were people coming into the main dining room in gym shorts, flip flops (not sandals), baseball caps, etc. I just found it sad that people are so opposed to putting on a nice pair of slacks and a shirt vs. dressing like they just got out of the swimming pool or going to shoot some hoops. Here we are all being served a multi-course meal on china, linens and crystal, and served by a waitstaff in uniform, yet some people think it is acceptable to dress down so much. I get not wanting to cart the tux and long formal gown but surely there is a compromise between that and gym shorts???

 

I agree 100%

[bunchesofun]

We never really have the opportunity to dress up so it is kind of nice to do it on the ship. I wish they would enforce the rules they already have for a start.

[vermonter16]

Elegant dress for weddings where I am originally from is nice jeans! I think it depends on where people are from. It would certainly give me an opportunity to where my custom made $$$ cowboy boots. I am currently living in the DC area where appearance is everything....so it would be nice to be more laid back but still wear 'nice' acceptable clothing. As it stands now, I certainly honor the dress code....but darnnit! When am I going to be able to wear my boots??? :)

[ready2cruzagain]

We love elegant night. We do not get many occasions to dress formally except while cruising. I do wear long gowns on formal nights. DH does not wear a tuxedo but does wear a nice dress suit with tie.

 

[AWCHIEF]

I no longer take a suit on Carnival cruises, I do wear clothing that is in accord with the current dress suggestions. But if they brought back a true "Formal" night I would have no problem with dressing appropriately.

[Flick]

Partly it depends on the itinerary. A tux would probably out of place on a Western Carribbean or Alaska cruise since those are both casual destinations. On a TA or European cruise tuxes are very appropriate. Because we are celebrating our 50th. anniversary on this MR cruise we will both be dressed to the "nines" at the steakhouse that day but otherwise it has been awhile since I travelled with a tux. Personally I think they look very nice but when flying they can be a pain in the "wallet"! Since we are flying from Florida to San Diego we just figured the luggage fees as well as the travel insurance as part of the expense of the cruise and go with the flow.

[marshhawk]

To me the continously dressing down is a sort of disrespect for class and culture. (I work in the arts-15 years ago everyone dressed for the symphony, now it's just young women who want to look stylish and older men who are glued to wearing suits.) People wear jeans, they started dressing down, and then the symphony members started dressing down , soon everyone will come nude:eek: or in their PJ's:D.

I like to dress up. I like the fact that on a cruise, they ask that one night we all pretend we are rich and famous and fabulous and it's fun. I think we should all start to try to spruce up a bit. In all aspects of life. But that's just me.:)

[Yvonne]

OP, I totally agree with you!

[riffatsea]

I think it is already "elegant or not" on Carnival.

We are happy with everything just the way it is.

My husband wears black jeans,black shoes and a decent shirt. I get a bit more dressed up in a nice dress or a glam top with slacks.

If others want to wear a gown or a tux then noone is stopping them.

I think the fashion police should stay home!!

 

 

[H82seaUgo]

your first choice is flawed. formal night never required people to dress in tuxes and ball gowns. this is the reason they changed the name, as it was confusing.

 

elegant describes dressing up without the formality.

[TaraLynne]

Personally I really enjoy elegant/formal nights. I don't think tuxes should be "required" but I love the old times of seeing everyone at least dressed to impress on elegant/formal night. I don't know, I don't get many chances to wear dresses out and about here at home so it's a perk for me to be able to do it on a cruise :)

[arhillbilly]

I love to get "dressed up" I also live in a very rural area and never have a chance to except on cruises. I loved it in Aug when I was on NCL...there "formal" night is called "formal or not" What I loved about it was the fact that they have 2 MDR. One was ok to wear shorts and flip flops in the other was not and they did enforce the one that they were not allowed in.I'm going to dress up for me...no one else. If someone has a problem with me in my evening dress, it's their problem...not mine :)

[Clipper123]

I agree with OP. I don't care what other people wear - I'm there to eat my dinner not check out everyone else's attire to see if they are living up to my standards!!!! In order to keep the busybodies happy Carnival needs to offer two different locations to serve the MDR menu or put the fancies in one area of the dining room and the rest of us in another area. We all handed over our hard earned cash and every person should be entitled to the same food. Some people scrape and scrimp for a long time to be able to go on a cruise, they shouldn't have to spend another couple hundred on clothes they will only wear once.

[LemurCat]

Why do they have to change it? Why can't people just do what they want and not worry about everyone else? I swear to God, it's almost like people never got over high school and still need to "fit in". Very sad.

[LemurCat]

I love to get "dressed up" I also live in a very rural area and never have a chance to except on cruises. I loved it in Aug when I was on NCL...there "formal" night is called "formal or not" What I loved about it was the fact that they have 2 MDR. One was ok to wear shorts and flip flops in the other was not and they did enforce the one that they were not allowed in.I'm going to dress up for me...no one else. If someone has a problem with me in my evening dress, it's their problem...not mine :)

 

This really is the best way to handle it. But it would mean doing away with traditional assigned time dining, and you can see just about how well this crowd here adapts to change. :rolleyes:

[H82seaUgo]

I agree with OP. I don't care what other people wear - I'm there to eat my dinner not check out everyone else's attire to see if they are living up to my standards!!!! In order to keep the busybodies happy Carnival needs to offer two different locations to serve the MDR menu or put the fancies in one area of the dining room and the rest of us in another area. We all handed over our hard earned cash and every person should be entitled to the same food. Some people scrape and scrimp for a long time to be able to go on a cruise, they shouldn't have to spend another couple hundred on clothes they will only wear once.

 

you would be a restraunteers dream customer. no wall furnishings, window accessories, gray walls, and basic tables and chairs.

 

"these people are just here to eat!"

[halos]

Funny how things/people change. 10 Years ago, (even less) I would have said that I prefer formal night.

Now?? I seriously don't care.