Elegant Night or Not?

[Clipper123]

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!"

 

If I wanted to see wall furnishings - I'd go to a friggen art gallery. I don't give a cat's @** what color the walls are painted nor what the table or chairs look like as long as they are functional. And I want to see the view of the ocean not "window accessories".

[vermonter16]

All I really care about is the food! I think keeping with no flip flops and shorts or tshirts is good. I have to dress up every gd day here at work....I'm supposed to relax on vacation not worry about what I'm wearing!

 

As for a restaurant and what it contains inside....oh, who the heck cares! A good restaurant doesn't have to have much of anything - I really am there for the food!

[LemurCat]

As for a restaurant and what it contains inside....oh, who the heck cares! A good restaurant doesn't have to have much of anything - I really am there for the food!

 

Well, I do. I certainly don't want to eat off of paper plates and with cheap plastic utensils. I also don't want to sit at a folding card table.

[halos]

All I really care about is the food! I think keeping with no flip flops and shorts or tshirts is good. I have to dress up every gd day here at work....I'm supposed to relax on vacation not worry about what I'm wearing!

 

As for a restaurant and what it contains inside....oh, who the heck cares! A good restaurant doesn't have to have much of anything - I really am there for the food!

 

I disagree.

There is a restaurant up here that is a bit on the pricey side.

The ambiane is not befitting the cost of the meal. Even though the food is good, I choose to dine elsewhere.

For me, the ambiance is pretty important.

[CruisinTormos]

I think that they should either keep it as it is now and enforce the code, or allow nice jeans. I'm kinda on the fence about it. I don't really care what other people do as long as they don't make me want to not eat ;)

 

I think that it's nice that people can dress up if they choose and on my last cruise (just DH and I) we did. However, this cruise we'll have the children and I'm not spending tons of money to buy them elegant clothing they'll outgrow in 6 months. We'll dress nicely but not "elegantly."

 

I don't know other people's situations and won't ever judge them for how they dress in the MDR. Certain rules should certainly apply (no bathing suits, cut offs etc.) but the definition of elegant should certainly be open for interpretation!

[vermonter16]

I guess living here in the DC area has made me a bit jaded. I've been to so many 'over-priced' restaurants, some very pricey but also extremely nice. That being said ambiance would come into play if I was paying $$$ for the food. But on average - I just want good food and I find most of it at 'homey', family run operated places that don't spend a fortune on what the restaurant decor looks like - well, because they don't need to. There is also the greatest afghan place that is just starting out and it is literally plastic forks and knives and card tables...but I guarantee you won't find any better afghan food around!

 

However - that's the beauty of it! To each his own! So, elegant may be for you - a gown and a tux; and it may be pressed jeans and jacket for someone else...and for me, I think it's all good!

[elcuchio24]

What other people wear really doesn't effect my meal. We dress the same as if we were going to a nice restaurant at home. I usually wear a jacket, even on non-elegant nights. I will say this--the way things are going, I can't imagine the dress code getting MORE stringent, only less.

[MiamiSpartan]

I can understand how some people might like formal night....This may be one of a few nights a year they get to dress up for dinner....

For me, I have to be in a suit and tie every day for work, so the LAST thing I want to do while I am on vacation is to dress for dinner...plus it takes up more room in the luggage....

[LemurCat]

There is also the greatest afghan place that is just starting out and it is literally plastic forks and knives and card tables...but I guarantee you won't find any better afghan food around!

 

Not making generalizations about the lifestyles of Afghani people, but it's not exactly food fit for high formal, Western European/North American style dining, no matter how good it tastes.

[LemurCat]

I can understand how some people might like formal night....This may be one of a few nights a year they get to dress up for dinner....

For me, I have to be in a suit and tie every day for work, so the LAST thing I want to do while I am on vacation is to dress for dinner...plus it takes up more room in the luggage....

 

I'm with you. I'm in the middle of Fund Raising Season, which means cocktail parties and balls. I don't feel like putting on a freakin' cocktail dress every weekend, much less while on vacation. (And nothing in this world will make me put on pantyhose, dang it.)

[Chmie]

Although my wife enjoys getting all dolled up for special occassions I only "go formal" under extreme duress. She will probably throw a suit on me when I get buried but I won't care then. Dress to please yourself, not to please others. :D

[vermonter16]

Not making generalizations about the lifestyles of Afghani people, but it's not exactly food fit for high formal, Western European/North American style dining, no matter how good it tastes.

 

Actually you'd be surprised. The jasmine rice and lamb chops are to die for and lamb isn't cheap! You should see the high priced indian cuisine, afghan cuiseine, or the high priced italian...I could go on and on for every ethnicity. The point is that it's all relative. I can eat a steak at a mom and pop place, at Outback Steakhouse, or at an upscale steak hosue.... I guess that's where the ambiance would come into play. The more one pays for something, the more one would expect that all aspects of the price point would be met - from the tablecloths, to the diningware, to the decor on the walls, to the quality of the food.

 

Is Carnival serving grass fed buffalo, or a flat iron steak? And I'm supposed to get dressed up for that? I happen to enjoy the food very much in the MDR and follow all the rules of dress....but that food would not hold up to a 'dress up' place here where I live.

[LemurCat]

Is Carnival serving grass fed buffalo, or a flat iron steak? And I'm supposed to get dressed up for that? I happen to enjoy the food very much in the MDR and follow all the rules of dress....but that food would not hold up to a 'dress up' place here where I live.

 

I'm totally with you here. It's not like Eric Ripert is cooking the fish on a hot stone table-side. :D

[OrangeBlossom55]

We don't get to cruise nearly as much as we'd like, but I'm certainly not willing to waste what little precious time we do get to cruise, letting how someone else dresses in the dining room bother me. I could care less. I can't imagine why anyone would let that affect their good time.

[elcuchio24]

We don't get to cruise nearly as much as we'd like, but I'm certainly not willing to waste what little precious time we do get to cruise, letting how someone else dresses in the dining room bother me. I could care less. I can't imagine why anyone would let that affect their good time.

 

I always think its an entertaining argument on this forum. I can tell you, honestly, when I'm onboard I NEVER notice what anyone else is wearing in the MDR on any night. My interests are usually on my DW and my food:).

[golfb4cruzing]

I say everyone do whatever they wish. Who cares, you're on vacation. I know you hate that sentence. I don't care what you are wearing. For the special folks that dress to impress, you would stand out even more. Just everyone at least shower before dinner. Some of you like to hide behind that 10 gallons of WWII perfume.:D

[MpwdMom]

I have (and probably will again) worn dress jeans on elegant night. Dressy top, cute shoes. Hubby wore jeans and a button down. And we didn't feel one bit out of place.

 

If we'd been turned away, we'd have to reconsider whether Carnival is where we want to spend our vacation.

[omarchs]

I love cruising, but have never like the fact that the cruise lines dictated what you had to wear to dinner.

 

You certainly don't see any dress codes in the majority of restaurants these days so I don't understand why the cruise lines feel they need to post them. I think that it is fine if they want to indicate that no bathing suits, flip flops, tank tops (ie. beach wear) are allowed at dinner as long as they enforce it.

 

I have been surprised on recent cruises on both Carnival and NCL on how much people got dressed up on the optional formal nights. Everyone shamed me into dressing up the second night since i felt out of place on the 1st night. I think that they may be pleasantly surprised at how well these optional nights turn out when you allow people to do what suits them.

[H82seaUgo]

If I wanted to see wall furnishings - I'd go to a friggen art gallery. I don't give a cat's @** what color the walls are painted nor what the table or chairs look like as long as they are functional. And I want to see the view of the ocean not "window accessories".

 

obviously, you do not know the difference between eating and dining. your loss.

[genegri]

There should be two MDR's with EXACTLY THE SAME MENU. One for those who truly dress up to the guidelines (and Carnival should enforce them) and one for those who don't feel like it.

 

As long as they only offer lobsters in MDR, there will be folks who dress less than suggested. Lido doesn't count because the food is different.

[H82seaUgo]

There should be two MDR's with EXACTLY THE SAME MENU. One for those who truly dress up to the guidelines (and Carnival should enforce them) and one for those who don't feel like it.

 

As long as they only offer lobsters in MDR, there will be folks who dress less than suggested. Lido doesn't count because the food is different.

 

yet, that's exactly what it was created for. alternative dining for those that didn't feel like dressing up. at home, we call that mcdonalds.

[fireofficer5]

Some really cheap resturants re-wash the disposable plastic forks and knives.

Soon ccl will be down to ncl's level, why rush it. I want a laugh at dinner for as long as possible.

I voted 1.

[jtdlmc]

obviously, you do not know the difference between eating and dining. your loss.

 

Do you know the difference between annoying and pleasant? Obviously you have nothing better to do but contradict everyone's opinions and allow people to become familiar with the block feature!

[LemurCat]

Some really cheap resturants re-wash the disposable plastic forks and knives.

Soon ccl will be down to ncl's level, why rush it. I want a laugh at dinner for as long as possible.

I voted 1.

 

Considering the two lines are more alike than different, I don't see how they could "come down" to NCL's level.

 

And I'll be honest with you, I like NCL's set up with the snooty people who feel the need to dictate dress code to others safely sequestered in their own dining room. It's nice not having them around being all judgy.

[H82seaUgo]

Do you know the difference between annoying and pleasant? Obviously you have nothing better to do but contradict everyone's opinions and allow people to become familiar with the block feature!

 

i'm pretty sure this forum allows everyone to give their opinion. if mine is different than yours, don't worry about it. i don't.