Future of Formal Nights

[michmike]

Change is good.. I'd be in favor of replacing formal nite w/ Toga nite. No packing worries.. use your bed sheets.

 

We dress appropriately and enjoy ourselves.

 

I supervise 4 civilians and 19 inmates all week when at home. When I'm on vacation I could care less what the other guy is doing (ok...SHORT of him or her smoking a cigar on the balcony next door). I barely want to be in charge of myself that week, much less anyone else. So park next to us w/ your t shirt and flip flops. No sneering glances from OUR 4 top.

 

Or how about this... set out waterford bowls at the bread pudding station for lunch and we'll call that the formal occasion for the trip.

[iancal]

I hope that HAL keeps formal nights. We do not attend but there are many people who enjoy this very much. There is room to satisfy both groups. We have no issue with selecting an alternate venue on formal evenings.

 

As for requesting formal attire in all public areas of the ship on formal nights...this request by HAL is somewhat contradictory given the suggested dress code in the Lido. It does not make sense and it is uneforceable-not that HAL is really enforcing much these days other than insisting on a valid reservation and credit card at embarkation.

[HamOp]

Imagine if the smoking policy was as variable as the dress code policy; now that would be an disastrous debate.

 

It just may be....too soon to tell yet.:eek:

[mamaofami]

Usually, there are 4 formal nights on a 14 day cruise, but on my Maasdam cruise last week, there were only 3. I'm sure my documents said there would be 4.

[fatcat04]

Change is good.. I'd be in favor of replacing formal nite w/ Toga nite. No packing worries.. use your bed sheets.

 

LOL.. having cruised on Costa twice in the Carib.. I hope you know what Dionysian visions await you should this come to fruition. Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone looks good in a toga.... at least not until the 4th or 5th drink that is. :D:D

[Pettifogger]

Change may be wonderful in medical technology and many other fields, but should be viewed cautiously by a cruise line that has excelled in providing traditional cruising for those who prefer it.

 

An important consideration might be the length of the cruise; shorter cruises (seven days or less) might be ones where passenger resistance to the change might be much less (why pay airfare for formal clothes that will only be worn once?) On the other hand, longer cruises probably draw somewhat older and more tradition-minded passengers who like what they're getting now on HAL.

 

(I confess an interest: I'm older and only book longer cruises.)

[cruz chic]

For what its worth re: formal nights,

Last spring on our 2 week Alaska cruise aboard the Amsterdam, we did notice the MDR would be far from full on formal nights,and overheard other passengers commenting later on what a zoo the Lido DR was the same nights.

Kind of a sad comment when people aren't willing to put on a tie or a nice dress and put on the ritz for an evening, but to each their own.They paid their fare too.

Every time I've had open dining the MDR has been PACKED on formal night so I wonder how the Lido can be too.

[jkrislc]

It just may be....too soon to tell yet.:eek:

 

Good point; I hope I just didn't jinx this thread. :)

 

While I would like to see the policy regarding formal nights change, I don't see that appealing to HAL's core demographic. And this isn't an age reference, I'm speaking of expectations, seasoned cruisers, exceptional service, etc. The traditional stuff that brought most of us to cruising and those things that many of us regret have gone away.

[michmike]

LOL.. having cruised on Costa twice in the Carib.. I hope you know what Dionysian visions await you should this come to fruition. Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone looks good in a toga.... at least not until the 4th or 5th drink that is. :D:D

 

*S* well I'm certainly open to that option...

 

brings back memories of that old refrain about going to bed at 2 with a 10 and waking up at 10 with a 2.... that might have been after drink 8 or 9 though

[1 HappyCruiser]

In the end, this may be the deciding factor. When the number of Lido passengers approaches or exceeds the numbers of the MDR crowd, it'll make sense to change things. Until then, I wouldn't worry too much about it, regardless of any of our opinions of formal nights/dress.

 

It may very well be a deciding factor as more people begin to realize they're being short changed of the better dishes in the Lido.

[tjcox9]

We just disembarked the Veendam on the 23rd and saw something in the dining room on formal nights we'd not witnessed before. In the open seating (don't know about traditional dining), there were several dark men's jackets hanging at the podiums.

 

We did see them give one man a jacket which he put on with his casual shoes, shirts and pants and was seated. I do not know what would have happened if he had refused.

 

Another nice thing they were doing was handing out sparkling wine to those who had to wait a few minutes for a table. That was a touch we'd not seen before.

 

Anyway, just curious if anyone has seen this on other ships. We did have the designated number (four, none optional) formal nights on this trip.

[cruisinjudy]

Usually, there are 4 formal nights on a 14 day cruise, but on my Maasdam cruise last week, there were only 3. I'm sure my documents said there would be 4.

Carol, I don't remember what the docs said, but we had so few sea days I am not surprised that we had only three formal nights.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We just disembarked the Veendam on the 23rd and saw something in the dining room on formal nights we'd not witnessed before. In the open seating (don't know about traditional dining), there were several dark men's jackets hanging at the podiums.

 

We did see them give one man a jacket which he put on with his casual shoes, shirts and pants and was seated. I do not know what would have happened if he had refused.

 

Another nice thing they were doing was handing out sparkling wine to those who had to wait a few minutes for a table. That was a touch we'd not seen before.

 

Anyway, just curious if anyone has seen this on other ships. We did have the designated number (four, none optional) formal nights on this trip.

 

I saw the jackets at the podium on Maasdam this past fall. As we were leaving dinner, I saw two men given jackets. I guess they had on shirts and ties but no jackets. I saw another man in polo shirt and khakis turned away.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I saw the jackets at the podium on Maasdam this past fall. As we were leaving dinner, I saw two men given jackets. I guess they had on shirts and ties but no jackets. I saw another man in polo shirt and khakis turned away.

 

How convenient of them. It appears that there's no need to lug a jacket any more- just a dress shirt will do, although I have seen many posts that claim that not having a jacket won't be questioned anyway.

[3rdGenCunarder]

How convenient of them. It appears that there's no need to lug a jacket any more- just a dress shirt will do, although I have seen many posts that claim that not having a jacket won't be questioned anyway.

 

I've seen those posts, too, and I'm not saying that every HAL ship does this. But someone saw it on Veendam, and I saw it on Maasdam. Just sayin', not preachin'.

 

Now I wish I'd asked the maitre d' what happens when they run out of lender jackets.

[Winters in NZ]

LOL.. having cruised on Costa twice in the Carib.. I hope you know what Dionysian visions await you should this come to fruition. Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone looks good in a toga.... at least not until the 4th or 5th drink that is. :D:D

. I too remember the Toga Nights, aboard the Costa Atlantica. Yikes! I still have nightmares when recalling them.