Formal Nights are Alive and Well!

[excitedofharpenden]

I think the point Larry was trying to make with his photos is that pretty much all of the people are dressed as per Celebrity's definition of formal. It's difficult to tell exactly how many of the men have tuxes on as there are a few with their backs to the camera. As an ambiance on formal night it works for me!

 

Phil

[Denny01]

For a Dress Code thread discussion, this one is staying, in most part, pretty civil. Realize in the discussion over womens dress (finally we talked about something else that what us guys wear/dont wear), understand what the term 'Formal' means and that women in the photos arent following that in most cases, but just as a reminder, here is the formal (yeeyee) Celebrity definition for 'Formal':

 

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown or dressy pantsuit

Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit or dinner jacket with slacks.

 

All those in the photos, including the guy in the corner wearing the white dinner jacket (neat one!) and the younger woman in the very short dress (right on....love it!) are in compliance.

 

But lets not quit talking about what women wear.....I'm so tired of hearing (well, reading actually) about us men and how tired we get putting a tie on and how hot we get wearing a jacket in an airconditioned 'building'.....its exhausting I tell you! If you dont want to wear it, dont, but quit with the excuses.

 

Den

[dkjretired]

For a Dress Code thread discussion, this one is staying, in most part, pretty civil. Realize in the discussion over womens dress (finally we talked about something else that what us guys wear/dont wear), understand what the term 'Formal' means and that women in the photos arent following that in most cases, but just as a reminder, here is the formal (yeeyee) Celebrity definition for 'Formal':

 

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown or dressy pantsuit

Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit or dinner jacket with slacks.

 

All those in the photos, including the guy in the corner wearing the white dinner jacket (neat one!) and the younger woman in the very short dress (right on....love it!) are in compliance.

 

But lets not quit talking about what women wear.....I'm so tired of hearing (well, reading actually) about us men and how tired we get putting a tie on and how hot we get wearing a jacket in an airconditioned 'building'.....its exhausting I tell you! If you dont want to wear it, dont, but quit with the excuses.

 

Den

 

Agree, I think its really ironic that in all the conversations we have had over the years on this board, we rarely talk about womans fashion. Perhaps it is done a lot on the fashion board but I always thought this was weird.

[teltrainer]

I fully understand that there are people who don't want to dress up and I believe that the cruise line comprehends this. That's why they have other dining venues. It is, however, published policy about the dress code in the MDR.

 

If the corporate policy is not to someone's liking, then why sail with that line? It puzzles me that people purchase a passage, agree to a contract and then moan and groan about having to stick to the contract they consented to. Are we not adults?

 

I believe that Celebrity is very fair in its dress policy and for the life of me can't understand all the hoopla that these threads generate.

 

...my thoughts exactly Kellie! On some of the other boards here I've seen the comments, "this is my cruise and I can do whatever I want to" in regards to policies they don't agree with.

[emcee207]

Is anyone else seeing a very strange reflection in that mirror? :eek:

 

 

LOL, yeah, that is kind of funky looking.....................

[NewSalt]

New salt - I feel the same way. Ten years ago, if there were three formal nights I would pack three different evening gowns. Even though I saw other women dressed in cocktail dresses and fancy pants with a dressy top, it took me a long time to do that because those options were not considered formal in any land based event I ever attended. However, as less and less women wore evening gowns on formal night, I started to pack cocktail dresses and fancy pants with dressy tops instead of evening gowns for formal nights. I still don't consider them to be formal attire and wouldn't think of dressing that way for any land based formal event.

 

 

I agree. My chiffon pants and beaded tops are what I would wear to a dressy-but-not-formal wedding on land.

 

I wonder if some of the discord isn't due to a serious misunderstanding of what "formal" means. A dressy pants suit? The interpretations on that one are almost endless. How many men today (especially the young ones) even know what a dinner jacket is? "A dinner jacket? Oh, that's a jacket you wear to dinner. I have a blazer; I'll wear that."

 

I was thinking of this thread this week when I attended a funeral. There were very few suits or even sports coats when a few years ago almost every man would have worn one. Not even all the members of the immediate family did. These are not poor people, but their lifestyles don't include dressing in a suit. In church this weekend, I counted four men in suits/jackets out of several hundred in attendance, and three of those men were lectors/ushers.

 

 

I'd disagree with the idea that there are no lower-income people on cruises. There are many people who take their children and grandchildren on family cruises that they could not afford on their own.

[gymjudge55]

I have thought a lot about this topic, maybe because there are so many discussions on here about it! I think it comes down to what a cruise means to you. For many on this board cruising is an event, they cruise one to two times every year, the itinerary is secondary to the experience on the ship. Then you have others (like me I admit) who view it as a floating hotel and a way to from point A to point B. This will most likely be our first and only cruise, and we saw it as an almost necessary way to get back from Denali to Vancouver and see the inside passage of Alaska. Alaska is our purpose for the trip and we wanted a base to see as much as possible without packing constantly and changing hotels.

I just can't wrap my mind around formal clothes for a one time event in my life. I find all the comments and this topic very interesting though, you can really see the true cruisers on this board.

That being said, I would not 'ruin' anyone's enjoyment of formal night, we are in Blu and will be dressed smart casual or cocktail attire.

[librarylady19]

Thanks Larry. That has been my experience also. Sometimes, I think people see what they want (or have selective recall!).

How did you enjoy Blu? Has the menu been changed (hope not).

[PQJ]

Sorry, don't believe it...

 

Yeah right,and I won Power Ball 5 straight drawings:D:D:D:D:D

 

You are free to believe whatever you want but that doesn't change the facts as I experienced them. Again, my only purpose here is to correct the spread of misinformation for the benefit of folks who feel like I do.

[junglejane]

For a Dress Code thread discussion, this one is staying, in most part, pretty civil. Realize in the discussion over womens dress (finally we talked about something else that what us guys wear/dont wear), understand what the term 'Formal' means and that women in the photos arent following that in most cases, but just as a reminder, here is the formal (yeeyee) Celebrity definition for 'Formal':

 

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown or dressy pantsuit

Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit or dinner jacket with slacks.

 

All those in the photos, including the guy in the corner wearing the white dinner jacket (neat one!) and the younger woman in the very short dress (right on....love it!) are in compliance.

 

But lets not quit talking about what women wear.....I'm so tired of hearing (well, reading actually) about us men and how tired we get putting a tie on and how hot we get wearing a jacket in an airconditioned 'building'.....its exhausting I tell you! If you dont want to wear it, dont, but quit with the excuses.

 

Den

 

With regard to us women, I think that many stretch the definition of "cocktail dress" beyond any reasonable bounds. If you would wear the dress to church or work (unless you work as a nightclub hostess or something) then IMHO it's not a cocktail dress. Just because it's black doesn't make it a cocktail dress. Any old cotton sundress doesn't qualify as a cocktail dress just because it's backless.

 

It's not that I am bothered by women wearing these outfits on formal nights. It's just that I see a disconnect between the dress code applied to men and that applied to women. As one of the ladies said on the "ladies formal night poll" thread, if my DH is wearing a tux to a land based black tie event, I would feel compelled to wear a long gown. But on a cruise it seems that women are held to a lower standard. That's not to say that there aren't long gowns and beautiful cocktail dresses, just that women can and do get away with less.

 

A man is criticized if he wears a sport coat instead of a suit. But it just seems to me that the man in the sport coat may be surrounded by women who aren't any more formally dressed than he is, and yet the maitre d' will never stop a woman at the door to the MDR and say, "Madam, that is a cotton sundress, not a cocktail dress! Go back and change."

 

I think what it comes down to is that men have a "uniform" that is easily described and recognized: dark suit or tux. But "cocktail dress" is just way too amorphous a term and no Maitre d' wants to argue with some lady about her outfit. ;)

[Oxo]

'Same ole Stuff, Just a different day!'

This subject will never lay.

We beat it to death

Just to say.

What difference does it make

Do it Your Way.

[PQJ]

It's not that I am bothered by women wearing these outfits on formal nights. It's just that I see a disconnect between the dress code applied to men and that applied to women.

 

I don't see a disconnect at all. While I recognize that some enjoy the 'formal' nature of formal night (and don't have any issues with it, btw), the fact is that formal nights on contemporary, mass-market cruise ships are not even remotely close to land-based 'black tie' affairs.

[Bridge Maven]

A few differences between men and women regarding formal night at sea.

 

Most women don't like to be seen in the same outfit twice during a cruise, so if there are three different formal nights she will probably pack three different formal outfits. Men on the other hand can wear the same suit or tux for all three of them.

 

It is relatively easy for men to find the perfect suit or tux, because they don't have to be appropriate for his age or body type. It just has to fit properly.

 

A woman, on the other hand, needs to consider what is age appropriate and suited for her body type, as well as how it fits.

 

One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot more women on formal night who wear clothes that are too tight for them or inappropriate for their body type than men do.

[ORV]

Didn't say the average Celebrity cruiser.

 

According to the Internal Revenue Service in 2009 an income of just under $350,000 was in the 1%.

 

I would bet my shoe buttons that there are 1%ers here at CC.

 

Obviously, otherwise how would they sell those expensive suites?

 

The expensive lines pride themselves at not having formal nights. Every night is "country club casual" but in their brochures, all the ladies are as dressed as they can be without wearing gowns and the gents are wearing suits and ties or blazers. I get a kick out of it, personally.

 

Not all of them, Silversea, Crystal, Seabourne, Cunard, all still have formal I believe.

 

Oceania, Azamara, Regent & Seadream and maybe a few others are all resort casual. Of course you're not going to see people in t shirts and jeans at dinner on these lines.

[bowlinmoe]

I'm doing a suit, shirt and tie. No way am I wearing a tux.

[emcee207]

You are free to believe whatever you want but that doesn't change the facts as I experienced them. Again, my only purpose here is to correct the spread of misinformation for the benefit of folks who feel like I do.

 

Re: this post. PLEASE Moderator, Kill this thread:cool:

 

As they say, stick a fork in it, it is dead!! Over worked, lots of BS and this thing has been beaten beaten beaten to death. Show some mercy!

[Karynanne]

A few differences between men and women regarding formal night at sea.

 

Most women don't like to be seen in the same outfit twice during a cruise, so if there are three different formal nights she will probably pack three different formal outfits. Men on the other hand can wear the same suit or tux for all three of them.

 

It is relatively easy for men to find the perfect suit or tux, because they don't have to be appropriate for his age or body type. It just has to fit properly.

 

A woman, on the other hand, needs to consider what is age appropriate and suited for her body type, as well as how it fits.

 

One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot more women on formal night who wear clothes that are too tight for them or inappropriate for their body type than men do.

 

Oh my, you may have opened a new can of worms regarding clothing that is too tight or inappropriate for a particular body type.

 

And I highly doubt that economic status has to do with good clothing taste. Just look at todays celebrities. They wear couture clothing that at times, would not be considered appropriate for Formal Night on a Celebrity cruise.

[ghstudio]

Re: this post. PLEASE Moderator, Kill this thread:cool:

 

As they say, stick a fork in it, it is dead!! Over worked, lots of BS and this thing has been beaten beaten beaten to death. Show some mercy!

 

 

While you are right...this topic has been thrashed to death, I think the thread should remain open because if it's closed, we will have a new one by the weekend. Just leave this open....someone will post an opinion each day, someone else will disagree with them and there will always be a post on the first page so someone won't open a new thread on the same topic.

[Captain Jake]

You are free to believe whatever you want but that doesn't change the facts as I experienced them. Again, my only purpose here is to correct the spread of misinformation for the benefit of folks who feel like I do.

yeah,whatever.

I guess photos flushed your mis information down the toilet.

Get over it 1 Happy

:cj

[Captain Jake]

A few differences between men and women regarding formal night at sea.

 

Most women don't like to be seen in the same outfit twice during a cruise, so if there are three different formal nights she will probably pack three different formal outfits. Men on the other hand can wear the same suit or tux for all three of them.

 

It is relatively easy for men to find the perfect suit or tux, because they don't have to be appropriate for his age or body type. It just has to fit properly.

 

A woman, on the other hand, needs to consider what is age appropriate and suited for her body type, as well as how it fits.

 

One thing I have noticed is that there are a lot more women on formal night who wear clothes that are too tight for them or inappropriate for their body type than men do.

 

my wife always looks great on formal night,though I must admit she looks great every other night as well

:cj

[PQJ]

yeah,whatever.

I guess photos flushed your mis information down the toilet.

Get over it 1 Happy

:cj

 

Yeah, whatever, right back at ya.

 

All that that particular picture shows is what those particular people were wearing at that particular point in time on that particular ship. No more and no less.

 

It would appear, Captain, as if you are none too pleased with the fact that the industry generally is trending more in the direction of less formality. I would submit that you are the one who needs a little getting over.

 

Enjoy your day. I've said my piece and won't be returning to this topic, no matter what invective you or anyone else may sling my way.

 

(Be sure to come say hi next time you see me in the MDR, on a non-formal night, in jeans and a T.)

[Bridge Maven]

my wife always looks great on formal night,though I must admit she looks great every other night as well

:cj

 

Captain Jake - What a nice husband. Your wife is lucky to have you :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NewSalt]

Re: this post. PLEASE Moderator, Kill this thread:cool:

 

As they say, stick a fork in it, it is dead!! Over worked, lots of BS and this thing has been beaten beaten beaten to death. Show some mercy!

 

Or you could just SOB.

[emcee207]

While you are right...this topic has been thrashed to death, I think the thread should remain open because if it's closed, we will have a new one by the weekend. Just leave this open....someone will post an opinion each day, someone else will disagree with them and there will always be a post on the first page so someone won't open a new thread on the same topic.

 

LOL, GHStudio, you are absolutely correct, new found respect for you. Why close it now??!!!!;)