Women - Formal nights dress poll

[Presto2]

Until we went on a P&O cruise hubby and I have never done formal wear - well, apart from when we got married ! We 'did' formal wear (black tie for hubby and evening gown for me) on our first Oceana cruise.

 

We can't believe that we love to dress up - but we do --- so formal wear / long evenig dresses for us !

 

:D

[snausman]

I always wear a formal long dress for formal nights. And on 14 nights and longer I just bring more. No big deal, easy to pack. I also take them when we do European cruises. And I do not check luggage it is all carry on.

 

Laura

[SusieV]

A formal floor length dress most of the time. I dress up most nights even if it's not formal night (especially if we're eating at Murano) and I save my cocktail length dresses for those nights.

[SantaAna,CA]

Always a floor length gown. I love dressing up on formal nights!

[ChiGal1962]

Tea length or floor length for me on formal nights. I generally bring two "formal" outfits, and repeat one if it's a long cruise.

 

I'm with the "dress up every night" crowd, although I save the dressiest for formal nights. Ever since I broke my ankle many moons ago, I haven't been able to wear heels, so I wear the dressiest flats I can find.

 

And most of my dresses are empire waist, so that helps the fit as the cruise goes on... :D

[clampsa]

I'm a cocktail/sequin knee length dress gal. I own several floor length gowns but I only wear those to formal work functions that I attend. For the cruise I wear my fun formal wear that as a partner at an accounting firm wouldn't really fit the bill for a formal work function. :)

[CarolinaMamma]

Uh oh. Am I gng to look out of place in my long, turquoise, beaded dress next week? It is crepe, so not satiny but still may fall into the "prom dress" category.

 

I can still pack a black cocktail dress if I hear on this thread that the other would be "too much." dh and my sons are wearing tuxes, my 5 year old a tea length taffeta dress. this is. 5 night Caribbean cruise.

 

Honest advice would be appreciated. Thanks, ladies!

[DavidYYC]

Yeah I'm not David just for clarity.

 

For my first cruise I wore one floor length dress(not a ball gown) in a sort of Aquamarine...and the other was below knee and a fuller skirt. Both of them were easy to pack.

 

I have a Black silk jersey dress that travels very well and is easy to accessorize. I usually take that and another.

 

I like to dress up and very seldom wear dresses - so like the opportunity to do so. I always notice what they other women wear and a good percentage are in nice dresses.

 

My daughter is 17 and a size 4...she wears cute little figure hugging, short dresses and looks lovely!

[DavidYYC]

Uh oh. Am I gng to look out of place in my long, turquoise, beaded dress next week? It is crepe, so not satiny but still may fall into the "prom dress" category.

 

I can still pack a black cocktail dress if I hear on this thread that the other would be "too much." dh and my sons are wearing tuxes, my 5 year old a tea length taffeta dress. this is. 5 night Caribbean cruise.

 

Honest advice would be appreciated. Thanks, ladies!

 

I think you'll be fine.

[clampsa]

Uh oh. Am I gng to look out of place in my long, turquoise, beaded dress next week? It is crepe, so not satiny but still may fall into the "prom dress" category.

 

I can still pack a black cocktail dress if I hear on this thread that the other would be "too much." dh and my sons are wearing tuxes, my 5 year old a tea length taffeta dress. this is. 5 night Caribbean cruise.

 

Honest advice would be appreciated. Thanks, ladies!

 

Not at alll!! Wear it! You'll look great and feel great. I always admire the women who wear the full length gowns I just can't find it in me to pack mine..they are boring black and navy so not as "fun" as my other cocktail clothes.

[luxcruiser58]

I still do when required but it seems like many of the cruises that I have been on lately do not have Formal nights and I prefer that.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I wear long gowns but not prom or ball gowns. Depending on the length of the cruise I take 1 or 2 and wear one twice.

[TeaBag]

I also wear long dresses and they're not frou frou dresses. They are simple and elegant and yes, I can roll them up and they still look fine. We don't have to worry about luggage on the airline but we do have to worry about lugging them about!

[Nebr.cruiser]

I usually wear cocktail dresses and/or black skirt or pants with sparkly tops. I'm on the lookout for a new long gown that is easily packable and elegant. I have some long gowns that I haven't worn for a while and seem out of date to me.

 

Also, my husband isn't taking his tux anymore, so a true ball gown would look a little funny to me.

[middlehaitch]

Long formal (not ball gowns which are for balls) dresses for the formal nights and mainly cocktail dresses for every other night. I am trying to decide if it is worth taking seperates...black pants/skirt and a few fancy tops.. they take up more room than a handfull of cocktail dresses and can be more constricting around my ever expanding waist. Dresses are cooler to wear in warm climates too.

Yes, I have dresses that are for the start of the cruise and others for the end; when I have eaten a few too many deserts and drank way too much wine :D.

Cheers,h.

.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I'm in the silk pants, dressy top group!! So easy to pack.

 

Me too.

[AMAC86]

This makes me laugh. Us women can get away w/ slacks/skirt & a blouse (which is what I wear to work each day) as "formal" night wear...but the men have to wear suits or tuxes to be considered "formal".

This also makes me laugh. Although, for women it seems much more complicated because what they wear has to be age appropriate and flattering to their body style. Men? We all wear the same thing no matter how old or what our shape is! :D

[mimbecky]

I love long and sparkling and usually feel overdressed but I don't care as there are few chances wear true "formals" anymore. Husband wears a tux. Second formal night definitely the looser fitting of the two I bring :D

[sunnydaze]

Interesting thread, as I'm thinking of what to pack right now. The airline weight restrictions are my biggest problem. Just one suitcase can easily be overweight. Back dress pants can go a long way.

[Eightydays]

All of the above ... (just kidding).

 

It depends. If we are cruising in the Caribbean it is always short cocktail dresses. In the Med or Northern Europe, it might be a combination of short and long, but the long would be simply cut and light. When we did a British Isles and Norway cruise I believe I wore a mid-calf dressy black skirt with different dressy tops because we had to pack a lot of sweaters.

 

I actually find it easier to pack clothes for the evenings because they are almost, always light spaghetti strap type dresses.

[Pris13]

I do the long gowns as well, not ball gowns and definitely not prom - that was way too many years ago! I wear cocktail/dressy the other nights because I love to dress up.

[OCruisers]

There are some lovely lace tops that go great with black silk pants. Those with beads weight so much more. :)

[Kellie Poodle]

Poll for all the women - I know there are lots of questions on this topic but in this day and age how many of you women out there wear a formal floor length dress or a formal cocktail dress on formal nights?

 

Thanks

 

 

I do. I have 3, but take 2. I usually wear a cocktail dress the last formal night if I'm on a cruise with 3 formal nights. I love getting dressed up!

[Kellie Poodle]

Wearing a long gown doesn't mean wearing a poofy prom dress whatsoever. I wear gowns that are jersey w/beading or chiffon w/beading. They are lite-weight and pack extremely well. They actually weigh less than slacks or beaded tops.

 

 

Mine, too. Even with packing a shawl to go with each, it's still lighter than any beaded anything.

[ariawoman]

Thinking about this - it also depends on your size. If you're a size 4 you have more room to pack things because well, plainly put, the clothes are smaller. When you're a 16+, not as much room.

 

If i were in the single digits, I think I'd have more fun with the formal nights because well, it might be a little easier to find something flattering, but being a 14/16 - not so much with the easy.

 

I've always said I'd rather be a man when it comes to this. Suit or tux and no more thinking. So much easier. We have to worry about jewelry, hair, makeup, fingernails, purse/no purse, shawl, blah blah blah it's exhausting being a woman! lol