Tux, Suit or Sports Jacket

[bluemarlin65]

I'm sure this question has been asked before. On formal nights are most men wearing tuxes or suits or sport jackets? Is there any difference in the fixed seating area from the open seating area? We will be on a New Zealand cruise in December.

[michmike]

Do whichever of those 3 options YOU are most comfortable with... but rest assured that if you go with the most casual, the sport coat, you'll fit in just fine. Just bring a nice pair of dress slacks to go with it and wear a dress shirt and tie. Last 3 or 4 cruises that I have been on, tuxes have been 20% of the crowd at best.

[kazu]

My DH has worn everything from a tux to a dark suit to his sports jacket. He has outstanding shirts to go with the sports jacket and I actually prefer it - but whatever he decides to pack is fine with me:) and fine on the cruise:D

 

How long is your cruise? if it's a 7 - 10 day I would lean to the sports jacket only for the flexibility (think dinner in the Pinnacle Grill or a pre or post cruise stay where you might want to have a jacket for dinner)

 

Whatever you CHOOSE is fine - enjoy, relax and have a great cruise:)

[bluemarlin65]

Thanks for the replies. We are on a 24 day cruise and I would like to minmize the packing. I have the tux, it is just that we haven't been on a cruise in probably 10 years that is still doing formal nights and as things have become less formal in many venues I had a feeling that most men had switched to suits or sports jackets. Having said all that since this is a litttle longer cruise, the typical age of the passengers tends to go up and I thought it might be more formal.

[kazu]

Thanks for the replies. We are on a 24 day cruise and I would like to minmize the packing. I have the tux, it is just that we haven't been on a cruise in probably 10 years that is still doing formal nights and as things have become less formal in many venues I had a feeling that most men had switched to suits or sports jackets. Having said all that since this is a litttle longer cruise, the typical age of the passengers tends to go up and I thought it might be more formal.

 

Having done your length of cruise - here's my best guess -(but I don't know where you are going) I would give 30-40% to tuxes and the rest will be dark suit or sports jacket.

 

Nothing wrong with a tux (at all;);)) and although casual is fine in the Pinnacle on non formal nights I have found a number of men wear a jacket on certain cruises - a tux won't give you that lee way. The only negative I can think of for a tux;)

 

Seriously take what YOU want - you'll be fine - within code and no one really looks at what anyone else is wearing.

 

here's what really matters - you FEEL good, you FEEL you look good and you are wearing something that YOU ENJOY to wear:)

 

JMVHO though:)

[sail7seas]

DH wore tuxedo all formal nights for about 20 years on cruises.

He now wears a dark suit.

Tuxedo is certainly still appropriate and appreciated but far fewer gentlemen now wear them than in the not so distant past.

Choice is yours....... HAL states the code for gentlemen, on formal night, as jacket and tie. Anything that meets that description is probably just fine.

[PathfinderEss]

Yes, I think you will find on a longer cruise, as you said, a little bit older crowd but in saying that I think you will see a mixture of tuxes, suits and sports coat. I personally happen to think that it takes just as much room to pack a suit as it does a tux. Do whatever you DH feels he wants to wear.

[tcook052]

I'm sure this question has been asked before.

 

Me too.

[lovetocruise2020]

DH does tux on formal nights and other nights sport coat polo tan pants and deck shoes... We are 32 and 33.

[RevNeal]

On a 24 Day cruise you will have quite a few Formal Nights (5 or 6), so having a variety of "looks" will be helpful. That's where a Tuxedo can be a space-saver for guys: true, the pants/jacket portion remains the same, but two different types of formal tux shirts and 3 or more different bow-tie-cummerbund/vest combination sets will give you the ability to vary the outfit many different ways ... and with very little packing or additional weight in one's luggage.

 

Another suggestion: try actually WEARING the sports jacket, along with dockers or some such casual slacks (or even jeans), for transit to the port of embarkation, and that way you don't have pack it and you'll still have it available for dressing up a bit more on Smart Casual Nights in the Pinnacle, or wearing dress slacks, white dress shirt, and tie with it for yet another look on Formal Nights.

 

Regardless of what you try to do, the most important thing of all is to have a blast. Formal nights can be a lot of fun for those who like that "scene," so if you do enjoy it.

[GeriatricNurse]

I'm sure this question has been asked before. On formal nights are most men wearing tuxes or suits or sport jackets? Is there any difference in the fixed seating area from the open seating area? We will be on a New Zealand cruise in December.

 

I always dress smart casual on formal nights & dine in either the Lido or Canaletto! ;)

[Protseq]

On our Eurodam cruise, I had a Tux packed and wore it for the 3 formal nights. I don't know if I would do it again since I think a dark suit is sufficient now. I do recall getting a few smiles, from both ladies and gents, while strolling the corridors. Tom

[Krazy Kruizers]

DH always wears his tuxedo no matter the length of the cruise.

 

On longer cruises we have seen more tuxedos than on shorter cruises.

[mysweetness]

My dh and the other male members of my family always wear tuxes on the formal night.. they all say it makes the packing a lot easier and switch

out the shirts and ties to mix things up a bit.

Men look great in tuxedos:o..and it seems the older the crowd, the more tuxes you'll see.

If you own one, why not wear it?

[jaguarstyper]

The days of seeing a lot of gentlemen in tuxedos on HAL for formal nights seem to be behind us. I see less and less on every cruise I take and my last cruise, in Alaska, I could have counted the number of tuxedos on the fingers of one hand. I used to always were a tux for every formal night. But, in the spirit of going with the flow, I'm probably going to leave it home on the next cruise and go with a dark suit. I'm not usually very good at going with the flow, but I'll try to manage. Kind of sad, in my opinion.

[eandj]

Tuxes are in the minority on any of our cruises. Sport coats are seeming more popular than tuxes lately, on any length and time of year. Majority...suits. Can't go wrong with a nice dark suit. For packing purposes, I think lots of men wear the sportcoat on the plane and pack a couple dress pants and ties.

[geoherb]

We've taken our tuxedos on our HAL cruises. The passengers on HAL tend to dress up a bit more than the ones on Princess. We've only taken two HAL cruises, so I don't have a lot of first-hand knowledge, and the longest one was 10 nights.

 

The cruises where I've opted for a sports coat instead of a tuxedo have been our Alaskan cruises (on Princess) and our cruises that were less than a week, including a four-nighter on Celebrity and a five-nighter on Carnival.

[1160451]

Hello,

We are on the Ryndam for 3 weeks in January.

We are from the UK and this is our first time with HAL.

Our experience on all our previous cruises is Black Tie (tux) is still overwhelmingly adhered to on formal nights.

Formal nights are just that, and we all enjoy the occasion.

We certainly will be adhering in January.

Happy Cruising whatever anybody wears.

[Taxguy77]

Having done your length of cruise - here's my best guess -(but I don't know where you are going) I would give 30-40% to tuxes and the rest will be dark suit or sports jacket.

 

Nothing wrong with a tux (at all;);)) and although casual is fine in the Pinnacle on non formal nights I have found a number of men wear a jacket on certain cruises - a tux won't give you that lee way. The only negative I can think of for a tux;)

 

Seriously take what YOU want - you'll be fine - within code and no one really looks at what anyone else is wearing.

 

here's what really matters - you FEEL good, you FEEL you look good and you are wearing something that YOU ENJOY to wear:)

 

JMVHO though:)

 

I agree, what YOU feel good in.

We were on Azamara when it first started, dress code= informal. Most men did not pack a tie. We had dinner in one of the specialty venues, and two couples came for a drink at the bar before they were seated, both couples dressed in suit&tie and good dresses. They looked great, but I was comfortable in a new sportshirt.

The last cruise we were on (HAL) I took two dress shirts and ties. Then we found the Lido was nicer than the MDR (We couldn't get fixed and the open was :eek:) and I never unpacked them.

[Taxguy77]

Hello,

We are on the Ryndam for 3 weeks in January.

We are from the UK and this is our first time with HAL.

Our experience on all our previous cruises is Black Tie (tux) is still overwhelmingly adhered to on formal nights.

Formal nights are just that, and we all enjoy the occasion.

We certainly will be adhering in January.

Happy Cruising whatever anybody wears.

 

I've been to the British Isles in winter, and gained a lot more respect for a people that can live in that climate. (My grandkids loved it and so did DD, who lived there 5 years.)

I grew up in southern California and have lived in South Texas for about 45 years. The only place we can buy heavy clothing is in a sports equipment store, suits available range from tropical to very light. Churches are mostly very informal. And that's inland. On the Island, short pants for men is normal for all occaisions although a few may don long pants for a wedding or funeral.

I haven't worn a tux since my son got married over 25 years ago.

[Typhoon1]

You forgot the None of the above option.

[newyorkstock]

We have been discussing the same issues also since my husband and I are going on a 27 day cruise this winter as well to new zealand. Cruises seem to be getting less and less formal as the years go by. On our recent cruise to Bermuda on the Veendamn some men didn't even wear a tie on formal nights and I do not even remember seeing anyone in early seating in a tux. Most wore sports coats and my husband wore his suit. On this upcoming cruise he wants to get a light sports coat - one as light as his suit jacket so we do not have to pack as heavy and the sports coat will allow him to double use the pants with and without the coat - which he feels that he cannot do with suit pants and because we are also planning to do a long land tour before the cruise. Most importantly I feel that it is not worth arguing about, I let my husband do what he wants in packing as long as I do not have to share or carry his suitcase. I am also thrilled that he wants to go shopping for new clothes.

[Spender Nui]

I used to bring the tux and also a white dinner jacket. Then when times changed I went to the dark suit. Now it's the blue blazer, with tie of course. Much easier for travel too.

[clanlabcooker]

On the Westerdam in Alaska (9/11) the formal nights seemed to be suits (1), tuxes (2) and sport coats (3). In the Pinnacle on formal nights the tuxes outnumbered suits by at least 2:1 and I only saw one sport coat. My perception is that, when I am wearing a tux and my DW has a floor length dress, we receive just that "extra" little bit of service that makes the meal one of the something special things you love to take home from a cruise.

[Opinions]

My perception is that, when I am wearing a tux and my DW has a floor length dress, we receive just that "extra" little bit of service that makes the meal one of the something special things you love to take home from a cruise.

 

If the HAL service is as good as most agree here then as long as one is dressed according to code then there should not be any difference in the service one receives...I have worn tux, suit, jacket, etc. and have always felt I have received the best of service always.