Dress Code & Good Manners

[monkeyluis]

Business casual is how we dress. No jacket for me, I get hot too easily, & sometimes a tie. That's it. I don't do suits or tuxes. We dress the kids the same too, casual but nice & they always look cute. I want to be comfortable & relaxed.

[lysolqn]

Thanks Ma Bell.

 

A picture is really worth 1,000 words. Why Can't X just put up photos of "Formal" on the web site? That would make things so much easier for the average traveller. But, of course, these threads wouldn't be as much fun!;)

 

JMHO but adults should be well beyond picture books by the time they book a cruise. Anyone who isn't sure what X means by its explanation of formal - either on its website or in its sales materials/brochures - should google it. If they're really lucky, there'll be pictures too!

[fair-winds39]

For me and my DH, I don't really care what anyone else wears or doesn't wear to the MDR. It's not going to ruin my vacation. I just consider the source, and realize that whatever they wear is their choice. I must admit though, I can't help but wonder what some of these people might wear to a wedding?

 

Years ago, yes many years ago, you adhered to the "suggested" dress code out of respect for the captain of the vessel. On formal nights, it was also requested that everyone stay in their formal wear for the entire formal evening, rather than returning to your cabin to change into jeans or cut-off shorts for the night. A cruise vacation at one time was considered a luxury, but it's now very affordable vacation, and great for families, and that's a good thing. Also, we live in a casual world not only on cruise ships, but in classrooms, workplaces, etc. I think today, rather than the choice of dress in the MDR, it's more about manners. Wear whatever you want (within reason), but chew your food with your mouth shut, ask politely for the salt and pepper, remove the baseball cap, etc., etc.

[Karynanne]

JMHO but adults should be well beyond picture books by the time they book a cruise. Anyone who isn't sure what X means by its explanation of formal - either on its website or in its sales materials/brochures - should google it. If they're really lucky, there'll be pictures too!

 

I'm in agreement with you...passengers SHOULD know what the definition of formal. But so many do not, or choose to ignore it.

[babyher]

for me and my dh, i don't really care what anyone else wears or doesn't wear to the mdr. It's not going to ruin my vacation. I just consider the source, and realize that whatever they wear is their choice. I must admit though, i can't help but wonder what some of these people might wear to a wedding?

 

Years ago, yes many years ago, you adhered to the "suggested" dress code out of respect for the captain of the vessel. On formal nights, it was also requested that everyone stay in their formal wear for the entire formal evening, rather than returning to your cabin to change into jeans or cut-off shorts for the night. A cruise vacation at one time was considered a luxury, but it's now very affordable vacation, and great for families, and that's a good thing. Also, we live in a casual world not only on cruise ships, but in classrooms, workplaces, etc. I think today, rather than the choice of dress in the mdr, it's more about manners. Wear whatever you want (within reason), but chew your food with your mouth shut, ask politely for the salt and pepper, remove the baseball cap, etc., etc.

 

 

 

*like*

[KaththeTaff]

I am NOT being argumentative AT ALL here when I ask whether or not the dress code, according to my recollection of the statement in the daily newspaper, includes the "public areas" of the ship, from dinner hour onwards? OK, so I have just gone and looked up my copies of Celebrity Today! from 2006. "This evening's dress code: Formal " (a specific definition of "formal" is then printed.) Below this, regarding the "Casual Dining Boulevard," it reads "The dress code is casual every day. Although in all other areas the dress code of the evening applies. We kindly ask for your cooperation and consideration for your fellow guests."

 

On our Silhouette cruise last year it was clear that the dress code only applied to the MDR and the theatre. I don't know whether this is different from ship to ship or whether it is just agradual relaxation over the years across the whole line.

 

Interestingly, DH cruised with P&O in 2006 when there were three levels of evening attire, smart casual, semi formal and formal. He remembers that the dress code then applied to the whole of the ship

 

Now that I think of it, if that is the expectation, people could get a feeling that they had to hide away on formal nights not to be seen unless dressed up -- but then again, people dressed casually who intend to eat in the casual eatery have to travel through the public parts of the ship!

 

Indeed! It seems problematic if a particular type of attire was expected ine very part of the vessel (what about on deck, and how do you get there?!)

 

In practice, as DH remembers on P&O, I expect that people would be allowed to pass through the parts of the ship such as corridors, stairs and elevators!

 

So in the end, formal night is great for those who want to dress up and stroll around the ship looking spiffy. Their expectation (and that of the cruise line) is that those desiring to dress casually would not hide themselves away, but would certainly not eat in the dining room, and would perhaps refrain from lingering in the social areas of the ship where more formal dress was the norm?

 

I think the aim of the cruise line is that the vast majority will abide by the dress code in the MDR, and that the very few who don't will be either given advice and turned away, or helped by such things as the provision of a jacket.

 

It is the variable application of these 'solutions' that seems to create so much discussion, but clearly it is in the interests of the company to accommodate as many people's preferences as they can within a broad spectrum.

 

We always dress tidily in the evening, DH inists on wearing either smart trousers or chinos and a collared shirt of some description rather than a t-shirt, but sometimes we don't want to go down the route of following the dress code. In order to make life easier for everyone, and avoid the embarrassment of being turned away from the MDR, we are happy to eat elsewhere on those occasions.

 

Ultimately, the ship is probably not much different from a large city, where people in formal dress might walk down the street on their way to a nice dinner, passing many people in sweats and tank tops who were heading for the grocery store or the gym. The formally dressed people would not expect to see everyone else on the sidewalk dressed to the nines just because they themselves were, but would also not expect to see the sweats and tees at the restaurant they intended to eat at, the opera house they visited afterward, or the cocktail lounge where they enjoyed a nightcap.

 

I agree with all that, apart from the bit about the cocktail lounge (perhaps because we don't really have such things around here!).

 

Seriously, the dress code expected in our bars and nightclubs has changed a lot since I was young a couple of decades ago. Everything is now much more casual than it used to be.

 

I am one who LOVES formal night, and cruises those lines which maintain it, if I can. My husband wears a suit or jacket and a tie, and I, a cocktail dress, as described in the code. We don't own true "formal wear."

 

That is what we wear, when we go to the formal nights. As we usually go on cruises that will have three such nights, we don't always attend every one, especially when, as was the case last year, one came at the end of a busy port day in Valletta! (nobody seemed in any way perturbed that some were already in their formal attire at sailaway while others had just come back aboard in their shorts and vests!)

 

To sum up, I think our position is that we do like to dress up now and again, but equally if we don't fancy it on a particular evening we will do our own thing and not try and impose our wishes on everyone else. We also do like to see, and be, smartly dressed people, but you can still be smartly dressed without adhering to the dress code.

[gek]

Did you write this? I thought you said you were traveling with your teen-aged daughters.

 

 

That report was from the Solstice. I was actually referring to a previous shorter cruise we did in 2011. I confused things by mentioning Aqua class because that was not an S-class ship. We ate in the buffet on the first formal night.

[MicCanberra]

That report was from the Solstice. I was actually referring to a previous shorter cruise we did in 2011. I confused things by mentioning Aqua class because that was not an S-class ship. We ate in the buffet on the first formal night.

I would like to have the opportunity to get my cruises confused as it would mean I am doing more cruises. :D

IMHO, formal nights should be just that, if people dress formal (to their thinking) then let them. If people do not want to dress up formally, then so be it. I certainly do not care what others do unless it affects me directly, then I may say something to them about it.:D

[gek]

I would like to have the opportunity to get my cruises confused as it would mean I am doing more cruises. :D

IMHO, formal nights should be just that, if people dress formal (to their thinking) then let them. If people do not want to dress up formally, then so be it. I certainly do not care what others do unless it affects me directly, then I may say something to them about it.:D

 

Yes, I was just thinking about how I am starting to get all my cruises muddled up in my head. Not that I am an extremely frequent cruiser but the details of a few I did almost back to back in 2011 are extremely jumbled. I was talking to someone about watching a movie in the cinema on a cruise we did together when he pointed out that there was no cinema on that ship. I was thinking of a cruise I did in 2003. :eek::confused:

 

And I agree 100% with your comments on formal night.

[MicCanberra]

Yes, I was just thinking about how I am starting to get all my cruises muddled up in my head. Not that I am an extremely frequent cruiser but the details of a few I did almost back to back in 2011 are extremely jumbled. I was talking to someone about watching a movie in the cinema on a cruise we did together when he pointed out that there was no cinema on that ship. I was thinking of a cruise I did in 2003. :eek::confused:

 

And I agree 100% with your comments on formal night.

That is a big difference, but time does fly (sail by) when your having fun.:D

[Ma Bell]

That report was from the Solstice. I was actually referring to a previous shorter cruise we did in 2011. I confused things by mentioning Aqua class because that was not an S-class ship. We ate in the buffet on the first formal night.

 

So you have never been in the MDR on Celebrity.

[RocketMan275]

It's certainly true that you don't have to be a snob to enjoy formal nights but would it make that much difference if Celebrity's dress code was treated as suggested guidelines rather than enforceable rules? In practice it oscillates between the two and this creates confusion.

 

An excellent question. I truly do not understand why what another person wears or does not wear should subtract from or enhance one's experience. I do not believe in giving such power over my happiness to any one else.

 

If I choose to 'dress up', then I do so because of the happiness it gives me and not because of how it affects others. Nor, will I allow my enjoyment of a situation to be affected by any other person's appearance or dress.

[POPDISPLAY]

I think the aim of the cruise line is that the vast majority will abide by the dress code in the MDR, and that the very few who don't will be either given advice and turned away, or helped by such things as the provision of a jacket.

I think the aim of the cruise line is to sell obscenely expensive photographs of people wearing formalwear. Renting tuxedos is a profit center as well. Forget your tie? We'll sell you one. Need your shoes shined? We've got it covered. Your dress or tux need pressing? We're here to help. For a fee, of course.

[MicCanberra]

I think the aim of the cruise line is to sell obscenely expensive photographs of people wearing formalwear. Renting tuxedos is a profit center as well. Forget your tie? We'll sell you one. Need your shoes shined? We've got it covered. Your dress or tux need pressing? We're here to help. For a fee, of course.

Now smile, :D that will be $25 thanks.:eek:

[gek]

I think the aim of the cruise line is to sell obscenely expensive photographs of people wearing formalwear. Renting tuxedos is a profit center as well. Forget your tie? We'll sell you one. Need your shoes shined? We've got it covered. Your dress or tux need pressing? We're here to help. For a fee, of course.

 

Don't forget all the extra people who pay to eat in the specialty restaurants.

[knowehead]

The service on X is so good that I am sure you can ask the assistant waiter to chew your food for you. You should tip him for his service but that's a topic for another discussion.:D

 

Lol if it is anything like the steaks on Hal it will need to be a big tip

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[tip]

An excellent question. I truly do not understand why what another person wears or does not wear should subtract from or enhance one's experience. I do not believe in giving such power over my happiness to any one else.

 

If I choose to 'dress up', then I do so because of the happiness it gives me and not because of how it affects others. Nor, will I allow my enjoyment of a situation to be affected by any other person's appearance or dress.

 

Agreed!

[monkeyluis]

I think the aim of the cruise line is to sell obscenely expensive photographs of people wearing formalwear. Renting tuxedos is a profit center as well. Forget your tie? We'll sell you one. Need your shoes shined? We've got it covered. Your dress or tux need pressing? We're here to help. For a fee, of course.

 

Totally agree. I mentioned how this was a waste of money in another thread, yet I get berated for stating my opinion. Oh well.

[Rick-cruiser]

berated?.. on the Celebrity threads?.. shocking.

 

.

[SeagoingMom]

we are first time cruisers and now I wish I had never looked at this forum

 

Dressing up for us is obviously what cruise ship consider casual guess we won't be leaving our cabins formal nights :rolleyes:

 

I feel badly that reading this (or any) CC forum would cause you to feel "scared" (except for being afraid, being VERY afraid) that you might meet some of the really venomous posters that do show up from time to time carrying the axe that they are always grinding. :mad: Sometimes even I, a slightly more experienced cruiser and a frequent CC reader get a sick feeling in my stomach when I read the numerous forcefully negative, personally insulting posts and arguments that appear (NOT, of course, on THIS forum : ) :p

 

But do not despair -- for what it is worth, you now know that either you might consider packing somewhat less casual garments, or when formal night comes, wear your best "duds", walk around the ship, scope out the sartorial situation and go where you feel you will be most comfortable.

 

Trust me, no matter how many "cruise snobs" might elbow their husbands at the dining table and signal with their eyes where he should look to see the person(s) who are "out of uniform" in her opinion, I cannot imagine that any of those snobs would ever, EVER say anything to the person they are dissatisfied with!

 

People-watching is a recreational activity performed by its aficianados just as readily on a cruise ship as anywhere, and when has people-watching ever not included a healthy dose of personal, self-satisfied judgment? [insert cynical emoticon]

[chill6x6]

An excellent question. I truly do not understand why what another person wears or does not wear should subtract from or enhance one's experience. I do not believe in giving such power over my happiness to any one else.

 

If I choose to 'dress up', then I do so because of the happiness it gives me and not because of how it affects others. Nor, will I allow my enjoyment of a situation to be affected by any other person's appearance or dress.

 

+1. You know you worded that about perfectly!:)

[Beachdude]

An excellent question. I truly do not understand why what another person wears or does not wear should subtract from or enhance one's experience. I do not believe in giving such power over my happiness to any one else.

 

If I choose to 'dress up', then I do so because of the happiness it gives me and not because of how it affects others. Nor, will I allow my enjoyment of a situation to be affected by any other person's appearance or dress.

 

These disucssions always come back to "me me" and "it's my cruise" and "to heck with anyone around me". Since this is a discussion of manners, putting yourself first is bad manners. You should be receptive to what I want, not you. If everyone behaved with the other person in mind first, we wouldn't have these kinds of discussion. You have choices, other cruise lines and buffets being a few.

 

Of course I don't see these problems so much on a Celebrity ship or even Princess ships. Most folks seem to dress according to expectation. Carnival is a different matter, I have seen camo and tank tops in their MDRs. Which is why we aren't crusing Carnival anymore.

 

Burt

[SeagoingMom]

The irony is that many folks who choose to ignore the dress code are often the same folks who go off the deep end when other pax choose to engage in poolside chair-hogging, smoking in non-smoking areas, jumping buffet lines, saving seats in the theater, etc. It appears that many of the "It's my cruise, I paid for it, I'll wear/do as I wish" mentality aren't quite so generous toward or particularly tolerant of fellow pax with the same I'll-do-as-I-please mindset.

Of course not. Selfishness never tolerates itself in others.

[babyher]

These disucssions always come back to "me me" and "it's my cruise" and "to heck with anyone around me". Since this is a discussion of manners, putting yourself first is bad manners. You should be receptive to what I want, not you. If everyone behaved with the other person in mind first, we wouldn't have these kinds of discussion. You have choices, other cruise lines and buffets being a few.

 

Of course I don't see these problems so much on a Celebrity ship or even Princess ships. Most folks seem to dress according to expectation. Carnival is a different matter, I have seen camo and tank tops in their MDRs. Which is why we aren't crusing Carnival anymore.

 

Burt

 

 

So as long as YOU get what YOU want , I am not selfish.

 

 

What do YOU do for ME to prove YOU aren't selfish ?

[SeagoingMom]

Would either of these outfits be acceptable on formal Night? The first one seems to meet X's dress code but is it formal?

:D:D I, personally, would want Rowan Atkinson to be allowed into the MDR on ANY night on ANY ship, Celebrity or otherwise, wearing anything he chose! :D:D Even so, his outfit does not meet the dress code, as it is not a tux, dinner jacket, nor suit. Sport coat and slacks is not on the list. And Ralph Lauren would still have to put on slacks! However, I'll bet neither would be turned away, for obvious reasons -- I imagine Celebrity, like everyone, has an unwritten rule which defines "deep pockets" as meeting and indeed surpassing all other rules.