Mariner's Dress Code for Kids

[Susan's Cruzin']

Hi everyone! I have just booked my first cruise on the Mariner for Spring Break 2006:D !! I'm so excited and am looking foward to learning a lot from you veterans. My kids, daughter, 9, and sons, 12 and 13, will be travelling with us. What is the accepted dining room dress for them, both for casual nights as well as formal nights? Thank you so much for your responses.

[Nliedel]

Same as for you. I am taking kakis for the boys and nice shirts for casual nights. They both want to go to Adventure Ocean's kids dinners on formal nights. They have made that VERY clear. I will take really nice sweaters and ties in case they decide to join us instead but I doubt it.

[Cyna]

My sons usually wore khaki pants every night. On informal nights they wore polo shirts and on casual nights they wore dress shirts. On formal nights they wore a dress shirt, tie, and blue blazer.

 

As an aside, my boys received so many compliments on how nice they looked....from our table mates, to the head waiter, to complete strangers. Many parents allowed their children to dress very casually, even on formal nights. I think the boys' attention to the suggested dress code was greatly appreciated by many.

[Cyna]

Oh.....I thought that the boys would probably be wearing the blue blazer for the cruise only, so I took them to the thrift store and got all three of them a blazer. I think I paid $4-6 for each of them.

 

Surprisingly enough, the boys got a lot of wear out of those blazers...weddings, funerals, dress-up affairs at church. When they outgrew them, I passed them along to a friend whose sons wore them on their cruise.

[42trvl]

With our children, we've always expected them to follow the dress code - I do not believe that because they are children any less should be expected from them. It's been a nice habit to get them used to whether on a ship or anywhere else we go. I will mention that our son actually likes wearing a tuxedo (he is a big James Bond fan...), and we could get one for a very reasonable price around here, but if he didn't want to wear a tux, I would at least have him wear a tie and jacket on formal night.

[Cruisemom39]

I agree - all four of my kids adhere to the adult dress code. My son wears a collared shirt on informal, shirt with tie on casual and sport jacket/tie on formal. Always wears regular trousers - no jeans or shorts ever. My girls always wear a dress; sundress on informal, "cocktail dress" for formal, complete with a wrap and purse. They choose to dine with us at all times, and enjoy dressing up (even my son). I don't think its fair to the adults on board to attend a formal evening next to children in jeans/shorts/other casual clothing. There are areas on the ship for that, but not in the dining room EVER in my opinion (adults or children, if you ask me).

[Cruisemom39]

I never really understand the mentality of parents who obviously go to great lengths to make themselves look attractive (on formal nights, for instance) yet can't seem to throw together a decent outfit for their child. It doesn't have to cost a fortune, either. Now is the best time to start buying that stuff, as all the fall clothing has hit the racks. You can find great deals on kids clothes. Stores like Target, Old Navy, Children's Place have great stuff. By the way, anywhere that sells school uniforms will have sales on button down shirts, dress pants and blazers for boys (that, when paired appropriately, will not look like uniforms. i.e. a navy blazer).

[Soxfan05]

If you have a Talbots near you, you can get some great dress clothes for boys- and right now, everything is on sale. My boys have pale blue and white striped seersucker blazers to wear on smart casual nights with brightly colored linen shirts and coordinating ties. With that outfit, they'll wear Sperry's. I got them dark gray with plaid (? very grown up looking) sports jackets , black shoes and black pants for formal nights. I guess we take "formal" to the extreme as to us, navy blazers and khakis seem "smart casual". I'll have to remember that navy blazers and khakis are actually considered formal for future reference. I was able to get coordinating sweater vests to go with the linen shirts so the boys can wear those on a casual night. Other than that, it will be polos and khakis.

 

 

Start shopping now and you'll be able to find some great looking outfits without breaking the bank and you may even be able to find some mix and match pieces so you won't have to worry about overpacking.