I'll probably be called a snob for this ...

[Daisyloo]

I can't believe the nerve of some people being critical of you for dressing nicely!

Maybe it is time for you to give another cruiseline a try. I can only suggest HAL or Princess as they are the only ones we have experience on. For the most part the dress code is followed and you would fit right in. I have not sailed Carnival, but from what I have read, you will find HAL or Princess more upscale, more elegant and classy. This will probaly be more what you are looking for.

Give it a try. Good luck and happy cruising.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I definitely recommend Celebrity, especially for longer cruises, such as a two week Southern Caribbean cruise. People do dress up and they do go all out on formal nights. Because of the length of the cruise, it tends to be an older crowd, but there are younger people too.

 

I just can't imagine anyone on a Celebrity cruise would make snarky comments to you about your dressy attire.

[burm]

I had purchased entire new wardrobes for the family, total waste of money as they were all "cruise clothes".

 

 

Your "cruise clothes....total waste of money" comment has me slightly intrigued. What cruise clothes can you not wear at home? For us, a lot of our cruise clothes are standard summer clothes for our all too short Canadian summers. Nevertheless, they are all items that can be worn when seasonally appropriate.

 

To me, the term cruise clothes is more likely to mean items that are non-wrinkling, easily packed, Tilley pants that have secret, virtually theft proof pockets, pretty dresses or gowns that can be worn at home for special events. For a man, a dark suit that he can wear to weddings or funerals, if nowhere else. A tux is not essential on any cruise line, although I believe that almost every man looks exceptionally attractive in one.

 

My question is not meant to be rude or snotty. We, too, are middle of the road people who feel that we have blended in on any cruiseline we have ever been on. After participating in Cruise Critic for the last few years, I sometimes feel that we should take a Carnival cruise just to see some of the unusual clothing and characters that we have heard about here.

[wrcjr98]

Wow! I can't believe that somebody said something to ya'll? We cruised Carnival last December, and on formal night, my stepdaughters date showed up in blue jeans. While I was sure that the Maitre'd would send him off to the buffet, not a word was said. So he wore jeans on the 2nd formal night too? So yes, I can assure you that Carnival's dress code has deteriorated just in the 3 years that I have been cruising.

[RedHeadTexan]

Jeanne, I am utterly appalled that anyone would make a snide comment about someone dressing nicely. I think you handled it best by not saying anything. If I were in that situation I would try very hard to be the lady of quality that my mother raised me to be and ignore them. But, I really think the foul mouthed jock in me would rear her ugly face and tell them to bug off. :eek:

 

For my next cruise I am planning on bring 3 or 4 gowns, and 6 or 7 cocktail dresses for the 11 nighter. Walt will tux it up on formal nights, but the other nights it will be silk tropical shirts and linen slacks. I call DH's style Caribbean Chic...he wears those shirts year round, so they are not his cruise clothes. ;)

 

Lisa

[Happy ks]

Your "cruise clothes....total waste of money" comment has me slightly intrigued. What cruise clothes can you not wear at home? For us, a lot of our cruise clothes are standard summer clothes for our all too short Canadian summers. Nevertheless, they are all items that can be worn when seasonally appropriate.

 

To me, the term cruise clothes is more likely to mean items that are non-wrinkling, easily packed, Tilley pants that have secret, virtually theft proof pockets, pretty dresses or gowns that can be worn at home for special events. For a man, a dark suit that he can wear to weddings or funerals, if nowhere else. A tux is not essential on any cruise line, although I believe that almost every man looks exceptionally attractive in one.

 

My question is not meant to be rude or snotty. We, too, are middle of the road people who feel that we have blended in on any cruiseline we have ever been on. After participating in Cruise Critic for the last few years, I sometimes feel that we should take a Carnival cruise just to see some of the unusual clothing and characters that we have heard about here.

 

 

The clothing I purchased was tropical prints or brighter colors that I normally wouldn't tend to wear at home. Another poor choice I made (for myself) were clothing that was nautical, just not my style at home.

 

So much of that stuff made its way to the Goodwill bag a couple years later, only worn once. I now pack right from my closet. I may purchase a few pieces prior to a cruise, but only things that I see value in, stuff that can be worn at home.

 

When I see the term "cruise clothes" I am reminded of that huge waste of clothing budget. I'm also reminded of waste of cash when I read crazy huge packing lists of "what if" items. We've been onmore than 20 cruises, 8 different lines and we never pack any different for any of them.

[ducklite]

Your "cruise clothes....total waste of money" comment has me slightly intrigued. What cruise clothes can you not wear at home? For us, a lot of our cruise clothes are standard summer clothes for our all too short Canadian summers. Nevertheless, they are all items that can be worn when seasonally appropriate.

 

To me, the term cruise clothes is more likely to mean items that are non-wrinkling, easily packed, Tilley pants that have secret, virtually theft proof pockets, pretty dresses or gowns that can be worn at home for special events. For a man, a dark suit that he can wear to weddings or funerals, if nowhere else. A tux is not essential on any cruise line, although I believe that almost every man looks exceptionally attractive in one.

 

My question is not meant to be rude or snotty. We, too, are middle of the road people who feel that we have blended in on any cruiseline we have ever been on. After participating in Cruise Critic for the last few years, I sometimes feel that we should take a Carnival cruise just to see some of the unusual clothing and characters that we have heard about here.

 

Neither my husband nor I have a single item in our closet specifically purchased for a cruise/vacation that we haven't also worn at home.

[ducklite]

The clothing I purchased was tropical prints or brighter colors that I normally wouldn't tend to wear at home. Another poor choice I made (for myself) were clothing that was nautical, just not my style at home.

 

So much of that stuff made its way to the Goodwill bag a couple years later, only worn once. I now pack right from my closet. I may purchase a few pieces prior to a cruise, but only things that I see value in, stuff that can be worn at home.

 

When I see the term "cruise clothes" I am reminded of that huge waste of clothing budget. I'm also reminded of waste of cash when I read crazy huge packing lists of "what if" items. We've been onmore than 20 cruises, 8 different lines and we never pack any different for any of them.

 

That's unfortunate that you chose clothing of a specific style not your own for cruising. I was debating whether to buy a Pareo in Tahiti next year, thinking I'd never wear it again, and then my husband pointed out that we usually attend 2-3 poolside cocktail parties each summer where "casual chic" is the way people dress, and that the pareo would be perfect for those. :)

 

I agree with you on those packing lists, they are truly bizarre. We are of the opinion that there are certain things you take "just in case" such as Immodium, Advil, BandAids, cold remedy, and a spare pair of eyeglasses/contacts. Anything else you "might" need, you buy if and when the need arises.

[Hoyaheel]

I am used to the "why are you dressed up?" comments from my MIL - I prefer to wear cotton knit dresses for much of the year- I can wear them for work or casual and they're temperature appropriate in NC where I live. But my MIL wears shorts or capris - not really my style (and I can't wear shorts for work) So for YEARS she called me "dressed up" when to me I was just being casual. Some of it is her own insecurity - she thought I was looking down on her (I never said or did anything to make her think that....) Over time (15 years I've been with her son now:D) she's come to realize that I am just more comfortable in a dress and she doesn't say anything any more. Thank goodness. It got hard to bite my tongue some days:p

 

I don't travel with clothing I wouldn't wear at home. And any "what if" item on my packing list comes out of experience. You can't always pop out and buy what you need - depends on where you're traveling. I realize that the majority of people on this board are cruising the Caribbean, where you can find most of what you need, but my standard packing list encompasses more diverse geography:D

Edited November 26, 2013 by Hoyaheel

[Ehpride]

Aside from perhaps my long gowns, I wear everything that I wear on cruises at home as well. But I tend to wear my dinner dresses for things like broadway plays, weddings, church, holidays, etc. i bring sundresses for daytime simply because that's what I wear at home. I'm not really a shorts/tshirts, palazzo pants or dress pants kind of woman!

[Laurie S.]

Since my usual wardrobe is jeans and t-shirts, I have cruise specific clothing. But, at least the shirts and tops can be worn when I'm down at my house in San Carlos, Mexico. I love wearing my gowns onboard and could care less if anyone says something about them.

[iheartbda]

..................

I agree with you on those packing lists, they are truly bizarre. We are of the opinion that there are certain things you take "just in case" such as Immodium, Advil, BandAids, cold remedy, and a spare pair of eyeglasses/contacts. Anything else you "might" need, you buy if and when the need arises.

When I posted on one of those packing thread that I did not take 90% of the recommended things, I was challenged and person said they didn't believe it for a minute. If I remember correctly, oh wait, I won't name names.;):) Not you, BTW.

[ducklite]

When I posted on one of those packing thread that I did not take 90% of the recommended things, I was challenged and person said they didn't believe it for a minute. If I remember correctly, oh wait, I won't name names.;):) Not you, BTW.

 

Definitely not me, as I think most of the items on those lists are absurd. Other things I do bring are a pad of sticky notes and ZipLock bags in a variety of sizes. They take up no room and have come in useful at some point in every trip (cruise or land based) that I've ever taken.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[ducklite]

One thing that is wise to pack differently for an eastern Med if there's any chance you might unexpectedly need them is Tampons. Very difficult to find in Eastern Europe. Sorry if it's TMI, but better warned and safe than sorry on that one.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[lawblond7]

Celebrity enforces the dress code - at least they did this summer. My boys like to get dressed up and clean up nicely (16, 16 & 20 and the big one 51). on non formal nights the boys wore khakis and polos or button down shirt. I wear dresses almost all the time so I wore dresses every night.

 

I love to get glammed up.

 

sharon

[kakalina]

We live in Southern Arizona and most of the "tropical" clothing we take on cruises we also wear at home.

The formal wear is cruise specific but not much else is.

[Happy ks]

When I posted on one of those packing thread that I did not take 90% of the recommended things, I was challenged and person said they didn't believe it for a minute. If I remember correctly, oh wait, I won't name names.;):) Not you, BTW.

 

 

I know it was me. So much of what was on that packing list were things like passports, ID ,clothing meds, toiletries., etc... even if there was 100 items on that packing list, anyone would have taken a lot more than 10 % of the list. Now if you would have stated you would cut the list down 50%, that I would believe. If anyone were to dump out their suitcase and carry on, the list would be far more extensive than you would think.

 

I'd forgotten about that thread, probably from a year or two ago.

[Daisydaisy20]

My family and I like to dress appropriately, but we don't do tuxes and gowns. We occasionally have the opportunity to dress up for events at home and like the freedom of not traveling with formal attire and all the accoutrements. I love seeing those who dress to the nines, though. They are usually the ones having the most fun! The only objections I have in the MDR are tank tops, t-shirts, and shorts on anyone old enough to have a driver's license. Oh, and I don't want to see strangers in their bathrobes in the buffet, ever!

[nlsoftly]

I spent a little time imagining circumstances where I would approach a total stranger to make derogatory comments. It was amusing, but I am reasonably sure my tongue would cleave to the roof of my mouth and my lips would fall off if I tried it.

 

If you are a snob, then I am a snob. Forget those who do not appreciate fashion, let's have fun dressing to please those who really matter...like ourselves!

[iheartbda]

I spent a little time imagining circumstances where I would approach a total stranger to make derogatory comments. It was amusing, but I am reasonably sure my tongue would cleave to the roof of my mouth and my lips would fall off if I tried it.

 

If you are a snob, then I am a snob. Forget those who do not appreciate fashion, let's have fun dressing to please those who really matter...like ourselves!

Yes, yes, yes!

I get so irritated when people say those who dress formally are just trying to impress. They just will NOT accept that people are dressing how they want and are not trying to impress anyone.

[Keith1010]

There are many options if you want a more formal type of cruise line for evening attire. A couple that come to mind are Cunard and Celebrity.

 

We tend to dress up in the evening. Sometimes someone might say don't you know that it is not informal but a casual night and we will say, absolutely.

 

Keith

[tempura]

Those people who remarked on your dress were actually showing THEIR insecurities. You made them uncomfortable because they felt like bums next to you!

 

There's a thread on the NCL forum in which some people feel that wearing a bathrobe to the buffet is acceptable, and everyone who has a problem with it is a snob.

 

:confused::eek::confused:

[ducklite]

There's a thread on the NCL forum in which some people feel that wearing a bathrobe to the buffet is acceptable, and everyone who has a problem with it is a snob.

 

:confused::eek::confused:

 

I'd rather be a snob than a slob.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[LittleJeanne]

Thanks everyone for the responses to this question. I didn't mean to ask it and then disappear. Holiday prep work has taken over for a lot of my online time. I appreciate the personal feedback and experiences from others.

 

 

We have cruised Royal Caribbean 1x and while there were some differences, overall we felt that the experience was very similar to the Carnival experience at that time. We still have 2 cruises booked with Carnival and will probably be looking into some of the other options for future bookings.

 

I'll continue to pack my sundresses and the costume jewelry that I wear with them. I'll continue to dress up for dinner and I'm sure that my handsome husband will continue to pack his tuxedo for our cruises.

[stitch81]

There's a thread on the NCL forum in which some people feel that wearing a bathrobe to the buffet is acceptable, and everyone who has a problem with it is a snob.

 

:confused::eek::confused:

 

 

Makes me wonder, would they wear their bathrobe to a Golden Corral, or some other such Buffet Restaurant??? I don't think so...