Do any of you skip the Formal nights?

[Happy2cruise]

We don't do formal night. Just not our thing. We will hit the buffet or order room service on those nights.

 

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Agree with you;). Use to do them when first started cruising but got tired of it and just do what makes us happy. We will either do one of the specialty restaurants that do no require formal attire like the Lawn Grill, go to the Buffet or just order room service.

[welshfamily]

I think it depends on the cruise. Cruises around the Caribbean and Alaska are more informal. European cruises and particularly ones sailing from Southampton are much more formal, as Lucinjo has already stated. Even Blu was more formal and very smart casual on our last two Med cruises, one departed from Rome the other Barcelona. It's easier for ladies to pack formal wear particularly when trying to travel lightly. I usually have to pack my husbands formal shoes or he has to travel in them. We have got around this issue by using the ships laundry to cut down on the amount of clothes we pack. A point to remember, in my experience, Celebrity enforces the dress code in the theatre as well as the MDR on formal nights.

Still if you really want to be causal, the buffet is open so you could eat in the open air on the back deck. It's one of my favourite things on a cruise ship sipping a cold beverage whilst watching the ships wash ....hard to beat.

Bistro on 5 is another nice venue if you wish to be very casual and on the Reflection the Lawn grill was a mixture of long pants and long shorts.

However if you have a balcony I would recommend having MDR food delivered to your room. If you choose the courses carefully,as quite often everything is delivered at the same time, this can work well. You could even eat in your bathrobes then.

It's your holiday so the choice should be yours.

[ghstudio]

One of my problems with formal nights on Celebrity ships is that it's formal only in dress. The tables, the serving staff, the plates/glasses and food presentation is no different than on every other night.

 

Many seem to think that lobster makes it a special night....folks, you can go down to "red lobster" or your local restaurant and get lobster any time you want it wearing your casual clothes. lobster does not make the night formal....in fact, it's warm water lobster tails, not the maine lobsters that most think of when they talk about lobster. BTW, Celebrity only serves those frozen warm water lobster tails on one of the formal nights.

 

I enjoy formal affairs and wear a tux when they are truly formal affairs. I don't really enjoy an affair where someone just decides that folks should dress formal....to me that's really a sham formal night....but it seems to be what some folks enjoy on cruises. I don't know why....but I'll enjoy wearing a sports jacket in Blu...

[Onessa]

When we first started cruising nearly 30 years ago, you could not "skip" formal nights and I would have been the first person to say that if formal night was optional, I would opt out.

 

Over time a number of things have happened:

1. Formal night is no longer "required" so the rebellious Catholic school girl in me, no longer bristles at rules :)
   
2. Formal night is no longer quite so formal (suit and tie for men, no long gowns for women)
   
3. I've developed better tactics to avoid the photographers who used to like to trap you in long lines for pictures that I would never buy (and the photographers have become much less agressive)
   
4. Great dining companions and wait staff who have urged us to come
   
5. A DD who really likes "dressing up"
   

So, oddly enough I no longer feel the need to skip formal night and actually kind of look forward to it.

[Happy2cruise]

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No....formal means in the MDR only.

 

There have been sporadic reports of ships trying to make the main floor of the theater formal, however that is not celebrity policy....it's someone trying to make up their own version of formal night. If you think about it for a second....the specialty restaurants are "smart casual" and cost extra. They are saying that you can't enjoy dinner at murano and then see the show from the main floor only if you follow the MDR dress code. Makes no sense...

We were told last year on the Silhouette by the cruise director that we would not be allowed to sit in the lower of the theatre if we were not dressed formal. She said we would be denied entrance and would have to sit in the upper level. Accordingly to her, this was an "order from the Captain":eek::eek:.

[LetsGetWet!]

Not sure you need all that much to dine in the MDR on formal night these days...men pretty much need a sports jacket (irrespective of what people express here as their wish).

 

We now book Aqua where formal night is just like every other night...smart casual. Additionally, all of the specialty restaurants are "smart casual" every night.

So we went to the Bistro @ 5 or the Oceanview Café & really enjoyed ourselves. On our most recent cruise we were prepared with formal clothes but opted out one night & again went to the Oceanview Café.

My last cruise was 14 days and had 3 formal nights. It was also port intensive. My traveling companions and I skipped 2 of the 3 formal nights and went to Q-Sine instead.

 

It is your vacation do what makes you happy and if that is skipping formal nights for the buffet, room service, or a specialty restaurant, GO FOR IT.

We don't do formal night. Just not our thing. We will hit the buffet or order room service on those nights.

Yes we do skip formal nights.

 

No regrets whatsoever. Like others, we simply dine in an alternative area on formal evenings. Bistro on 5 on Solstice or outside on back deck are two of our favourite places on formal evenings.

Agree with you;). Use to do them when first started cruising but got tired of it and just do what makes us happy. We will either do one of the specialty restaurants that do no require formal attire like the Lawn Grill, go to the Buffet or just order room service.

I have to say, how refreshing it is to read all these posts here in the Celebrity forum, vs. those in the RCI forum! Here, people talk about all the alternative venues and options they go to should they decide to skip formal. If OP had started this thread in the RCI forum, it would have been bombed with posters bragging how they had gotten into the MDR on a formal night in shorts, a tshirt, flip flops and a ball cap without being turned away, and telling everyone that's what they should do, because its their vacation and they paid for it - rules be damned! Really enjoying the general attitude here, vs. the RCI board.

[LetsGetWet!]

No....formal means in the MDR only.

 

There have been sporadic reports of ships trying to make the main floor of the theater formal, however that is not celebrity policy....it's someone trying to make up their own version of formal night. If you think about it for a second....the specialty restaurants are "smart casual" and cost extra. They are saying that you can't enjoy dinner at murano and then see the show from the main floor only if you follow the MDR dress code. Makes no sense...

You bring up a good point that I admit I hadn't thought about regarding coming to the theater from one of the specialty restaurants. If those not wanting to dress formally on formal nights are polite enough to choose an alternative venue for a "smart casual" dinner experience, they should not be penalized when they show up at the theater after that dinner.

[billymac123]

Going on our very first cruise with Celebrity in May, my question is if we choose not to attend the Formal nights, and choose to use another restaurant, will this incur a charge?

 

 

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[ghstudio]

Going on our very first cruise with Celebrity in May, my question is if we choose not to attend the Formal nights, and choose to use another restaurant, will this incur a charge?

 

 

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No different than any other night. The specialty restaurants have a charge every night, but if you eat in the buffet, there would be no extra charge.

 

Some kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. they want to try one (or more) of the specialty restaurants, so they book it on formal night and they can wear "smart casual" while enjoying a very nice meal.

Edited March 17, 2014 by ghstudio

[TeaBag]

One thing I will mention about Med cruises on Celebrity. We have taken two over the last year and a half. Much more formal than Alaska or Caribbean, especially the one departing from Southampton (about 40% tuxes, 40% suits, 15% sport coats). The cruise from Istanbul was more suits and fewer tuxes, but even in Blu 85% of the men were in sport coat or better. The balance were in very formal Hawaiian shirts (silk, subdued pattern) or long sleeve dress shirt or formal Indian/Indonesian shirts. I was surprised but very pleased.

Of course I am sure there were sone less formally dressed in the buffet or eating room service.

I noticed this too. Our first time in Blu, we were very surprised at the gowns and tuxes. We were told Blu is not a Sp restaurant and therefore not under the "smart casual" dress code every night. Our second time was an Alaska cruise and once again, lots of formal dress on formal night.

 

As long as people are happy with their cruise, we don't mind how they dress, but having said that, we do like to dress up on formal nights.

[ghstudio]

I noticed this too. Our first time in Blu, we were very surprised at the gowns and tuxes. We were told Blu is not a Sp restaurant and therefore not under the "smart casual" dress code every night. Our second time was an Alaska cruise and once again, lots of formal dress on formal night.

 

As long as people are happy with their cruise, we don't mind how they dress, but having said that, we do like to dress up on formal nights.

 

Celebrity's web site is very specific about Blu:

 

Specialty Restaurants (Including Blu for our AquaClass Guests)

The dress code at Celebrity's Specialty Restaurants is 'Smart Casual and Above' for every night of your cruise. Formal attire is only required in the main dining room on your formal evenings.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_dining&tab=onboard_proper_dining_attire_tab%2Fonboard%2FtextPanel.do%3Fpagename%3Donboard_proper_dining_attire

Edited March 17, 2014 by ghstudio

[Clydesmom7865]

Going on our very first cruise with Celebrity in May, my question is if we choose not to attend the Formal nights, and choose to use another restaurant, will this incur a charge?

 

 

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Other than the buffet: yes. Bistro on 5 is $5 and the specialty restaurants range from $30-45. However there are deals to be had on those so shop around so to speak.

[keithm]

Hi-- hubby and I are doing our 2nd Med cruise end of August. It is a port intensive cruise with only one sea day so we know it will be tiring. We want to pack light and are thinking of skipping the Formal nights (I won't have to pack heels, dresses etc...). Not to mention leaving his suit/jacket at home is a plus too. Have any of you done this? regrets?

We always did Cunard(we love formal)With them pretty much abandoning the Caribbean, we chose Celebrity. We find that on the Eclipse with it's longer trips the dresscode was quite formal & pretty much followed. We plan to stick to that ship for a while. We'll leave the tuxes at home, but travel with suits, vests & such.

[Maligator]

We don't cruise to get gussied up, so we now skip them with the buffet, a specialty joint or room service. Nothing more "formal" than a polo shirt and khakis for me. On our last cruise, my weddings & funerals suit and associated accessories (I don't even own a tux and am not inclined to rent one for 2 weeks) took up entirely too much luggage space for the one night I actually wore it. My wife despises formal wear, even though she looks great when she gets all foofed up.

 

I did feel under-dressed going to the evening show, but A) no one said anything, including our butler, and B) I didn't really care.

[iancal]

We are not tied to any one cruise line and we certainly do travel on a number of them.

 

What I really like about Celebrity's formal night policy is that a) it makes sense and is logical, and b) it provides good options for both groups.

 

That, along with a few other attributes, is probably why we seem to find ourselves selecting Celebrity more often.

[keithm]

Love formal nights. Will be looking forward to it on our British Isles cruise in August. We like Celebrity and European cruises because they are more formal.

 

Margee

Always love those with good taste.

[Ma Bell]

I often wonder how people can take an extended trip with a carry on. Do they spend a lot of time doing laundry, carry a large can of deodorizer or just keep their distance from others.

[Cruise Junky]

We usually skip it these days. DH is taking a jacket on our Hawaii Cruise which I know will get him into the MDR if we want to but we usually stick to specialty restaurants or the buffet in Formal Nights

 

 

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[orchestrapal]

If there were no way to skip formal nights we would never even consider going on Celebrity.

[fleckle]

I often wonder how people can take an extended trip with a carry on. Do they spend a lot of time doing laundry, carry a large can of deodorizer or just keep their distance from others.

LOL! I don't for a moment believe that you are serious and don't already know the answer, but just in case --

 

There is no need to spend any time at all doing laundry because the ship's magic genie provides excellent laundry and dry cleaning services.

 

You put your laundry bag containing the dirty clothes out on the bed before you leave your stateroom in the morning.

 

When you return to your stateroom, presto, the bag of laundry has vanished.

 

Then a day or two later, the freshly laundered (or dry-cleaned) clothing reappears in your stateroom, ready to wear again.

 

So, in an emergency one could get by recycling 3 days of outfits and always have clean clothing to wear.

But most cruise passengers who travel with only carry-ons pack about 6-7 days of clothing, just to have variety.

 

For anyone who has not already seen them, there are a number of videos on youtube showing how to pack a lot of clothing into one carry-on bag.

 

[Ma Bell]

LOL! I don't for a moment believe that you are serious and don't already know the answer, but just in case --

 

There is no need to spend any time at all doing laundry because the ship's magic genie provides excellent laundry and dry cleaning services.

 

You put your laundry bag containing the dirty clothes out on the bed before you leave your stateroom in the morning.

 

When you return to your stateroom, presto, the bag of laundry has vanished.

 

Then a day or two later, the freshly laundered (or dry-cleaned) clothing reappears in your stateroom, ready to wear again.

 

So, in an emergency one could get by recycling 3 days of outfits and always have clean clothing to wear.

But most cruise passengers who travel with only carry-ons pack about 6-7 days of clothing, just to have variety.

 

For anyone who has not already seen them, there are a number of videos on youtube showing how to pack a lot of clothing into one carry-on bag.

 

 

Of course I know that. I do remember a guy from one of our roll calls who bragged about only bringing a carry on for a 14 day cruise. After meeting him and seeing him around the ship, I quickly understood how he did it. I don't think he changed or washed his hair for 14 days. It wasn't pretty.:eek: Seriously, we're talking about going on a nice cruise, not a camping trip. I just realized I posted this on the wrong thread. No wonder you didn't know what I was talking about. LOL

Edited March 17, 2014 by Ma Bell

[LetsGetWet!]

Of course I know that. I do remember a guy from one of our roll calls who bragged about only bringing a carry on for a 14 day cruise. After meeting him and seeing him around the ship, I quickly understood how he did it. I don't think he changed or washed his hair for 14 days. It wasn't pretty.:eek: Seriously, we're talking about going on a nice cruise, not a camping trip.

I guess you MAYBE could blame the "didn't change" part on only bringing a carry on, but the unwashed hair gives him away as simply a slob! I think I *could* do a 14 day with only a carryon, but it would definitely require a lot of planning, AND doing laundry during the cruise. And you'd likely see me in repeat outfits often. I'd probably wear a sport coat on the plane along with a pair of launderable (is that a word?) dress slacks. Pack one other pair of dress slacks along with a couple dress shirts and maybe about 4 shorts/polo shirts which could be combined differently (AND washed!)

 

Fortunately, I have status on American Airlines and we can each carry on a bag AND check two up to 50 lbs without charge - which is more than we would ever need.

Edited March 17, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[fleckle]

Hi-- hubby and I are doing our 2nd Med cruise end of August. It is a port intensive cruise with only one sea day so we know it will be tiring. We want to pack light and are thinking of skipping the Formal nights (I won't have to pack heels, dresses etc...). Not to mention leaving his suit/jacket at home is a plus too. Have any of you done this? regrets?

Yes, many times.

No regrets at all.

 

If you book an aqua class cabin or a suite, you can have formal night dinners in Blu, where formal attire is never required.

 

Whatever category cabin you choose, you can dine in any of the specialty restaurants without dressing formally.

 

When the weather is nice, one of our favorite things to do is order from the main dining room menu and enjoy the lobster or steak dinner out on our balcony.

 

It feels like dining on a private yacht, a nice way to escape from the noisy, crowded dining room and still have the full dinner.

 

But yet there are other times when we do feel like dressing up, joining the crowd and going to the dining room.

 

Still other evenings we only want a quick, light bite, not a long drawn-out dinner, so we head to the buffet.

 

It just depends on the mood we are in.

We like variety, as you can probably tell, so we appreciate having so many choices.

 

[wvufan]

We love them. Formal nights are really the only opportunities my wife has to really dress up, wear her best jewelry, etc. No big deal for me to wear a tux and it helps make the evenings more special for my wife.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[richsea]

Not sure you need all that much to dine in the MDR on formal night these days...men pretty much need a sports jacket (irrespective of what people express here as their wish).

 

We now book Aqua where formal night is just like every other night...smart casual. Additionally, all of the specialty restaurants are "smart casual" every night.

 

Sorry if this wasn't you, but I thought you had said that you were no longer going to book Aqua; that the menu was boring. If I'm wrong, my bad!:eek: