Dressing up for general MDR dinner?

[Velvetwater]

I know there are lots of threads on elegant night wear but not really seen as many general MDR wear threads.

 

Do you make any effort in your dress or change when you go to the MDR dinner?

 

Last year hubby and I always changed into more dressy options every night for dinner. It did not seem right to just go to dinner in shorts etc. Hubby would usually put on a nice shirt and I would often change into a nice maxi dress or a dressy top and skirt and do full make up and hair.....if I wasnt so tall I would probably wear heels as well.

 

 

Opinions? What do you do?

Edited May 29, 2014 by Velvetwater

[Mjsturg1]

I agree with you and treat it like going out to a nice dinner and dress as such plus I don't get many chances to dress up at home so might as well take advantage of it on the cruise !

[aaron3219]

We wore whatever we had on to the MDR. I typically wore shorts, and a t-shirt. Wife usually had on a sun dress thing most of the time. Little girl just wore whatever, shorts, and a tank top mostly.

 

It's a vacation, be comfortable.

[michaelandjoanne]

I enjoy dressing up for dinner in the MDR and so does my wife and son. I usually dress how I would in a business environment (so for me a shirt and tie). For me it is a personal preference and I would feel uncomfortable being in a formal setting in casual attire. That being said, we usually pick a private table for our family so I could care less what other diners wear since it doesn't effect me in the least. Another advantage to dressing up a bit for dinner is there are usually lots of photographer station set up and with a 6 year old it is easier to stop for 15 minutes for pictures once a day, than an hour in one day, plus we get pictures of us wearing different clothes.

 

 

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[TPFKAH]

I know there are lots of threads on elegant night wear but not really seen as many general MDR wear threads.

 

Do you make any effort in your dress or change when you go to the MDR dinner?

 

Last year hubby and I always changed into more dressy options every night for dinner. It did not seem right to just go to dinner in shorts etc. Hubby would usually put on a nice shirt and I would often change into a nice maxi dress or a dressy top and skirt and do full make up and hair.....if I wasnt so tall I would probably wear heels as well.

 

 

Opinions? What do you do?

 

We still just wear comfortable colorful country club type wear. Shorts are a turn off to watch for us, as most legs are best hidden from site.

[runner15km]

At home I wear jeans and t shirts nearly every day. I enjoy dressing up for dinner while on a cruise.

[cruise_girl2002]

casual nights I usually wear black slacks or a nice pair of jeans with a nice top like a blouse or polo shirt.

[bunchesofun]

I agree with you and treat it like going out to a nice dinner and dress as such plus I don't get many chances to dress up at home so might as well take advantage of it on the cruise !

 

I totally agree. I never get a chance to dress up at home, so use this opportunity to do so. Besides, the dining rooms do not look like the kind of place to wear anything less.

[riffatsea]

I usually change and wear different clothes during the day than the clothes I wear at night on when I travel.

I wouldn't always call it "getting dressed up" as it may not be very dressy but just different.

I don't wear shorts at night into the MDR and MrRiffatsea who is always in a t shirt, doesn't wear shorts either.

[sjcruiser]

On non-formal/elegant nights I usually wear a polo or button down shirt (short sleeve) and khakis/chinos or a linen set. If I do wear jeans, they're really dark (navy blue or black), and I put on a dressier type mens shirt with some kind of embroidered design so that the focus is not on the jeans, or that it gives it an good look.

[BallFour4]

Good Question...

 

My wife and I do the same thing. We slum it in workout stuff in the mornings on sea days or casual stuff in ports. We change that a little for dinner.

 

Some call it the over 55 uniform, but I wear khakis, casual shoes and a polo or madras shirt. My wife wears a skirt and sandals. On a few of our winter cruises we've stayed in sweatshirts and jeans on sea days, and on a few port days that were very hot for sail away we went to dinner in shorts.

 

It's been a decade since I wore a tie on a cruise. A sport coat and long sleeve shirt matched with khakis or dress slacks make up Cruise Elegant night. I do the same on Royal Caribbean.

 

What amuses me most is this thread will go double-digit pages with those that don't want shorts as part of their dining experience. Some talk about men in "beaters" and such, but in our second hundred days at sea I've never seen a beater at dinner. It might be because we always go to Early Seating fixed time dining.

 

Equally funny is the posted desire from those that miss the elegant days of cruises from decades ago. One look at my photos from our Mardi Gras cruises in 76 and 87 and the same dress was common then. A few more ties, a tux here or there and no shorts at dinner. It wasn't much different.

 

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Edited May 29, 2014 by BallFour4

[TampaCouplePDB]

We will "dress for dinner" almost every night. On a longer cruise, we will usually do Lido for one dinner and not dress, but most nights we dine in the dining room.

 

But dressing for dinner is one of my favorite things to do. :) When we cruise with our kids, they like to get in on the action. Makes us feel sophisticated after a day of flip flops and swimsuits.

 

Us girls will wear sundresses with nice sandals (and accessorize, of course!), the boys will wear slacks and polos.

[bigdog1958]

I wear shorts and put on a golf shirt for dinner.. I like to be comfortable..

[jimbo5544]

We tend to do a little more dressy, no shorts long pants dress shirt for me dress for wife.

[CheckersMidwest]

We also dress nicely for dinner. My husband and college son wear dress pants or kahki's and a shirt /tie combo or a polo.

 

My daughter & I wear either dresses or nice capri's with fancier/dressy blouses.

[MsMot]

I love dressing up so we dress for the MDR the same as we do when we go out to dinner on land. I dress in nice casual outfit and DH wears a collared shirt and casual slacks.

[dcherry]

I always dress up. I have so few opportunities to do so.

[okgirl]

I have a very mix and match wardrobe...all of my slacks, capri's, shorts and skirts are solid color and go with all of the tops that I bring...On casual nights I shower and put on slacks and a top.....very casual. Then the next day I wear the top that I wore to dinner with either capri's or shorts.......

 

Occasionally I will wear the capri outfit to dinner and then again the next day.

[OCruisers]

Sometimes, we change for dinner ... sometimes, we don't. Totally depends on what we've been doing that afternoon.

LuLu

[Whimsy88]

We all dress for dinner - khakis and collared shirt for DH and 3 boys, dress for me. Feels good to clean up after a day of being sticky from sweat, sunscreen and ice cream and have a "sophisticated" dinner! These days you can find fairly inexpensive "tech" fabric polo shirts for men and boys which makes packing super easy. The guys all clean up and wear the shirt tucked in with khakis for dinner, and then can pair with shorts the next day for shore excursion. And we go formal for elegant night - just because we can!:)

[cranshan0702]

So, does that mean on non-formal nights, it is ok for men to wear shorts in MDR (not gym shorts, but nicer khaki shorts)?

We're taking our 1st carnival cruise in july (5 nt out of charleston) so i've been curious about this.

[Fla Senior]

Shorts or jeans (and a t shirt) depending on how cold it is on the ship.

[jamscckmc]

Just off the Pride and where were all you nicely dressed people? We are used to RC and Princess which discourage shorts ar dinner. Although Carnival States no basketball shorts, tanks on men cut offs, and beach shoes, they were all over the MDR at dinner. I did see one couple on elegant night turned away. They were both in casual shorts and sneakers. They were indignant and yelled we just eat upstairs. Can they not read or do they think it doesn't apply to them? My DH wears docker type pants and a polo and I wear pants! capris or a sundress with a cardigan. I saw everything on casual night from men with dress pants and jackets and woman in nice dresses to cut offs with tanks on men and crop tops on women. I've never seen so many middle age men with tank tops and t shirt with sayings on them. People with stained and dirty clothes. You don't have to be wealthy to dress decently, I find great stuff at target. The dress I wore on elegant night was$14.99 at Ross. If you just follow the guidelines you will be fine and if you like dressing up a little more that's great. This is IMHO, please don't flame. Just trying to give an honest answer.

[Froufie]

Always dress for dinner - very casual during the day - probably covered in sunscreen? :D

 

So take time to unwind, relax, shower, dress and 'beautify' myself for dinner time - especially as I love wearing my 'special' cruise clothes that I have collected over time!

[Orpheo]

Always dress for dinner - very casual during the day - probably covered in sunscreen? :D

 

So take time to unwind, relax, shower, dress and 'beautify' myself for dinner time - especially as I love wearing my 'special' cruise clothes that I have collected over time!

 

Same here. Before the cruise I selected my 'special' cruise clothes and wore those on the days that we went for dinner. I loved these nights...at home we don't really get the chance to go out like this...so the cruise dinner (MDR) was very special for us..:D