Dress aboard

[Debbers]

Oceania calls its dress expectations "country club casual." Can a former passenger please tell me what people actually wear, esp. to dinner? Do women typically wear cocktail dresses? Dressy pants? Business attire? Many thanks.

[Jayayeff]

Do women typically wear cocktail dresses? Dressy pants? Business attire?

 

I hope not otherwise I am going to be decidedly under-dressed! I'm on a Med cruise on 13th August and as I live in a hot climate anyway I interpreted the 'country-club casual' to be what I would wear here to go out to a restaurant for dinner in the evenings, i.e. smart trousers, capris or skirts with a mix & match collection of shirts & tops to go with them. My business clothes and cocktail dresses are staying at home..

Anne

[LHT28]

The ladies wore smart looking pants or skirts with a nice top, no flashy sequins or a nice dress.

Men wore a dress shirt (no Tie) blazer or sport jackets with dress pants.

No shorts and T's at dinner.

Some did dress up a bit more but not many.

 

There are self serve laundry facilities onboard with iron and ironing boards if you need a touch up also you can just use the ship's laundry.

Try to avoid doing laundry on a sea day!;)

[Bruin Steve]

Men wore a dress shirt (no Tie) blazer or sport jackets with dress pants.

Seriously???

Okay...I'm typically a Celebrity cruiser and am accustomed to the three styles: Formal (tux for me), Informal (Sports coat or Blazer) and Casual (Dockers and sports shirt)...

I was sort of looking forward to not having to schlep my tux and sports coat...especially travelling to the HOT Aegean in July...and considering toughening airline luggage weight restrictions...

 

I figured I could get away with packing just Dockers and sports shirts (were talking short sleeve plaids and patterns, collars, buttons down the front...

 

But, this sounds like I'll have to pack much dressier...like 3 or 4 different sports coats, more formal slacks and "dress shirts"(???)...To me, dress shirts means solid color, long sleeve shirts of the type one would wear with a business or formal suit...

 

It's not exactly a comfortable style of dress nor an easy packing and planning job...Please tell me (I hope) that this is not the case...

[FinelyCruising]

I too am curious to hear more about how men's khakis fit into this line's style.

[Marebear]

If you travel with a navy sport coat and one white or blue shirt along with your dockers and sport shirts, you'll be fine

[Jane110]

 

......But, this sounds like I'll have to pack much dressier...like 3 or 4 different sports coats, more formal slacks and "dress shirts"(???)...To me, dress shirts means solid color, long sleeve shirts of the type one would wear with a business or formal suit...

 

It's not exactly a comfortable style of dress nor an easy packing and planning job...Please tell me (I hope) that this is not the case...

 

Steve,

 

No! This is not the case. You do not have to pack any sport coats or dress shirts. And certainly not a suit or tux - don't even think about that!

We've been on two Oceania cruises. Here's my observations:

 

For men, you'll find a range of options.

 

Jackets - optional. SOME men bring one or two. If you'd like to, fine. If you don't want to, then don't. I saw a few men on our cruises wear some while others did not. On one of our cruises, we did a post cruise stay in London and DH needed a jacket, so because it was already with us, he chose to wear it on the Captains night party where some people get a little dressier.....but definitely not formal and not required.

 

I figured I could get away with packing just Dockers and sports shirts (were talking short sleeve plaids and patterns, collars, buttons down the front...

 

You could with no problem. Here's what my DH wears: Cotton or linen pants, which are "dressier" than Dockers, but still casual. (he has lightweight cotton sateen pants which have a little dressier look) Long sleeve button down shirts in solid linen or chic cotton patterns - definitely not the kind that he'd wear with a suit or tie. You'll see a few men at dinner w/ short sleeved casual shirts, but they're in the minority. Definitely no shorts.

 

Wear what you would wear to dinner in an upscale, casual restaurant.

 

Jane

[Jane110]

Oceania calls its dress expectations "country club casual." Can a former passenger please tell me what people actually wear, esp. to dinner? Do women typically wear cocktail dresses? Dressy pants? Business attire? Many thanks.

 

Debbers,

 

I've definitely get a bit more dressed up for dinner, but I'm still casual. Typically, I'll wear a pair of dressier pants (microfiber or crepe) and then a nice top - silk knit tank, twin sweater set, silk printed halter top - and a pair of high heeled sandals and small, chic handbag.

 

Typically, other women dress at about the same level and often wear casual skirts or simple dresses. Cocktail dresses are not typical nor is business attire.

 

Cotton capris and a daytime cotton tee shirt would not be typical attire in the dining room, but you can wear it if you choose.

 

People show up for dinner looking freshly showered and like their going to dinner in a smart casual restaurant on a Saturday night. Women are not rushing to the salon to have their hair "done" for the evening nor putting on the dressy jewelry.

 

It's mid-range dressing with some at the more casual end of midrange and some at the dressier end of mid-range. No one is very daytime casual and no one is cocktail hour dressy. It's easy and something you shouldn't fuss about.

 

Jane

[ClaudiaF]

unless you are Zsa Zsa;)

[lcand1923]

Maybe it differs according to the ports because we saw very few men with jackets on our Western Med cruise last year. We also saw very few men with long sleeve shirts.

 

We would describe the dress - even for Toscana and Polo, where folks tended to be a little dressier - as Casual. No jeans, no shorts, no T shirts for dinner in any restaurant, but most people wore nice slacks (Yes, a lot of the men on our cruise wore Dockers) and a Polo Shirt. For the Captain's Cocktail Party, some women wore sun dresses and some men wore short sleeve Oxford Cloth type shirts. (This is the only time I would say ANY folks dressed anywhere near Celebrity Cruises Informal style.)

 

I felt like just about everyone had used the Land's End Catalog for their cruise wear shopping.

[LHT28]

I figured I could get away with packing just Dockers and sports shirts (were talking short sleeve plaids and patterns, collars, buttons down the front...

 

You could get away with no sport jacket and shirts with collars for dinner maybe tuck in a plain one or two for the specialty restaurants. Dockers are ok.

 

 

DH took his navy blazer, (did not wear every night) and a few polo style and short sleeve button down shirts as well as light weight microfibre pants.

 

I agree with the others no shorts or jeans at dinner

[PurpleCow]

Eastern Med this past July:

Men wore slacks, sport shirts, about a quarter in sports jackets, a few with ties, some knit shirts with collars. Shoes, no sneakers (trainers) or sandals.

 

Women wore nice pants, lots of glittery tops, lots of skirts of all lengths, lots of pashminas once we'd been in Turkey. Lots of sandals and dress sandals, no hose.

 

Basically the way people used to dress to go out for dinner in a nice restaurant.

 

Tapas, less dressed up, Toscana and Polo more dressed up.

[Guest Jancruz]

OK..I will add my two cents here..We have cruised 10 times on Oceania including the inaugurals and Stu never brought a sport jacket, coat or tie and always felt comfortable..we live at the beach here in CA and he usually wears shorts and a T-shirt at home..on the ship he wears nice slacks and collared shirts for dinner..we have had dinner at the Captains table many times and we were never out of place with dress..

 

I wear usually a long skirt or black slacks and nice tops..Jane and Claudia..I love the way you dress always in such good taste..you are my idols (except Claudia in the high heels at the chateau in the rain on the cobblestones..I was glad it was you and not me..I would have fallen on my face..LOL)..hope we all cruise again soon

Jan:)

*****

[Andee]

My husband brought a couple of sport jackets and wore them several times. For pants, he took what I would call "dress" khakis (as opposed to Docker type) and other nice pants. He wore mostly short sleeved shirts--silk, rayon, like that.

 

I took black silk pants, tan silk pants, a black skirt, and a black and cream skirt, and mixed and matched them with linen shirts, dressy blouses and sweaters.

 

For our next Oceania cruise, I found a sleeveless black swingy dress (reduced from $160 to $40!), that I can wear with a scarfy-poncho, linen shirt jacket, silk jacket, and like that.

 

And the best part is that our next cruise is in three months and one day!

[Guest Jancruz]

Andee, I am so jealous..I feel like it has been forever since I was on Insignia..

 

Jan:)

*****

[Jane110]

 

I wear usually a long skirt or black slacks and nice tops..Jane and Claudia..I love the way you dress always in such good taste..you are my idols (except Claudia in the high heels at the chateau in the rain on the cobblestones..I was glad it was you and not me..I would have fallen on my face..LOL)..hope we all cruise again soon

Jan:)

*****

 

Awwww........shucks Jan. Thanks! :)

Hope we all cruise again soon too!!!

 

Claudia,

I KNEW you'd bring up Zsa Zsa. You're so easy to bait! :D

 

 

Jane

[zippylucy]

How bout white pants in August?

[digby]

Oceania calls its dress expectations "country club casual." Can a former passenger please tell me what people actually wear, esp. to dinner? Do women typically wear cocktail dresses? Dressy pants? Business attire? Many thanks.

 

 

I wore a sport shirt and slacks to dinner each night. Some men wore a jacket, but most did not. I even saw a tux or two on Holidays. The dress code makes Oceania most attractive to me.

[ClaudiaF]

Awwww........shucks Jan. Thanks! :)

Hope we all cruise again soon too!!!

 

Claudia,

I KNEW you'd bring up Zsa Zsa. You're so easy to bait! :D

 

 

Jane

 

Dear Jane.... only for you my dearest friend.

If I post it will I get in trouble?:eek:

[ClaudiaF]

Digby,

You must have looked wonderful. My hubby brings a suit and sportcoat to wear ( but usually never puts either on while on ship) just depends on how he feels and how are buddies are dressing for dinner ( if all the guys are sports coating, he might , but usually they are all wearing fashionable cotton or silk shirts ( guys) and that keeps the cost in closet. Although

they do come in handy when in certain cities either pre or post cruise when going to dinner . when we dine out on vacation, we dine out.. and only the best will do.. and never know when or if you will come back, so there is always a Kodak moment too.

[arizonaartie]

Several things I think about when packing is how many suitcases and how much weight. Also, the weather.

Our Feb 20 Nautica will start in very warm Thailand and Viet Nam and end in possibly chilly Beijing, Japan and Korea. Therefore I plan to take a Blue Blazer.

Also, International Flights usually allow up to 70 lbs per bag but interior flights sometime only allow 50 lbs. This has caused us in the past to have to take a train instead of flying when we've done back to back trips or combined cruises with land trips and have travelled internally within countries. On this Nautica cruise we had initally planned to do Xian and Guillin at the end but Pacific Delight Tours cautioned us about baggage weight and said we could only take one suitcase each so we are instead just spending extra nights in Beijing. We'll be gone 32 days all together and don't see how we could stay under 50 pounds each for the cruise and still have a variety of outfits for the cruise.

artie

[Bruin Steve]

...International Flights usually allow up to 70 lbs per bag but interior flights sometime only allow 50 lbs....

Artie,

This situation caused us incredible consternation uin packing for our just concluded Norwegian Fjords cruise on the Celebrity Constellation...

We flew LAX to Madrid on American for some pre-cruise time in Spain, then Madrid to London on British Airways for the cruise out of Dover, then Home--Heathrow to LAX on American...

 

American Airlines actually allows TWO pieces per passenger EACH of which may weigh UP TO 70 pounds...British Airlines told me that, for flights within Europe, the limit was 20 kilograms--or 51 pounds PER PERSON!

 

Can you imagine packing for a 23 day cruise vacation, including a 14-night cruise, with separate outfits, including formalwear, for day and evenings fitting within 51 pounds???

 

Our suitcases nowadays, with all the wheels and handles and all, each weigh a considerable sum empty...

 

Well, try as we might to cut back, we were easily over the allotment...I found a page on the British Airways site which appeared to carve out an exception for our situation--flights originating in the US or Canada with higher luggage limitations...and E-mailed BA to confirm...and they again insisted that the 51 pound limit was set in stone...So we resigned ourselves to paying a fee for the excess luggage...

 

As it turned out, when we arrived at Madrid Airport to check in for our flight to Gatwick, they checked our bags in and didn't say a thing...I don't think they even weighed them...All that worry over nothing!!!

 

Of course, the time I ignore it completely and go way over is the time they'll get serious and charge us by the pound...

 

BTW, anyone know which airlines Oceania tends to use for LA to Istanbul, Venice to LA???

[Jane110]

Dear Jane.... only for you my dearest friend.

If I post it will I get in trouble?:eek:

 

 

no, go ahead and post pic of Zsa Zsa.

 

Jane

[digby]

" My hubby brings a suit and sportcoat to wear ( but usually never puts either on while on ship)"

 

 

I had a jacket and tie with me in December thinking I might need them in Santiago or Buenos Aires, but I didn't. It was 90 degrees in both cities, and I was very glad not to have to wear them.

[ClaudiaF]

wrote in part:

 

BTW, anyone know which airlines Oceania tends to use for LA to Istanbul, Venice to LA???

 

If there is a certain airline or flight that you would prefer ( and at your own schedule) be sure if you are using the ship air ,to pay the deviation fee and pick your own flights..