FORMAL WEAR QUESTION re:14yo boy

[fjrtha]

My hubby will wear a tux and I will wear a long gown as well as my daughter. My son just wants to wear his black dockers a white dress shirt and tie(no jacket) Will he be out of place not wearing a jacket???

[mabinbklyn]

for a 14 yo, he should be fine. I often dressed my son similarly when he was that age.

 

M

[Honey's Gal]

I believe so. You will get many responses. If you and your DH and DD are dressing up, wouldn't you like to have a formal picture taken of all 4 of you. He would only be wearing the jacket for dinner and (if you like) the picture. Not an excruciating deal.

[smrtypnts]

i just bought my 11yo a tux on ebay! Paid $40!!! I recognize the issue may not be spending the money, but rather what your son wants, but like Honeysgal, wouldn't you like a nice pic of the 4 of you? (just an fyi, when my son tried on the tux, he felt so dignified and handsome. of course, i kept telling him how handsome he is/was!:p )

 

I don't think your son would be out of place, since he's 14, but if he's very tall, people may mistake him for older and think he's out of place. (just a thought.) Go with your gut, no one is going to kick you out of the dining room.

[steve20832]

I know you can rent a tux from the ship, you may want to call them to see if they will only rent a tie and jacket if you think he will be out of place.

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

We have cruised 17 times now and have taken our two boys now aged 13 and 17 and in the early days they wore pants, shirts and vests. They now both have Tux's but that's only because they wanted to.

 

Do not worry, he will be fine. That's appropriate attire for the dining room.

 

In my opinion your pics will be nice too because everyone will be happy with what they are wearing. ;)

[meripour]

I think it would be a nice kick for him to have his picture in a tux like Dad. Rent one on board, or there are many places now where you can buy one for next to nothing. He may not feel it is necessary, and it is not, but when he see the picture of that one special night years from now, he (and you) will be glad you did. Its a good primer for him on how it is not so bad to dress up once and a while for a really special event other than prom.

I think you can go on line and prereserve with the cruise line, but I know you can as well once on board.

[hdawson]

The refinement of a cruise vacation is a great learning experience in social graces and being treated by grownups as equals. Khakis and blazer look great and not expensive.

[davey]

Should I be expecting a whole different experience on an RCI cruise than a Disney Cruise? We have only done Disney. These cruises just sound totally different.

[harrodsfan]

We bought our son a tux at Marshalls when he was a Freshman in Highschool. He wore it for formals in high school and college and on cruises..it paid for itself many times over.

You can just rent a jacket...my dh somehow forgot his tux jacket for our wEstern Carribean cruise and he was able to rent just the jacket.

[jamandamn14]

As a 14 year old myself I dont really like getting dressed up but on our up coming 1 week cruise I will be going on a formal night because my mum is making me, dont make him go to two that is a waste of time. When dinner is finished he can run back up to the room and change again.

[fjrtha]

I think I will let him dress for comfort. No jacket! He isn't tall for his age and could easily pass for 13 instead of almost 15. His current dressy suit was getting a tad too tight and he didn't want to buy another right now on impulse as we are leaving this Saturday. The jacket looked fine but it felt uncomfortable and he had not had it on for around 3 mos and has grown since then. Next cruise he definitely will want a tux to wear and hopfully his growing will slow down. I think he is getting ready for his growth spurt in height any day and we cruise every two years so I will skip the tux this time.

[JCSM-Mom]

My hubby will wear a tux and I will wear a long gown as well as my daughter. My son just wants to wear his black dockers a white dress shirt and tie(no jacket) Will he be out of place not wearing a jacket???

 

You will get tons of reponses all over the place regarding this. I would imagine there will be others dressed the same as your son. I would probably try to convince my son to wear a suit (I probably wouldn't get him a Tux). But that's me. I bought 3 'suits' for my (then 14 month old) son when we cruised a 10 day to Mexico. He was so darn cute, course the baby suits that I found didn't have jackets, just little ties and vests....but I'm digressing...sorry. :o

 

Maybe a dark dinner jacket that he could wear in the dining room?

 

Whatever you decide have a great time!

[jamandamn14]

good for you

[Mildred]

I love to see my teenage sons dressed in suits with white shirt, tie, and real dress shoes (or at least not sneakers!!). They look so Wonderful ;)

[VaCruzers]

My sons are 18 & 13 & have cruised since they were 16 & 11. My older son prefers to wear a jacket while my younger prefers shirt & tie. Neither have ever worn a tuxedo, but both have looked wonderful & have been dressed comparably to other boys their age on formal night.

[Ohunion Cruzers]

The following expectation can be found on RCI’s Web Page:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/lifeOnboardFaq.do;jsessionid=00003r7uyfPObwi9-KWfJ3UFI4U:v2mocc7o#8

 

What are the dress codes onboard?

There are three distinct types of evenings onboard: casual, smart casual and formal. Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

 

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

3 to 4-night cruises include one formal night and two or three casual nights.

5 - nights include one formal and four casual nights.

7 to 9-night cruises include two formal nights, one smart casual night and four to six casual nights.

10, 11, and 12-night cruises include two formal nights and two smart casual nights, all other nights are casual.

14+ -night cruises include three formal nights and four smart casual nights. All other nights are casual.

 

We appreciate your usual parental guidance and cooperation in observing these easy guidelines with your children.

[WeLuvVacation]

Joyce Gleeson-Adamidis, who pens Cruise Critic's original "Under the Captain's Table" series of stories, knows the ins and outs of onboard life -- both as a cruise ship staff member and as the wife of Celebrity Cruises' venerable Captain Adamidis. In "Under the Captain's Table," Joyce will tackle, in her own candid way, a variety of topics -- offering an absolutely behind the scenes perspective on issues ranging from advice for first timers to the burgeoning debate about challenges ships face in handling family travelers.

 

 

Onboard Fashion. Do you wish to look like a million dollars? Those who have it, will. Those who don't, still can anyway! Take your best basic black dress and your favorite shoes, and splurge on a good onboard hair stylist. Put on your favorite jewelry, bring along your favorite shawl and you will look terrific. Men, put on your best suit, a conversational tie and go to the casino or disco. Whoops, haven't a suit? Take along a sport jacket.

 

On a mega ship, you will see everything from Yves St. Laurent to Nikes with Bermuda shorts and then some. Though it is respectful to the Captain and crew to dress for formal evenings, on many ships you don't have to -- there are casual dining options available to you. But for those who want to live the glamour, go all out.

 

One of the strangest -- and most fascinating -- lessons I've learned is how passionate cruise travelers can be about fashion. I've seen raucous debates from passengers about whether ships should casual-ize dressing standards. Actual fist fights with comical ramifications have broken out because of comments made about one's attire. One time, a man walking through the lobby made a comment to his wife about another poorly dressed couple. Overhearing him, the shabby bloke retorted to the dandy guy to "button up."

 

The dressed one responded with an epithet. Next thing you know, a bow tie was tossed, a tennis shoe was flung over the deck and a black tuxedo pant somehow got wrapped around two ankles. What started with a shot and ended in a flash had other passengers running in all directions, pressing hands against mouths to stifle impossibly held giggles.

 

Bottom line? Do what's right for you. Onboard you will see many types of people with many wishes. Just worry about fulfilling yours.

And while I'm on the subject, cruise lines rarely offer guidance on what to wear in ports of call. It's important, though -- very important -- to wear appropriate and respectful clothing, depending on the port of call.

[MrsPete]

At age 14, I think he will look out of place without a jacket on formal night. Plus, if he doesn't dress according to the dress code, you're missing a life-lesson for him.

 

He has the rest of the week -- probably 97% of the cruise time -- to be comfortable. Use formal night to teach him about social graces.