Can I survive being casual on Transatlantic Queen Victoria?

[luckymal]

About a month ago we finished a cruise on the MS Amsterdam. It was the perfect vacation except.... i hated the suit and tie on formal nights and the "smart casual" on other nights in the MDR. I wore a suit for a good portion of my career and hated it. My formal wear sits in plastic bags in the dark recesses of my closet. I find them, no matter how tailored they are, to be uncomfortable. And this world is getting Sooooo infested with rules of what others want you to do..... I just draw the line here.

 

Enough on that rant.

 

We are planning on going to England next year. I am also not a big fan of flying. Did that for 40 years.... Even as an USAF pilot. So I like trains now and maybe ships.

 

The question is .... Can I survive on the Queen Victoria if I am in my T shirt/ clean jeans/ and vest. That is my uniform of the day. Very comfortable. and its what I choose to wear. Can I eat at the Lido like this at all times? Are there other food venues that I can go to onboard. Will I be shot on site if I am walking the common areas of the ship during formal nights?

 

No Hissy Fits please.... Just the facts please.

 

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The perfect way for you to cross the Atlantic, would be a rowing boat you would be able to choose what you wanted to wear or even not wear, but if you want to go with CUNARD please follow the set codes.

[uilleann]

As the OP served in the armed forces, he's quite aware how to follow a dresscode*.

 

The dresscode says no jeans and jacket recquired after 18:00 in all public places except the buffet. There is not much more to say to the topic as everything else will not be according to the dresscode and make some of your other fellow passengers feel uncomfortable.

 

If you really want to stay in your cabin after 18:00 - imo you are missing most of the fun!

Wearing a jacket or suit is not torture, I am sure that your wife will like it!

 

*Imagine someone on a USAF base questioning the dresscode there.

 

Its ridiculous to compare rules on a cruise to the rules of military service. I brought it up to show.... I was forced to do it then.... And now if I dont have to do it, I dont want to do it. And I have never dressed to please anyone. That is a foreign concept to me. Maybe a lot of women do that to please????? Other women???? Other men??? Sorry. I dont like it. Its funny when I did marketing for our customers we always showed up in suites. The customers did too. But as soon as the customer pulled off a jacket or a tie.... Everyone in the room would do the same. None of us liked wearing suites. It seems to be an outdated game that we have imposed on ourselves that many or most do not like but do it anyway for fear of what others may think. Take high heeled shoes. I dont need or want to see women in high healed shoes. and it looks like torture to me. or makeup.....I think you must have a pretty low self esteem to think you need to paint your face before you go outside.

 

I say.... Slip those surly man-made customs that have burdened you down and be free. dress in clothes that are relaxing and feel comfortable.

 

 

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[capnpugwash]

I think that some of the answers have been a touch harsh and that others were worse but if the OP didn't want to receive them or had no intention of taking the advice, I have to wonder why he posed the question in the first place. If you don't want to wear a suit, don't wear a suit. If that means that all meals need to be taken in the buffet then eat there. I don't eat there so your impact on me will be very limited. Simples! <(")

[Yoshikitty]

Its ridiculous to compare rules on a cruise to the rules of military service. I brought it up to show.... I was forced to do it then.... And now if I dont have to do it, I dont want to do it. And I have never dressed to please anyone. That is a foreign concept to me. Maybe a lot of women do that to please????? Other women???? Other men??? Sorry. I dont like it. Its funny when I did marketing for our customers we always showed up in suites. The customers did too. But as soon as the customer pulled off a jacket or a tie.... Everyone in the room would do the same. None of us liked wearing suites. It seems to be an outdated game that we have imposed on ourselves that many or most do not like but do it anyway for fear of what others may think. Take high heeled shoes. I dont need or want to see women in high healed shoes. and it looks like torture to me. or makeup.....I think you must have a pretty low self esteem to think you need to paint your face before you go outside.

 

I say.... Slip those surly man-made customs that have burdened you down and be free. dress in clothes that are relaxing and feel comfortable.

 

 

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Wow!

 

No!

Edited July 2, 2014 by Yoshikitty

[rafinmd]

uilleann, you do have a bit of a dilemma. Cunard really has the most stringent dress codes of any major cruise line, and your options are very limited if you are unwilling to dress for the evening. It is possible, but your options will be far more limited than they were on Holland America. If you go expecting that and plan in advance for limited evening activity, daytime activities on QV will be very nice and you can have a very pleasant crossing if you set your expectations properly. I will make a couple of suggestions:

 

1. I have a friend who doesn't like to dress up and she sailed once on QM2. The first day she visited the Maitre'd and requested that she not be assigned a table in the dining room. It would be a great favor to the others at your table if they did not face 2 empty seats each evening.

 

2. You don't say where your journey (either from home or by sea) is starting, but Norwegian has a cruise from Miami to Copenhagen at an attractive price, with a port call in Dover. If you could get permission to disembark a few days early in Dover, I think the ship would be a good fit for your preferences.

 

Roy

[keithm]

About a month ago we finished a cruise on the MS Amsterdam. It was the perfect vacation except.... i hated the suit and tie on formal nights and the "smart casual" on other nights in the MDR. I wore a suit for a good portion of my career and hated it. My formal wear sits in plastic bags in the dark recesses of my closet. I find them, no matter how tailored they are, to be uncomfortable. And this world is getting Sooooo infested with rules of what others want you to do..... I just draw the line here.

 

Enough on that rant.

 

We are planning on going to England next year. I am also not a big fan of flying. Did that for 40 years.... Even as an USAF pilot. So I like trains now and maybe ships.

 

The question is .... Can I survive on the Queen Victoria if I am in my T shirt/ clean jeans/ and vest. That is my uniform of the day. Very comfortable. and its what I choose to wear. Can I eat at the Lido like this at all times? Are there other food venues that I can go to onboard. Will I be shot on site if I am walking the common areas of the ship during formal nights?

 

No Hissy Fits please.... Just the facts please.

 

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Have you read the brochures?? Come on man! Cunard's pax enjoy dressing up. Each line has it's "schtick" and Cunard's is following a certain dresscode! If you can't respect the other pax then by all means choose a "casual" line. As to your style(or lack of)dress, what's wrong with at least a pair of decent khaki pants(try Dockers), nice shirt & decent shoes? Is that really too hard for you? This would not be normal on formal night, but at least you won't stand out like sore thumb! When the world is a room of Tuxedos, why be the pair of dirty brown shoes??

[keithm]

Its ridiculous to compare rules on a cruise to the rules of military service. I brought it up to show.... I was forced to do it then.... And now if I dont have to do it, I dont want to do it. And I have never dressed to please anyone. That is a foreign concept to me. Maybe a lot of women do that to please????? Other women???? Other men??? Sorry. I dont like it. Its funny when I did marketing for our customers we always showed up in suites. The customers did too. But as soon as the customer pulled off a jacket or a tie.... Everyone in the room would do the same. None of us liked wearing suites. It seems to be an outdated game that we have imposed on ourselves that many or most do not like but do it anyway for fear of what others may think. Take high heeled shoes. I dont need or want to see women in high healed shoes. and it looks like torture to me. or makeup.....I think you must have a pretty low self esteem to think you need to paint your face before you go outside.

 

I say.... Slip those surly man-made customs that have burdened you down and be free. dress in clothes that are relaxing and feel comfortable.

 

 

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I'd say wearing a "suite" must be rather uncomfortable, to say the least. A suit is so much easier! Do you still have your uniform? Can you still get into it? Bring that along to wear on formal night. Quite a few former military pax do.

[keithm]

Oceania cruises have a cruise May 18th 2015, leaving Montreal for London. No formal nights, Country Club Casual every night. Superb quality, food is excellent.

Sounds like this guy is more "Onslow" trailer trash chic, than Country Club chic.I'm sure Oceania won't approve that sort of casual style,either.

[pmb1]

Its ridiculous to compare rules on a cruise to the rules of military service. I brought it up to show.... I was forced to do it then.... And now if I dont have to do it, I dont want to do it. ...

 

Passage Contract

 

1. INTRODUCTION; DEFINITIONS; GOVERNING LAW.

 

Upon booking the Voyage, each Guest named on the travel summary explicitly agrees to the terms of this Passage Contract. ...

 

11. RESPONSIBILITY TO COMPLY WITH LAW AND REGULATIONS, RULES OF SHIP; NO SOLICITATION.

 

... You must at all times obey all the rules, regulations and orders of the ship, Carrier and the Captain.

[buckirj1]

...I have a friend who doesn't like to dress up and she sailed once on QM2. The first day she visited the Maitre'd and requested that she not be assigned a table in the dining room. It would be a great favor to the others at your table if they did not face 2 empty seats each evening....

Roy

 

Hey, that was me! Though my experience was on the QM2, I don't think the Lido would be markedly different. Here's how I handled it: I had dinner in the buffet part of Kings Court every night. The buffet has perfectly adequate food, cheerful staffers, and lots of seating. You'll have plenty of company, and they won't be dressed formally, either. This is an option Cunard makes available to every.single.guest who wishes to take advantage. As to the remainder of the evening, I didn't find it a particular burden to slap on a lace tunic and velvet trousers (my only formal outfit, which I consider a t-shirt and sweatpants in luxurious fabrics) if I felt like wandering the ship. I did this the first few nights until I decided that most of the evening entertainment...wasn't..., and I was happier watching a movie in the cabin in my jammies. Please don't stress over this; a little common sense and consideration will go a long way.

[keithm]

Having read both the threads (HAL and Cunard ) by the OP, and also his comments on HAL, I can only hope hat he stays far away from any ship I am on.

 

He obviously is a s**b, he only wishes to wear jeans and T shirts, and wishes to drink out of a can at the table in the MDR ! Does he also wish to eat his French fries covered in ketchup with his fingers?

 

 

Lynn

Obvious friend of Onslow!

[keithm]

There is a proverb "When in Rome do as the Romans do " this has been around for over 2000 years. This means follow the customs of the place you are in.

 

When the OP decided to book Cunard he knew the dress code, yet immediately starts to say "I am not going to follow the rules" as for carrying a can into the MDR and drinking from it rather than from a glass, what sort of low grade behavior is that?

 

Middle class pretentions! I was born in a miners house, that housed 7 people, all the men were unemployed. Orphaned at 3 , I moved to a dock yard slum in the East End of London,( Poplar, the scene for Call the Midwife on TV). Speech pattern that of My Fair Lady, privy out back, carry your own water to flush, cut up squares of newspaper for "wipes".

Just because you are born in the gutter you do not have to stay there with the flea, rats and rotting garbage .

 

The OP knows better but he is a reverse snob. He revels in being a sl*b. The waiter could give him a fork but he would still eat his fries with his fingers, just to give the others at the table "the bird"

 

I pay many $$$$ to cruise on QM2 ( as do others , indeed some pay three times the amount I pay) why should we have to put up with this man's bad attitude and coarse behavior?

 

At the risk of being flamed, all I can say is " you think his behavior is fine, well you can have him"

Bravo!!!

[OzKiwiJJ]

 

He wishes to drink out of a can at the table in the MDR

 

Actually, on that thread the OP did not say he wished to drink out of a can.

 

He said "I would like to bring a can or a filled glass with me to the MDR" referring to his preferred brand of soda, San Pellegrino, which is a brand he believes is not sold onboard. Presumably if he brought the can of soda, rather than a filled glass, he would ask for a glass to drink it from. Some people don't like the over-sweet rubbish provided by the Coca-Cola Company!

[bazzaw]

You old F***s - always talking about what to wear at night - and during the day you get around looking like somebody who dresses themselves out of the dumpsters! You gotta get into the 21st Century -- you need some street cred daytime-wise! can you hear me? -- no more of those old man shorts in the buffet at breakfast - no more of those belly button hugging trousers!! No more of those 60's leather shoes!

 

Take note of this man - this is what you need to think about for your daytime wear -- what pants are going to match your shoes??? No more of those black and brown things!!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KnvNjp7kG0

 

Barry

[capnpugwash]

You old F***s - always talking about what to wear at night - and during the day you get around looking like somebody who dresses themselves out of the dumpsters! You gotta get into the 21st Century -- you need some street cred daytime-wise! can you hear me? -- no more of those old man shorts in the buffet at breakfast - no more of those belly button hugging trousers!! No more of those 60's leather shoes!

 

Take note of this man - this is what you need to think about for your daytime wear -- what pants are going to match your shoes??? No more of those black and brown things!!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KnvNjp7kG0

 

Barry

 

Sartorial advice from the Antipodes, whilst rare, is always welcome. :)

[Post Captain]

Obvious friend of Onslow!

But at least Onslow made an effort to adhere to Cunard's standards on formal night.;):D

 

[uilleann]

Actually, on that thread the OP did not say he wished to drink out of a can.

 

He said "I would like to bring a can or a filled glass with me to the MDR" referring to his preferred brand of soda, San Pellegrino, which is a brand he believes is not sold onboard. Presumably if he brought the can of soda, rather than a filled glass, he would ask for a glass to drink it from. Some people don't like the over-sweet rubbish provided by the Coca-Cola Company!

 

I did bring a can of San Pellegrino about 3/4 of the nights. There was no issue. In fact they started to have a glass of ice for me after the first few nights.

 

But I do have to say that I was having fun with our table group so I never looked around at the other table. So not only did I not see what others were wearing but I probably missed all of the feinting passengers when I walked past them with a can in my hand :-)

 

 

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[uilleann]

Passage Contract

 

1. INTRODUCTION; DEFINITIONS; GOVERNING LAW.

 

Upon booking the Voyage, each Guest named on the travel summary explicitly agrees to the terms of this Passage Contract. ...

 

11. RESPONSIBILITY TO COMPLY WITH LAW AND REGULATIONS, RULES OF SHIP; NO SOLICITATION.

 

... You must at all times obey all the rules, regulations and orders of the ship, Carrier and the Captain.

 

Does this mean you also drive 55mph on a highway with a limit of 55?? Be truthful now!

 

 

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[uilleann]

Thank you David for your comment :) .

The only negative thing I have about the automated iPad "ad" is that it reminds me of the early days of mobile 'phones. Whenever I was on a train or in a pub/bar, someone would, in the loudest voice possible, let us all know that he had one. When iPads were rare, reading the strap-line simply reminded me of that period, years back. Now they are given away free with newspapers etc, it looks even more "showy" to my eyes. Most people I know that have one, have it turned off.

Best wishes to you.

 

Sent from my computer using a keyboard ;) :)

 

These comments on are the verge of being a little waco. The ipad line at the end of comments is automatic. If I did this on an iphone or an android.... It would say that. I guess I could erase it. It never occurred to me that it would offend anyone. But i guess if you are offended by my asking about where i can be casual for dinner then i guess i can believe that you would be offended by the word ipad at the bottom of my posts... ;-)

 

 

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[uilleann]

If you are just using it as a mode of transport no problem. Room service and the Lido are your only options. You can get a drink in the bar up on deck if you fancied. You might make one night on an informal night just to try it out😉

 

 

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Thanks

 

 

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[uilleann]

Having read both the threads (HAL and Cunard ) by the OP, and also his comments on HAL, I can only hope hat he stays far away from any ship I am on.

 

He obviously is a s**b, he only wishes to wear jeans and T shirts, and wishes to drink out of a can at the table in the MDR ! Does he also wish to eat his French fries covered in ketchup with his fingers?

 

 

Lynn

 

I am a slob but not a s..o...a...b.... And I would totally like to eat dinner in the MDR in jeans and a T shirt... I wear suspenders too!! We travel all over the place and only eat at 4 and 5 star restaurants.... But not $$$$$ restaurants. T shirts and jeans is the ONLY dress code that I adhere to.

 

And.... Your saying that I probably eat my french fries with my fingers.... OMG what planet are you from. French fries, Bacon, sausage, shrimp, ribs, bread, rolls, fish & chips are a small sample of what goes from my fingers to my mouth.

 

 

 

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[uilleann]

Having read both the threads (HAL and Cunard ) by the OP, and also his comments on HAL, I can only hope hat he stays far away from any ship I am on.

 

He obviously is a s**b, he only wishes to wear jeans and T shirts, and wishes to drink out of a can at the table in the MDR ! Does he also wish to eat his French fries covered in ketchup with his fingers?

 

 

Lynn

 

Oops... Forget my last post where I quoted this..... It just occurred to me tjat uou had to be kidding..... Right?

 

 

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[OzKiwiJJ]

I did bring a can of San Pellegrino about 3/4 of the nights. There was no issue. In fact they started to have a glass of ice for me after the first few nights.

 

But I do have to say that I was having fun with our table group so I never looked around at the other table. So not only did I not see what others were wearing but I probably missed all of the feinting passengers when I walked past them with a can in my hand :-)

 

 

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Just in case someone faints at the sight of your can next time, why don't you carry it in a small bag of some sort? Plus San Pellegrino is also available in small bottles which, although they hold less than the cans, do look a little more sophisticated. ;)

Edited July 4, 2014 by OzKiwiJJ

[uilleann]

I'm absolutely no expert, and am not sure how many days you are willing to spend on transatlantic, but I did a quick google search and came up with the following for April/May, 2015 that avoid Cunard and its dress code (I'm sure there are others too):

 

Princess: April 25 - 14-day Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton, visiting Bermuda (Apr 28), Greenock (May 5), Dublin (6), Cobh (7), in Southampton on May 9 – prices from $1300 pp.)

http://www.repositioncruises.com/princess-repositioning-cruises/

 

Royal Caribbean from Boston, departing April 24. Makes stops in Cork, Ireland (May 1) and Portland, UK (May 2), not sure if you can debark there, however; goes to several other places, eventually ends up in Copenhagen (May 9). Prices from $1229 USD pp

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/itinerary.do?packageCode=SR15T051

 

You mentioned Queen Victoria, and I can't find a Queen Victoria eastbound transatlantic from the U.S. in April/May 2015, except for the last leg of the world voyage which indicates stops in NY and Southampton on voyage V508B from Los Angeles to Southampton via Panama Canal. Is that what you are looking at? Do they sell the leg just from NY to Southampton as a separate voyage? If you need to travel faster than the typical repositioning cruises on other lines, Cunard, especially Queen Mary transatlantic, may indeed be the best bet, clothing code or not. Frankly, I do find it strange that someone should be so terribly unwilling to wear a suit or jacket for a few nights, especially since you own them and have apparently worn them in the past. But I'm obviously not in your shoes.

 

P.S. Have you asked your wife how she feels about dressing up for a few nights? Maybe she doesn't share your feelings and might enjoy doing so.

 

Good advice... Thanks. Checking out RC.

 

 

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[uilleann]

Yes, I'll be "someone to judge" should I see what you saw. A couple who would so blatantly give their middle finger to the expected standard of dress - by sitting in the first row to be seen - deserves to be judged.

 

You are kidding.... Right?

 

 

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