Do you HAVE to dress for formal night?

[suzy5565]

We are going on the Liberty on 9/30, and, after the cruise, are staying in Italy for two more weeks. We want to pack light, and don't want to bring dresses and suits and dress shoes and the whole shebang. Does anyone ever skip the whole thing? What would we be missing, exactly? We couldn't eat in the dining room? Thank you for your help..

[jleq]

Carnival rents "formal wear". It's what I plan to do for my Liberty cruise. The tux [or whatever] should be in your closet when you embark. The Lido is open for dinner every night....no need for "dressing up". Hopefully, one of the previous Liberty cruisers will be able to expand on this.

[bonniemari]

Another idea if you don't want to pack as much. I take one formal dress and my DH takes his tux. But for the second formal night I take a pair of black dress pants and a sparkly top (have one black/silver and one red/black). For casual nights I take one pair of dress pants and a couple of different tops. This serves for 1 really formal and 2 very dressy outfits and 2 nights of semi casual. . And my DH wears the tux twice and just changes shirt and cumberbun and bowtie thingy. And I make sure that with all the outfits I can wear the same pair of shoes (usually black dressy sandal type shoes). Now my problem is handbags. My DH calls me the Imelda Marcos of handbags. When we built our house I had a special closet built just for my handbags. But I try to limit that to 2 or 3 on a cruise. And of course I buy 2 or 3 while on the cruise.

 

Although the Lido deck is open for dinner on formal nights I think it is so fun to get dressed up. But I'll be the one tearing back to my cabin shortly after dinner to get on my comfy clothes and shoes.

[zydecocruiser]

You don't have to dress for formal nights. You can eat in the regular dining rooms. You will not be banished to the Lido unless you banish yourself. For dinner on Carnival, the only really outlawed items are shorts and tank tops and often those are tolerated.

 

You will have lots of people try to convince you otherwise.

 

Most people do dress nicer on formal nights than on non-formal nights but formal dress is NOT required.

[suzy5565]

So, what if my husband just wore a dress shirt and tie? The shoes may be a problem, though. See, we're going to be doing a lot of moving around, traipsing through Tuscany and were trying to keep it as light as we could. This is our first cruise. Didn't realize formal nights were such an event. I feel like we'll be missing out on something, but I don't know what choice there is. But, truthfully, they can't really throw us out if we don't have a tux. A woman can always find some slinky, black thing to wear, but a man has such bulky clothes! Thanks, everyone, for your help...

[CruiseFever]

I sure understand the desire (need?) to pack light...especially in your case. I'm getting to the point where I kind of flip-flop back and forth about formal night. Sometimes, sitting here months away from the next cruise, I think I would like to just skip it. I think I could really make it for a week on just shorts and shirts and maybe a nice pair of pants. I keep thinking and I can almost talk myself into believing that I could do a 7 day cruise out of luggage that would fit in the overhead storage of an airplane.

 

But I really know better and as the cruise approaches and I set my huge main piece of luggage out a month beforehand I know I'd never make it.

 

But more importantly I know that formal night is one of the best parts of the cruise. It's a real experience that you should jump into head first. Dressing for formal night should not be scary either. Dress as you would for church or some other nice place.

 

Men, if you want to wear a tuxedo, fine, do that. If you want to wear a shirt and tie, that's fine too. Jeans and casual wear are NOT fine. You can wear that stuff to dinner but stay out of the dining room that night. That goes for boys too. In the olden days of cruising you were expected to keep your fine clothes on for the rest of the night and be seen with one arm propped on the rail overlooking the ocean saying suave, international playboy-type stuff.

 

FORGET THAT.

 

I high tail it right back to the cabin to get my shorts or jeans back and I am not the only one. There ARE guys that DO like that stuff and spend some time in the cigar bar or walking around looking cool. If you are one of them you will fit in very nicely also. Just stay away from me; I will think you are trying to sell me something.

Ladies, see below for what to wear, I look lousy in a formal gown so I will defer to one of the ladies for specific recommendations, although I could help with makeup and hair styling tips. ;)

 

See the thing is that "Formal Night" is, to me, "rime Rib and Lobster night"in the dining room. That's when they serve that for sure. Other than that you won't notice a whole lot different with the menu and the way it is served. That's pretty much the same every night.

 

If you still feel uncomfortable about formal night after you get done with reading all this email me and I will console you.

 

Ladies?

 

I asked my daughter to take that one and she said:

 

You could wear anything from khakis and a nice shirt to a prom dress really. Don't wear your shorts and bud light racing tee... Don't wear your swimsuit. Don't wear your birthday suit even if it is your birthday- that would be inappropriate (Your fellow diners and waiting staff might be a little uncomfortable hehe). You could wear a cute pair of dressy capris... If you choose to wear a tank top, make sure it is classy and isn't your pajama top from old navy. I usually wear a skirt with tights or hose, and a dressy shirt. My sister usually wears one of her dresses from school dances. My mom wears a very classy dress-suit type thing that is white and matches my daddy's suit very nicely.

What ever you chose to wear should be dressier then your everyday attire, but it doesn't have to be like you are dining with royalty.

[zydecocruiser]

A black dress works.

 

For shoes, I find a pair of black walking shoes doubles nicely for functionality and formality. If someone is looking at your shoes that closely, they need to get a life. Something like this works:

 

[gogetter]

Hello,

 

here we go again.........

[jleq]

Most people do dress nicer on formal nights than on non-formal nights but formal dress is NOT required.

 

That's the reason I asked the previous Liberty cruisers to respond. The "dressiness" in the dining room/Formal Night often changes slightly when you compare Carribean cruises to European [or any longer] cruise.

[zydecocruiser]

That's the reason I asked the previous Liberty cruisers to respond. The "dressiness" in the dining room/Formal Night often changes slightly when you compare Carribean cruises to European [or any longer] cruise.

 

That's the reason I didn't recommend jeans blu on formal nights.

[L2J]

A black dress works.

 

For shoes, I find a pair of black walking shoes doubles nicely for functionality and formality. If someone is looking at your shoes that closely, they need to get a life. Something like this works:

 

 

Oh that's nice :rolleyes:

[ali6879]

We saw a bunch of people in nice slacks and a button down shirt. You should be fine without a tux if you'd like.

[Sablerose]

I don't know. I mean, I don't have a lot of cruise experience or anything. I just absolutely shudder when I read about people showing up to formal night without dressing up, or people telling other people (no offense to the posters who made the suggestion) that they should dress however they want to be comfortable in the dining room (but no shorts or jeans) for formal night.

 

I'm going to dress nicely for formal night, and if it means we bring an extra garment bag to hold hubby's dress uniform and two different outfits or mix-and-match formal pantsuit pieces for me, then so be it.

 

And just so y'all know, I work at home (transcriptionist) so it's not like I even have an extensive "going-out" wardrobe. I'm a T-shirt and shorts or T-shirt and sweats kind of gal when I am puttering around home. My husband, obviously, wears a uniform every day and as soon as he can, changes into shorts and T-shirt.

 

I asked very kindly when I first showed up here at Cruise Critic about some ideas for formal night dress, and got some great recommendations as far as shopping at different low-cost clothing stores or even resale shops to pick up something nice for formal night. Who is possibly that worried about carrying a pair of extra dress shoes? I mean, my gosh.

 

I don't know, I am probably "going off" here and it might be unwarranted, but I just cringe. If the OP acknowledges the dress code and wants to eat on the Lido on formal night (which is something we were originally considering doing if we couldn't afford to get new clothing suitable for formal night) then isn't that their prerogative? If I were staying at the Four Seasons and wanted to have dinner at a fancy restaurant, I would skip it if I couldn't dress the part.

 

I don't even know where I'm going with this. At the risk of sounding awful and mean, (this isn't directed at the OP, as the OP stated they were thinking of eating on the Lido on formal night if they couldn't dress for dinner) if you don't want to dress for dinner, then stay out of the dining room. We plan on making sure we have appropriate clothing for every stage of the trip whether it be hanging out poolside, dinner in the dining room on formal or semi-formal or "smart casual", and everything else. It's going to be part of the experience for us, and one that we're going to relish. If you don't want to do that, why would you take a cruise?

 

*slams head on desk*

 

I'll get off my soapbox now.

[Cotton]

I've sworn off on dress codes and tipping threads.

 

Just wanted to say HI CHRIS! We've missed having you around.:)

[dan40]

Contrary to an earlier post, formal wear IS now required. But I have never, ever seen it enforced.

 

Dan

[Muumuu]

Formal night attire on each and every cruise that I have been on runs from formal to jeans and tshirt. I have even seen some pretty shabby clothes and they were never asked to leave. I see more and more casual on those nights. It is just personal taste, no one else cares, or should care. On one cruise, I forgot my DH bag with his dress clothes. We went casual and had plenty of company. Just go and enjoy!

[Sablerose]

Formal night attire on each and every cruise that I have been on runs from formal to jeans and tshirt.

 

But it doesn't "run" like that in terms of what the guideline is.

 

It "runs" like that because people disregard the guideline. Sometimes deliberately, and sometimes because they have an unfortunate situation like losing a piece of luggage.

 

I think I am the most casual person ON THE PLANET, and I hope that they start enforcing formal night/dress codes more if they aren't now.

 

Because if I am going to voluntarily spend the extra money and take the extra time, make a spa appointment to have my hair done and get my husband to dress in his Dress Blues for formal dinner, I don't want some yahoo in jeans and a T-shirt at the dinner table with me.

 

Jeez. I must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something today.

[big_duck]

Sablerose, haven't you figured it out yet?

 

There are three camps on the issue.

 

One that wants formal, one that doesn't, and those who are new and don't know.

 

It seems the mission of those in the first two groups is to drag in as many from the third they can get, like they get a free toaster for every convert or something.

 

Personally I cruise for the cruise experience. For me that includes dressing up on formal nights; it's a cruise not a trip to Six Flags. I haven't had someone show up at my table in jeans in t-shirt yet, but I know it will happen someday. As long as they don't smell, and don't get in my pictures I've decided I'm not gonna care.

 

Glad your Hubby made it back safe.

[dan40]

GO ROSE!!!!!

 

 

Dan

[zydecocruiser]

Formal wear, in the sense of you must wear clothes, is required. Formal wear, in the sense of a tuxedo, or even a dark suit, isn't. The only attire not permitted (and that is iffy) at dinner in the main dining rooms are shorts, shirts, and bathing suits.

 

Please note the wording is still much stronger in the alcohol policy, which is neither adhered to, nor enforced.

 

You could, in fact, wear jeans on formal night if you so desire, and certainly any other night.

 

In addition, if there are Europeans on board, you will find many of the non-smoking sections have become smoking, and the funnel deck will expand beyond its borders.

[Sablerose]

Sablerose, haven't you figured it out yet?

 

There are three camps on the issue.

 

One that wants formal, one that doesn't, and those who are new and don't know.

 

It seems the mission of those in the first two groups is to drag in as many from the third they can get, like they get a free toaster for every convert or something.

 

Personally I cruise for the cruise experience. For me that includes dressing up on formal nights; it's a cruise not a trip to Six Flags. I haven't had someone show up at my table in jeans in t-shirt yet, but I know it will happen someday. As long as they don't smell, and don't get in my pictures I've decided I'm not gonna care.

 

Glad your Hubby made it back safe.

 

Thanks muchly, for the thoughts re hubby. I'm thrilled as well! Now as for recruiting, I understand that everyone tries to get people to see things their way, but it doesn't seem to make it right. At least not to me. I'll try to take it with a grain of salt. I've stayed out of the debate in my short time here on the boards, but the whole "encouraging people to wear whatever they want" thing is just kind of outrageous to me.

 

Formal wear, in the sense of you must wear clothes, is required. Formal wear, in the sense of a tuxedo, or even a dark suit, isn't. The only attire not permitted (and that is iffy) at dinner in the main dining rooms are shorts, shirts, and bathing suits.

 

Please note the wording is still much stronger in the alcohol policy, which is neither adhered to, nor enforced.

 

You could, in fact, wear jeans on formal night if you so desire, and certainly any other night.

 

In addition, if there are Europeans on board, you will find many of the non-smoking sections have become smoking, and the funnel deck will expand beyond its borders.

 

People go 85mph in a 75mph zone on the highway, make "rolling stops" at stop signs, take "plumped up" deductions on their income taxes, or use fake ID's to get into clubs when they're 20 years old. Lots of people do it, but it doesn't change the fact that it's against the law or against the rules. Just because you can "get away with it" doesn't mean that it makes it right.

 

Like I said. I just hope they start enforcing it. Me having a beer or a mix-your-own in my cabin might also be against the rules, but it's not interfering with anyone else's experience. I can be naked in the privacy of my own cabin, and no one's ever going to know. But formal dinner is a completely different thing entirely.

[Astronomer]

Big_Duck

 

I am new and I agree with you.

 

I hope you get your toaster.

[Eliot Ness]

.........Because if I am going to voluntarily spend the extra money and take the extra time, make a spa appointment to have my hair done and get my husband to dress in his Dress Blues for formal dinner, I don't want some yahoo in jeans and a T-shirt at the dinner table with me.........

Most people confirm to something more than a t-shirt and jeans on formal nights. You might see some dress shirts w/wo ties, but for the most part I haven't noticed anyone in just a t-shirt, although I'm sure it could happen on any given cruise with that many people on board.

 

You and your husband will look great and you'll be having such a good time you probably won't notice what anyone who isn't sitting at your table is wearing.

 

Put all the little worries like this out of your mind and concentrate on what a great cruise you're going to have! Then go to this site and plan what extra entrees and deserts you'll want to order ;).

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/231083491RrRMfu

 

John

[momof4boys]

Not really sure. My preference is to dress for casual and formal nights, as well as days. I think the only place where clothing is optional is on the funnel deck.:eek: However, someone will be sure to point out that CCL does not specifically state that clothing MUST be worn in the dining room!!! (I noticed some posters want everything spelled out legally!!) :D

[DreadPirateRobert]

Sablerose, haven't you figured it out yet?

 

There are three camps on the issue.

 

One that wants formal, one that doesn't, and those who are new and don't know.

 

It seems the mission of those in the first two groups is to drag in as many from the third they can get, like they get a free toaster for every convert or something.

 

Personally I cruise for the cruise experience. For me that includes dressing up on formal nights; it's a cruise not a trip to Six Flags. I haven't had someone show up at my table in jeans in t-shirt yet, but I know it will happen someday. As long as they don't smell, and don't get in my pictures I've decided I'm not gonna care.

 

Glad your Hubby made it back safe.

 

Well said Duck!

Not to flame the OP but the dress code is the dress code. It's not a law it's a guideline. If you are a person who doesn't agree with it or doesn't like to be told how to dress; you're going to do what you want to do anyway. Why ask?