Obligatory dinner dress question: 2 dresses enough?

[56DeSoto]

My husband and I are taking a belated honeymoon in the spring with QV over to England and then QM2 back. We'll be spending a month in England with no car, so everything we pack we have to be able to carry about with us. I have two very classy dresses that are extremely lightweight. One is all black, the other is black and white. The black and white one would be particularly fitting for the formal nights. Will that be enough to get me by, especially if I switch it up with a shrug or two for a slightly different look?

 

I'm planning to get my husband a nice black suit and a change of ties and bow-ties. He already has an excellent vest that will class the outfit up for formal nights.

 

I took QM2 solo back in 2008, but I have to cut down on the weight of my packing this time around.

[Scrapnana]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

What you describe will be fine. Add a shawl, scarf, jacket or jewelry and you can totally change the look of your outfit.

 

Enjoy your crossings!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Your plan sounds fine. That's the beauty of the LBD, you can do so much to vary how you look. Between now and the cruise, you can keep an eye out for shrugs or scarves or jewelry that would vary the look. I usually pack more than that, but even so, I have worn dresses more than once--and nobody said "OMG, she wore that two days ago!"

 

Take a look at clothing you think you'll need only for the crossings, but not in England. If there's enough, you might consider packing it all in one suitcase or garment bag and having it stored in Soton for the month. Cunard has a service for that. I don't know what it costs as it's a long time since we've stored luggage between crossings.

 

Sounds like you'll have a wonderful trip!

[david,Mississauga]

That is exactly what "She Who Must Be Obeyed" does: she brings two long dresses and adds an accessory the second time one is worn. Even when the crossings had four formal nights, the two were sufficient. We have noticed many other women do the same.

[cruiseluvva]

It's definitely do-able, though I'm not sure I could do it. I enjoy having lots of choice. I think I'd go down the Southampton storage route

[Jimsgirl]

May I add my two cents worth. (this from an "old hard to please fusspot)

 

It is the style of the dress , and the behavior of the person wearing it that matters, not the colour of the dress.

 

A classic black dress can be dressed up with chiffon scarves, and stoles, which do not weigh very much (Jewelry is good but does weigh very heavy as I know from my own use). If the dress is a polyester knit it can be washed (in the sink if need be ) rolled in a towel to get out the most of the drips, and then hang over night in the shower (there is a line in there).

 

One pair of black sandals will do for shoes, and a plain small black clutch bag. Save the most colourful stole for formal nights and switch between the dresses night to night .

I over pack it is true but some of my classic dresses are over 10 years old, and some of my chiffon stoles cost the "huge" sum of $9 !

 

One word of advice. Do NOT discuss the type of cabin you are in - IT IS NO OTHER PERSONS BUSINESS. nor is your life style any other persons business. Queens Grill or Inside cabin you are both on the same cruise. A slob is a slob and a lady is a lady no matter which cabin she is in.

 

Have a very good cruise.

[Minz]

Hi, I recently crossed the Atlantic on QM2 with a 9.5 kg backpack and small personal bag. I "overpacked" with a total of 3 dresses and 1 black skirt and a variety of accessories. On my next crossing at Christmas, I will have only 2 dresses and 1 skirt (plus shirts and accessories). One pair of simple black shoes served me well each night. Our table companions were delightful and there was zero fuss about clothing. Everyone was suitably dressed and we did comment on those who went "all out" with the glitz and glamour -they looked delightful, but in the same light, we were well dressed also.

 

Note: I posted two of my dresses home and my shoes when I arrived into Southampton as I wanted super lightweight for the next three week leg of my trip.

[Cruise NH]

Your plan sounds fine. That's the beauty of the LBD, you can do so much to vary how you look. Between now and the cruise, you can keep an eye out for shrugs or scarves or jewelry that would vary the look. I usually pack more than that, but even so, I have worn dresses more than once--and nobody said "OMG, she wore that two days ago!"

 

Take a look at clothing you think you'll need only for the crossings, but not in England. If there's enough, you might consider packing it all in one suitcase or garment bag and having it stored in Soton for the month. Cunard has a service for that. I don't know what it costs as it's a long time since we've stored luggage between crossings.

 

Sounds like you'll have a wonderful trip!

 

We always store our luggage with Cunard and it costs $65 for 30 days. We travel throughout Europe without having to carry around all our 'cruise duds'.

 

If the OP is interested in this, there will be a post in the ship's newspaper, but really you can go down to the purser's desk at anytime to sign up for this service.

 

You put your luggage out in the evening like all the others (you will be given special tags) and when you come home on the QM2...your bag will be waiting for you in your cabin. Could not be easier!

[pepperrn]

We always store our luggage with Cunard and it costs $65 for 30 days. We travel throughout Europe without having to carry around all our 'cruise duds'.

If the OP is interested in this, there will be a post in the ship's newspaper, but really you can go down to the purser's desk at anytime to sign up for this service.

You put your luggage out in the evening like all the others (you will be given special tags) and when you come home on the QM2...your bag will be waiting for you in your cabin. Could not be easier!

Sounds like a perfect plan, very useful idea for many in the same situation, and superbly explained. :)

[maina]

Another very flexible formal dress option is to have a long skirt, maybe black and flowy/lightweight, with several fancy tops, plus one dress, rather than having 2 dresses. I'm going to do that on our upcoming westbound transatlantic that is 8 days so has 4 formal nights. My theory is that the people who are most apt to notice what you are wearing is your dinner table-mates, and all we see of each other is mainly from the waist up. If the top varies, who knows that the "bottoms" are the same for several formal nights! :D Even if you get by with a minimal number of outfits, which is a fine idea and very do-able, I second the idea of leaving one bag checked with Cunard in Southampton. Traveling around with just a couple of smaller carry-ons is so much easier than having a third bag in tow. When we did our transatlantic 2 years ago, we went one way and shipped our bag with formal clothes back to the U.S., using Cunard's service. We traveled in Europe for 3 weeks after, using one carry-on each. That's easier to do in the warmer months, I will say.

Edited September 3, 2014 by maina

[Jim Avery]

Just the same way DW does it. Works every time.:D

[tartanexile81]

I'm taking some blingy tops with silky trousers for my forthcoming Cunard cruise. We will be travelling round when we arrive in NY so wanted to reduce the amount of luggage we usually take. Our outward leg is on Princess which will be less formal so I thought this would be a good compromise.

[56DeSoto]

Wonderful advice, everyone! I feel a lot more confident about packing now! I had no idea that storing a bag with Cunard was that simple and affordable. We may consider that so my husband doesn't have to carry his suit all over England.

 

The chiffon stoles are a perfect idea! I will start looking around. The dresses I've chosen are wrinkle-free, easy to launder and dry, and extremely lightweight, but also very classic. I even used the same designer's work for my somewhat nontraditional wedding dress.

[brigittetom]

We always store our luggage with Cunard and it costs $65 for 30 days. We travel throughout Europe without having to carry around all our 'cruise duds'.

 

 

That is extremely reasonable.......yet for only a 4 day layover, not so much. Does any one know if it is possible to store luggage at the port of Hamburg? I know the Hauptbahnhof has large lockers for a fee but that wouldn't be worth the effort.

[mariposa777]

We always store our luggage with Cunard and it costs $65 for 30 days. We travel throughout Europe without having to carry around all our 'cruise duds'.

 

If the OP is interested in this, there will be a post in the ship's newspaper, but really you can go down to the purser's desk at anytime to sign up for this service.

 

You put your luggage out in the evening like all the others (you will be given special tags) and when you come home on the QM2...your bag will be waiting for you in your cabin. Could not be easier!

 

Is there any way to store before your cruise? We did nearly a month in Europe before our TA in June it would have been nice to separate out the cruise gear. From my research it seemed not possible so I was surprised on board to see the 'between cruise' storage offered.

 

That said - we took a modestly sized carryon plus a 25inch wheelie each and took trains in Europe and UK no probs. My daytime wardrobe was pretty minimal and I did a lot of sink washing.

 

For what it's worth I had two formal dresses and two 'cocktail' type - The beloved had a nice suit - suit and cocktail dresses both used for nice dinners out pre and post cruise (all our travel was urban this time).

Edited September 4, 2014 by mariposa777