Dress Code

[redwoods]

How are people dressing for dinner? Are there lots of suits and dresses or do you see more casual wear?

[goksucats]

How are people dressing for dinner? Are there lots of suits and dresses or do you see more casual wear?

 

I've not been on the ship yet, we are on the May 30th Viking Homelands tour. However, it appears from others comments that people dress casually at dinner time at all of the restaurants with the exception of Manfredi's and the Chef's Table which you dress more elegantly, but still not formal. However, Viking contradicts themselves in their documentation. In the cruise documents the send they state that dress is "elegant casual" (whatever the heck that means) is recommended for most restaurants, performances, and special events. Yet elsewhere and online they state that you can dress casually in the main Restaurant. So you got me.

[OneBag]

...Viking contradicts themselves in their documentation. In the cruise documents the send they state that dress is "elegant casual" (whatever the heck that means) is recommended for most restaurants, performances, and special events... Yet elsewhere and online they state that you can dress casually in the main Restaurant. So you got me.

 

I have no idea what "elegant casual" means either. Maybe it means "don't wear cutoffs and flip flops"? Or does it mean "we won't throw you overboard if your sports jacket isn't paired with a tie"? Since we're only taking one bag each, we're going with "try not to offend." ;)

Edited May 7, 2015 by OneBag

[sitraveler]

Should be no shorts in dining room or specialty restaurants. World cafe anything goes.

 

Or course, only taking about dinner.

 

Women dressing better than the men.

[goksucats]

Should be no shorts in dining room or specialty restaurants. World cafe anything goes.

 

Or course, only taking about dinner.

 

Women dressing better than the men.

 

But I assume nice jeans are appropriate in the Restaurant?

[roothy123]

"Elegant casual" is certainly a weird description, but I took it to be what Oceania calls "country club casual." I'm assuming that for women, decent slacks and top or perhaps a sundress is perfectly fine; for men, khaki pants and top. It really doesn't take long to change from touring clothes to simple things like that, so I'm kind of hoping jeans, shortish capri pants and athletic shoes are worn at night in the World Cafe or Mamsens only. Then again, I suppose it's possible to dress up jeans to the point where they might be considered "elegant casual."

[sitraveler]

Jeans? NIMHO

[goksucats]

Jeans? NIMHO

 

Okay, I guess I'll just wait to see what happens. I only want to take one large suitcase, and will be interesting to see what actually happens. If jeans are not appropriate in the restaurant, then Viking is asking for trouble in some of their wording, particularly on their Myvikingjourneys website. Because below is exactly what they state under "What is the dress code" in the help section:

 

"During the day on board and ashore, dress is casual including shorts, jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the pool and Sports Deck. For evenings, while there are no 'formal nights,' the recommended dress is elegant casual for most restaurants, performances or other special events. Suggested attire for ladies includes a dress, or a sweater or blouse worn with a skirt or slacks; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional, but not required. Dinner in The Restaurant remains casual, with daytime dress deemed appropriate."

 

That is the reason why I was going in with the assumption I needed to plan on slacks and a jacket only for our reservations at Manfredi's, the Chef's Table, as well as our night at the Ballet in St. Petersburg.

 

https://www.myvikingjourney.com/help

Edited May 8, 2015 by goksucats

[sitraveler]

All jeans are trousers, but not all trousers are jeans

[id4elizabeth]

When we went to the optional evening tour for Flamenco in Barcelona, Viking told us to wear elegant casual. My husband wore his dressy denim pants (Hagar - crease in front), a collared sports shirt and a jacket that didn't go with either. Because they told us there was walking over cobblestones he wore his walking shoes instead of loafers. He was WAY over dressed. I think he was the only guy there in a jacket. That's the only time he's had his jacket on (we got on in Istanbul). While some guys wear jackets to CT and Manfredis, you will not feel out of place without one. Slacks are necessary. But I would recommend a nice sweater over a sports shirt if you're packing light. That way you can use it for chilly days as well.

 

We attended the ballet in St Pete in 2012. I'd say half the men wore jackets, half not. We were with Uniworld for that cruise, but the audience also contained lots of people with Viking umbrellas.

[goksucats]

When we went to the optional evening tour for Flamenco in Barcelona, Viking told us to wear elegant casual. My husband wore his dressy denim pants (Hagar - crease in front), a collared sports shirt and a jacket that didn't go with either. Because they told us there was walking over cobblestones he wore his walking shoes instead of loafers. He was WAY over dressed. I think he was the only guy there in a jacket. That's the only time he's had his jacket on (we got on in Istanbul). While some guys wear jackets to CT and Manfredis, you will not feel out of place without one. Slacks are necessary. But I would recommend a nice sweater over a sports shirt if you're packing light. That way you can use it for chilly days as well.

 

We attended the ballet in St Pete in 2012. I'd say half the men wore jackets, half not. We were with Uniworld for that cruise, but the audience also contained lots of people with Viking umbrellas.

 

Thank you so much for your feedback. What has your experience been in the main dining room, or the Restaurant? I was only planning on bring one pair of slacks, but if slacks are necessary every evening to eat in the main dining room then I'll certainly need more then one pair.

[redwoods]

Thank you so much for your feedback. What has your experience been in the main dining room, or the Restaurant? I was only planning on bring one pair of slacks, but if slacks are necessary every evening to eat in the main dining room then I'll certainly need more then one pair.

 

We have been on 5 Viking River Cruises and my husband always wears nice jeans and a button shirt for every meal. We have never taken a jacket or fancy clothes, that's just not us!

[OneBag]

When we booked this, we were responding to the press announcements after the big publicity event in Beverly Hills back in 2013 wherein Mr. Hagen talked about no formal nights and no ties. He described the ship as being "designed for comfort, function and understated elegance."

 

So, our attire in the main dining room will be designed for comfort, function and understated elegance. VERY understated. You might have to look closely to find it. :p

[jlp879]

From looking at this video here:

 

http://www.avidcruiser.com/2015/05/06/viking-star-day-5-avid-cruisers-viking-star-video-review/

 

You can see glimpses of real passengers dining aboard the ship last week. You can get a sense of what people are wearing at dinner from checking it out. The dining clips starts at 2:15 in the video, with a glimpse of a group at Manfreddis.

[goksucats]

When we booked this, we were responding to the press announcements after the big publicity event in Beverly Hills back in 2013 wherein Mr. Hagen talked about no formal nights and no ties. He described the ship as being "designed for comfort, function and understated elegance."

 

So, our attire in the main dining room will be designed for comfort, function and understated elegance. VERY understated. You might have to look closely to find it. :p

 

Yes. While beautiful, the ship does not appear fancy, nor pretentious. I suppose you dress accordingly.

[id4elizabeth]

Nice jeans are fine in my opinion in the MDR. I would avoid ratty looking jeans and shorts. Chef's Table and Manfredi's I would do slacks. But this would be my opinion. I have literally seen almost everything. My husband will not be persuaded to bring a jacket ever again on a Viking Cruise. Have not seen a man with a tie, even those with sports coats.

[goksucats]

Nice jeans are fine in my opinion in the MDR. I would avoid ratty looking jeans and shorts. Chef's Table and Manfredi's I would do slacks. But this would be my opinion. I have literally seen almost everything. My husband will not be persuaded to bring a jacket ever again on a Viking Cruise. Have not seen a man with a tie, even those with sports coats.

 

Interesting. I am nervous not to bring a tie for the St. Petersburg Ballet, just feels necessary. But they dont' take up much space, I'll throw one in and if I'm overdressed I'll just stick with the jacket.

[NeilP57]

The Viking website still contains the following under the FAQ's re Dress Code:

 

"During the day on board and ashore, dress is casual including shorts, jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the pool and Sports Deck. For evenings, while there are no “formal nights,” the recommended dress is elegant casual for most restaurants, performances or other special events. Suggested attire for ladies includes a dress, or a sweater or blouse worn with a skirt or slacks; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional, but not required. Dinner in The Restaurant remains casual, with daytime dress deemed appropriate"

 

I have recently received my cruise booklet (effectively tickets and other information) ahead of my forthcoming Empires of the Mediterranean cruise departing Venice on September 27th and I note that there is a section under Dress on Board and it has the exact same wording as the website except for where it says Dinner in the Restaurant above it now it says that daytime casual dress is acceptable for Dinner in the World Cafe and there is no mention of The Restaurant.

 

This all makes perfect sense and is what I would have expected but once again it does highlight the need for Viking to update its FAQ's in light of the last 6 months of actual cruising experience and not just leave the website as they did it at the marketing launch.

Edited September 10, 2015 by NeilP57

[Magnum60]

I would expect most passengers we will be sharing space with on any cruise are people that have saved up for their at sea vacation or are celebrating some special event. Why don't we all put a little snap in our stride while on vacation and treat dinner as more than just an included in the fare feeding :rolleyes:. Dress up a little. Real pants, real shoes and collared shirts for the men (jacket optional) and nice slacks, skirt or dresses for the ladies complimented by shoes and not sneakers.

The downward fashion slope we accept these days at dinner on cruise ships is going to end with your wait staff serving meals wearing jeans and cruise ship logo t-shirts hoping not to offend passengers that often dress like they're used to eating their meals in a car or in front of a TV :eek:. What happened to pride?

Rather than scare passengers away from their cruise line by posting an enforced minimum dress code for dinner in the main dining room cruise lines say things like 'country club casual' or some other vague description of what's appropriate to wear at dinner so they are as much to blame as we are :o.

[Lagunajames]

There is a great video on Youtube "Baltic Cruise on the Viking Star" by scherago that shows them dining in The Restaurant and the Chef's Table while on their cruise and I would say that most people you see on the video are nicely dressed. I am bringing one jacket and tie plus several pairs of dress pants and one nice pair of shoes. Europeans tend to dress up more and since it will be cooler when we go (Nov. 26th from Venice) I expect there will not be many in shorts.

 

James

[jkerr]

There is a great video on Youtube "Baltic Cruise on the Viking Star" by scherago that shows them dining in The Restaurant and the Chef's Table while on their cruise and I would say that most people you see on the video are nicely dressed. I am bringing one jacket and tie plus several pairs of dress pants and one nice pair of shoes. Europeans tend to dress up more and since it will be cooler when we go (Nov. 26th from Venice) I expect there will not be many in shorts.

 

James

Yes Lagunajames, i agree the Europeans on the cruise tended to dress up more than the Americans. That said, my husband took one sports jacket, one tie and one pair of slacks. He wore them once to dinner. He did wear his slacks and dress shirt again sans the jacket. I wore slacks and nice sweaters and tops. I was not over or under dresses. It was May in the Baltic and cool. There were no shorts anywhere on the ship, morning, noon or night.

[NeilP57]

I was on the September Venice to Istanbul cruise and I am pleased to report that I thought the standard of dress amongst all the passengers was excellent. Not once did I ever feel someone was dressed inappropriately, and most made a real effort to be smartly dressed for dinner.

 

I agree it is not about what the dress code says but it is what people actually wear that matters.

 

Generally I would suggest that the ladies set the tone for looking elegant but still casual and the gents did their best to follow the lead given.

 

Long may this be the case.

 

Neil

[msbhaven1974]

Well - I vote for comfort over style - while I more than likely will be wearing jeans and a sweatshirt during the day, I won't be wearing jeans to dinner, I also won't be highly dressed - docker slacks and a sweater will suffice - I book cruises for a vacation and to enjoy my destinations - not for what I look like - I spent too many years having to be corporate - being retired now I enjoy just "being". I also do not care what others wear - as long as the ship doesn't care then neither do I.

 

So if you are on my upcoming cruise on the Star in March 2016 and if what I wear offends you - sorry. Look away, or find someone else to talk to. I did not book this cruise for your approval or disapproval - I guarantee I won't be judging you on what you are wearing or not wearing - and can only ask that you treat all your fellow passengers with kindness and respect - even if they are not "in style"

[Magnum60]

Thanks for helping to raise the minimum dress standard at dinner. My wife and I are off on a Viking river cruise in two weeks and while river cruising tends to be a bit less 'dressy' than an ocean cruise my wife and I always travel with appropriate dinner outfits. We might stand out a little from some of the other guests at dinner but we are far from snobs and always have fun with our tablemates - regardless of how they dress for dinner. I've never felt uncomfortable being well dressed at dinner when we go out but I sure have when inappropriately dressed. Maybe upping the standard of dress at dinner will catch on :rolleyes:. Hope so :D.

[utexplore]

Sorry to disappoint, but we will be casual. I just don't get the whole dress up thing. It is vacation after all.