H A L dress

[take us away]

Nope, apparently not, since Ingrid is not Asian. You've got me at a loss as to who that person was/is. Could have been a AYWD host however, I can't remember if any of them were female

 

Maybe the Pinnacle manager from the Amsterdam was 'subbing'?? Cannot remember her name....

[ithaca gal]

I wouldn't feel out of place in my bathrobe and flip flops?

 

I'm sure someone here will tell you it is YOUR vacation and YOU should be comfortable and not to worry about what others think! :)

[Copper10-8]

Maybe the Pinnacle manager from the Amsterdam was 'subbing'?? Cannot remember her name....

 

 

That's Tina from Indonesia, and you're right, she did come over to NODM for a short time period

[cruiseJMO]

There are so many options in cruise lines and for the more common itineraries, i.e. Caribbean and Alaska, you have a myriad of choices. If you do not like formal nights or feel you do not have to comply with what is asked for attire - please consider one of the many cruise line where there are no formal nights as many people sail on HAL BECAUSE of their formal nights.

 

EXACTLY!! [emoji5]

[trident one]

I know this is totally off thread.

 

Copper10-8 do you know if Captain Lewis is still with the fleet. He was such a personable officer.

 

He was the Captain of the Ryndam for our Alaskan cruise in either 2003 or 2004.

 

Thank you.

[DaveOKC]

First, let me say that I think that HAL should enforce the stated dress code for the day. I do not really care what it is, but once you define it, enforce it or it soon becomes meaningless (just read some of the previous posts on this topic).

 

Second, as to the room service option. On most cruise lines this would be a real negative and I am sure alot of people are "put off" by this suggestion. However, on HAL you can order room service dinner RIGHT OFF THE MAIN DINING ROOM MENU! Yes, you can have those lobsters, prime rib, etc. sent to your cabin. I know some people that do this every cruise rather than go to formal night. Call room service for details as to when to order (it can be delivered at any time).

[POA1]

We sailed on 3 Holland America cruises last year, one on the Noordam, and to on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The dress code was enforced on all three cruises. I realize that our experience doesn't cover every sailing on every Holland America ship. I always wonder if some of the people who got turned away from the MDR dressed based on the rock solid, unassailable advice they got here on CruiseCritic? It would suck to be turned away on a formal night. I seriously doubt whether my wife would accept the excuse, "But honey, FartKnocker5000** posted that the dress code is never enforced. I swear! I thought nice jeans and a polo shirt would be fine."

 

If you don't want to risk missing out on formal nights in the MDR, follow the written dress code that you're provided. As people have said, there are alternatives, but formal nights are a part of cruising tradition that's worth experiencing.

 

**I'm pretty sure that there's not a CC user by that name, but if there is, I apologize to Mr. /Mrs. /Ms. Knocker.

[Copper10-8]

I know this is totally off thread.

 

Copper10-8 do you know if Captain Lewis is still with the fleet. He was such a personable officer.

 

He was the Captain of the Ryndam for our Alaskan cruise in either 2003 or 2004.

 

Thank you.

 

Afternoon Trident 1; I'm sorry but I \'m not familiar with a "Captain Lewis". There was a Captain Tore Luna or, perhaps, you're thinking about Captain Peter Harris?

[trident one]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Could be Peter Harris, is/was he tall and very thin.

 

I guess I will have to search the stored records box after all.

[RMLincoln]

OP - I think HAL still will rent you a dinner jacket. Search HAL website for formal wear and it should pop up.

 

Others: It's not always the issue of paying for an extra suitcase! Sometimes it is the issue of lugging that extra suitcase. We are prepping for an 84 night trip in Europe including multiple tours and 2 cruises, one of them 12 nights eastern Med on HAL. DH is not schlepping a jacket for two formal dinners. Our choice. Maybe our loss. We will need some cold weather layers for some of our visits and need room for sweaters etc. It's not always about the money. m--

[LAFFNVEGAS]

OP - I think HAL still will rent you a dinner jacket. Search HAL website for formal wear and it should pop up.

 

Others: It's not always the issue of paying for an extra suitcase! Sometimes it is the issue of lugging that extra suitcase. We are prepping for an 84 night trip in Europe including multiple tours and 2 cruises, one of them 12 nights eastern Med on HAL. DH is not schlepping a jacket for two formal dinners. Our choice. Maybe our loss. We will need some cold weather layers for some of our visits and need room for sweaters etc. It's not always about the money. m--

 

Very well said Maureen :) All Cold weather cruises just have far more clothes that are heavy and take up so much more room than a Caribbean cruise. We took three pieces of luggage plus a carry on. I have no problems paying luggage fees it is handling the luggage when one cannot always find a cart.

[dpeeps87]

To each his own but personally I relish the chance to dress up in a tux! Although I bit of extra weight in the luggage I will be taking one on board for Mediterranean cruise in July....even if i'm the only one in a tux.

[cruiseJMO]

We sailed on 3 Holland America cruises last year, one on the Noordam, and to on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The dress code was enforced on all three cruises. I realize that our experience doesn't cover every sailing on every Holland America ship. I always wonder if some of the people who got turned away from the MDR dressed based on the rock solid, unassailable advice they got here on CruiseCritic? It would suck to be turned away on a formal night. I seriously doubt whether my wife would accept the excuse, "But honey, FartKnocker5000** posted that the dress code is never enforced. I swear! I thought nice jeans and a polo shirt would be fine."

 

If you don't want to risk missing out on formal nights in the MDR, follow the written dress code that you're provided. As people have said, there are alternatives, but formal nights are a part of cruising tradition that's worth experiencing.

 

**I'm pretty sure that there's not a CC user by that name, but if there is, I apologize to Mr. /Mrs. /Ms. Knocker.

Hilarious! Thanks for that great laugh. 😄

[summersigh]

As jacket styles for men, older men especially, don't change much - a few years ago DH ordered a black travel sports jacket from Travelsmith.

 

Paired with black slacks it looks like a suit, grey or kaki pants and it looks like a sports jacket. It wears like iron, never wrinkles even after being folded in the suitcase or worn on the plane. Another feature is that inside it has a number of invisible hidden pockets which is nice for traveling.

 

It's been well worth the investment.

[Stratheden]

I don't understand, people pay thousands of dollars on a cruise, but balk at paying for an extra suit case to go on a cruise.

 

Not everyone just travels from home and gets on a ship and then returns and goes home. You really do need to think outside the square.

 

So far, we have done a 22 day cruise, 6 days in Rome, 14 days land tour of Italy and are now on day 6 of an 11 day land tour of Turkey (with baggage allowance of 20kg (44lb) in Turkey.

 

Of the 61 days we will be away, my DH would need a jacket for 4 days.

 

I can assure you there were far more important things than a formal jacket needed on this trip. I doubt the jacket would have changed the taste of the food nor should the lack of one offend anyone.

 

DH wore white shirt and tie, neat slacks and shoes and no one questioned him and many others on our cruise. I think things are changing - thank goodness.

[rjrpar]

Some people don't want to carry an extra suitcase around Alaska for 2 weeks to wear one sports coat to a 2 hour dinner.

[mulan1123]

My parents are thinking of going on a Holland cruise (we've only cruise on Royal Caribbean previously) in December, and noticed on their website says that no print shirts, shorts, etc during evening hours in public areas...how strict are they on that??

 

And how jean skirts during smart casual dinners???

[grandgeezer]

Not everyone just travels from home and gets on a ship and then returns and goes home. You really do need to think outside the square.

 

So far, we have done a 22 day cruise, 6 days in Rome, 14 days land tour of Italy and are now on day 6 of an 11 day land tour of Turkey (with baggage allowance of 20kg (44lb) in Turkey.

 

Of the 61 days we will be away, my DH would need a jacket for 4 days.

 

I can assure you there were far more important things than a formal jacket needed on this trip. I doubt the jacket would have changed the taste of the food nor should the lack of one offend anyone.

 

DH wore white shirt and tie, neat slacks and shoes and no one questioned him and many others on our cruise. I think things are changing - thank goodness.

 

And you pack for 61 days? Ships have a laundry and there are porters. I have no problem with the way you husband dress for formal nights. The problem is the jeans t-shirt and baseball cap, and similar attire.

[grandgeezer]

Some people don't want to carry an extra suitcase around Alaska for 2 weeks to wear one sports coat to a 2 hour dinner.

 

There's a lot of things in life I don't want to do, but I do, because it's the right thing to do.

[RMLincoln]

My parents are thinking of going on a Holland cruise (we've only cruise on Royal Caribbean previously) in December, and noticed on their website says that no print shirts, shorts, etc during evening hours in public areas...how strict are they on that??

 

And how jean skirts during smart casual dinners???

 

Not strict at all on the print shirts and shorts that I have noticed. There will be many gents in print shirts in the MDR on casual nights, especially in the Caribbean or other warm places.

 

Jeans skirt in MDR on casual nights sounds fine and comfortable.

 

Your observations of what's on the website makes me realize I need to read their info again but these are my observations. Others may have different observations and experiences.

Enjoy, m--

[POA1]

My parents are thinking of going on a Holland cruise (we've only cruise on Royal Caribbean previously) in December, and noticed on their website says that no print shirts, shorts, etc during evening hours in public areas...how strict are they on that??

 

And how jean skirts during smart casual dinners???

 

It says printed T-shirts (page 8 know before you go.) If you have a regular shirt, like a polo or button front one, print matters not.

[mulan1123]

Thanks for the quick response POA1 and RMLincoln.

[rjrpar]

There's a lot of things in life I don't want to do, but I do, because it's the right thing to do.

 

 

You posed a question, I gave you an answer. I don't need you preaching to me about what to wear for dinner.

[summersigh]

On HAL, RCCL or CCL I've never seen anyone approached about what they were wearing out and about the ships on any night including Formal Nights. I have seen folks who on formal night, after being dressed up for the MDR, change into something more casual after dinner.

 

On Cunard's QM2 the majority stayed dressed-up all evening, especially on the nights of the formal balls. Here's what they say:

Cunard’s President and Managing Director, said the decision (to loosen the dress code) was in response to growing travel trends, “where everything seems to tend towards the casual”. Formal dress requirements will now be limited to three times a week on Transatlantic Crossings and twice a week on sailings to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and beyond.

The formal nights will be accompanied by four or five informal evenings, where ties are now optional but jackets will still be required.

Travellers wishing to opt out of dressing formally will be allowed to access the ships’ main buffet restaurants as well as the Winter Garden and Garden Lounge bars, but restricted from entering other areas of the ships.

[Khaos WolfKat]

Don't worry about dressing up. HAL has become very informal. They have been on a cost cutting crusade and there is no longer a true formal night. You can wear almost anything. You can certainly dress up if you like, but for all intents and purposes it is optional.

 

Many of the people on this chat board are old timers who still cling to the old traditions. An officer on HAL told me that they really don't care what people wear.

 

Have fun and dress how YOU like.

 

Most people are respectful of others and wear what is asked. I guess you need to go back and ask this officer why they have a variety of jackets hanging in the MDR. I'm not an old timer. I just have respect for myself.

I see this rather along the lines of visiting someone's home, back when folks regularly gathered at one another's homes for dinner parties. It was typically considered a breach of social protocol to insist on what guests wore, whether they smoked, wore strong scents, drank too much, etc. Rather, there were "preferences" and "suggestions", and "I'd rather you...". Everyone with the barest modicum of decency knew that they should treat them as rules, rather than making the host regret their own proper manners. It's called etiquette.

 

I'm not an "old timer". I am still gearing up for my very first cruise, and was actually a little whiny at first about the idea of having to dress up if I wanted to go to the MDR, myself. I could most likely get away with wearing whatever I like, but I feel that would be like lighting up in someone's home after they said, "I'd rather you didn't", instead of, "No. You have to go outside".

 

It all boils down, I suppose, to whether you feel your own preferences trump those of your host on their own turf, and whether you believe just because you can necessarily means you should. I do not.