Am I the only one who misses formal ?

[simplelife]

Seems there are few opportunities to get dressed up nowadays. Cruises used to provide such an opportunity, but not so much anymore. I used to wear a long dress and DH a tux or at least a suit. Now I wear cocktail dresses or dressy slacks and top and DH a shirt and tie. I miss the more formal days but think DH is quite happy with the change.

[sherilyn70]

We still enjoy dressing up, so I avoid lines like carnival now where is not as common. HAL fit the bill for us for that reason. I don't get to dress up that much so I look forward to our cruises. The last cruise I fit to wear am amazing gown that marie sent me. My lymphodema was acting up badly by that night but the pictures still came out great despite the bloating. :)

 

[GORDONCHICK]

I thought I'd read that it's "Evening Chic" instead of formal on X now. Please correct me if I'm wrong since we're looking at two X cruises.

 

I don't like lugging the formal clothes anymore, even if we're not flying. DH wears a suit and tie to work everyday, so he's glad to give it a rest on vacation. If we want to, we certainly can - no one's stopping us.

[GORDONCHICK]

Last Christmas, which was also Elegant Night, my DD & I wore beautiful long gowns. The people at the table next to us wore shorts & faded tee shirts. No doubt they have freedom of expression & all, but I think it's sad that they didn't even try to make their evening special.

 

What if they were Jewish & it was just another evening to them?

[BellaSweet]

Such an interesting thread! I'm new to cruising but I remember being little(in the late 80s-90s) and hearing my aunts talk about how they had to go buy their cruise gowns. I thought that was just a best thing ever and couldn't wait until I could go buy mine.

 

Fast forward to now.. I'll be on a Carnival ship in October which the idea of a formal night there is laughable. But I still think I'm going to go get my special cruise dress :) Who cares if I'm the only one..I'll be happy!

[Cancun01]

What if they were Jewish & it was just another evening to them?

 

The poster stated it was elegant night; whether the people celebrated Christmas or not they should have some respect for the ship's guidelines on elegant night

[slidergirl]

The poster stated it was elegant night; whether the people celebrated Christmas or not they should have some respect for the ship's guidelines on elegant night

 

Did anyone think perhaps that their luggage was lost and the shorts and Tshirts were all they had?

Perhaps they did not need formal wear to make their evening special - we do not know. Maybe they returned late from an excursion and wanted to just get dinner and go to bed? The "must dress up to be special" is a canard.

Do not lay blame on them - lay blame on the ship staff who allowed the slovenly bums into the MDR.

[PNW Traveler]

For those who are posting about how little room a formal dress and strappy sandals takes in your luggage - consider the weight and space requirement of a pair of men's size 13 dress shoes. Rent a tux? The rental tux shoes are shiny uncomfortable plastic wonders. We gave up formal clothes a long time ago.

[sherilyn70]

For those who are posting about how little room a formal dress and strappy sandals takes in your luggage - consider the weight and space requirement of a pair of men's size 13 dress shoes. Rent a tux? The rental tux shoes are shiny uncomfortable plastic wonders. We gave up formal clothes a long time ago.

I don't see where is a major issue. We stuff things into the shoes and I have never had problems with a bag staying under 50 pounds even when we packed it solid. I'm not buying lightweight luggage either, it's just your normal spinner wheel large suitcase. This is with 2 formals and my husband's air with several shirt and tie combos in it.

[calliopecruiser]

I don't see where is a major issue. We stuff things into the shoes and I have never had problems with a bag staying under 50 pounds even when we packed it solid. I'm not buying lightweight luggage either, it's just your normal spinner wheel large suitcase. This is with 2 formals and my husband's air with several shirt and tie combos in it.

 

It's an issue if someone wants to take only a carry-on each -- that's a lot less space and weight than checking luggage.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

For those who are posting about how little room a formal dress and strappy sandals takes in your luggage - consider the weight and space requirement of a pair of men's size 13 dress shoes. Rent a tux? The rental tux shoes are shiny uncomfortable plastic wonders. We gave up formal clothes a long time ago.

 

My dad's size 14 shoes, need their own suitcase, by the time he packs sandals, walking shoes, dress shoes etc he has filled a bag. He is diabetic and needs good quality shoes, and has to take more than just tennis shoes.

[slidergirl]

Over on Ask a Cruise Question, there is another thread bemoaning the demise of formal nights. A unique solution came up: create a "pay for play" restaurant where the guests must be in true formal attire to participate. That way, those who still prefer to do formal wear may eat in a small, quiet, intimate setting with like-minded people. If anyone wants to bring out the tux/ball gown for every dinner, they can do so without worrying about being set at a table with people dressed in khakis and polos.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

Anthem and Quantam of the Seas have Grande. A formal restaurant. It is complimentary but you must be dressed formal. Oviation will also have the Grande restaurant.

Edited January 21, 2016 by cruisinwithmaandpa

[chrissyprincess]

My 4 sisters and I don't care... We went and got our cruise dresses. Ross is awesome for them! And we are going to dress up anyway. We have enough dresses between us all that we may just dress up every night. LOL. I don't care what everyone else is going to wear, but we will look marvelous.