How to dress the kids for dinner?

[snoopy5386]

We'll be cruising this summer with 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys between the ages of 5-10. I'm not worried about formal night, we can fancy them up for that, but I'm not sure how to dress them on cruise casual nights. We're cruising Alaska, so the cooler weather makes it harder than just sticking the girls in sundresses and calling it a day.

 

2 of the girls are mine and my oldest is not a fan of dresses which complicates things further. I'll be able to get her to wear them on formal night, but I doubt she is going to agree to wear a dress for 7 nights in a row. Like most kids their clothing these days is casual and comfortable - jeans and leggings, graphic tees, etc. Is that ok for the dining room or do I need to find something else for them to wear? It is amazing tough to find "nice" clothes for girls that isn't a dress or a skirt. Are jeans/jean capris for kids ok?

 

How about shoes? Sneakers ok? Flip flops? Or will we need a nicer shoe for casual nights?

 

Do most kids wear something nicer to dinner and then go back to the cabin to change before heading to the kids club? Or do they just go to the kids club in their dinner wear?

[OCruisers]

We'll be cruising this summer with 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys between the ages of 5-10. I'm not worried about formal night, we can fancy them up for that, but I'm not sure how to dress them on cruise casual nights. We're cruising Alaska, so the cooler weather makes it harder than just sticking the girls in sundresses and calling it a day.

 

2 of the girls are mine and my oldest is not a fan of dresses which complicates things further. I'll be able to get her to wear them on formal night, but I doubt she is going to agree to wear a dress for 7 nights in a row. Like most kids their clothing these days is casual and comfortable - jeans and leggings, graphic tees, etc. Is that ok for the dining room or do I need to find something else for them to wear? It is amazing tough to find "nice" clothes for girls that isn't a dress or a skirt. Are jeans/jean capris for kids ok?

 

How about shoes? Sneakers ok? Flip flops? Or will we need a nicer shoe for casual nights?

 

Do most kids wear something nicer to dinner and then go back to the cabin to change before heading to the kids club? Or do they just go to the kids club in their dinner wear?

 

For the non-formal nights what you described that the kids like to wear will be absolutely fine and, sure, they can wear sneakers or decent flip flops!

Enjoy Alaska! :)

[moki'smommy]

Cruise casual would mean comfortable and decent. Jeans are fine, but as a mom, I draw the line at jeans with holes in them (but then, I refuse to pay for jeans with holes as they will wear out fast enough anyhow....) A non-offensive graphic T is fine. We all know that saying "jeans and t-shirts" can run from something horrible to something quite reasonable. My personal requirement with the kids was always that they be clean, neat, and decent.

 

As to changing after dinner or not...if they get dressed up for dinner, mine would change. If dinner was jeans or khakis and a shirt, that would go to the after dinner activities. They need to be comfortable, and you need to be able to not worry if the clothes get messed up.

 

Sneakers are fine. Flip Flops are allowed, but may be awfully cold on the toes.

[eandj]

Kids AND adults will be wearing jeans in the mdr for casual nights. Just hold a pair they can wear night times, so they aren't wet, muddy etc. They can wear the same pair with 3 or 4 clean shirts to recycle. Don't overpack for dinners. Concentrate on day clothes with options for cool,wet and warm sunny days.

I wouldn't worry about fashion and new outfits every day.

[moki'smommy]

For day wear, concentrate on layers. The best thing I did was to place the heavy winter coats back in the closet at my home. We found that a t-shirt and jeans, sneakers with heavy socks (or 2 pairs), topped with a heavy hoodie or sweatshirt and the option of a waterproof/resistant jacket that would go over the hoodie was perfect for excursions. We could layer as needed. We'd omit the waterproof layer if it was sunny, or eliminate the hoodie if it was warm but rainy.

 

There are self serve washing machines on the ship, so worst case you do a load or two.

 

I'm with the above--don't buy new clothes for this cruise.

[shredie]

What do they wear at home when going out to a family sit-down restaurant? That should work on Princess.

[snoopy5386]

What do they wear at home when going out to a family sit-down restaurant? That should work on Princess.

 

Like an Applebees or Ruby Tuesday's type place? Or like a nice Sunday brunch type place?

[moki'smommy]

Like a place where you make them come in, wash up, and get ready to go out. Not the kind of place where you call them to hop into the car and skip the "wash up and get ready" steps.

[A.stew12305]

Our 6 year old nephew wore clean jeans and a button up long sleeve shirt on casual nights, he has brown suede (faux) shoes that worked well because they were comfortable for him, but weren't dirty sneakers. He likes bow ties, so he wore one a couple nights.

[kt6453]

Thanks all! I was wondering the same thing with 7yo and 3yo boys... Very helpful comments!

 

 

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[GUT2407]

Sounds fine to me, as long as they're neat and tidy.

[easyboy]

Cruise casual would mean comfortable and decent. Jeans are fine' date=' but as a mom, I draw the line at jeans with holes in them (but then, I refuse to pay for jeans with holes as they will wear out fast enough anyhow....) A non-offensive graphic T is fine. We all know that saying "jeans and t-shirts" can run from something horrible to something quite reasonable. My personal requirement with the kids was always that they be clean, neat, and decent.

 

As to changing after dinner or not...if they get dressed up for dinner, mine would change. If dinner was jeans or khakis and a shirt, that would go to the after dinner activities. They need to be comfortable, and you need to be able to not worry if the clothes get messed up.

 

Sneakers are fine. Flip Flops are allowed, but may be awfully cold on the toes.[/quote']

Same here.

[Lucky TGO]

Like they are going to church neat and clean.

Tony

[keithm]

We'll be cruising this summer with 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys between the ages of 5-10. I'm not worried about formal night, we can fancy them up for that, but I'm not sure how to dress them on cruise casual nights. We're cruising Alaska, so the cooler weather makes it harder than just sticking the girls in sundresses and calling it a day.

 

2 of the girls are mine and my oldest is not a fan of dresses which complicates things further. I'll be able to get her to wear them on formal night, but I doubt she is going to agree to wear a dress for 7 nights in a row. Like most kids their clothing these days is casual and comfortable - jeans and leggings, graphic tees, etc. Is that ok for the dining room or do I need to find something else for them to wear? It is amazing tough to find "nice" clothes for girls that isn't a dress or a skirt. Are jeans/jean capris for kids ok?

 

How about shoes? Sneakers ok? Flip flops? Or will we need a nicer shoe for casual nights?

 

Do most kids wear something nicer to dinner and then go back to the cabin to change before heading to the kids club? Or do they just go to the kids club in their dinner wear?

1)Capris for girls & junior khakis for boys are fine. Graphic "T's aren't really good wear except in the buffet. You could ask the Maître D for advice after you're settled in. The kids I saw on the Regal really dressed far better than their parents. These kids were in their teens & were trying to impress the girls/boys. Alaska can be either warm or drizzly at that time. One year can be totally different from the next. Do bring some layered clothing for cool times on deck.

2)Flip flops are not ok for anyone at dinner. During the day fine. It might slip by in the buffet, but elsewhere? How do you dress them at a "decent" restaurant at home? Pretty much follow that rule. Nice & clean sneakers should be fine. Hopefully they won't grow out of them by the end of the cruise!

[keithm]

Like an Applebees or Ruby Tuesday's type place? Or like a nice Sunday brunch type place?

Definitely a nice Sunday brunch place! I'd never put "Ruby Tuesday"(much better) in the same sentence with Applebee's!

[snoopy5386]

Lol we don't go to church or nice restaurants for the most part, dressing up is not our thing. If we were going to a nice restaurant I'd probably dress them in what they will wear for formal night - fancy sundress. Their flip flops are nice flip flops, not the plastic cheapo ones. I don't really see the difference between a nice sandal and a nice flip flop besides an extra strap (that goes for adults too) and I'd rather them be in a nice flip flop with a skirt than sneakers.

 

DH will wear either khakis or jeans and a polo on casual nights, I will wear either jeans, khaki jeans or capris and a polo. Each girl has a few plain t's, I will pull those out to bring along for dinner. Youngest has enough dresses and is willing to wear them so she shouldn't be a problem. Older one will wear jeans or capris and a plain t shirt and maybe I can negiotate in a couple of dresses.

 

It's just so many clothes! We're doing 3 days in Seattle ahead of the cruise, so that's shorts and t-shirts, layers for during the day, an outfit for dinner each night, 2 formal outfits, sneakers, flip flops, dress shoes, bathing suits, pjs. We'll do laundry, but even with that its going to be at least 8 outfits per kid since we'll need two a day, plus pjs, so that's 12 changes of clothes per person.

[ORbeachlover]

We cruised in Alaska last summer with 4 kids (13, 12, and two 10 year olds). In my experience, the MDR was more casual in Alaska than on any other cruise we have taken (mostly the Caribbean, but also Hawaii and the Baltic). The boys usually wore jeans or khakis with collared polo shirts on the casual days. My niece wore capris, leggings or a skirt and a nice top on the casual days. They usually stayed in these clothes for the rest of the evening. Footwear was either sneakers or sandals. Many adults were also wearing jeans and the like to dinner each night. Hope that helps. Enjoy Alaska.

[moki'smommy]

NO, not all those clothes. The same dinner outfit can be worn 2-3 times if stuff doesn't get spilled on it. Or a pair of khaki or black pants or skirt can be paired with different shirts/blouses. The same outfit can be worn on both formal nights. For guys, a pair of black sneakers can sub for dress shoes on formal night (don't cringe, it works if they are solid black). I use my black sandals as dressy shoes, but I'd fall on my face if I tried to wear spike heels.

 

Two swimsuits per person in the Caribbean, one is fine for Alaska. PJs can be worn several days. Yeah, you need a bunch of undies.

 

My plan (for me!) 2 pairs of black dressy pants for normal dinners.3-4 tops to rotate with the pants. 1 formal outfit. One dressy "topper" for the dinner stuff (it can get cool in the public spaces on board). Black sandals. Swimsuit. Casual shoes. PJs. THen move to the excursion clothes--2 pairs jeans, 3-4t-shirts, socks. Extra pair of sneakers (in case one gets wet). Hoodie, water resistant jacket. That will get me thru the week WITHOUT doing laundry. For a 7 nighter with doing laundry, I'd cut back on the tops for dinner and for daytime.

[snoopy5386]

The 6 year old will be guaranteed to spill lol, the 10 year old is 50/50.

 

And I'm sure whatever they wear during the day will get dirty/wet/muddy/sweaty/spilled on and just not able to be worn more than once with out washing.

 

5 days in Seattle including the day we fly in and the day we get on the ship - shorts and t-shirts for these days. We are staying with a friend so I can do laundry the night before we leave, but I can only wash 4 days worth of clothes and pjs, and there is a good chance we never wear those clothes again - shorts almost definitely, t-shirts 50/50. At least 3 casual dinner outfits and 2 formal outfits. At least 3 pairs of pants and 3 long sleeved t shirts for Alaska. At least 3 pairs of pjs considering we'll most likely be doing laundry at night when the kids are asleep. Rain jacket, fleece jacket, light zip up sweatshirt, bathing suit, 3 pairs of shoes - sneaker, dress shoe, flip flop. And then socks and undies. That's the minimum I think we could get away with for the kids and that's with me doing laundry 3x in 12 days and during some really port intensive days where doing laundry I'm sure is going to be the last thing I'd want to do.

 

Thankful we are flying Southwest so 2 free bags per person!! But I am flying out with the kids solo before DH and I really don't want to have to haul so many bags alone. However I'm thinking 5 days of at least day clothes is a more realistic minimum, maybe we can get away with less for the dinner clothes or at least dinner pants. But my luck if I only back 3 dinner tops for the kids they will spill on them with some horrible stain producing substance and be left with nothing to wear.

Edited May 3, 2016 by snoopy5386