informal dining on river cruises?

[stonepebble]

Thank you all!

 

I think if there's room in the suitcase he'll bring one.

 

We are going the very end of August. I think in some of our ports the evenings will be a little cool...ie Vienna, Passau. So may come in handy!

 

Chris

[philw1776]

2 Viking river cruises. Did not bring a sports jacket and few folks wear them. I do wear a collared shirt and decent slacks to dinner. Wife dresses up more but again, it is not necessary. Casual dressers will not feel out of place in river cruise dining.

[garycarla]

Thank you all!

 

I think if there's room in the suitcase he'll bring one.

...

 

We just did a three week RTW trip with carryon. We are doing carryon for our river cruise this fall. So.... no dress up for us.

[JVilleGal]

In our Avalon cruise we may have seen one man with a Sport coat. My husband wore khaki's with either a polo or or other collared shirt. He did bring one pair of grey dress slacks and two dress shirts for our travels before and after the cruise.

We saw ladies in jeans and ladies in nice going to a restaurant outfits in the dining room.

Very very casual!

 

 

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[suzyluvs2cruise]

This is from the Viking web site and one of the reasons we chose Viking"Is there a “dress code” on the ship?

 

 

 

 

Dress during the day is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), trousers or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. There are no “formal nights” and recommended evening dress is “elegant casual” such as a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse for ladies; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. Ties and jackets are optional. We suggest you pack comfortable walking shoes, dressier shoes, a collapsible umbrella/lightweight rain gear; items you can layer like lightweight jackets/sweaters; sunglasses, a sun hat/visor, sunscreen; and toiletries including a travel-sized hand sanitizer. Depending on the season and destination, you may also want to add a warm coat, gloves and water-resistant footwear."

 

 

My husband also doesn't like dressing up. I've spoken with people who have sailed with Viking (our first river cruise is coming up at the end of August) and they all said, it's very casual. Some just wear whatever they wear during the day. Mostly from the photos I've seen the men are wearing collared shirts - woven or knit like golf shirts. Women are wearing pants or capris and a nice top.

 

My husband is bringing dockers and golf shirts. I'm bringing pants and LL Bean type t-shirts which I plan to wear with a nice piece of costume jewelry or a scarf. I'll wear them again for tours - double duty, less packing ;)

 

I think Avalon and AMA are casual as well. Those were other lines I looked at before choosing Viking.

 

Just off Viking Gefjon.....Budapest to Amsterdam. Many did not change for dinner and we saw many men in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. DH and I wore "smart casual" as did the others at our table. Never saw any man in a jacket or tie on the ship.

[caviargal]

. Many did not change for dinner and we saw many men in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops.

 

IMO, that is incredibly tacky and it is unfortunate that Viking did not hold to any type of dress code at all for dinner.

[laverendrye]

IMO, that is incredibly tacky and it is unfortunate that Viking did not hold to any type of dress code at all for dinner.

 

Presumably Viking also allows ball caps to be worn at dinner.

[garycarla]

Just off Viking Gefjon.....Budapest to Amsterdam. Many did not change for dinner and we saw many men in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. DH and I wore "smart casual" as did the others at our table. Never saw any man in a jacket or tie on the ship.

 

Okay, you do not need a tie or jacket. But flip flops, t-shirts. Why is it so difficult to put on a decent shirt?

 

I just don't get it.

[philw1776]

Agree that flip-flops & T-shirt are not dinner attire. I like informal, but that to me means no jacket or tie required for men. I understand someone arriving late from an excursion, but why would it take a guy in a hurry desperate to eat :) even 5 minutes to wash up, and change shirt & shoes?

 

I don't remember anyone being THAT informal on my 2 V cruises.

Edited July 31, 2016 by philw1776

[stonepebble]

We plan on rushing in from sightseeing as much as possible!

 

We would never dress that casually for dinner! Like the poster said, it only take 5 mins! We'll have to go drop off stuff in the cabin anyways!

 

Chris

[Hydrokitty]

Agree that flip-flops & T-shirt are not dinner attire. I like informal, but that to me means no jacket or tie required for men. I understand someone arriving late from an excursion, but why would it take a guy in a hurry desperate to eat :) even 5 minutes to wash up, and change shirt & shoes?

 

I don't remember anyone being THAT informal on my 2 V cruises.

 

We plan on rushing in from sightseeing as much as possible!

 

We would never dress that casually for dinner! Like the poster said, it only take 5 mins! We'll have to go drop off stuff in the cabin anyways!

 

Chris

 

I agree.....shorts and flip flops should not have been allowed in dining room for dinner and I am surprised that Viking allowed it. In 8 cruises with Vantage, I have never seen anyone turned away from the dining room, but I've also never seen anyone show up in shorts, flip-flops and/or baseball cap. Most of us are old enough to know better!!

[Ohviking]

I could care less about what someone wears to the dining room on my cruise. Wear whatever you feel like wearing. From a tux to shorts is fine by me. I didn't pay thousands of dollars to let the attire of someone else who paid thousands of dollars bother me. Feel free to come and sit with me regardless of what you are wearing.

[philw1776]

I could care less about what someone wears to the dining room on my cruise. Wear whatever you feel like wearing. From a tux to shorts is fine by me. I didn't pay thousands of dollars to let the attire of someone else who paid thousands of dollars bother me. Feel free to come and sit with me regardless of what you are wearing.

 

I think that is a mentally healthy and positive outlook way to look at this. I probably never noticed certain dress because as a guy I'm oblivious. But now this thread has ruined me and I will be in BOLO mode. :p

 

I make one exception, tank tops for really hairy sweaty guys at dinner. :mad:

Edited July 31, 2016 by philw1776

[JVilleGal]

I do not remember anyone doing that on Avalon. Everyone at least dressed as if they were going out to dinner. :)

 

 

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[suzyluvs2cruise]

As a 1st time river cruiser I thought that when they said dinner was at 7pm that was when you were supposed to be seated. On our cruise most guests arrived at 7pm but there were some who came in at 7:30 or even 8:00 and were accommodated. And this wasn't a one time occurrence. I'm curious about dining times on other lines?

Edited July 31, 2016 by suzyluvs2cruise

[caviargal]

As a 1st time river cruiser I thought that when they said dinner was at 7pm that was when you were supposed to be seated. On our cruise most guests arrived at 7pm but there were some who came in at 7:30 or even 8:00 and were accommodated. And this wasn't a one time occurrence. I'm curious about dining times on other lines?

 

Our favorite part of our Uniworld cruise was the ability to arrive at dinner when we chose to - without any issues whatsoever. This was not the case on the other lines we have cruised with. It added significantly to our enjoyment of the overall experience.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Our favorite part of our Uniworld cruise was the ability to arrive at dinner when we chose to - without any issues whatsoever. This was not the case on the other lines we have cruised with. It added significantly to our enjoyment of the overall experience.

 

I would enjoy that too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Hydrokitty]

As a 1st time river cruiser I thought that when they said dinner was at 7pm that was when you were supposed to be seated. On our cruise most guests arrived at 7pm but there were some who came in at 7:30 or even 8:00 and were accommodated. And this wasn't a one time occurrence. I'm curious about dining times on other lines?

 

If you were on vantage dinner is at 7. And they ask that you come to the dining room on time.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On most river cruise lines (certainly our experience on AMA), dinner is immediately following the Cruise Director's talk explaining the next day's itinerary and the excursion choices. Everybody is already assembled in the lounge, so it is no problem to adjourn directly to the dining room.

[philw1776]

On most river cruise lines (certainly our experience on AMA), dinner is immediately following the Cruise Director's talk explaining the next day's itinerary and the excursion choices. Everybody is already assembled in the lounge, so it is no problem to adjourn directly to the dining room.

 

Same situation on Viking. Huge stampede of frenzied, starving geezers to the dining room at 7PM after the talk. :p No problem with arriving later say at 8PM but I do not know about someone arriving at close to 9PM. Probably not a good idea on Viking.

Edited August 1, 2016 by philw1776

[TravelerThom]

... I'm curious about dining times on other lines?

In 2015-16 I have sailed on Vantage, Grand Circle and Douro Azul. (I have also sailed Viking, UniWorld and a number of non-European lines, but not in the last several years.) The three I have recently sailed all operated the same. Breakfast (mostly buffet, a few made to order items) had probably an hour and a half entry , but if there was a morning tour (there usually was) it generally left 30 minutes after breakfast entry closed (and people would be grouping for the tours 15 minutes before that). Lunch was again mostly buffet, and there was a LITTLE flexibility on arrival, but the staff expected you there pretty much within 15 minutes of opening. Dinner immediately followed the talk on tomorrow's activities and you were expected at dinner then. The three lines I've discussed are relatively inexpensive; apparently some of the more upscale lines have more flexibility. River cruises tend to offer full days of activities, and if you are participating (not required) the meal times are carefully coordinated with the schedule, and if I plan on going on tomorrow's tour I can't eat dinner any later and still be in shape to get up in the morning:p

 

Thom

[caviargal]

I would enjoy that too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Most nights we had dinner around 8pm, which is our preference when we are in Europe. We were welcomed as warmly as if we had been there when the dining room opened at 7pm. I wish other lines we enjoy would do the same, as it was a real treat not to have to join the crowd headed to the dining room at the same time. And it often enabled us to have a table for 2, which is also our preference unless we are traveling with friends.