How do people dress for MDR on a Baltic cruise

[dpostman]

I've only ever been on Caribbean cruises before and usually wear a sports jacket to MDR on most nights and suit on formal nights.  But our next cruise is a 12 night Baltic next August.  Dressing like this will require lots of valuable luggage space.  So do most just suck it up and carry it all or do Baltic cruisers tend to go more casual.  I really dont mind dressing up, especially that the cooler weather makes it more comfortable but worried about the amount of luggage.

 

Still just 2 formal nights on a 12 night cruise?

 

Thanks for any input. (except for the "wear what you want nobody cares" responses )

 

dp

[Armac]

I think you will find it about the same as a Caribbean cruise. On our Baltic cruise I did not notice much difference some people chose to dress up and others did not. A lot depends on if you are flying to the port, if you are cruising out of England there is a lot of people who drive to the port so they tend to bring more luggage. We met a couple on a 16 night out of England and he brought three Tuxedos. I would assume you are cruising out of Amsterdam as we did so most people will fly in. I hope my ramblings help I know you will have a great cruise  

[dpostman]

17 minutes ago, Armac said:

I think you will find it about the same as a Caribbean cruise. On our Baltic cruise I did not notice much difference some people chose to dress up and others did not. A lot depends on if you are flying to the port, if you are cruising out of England there is a lot of people who drive to the port so they tend to bring more luggage. We met a couple on a 16 night out of England and he brought three Tuxedos. I would assume you are cruising out of Amsterdam as we did so most people will fly in. I hope my ramblings help I know you will have a great cruise  

 

Thanks for your info.  Yes we are flying into Amsterdam from Canada. Our last cruise was on Anthem from NY and took a motorcoach for our whole groupe so like you said, we could go crazy with the luggage. I even brought some of our Scuba gear and wet suits with us in a big hockey bag.

On the flights I was checking this morning, Air Canada is charging $60 for 1st checked luggage and $90 for the second... each way 

 

dp

Edited December 28, 2018 by dpostman

[kochleffel]

I can't tell you what people in general wear, but I can tell you what I plan to wear (on Serenade of the Seas, from Stockholm). I'll bring a blazer or dark sport jacket for the formal nights, worn with open collar. I don't wear a necktie even for funerals, unless I'm the officiant. Other evenings I will just dress neatly: long pants and shirt with collar.

 

I'm not sure that its being on the Baltic Sea makes a difference, unless it will be at the beginning or end of the season when the weather may be cooler. I've recently been on a New England and Canada cruise where it was cold and rainy all the time except for our embarkation day from New York and it didn't seem to affect what people wore aboard ship, but that was on NCL, with no formal nights.

[Saab4444]

Europeans from Continental Europe follow more the suggested dress code so a cruise from Stockholm is a little bit more formal than a Caribbean cruise. The colder weather is a factor for that as well. I would bring a jacket but a tie is no longer required, even not on fornal nights. The passenger mix is much more diverse as in the Caribbean so the longer flight issue does not always apply to the majority.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Saab4444

[dpostman]

Thanks for all the info.  I did not mention in my OP but I also hardly ever wear a tie.  I usually go with a sports jacket and collared shirt but no tie.  On formal nights that I do wear a suit, I'll might leave the room with a tie on 🤵, but it usually comes off pretty early in the evening.

 

Planning what to pack for a Baltic cruise is a turning out to be a bit more challenging.  Caribbean cruises is just hot weather dressing and evening wear.  Baltic requires much more variety, shore excursions and lots of walking/cycling in possibly hot sunny weather, drizzle, cold, rain, foggy, windy... Then there are the evenings... and all this for 12 days plus a few days in Amsterdam prior to departure.  I'm not complaining... just trying to cover my bases

 

dp

[kochleffel]

2 hours ago, dpostman said:

Planning what to pack for a Baltic cruise is a turning out to be a bit more challenging.  Caribbean cruises is just hot weather dressing and evening wear.  Baltic requires much more variety, shore excursions and lots of walking/cycling in possibly hot sunny weather, drizzle, cold, rain, foggy, windy... Then there are the evenings... and all this for 12 days plus a few days in Amsterdam prior to departure.  I'm not complaining... just trying to cover my bases

 

All too true. I'm anticipating using a large rolling bag instead of the smaller one that I used for a Mediterranean cruise last spring, and perhaps doing more sink laundry if the conditions are consistently hot or consistently cold. But I'm concerned right now about a Caribbean itinerary in February. What to pack is obvious enough; the complication is that I'm flying on Allegiant. I certainly can't do it with just the "personal item" that they allow without charge, so I'll pay for a bag, but the weight limit is lower than on the major airlines, too.

[karl_nj]

3 hours ago, dpostman said:

 

Planning what to pack for a Baltic cruise is a turning out to be a bit more challenging.  Caribbean cruises is just hot weather dressing and evening wear.  Baltic requires much more variety, shore excursions and lots of walking/cycling in possibly hot sunny weather, drizzle, cold, rain, foggy, windy... Then there are the evenings... and all this for 12 days plus a few days in Amsterdam prior to departure.  I'm not complaining... just trying to cover my bases

 

 

I wore shorts more often then I had expected on my cruise to Norway in August.  You probably just need to pack like a Caribbean cruise, throw in a few more long pants, a fleece jacket and a rain jacket.  If it's cold and rainy wear both the fleece and the rain jacket.  If it's warm and rainy just wear the rain jacket, and if it's chilly and dry wear the fleece.

 

Worst case if the weather is unusual you need extra shorts or extra long pants, you can always pay to get them laundered on board.

 

It's not a bad idea to bring a fleece jacket and a rain jacket to the Caribbean too, depending on the time of year and where you are sailing out of.  It's just unlikely you will need to wear both at the same time.

 

 

[voyager70]

We did a 13-night Baltics cruise back in 2014.  There were 3 formal nights, and people really dressed formally.  More than any other cruise I've been on, including several Med cruises. It was really nice. 

 

[steveru621]

Definitely more formal dress than a Caribbean cruise.

[kalliekae]

Our Baltic cruise was at the end of July a few years ago when that area was experiencing above average temps. It was 90 degrees on a couple of days and most buildings are not air conditioned. The Hermitage in St Petersburg was stifling hot and none of the tour busses were air conditioned in any of the cities. I would advise you to check the 10 day weather outlook before you finalize your packing.  As for dressing in the MDR, we found more people participated in formal nights than on other cruises. Europeans tend to dress up more than Americans. Whatever you wear, this is a fantastic cruise. Enjoy!

[Giantfan13]

First of all you should post this on the Baltics Board where most everyone has done a Baltic cruise and you can get a more general answer  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

 

We did that Baltic cruise several years ago, and from I remember it certainly wasn't as 'formal' as some have said. I would say the biggest difference is you won't see all the floral type shirts that you might see in the Caribbean, and, unless it is terribly warm, you probably won't see many shorts in the MDR. But the buffet, be prepared for anything.

As far as packing goes, I would leave most of the shorts at home and opt for jeans. Depending on when you are going (month wise) the weather could be cold, or hot, so the old 'layers' is the best answer. Prepare to do a lot of walking, so good shoes are a must and leave the sandals and flip flops at home. I would either have an all-purpose lightweight waterproof jacket or buy a few of those disposable plastic rain things they sell for less than a dollar. 

We went late August. Most mornings we needed a light jacket and by mid day we were in shirt sleeves, but when you are cruising, it will be nippy, especially at night. 

 

If you are  a jacket guy for dinner, then bring it, you won't be out of place. If not, then dress as informally as you would like, no one really cares anymore.

 

Cheers

Len

 

[dpostman]

10 hours ago, kalliekae said:

Our Baltic cruise was at the end of July a few years ago when that area was experiencing above average temps. It was 90 degrees on a couple of days and most buildings are not air conditioned. The Hermitage in St Petersburg was stifling hot and none of the tour busses were air conditioned in any of the cities. I would advise you to check the 10 day weather outlook before you finalize your packing.  As for dressing in the MDR, we found more people participated in formal nights than on other cruises. Europeans tend to dress up more than Americans. Whatever you wear, this is a fantastic cruise. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for your info.  From what I gather, the weather itself in those parts is pretty similar to what we have here on the Canadian East Coast, so Layering and being ready for weather extremes is not a problem, but still need to carry the proper clothing to do it.  But from the info I got so far on this thread, looks like we should plan on bringing our "Nice" outfits for dinners 🙂.  I don't mind as we enjoy dressing up but don't want to bring that extra stuff if most people were going to be dressed in L.L. Bean and MEC apparel in MDR.

 

dp

[dpostman]

9 hours ago, Giantfan13 said:

First of all you should post this on the Baltics Board where most everyone has done a Baltic cruise and you can get a more general answer  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/

 

We did that Baltic cruise several years ago, and from I remember it certainly wasn't as 'formal' as some have said. I would say the biggest difference is you won't see all the floral type shirts that you might see in the Caribbean, and, unless it is terribly warm, you probably won't see many shorts in the MDR. But the buffet, be prepared for anything.

As far as packing goes, I would leave most of the shorts at home and opt for jeans. Depending on when you are going (month wise) the weather could be cold, or hot, so the old 'layers' is the best answer. Prepare to do a lot of walking, so good shoes are a must and leave the sandals and flip flops at home. I would either have an all-purpose lightweight waterproof jacket or buy a few of those disposable plastic rain things they sell for less than a dollar. 

We went late August. Most mornings we needed a light jacket and by mid day we were in shirt sleeves, but when you are cruising, it will be nippy, especially at night. 

 

If you are  a jacket guy for dinner, then bring it, you won't be out of place. If not, then dress as informally as you would like, no one really cares anymore.

 

Cheers

Len

 

 

All good points.  I usually bring several pairs of convertible pants, and I do like my jeans, even with a sports jacket.  Our cruise sails on Aug, 11th so if it is at all like here, the evenings and nights tend to be chilly (The norm) but we also can get very hot days and warm evenings (The exception).  I've been to Europe several times already and love to do a lot of walking around cities but just never done it on a Cruise before.

 

Thanks Len

dp