Dress Code Question

[OlsSalt]

5 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

So with all the back and forth on this I am lost. I tend to be a bit formal especially having social anxiety disorder I always feel I stick out.  I cannot push myself to wear a t-shirt in public especially Disneyland where I always wear a polo (as I do most places). As a college student I cannot push myself to wear shorts to school even in a beach community. I can do linear equations in algebra but I cannot keep up with this thread HA!  IF I understand this correctly:

NON Gala Nights

Gentlemen: Collard shirt and slacks

Gala Nights

Gentlemen: slacks, jacket and tie or dark suit or black tie 

 

DH grew up "dressing for dinner", even in the summer. He still dresses up for dinner. - always a jacket and tie. So do I dress up when we are on board. It just feels right for us, and the main dining room feels like the right place to do this still. We enjoy the late, fixed dining setting on HAL ships immensely. Makes each day on board feel like something to celebrate.

 

And some days we bunker down in our cabin with room service. Going to the Lido for dinner, casually, just doesn't do it for us.  Those dinners are for feeding; not dining in our own minds

 

Point here. is you have a wide operating range of choices- you can choose what works best for you.

PS - an added benefit is his growing collection of "souvenir" ties he has picked up around the world that are sweet ways to remember past cruises. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by OlsSalt

[AncientWanderer]

31 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

  You miss my point.       I dont provide directives     I provide  points worthy of consideration in making a decision, that many I think gloss over.     I did not accuse the poster of shaming people by his dress  I just pointed out that to not consider others feelings is in fact shame on you if you dont.       A formal dinner  is theater... you mention a cast of thousands.  Well your right   and your in the cast.  Play the scene the best you can  for the benefit of the  other cast members.   

The cast:  you, waiters,  mater'd, other diners.     Would you be up set if your waiter dressed in bib overalls and   a motorcycle jacket with chains...

 

I haven't heard this view in a very long time, and I do think it's true.  My very wise mother used to say that the guests are part of the decor of a party.  Sadly, nobody much feels this way anymore.

[dbsb3233]

On 2/18/2019 at 7:39 AM, ScottC4746 said:

RE: Eurodam 6 April 7 night Mexican Riviera

Question:  This is my first HAL cruise and just printed my boarding docs ... YEAH!  Now it does describe Gala Night as collard shirts and slacks for men i.e. what I call Business Casual.

 

Most evenings it says smart casual which has always been abused.  I take that as Business Casual or slacks/nice jeans and button up shirt.

 

Sadly, the days of black tie and suits are gone.

 

Thank you for posting this! It's been 3 years since we sailed HAL and I forgot to check if the formal night dress code had finally softened.  Very pleased to see that it has. 

 

Not that we mind dressing up from time to time, but we usually do 2 week cruises now (Europe, Asia, etc) with extra nights before/after.  Luggage space is at a premium when packing for 17 nights.  Bringing 4 lbs of dress jacket+dress shoes for a few hours on a couple of nights meant that much less room (luggage weight) for other stuff -- particularly souvenirs to bring back.  Now we can do a little more shopping while there. 😎

[Roz]

A collard is a type of greens.  It's a collared shirt.  

 

Roz

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, dbsb3233 said:

 

Thank you for posting this! It's been 3 years since we sailed HAL and I forgot to check if the formal night dress code had finally softened.  Very pleased to see that it has. 

 

Not that we mind dressing up from time to time, but we usually do 2 week cruises now (Europe, Asia, etc) with extra nights before/after.  Luggage space is at a premium when packing for 17 nights.  Bringing 4 lbs of dress jacket+dress shoes for a few hours on a couple of nights meant that much less room (luggage weight) for other stuff -- particularly souvenirs to bring back.  Now we can do a little more shopping while there. 😎

 

Might want to look into  those super-light weight, 5#  "IT brand "suitcases when looking to shave pounds off the luggage.  I liked getting five free extra pounds of things to take, instead of paying for my standard 10# suitcases. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by OlsSalt

[dbsb3233]

29 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Might want to look into  those super-light weight, 5#  "IT brand "suitcases when looking to shave pounds off the luggage.  I liked getting five free extra pounds of things to take, instead of paying for my standard 10# suitcases. 

 

Thanks.  Unfortunately we just replaced our old hardshell spinners (that served us well for almost 20 trips) with new ones a year ago.  Went from 11# to 10, but that didn't save much. 

 

I just checked IT and most of their large hardshell spinners look like 10# as well, although I do see a 27" that's only 8.5#.  Wish I'd seen those before.  I'll have to look more. 

[terrydtx]

For me a cruise is a vacation and the last thing I want to do is wear what I wore to work for too many years, a coat and tie or a suit. I want to be comfortable at dinner and I am so glad the cruise industry has relaxed the evening dress requirements. I think this was all brought about by the folks at NCL and they called it "Freestyle Cruising" and the cruising public liked it. I think we can also thank NCL for Anytime dinning which is also a nice touch for those of us who do not want to eat like a cattle calling at two set times every night. 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

3 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Might want to look into  those super-light weight, 5#  "IT brand "suitcases when looking to shave pounds off the luggage.  I liked getting five free extra pounds of things to take, instead of paying for my standard 10# suitcases. 

 

How do those hold up?  I currently have Delsey hard-side bags (27" and 25") that weigh 12 and 10lbs respectively that have made it through 3 cruises using Luggage Forward with nary a scratch or ding.  But I'd be willing to get something else to shave off a few pounds and/or augment my current luggage -- I'm doing a 131-day world cruise in 2020, so I'm looking at probably minimum 3 and possibly 4 bags.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA (just finishing packing for the 28-day Hawaii/Tahiti/Marquesas Eurodam cruise for Luggage Forward pickup on Monday)

[OlsSalt]

19 minutes ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

How do those hold up?  I currently have Delsey hard-side bags (27" and 25") that weigh 12 and 10lbs respectively that have made it through 3 cruises using Luggage Forward with nary a scratch or ding.  But I'd be willing to get something else to shave off a few pounds and/or augment my current luggage -- I'm doing a 131-day world cruise in 2020, so I'm looking at probably minimum 3 and possibly 4 bags.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA (just finishing packing for the 28-day Hawaii/Tahiti/Marquesas Eurodam cruise for Luggage Forward pickup on Monday)

 

I have had mine now for several years (two very large one - one a spinner and one a two wheel) fabric sided with minimal frame but not collapsible.They have been tossed around on multiple cruises, lost by the airlines and on several trips to Europe and back from the US. They have held up well but have some rough spots and the logo label got knocked off one. Bottom line, I am extremely happy with them - and they are not that expensive online so if you want them to look "beautiful" after several years of hard use, they can be easily replaced. https://www.ebags.com/category/luggage/b/it-luggage/f/lightweight

 

In fact for the first time, I actually ran out of things to pack into them a few pounds before I reach my magic 50#-23 kilo limit.  They are essentially a big open space. No frills but a few interior and front pockets. Squishable so you can sit on them to get them closed.  Zippers have held up, wheels stayed in place, one handle got a little bent, but still 100% functional. I think they are perfect for the volume of basics one wants on long cruise and the two big ones easily fit under the HAL beds. 

 

If one needs a hard case to protect items, these would not work but if one is packing routine cruise stuff - clothes, shoes, toiletries - mainly soft goods these are just fine.  I would not use them for packing fragile, breakable souvenirs obviously but for most tourism items that we still purchase, they come through fine - wooden items, mugs, pillow covers, small pottery items. 

 

Sure hope you can report back on your 131 day adventure. Lots of tips here from those who have done the very long ones - our longest was only 51 days. But one does have to approach sorting out what to take with military precision though it is much easier to get a lot of replacement items along the way than in the past. Always fun to find thift shops in port for some very welcome wardrobe changes along the way.

 

Packing for totally opposite climates is the hard part -since that means items you only use for part of the cruise.  I also got it down to a few port "uniforms" - mainly with as many pockets as I could find in basic clothing items and then just wear them to death in every port. 

 

One consideration is how cold public rooms can be, particular daytime lectures in the show rooms so even when cruising in the tropics I always make sure I have something warm to wear or throw on when the A/C drops down. 

Edited March 2, 2019 by OlsSalt