Another dress code question

[Balaena]

On 5/14/2019 at 10:32 PM, docco said:

I’d go along with your 70%. That’s been my experience. The blazer will get you in, and if you can cope with a bit of tut tutting from the old diehards you’ll be fine.

Don't forget the tie .. Please

[Balaena]

In my experience wearing formal attire varies from ship to ship.  I would agree with Dai that 90% of passengers step up to the mark and wear formal attire in the evening, conforming to the ships dress code. IMO of folk want to dress down then go and find a cruise line which provides the Butlin's feel, that way they will be happy and so will the vast majority of us that enjoy the atmosphere of formal evenings. 

[brian1]

32 minutes ago, docco said:

Excellent idea - seriously. 

 

Two distinct areas of the MDR: one for those who choose formal attire, and one for the smart casuals.

 

Brilliant!  Something for everyone - go for it, P&O. Keep everyone happy.

They'd have to have a curtain,like on a plane,separating business from cattle class.

[Dermotsgirl]

9 minutes ago, Balaena said:

In my experience wearing formal attire varies from ship to ship.  I would agree with Dai that 90% of passengers step up to the mark and wear formal attire in the evening, conforming to the ships dress code. IMO of folk want to dress down then go and find a cruise line which provides the Butlin's feel, that way they will be happy and so will the vast majority of us that enjoy the atmosphere of formal evenings. 

The  formal dress code is such a small  part of the whole cruise, just a few hours on a few evenings.

 

If somebody likes 95% of the whole P&O offering, with just the formal nights as the thing that they are less keen on, I always think it's very harsh for them to be advised to go elsewhere.  Even though they might not be keen, most men still manage a dark suit and tie for the formal nights,  and think it's a small 'price' to pay for the overall enjoyment of everything else that P & O offers.

 

It'd be like chucking the baby out with the bath water to go to another cruise line, just for one feature of the entire cruise.

 

I'm not sure what a Butlins feel is, as I've never been to Butlins.  However, I went to a couple of other holiday camps in the early 70's, and meals were taken at tables for 8 in a large dining room. I've always thought the traditional dinner experience in the MDR of cruise ships is at least related to holiday camps of 50 years ago! 

[majortom10]

Well sorry to disagree with some but on our Britannia cruise returning yesterday there was no strict enforcement in my eye either on formal or elegant casual. People were walking around all areas of the ship on both formal and elegant casual evenings in jeans and polo shirts and the number of people wearing tuxes on formal night was not as high as previous cruises on P&O and many didnt even wear dark suits. The problem with elegant/smart casual leaves makes it a lottery of peoples differing opinions. Many of the jeans worn were not smart and were the type I would wear about the house and whilst gardening/diy and many were accompanied by men in t shirts and many wore shorts on all nights. No use quoting P&O rules as stated by them because they are not adhered or enforced by P&O and standards are certainly dropping since our last cruise. Pity as other than that it was an excellent cruise. 

[brian1]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

The question is, which is business class and which is cattle class - an ancient, stained dinner suit or modern, smart casual clothes purchased especially for the cruise! 

Nothing wrong with a good dinner suit.I look up to Sir Les Patterson as a role model.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Well sorry to disagree with some but on our Britannia cruise returning yesterday there was no strict enforcement in my eye either on formal or elegant casual. People were walking around all areas of the ship on both formal and elegant casual evenings in jeans and polo shirts and the number of people wearing tuxes on formal night was not as high as previous cruises on P&O and many didnt even wear dark suits. The problem with elegant/smart casual leaves makes it a lottery of peoples differing opinions. Many of the jeans worn were not smart and were the type I would wear about the house and whilst gardening/diy and many were accompanied by men in t shirts and many wore shorts on all nights. No use quoting P&O rules as stated by them because they are not adhered or enforced by P&O and standards are certainly dropping since our last cruise. Pity as other than that it was an excellent cruise. 

My recent experiences have differed - I’ve found that dress code adherence is still quite high. However, I’ve mostly been on Arcadia, Oriana and Aurora so perhaps the experience varies on the ‘type’ of ship 

[Dermotsgirl]

36 minutes ago, Tom Marton said:

Find a cruise line which provides the Butlins feel?  

 

Some, including me, would argue that that's pretty much exactly what P&O now provides - but that they're trying to conceal that fact by covering it over with things like formal dining to try to make it look less like Butlins.

 

Think about it.  

 

Huge dining rooms with large tables, bingo, fruit machines, everybody singing together and waving union flags, kids' clubs, cafeteria-style buffet, large numbers of Leave-supporting Express and Mail readers.............

 

Would that be Butlins or P&O?  Not sure there's much difference!

I think there’s always been a certain crossover between cruising and holiday camps.

 

When I went to holiday camps in the early 70’s the dining was in large  rooms, at tables for 8, like the traditional MDR’s on ships.

 

i also remember ‘pool games’ such as duelling on greasy poles suspended over the swimming pools. I’ve seen vintage liner footage showing identical games. 

 

There’s always been a similarity. 

[daiB]

55 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

My recent experiences have differed - I’ve found that dress code adherence is still quite high. However, I’ve mostly been on Arcadia, Oriana and Aurora so perhaps the experience varies on the ‘type’ of ship 

Not only the size of ship but also the type of cruise. However having been on Ventura recently for 24 nights, 2 cruises I did not see many people not in formal wear on either cruise. Our table was close to the entrance so I could see people coming and going.

 

I shall report back from Britannia in July. 

[kruzseeka]

54 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

My recent experiences have differed - I’ve found that dress code adherence is still quite high. However, I’ve mostly been on Arcadia, Oriana and Aurora so perhaps the experience varies on the ‘type’ of ship 

I'm sure you're right.  I think there is a distinct difference in the passenger demographic between ships - and itinerary makes a difference too so people's varying estimates of numbers in DJs are quite likely all correct - for that ship, that itinerary and those passengers on a given cruise.

 There's no doubt P&O are trying to attract a younger clientele and families mainly to the newer larger ships.  As a consequence I can see the likelihood of a change in adherence and imposition of formal dress codes on these ships whereas older, seasoned cruisers are perhaps more likely to want to retain the formal aspects of cruising and this is more likely to be found on Aurora, Arcadia.

It would be a pity though if both camps can't be catered for.  

[Denarius]

2 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I think there’s always been a certain crossover between cruising and holiday camps.

 

When I went to holiday camps in the early 70’s the dining was in large  rooms, at tables for 8, like the traditional MDR’s on ships.

 

i also remember ‘pool games’ such as duelling on greasy poles suspended over the swimming pools. I’ve seen vintage liner footage showing identical games. 

 

There’s always been a similarity. 

When I first sailed with P&O in the 1990s pool games were a regular feature on sea days, culminating in a crew versus passengers event which included, yes, a greasy pole across the pool. Sometime between then and  now these were discontinued, along with other "favourites" like the ice carving demonstration and champagne pyramid. Elf and safety?

[Harry Peterson]

21 minutes ago, Denarius said:

When I first sailed with P&O in the 1990s pool games were a regular feature on sea days, culminating in a crew versus passengers event which included, yes, a greasy pole across the pool. Sometime between then and  now these were discontinued, along with other "favourites" like the ice carving demonstration and champagne pyramid. Elf and safety?

Nope. A different breed of passenger, plus the fact that they don’t raise revenue for P&O.

[Dermotsgirl]

14 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I wonder where this idea of stained sweaty smelling tuxes came from, I have never come across them in over 15 years of cruising, and mine gets regularly dry cleaned just as I imagine most other passengers do as well.

 

9 hours ago, daiB said:

 

Come on John not such a good story if they DJ’s are clean and tidy.

It’s the same as all these people wearing their gardening jeans on formal night - I’ve never seen that - but it’s not to say that it doesn’t happen. 

 

The point I was making is that the donning of a dinner jacket doesn’t automatically make a man look smart and ‘business’ class. 

 

Its quite possible for a man in a dinner suit  to look like he’s been pulled through a hedge backwards. It’s also possible for a man in smart casual attire to look much better than the aforesaid man who has dragged himself through the hedge. 

[terrierjohn]

32 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

 

It’s the same as all these people wearing their gardening jeans on formal night - I’ve never seen that - but it’s not to say that it doesn’t happen. 

 

The point I was making is that the donning of a dinner jacket doesn’t automatically make a man look smart and ‘business’ class. 

 

Its quite possible for a man in a dinner suit  to look like he’s been pulled through a hedge backwards. It’s also possible for a man in smart casual attire to look much better than the aforesaid man who has dragged himself through the hedge. 

I don't think I have ever seen any of these dragged hedge characters in the dining room on formal nights, of course that's not to say they don't exist. But in the main I find that most passengers do look well dressed on formal nights, and DJ's and the ladies in their finery do tend to make the evening feel a bit more special than casual nights, and long may it continue. 

[Balaena]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I don't think I have ever seen any of these dragged hedge characters in the dining room on formal nights, of course that's not to say they don't exist. But in the main I find that most passengers do look well dressed on formal nights, and DJ's and the ladies in their finery do tend to make the evening feel a bit more special than casual nights, and long may it continue. 

Hear! Hear! 

[Les_ldh]

2 hours ago, Balaena said:

Hear! Hear! 

 

‘And me! 👍

[NauticalMiss]

On 5/14/2019 at 4:07 PM, marcc said:

Hi

 

We were on Oceana We are thinking of taking a cruise on the Oceana and were wondering about the rigidity of the formal nights dress code.

North American based cruise lines are moving away from formal nights but I understand that P & O has kept up traditions and formal nights are "dressy".

I don't like wasting luggage space on a suit that I will wear for a total of 8 hours. I prefer to travel with a blazer, tie and flannels. It permits more flexibility as the components can be combined in different ways.

 

Is that acceptable dress for formal night or do they actually insist on a suit?

 

Thanks

 

Marc C.

 

 

We were on Oceana at the beginning of May, cruising the Adriatic. There was an exceptionally high presence of dark suits/tuxedos on board. I do not recall seeing many (if any) chaps in "plain clothes". Everyone made an effort to adhere to the dress code of the evening, not just in the designated bars/restaurants. We dined in the Beach House on one formal evening, and many chaps were in DJs, including my hubby. As I see it, most ladies on a cruise love to dress up and not only on formal nights. If their husbands/partners can make an effort on just 2 formal nights, it scores highly with the ladies. Can I suggest, if you don't want to adhere to the dress code, get room service. 

[P-L-B]

48 minutes ago, NauticalMiss said:

We were on Oceana at the beginning of May, cruising the Adriatic. There was an exceptionally high presence of dark suits/tuxedos on board. I do not recall seeing many (if any) chaps in "plain clothes". Everyone made an effort to adhere to the dress code of the evening, not just in the designated bars/restaurants. We dined in the Beach House on one formal evening, and many chaps were in DJs, including my hubby. As I see it, most ladies on a cruise love to dress up and not only on formal nights. If their husbands/partners can make an effort on just 2 formal nights, it scores highly with the ladies. Can I suggest, if you don't want to adhere to the dress code, get room service. 

We have friends that have just returned from Oceana and after being question they had nothing but praise for their cruise. The food was good and the appropriate dress codes were adhered to.

We will be onboard Oceana next month and can't wait.😃

Edited May 20, 2019 by P-L-B

[AndyMichelle]

This is fantastic...

I wondered what we were going to disagree about now tipping and drinks packages have gone by the wayside....

Dress code, of course...

Long may freedom of speech and the right to our own opinions continue.

Andy

[Babyeddiedog]

On 5/19/2019 at 2:24 PM, brian1 said:

Nothing wrong with a good dinner suit.I look up to Sir Les Patterson as a role model.

 

❤️ it, you're absolutely right Brian. Sir Les wears a suit and tie and therefore fits the dress code. Give me Andrea Zanchini in jeans and a t-shirt any day!

[Harry Peterson]

On 5/19/2019 at 1:24 PM, brian1 said:

Nothing wrong with a good dinner suit.I look up to Sir Les Patterson as a role model.

And a superb role model he is. He'd make excellent company at the table too.

 

[brian1]

1 hour ago, Babyeddiedog said:

 

❤️ it, you're absolutely right Brian. Sir Les wears a suit and tie and therefore fits the dress code. Give me Andrea Zanchini in jeans and a t-shirt any day!

With my knowledge of Italian male models not that extensive,lol,I had to google him.Yeah,I suppose he's better looking than the other "heart throb" Vasco Rossi,big lol.

[P-L-B]

This was me on my last formal night.

 

Although suitably dresses I had a few to many Old Speckled Hens.

My fellow dancers were not impressed and my wife disowned me. 😂

[NSWP]

On 5/21/2019 at 6:44 PM, docco said:

And a superb role model he is. He'd make excellent company at the table too.

 

Looks more like a Cunarder.   Quite well dressed for a Colonial, we do not normally dress like that for the buffet.

[Highpeaklad]

On 5/19/2019 at 11:40 AM, Balaena said:

In my experience wearing formal attire varies from ship to ship.  I would agree with Dai that 90% of passengers step up to the mark and wear formal attire in the evening, conforming to the ships dress code. IMO of folk want to dress down then go and find a cruise line which provides the Butlin's feel, that way they will be happy and so will the vast majority of us that enjoy the atmosphere of formal evenings. 

 

I would hardly compare Celebrity to Butlins. Jeans and a shirt are fine for their “formal” nights. 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Highpeaklad