Gala night-are there other dining options if you don't want to dress up?

[sail7seas]

6 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Here is a recent vegetarian thread with menus and photos.  As long as you are presentable for gala night you are good to go.  Welcome to cruising and have a great time!

 

Strict dresscodes on cruise ships have mostly gone the way of the do-do bird.

 

Go  to  MDR and enjoy your dinner.

 

If you wish, see the show after dinner or go to casino or whatever you  enjoy.

 

 

 

Your DH likely will find vegetairan selections that hopefuillyu will please him.

 

 

 

Us

Quote

 

S

Edited July 5, 2019 by sail7seas

[Sailor Taylor]

5 hours ago, Crew News said:

You can order from the current Main Dining Room menu items via Room Service any night of the week which includes Gala Night.  You have to order during the meal hours.

 

Here is a link to the current Vegetarian and Indian Vegetarian Menus available upon request from your Main Dining Room waiter:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/indian-vegetarian-menus-7-day

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Vegetarian.pdf

Wow this is great!

 

We will be able to meet the minimal dress requirement but hubby doesn't like dressing up and going to MDR.  But I told him to be a big boy because I am not missing my lobster!   

 

If the same lobster is available as room service at no extra cost on gala night then I am totally happy with room service.  Probably save the wait staff some time too.  After all for them the fewer the serve the better. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by Sailor Taylor

[slidergirl]

8 hours ago, suralottie said:

Thanks for the information. Didn't think we'd have to scurry back to our room 🙂 Were you really not supposed to be out and about if you weren't dressed up for Gala night in the past?  I can understand why people want to dress up and enjoy being in an elegant surrounding-it is just not us at this point in our lives. Is there dancing or just dinner on Gala nights? Is the food different? Vegetarian selections? While Alaska is experiencing a heat wave right now and unfortunately serious fires it may be cold and rainy during our trip so we are packing jackets, fleece etc as well as warmer weather gear, hiking poles and shoes. We are packing one bag each and a carry on for a three week trip.  Perhaps I'll pack a pair of slacks and a shirt/tie for him if we have room. It is always nice to have options. Thanks again!

Don't sweat the tie - use that room for something useful, like another pair of socks  😉

 

[slidergirl]

3 hours ago, joekerstef said:

And even the no jeans requirement may not be enforced. There was a guy at the table behind us on Maasdam a couple weeks ago wearing jeans on gala night. I don't think his collared shirt was even tucked in. And he wore the same outfit two or three days in a row. 

Hey, I was giving what the HAL guidelines, trying to steer in the correct direction...

[slidergirl]

1 hour ago, Sailor Taylor said:

Wow this is great!

 

We will be able to meet the minimal dress requirement but hubby doesn't like dressing up and going to MDR.  But I told him to be a big boy because I am not missing my lobster!   

 

If the same lobster is available as room service at no extra cost on gala night then I am totally happy with room service.  Probably save the wait staff some time too.  After all for them the fewer the serve the better. 

There are rumors that lobster is available in the buffet on "gala" night...  Anyone confirm?  That might help hubby.

[purduemom1]

If this hasn’t already been said, in addition to the very relaxed dress even on Gaga Night, Alaska cruises tend to be more casual than most.  So don’t worry and please don’t avoid the main dining room......unless you want to.  

[RocketMan275]

44 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

There are rumors that lobster is available in the buffet on "gala" night...  Anyone confirm?  That might help hubby.

It was on our last cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam.  They also had the 'surf and turf' on the other gala night.

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, Sailor Taylor said:

Wow this is great!

 

We will be able to meet the minimal dress requirement but hubby doesn't like dressing up and going to MDR.  But I told him to be a big boy because I am not missing my lobster!   

 

If the same lobster is available as room service at no extra cost on gala night then I am totally happy with room service.  Probably save the wait staff some time too.  After all for them the fewer the serve the better. 

If it's served in the MDR, then you can get it from room service.  But why settle for the warm water 'lobster' served in the MDR?  Why not spend a few extra bucks?  For $20 you can get a 12 Oz MAINE LOBSTER TAIL, prepared steamed or broiled, served with lemon-garlic butter delivered to your room. Guarantee it will be better than the 'lobster' served in the MDR.  You can get hubby a steak for $15.  Both from the Pinnacle Grill.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, slidergirl said:

There are rumors that lobster is available in the buffet on "gala" night...  Anyone confirm?  That might help hubby.

 

According to my current Alaska 7-day menus, lobster tail is not available in the Lido Market Dinner on Gala Night.  Here are the Lido Market and MDR menus for Alaska 2d Gala Night:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AL-Day-06-Gala-Night-Gold.pdf

[ithaca gal]

4 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

Is it dead yet??

NEIGHHHHHHH!

[slidergirl]

12 hours ago, ithaca gal said:

NEIGHHHHHHH!

Whinny, paw,...  Still alive and kicking...

(I wanted to post a photo of a bucking bronco, but failed miserably)

[TheChiefNL]

On 7/4/2019 at 5:39 PM, DougK said:

 

This advice is long outdated. The dress requirements for Gala Nights are now pretty simple: "On Gala Nights in fine dining restaurants, collared shirts and slacks are required for gentlemen. For ladies, elegant dresses, skirts, or slacks are all acceptable." So a jacket isn't required, and it's minimal dressing up--even with packing light, you should be able to meet the requirements. So feel free to eat wherever you wish. And outside the dining areas, the dress is the same on Gala Nights as any other night. You don't need to scurry back to your room--enjoy the shows, lounges, etc.

Hey Doug,

 

Do you know if HAL haves this somewhere written down? I mean do they have made a statement about it?

 

TheChief

[DougK]

22 minutes ago, TheChiefNL said:

Do you know if HAL haves this somewhere written down? I mean do they have made a statement about it?

 

 

Yes, I took that quote from HAL's website, from the Know Before You Go page (https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq/know-before-you-go.html) under Cruise Preparation / Clothing. A very similar statement can be found in the FAQ (https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq.cruise-preparation.is-there-a-dress-code.html).

[coffeebean]

On 7/4/2019 at 11:29 AM, Sir PMP said:

Just go the Lido for dinner and than back to your room..

Why back to the room after dining in the Lido?

[rj42]

My routine as a shy solo cruiser is to look at the dining room menu ahead of time (it's up during the day outside the upper dining room), then write down what you want. Then when the Lido buffet opens, usually 5:30, I check out what I want that's there--usually all the appetizers are there, most of the desserts (excluding things like creme brulee), and I usually get a bowl of each dining room soup there (delicious).   Then if there's a main dish I want, like salmon, I'll order that for a later room service, with creme brulee for dessert, so I minimize time and still get what I want, and spread the dining out so I don't get over full. A lot of new cruisers aren't aware that you can order anything from the dining room dinner menu for room service. 

 

For vegetarians, they have some good main dish items (tofu curry is tasty), the Asian market during lunch usually has tofu dishes, along with veggie sushi, the salad station will fill you up with tons of veggies (and a veggie omelet in the morning), and even the burger bar has a tasty portobello burger. The dining room staff will bend over backwards to satisfy vegetarian needs, so just ask on the first night and they'll bring out special menus or even fix something special (many of the chefs are Indian, so they can make some amazing vegetarian Indian dishes). Then there is always lots of fresh fruit for breakfast, oatmeal and bran cereals, and HAL also has the most amazing bread rolls, with a huge variety.  Then for late-evening after a show, the only thing open is usually the pasta station, where they'll also assemble lots of veggies to go with pasta and marinara sauce. 

 

Alaska is also 

[awhcruiser]

On 7/4/2019 at 11:08 AM, STANCPA44 said:

Dress requirements, what dress requirements, unfortunately any thing goes now.

 

I totally agree with this.  

[awhcruiser]

On 7/4/2019 at 6:59 PM, Tennessee Titan said:

Is it dead yet??

Should have been a while ago

[awhcruiser]

On 7/4/2019 at 10:29 AM, Sir PMP said:

Just go the Lido for dinner and than back to your room..

Are they supposed to hide out for the night?

[catl331]

19 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Are they supposed to hide out for the night?

Back in the day of Formal nights, the whole ship except the Lido was supposed to be Formal after 6:00, not just the MDR and other restaurants, so yes, if you didn't meet the dress code you were expected to stay in your cabin for the night.

[kevingastreich]

On 7/4/2019 at 9:41 AM, pengu1n said:

If they have lobster, it would probably be on a gala night, otherwise I don't see much of a difference. One thing we like about Holland America: if you don't want to sit through the long dining room service, they serve most of the same food in the buffet.

We ate at Canaletto's one night that just happened to be Gala Night. When I  offhandedly mentioned that I was missing my lobster in the MDR, our server went and got me one! No charge of course.  Great service!

[SetAnOpenCourse]

On 9/15/2019 at 11:33 PM, rj42 said:

...

A lot of new cruisers aren't aware that you can order anything from the dining room dinner menu for room service. 

...

Is this still true?

 

 

[Crew News]

29 minutes ago, SetAnOpenCourse said:

Is this still true?

 

 

 

Yes, but the order must be placed during meal hours.

[awhcruiser]

18 hours ago, catl331 said:

Back in the day of Formal nights, the whole ship except the Lido was supposed to be Formal after 6:00, not just the MDR and other restaurants, so yes, if you didn't meet the dress code you were expected to stay in your cabin for the night.

Interesting.  We would always stay in our formal clothes.

[lazey1]

On 7/4/2019 at 2:38 PM, joekerstef said:

And even the no jeans requirement may not be enforced. There was a guy at the table behind us on Maasdam a couple weeks ago wearing jeans on gala night. I don't think his collared shirt was even tucked in. And he wore the same outfit two or three days in a row. 

The no jeans requirement is definitely not enforced for women.  My last 3 cruises (Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska) I have packed and worn only nice, new jeans every night including gala night. I do pair the jeans with dressy blouses and jewelry for gala night.

 

[suralottie]

I am the original poster and found the advice given very helpful. We cruised in July and am happy to report that gala nights were no problem, there was lobster for those who wanted it and the vegetarian meals were fine. Personally I'm very happy that we didn't have to dress up and the black pants/nice top for me and chinos and nice shirt for my husband worked fine.  We didn't have to "hide out" and had a great time.  I found out I loved cruising and can't wait to go again. My husband is neutral about it but willing to give it another try.  He was pleasantly surprised about the variety of the veggie options and releived not to have to dress up. All is good 🙂