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Dress Code Redux


freddie
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I have noted that the venerable thread regarding Dress Code was locked for some reason several months ago.  One of the waiters on our last cruise suggested that the lock may have been due to someone describing on the thread my last visit to the TK Grill, wearing a see-through singlet, ragged Levi cut-offs, flip-flops, and a Seattle Mariners baseball cap worn backwards.  I do recall that the ensemble caused one of the waiters to faint into the tableside Caesar salad that he was creating, while another waiter was so appalled that he dropped the tray with that lovely roasted chicken splayed so dramatically across.  I will humbly ask all of those offended to forgive me and have even tossed out my Mariners cap as an act of atonement.

However, I am firm in my belief that a regular thread needs to exist to answer reasonable (or semi-reasonable) enquiries regarding what is required (not what would be required if a particular poster ran the world) by the cruise line for the various venues on the SB ships with respect to attire.   Pillory me and my singlet if you must; but please be kind to people who make genuine requests for info.

As a start, the friends who are joining us next month for 20 days on Sojourn are first-time SB pax and are concerned about the alternative dining venues on formal-optional evenings.  I have suggested to them that on those evenings, The Colonnade remains elegant casual (i.e. no jacket required), whether or not it is an evening with a special TK menu.   Further, the rest of the ship, except for The Restaurant, also remains elegant casual. 

Please be so kind as to advise me whether the accuracy of my recollection has gone the way of my Mariners cap and should be tossed. 

Edited by freddie
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I had to look up what a “singlet” is, after I stopped laughing, although I had guessed it was something bad and un-TK. 

 

Your dress code recollection sounds correct. 

 

I also don’t think I have seen people other than children wearing shorts or cutoffs to the evening shows, on any night, with or without singlets, but I am usually on colder weather cruises.  I saw a few backwards and also forwards baseball caps at dinner in Colonnade on a Christmas cruise in the Caribbean, and though I do not know official SB policy on caps, they stood out because they were not what the western world considers “elegant”, especially if they say Mariners on them.

 

 

 

 

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So... We are going on Lima-Santiago on Quest.  Plans are for DH to bring his Black Cashmere Sports Coat, and wear with grey trousers.  Collared dress shirt.  Would this be fine everywhere? A tie takes up no space, does he need to bring one?

 

I will be in black skirt, and bringing a few colored cardigans.  And simple black dress.  Is this fine for all areas as well?

 

We don't wear jeans, so trousers and sweaters at the more casual dining areas is fine I assume.

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8 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

On formal optional nights dress pants and a dinner jacket get you into the main dining room, ties are never required.

 

Will what I outlined as our attire be acceptable at ALL venues ANY night??  That is all I'm trying to figure out. Or should DH bring a tie too?  Formal, formal optional, casual.  TK, main dining room. We travel light and does one jacket, dress trousers, dress shirt (and a tie) meet every scenario we might dine in?

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2 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

 

Will what I outlined as our attire be acceptable at ALL venues ANY night??  That is all I'm trying to figure out. Or should DH bring a tie too?  Formal, formal optional, casual.  TK, main dining room. We travel light and does one jacket, dress trousers, dress shirt (and a tie) meet every scenario we might dine in?

 

Yet it is.  You only need the jacket on formal optional nights in the main dining room.  It’s not required on other nights or anywhere outside of the main dining room, ever. 

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3 minutes ago, kimanjo said:

 

Will what I outlined as our attire be acceptable at ALL venues ANY night??  That is all I'm trying to figure out. Or should DH bring a tie too?  Formal, formal optional, casual.  TK, main dining room. We travel light and does one jacket, dress trousers, dress shirt (and a tie) meet every scenario we might dine in?

Yes, a jacket, dress trousers, dress shirt and tie will meet every dining scenario.  Whereas many men do not wear ties for elegant casual, some do and why not pack one?  For a 23 day cruise, my husband packed a navy blazer, another sport coat, dress trousers, dress shirts and several ties.  He wore all of them.  Some men dressed more formally for formal night (we dined in the MDR even though not in tux/suit or formal wear), but my husband's attire (which included bow tie) seemed to fit in, as did my black dresses.  

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Excellent.  Thanks for the responses.  We each travel with one 22" roller, and a backpack ( from one week to 3 weeks)  All items must mix and match.  With self service laundry onboard, this makes  packing easy and clear.

Edited by kimanjo
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Can one be 'overdressed'? I ask this because my DH brings his DJ/Tux, as he rarely gets to wear it these days, for formal nights but felt a bit odd one out on our SB Western Caribbean cruise last year. Admittedly a dark Tux is not very tropical! I get the impression that even formal nights are getting more casual. We quite like wearing something a bit smarter in the evening but don't want to look unnecessarily 'stuffy'. I would be interested in opinions as we are on an SB Caribbean cruise again in Jan. Thanks

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PLEASE do a search. Literally dozens of threads on dress code already exist and the last thing we need is another one because every single post will be a repeat and a rehash and a testament to one's own opinion about what is proper to wear.

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1 hour ago, wripro said:

PLEASE do a search. Literally dozens of threads on dress code already exist and the last thing we need is another one because every single post will be a repeat and a rehash and a testament to one's own opinion about what is proper to wear.

EXCELLENT...very well said

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Perhaps, Wripro, you could be so kind as to simply skip this thread if it offends you, unless, of course, it gives you the occasion to add to your total post count by complaining about something that you can so easily avoid.  Heaven forbid that any of your posts would be positive or non-snarky.

Frankly, I have found it handy on a number of different cruise line CC sites to find an ongoing dress code thread running so that pax do not have to "do a search", which is not always terrifically effective on the CC format.

Further, dress codes are in a constant state of change, even on our beloved luxury lines, which means that the statements of older threads may have been rendered entirely irrelevant by recent (and, thankfully, nearly always more casual) changes in a particular line's dress code.

In any event, I am grateful to the kind posters who have confirmed my hazy (even though recent :classic_wacko: ) recollection that elegant casual is indeed the dress code du soir on the whole ship except for The Restaurant on Formal Optional evenings.   Our friends who are joining us in a few weeks on Sojourn will be pleased to have my rather dotty advice verified by more reliable sources.

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12 hours ago, DiscerningD said:

Can one be 'overdressed'? I ask this because my DH brings his DJ/Tux, as he rarely gets to wear it these days, for formal nights but felt a bit odd one out on our SB Western Caribbean cruise last year. Admittedly a dark Tux is not very tropical! I get the impression that even formal nights are getting more casual. We quite like wearing something a bit smarter in the evening but don't want to look unnecessarily 'stuffy'. I would be interested in opinions as we are on an SB Caribbean cruise again in Jan. Thanks

I actually like admiring those who dress up on formal nights. So, go for it! You are right that, in general, it has gotten a bit more casual, but you'll usually find some very spiffy dressers in the MDR on formal nights. Enjoy, whatever mode of dress you choose.

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On 8/9/2019 at 6:03 PM, freddie said:

I will humbly ask all of those offended to forgive me and have even tossed out my Mariners cap as an act of atonement.

Please be so kind as to advise me whether the accuracy of my recollection has gone the way of my Mariners cap and should be tossed. 

Our Mariners aren't doing so well, so you'll be okay if you switch to a Seahawks cap.

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10 hours ago, wripro said:

PLEASE do a search. Literally dozens of threads on dress code already exist and the last thing we need is another one because every single post will be a repeat and a rehash and a testament to one's own opinion about what is proper to wear.

 

You are of course very right, although for once it was very pleasant that it took until post #8 for the first person to confuse a factual question that required only a factual answer with personal preference in the form of “why not pack a tie?”. From there it always goes rapidly downhill. 

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14 hours ago, sunshineocean13 said:

I actually like admiring those who dress up on formal nights. So, go for it! You are right that, in general, it has gotten a bit more casual, but you'll usually find some very spiffy dressers in the MDR on formal nights. Enjoy, whatever mode of dress you choose.

I agree. I love to see people make an effort. I was slightly disappointed with the dress in the Colonnade on our recent Baltic trip (e.g sneakers, raincoat and backpack - I assume these people had just come back from a trip  - but surely they could have spent a few minutes to change) . However, I don’t let it worry me - I just love dressing up in the evenings and wear my poshest dresses every evening regardless of where we dine. A cocktail in the Observation Bar just wouldn’t be the same without a nice dress on! 

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17 hours ago, freddie said:

Perhaps, Wripro, you could be so kind as to simply skip this thread if it offends you, unless, of course, it gives you the occasion to add to your total post count by complaining about something that you can so easily avoid.  Heaven forbid that any of your posts would be positive or non-snarky.

Frankly, I have found it handy on a number of different cruise line CC sites to find an ongoing dress code thread running so that pax do not have to "do a search", which is not always terrifically effective on the CC format.

Further, dress codes are in a constant state of change, even on our beloved luxury lines, which means that the statements of older threads may have been rendered entirely irrelevant by recent (and, thankfully, nearly always more casual) changes in a particular line's dress code.

In any event, I am grateful to the kind posters who have confirmed my hazy (even though recent :classic_wacko: ) recollection that elegant casual is indeed the dress code du soir on the whole ship except for The Restaurant on Formal Optional evenings.   Our friends who are joining us in a few weeks on Sojourn will be pleased to have my rather dotty advice verified by more reliable sources.

Perhaps Freddie, you should simply skip reading my posts. I promise I won't be offended!!!!

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15 hours ago, florisdekort said:

 

You are of course very right, although for once it was very pleasant that it took until post #8 for the first person to confuse a factual question that required only a factual answer with personal preference in the form of “why not pack a tie?”. From there it always goes rapidly downhill. 

I apologize for my comment about "why not pack a tie?", it if offended you.  That was not my intention.  I was probably thinking about my husband in his bow ties and how they make me smile.  I'll be more circumspect next time---seriously!

 

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Sorry if this question offends those who are tired of the endless dress code drama threads/posts but I did a search and genuinely have not found a satisfactory answer!  

 

Question is - I am taking a holiday Caribbean cruise this year, and wondering if passengers might dress up a little more for Xmas eve / New Year’s Eve? Would a long ‘black tie appropriate’ dress (I mean classic/simple, certainly not too fancy or remotely ‘ball gown style’) be out of place?   If it wasn’t a holiday cruise I would not even consider.   Based on my experience of Seabourn non holiday itineraries, I would definitely feel out of place in a long dress! 

 

Thoughts? 

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15 hours ago, labates629 said:

Sorry if this question offends those who are tired of the endless dress code drama threads/posts but I did a search and genuinely have not found a satisfactory answer!  

 

Question is - I am taking a holiday Caribbean cruise this year, and wondering if passengers might dress up a little more for Xmas eve / New Year’s Eve? Would a long ‘black tie appropriate’ dress (I mean classic/simple, certainly not too fancy or remotely ‘ball gown style’) be out of place?   If it wasn’t a holiday cruise I would not even consider.   Based on my experience of Seabourn non holiday itineraries, I would definitely feel out of place in a long dress! 

 

Thoughts? 

I think you should ask your TA.

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To answer your question - yes, on holiday cruises (even on the one I did in the Caribbean) people dress up a bit more on formal optional nights. Certainly a dress as you describe would not be out of place. In fact even on non holiday cruises I usually  wear a long gown on many of the formal evenings. My DH usually wears a white dinner jacket. Most peephole will not be formally dressed  but that shouldn’t stop you and you won’t be the only one.  

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