Dress Code

[rhinomike]

Hello,

 

We are frequent cruisers on Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean. We are wanting to try a cruise line with a little better service and a little more luxurious. However we are not into dressing up too much. We enjoy the finer things in life but are normally very casual. I have read there are dress codes on this cruise line the are different from others. We are looking at departing out of Rome next June on the Sirena. My question is how strict are they on the dress code?  Are shorts really not allowed even if they are dress shorts with sandals or deck shoes?  Please enlighten me on the dress code and let me know what is real and what is not. Thank you. 

[1985rz1]

19 minutes ago, rhinomike said:

Hello,

 

We are frequent cruisers on Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean. We are wanting to try a cruise line with a little better service and a little more luxurious. However we are not into dressing up too much. We enjoy the finer things in life but are normally very casual. I have read there are dress codes on this cruise line the are different from others. We are looking at departing out of Rome next June on the Sirena. My question is how strict are they on the dress code?  Are shorts really not allowed even if they are dress shorts with sandals or deck shoes?  Please enlighten me on the dress code and let me know what is real and what is not. Thank you. 

Depends on when and where.  From the Oceania web site:

 

"Recommended on board clothing is resort or country club casual. For evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is suggested. We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM. Baseball caps may be worn in the Terrace Café after 6 PM. "

[clo]

People will describe it as a Dockers-style pant and a collared shirt.  For dinner in the Grand Dining Room and the specialty restaurants.

[Flatbush Flyer]

OP: This is not Carnival (or Golden Corral). 

Oceania prides itself on not requiring that folks where suits/ties or gowns to dinner. There are no "prom nites." But you are expected to exhibit some decorum when it comes to dressing for dinner. Slacks (not jeans), shoes (deck or otherwise) and a collared shirt will work just fine in every dining venue.

"Dress shorts" is an oxymoron at best.

[Rob the Cruiser]

Agreed. There is no such thing as "dressy jeans". Jeans are jeans, whether they cost $20 or $200. Same with "dress shorts". 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[Mura]

Shorts (probably not short-shorts!) are okay in the GDR for breakfast and lunch and always in Terrace.

 

You shouldn't worry.  The dress code is not stringent.  No formal nights, but if you *want* to dress more formally no one will stare.  But in the dinner restaurants you should think of what you would wear to a nice restaurant in your home town.

 

Most gents just wear a nice shirt with or without tie (usually without).  Pants are di rigeur I suppose. 🙂  In the specialties (and La Reserve if you are on Marina or Riviera) more gents wear a sports jacket ... but not all do.

 

Mura

 

 

[rhinomike]

19 minutes ago, Mura said:

Shorts (probably not short-shorts!) are okay in the GDR for breakfast and lunch and always in Terrace.

 

You shouldn't worry.  The dress code is not stringent.  No formal nights, but if you *want* to dress more formally no one will stare.  But in the dinner restaurants you should think of what you would wear to a nice restaurant in your home town.

 

Most gents just wear a nice shirt with or without tie (usually without).  Pants are di rigeur I suppose. 🙂  In the specialties (and La Reserve if you are on Marina or Riviera) more gents wear a sports jacket ... but not all do.

 

Mura

 

 

 

 

Thank you. That was helpful. 😃

[Mura]

RhinoMike,

 

Perhaps I should add this comment.  I've said it before, but not recently.

 

On a cruise a few years ago we shared a table with another couple.  It was the first or second night in the GDR and the husband had a suit and tie.  He had noticed that he was in the minority so he asked about the dress code, and we informed him that he didn't need the suit and tie on Oceania although some wear sports jackets.

 

We saw him the next night in a specialty (Polo, I think) and he was no longer wearing the suit and tie ...

 

(Should anyone wonder, YES, he was dressed!)

 

Mura

 

[ptiprof]

The dress code clearly differentiates between “casual jeans” which may not be worn and dress jeans which most certainly do exist. You will see them in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities. In European cities they are often worn with sport coats for dinner. Fashion is generational, regional, and cultural  We shouldn’t impose our  personal preferences on others by suggesting that their clothing needs to exceed the dress code standard. 

[bbtondo]

4 hours ago, ptiprof said:

The dress code clearly differentiates between “casual jeans” which may not be worn and dress jeans which most certainly do exist. You will see them in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities. In European cities they are often worn with sport coats for dinner. Fashion is generational, regional, and cultural  We shouldn’t impose our  personal preferences on others by suggesting that their clothing needs to exceed the dress code standard. 

Well said!

[pinotlover]

5 hours ago, ptiprof said:

The dress code clearly differentiates between “casual jeans” which may not be worn and dress jeans which most certainly do exist. You will see them in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities. In European cities they are often worn with sport coats for dinner. Fashion is generational, regional, and cultural  We shouldn’t impose our  personal preferences on others by suggesting that their clothing needs to exceed the dress code standard. 

The one and only “ we” above that counts in this conversation is the Restaurants maitre de or hostess. They are the gate keeper and they do indeed impose their personal preferences on the dress code standards. They decide if those jeans are dress jeans or casual. Jeans are only dress jeans if they say they are and any personal “ generational, regional, and cultural “ concepts don’t matter at all. Telling the hostess that these jeans are dress jeans from “ San Diego to Seattle “ is  a wastes of breath because they alone decide what is and isn’t country club casual on Oceania, not the maitre de in one of those Left Coast fine restaurants. 

 

Fairly simple isn’t it?

 

We’ve seen multiple cruisers stopped and told to go change clothes through out the years by those gate keepers, including our most recent cruise. 

[cbb]

 delete

 

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by cbb

[clo]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We’ve seen multiple cruisers stopped and told to go change clothes through out the years by those gate keepers, including our most recent cruise. 

One would think it would be easier to err on the side of caution.  Leave the jeans out of the GDR and specialty restaurants and take even one pair of khakis.

[Rob the Cruiser]

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

The one and only “ we” above that counts in this conversation is the Restaurants maitre de or hostess. They are the gate keeper and they do indeed impose their personal preferences on the dress code standards. They decide if those jeans are dress jeans or casual. Jeans are only dress jeans if they say they are and any personal “ generational, regional, and cultural “ concepts don’t matter at all. Telling the hostess that these jeans are dress jeans from “ San Diego to Seattle “ is  a wastes of breath because they alone decide what is and isn’t country club casual on Oceania, not the maitre de in one of those Left Coast fine restaurants. 

 

Fairly simple isn’t it?

 

We’ve seen multiple cruisers stopped and told to go change clothes through out the years by those gate keepers, including our most recent cruise. 

 

Well said.

[Rob the Cruiser]

12 hours ago, ptiprof said:

The dress code clearly differentiates between “casual jeans” which may not be worn and dress jeans which most certainly do exist. You will see them in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities. In European cities they are often worn with sport coats for dinner. Fashion is generational, regional, and cultural  We shouldn’t impose our  personal preferences on others by suggesting that their clothing needs to exceed the dress code standard. 

 

I'm a Northern California native. I've done business from San Diego to Seattle for over 30 years. I'm well aware that one will see "dressy" jeans in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities and Europe.

 

I didn't impose my personal preferences on others regarding dress code. Jeans are jeans and a person expecting to be admitted to the GDR for dinner on Oceania wearing "dressy" jeans will most likely be turned away.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[UDSpud]

Advice - take it or leave it.  For the events (Oceania club members and Captains) in Horizons, I always dress upscale.

 

For me that is a sports coat, dress shirt (with tie), a dressy vest, appropriate non- khakis dress slacks and dress shoes with appropriate socks.

.

Is it necessary? - no.  Is it appreciated by the ships officers in the reception line and the well dressed production company singer/dancers? - definitely yes.(IMO and experience)

[Charles4515]

20 minutes ago, UDSpud said:

Advice - take it or leave it.  For the events (Oceania club members and Captains) in Horizons, I always dress upscale.

 

For me that is a sports coat, dress shirt (with tie), a dressy vest, appropriate non- khakis dress slacks and dress shoes with appropriate socks.

.

Is it necessary? - no.  Is it appreciated by the ships officers in the reception line and the well dressed production company singer/dancers? - definitely yes.(IMO and experience)

Why would I care what the ships officers or singer/dancers appreciate? Not that you know what they appreciate. It is probably your imagination. I won’t ever pack a sports coat or tie on a cruise again. And there is no need to on Oceania. 

[clo]

37 minutes ago, UDSpud said:

Is it necessary? - no.

Right.  We ARE just talking the minimum.

[pinotlover]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Right.  We ARE just talking the minimum.

We are always talking about about the few that attempt to achieve, or actually undercut, the minimum. I don’t honestly believe I’ve ever seen anyone in casual jeans that thought they were in dress jeans. Same goes with guys in flip flops that believed they were in dress sandals. It is, and will always be, a game. How can one push, or lower, the lowest standards possible to even lower levels. A child’s game played by adults. A game played most every day on Oceania and one that is at this point actually boring. 

[clo]

36 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

It is, and will always be, a game. How can one push, or lower, the lowest standards possible to even lower levels. A child’s game played by adults.

So incredibly well said.  Thank you as usual.

Cath

[Charles4515]

We are always talking about about the few that attempt to achieve, or actually undercut, the minimum. I don’t honestly believe I’ve ever seen anyone in casual jeans that thought they were in dress jeans. Same goes with guys in flip flops that believed they were in dress sandals. It is, and will always be, a game. How can one push, or lower, the lowest standards possible to even lower levels. A child’s game played by adults. A game played most every day on Oceania and one that is at this point actually boring. 

 

 

Talk about boring.......and game playing. All these dress discussions turn into pontification.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Essiesmom]

Well, up to this point, are we just talking about jeans for men?  Can we define what is jeans, and what isn't?  Are jeans pants that are made from denim, in some shade of blue?  Or black?  Style?  How about jeans for/on women?  I have a number of pairs of pants that are made in the style of five pocket jeans, but they are of entirely different fabric:  pastel with flowers;  mottled shades of blues or pinks...or even stretch denim in solid white.   Would a woman be turned away from the GDR wearing such pants?  Now, don't get me wrong...I love to 'dress' and won't be challenging the dress code and, since my cruise is to the Caribbean, I won't be bringing 'jeans' anyway...EM

[clo]

10 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Well, up to this point, are we just talking about jeans for men?  Can we define what is jeans, and what isn't?  Are jeans pants that are made from denim, in some shade of blue?  Or black?  Style?  How about jeans for/on women?  I have a number of pairs of pants that are made in the style of five pocket jeans, but they are of entirely different fabric:  pastel with flowers;  mottled shades of blues or pinks...or even stretch denim in solid white.   Would a woman be turned away from the GDR wearing such pants?  Now, don't get me wrong...I love to 'dress' and won't be challenging the dress code and, since my cruise is to the Caribbean, I won't be bringing 'jeans' anyway...EM

As a woman 🙂 I consider anything made from denim to be "jeans."  Five (or any) pocket pants that aren't made from denim aren't jeans.

[clo]

23 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

All these dress discussions turn into pontification.

I completely disagree with you.  There are enough people asking the question that it's worth reiterating and elaborating.  Better that than they show up at the GDR and get turned away cause nobody was willing to 'go there' yet again.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, clo said:

I completely disagree with you.  There are enough people asking the question that it's worth reiterating and elaborating.  Better that than they show up at the GDR and get turned away cause nobody was willing to 'go there' yet again.

I disagree with the idea that people are playing games with their dress. I don’t think anyone showing up who gets turned away is playing games. I saw someone turned away on the first night wearing shorts and it was obvious they didn’t know. They were not playing games. It is common on many cruise lines for leniency the first night. I don’t think it is a big deal. Easy enough for him to go back to his cabin and change pants.  In the middle of the cruise a passenger had on “normal” jeans and a tee shirt at our share table. He obviously was not turned away. He was not playing games. He was from a part of the US where that is probably normal dress everywhere.