Are we the last of the Formal Dress people?

[sealeggs]

We all like to get Dressed for Formal Nights. That is the reason I bought my Tux. My whole family dresses for Formal nights. Now that being said it doesn't ruin it for us when others do not.

[Gelynia80]

This is our first cruise coming up and were excited for formal nights and dressing up. We dont have reason to at home.

[njkruzer]

We like to get dressed. Did tell dh to take his suit and not tux for next 2 cruises...its getting a little snug!

[sparks1093]

I've brought my tux once on a cruise (for our 25th anniversary celebration), other than that I wear a business suit for formal night.

Edited October 8, 2019 by sparks1093

[mike x ftc]

We like to dress up and enjoy formal nights, we have recently returned from an 8 night cruise on the Brilliance.  We flew to Barcelona with Tux, waistcoats, shirts etc for the formal nights but we were very disappointed there was only one in 8 nights.  To be honest if we'd known there was only going to one we wouldn't have bothered lugging it all the way to Spain!!   It does seem like they are phasing them out - which is a shame.

[dplusd]

We no longer like getting dressed up for dinner on a ship.  Our first few cruises I brought a tux, then shifted to a suit and tie, then shifted to a sports coat and open shirt.  Now I don't even bother with a sports coat.  We sometimes still go to the MDR on formal night but now I dress in nice pants and an open shirt. 

 

Personally I feel dining in a specialty restaurant is more suitable for dressy attire where the service and food are of higher quality.  Getting dressed for the MDR experience (lackluster service and banquet style food) just seems kind of silly to me now.  I am glad to see the trend toward more casual attire on board. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

20 minutes ago, Gelynia80 said:

This is our first cruise coming up and were excited for formal nights and dressing up. We dont have reason to at home.

Why not?

[TheOldBear]

35 minutes ago, sealeggs said:

We all like to get Dressed for Formal Nights. That is the reason I bought my Tux. My whole family dresses for Formal nights. Now that being said it doesn't ruin it for us when others do not.

 

There were eight formal [Cunard calls them 'gala'] nights on a 19 day round trip crossing. The tux needed cleaning, but I apparently avoided noticeable stills.

 

I even hand tied a real bow tie for five of eight nights [only needed the 'emergency backup tie' three times].

[lenquixote66]

I have never owned a tux.I last wore a suit in Dec.2015.On my last cruise an actor who was a passenger entered the MDR dressed as though he was playing tennis.

A retired NBA player traveling with his son entered in a sweat suit.This was on a RCI ship.I wear slacks ,chinos or khakis with either a LS button down or a knit shirt every evening for dinner.

[Husky61]

I haven't worn a Tux or suit or a tie in years on any night.  I wear slacks with an open shirt.😃

[Cruiser_1977]

I like to dress each night for dinner. I don't wear a ball gown but a cocktail dress, or a dressy jumpsuit, even a dressier pair of linens pants and a blouse with heels. It's simply what I like. If there were a "formal" night I would enjoy getting out my fancier gowns. My next cruise is on Princess which still has "Formal" nights. They list the dress as:

"Formal
When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women
• Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men"

We'll see is this is followed or enforced. Not holding my breath.

Edited October 8, 2019 by JennyB1977

[leaveitallbehind]

Over the 27 years of cruising, we started with suits (never a tux) and dresses for the whole family and gradually over the years, as the recommended dress relaxed, so did we.  Haven't taken so much as a tie, let alone a jacket or dress shirt (ditto my wife with related attire) on any ship in the last 5 years.  But we are never out of place and always look nice with slacks and shirts or polo's, but never dress formally anymore.  Don't like the extra space and hassle of packing it and don't see the need on board.

 

And BTW, we typically eat the majority of our meals in the specialty restaurants in recent years and have found those venues to be casual as well.  Just because the food quality and service is higher apparently doesn't correlate to a reason to dress any more formally in those venues either.

 

But to be clear, that's just what works for us and to each his own. I think it's very nice when others who choose to dress formally do so if that is what works for them.

Edited October 8, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[ducklite]

We have to fly international to our cruise ports and the last thing we want to do is take additional items for no good reason, so you won't see us doing a formal night.  Other than great ports, business casual every night at dinner is one of the main reasons we cruise on the line we do--and any other lines in the future.  My husband owns a tux and usually when he needs to wear it, it seems so pretentious.

Edited October 8, 2019 by ducklite

[Milwaukee Eight]

I haven’t packed a jacket or tie in our last 8 cruises. I wore a suit and tie for 30+ years to work. Before that, I wore a Uniform. I have a Tux I wore my Tux to a Black Tie Wedding About 4 years ago.  We are done dressing formal on Royal Cruise ships. 

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, sealeggs said:

We all like to get Dressed for Formal Nights. That is the reason I bought my Tux. My whole family dresses for Formal nights. Now that being said it doesn't ruin it for us when others do not.

WONDERFUL !

[cb at sea]

We enjoy dressing up, too...although with all the baggage fees on flights, we sometimes skimp on the "formalwear" a bit now.  We don't care how others dress, tho....and we try to look good EVERY night!

 

[cruizergal70]

3 hours ago, Gelynia80 said:

This is our first cruise coming up and were excited for formal nights and dressing up. We dont have reason to at home.

What reason is there on the ship? Because the cruise line randomly declared it formal night? You can randomly declare it formal night at home and dress up.

 

People who are dressed up tend to take more photos. See how that works for the ship photographers.

Edited October 8, 2019 by cruizergal70

[bonsai3s]

We loved formal nights.  Through the years, we've seen formal nights evolved into a relax, more casual event.  I wore my tux for years...and of course, my wife was beautiful no matter what she puts on.

Because of weight limitation on flights, we've become more casual.  I stopped wearing my tux after showing all our cruise pictures to the grandkids, nieces, and nephews...who all said "How come you're always wearing the same tuxedo?"........that was it.  Note: When cruising with family, we decide beforehand if we are all doing formal or not.

 

[George C]

Wife still dresses up , I recently retired my tux or I should say tux’s , had one on about 50 cruises from 1985 till 2017 will now just bring sports jacket . I think it’s cool to dress up we have dozens of pictures from formal nights. 

[shipgeeks]

DH wears his tux on every cruise, I wear a gown or cocktail dress.  If he outgrew his current tux, I'm sure he would get another.  I do enjoy shopping for more gowns!  Our suitcases still weigh under 50 pounds each, even for long cruises.  We have never cared about photos, we just enjoy being dressed up.

 

 

[Dulciana8]

We enjoy dressing up for our cruises, too. Even though my husband owns a tux (we attend at least one to two black tie functions at home each year, so it’s needed), he just brings a dark suit for cruises. I bring cocktail dresses and use other nights as an excuse to haul out my collection of Lilly Pulitzer. Even our 5 year old gets in the game with boys short sets. For the record we are mid thirties, and in our city among our demographic dressing up is in style and encouraged for an evening out, so cruising for gala nights and snappy casual or whatever the desired moniker for the evening is pretty much par for the course. 

[wowzz]

P&O (UK) still have two formal nights per 7 day cruise. Heck, they even manage one formal night on a two day taster cruise. And by formal they mean jacket and tie, none of this country club casual nonsense! No tie, no mdr!

So all of you who love formal nights, you know where to come!

[Gelynia80]

4 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Why not?

Our home times our dates include our kids and we just dont really go out for parties that ppl usually dress up in formal stuff for. Idk. 

My bf eye sight is fading and it started going fast this last year. Im not sure he can really even see well what im wearing and he still dresses nice, its just never real dressy. 

 

Hes excited for formal night. Hes never seen me in a gown dress and im so excited for it!

[Gelynia80]

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

P&O (UK) still have two formal nights per 7 day cruise. Heck, they even manage one formal night on a two day taster cruise. And by formal they mean jacket and tie, none of this country club casual nonsense! No tie, no mdr!

So all of you who love formal nights, you know where to come!

Thats awesome! Ill have to check out the rates and if we could swing it. I was disappointed when they said only dress your best. Im still glamming up for it though lol

[hapster85]

I opted to not pack a suit for Freedom last week. Wore Dockers and a tropical-ish button down. Didn't feel at all out of place on the two formal nights.