How Formal do you go for formal night?

[SimplyMarvie]

For people with recent/upcoming cruises, what do you pack for formal evenings? Long gowns, or just a dressier-than-usual dress?

 

Mr. Marvie and I attend a lot of on-land formal events, and so we've already got the gear to do full formal dress, if we wanted to. We missed the formal ball that we usually attend every year this year, and I've got a killer long, slinky, satin fish-tail gown that I didn't get to wear that's kind of burning a hole in my wardrobe. I'm trying to decide if I want to pack it, so I get a chance to wear it at least once this year, or chose something less formal. 

 

If I pick something less formal, are we thinking cocktail dress, or what? I'd love to see pictures of what other people do?

[VegasMIGolf]

A consideration is what cruise line are you going to be on?    Some are more formal than others.   We are on Royal and NCL in the next couple months, both times the Mrs. will be in a cocktail dress, and I will be in a dark suit.   I haven't broken out a tuxedo as I only rent one for an annual charity event for my company.   We have seen very few "formal" dresses on Royal and NCL even on Valentines.   IMO- you bought it, you wear it.  Overdressed is better than under dress.   

Edited November 20, 2019 by VegasMIGolf

[ninjacat123]

Trying to attach a pic.  This is what my DH and I wear on elegant night.  Sometimes he wears a tux, but I usually wear a cocktail dress. We cruise Carnival.  This pic was from a Dream Studio shoot.

Edited November 20, 2019 by ninjacat123

[awhfy]

This is what we wore on our recent Hawaiian cruise. It was our 50th wedding anniversary. 

[ninjacat123]

16 minutes ago, awhfy said:

This is what we wore on our recent Hawaiian cruise. It was our 50th wedding anniversary. 

Both you and your DH look great! Perfect choice for elegant night😎

[shipgeeks]

We always take formalwear.  DH will not do a cruise without his tuxedo.  I wear either a long dress (current favorites are black jersey with one shoulder, and black velvet with feathers around the top), or a cocktail dress, frequently very sparkly.

We sail X, RCI, HAL; next up will be MSC.

[crystalspin]

Most lately, DH wears a guayabera (Mexican Wedding Shirt) and I will wear a brightly printed four-sided tank (with a black coverup to hide the back) and a black "bottom". Originally that was a reversible long skirt; the reverse was blue floral and I wore it for the plane trips to and from. Turned out the long skirt was too cumbersome for travel, so now my plan is to wear with shiny black leggings.

 

In Alaska I have worn ponte leggings with a tunic sweater, monochrome. The guys in the group wore Hawaiian shirts!

 

None of the above are black-tie formal. We have multiple (academic and charity) BT events during the year, and also we try to travel carry-on only, so appreciated the cruise lines backing off from formal. Others are welcome to dress to the max! If we feel under-dressed, there is always the buffet.

[chefchick]

Unless the cruise line you are sailing on has a particular dress code...go as formal or “not” as you want.  Enjoy....I personally would rather be overdressed than underdressed but not everyone feels that way.

[ger_77]

Hubby always wears a tux on formal night - not because I want him to, because he wants to!  I have a long black sleeveless jersey knit dress with a v-neck that I can wear either with the "v" in the front with some pretty jewellery, or turned around with a jewel neckline and a simple strand of pearls or a drop necklace.  I always wear a light lacy or sparkly type of jacket and just picked up another one in cobalt blue and black to give me a different look in our formal photos.  It's crazy when you look at your photos and you can't figure out which year it was because you're wearing the same thing!  LOL 

 

Over the years I've learned how to pack and it doesn't take much room for my formal wear, as I can roll it up and stuff it into a zip-lock.  I've also found how to fold hubby's tux so it goes into a large zip-lock, preventing it from shifting around in the suitcase, etc.  A few minutes hanging on a hangar in the bathroom as we shower and the wrinkles are non-existent!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Edited November 22, 2019 by ger_77

[islandgirlejfan]

 I couldn't find one of us on our Celebrity Edge cruise but I this is what we wore on our Panama Canal cruise on Princess.  We are light packers and I dress for my job daily, so I do like to relax when on vacay....this was a cool dress though that I love, so cool that I bought one in paisley, a pattern I just dearly love....it just looks fun!  We've never not fit in and no one has ever given us glares.  I say dress in what you like....life's too short! =D  

Edited November 23, 2019 by islandgirlejfan

[clo]

7 hours ago, ger_77 said:

zip-lock

Are you talking about compression bags?

[ger_77]

10 hours ago, clo said:

Are you talking about compression bags?

No, regular zip-top bags.  I leave enough air in the tux bag to cushion the tuxedo, but not so much that it slides around.  You can get extra large ones that really work well. 

 

When we went to our son's wedding in Japan, I knew I'd have to pack our wedding-wear in our carry-ons, just in case the airline lost our luggage.  We couldn't imagine trying to run around at the last minute to find formal wear, so it was the best option.  I packed my dress, shoes, and jewellery in mine, and DH's tux, shirt, accessories and shoes in his, and they all came out beautifully.   You can go online to view a video that shows how to fold a tuxedo into a zip-lock; it works!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Edited November 23, 2019 by ger_77

[cruznjan]

I wear a gown or cocktail dress, and hubby wears a suit and tie.

[Lois R]

I am not a "dress person"....I actually just did some spring cleaning and had several dresses hanging in the 2nd bedroom closet that I probably had not worn in a 1/2 dozen years.

 I donated all of them to Good Will.  So, no dresses for me.

 

As for what I wear on formal night---that would be dressy slacks and a pretty top with some nice jewelry and a low heeled pair of black sandals or a dressy pair of flats. 

 

[TwinMamainMN]

Cocktail dress for me, and dress pants, shirt and tie for hubby. I might try Rent the Runway for our next cruise though, as I have heard great things.

[ninjacat123]

On 11/22/2019 at 9:55 PM, islandgirlejfan said:

 I couldn't find one of us on our Celebrity Edge cruise but I this is what we wore on our Panama Canal cruise on Princess.  We are light packers and I dress for my job daily, so I do like to relax when on vacay....this was a cool dress though that I love, so cool that I bought one in paisley, a pattern I just dearly love....it just looks fun!  We've never not fit in and no one has ever given us glares.  I say dress in what you like....life's too short! =D  

Great outfits! Love the pearls!

[c-boy]

The Count and Countess go all out...  

 

[ninjacat123]

25 minutes ago, c-boy said:

The Count and Countess go all out...  

 

Awesome pics!! My DH and I are doing this next cruise!

[EDiamond22]

I used to go full suit always, been it seems less and less are even dressing up at all; not complaining just saying.
this was last year, dressed it down a little will probably do something very similar on my RCCL next month.

Edited November 30, 2019 by EDiamond22

[c-boy]

Diamond even if you dress down you have an eye for fashion. The fit and material are spot on. 👍

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, EDiamond22 said:

I used to go full suit always, been it seems less and less are even dressing up at all; not complaining just saying.
this was last year, dressed it down a little will probably do something very similar on my RCCL next month.

You two are adorable!!!

[EDiamond22]

3 hours ago, c-boy said:

Diamond even if you dress down you have an eye for fashion. The fit and material are spot on. 👍

thank you i do try, one of my hobbies 🙂

@crystalspin thank you 🙂

[clo]

On 11/23/2019 at 6:23 AM, ger_77 said:

No, regular zip-top bags. 

Where does one get these? I've seen the quart and gallon ones 🙂

[ninjacat123]

15 hours ago, EDiamond22 said:

I used to go full suit always, been it seems less and less are even dressing up at all; not complaining just saying.
this was last year, dressed it down a little will probably do something very similar on my RCCL next month.

Great look and you both compliment each other!!

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Where does one get these? I've seen the quart and gallon ones 🙂

Target did a test-market thing about 2015 (used on my first TA) of ZipLoc Big Bags -- they came in 2gal, 3gal, and 5gal. The largest had a handle cut in above the zipper and were too big for carryon suitcases (well, they would nearly fill it anyway).

 

I haven't seen in Target since then, but you could look on Amazon or eBay or just the GoogleBox.