MR happy cruiser

[jeanlyon]

I would think 60s and tropical are casual.

[wowzz]

Tropical and 60s will be casual, and 95% of the passengers will not bother dressing up. 

I really wish P&O  would stop the use of the term "black and white" night, when it is, to all intents and purposes, a formal night.

[jeanlyon]

Agree.  We never dress up for tropical and 60s

[Britboys]

I've always enjoyed Tropical Night - its the only time I wear a shirt that is remotely 'loud'.  Mind you, its not quite the same now you don't get a lei...

[Adawn47]

This is my first post so anything could happen. We were on Aurora in November 2019 and I was also confused about 3 formal nights on a 14 night cruise. Once on board however  we found that the Black and White night was classed as  formal as well. So 4 formal in total. Confusing I know. 

[Britboys]

11 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

This is my first post so anything could happen. We were on Aurora in November 2019 and I was also confused about 3 formal nights on a 14 night cruise. Once on board however  we found that the Black and White night was classed as  formal as well. So 4 formal in total. Confusing I know. 

Its easy for us old-timers not to realise how confusing these things can be.  Black & white has always been on a Formal but would certainly have been included in the overall number of Formal Nights.

Welcome to the Forum!

[Vampiress88]

20 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Its easy for us old-timers not to realise how confusing these things can be.  Black & white has always been on a Formal but would certainly have been included in the overall number of Formal Nights.

Welcome to the Forum!

Few people on the same cruise as me in April. 
 

Are we saying that there will be 4 nights? 60s black and white, tropical and captains? But the black and white isn’t classed as formal? 
 

I bought a black and white dress cos I know that black and white night is usually a “big formal night” 

cant keep buying these random outfits. 
 

it needs to be clear

[davemorton]

Black and white is formal, and comes included in the amount of formal nights they have said you will have. 

[Britboys]

3 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Few people on the same cruise as me in April. 
 

Are we saying that there will be 4 nights? 60s black and white, tropical and captains? But the black and white isn’t classed as formal? 
 

I bought a black and white dress cos I know that black and white night is usually a “big formal night” 

cant keep buying these random outfits. 
 

it needs to be clear

Tropical Night and 60's Night are both Casual nights.  Black & White night is one of the notified Formal Nights.  Until now, the ships have had 2 Formal Nights per week as a rough guide but it looks as though P&O are changing that to 3 on some ships...

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

I got an email yesterday. 
 

3 formal 

11 casual

 

but then it says 60s, tropical, captains reception and black and white which is 4? 
 

They do like to confuse me. Will the tropical or 60s be casual do you think?

Both will be casual.

[janieb1962]

8 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Because cruising isn't just about formal nights! If that's what people want then they should sail Cunard. We sail for itinerary and our upcoming Britannia TA is all about that, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua, Azores and Southampton. 

 

We enjoy formal nights too, but personally think the number should be reduced on a 7 night sailing to 2.

BTW we have 5 formals on a 14 night sailing, and hopefully the Captain's Welcome Reception and the Black & White are included in the number because the email does state 9 casual nights. No way I'll be doing 7! Beach Hut here we come!

 

IMHO 5 is too many in 14 nights especaially as according to the personaliser we have 2 on consecutive nights.

Agree it’s not just about formal nights . Why should I need to choose Cunard when P&O have exactly what I want including formal nights. There are cruise lines that offer same or similar itineraries with less or no formal nights so why not choose those and leave us that like the number sailing with P&O

I’m sure there will be enough to fill the ships 

[Adawn47]

Thank you for the welcome and yes I'm an oldie too. We've been cruising with P&O for 10 years now and this was the first time I've seen Black and White night done like this. Very strange. Sometimes new ideas aren't always better, just confusing.

[bee-ess]

7 hours ago, Britboys said:

If the 'results' of "Dress to Impress" are anything like that when I was on Marella Discovery 2 two years ago, then it is not worth bothering with.  I was totally unimpressed...

 

It would be good if everyone participated but I guess it would just become another casual night. We had one on Celebrity once that was good, not every did it but them again not everyone did formal on there either.

[Vampiress88]

Aww well I’ve got two dresses that I never wear apart from once a year on a cruise so that will have to do for me 

[P&O SUE]

My next cruise is just a 2 night break but even I got an email. My husband was considering not bothering with the formal night this time but it does say we’ve got a formal and a smart casual.

We enjoy the formal nights but when we had a 12 night cruise we were glad there were no more then 3!

[UncleZen]

The formal night on my upcoming 7 night cruise on ventura is the thing I am looking forward to the least. I dont have suitable wear for an event such as this, dont want to buy a tux and dont want to pack a suit and tie for a few hours of wear. Although I'll probably have to as my wife will probably want to go. In fact I would go as far to say that the whole idea of such a formal event puts me off cruising. I very much expect this cruise to be my first and last, tbh. But watch this space, I may be surprised, but I doubt it.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, UncleZen said:

The formal night on my upcoming 7 night cruise on ventura is the thing I am looking forward to the least. I dont have suitable wear for an event such as this, dont want to buy a tux and dont want to pack a suit and tie for a few hours of wear. Although I'll probably have to as my wife will probably want to go. In fact I would go as far to say that the whole idea of such a formal event puts me off cruising. I very much expect this cruise to be my first and last, tbh. But watch this space, I may be surprised, but I doubt it.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk
 

With you 100%.  Take a dark suit though just for simplicity, to keep your wife happy, and to avoid having to eat in the buffet.

 

You’d probably be allowed in with decent trousers, shoes, jacket and tie, but little more difficult just to take a suit. You won’t feel remotely out of place, and you’ll avoid the unpleasant glares from the odd malcontent who thinks you’re cheating the system.

[Britboys]

58 minutes ago, UncleZen said:

The formal night on my upcoming 7 night cruise on ventura is the thing I am looking forward to the least. I dont have suitable wear for an event such as this, dont want to buy a tux and dont want to pack a suit and tie for a few hours of wear. Although I'll probably have to as my wife will probably want to go. In fact I would go as far to say that the whole idea of such a formal event puts me off cruising. I very much expect this cruise to be my first and last, tbh. But watch this space, I may be surprised, but I doubt it.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk
 

If you enjoy the rest of the cruise apart from the Formal Night, there are other options that are less formal - such as Marella and NCL - and maybe Royal Caribbean (but I haven't sailed with them so not sure how it is).

[Adawn47]

We've always enjoyed formal nights. Being an ordinary couple who have never  needed to dress formally,  those evenings are something we look forward to. A change from the norm. One of the many reasons we like P&O.

[Vampiress88]

I don’t mind dressing up and hubby actually looks forward to it. What annoys me is that I have to book more cruises to get the use out my dresses. Otherwise it’s a very expensive dress for one/two nights. 

[Adawn47]

I  would say that's a brilliant excuse to book more cruises 😉.

[jeanlyon]

My husband forgot his dinner jacket on one of our cruises a year ago.  He wore his other casual jacket, mentioned it to the maitre d'it.  No problem at all.

[Vampiress88]

2 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I  would say that's a brilliant excuse to book more cruises 😉.

I agree! 
hubby not so much since he is paying for it 

[Host Sharon]

On 1/31/2020 at 6:07 PM, john watson said:

I think the basic problem P&O have is that Carnival keep supplying newer bigger ships which need filling.  It impossible to fill their increased fleet with traditional cruisers and a new take on their product is necessary.  Iona has moved the goal posts to attract newcomers who tend to look at price/number of nights and book without any idea of what they are getting or not getting.  Formal nights typically have an upgraded evening menu and if this can be removed another saving in the bag.The overall problem will be in the long term of people booking the wrong ship and eventually being disappointed.

 

A friend at work who has never every cruised previously asked me about cruises and I went through the basics and finally said stick to P&O, Princess or Cunard.  She has booked CMV Marco Polo as the travel agent recommended the cruise.  I am now waiting.

 

Lol John

Well at least they have formal nights 🙂

[Denarius]

23 hours ago, Britboys said:

Tropical Night and 60's Night are both Casual nights.  Black & White night is one of the notified Formal Nights.  Until now, the ships have had 2 Formal Nights per week as a rough guide but it looks as though P&O are changing that to 3 on some ships...

I do not think it is a matter of ship, but one of itinerary. P&O have always stated that there will "usually" be 4 formal nights on a 14 night cruise, leaving the door open in principle for there to be less or indeed more. But in practice there have invariably been 4, sometimes resulting in formal nights being scheduled on port days or in very close proximity to one another. I suspect that P&O are now (sensibly) looking at the itinerary of each cruise and scheduling formal nights accordingly. This may result in some cruises having one less formal night than might previously have been the case.