How dressed up are you on formal night

[xpcdoojk]

16 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I was really hoping @Ocean Boy would be chiming in here.  We really need his medically trained analytical mind working on this topic with us.  

 

Also where is @xpcdoojk 's common sense addition to this essential cruising discussion. Maybe I should have included an option in the poll for people coming to the MDR on formal night directly from the Flowrider.  

 

Aren’t you proud of me mostly avoiding the last thread.

 

Ideal attire would be board shorts, rash guard and floppy hat.  

 

JC

[John&LaLa]

16 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I was really hoping @Ocean Boy would be chiming in here.  We really need his medically trained analytical mind working on this topic with us.  

 

Also where is @xpcdoojk 's common sense addition to this essential cruising discussion. Maybe I should have included an option in the poll for people coming to the MDR on formal night directly from the Flowrider.  

 

I feel slighted

[Pitcruiser]

Always wore a tux, then a few years ago changed to a dark suit as more and more people stopped dressing.  Last cruise just wore a blazer, slacks and tie and even then was dressed more formally than most people I saw.  Formal night is dead as a concept.

[Computer Nerd]

I follow the dress code. Slacks and a collared shirt. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Can't vote on the poll since my attire isn't an option.

Edited June 13, 2020 by Computer Nerd

[Ocean Boy]

27 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

I follow the dress code. Slacks and a collared shirt. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Can't vote on the poll since my attire isn't an option.

So it sounds like you follow your own dress code and not, necessarily, RCI's suggested manner of dress. 

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

Aren’t you proud of me mostly avoiding the last thread.

 

Ideal attire would be board shorts, rash guard and floppy hat.  

 

JC

Very proud... I almost jumped in myself. I had a post all typed out but then didn't post.  I started this thread instead. 🙂 

 

I just bought two pairs of board shorts and two rash guard type shirts.  I'm determined to become and expert Flowrider on my next cruise.

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I feel slighted

Don't feel slighted John, you're still my favorite CC poster. 🙂 They're only mentioned because they are "mask" thread warriors that this and my tipping thread are intended to distract from.  

 

Do you eat in the MDR?  I thought it was CK or specialty dining for you all the time.  What does formal night look like inside of CK?  Ive never been inside a CK. 

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, Pitcruiser said:

Formal night is dead as a concept.

 

12 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

 

+1

 

No need for formal nights any longer - smart clothes (no shorts etc) but the suit and tie are too stuffy for the likes of Royal now (even Celebrity).
 

 

I would say that my poll indicates otherwise. Almost 69% of respondents say that they dress up to some degree for formal night.  Most commenting who do dress up, say they enjoy it.  When I first started posting on CC's Royal forum, prior to my 2018 cruise on Liberty, I was led to believe, like you, that formal night was dead.  My previous experience with royal was 2008 so I was surprised because back then it was very much adhered to.  I expected the number who adhered to recommended dress codes to be very limited.  That expectation was wrong.  Most people participated to some degree. My non-scientific opinion is that there is a very vocal minority on CC that doesn't want or like formal night and every anecdotal exception is amplified to make it seem like that is the norm.  The opposite appears to be true.

[Pitcruiser]

14 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

 

 

I would say that my poll indicates otherwise. Almost 69% of respondents say that they dress up to some degree for formal night.  Most commenting who do dress up, say they enjoy it.  When I first started posting on CC's Royal forum, prior to my 2018 cruise on Liberty, I was led to believe, like you, that formal night was dead.  My previous experience with royal was 2008 so I was surprised because back then it was very much adhered to.  I expected the number who adhered to recommended dress codes to be very limited.  That expectation was wrong.  Most people participated to some degree. My non-scientific opinion is that there is a very vocal minority on CC that doesn't want or like formal night and every anecdotal exception is amplified to make it seem like that is the norm.  The opposite appears to be true.

This is one of those topics that always draws differing opinions.  I used to love "Formal Night" where many people dressed in formal clothes.  Only 15% of the poll respondents indicated they wear formal clothes now, and the sample population for this poll is basically frequent cruisers who are on this board.  My last cruise I was over dressed wearing a blazer - most people who "dressed up" had on polo shirts and Khakis, and those who didn't were wearing shorts.  Just the way it is now.

[John&LaLa]

56 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Don't feel slighted John, you're still my favorite CC poster. 🙂 They're only mentioned because they are "mask" thread warriors that this and my tipping thread are intended to distract from.  

 

Do you eat in the MDR?  I thought it was CK or specialty dining for you all the time.  What does formal night look like inside of CK?  Ive never been inside a CK. 

 

Obviously it depends on the ship and possibly the makeup of the passengers.  We tend to do CK about three times in 7 days with other venues including MDR thrown in. 

 

On an Oasis ship If we do MDR it's either lamb night or second formal.  About a quarter of CK dresses tux or suit. Mainly pins if I had to guess, but I've seen some suite families dressed up. 

 

As far as weight, if you are going to bring a jacket, I dont see much difference in a tux. 

 

We like to dress because its fun and my wife looks good dolled up. I'm merely arm candy.

I have several. Still learning to tie a proper bow tie.😉

 

[Ocean Boy]

39 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

 

 

I would say that my poll indicates otherwise. Almost 69% of respondents say that they dress up to some degree for formal night.  Most commenting who do dress up, say they enjoy it.  When I first started posting on CC's Royal forum, prior to my 2018 cruise on Liberty, I was led to believe, like you, that formal night was dead.  My previous experience with royal was 2008 so I was surprised because back then it was very much adhered to.  I expected the number who adhered to recommended dress codes to be very limited.  That expectation was wrong.  Most people participated to some degree. My non-scientific opinion is that there is a very vocal minority on CC that doesn't want or like formal night and every anecdotal exception is amplified to make it seem like that is the norm.  The opposite appears to be true.

I agree with you. I have dinner in the Windjammer but try to dress nicer in the evening for around the ship but by no means what I would consider dressed up. But in walking around it seems to me that most people waiting to enter the MDR are dressed very nicely. Maybe not formal but very nicely.

[Biker19]

46 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

very vocal minority on CC

That's the case on many other issues.

[Oxo]

Our experiences now on most of the cruise lines.

Formal Dress is NO LONGER required. People are not dressing up compare to what they did 5 to 10 years ago. 

I have not seen any cruise line that we have sailed on in the past 2 years; RCI, Princess, Celebrity, MSC and NCL try to enforce any type of dress code in the evening, unless, it was totally inappropriate. 

Yes, some people still dress Formal (Tux and Long Gowns) but very few. People should dress as they fell they should. However, dress appropriate and don't try to see how far you can go without being questioned. 

Happy Cruising!

[zalusky]

I always felt formal night on the mass market lines was an invention to sell expensive photos.  I notice on the higher end lines Oceania, Azamara, Viking they have done away/never implemented the formal night stuff.  Of course they don't have photographers chasing you either.

[bobmacliberty]

On 6/12/2020 at 11:19 AM, Tree_skier said:

Size ?

 

One size too small. 😄

 

Just kidding about selling it.  I'll leave it hanging in my closet with the rest of the stuff that I no longer wear, just waiting for the right occasion.

[bigrednole]

I don't know what to expect. We never dress up at home, I have better things to do. But on a nice ship with a nice dining room, I don't have a problem throwing on nice pants, shirt, and tie. Nothing crazy. I only have 1 suit now. But when I do buy a suit, it is not cheap. I figure one very nice night and one semi-nice night will work. If we are overly dressed the first night, we will skip the second for pizza or WJ. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 6/13/2020 at 2:05 PM, zalusky said:

I always felt formal night on the mass market lines was an invention to sell expensive photos.

But you don't have to buy them.  

 

I like getting dressed up and seeing others dressed up as well.  But we have toned it down over the years.  Our girls, when they were younger loved dressing in long formal gowns.  What a pain that was to pack!

 

We are trying Oceania in March (hopefully) and I guess I'll leave my formal attire at home.

[zalusky]

18 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

But you don't have to buy them.  

 

I like getting dressed up and seeing others dressed up as well.  But we have toned it down over the years.  Our girls, when they were younger loved dressing in long formal gowns.  What a pain that was to pack!

 

We are trying Oceania in March (hopefully) and I guess I'll leave my formal attire at home.

 

Absolutely true that you don't have to buy them and I bet with everybody having cell phones that people are not buying them anymore so the revenue from that has probably dropped quite a bit (If I were to guess) especially for subsequent cruisers.  This is why I brought up the upper premium lines that skip the formal nights and I believe the correlating factor of no photographers.

 

I know some people still like to dress and thats fine but I think those people might have to steer in the direction of lines that still really like to do that such as Cunard.

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

On 6/13/2020 at 11:35 AM, Tree_skier said:

I just bought two pairs of board shorts and two rash guard type shirts.  I'm determined to become and expert Flowrider on my next cruise.

Welcome to the club, expert or not. 
 

Remember, board shorts and rash guards do not have to match. Sometimes clashing is even better.
 

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[chaswelf]

We always dress in Tux/long dress for the first formal night.  If there are more than 1 formal nights we dress much more casual for the second one.

[CanobieFan]

None of the above? All this dress up stuff isn't for me. I don't take part (but I also stay away from the main dining room) 

I'm on vacation, I don't wanna dress up more so than I do in my non-vacation time!

[jerseyjjs]

I stopped dressing formal over 10 years ago.  Funny, food still tastes the same.  

 

 

P.S.   I usually only do the MDR about 2 times during a typical 7-night sailing.

[juncos]

On 6/11/2020 at 2:09 PM, Tree_skier said:

I have always dressed reasonably well for formal night. I know I don't go to town with a tuxedo like they did in a bygone time but I certainly try to put my best on for a couple of nights on a seven day cruise.  For me it is a black suit and for DW it would an outfit that she would wear to a wedding (somebody else's, not ours 😀 ). I've read on CC that formal night is dead and almost nobody bothers anymore but that has not been my experience.  I have definitely seen folks that ignored the dress suggestion listed in the cruise compass but it seemed to me everyone upped their game some.  What do you do on formal night?

We do the same,I enjoyed getting dress and looking good,after all we don't do this everyday.

But it is distressing getting dress and the guy on the next table  wearing a t shirt,tacky tacky.

[juncos]

On 6/11/2020 at 2:09 PM, Tree_skier said:

I have always dressed reasonably well for formal night. I know I don't go to town with a tuxedo like they did in a bygone time but I certainly try to put my best on for a couple of nights on a seven day cruise.  For me it is a black suit and for DW it would an outfit that she would wear to a wedding (somebody else's, not ours 😀 ). I've read on CC that formal night is dead and almost nobody bothers anymore but that has not been my experience.  I have definitely seen folks that ignored the dress suggestion listed in the cruise compass but it seemed to me everyone upped their game some.  What do you do on formal night?

This how we do it.....