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What were people really wearing on evening chic nights before Covid?


njpln
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5 minutes ago, cookiersmom said:

Yes, I am NOT asking for the guidelines, I am asking what more/most of the rest of the passengers wear.  ALL within guidelines, just curious the "feel" of the cruise.  More casual or more dressy? 

Why does it matter what others are wearing? Be yourself. Never mind. I don't care. Just voicing my opinion that it doesn't matter to us (or Celebrity) what the dress vibe is on certain cruises but obviously it does to you and possibly others. Not faulting you for that. Good luck with your quest. Cheers. 🍷 

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Thanks for your comments. I appreciate ALL the comments, including the kilt ones. Since we also cruise on Cunard, we have seen quite a few kilts on the gala evenings.😊

 

 

It was also interesting for me to realize that some people consider a dressy dress different than a cocktail dress. I guess to me a cocktail dress is dressy, but knee length, compared to say a dress I would wear to church. And a gown is even dressier but floor length, and I would probably refer to that as formal. Part of it’s just semantics…🤪

 

Can’t wait to cruise again…

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  • 2 weeks later...

I, like a lot of cruisers, am over the formal nights.  So I'll decide before leaving home if I plan to dress up or not.  If not, I just eat at the buffet that evening.   And of course, don't go into the concierge or Diamond lounges on those evenings, as I don't want to be a disruption for the folks that do want to dress up.

 

 Here's what I discovered about 10 years ago:  if you are walking around the ship in casual clothes at 6:00pm on formal night, then folks assume you have late dining.  If you are walking around the ship in casual clothes at 8:00pm, then folks assume you had early dining, and have just changed into something more comfortable.  But that was 10 years ago, now I don't think anyone really notices.

 

But it's your vacation, and so do what makes you comfortable.  If you want to go all out with tux and evening gown, and get photos taken, do it!  Wear what you will be comfortable in.

Edited by JsMom2
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On 3/22/2021 at 3:00 PM, cookiersmom said:

Yes, I am NOT asking for the guidelines, I am asking what more/most of the rest of the passengers wear.  ALL within guidelines, just curious the "feel" of the cruise.  More casual or more dressy? 

 

As long as you don't have shorts on, you'll be fine.

On the Millennium in Japan in October of 2019, I convinced my husband to wear character ears we picked up from Tokyo DisneySea (pre-cruise) with our suits. Since Duffy and Gelatoni (a bear and a cat) aren't American characters and only exist in Tokyo, most people were confused, but we got tons of compliments anyway.

 

They ended up being a great conversation starter with other passengers about Japanese culture, Disney in Japan, and cosplay in general. The single Japanese crew member on the ship was ecstatic, recognizing the ears immediately when I went to get a coffee. 

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1 hour ago, JsMom2 said:

I, like a lot of cruisers, am over the formal nights.  So I'll decide before leaving home if I plan to dress up or not.  If not, I just eat at the buffet that evening.   And of course, don't go into the concierge or Diamond lounges on those evenings, as I don't want to be a disruption for the folks that do want to dress up.

 

 Here's what I discovered about 10 years ago:  if you are walking around the ship in casual clothes at 6:00pm on formal night, then folks assume you have late dining.  If you are walking around the ship in casual clothes at 8:00pm, then folks assume you had early dining, and have just changed into something more comfortable.  But that was 10 years ago, now I don't think anyone really notices.

 

But it's your vacation, and so do what makes you comfortable.  If you want to go all out with tux and evening gown, and get photos taken, do it!  Wear what you will be comfortable in.

Based on our observations over our last few cruises on Celebrity, there's no need to head to the buffet. The dress for normal nights in the MDR seems to be readily accepted on chic nights.

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1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

As long as you don't have shorts on, you'll be fine.

On the Millennium in Japan in October of 2019, I convinced my husband to wear character ears we picked up from Tokyo DisneySea (pre-cruise) with our suits. Since Duffy and Gelatoni (a bear and a cat) aren't American characters and only exist in Tokyo, most people were confused, but we got tons of compliments anyway.

 

They ended up being a great conversation starter with other passengers about Japanese culture, Disney in Japan, and cosplay in general. The single Japanese crew member on the ship was ecstatic, recognizing the ears immediately when I went to get a coffee. 

 

Yea there don't seem to be any strict rules except maybe no jeans at dinner.

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7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Yea there don't seem to be any strict rules except maybe no jeans at dinner.

 

Jeans (OK, there are meaningless qualifiers attached) are specifically listed as appropriate for evening chic. The usual argument is they're too hot for the Caribbean, which may be true, but they're certainly allowed at dinner.

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I had a nice pair of dress shorts on one night going in to the MDR and was told I needed to go back to my room and change. Not that I looked bad, I had a nice shirt and shoes but anyway No issues went back to room and put on long pants. Evening Chic I usually wear a tie, vest and sports jacket.

DW usually wears some sort of dress and ends up looking beautiful as usual.

We are not under dressers like to dress up because we are retired and don’t get the opportunity to much anymore. We look forward to it.

Most people in the MDR looked to be dressed up.

Not many tuxes....

 

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2 hours ago, markeb said:

 

Jeans (OK, there are meaningless qualifiers attached) are specifically listed as appropriate for evening chic. The usual argument is they're too hot for the Caribbean, which may be true, but they're certainly allowed at dinner.

Yes, jeans are allowed, I never wear them in the Caribbean or Bermuda but did wear my designers Jeans LeKirkland from Costco on our Alaska cruise. The only thing not allowed most of the time are shorts even on Bermuda cruises.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/23/2021 at 3:17 PM, njpln said:

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate ALL the comments, including the kilt ones. Since we also cruise on Cunard, we have seen quite a few kilts on the gala evenings.😊

 

 

It was also interesting for me to realize that some people consider a dressy dress different than a cocktail dress. I guess to me a cocktail dress is dressy, but knee length, compared to say a dress I would wear to church. And a gown is even dressier but floor length, and I would probably refer to that as formal. Part of it’s just semantics…🤪

 

Can’t wait to cruise again…

We cruise on Cunard too. I found a huge range of dress on Celebrity( European cruises) on both Evening Chic nights and Smart Casual. There were a few men in Dinner Suits and some lovely dresses on Evening Chic nights but I saw that mostly in the Martini bar, so not related to which dining-room you ate in. I wouldn't wear the gowns I have for Cunard Formal nights but what I wear for the 'Casual' nights on Cunard was certainly dressy enough for Celebrity's Evening Chic. There were a few women in formal gowns, but just a handful.

 

Totally understand the distinction between floor length and gown - I have a couple of maxi dresses that I wore for Evening Chic but would only wear for  Casual nights on Cunard. Hope this helps!

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Casual.  We started to skip formal nights in the MDR a long time ago.   Even more so since retirement when we started to travel with carry on only.

 

We found them to be incredibly artificial and not worth the effort.

Edited by iancal
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Always very casual for me.  in a restaurant blue or tan khakis, polo or short sleeve button down shirt, canvas slip on shoes, no socks.  Depending on the weather usually in shorts whenever walking about the ship, go to informal restaurants like that as well, lunch is usually at Roof Top or Eden during the day, or just a grab n go sandwich and beer find a quiet spot to sit and enjoy the view.            

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On 3/17/2021 at 6:38 PM, njpln said:

Throwing a question out there about what people actually really wear on the so-called dressing nights.   We haven’t been on Celebrity since 2018.(how time flies…).  The last time we cruised hubby wore a blazer and trousers and I wore a nice dress on the dressy nights. Our previous cruises were all in the Caribbean with Celebrity...

 

Now we have rebooked and have three Celebrity cruises scheduled in 2022.  One is a Caribbean, and two are Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific. So I’m starting to wonder whether or not people dress up differently for Caribbean cruises versus the south pacific area cruises.  
 

There are so many threads about people not dressing up too much anymore, but I’d love to hear what people really see on the evening chic nights..

 

looking forward to your replies.
 

 

 

From what I have seen, I would say probably 80%ish are smart casual, 15%ish dressed to the nine's for dinner and 5%ish dressed like slobs, which BTW does not bother me in the least, it is their vacation so do what makes you feel good.

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I agree KWW88. I do wonder sometimes that those who think dressing to the 9’s is for ‘look at me’, when those that dress like, as you said, slobs are really the ones wanting the ‘look at me!’  Human nature is fun. 
 

den

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3 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I agree KWW88. I do wonder sometimes that those who think dressing to the 9’s is for ‘look at me’, when those that dress like, as you said, slobs are really the ones wanting the ‘look at me!’  Human nature is fun. 
 

den

People watching anywhere is so much fun but on a ship I kind of feel I am at the Super Bowl of people watching.

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1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

I agree KWW88. I do wonder sometimes that those who think dressing to the 9’s is for ‘look at me’, when those that dress like, as you said, slobs are really the ones wanting the ‘look at me!’  Human nature is fun. 
 

den

 

You said it better than I could.  I'll be in business casual.  I admit I don't like looking at the "slobs". How did they get in?  

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2 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I'll be in business casual. 


Not picking on you, but that may be an even more ambiguous term than “evening chic”. I think it had some meaning 15 years ago, but even then there was tremendous regional and industry variation. A quick Google has everything from a sports coat with shirt and tie to a tee shirt and dark jeans all as examples of business casual. And what’s the difference between casual and business casual?

 

Almost makes me miss the totally unambiguous “Mess Dress” on invitations!

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We do not dress up.  We do not look like slobs.

 

But we do not really care how others dress. 

 

We cannot control it so that is the end of it for us.   It is hardly going to ruin our cruise experience if we see someone dressed in an unconventional manner.

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49 minutes ago, markeb said:


Not picking on you, but that may be an even more ambiguous term than “evening chic”. I think it had some meaning 15 years ago, but even then there was tremendous regional and industry variation. A quick Google has everything from a sports coat with shirt and tie to a tee shirt and dark jeans all as examples of business casual. And what’s the difference between casual and business casual?

 

Almost makes me miss the totally unambiguous “Mess Dress” on invitations!

 

Dress pants with collared shirt.  Khakis etc.

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We have been on a few cruises over the years.

I have always worn a suit and wife a dress on the "Formal Night" or whatever they call it now.

I have always been very impressed when I see gentleman wearing a tuxedo and ladies wearing gowns/evening dresses !

Whenever we get to cruise again I will definitely wear a tuxedo !

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49 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Whenever we get to cruise again I will definitely wear a tuxedo !

Good for you--- much nicer to see people dressed like you than the " I got my rights eh ( Canadian term ) ,and it's my body eh, and I'm on vacation eh  " group ? 

Mind you, the last time a gentleman sat near us wearing his tuxedo we kept smelling mothballs. 

 

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It is a little different for us. 

 

Not unusual for us to spend several weeks pre cruise and or several weeks post cruise.  Last thing we want to do is carry around clothing for 6-8 weeks that we only wear two or three time for a few hours per night.

 

Sometimes we pick up a last minute cruise while we are on a land trip.  Don't leave with that in mind but sometimes a last minute special comes our way in the middle of the trip as it has done several times in the Europe, Australia, and even the US.

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10 minutes ago, iancal said:

It is a little different for us. 

 

Not unusual for us to spend several weeks pre cruise and or several weeks post cruise.  Last thing we want to do is carry around clothing for 6-8 weeks that we only wear two or three time for a few hours per night.

 

Sometimes we pick up a last minute cruise while we are on a land trip.  Don't leave with that in mind but sometimes a last minute special comes our way in the middle of the trip as it has done several times in the Europe, Australia, and even the US.

Yes, for a 15 day trip, land or cruise, my luggage always goes in the cabin above my seat on the plane, can't recall the last time I checked my luggage.  That plus my backpack has always been all I have ever needed.  Whatever floats your boat...

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