Fionboard Posted May 29, 2022 #26 Share Posted May 29, 2022 20 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said: Sounds very sensible. One of the main gripes with P&O is that if you don't want to dress up you're consigned to the buffet, and that's just ludicrous. Smart casual rarely offends and I'd be very happy with that. Not true. Formal only for MDR and a couple of bars. No problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Peterson Posted May 29, 2022 #27 Share Posted May 29, 2022 7 minutes ago, Fionboard said: Not true. Formal only for MDR and a couple of bars. No problem! That's excellent news - where else is now included, then, aside from the buffet and chargeable options? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardennais Posted May 29, 2022 #28 Share Posted May 29, 2022 3 hours ago, Fionboard said: Not true. Formal only for MDR and a couple of bars. No problem! I think he meant that you can only eat in the buffet on formal nights unless dressed formally. We don’t mind doing that, it’s a pleasant change and we quite like the buffet anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecttr Posted May 29, 2022 #29 Share Posted May 29, 2022 Iona arrangements are formal dress in the 4 MDR's, Sindhu, Chefs table and Epicurian restaurants and Crows Nest and probably Sindhu bars. Evening casual for everywhere else with free food only in the buffet and Quays but some charged items in the Olive Grove. Keel & Cow and The Glass House charge. I wondered why with 4 main dining rooms they did not have the option of the MDR waiter service with evening casual dress. I see the new Arvia will have the 2 smaller MDR's repurposed to the Olive Grove and a 'Board Walk Diner'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted May 30, 2022 #30 Share Posted May 30, 2022 On Ventura, Beach House and Glass House are not formal, but of course they do charge extra there. Same on Britannia I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecttr Posted May 30, 2022 #31 Share Posted May 30, 2022 1 minute ago, Fionboard said: On Ventura, Beach House and Glass House are not formal, but of course they do charge extra there. Same on Britannia I think. And to confuse matters the Glass House on Azura and Ventura has been listed for years on the web site as formal. On board it is evening casual 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denarius Posted May 30, 2022 #32 Share Posted May 30, 2022 20 hours ago, Harry Peterson said: Sounds very sensible. One of the main gripes with P&O is that if you don't want to dress up you're consigned to the buffet, and that's just ludicrous. Smart casual rarely offends and I'd be very happy with that. Just for clarification. Whilst the grill offers a buffet at breakfast and lunch it is a proper restaurant not a cafeteria. It has a formal reception desk where you check in and are allocated and escorted to a table. Apart from the food everything at breakfast and lunch is waiter served. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted May 30, 2022 #33 Share Posted May 30, 2022 What is the grill? Do you mean The Beach House which is part of the buffet during the day and a restaurant in the evening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunnster1965 Posted May 30, 2022 #34 Share Posted May 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Fionboard said: What is the grill? Do you mean The Beach House which is part of the buffet during the day and a restaurant in the evening? See post #24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Peterson Posted May 30, 2022 #35 Share Posted May 30, 2022 I don’t care what they call it, but there should be a decent, free of charge, table service restaurant available for all passengers who prefer just to wear smart casual and are therefore excluded from the MDR. That doesn’t sound unreasonable to me, and it wouldn’t inconvenience anyone. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted May 30, 2022 #36 Share Posted May 30, 2022 3 hours ago, dunnster1965 said: See post #24 Sorry thought this was P&O forum! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted May 30, 2022 #37 Share Posted May 30, 2022 2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said: I don’t care what they call it, but there should be a decent, free of charge, table service restaurant available for all passengers who prefer just to wear smart casual and are therefore excluded from the MDR. That doesn’t sound unreasonable to me, and it wouldn’t inconvenience anyone. Agree. There are three MDRs so one could maybe not formal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare david63 Posted May 30, 2022 #38 Share Posted May 30, 2022 If anyone thinks that "formal" is on the way out then I have some bad news for you - forget it. Tonight was the first formal of this cruise and the standard of dress was probably one of the best I have seen on any cruise in the last few years. Both old, young and children were immaculate - at least they were in the areas of the ship that I was in. Young families are brining their offspring up to appreciate this type of occaision - and long may it continue. The standard of formal dress tonight was far better than it was on the cruise last week on Britannia. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardennais Posted May 30, 2022 #39 Share Posted May 30, 2022 1 hour ago, david63 said: If anyone thinks that "formal" is on the way out then I have some bad news for you - forget it. Tonight was the first formal of this cruise and the standard of dress was probably one of the best I have seen on any cruise in the last few years. Both old, young and children were immaculate - at least they were in the areas of the ship that I was in. Young families are brining their offspring up to appreciate this type of occaision - and long may it continue. The standard of formal dress tonight was far better than it was on the cruise last week on Britannia. It really doesn’t bother me one way or another. All I’ll add is that you don’t have to wear formal attire to be immaculate. I’ve seen plenty of crusty DJs well past their sell by date! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Peterson Posted May 31, 2022 #40 Share Posted May 31, 2022 9 hours ago, Ardennais said: It really doesn’t bother me one way or another. All I’ll add is that you don’t have to wear formal attire to be immaculate. I’ve seen plenty of crusty DJs well past their sell by date! I apologise. Nice to meet you, though. 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camberley Posted May 31, 2022 #41 Share Posted May 31, 2022 (edited) 12 hours ago, david63 said: Young families are brining their offspring up to appreciate this type of occaision - and long may it continue. Or parents making their kids dress up rather than the kids being willing - which I get! And a short while into the night most of said offspring wriggle uncomfortably in their attire and take them off at the earliest opportunity. I do like formal nights once in a while on P&O: I feel it’s more of an “occasion” when it is less frequently. But even just smart shoes, shirt, jacket, tie etc is really good enough if the person feels comfortable: really no need for it to be the full DJ and the like unless the person wants to. I remember a crusty old fart on our last cruise tried to tear a strip into one of the friends we made for being in a normal (but clean, tidy) suit. But you can usually sense those types and avoid….sadly we didn’t that time: too much cheap Prosecco! But I think on a more upmarket cruise line it would be great to dress up more. Edited May 31, 2022 by Camberley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted May 31, 2022 #42 Share Posted May 31, 2022 If you do not like dressing up for dinner there are loads of lines you can go on! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted May 31, 2022 #43 Share Posted May 31, 2022 2 minutes ago, Fionboard said: If you do not like dressing up for dinner there are loads of lines you can go on! That's a bit of a hackneyed phrase. P&O could do far more to enable both formal and casual dress to coexist. Certainly on all the larger ships there are normally 2 freedom dining MDRs which could be split to enable casual diners to enjoy eating in the MDR without upsetting the sensibilities of the more traditional cruises. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardennais Posted May 31, 2022 #44 Share Posted May 31, 2022 34 minutes ago, Fionboard said: If you do not like dressing up for dinner there are loads of lines you can go on! Including P&O. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Hill Posted May 31, 2022 #45 Share Posted May 31, 2022 2 hours ago, terrierjohn said: That's a bit of a hackneyed phrase. P&O could do far more to enable both formal and casual dress to coexist. Certainly on all the larger ships there are normally 2 freedom dining MDRs which could be split to enable casual diners to enjoy eating in the MDR without upsetting the sensibilities of the more traditional cruises. That would be the sensible way forward, but can we expect P&O to be sensible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orianababes Posted June 1, 2022 #46 Share Posted June 1, 2022 14 hours ago, terrierjohn said: That's a bit of a hackneyed phrase. P&O could do far more to enable both formal and casual dress to coexist. Certainly on all the larger ships there are normally 2 freedom dining MDRs which could be split to enable casual diners to enjoy eating in the MDR without upsetting the sensibilities of the more traditional cruises. Hello unless exactly half want formal and half wanting casual it would impossible to put in place Current Britannia cruise was well supported on formal night old and young alike. When we take our grandchildren on board they all enjoy the chance to dress up. Ages range 11 to 18. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Man Posted June 1, 2022 #47 Share Posted June 1, 2022 24 minutes ago, Orianababes said: P&O could do far more to enable both formal and casual dress to coexist. Why would they need to do that? Given that most of the 'Formal Dress' cruises are virtually fully booked, why should they worry about the concerns of a few 'non-conformists' and just continue as they are 'without upsetting the sensibilities of the more traditional cruisers'. We all make are choices of cruise based on our preferences and what is being offered. For that very reason my wife and I will never use Iona, for example, as only Freedom Dining is offered. We certainly won't just go on it and then complain later on this forum about the lack of club dining! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted June 1, 2022 #48 Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 5/29/2022 at 11:04 AM, terrierjohn said: But its not only P&O that continue with this, anachronism or not, Princess, Celebrity, RCI and many other cruise lines continue with this feature, I think you'll find that Celebrity have done away with formal nights as such. And, judging by some of the sights on Regal Princess at the moment, the dress code has disappeared all together. Shorts in all the dining rooms, even on formal nights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted June 1, 2022 #49 Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) On 5/29/2022 at 11:04 AM, terrierjohn said: But its not only P&O that continue with this, anachronism or not, Princess, Celebrity, RCI and many other cruise lines continue with this feature, Duplicate post. Edited June 1, 2022 by wowzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazrat Posted June 1, 2022 #50 Share Posted June 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Pine Man said: Why would they need to do that? Given that most of the 'Formal Dress' cruises are virtually fully booked, why should they worry about the concerns of a few 'non-conformists' and just continue as they are 'without upsetting the sensibilities of the more traditional cruisers'. We all make are choices of cruise based on our preferences and what is being offered. For that very reason my wife and I will never use Iona, for example, as only Freedom Dining is offered. We certainly won't just go on it and then complain later on this forum about the lack of club dining! Totally correct up to the point about Iona we are going on her sister ship next year, We will try it out before we make any decisions about our likes or dislikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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