how formal for Norway fjords?

[elaine5]

How formal is dining for summer Norway fjords cruise on Queen Elizabeth? Would we feel out of place if husband wore sports jacket with buttondown shirt/tie/slacks for formal nights and I wore simple dress, skirt/blouse, dressy silky capris/silk blouse? And, do we need to dress in costumes for themed balls? What percentage do (not) dress up for those events? And what would be attire for the other nights? We are used to Princess/Celebrity dress codes. Not a lot of luggage space for a tux or long gowns. 

Edited November 9, 2022 by elaine5

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

How formal is dining for summer Norway fjords cruise on Queen Elizabeth? If husband had one sports jacket with buttondown/ties/slacks for formal nights and I wore skirt/blouse, dressy silky capris/silk blouse, would we feel out of place. And, do we need to dress in costumes for themed balls? And what would be attire for the other nights? We are used to Princess/Celebrity dress codes. Not a lot of luggage space for a tux or long gowns. 

A sports jacket won’t really do for formal nights, if you want to go the restaurant, theatre, or most bars. No need for costumes for themes.

[carlmm]

It is good that your ask: I have not sailed with Princess but with Celebrity and they and Cunard are worlds apart. 

The sports coat will do well on non-formal nights, on formal nights the tux will be right.

In my experience the standard on non-formal Cunard nights is higher than on elegant/gala  Celebrity nights.

 

The only theme that is followed by a majority is black and white - it is very easy to so, of course. Do not bring costumes.

[elaine5]

would husband be fine with dark suit on formal nights? Will there be other men in dark suits or 90%+ tuxes? 

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

would husband be fine with dark suit on formal nights? Will there be other men in dark suits or 90%+ tuxes? 

A dark suit (and tie) will be fine, though you will probably be in a minority, but that won’t be a problem.

[MCC retired]

16 Cunard cruises under my belt. All with a dark suit for the Formal nights and had plenty of company dressing the same ..

[lissie]

1 hour ago, elaine5 said:

would husband be fine with dark suit on formal nights? Will there be other men in dark suits or 90%+ tuxes? 

Absolutely - we've done 2 long cruises this year on QE - and I'd say the tuxes/dinner suits were maybe 50/50 or 60/40  

[si_boy]

We were on QV in August for a 7 night Norwegian fjords cruise and would say 95% of men wear a tuxedo and bow tie on Gala (formal) nights. A dark suit is fine and would not be out of place. 
Quite a few dress according to the theme and we were surprised by how many dressed in outfits from the 1920s for the Roaring Twenties themed Gala night. Maybe as high as 25%
Black and White Gala night is easier to choose an outfit for, few wore masks for Masquerade themed Gala night.

 

[lissie]

What my partner wears - he has a couple of different ties to coordinate with me - we couldn't find the bowtie he thought he owned otherwise he'd have taken that - the shirt is designed to be worn with a bow tie (the buttons are black not white) 

[2BACRUISER]

I posted a what I & DH wore on a cunard QV  fjords cruise on the cruise fashion discussion page.

See 

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by 2BACRUISER
Add info

[BigMac1953]

We're on QV right now.

 

Approx 90% of men were wearing Dinner Suits on the Gala nights.

 

 

[exlondoner]

36 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

We're on QV right now.

 

Approx 90% of men were wearing Dinner Suits on the Gala nights.

 

 

It was about the same on our Med. cruise in the summer, but obviously varies greatly between cruises, and can be much less. In any case, a dark suit is irreproachable.

[swjumbo]

If you don’t want to wear black tie and conform then go with another cruise line.

We’re about to go on our first Cunard cruise and are looking forward to dressing up. 
It saddens me that some people think they’re above the rules and even have to ask. 
 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

If you don’t want to wear black tie and conform then go with another cruise line.

We’re about to go on our first Cunard cruise and are looking forward to dressing up. 
It saddens me that some people think they’re above the rules and even have to ask. 
 

 

That's harsh. If a poster said "I intend to wear such-and-such on formal night and I don't care what anyone thinks" THAT would sound like being above the rules. OP simply asked what actually happens on board. It's a reasonable question, given the variation in dress code from one line to another. For years HAL pretended to have formal nights, but I saw very few tuxes and gowns.  If I had packed for HAL what I typically pack for Cunard, I'd have been overdressed. 

[exlondoner]

7 hours ago, swjumbo said:

If you don’t want to wear black tie and conform then go with another cruise line.

We’re about to go on our first Cunard cruise and are looking forward to dressing up. 
It saddens me that some people think they’re above the rules and even have to ask. 
 

Nothing more conforming or rule-abiding than a dark suit.

[swjumbo]

7 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

That's harsh. If a poster said "I intend to wear such-and-such on formal night and I don't care what anyone thinks" THAT would sound like being above the rules. OP simply asked what actually happens on board. It's a reasonable question, given the variation in dress code from one line to another. For years HAL pretended to have formal nights, but I saw very few tuxes and gowns.  If I had packed for HAL what I typically pack for Cunard, I'd have been overdressed. 

Totally agree and apologise if you think that my comment was directed at the OP. 
It wasn’t.

It’s just that on CC there are lots of similar questions.

Cunard seems to revel in the sense of occasion. We’re about to experience it and will be suitably dressed up to the nines!

[si_boy]

33 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Totally agree and apologise if you think that my comment was directed at the OP. 
It wasn’t.

It’s just that on CC there are lots of similar questions.

Cunard seems to revel in the sense of occasion. We’re about to experience it and will be suitably dressed up to the nines!

I don’t think you can ever be overdressed on a Gala night on Cunard. It is an occasion and one to be enjoyed.
Fewer and fewer opportunities to wear finest outfits and not feel out of place.

Just off QV and talking with other pax, like us they have a wardrobe for Cunard cruise wear.

It is one of the reasons most pax choose Cunard.

[PORT ROYAL]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Nothing more conforming or rule-abiding than a dark suit.

As an aside.

Ceased cruising with Princess in 2013 when the word “suggested” entered to wording for the Dress Code and semi-formal (dark suit) disappeared from the dress code.

But can’t remember the year when Cunard dropped semi-formal (dark suit), then making a dark suit (semi-formal) acceptable formal wear.  
Can anyone assist?
 

 

 

 

[exlondoner]

13 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

As an aside.

Ceased cruising with Princess in 2013 when the word “suggested” entered to wording for the Dress Code and semi-formal (dark suit) disappeared from the dress code.

But can’t remember the year when Cunard dropped semi-formal (dark suit), then making a dark suit (semi-formal) acceptable formal wear.  
Can anyone assist?
 

 

 

 

A dark suit was acceptable formal wear for years before semi-formal was dropped.

[Victoria2]

40 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

As an aside.

Ceased cruising with Princess in 2013 when the word “suggested” entered to wording for the Dress Code and semi-formal (dark suit) disappeared from the dress code.

But can’t remember the year when Cunard dropped semi-formal (dark suit), then making a dark suit (semi-formal) acceptable formal wear.  
Can anyone assist?
 

 

 

 

I think our first cruise with Cunard was in 2011. Table for eight and one of the chaps wore a dark suit on the Formal nights so definitely part of the advisories over ten years ago and that was with the three codes of Formal, Semi Formal and Elegantly Casual.

 

The three codes courtesy of Trip Advisor

 

 Formal (black tie or dark suit; evening dress); Semi-formal (jacket and tie; cocktail dress or pantsuit); and Elegant Casual nights (jacket, no tie; dress, skirt or pants).

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I think our first cruise with Cunard was in 2011. Table for eight and one of the chaps wore a dark suit on the Formal nights so definitely part of the advisories over ten years ago and that was with the three codes of Formal, Semi Formal and Elegantly Casual.

 

The three codes courtesy of Trip Advisor

 

 Formal (black tie or dark suit; evening dress); Semi-formal (jacket and tie; cocktail dress or pantsuit); and Elegant Casual nights (jacket, no tie; dress, skirt or pants).

Our first cruise was 1997,  and even then it was as you describe.

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 hours ago, swjumbo said:

Totally agree and apologise if you think that my comment was directed at the OP. 
It wasn’t.

It’s just that on CC there are lots of similar questions.

Cunard seems to revel in the sense of occasion. We’re about to experience it and will be suitably dressed up to the nines!

 

Oh, I've seen the "I don't wanna, you can't make me" posts. I have to keep my hands off the keyboard for those! 

 

The thing I love about Cunard's formal/gala nights is that (almost) everyone participates in the dress code. Other lines say that you may dress up as much as you like, but it isn't the same when you're dressed to the nines and surrounded by those dressed to the fours. So dress up and have a great time!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Our first cruise was 1997,  and even then it was as you describe.

 

Our first Cunard crossing was 1988, and a dark suit was included as a formal night option. The ratio of tux to suit was higher in the grills and Caronoia restaurant than in steerage (can't remember what the main dining room was called back then). Our rule was tux/gown for formal, suit/cocktail dress or LBD for semi- formal and dress slacks and sportcoat/dressy pants and top for the very few nights that were casual. And often, we wore our semi-formal attire for the casual nights. 

 

By the time we cruised around Australia in 2012, they had lowered the dress code to make a tie optional for semi-formal (or whatever they called the second level then). I recall our first semi-formal night on that cruise, DH wore suit and tie, and the Australian gentleman at our table did the same. He said, "Ah, I see you think a suit deserves a tie, too." 

 

[PORT ROYAL]

1st on Cunard Countess in 1992 - Fly Caribbean- DW remembers Tux/Suit/Jacket taken because of DW first true sparkly red evening gown - Therefore it possibly changed between 1992 and 1997

[exlondoner]

30 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

1st on Cunard Countess in 1992 - Fly Caribbean- DW remembers Tux/Suit/Jacket taken because of DW first true sparkly red evening gown - Therefore it possibly changed between 1992 and 1997

Seems unlikely as 1988 and 1997 were the same.