Formal night

[1interpreter]

So, I know that things have changed since the pandemic, but how much has the formal nights changed? We love dressing up on formal night. There is just something about that night that makes our cruise feel that much more special I guess. How many of you actually still dress up for formal night? Drop me a pic and show me what you wear.

[shipgeeks]

We do!  (Some do not.)  DH always wears his tuxedo.  I don't do photos, but on recent cruises I have worn cocktail dress, velvet pantsuit, long sheath dress, etc.

I agree, we enjoy the festive feeling of the evening, at cocktails, dinner, show, music and dancing.

[ldubs]

We don't.  We didn't go to the MRD on formal night, but from what I saw in public areas, I would say most did get dolled up during our Princess Cruise in Oct.  

[ldubs]

Just now, ldubs said:

We don't.  We didn't go to the MRD on formal night, but from what I saw in public areas, I would say most did get dolled up during our Princess Cruise in Oct.  

Aw shoot.  Wrong Cruise Line!  

 

On our RCI Caribbean cruise last week we dressed what I would call CC Casual.   A lot of the very young children were really decked out.  It was pretty cool to seem them strutting around in their prince or princess outfits.    

[Husky1987]

It's awesome that you get all dressed up.  Has formal night changed?  In the last 20 years, yes.  In the last two years, not much.  You'll still see people dressed from tuxes to shorts and t-shirts.  We don't dress up at all (we're definitely on the more casual end) but love to people watch those who do.

[loman]

I wore shorts because i forgot it was formal night to the coastal kitchen .

I would of wore my black jeans with my button down shirt , but i wasnt paying much attention to the cruise planner they gave us every day.

Didnt bring a blazer or dress pants last cruise, and i dont think i ever will again.🙂

[HicksRA]

I must admit, I keep getting slacker and slacker as time goes on and the formalities get more and more watered down. About the most I can muster nowadays is some really nice jeans and a nice button down collared shirt. 
No longer worth a lot of effort anymore to me. Kudos to those who want to expend the effort for a couple of hours on one night. 

[Ozark_Kid]

I dressed up.  I wore my best blue jeans and a collared shirt.  But I tend to dress up every night. 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

We still dress up! Plenty of others do, too. 

[LibertyBella]

I love formal nights!

 

But, I do try to match my outfits to the cruise line, cruise length, and the destination. Tropical means flowing dresses, lace, bright colors.  Colder climate means darker colors and heavier fabrics.  Long gowns almost always include sequins! Sometimes for short cruises I only bring short dresses.

 

This year we sailed Cunard, and DH wore a tuxedo and I wore long sequin gowns. DH will only wear his tuxedo on Cunard--he takes very nice suits on all other cruise lines, and when we are in the tropics, he has a seersucker suit!

 

Next year (so far) we sail RC, Viking, and Princess, and I have all my outfits picked out already.  RC--long lacy flowing gown, short dresses in bright colors, Viking--only short dresses,  subdued styles, no sequins--Princess, flashy long sequin gowns and short cocktail dresses, husband with two nice suits.   

 

I will say I prefer to look more elegant and sophisticated versus sexy or trendy.

 

I find RC passengers tend to be a bit younger (families), and there are many beautiful young ladies who can wear very daring and sexy dresses that certainly catch your eye!  I also agree seeing the little ones dress up is so much fun.

 

It does not bother me that others might not wish to dress up, but for us personally, formal night is a special part of the cruising experience, and we always take many photos and make a lot of memories.

[shipgeeks]

52 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

No longer worth a lot of effort anymore to me. Kudos to those who want to expend the effort for a couple of hours on one night. 

Couple of hours?  For us it is always around 5pm (Diamond Lounge) through late bedtime, after our final dance of the evening.  And that applies to the two or more formal nights on our cruises.

Edited November 18, 2022 by shipgeeks
add

[RandomUser123]

Formal night for me on a cruise ship is the equivalent of business casual. I will wear khakis and a polo shirt. Every other night it is Shorts and T-Shirt for me in the MDR, yeah I said it, shorts and T-Shirt. 

[PompeySailor]

OP
Let’s see a photo of you all dressed up, others might post their photos then 😎

[nessachelle]

For the Caribbean I usually wear a cocktail dress for formal night and my husband usually wears slacks, long sleeve button down shirt and a tie. He gets hot easily so no jacket most of the time but we still like to look nice.  I can't find any of our photos from our most recent cruise but here is one from a cruise my husband and I took several years ago and one from the mother daughter trip I took with my daughter and her best friend for their high school graduation. Should note, I dress up more on Royal than I did on Carnival so this is actually dressed down some from what we normally do.

Edited November 18, 2022 by nessachelle
Clarification

[shellunderwater]

I dont dress up.  I'm on vacation and it's my preference.  Others to dress up.  You do what you want.

 

But...I will often compliment folks who are dressed to the nines.  They look great and are having a great time.

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, shellunderwater said:

I dont dress up.  I'm on vacation and it's my preference.  Others to dress up.  You do what you want.

 

But...I will often compliment folks who are dressed to the nines.  They look great and are having a great time.

That's my approach too. I despise the idea of dressing up just to eat a meal. But some people love it.

And yet no brawls ever break out in the MDR because of it. At least not on RC, maybe Carnival

[alfaeric]

4 hours ago, 1interpreter said:

So, I know that things have changed since the pandemic, but how much has the formal nights changed? We love dressing up on formal night. There is just something about that night that makes our cruise feel that much more special I guess. How many of you actually still dress up for formal night? Drop me a pic and show me what you wear.

Normally, we would dress up.  And given the celebration on our next cruise, we will probably will do so again.  

 

But we are starting to take B2B cruises, so space is more of a premium.  So...

 

That being said, dress up!!!  I enjoy seeing other people dressed up, and they all look so great.  As many have said, it's your vacation, if you want to dress to the 9's, you should.

[shellunderwater]

3 hours ago, nessachelle said:

For the Caribbean I usually wear a cocktail dress for formal night and my husband usually wears slacks, long sleeve button down shirt and a tie. He gets hot easily so no jacket most of the time but we still like to look nice.  I can't find any of our photos from our most recent cruise but here is one from a cruise my husband and I took several years ago and one from the mother daughter trip I took with my daughter and her best friend for their high school graduation. Should note, I dress up more on Royal than I did on Carnival so this is actually dressed down some from what we normally do.

Ladies....killing it!

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

OP
Let’s see a photo of you all dressed up, others might post their photos then 😎

 

[John&LaLa]

Only dress up on 7 day or longer, but skipped the formal wear on last cruise to accomodate our group.

 

Some blasts from the past 

 

 

This is my favorite

[molsonschooner]

6 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Couple of hours?  For us it is always around 5pm (Diamond Lounge) through late bedtime, after our final dance of the evening.  And that applies to the two or more formal nights on our cruises.

it was always just a couple of hours for me when I did wear a suit or dress pants. Right after dinner, my wife would head to the pub, I would go back to the cabin and change back into my shorts. I really dislike dressing up.

[BirdTravels]

13 hours ago, 1interpreter said:

So, I know that things have changed since the pandemic, but how much has the formal nights changed? We love dressing up on formal night. There is just something about that night that makes our cruise feel that much more special I guess. How many of you actually still dress up for formal night? Drop me a pic and show me what you wear.

If you like to get dressed up, then get dressed up. 

 

The contemporary cruiser is not interested in dress-up night. That was the same before and after the pandemic shutdown. 

 

We have sailed for decades and stopped packing gowns and shoes a while back. Nothing but resort casual for us now. Gents in tuxes are few and far between,,,, you can count the number in the dining room on one hand. Suits and ties are equally sparse. 

 

This was the line at the MDR on formal night on the Wonder of the Seas earlier this year