Formal Nights?

[Seafan22]

I will be heading out on my first Royal Caribbean trip in July with a number of family members.  We have typically sailed on Norwegian where "Formal Nights" are a very relaxed and modestly bought into concept.  What is the general practice on this line?  This will be a 12-night trip.

 

Thanks

[Cruise5life]

Same relaxed format on RCL.    I wore shorts and a button up every night 

I never bring pants.   But always have button up shirts.   
I actually wore my tuxedo tshirt on formal night.   Never have an issue when I wear it.    
The older crown doesn’t like it.    But I could care less what others think.   I’m not cruising to please them.    

[roupa]

Might not be self conscious wearing shorts to the main dining room, but rather unusual.  I strongly doubt one would be turned away unless in a bathing suit.   But to better answer the question: “formal “ nights are now quite relaxed with “smart casual “ more the norm.  I liken it to appropriate office wear.

[taglovestocruise]

Three formal nights on a 12 night cruise. Very few in shorts. Late seating has far more dressed better than early seating. Always lines at most of the 5 or 6 photo stations set up for photo night with those being dressed up for the occasion. Your Jewel cruise in Europe will be far better dressed than those in the Caribbean. Youtube Jewel formal nights to get a good idea of what your ship will be like. 

[Seafan22]

Thank you all for the information, this is useful

[steveru621]

There will likely be only one 'formal' night.  The other two will be 'dress your best'.

 

Pretty much anything goes since covid.

[Cruise5life]

23 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

There will likely be only one 'formal' night.  The other two will be 'dress your best'.

 

Pretty much anything goes since covid.

Covid has nothing to do with it.   
formal nights have been more relaxed for years before covid.   
the last time I wore pants on formal night or dress your best was in the late 90’s.   
and that was only because my dates made me wear them.   
I wear shorts 99% of the time.  And just because I’m on a cruise ship isn’t going to change that.   Some of my shorts probably cost more then some peoples entire outfits.   Lol.    
 

 

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

Same relaxed format on RCL.    I wore shorts and a button up every night 

I never bring pants.   But always have button up shirts.   
I actually wore my tuxedo tshirt on formal night.   Never have an issue when I wear it.    
The older crown doesn’t like it.    But I could care less what others think.   I’m not cruising to please them.    

While I'm one of the "older crown" (71), I'm right there with you.  I may bring a pair of jeans.  But, I do wear a POLO SS shirt.  Otherwise, it's a nice pair of shorts and a POLO SS shirt.  The taste of my food doesn't change because of what I wear or what someone else wears.  

 

Complete transparency:  I'm not a big fan of the MDR. So, I may go there once during a 7 or 8-day cruise, for the evening meal.  

[jcarter4551]

Funny story on this topic: I went on first sailing post Covid on Adventure of Seas which was the “who’s who of Pinnacle.” I put my emerald badge away lol. 
 

anyway, on formal night I wore khaki shorts and a t shirt with a suit jacket. It was stylish per the J Crew model (that I’m not). When I walked into the MDR it was like I walked in naked. I even heard comments like “wow things aren’t what they used to be” and other comments that made me smile and laugh. 
 

point is: who cares what you wear as long as it’s not some muscle shirt or swimming shorts. But even if you wore that, my meal would be just as good. Cheers 

[Cruise5life]

59 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Complete transparency:  I'm not a big fan of the MDR. So, I may go there once during a 7 or 8-day cruise, for the evening meal.  

Just off the Wonder in Feb.  We ate every night in the MDR except our night in Puerto Rico.    I have a nice spot I like to eat in PR.  
We had great service. The meals were amazing. And service time was fast.   
we did have 2 tables of 6. And never an issue at all.    

[gavvy]

USA sailings are a lot less formal than European. I'd say from Europe a lot/most dress up and you will be more a minority if you don't bother. Lots of Tux's suits and ladies in full gowns 

[Capt_BJ]

only line I've seen 'enforce' dress code since 2010 is Cunard .... and they are strict

 

saw them chase a guy out of a bar at 6:03 when dress code went into effect at 6 ... and access to main dining was denied if you were not in dress of the day which was a jacket (for men) on informal days and a suit or preferred black tie on formal days.

 

dun't like it? Don't sail Cunard . . here we are in acceptable formal nite attire

[Cruise5life]

38 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

only line I've seen 'enforce' dress code since 2010 is Cunard .... and they are strict

 

saw them chase a guy out of a bar at 6:03 when dress code went into effect at 6 ... and access to main dining was denied if you were not in dress of the day which was a jacket (for men) on informal days and a suit or preferred black tie on formal days.

 

dun't like it? Don't sail Cunard . . here we are in acceptable formal nite attire

Maybe this should be a post for Cunard.    
 

this Royal Caribbean.   and the was a question for RC cruisers.   
Your post is useless here.   But nice get up for Cunard.   You’d be out of place on Royal.   Lol. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Cruise5life

[teddie]

I don't wear an evening gown, but we defintiely bling up on our RCI cruises.  DH and I like dressing up for dinner. Our last RCI Caribbean cruise this past February, dinner attire really ran the gamut.  Unsure?  Bring a little black dress and separates that can be dressed up or down.  The men can bring a jacket and tie just to be safe on a European cruise.  

 

Teddie

Edited March 16, 2023 by teddie

[KansasK]

3 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

Maybe this should be a post for Cunard.    
 

this Royal Caribbean.   and the was a question for RC cruisers.   
Your post is useless here.   But nice get up for Cunard.   You’d be out of place on Royal.   Lol. 

They probably wouldn't feel out of place dressed up on formal night on Royal Carribean and that is what matters. Live and let live. 

[Ret MP]

17 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

only line I've seen 'enforce' dress code since 2010 is Cunard .... and they are strict

 

saw them chase a guy out of a bar at 6:03 when dress code went into effect at 6 ... and access to main dining was denied if you were not in dress of the day which was a jacket (for men) on informal days and a suit or preferred black tie on formal days.

 

dun't like it? Don't sail Cunard . . here we are in acceptable formal nite attire

And that's why I'll never cruise on that cruise line.  I already don't cruise on their parent company.

[Cruise5life]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

And that's why I'll never cruise on that cruise line.  I already don't cruise on their parent company.

Exactly.     If I have to get dressed up for my vacation.  I’m not going.   
 

that’s why I’ll stick with. RC,NCL,Princess.  
And after cruising Carnival for the begging of my cruising life.  

I’ll never cruise them again.  

And I tried MSC just recently and they really like to get dressed up.    So I’m a maybe on there.  Great prices.  But 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

[SG65CB]

36 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

that’s why I’ll stick with. RC,NCL,Princess.  
And after cruising Carnival for the begging of my cruising life.  

I’ll never cruise them again.  

And I tried MSC just recently and they really like to get dressed up.    So I’m a maybe on there

 

About 5 posts up from here you told Capt BJ he could only discuss RC on the RC board?

🤔

 

[Cruise5life]

16 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

 

About 5 posts up from here you told Capt BJ he could only discuss RC on the RC board?

🤔

 

You’re absolutely right.   He had no mention of RC.     
but at least I mentioned RC.   But thanks for stopping by      💐

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Cruise5life said:

that’s why I’ll stick with. .......Princess.  

I'm sure you know but just in case you don't, Princes has the same parent company as Cunard.  

 

As of right now, I'm still loyal to Royal.

 

However, my wife read me a post, this morning, from one of the other cruising social media sites that concerned me greatly.  I'm still trying to verify that information so, I'll not repeat it here, yet.  If true, it will be a big game changer for me.   Don't know if it will be the straw that broke the camel's back, we'll see.

[SbbquilterUT]

DH wears slacks and long sleeve shirt ( his choice as he is always cold) and I will wear a dress or slacks and top as if going to the theater or nice restaurant (I know that is not for everyone). 

[Cruise5life]

9 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I'm sure you know but just in case you don't, Princes has the same parent company as Cunard.  

 

As of right now, I'm still loyal to Royal.

 

 

You mean parent company of Carnival too.    Lolol.  And I’ll never cruise them again.  
but I do have stock.    Actually all 3. Lines.   Lol. 
 

im loyal to the price of the cruise.    I’m hunting good prices not cruise lines.   
 

but I do like getting my double point for RC.  Lol. 
 

oh can’t wait to hear this new news. Lol.  

Edited March 17, 2023 by Cruise5life

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, Cruise5life said:

You mean parent company of Carnival too.    Lolol.  And I’ll never cruise them again.  
but I do have stock.    Actually all 3. Lines.   Lol. 
 

im loyal to the price of the cruise.    I’m hunting good prices not cruise lines.   
 

but I do like getting my double point for RC.  Lol. 

I can not and will not ever say that company's name, unless by mistake.  I usually refer to it as "Rustbucket Cruise Lines) (Which has nothing to do with rust) but it seems to trigger some folks.  

 

 

[Cruise5life]

8 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I can not and will not ever say that company's name, unless by mistake.  I usually refer to it as "Rustbucket Cruise Lines) (Which has nothing to do with rust) but it seems to trigger some folks.  

 

 

Lolol.   I started cruising on that line many years ago.    
land when I tried a different line I was like why have I been cruising on this 💩hole line.    And only been back once.  Because some friends are loyal to them. Lolol.   One of my worst trips.  Lol.  After all my other cruises on other lines.   Lolol. 
 

I do like princess.  Did alaska on the new discovery in august.  And it was awesome.  

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

Lolol.   I started cruising on that line many years ago.    
land when I tried a different line I was like why have I been cruising on this 💩hole line.    
 

I do like princess.  Did alaska on the new discovery in august.  And it was awesome.  

Same as us.  That's where we started.  Then one day, I asked my wife if she would like to try another line.  She was all for it.  So, our first cruise on RCCL was a Sky Class cruise (Grand Suite).  We finally realized what service and suites are all about.  We have since cruised many Star class cruises and a few Balcony Cabins on RCCL.  To us, there is no comparison between suite classes on Rustbucket and RCCL.  

 

My wife went on a Princess Alaska cruise with her mom.  It was on her mom's bucket list of things to do before she passed.  This was before our RCCL conversion.  My wife was not impressed.  Her mother slept through most of the cruise LOL.  I'll give her credit for reaching down deep into her soul and taking the trip, as sick as she was.  

 

We took the Alaska cruise on the Ovation last May.  Many things went wrong because it was one of the first cruises post-COVID.  But, my wife thoroughly enjoyed it much better than the Princess cruise.  But, that's her/us.  I'm not trying to tell you, you should not like Princess, not one bit.  It's your thing. 

 

 Enjoy!