New Dress Code

[Emdee]

It looks like they are tightening up clothing choices on their expedition ships. Sad I booked the Endeavour now though I love the ship. 

[canderson]

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Completely agree. I could never understand why some people are so obsessed with what other people wear..

It has been explained, but evidently forgotten.

[Abuckett]

21 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Apropos to this development, here is an excerpt from a message I received today. A friend is on Nova and this is his take on the dress code so far:

 

DRESS: Our first formal “optional” night, we arrived at Atlantide @ 8:15p and were given a table whereby we could see the coming and going of all guests. The venue was packed and only two couples arrived later than us. Out of 52 men, 25 were in tuxedos or suits, 24 in sports jackets with tie, and 3 in jackets with no ties. Jackets were worn through the entire meal, none were draped over a seat as has been reported elsewhere. We have one more formal “optional” night remaining.

 

All other nights are classified as “elegant casual”. This means for men, open collar shirts are acceptable, jackets are optional. Slacks are required as jeans and shorts are not allowed after 6:00p in indoor venues. Outdoor venues are always casual. We dined at the grill one evening and it was practically like being at a neighborhood barbecue party, with the vast majority of men in shirts without collars and at least half in t-shirts. I’d say at least one-third were wearing shorts as well, including a couple who apparently were allowed to dine in their swimwear.

 

Another evening we dined in SALT. Again, the venue was packed to the gills when we arrived @ 8:00p. I was taken aback by how poorly the men were dressed. Of the 63 I could count, 10 were literally allowed to wear t-shirts! Another 12 were in what I would categorize as golf shirts, and another 17 in short sleeve collared shirts. 14 wore dress shirts and no jacket while 8 wore a jacket. 2 wore a jacket and tie; me and a gentleman from Italy. It was like eating in a cheap Hilton or Ramada Inn dining room and I felt so out of place.

 

Last night we dined in Silver Note. Much smaller venue and only one table was open after we were seated @ 8:30p. 2 men in t-shirts, 4 in collared short sleeves, 11 in dress shirts without jacket, 1 in a Helly Hansen work out shirt, and 4 in a jacket without tie; me, an old chap days away from the grave, and a couple from the Netherlands.

 

All-in-all, and just as I feared, this dumbing down of the dress code on Silver Nova is heading toward the lowest common denominator in dress, and is taking SS away from the elegance and sartorial classiness that made it special.

Hope the couple at The Grill wearing swimsuits didn’t get splatter on their delicate skin. 🤣🤣

[A Tucson Guy]

1 hour ago, Abuckett said:

Hope the couple at The Grill wearing swimsuits didn’t get splatter on their delicate skin. 🤣🤣

That grease is HOT!!

[RetiredOnVacation]

Looking forward to this new relaxed dress code - very much like RSSC I think 

[ynot1973]

On Nova soon so was especially interested in initial post by ak1004 regarding formal optional nights and jackets being required for gentlemen in indoor spaces.  And the detailed reply with data by jpalbny was much appreciated. Thanks. And I especially enjoyed the "I have a friend" format. 🙂

[commodoredave]

On 3/21/2024 at 7:09 AM, ak1004 said:

 

Completely agree. I could never understand why some people are so obsessed with what other people wear..

I’ve never been concerned with what other people wear to the main dining room at night - only what they don’t wear. Frankly, if I want to dine with people who can’t put on a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner, I’ll go to McDonalds. 

[ak1004]

19 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

I’ve never been concerned with what other people wear to the main dining room at night - only what they don’t wear. Frankly, if I want to dine with people who can’t put on a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner, I’ll go to McDonalds. 

 

True.

 

My issue is not with a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner. I think it is very reasonable. What is not reasonable is to ask men to put a jacket most of the nights. This has been removed, and it's a positive development. Too bad that at the same time they priced themselves out of the market.

[jjs217]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

True.

 

My issue is not with a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner. I think it is very reasonable. What is not reasonable is to ask men to put a jacket most of the nights. This has been removed, and it's a positive development. Too bad that at the same time they priced themselves out of the market.

It is too early to determine if SS had priced themselves out of the market.  I plan on cruising with SS with the understanding that with inflation, the price of goods of services are increasing.  It is necessary to raise the price of a cruise.  I assume there are cheaper lines one can take, where the dress code never includes a jacket.

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, jjs217 said:

It is too early to determine if SS had priced themselves out of the market.  I plan on cruising with SS with the understanding that with inflation, the price of goods of services are increasing.  It is necessary to raise the price of a cruise.  I assume there are cheaper lines one can take, where the dress code never includes a jacket.

 

To me, it's pretty clear. Inflation is not 25-30%. Their new "Essential fares" are basically the same as previous P2P fares, but they exclude excursions and non refundable. Those fares are now at least 15-20% more expensive than SB, while P2P are 20-30% extra. Those fares are simply not competitive, and the product simply does not justify those prices.

[jjs217]

I believe, and I may be wrong, some of this increase is due to people wanting/demanding the old, real luxury level of service to return.  If those kinds of price increases will do so, I'm pretty sure there are people on this board who are willing to pay that amount.  We will have to see if that is the case. Exclusivity has a cost.  

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, jjs217 said:

I believe, and I may be wrong, some of this increase is due to people wanting/demanding the old, real luxury level of service to return.  If those kinds of price increases will do so, I'm pretty sure there are people on this board who are willing to pay that amount.  We will have to see if that is the case. Exclusivity has a cost.  

Agree. But I don’t think lines like Seabourn or Explora are less luxury or exclusive, while being significantly cheaper. And the inclusion of excursions doesn’t really help.

[Gourmet Gal]

13 minutes ago, jjs217 said:

I believe, and I may be wrong, some of this increase is due to people wanting/demanding the old, real luxury level of service to return.  If those kinds of price increases will do so, I'm pretty sure there are people on this board who are willing to pay that amount.  We will have to see if that is the case. Exclusivity has a cost.  

Hope you’re right but it could be wishful thinking.  When has anything become more luxury after becoming less so?

[commodoredave]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

True.

 

My issue is not with a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner. I think it is very reasonable. What is not reasonable is to ask men to put a jacket most of the nights. This has been removed, and it's a positive development. Too bad that at the same time they priced themselves out of the market.

Fortunately, there are plenty of options out there for cruising. And given the growing number of lines and ships, I suspect there will continue to be plenty of sales and special discounts off the inflated new prices. All the big price increase at SS delivers is a less loyal client base that is now more likely to shop around.

[commodoredave]

7 hours ago, jjs217 said:

 

The price increases may have more to do with generating cash for RCL than improving service. 

[BrendaJ]

I think the cruise lines are in a tough spot. It’s primarily older passengers who value a stricter dress code, and most cruise lines want to attract a clientele who are going to be cruising for the next 20 or 30 years. In my experience, younger people just aren’t interested in dressing up for anything other than their own wedding or prom.

 

We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise with the grandchildren a couple of weeks ago, and I was actually pretty surprised by RCCL’s dress code for formal nights.  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/generic-onboard-dress-code

 

The reality on board was something else entirely. I saw exactly one tuxedo and maybe a couple of men in suits at the most. There were men in the dining room wearing t-shorts, shorts and ball caps on the formal nights. I didn’t expect much for RCCL, but this was pretty shocking to me.

 

I miss the old days when even the mainstream lines had a strict dress code and formal nights were a special, elegant evening. I think those evenings are disappearing even on the luxury lines and it’s a shame.

 

 

[Fletcher]

I heartily approve of the relaxations in the dress code.  But what about the butlers?  Won't they look even more ridiculous in their tail coats when passengers are in flip-flops?  

[jjs217]

1 hour ago, Fletcher said:

I heartily approve of the relaxations in the dress code.  But what about the butlers?  Won't they look even more ridiculous in their tail coats when passengers are in flip-flops?  

There was a short period of time Seabourn Room Stewards were wearing these awful green scrubs while cleaning the rooms.  It kind of makes sense, but they looked underdressed.

[JSR]

I think climate matters. The warmer the climate the more casual the dress. 
 

we were on Nova for 71 days. Only saw shorts at the Marquee for dinner once. Most of the time people were dressed nicely in all venues. Some times with jackets and sometimes with out however, no one was poorly dressed that I observed. 

[goldengatecruisers]

Am I missing something or did the 'formal night icon' (bow tie) disappear from My Silversea calendar when reviewing one's upcoming booked voyages?  

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, goldengatecruisers said:

Am I missing something or did the 'formal night icon' (bow tie) disappear from My Silversea calendar when reviewing one's upcoming booked voyages?  

Mine never appeared, and our sailing is on May 6th.

[sea bright]

Their appearance seems to vary. They appeared maybe 4 weeks before our fall cruise on the Dawn, maybe 6 weeks before our January cruise on the Nova and have yet to appear for our May 1 cruise on the Muse.

[drron29]

There was a release saying that the Nova dress code was extending to the classic fleet from mid to late April so I expect that the bow ties will disappear.

Didn’t stop me having my little protest on a night on the Muse tonight.

[jollyjones]

34 minutes ago, sea bright said:

Their appearance seems to vary. They appeared maybe 4 weeks before our fall cruise on the Dawn, maybe 6 weeks before our January cruise on the Nova and have yet to appear for our May 1 cruise on the Muse.

 

And even when they are in evidence on My Silversea, once you board they may be on completely different nights. I'm boarding the Nova in a week and the bow ties are currently visible on My Silversea, it'll be interesting to see what actually happens.

 

And Hi Ron - love the bow tie but not sure I'd drink something such a fluorescent yellow.

 

Edited April 9 by jollyjones

[drron29]

Vodka and melon liqueur. Actually quite nice.