Dress code for Queen Elizabeth

[judydoc]

Our first time with Cunard and  leaving for Alaska this week. For the Diningroom Attire would a golf shirt and nice pants works for dinner except gala night for men.  When there is a theme for Gala night do you have to be dressed in that theme.or just formal is ok?  We just booked the cruise yesterday and did not realize there were theme nights.  

[BigMac1953]

In over 25+ cruises/crossings, we've never worn any silly theme fancy dress attire. Black tie is more than acceptable.

 

Sorry, I don't know what a "golf" shirt is.

[david63]

12 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

I don't know what a "golf" shirt is

I believe that a "golf" shirt is somewhat akin to a "polo" shirt so going by the definition of a "collard shirt" then it technically would be acceptable but I suspect that there will be those who would say that it would not be acceptable.

[judydoc]

Yes has a collar and is short sleeved but buttons do not go all the way down the shirt.   

[judydoc]

49 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

In over 25+ cruises/crossings, we've never worn any silly theme fancy dress attire. Black tie is more than acceptable.

 

Sorry, I don't know what a "golf" shirt is.

On Gala night Men must have a jacket?  Shirt and Tie are not enough?

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, judydoc said:

On Gala night Men must have a jacket?  Shirt and Tie are not enough?

Yes, jacket on formal nights, if you want to dine anywhere other than the Lido or equivalent.

Edited August 25 by exlondoner

[bluemarble]

1 minute ago, judydoc said:

On Gala night Men must have a jacket?  Shirt and Tie are not enough?

 

On Gala Evenings the dress code for gentlemen as listed in the onboard daily programmes specifies "dinner jacket, tuxedo, or dark suit with a regular tie or bow tie".

[Planning to cruise]

In our book polo shorts on non formal nights and shirt and tie only for formal nights are not right.  In some 400+ nights on all Cunard ships DH has never been in the dining room without a jacket.  Not because its Cunard but because thats him.

Polo shorts and no jackets for formal are fine in other venues on board such as the buffet or pub.   

[D&N]

My favourite type of thread! Thank you.

 

I wouldn't wear them. Golf and Polo are sports. To me shirts associated with them are sportswear. That doesn't mean they won't be accepted, and venue staff probably have their hands full with people trying to get away with much worse.

 

This is the gents guidance you will find in the daily programmes onboard the ship:

 

What to Wear: Gala Evening From 6.00pm, we encourage you to join in the sense of occasion with eveningwear of dinner jacket, tuxedo, or dark suit with a regular tie or bow tie,

 

What to Wear: Smart Attire From 6.00pm on board, we request you wear collared shirt and trousers,

 

There is more to it with guidance for ladies that would cover most outfits and what is acceptable in venues where codes don't apply.

[WantedOnVoyage]

Thank you.  The fact that an article of clothing is even called by a sports name... "polo", "golf", "rugby"... means it is wholly inappropriate for evening wear. And yes, they all have collars and buttons, too. Big deal.  I cycle all the time and wear a black wool cycling jersey with a collar and buttons, too.  By the contorted, confusing nonsense that Cunard offers as "guidance" for dressing aboard their ships, I could indeed wear that to dinner on a "smart casual" evening.  But being able to do something, does not mean one should.  Don't.

 

 

Edited August 25 by WantedOnVoyage

[Jack E Dawson]

1 hour ago, judydoc said:

Our first time with Cunard and  leaving for Alaska this week

Congratulations judydoc, you are going to love this cruise. The QE is a beautiful ship and Alaska is such an amazing venue. 

With regards to casual nights in the Main Dining Room/Queens Room/Royal Court Theater, the Cunard website says, "Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers, skirt and a top, or a cocktail dress." 

On our 5 Cunard cruises we have always dressed for the Gala night theme and have enjoyed doing so, however, there really is no pressure to do so. Regular formal attire will be fine. Typically, for the Black & White and the Red & Gold balls almost everyone joins in. For the Roaring 20's and Masquerade balls, a sizable minority don't participate. At least that has been our experience. 

Enjoy your cruise and I would love to hear your impressions when you get back.   

Jack

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, judydoc said:

Our first time with Cunard and  leaving for Alaska this week. For the Diningroom Attire would a golf shirt and nice pants works for dinner except gala night for men.  When there is a theme for Gala night do you have to be dressed in that theme.or just formal is ok?  We just booked the cruise yesterday and did not realize there were theme nights.  

I love dress code threads as well!

 

My advice to you is to remember that a tiny fraction of 1% of people who cruise with Cunard contribute to this board, so what you read here is in no way representative of Cunard cruisers and what you will actually experience on the ship (I'm conscious that applies equally to my post!).  Also, many posters tend to provide opinions and advice based on what they do or what they think the dress regs should be, rather than what they are.  And, many also seem to worry a lot about what other people wear.  From my perspective, what others wear on a cruise, so long as it doesn't breach basic human decency, has absolutely zero impact on my cruising experience.

 

As is clear from post 9, what you are proposing for non-Gala nights complies with the dress code.  My advice that if that is the case and that is what you are comfortable wearing, you should go for it.  I'd be very surprised if that attracted any negative comment on the ship and, if it did, I think that would reveal a lot more about the shortcomings of the person doing the criticising than it would of the person complying with the dress code in a manner with which they were comfortable.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[DukeBeetle24]

2 hours ago, judydoc said:

Our first time with Cunard and  leaving for Alaska this week. For the Diningroom Attire would a golf shirt and nice pants works for dinner except gala night for men.  When there is a theme for Gala night do you have to be dressed in that theme.or just formal is ok?  We just booked the cruise yesterday and did not realize there were theme nights.  

That sounds perfectly acceptable for non gala evenings. A collared shirt and trousers is what's stated. There are also relaxed venues including the pub and buffet where you can be more casual, including wearing non-ripped jeans.

 

Gala evenings is dark suit or tuxedo. But again, if you don't want to dress to that level you can go to the buffet or pub onboard that evening.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. Ignore the comments by those telling you anything different than the stated guidance by Cunard. 

 

 

Edited August 25 by DukeBeetle24

[Pushpit]

For Smart Attire nights then the golf shirt would be OK, though one could have an arcane debate about buttons, sleeves and collars. I would suggest going a little upmarket, and also it depends a bit on the a/c (and your personal warmth ratings), but that is just my suggestion and others will have other suggestions. Smart Attire isn't anything like a big deal, compared to gala nights.

 

For the theme nights, no that's entirely voluntary, you can stick to formal wear quite safely, and many people don't do anything special, self included. Those on the Queens Room dance floor may take it a bit more seriously.

[NE John]

Having been on a recent QE Alaska cruise (and for Cunard in general) the Smart Attire night will have men dressed in “dress” shirts over “country club casual” golf/polo shirts.
From the US Cunard site:

Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers, skirt and a top, or a cocktail dress. Essentially, choose something along the same vein as you’d wear to a stylish restaurant or the theater on a special occasion.

Cunard removed the “collared shirt” verbiage at least on this side of the pond! You’ll see some-one off stylings while onboard however. 
 

Cunard,after six, is a bit more formal than country club casual you may have experienced on other lines but it’s not stuffy and shouldn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable. You’ll even see men in sports jackets/blazers and even ties. But remember it could be chilly so have a blue blazer in the evening may be a benefit.

During the day however, the country club casual look works, including afternoon tea. 
I hope you got a great last minute deal and don’t let the dress code drive you crazy; just understand that Cunard is a bit different than other lines and most pax, not all, like the bit of formality after six on Cunard. 
 

Edited August 25 by NE John

[Victoria2]

I am in no way a member of any sort of dress police consortium but I would say yes, a polo shirt conforms, but just for info., the majority of chaps will be in an 'ordinary/business type'  non polo fabric shirt, be it long sleeved and with a jacket like my husband or without the jacket [and many do go without] or in short sleeved non knit shirt also sans jacket.

 

As to the Gala themes, my reply would be 'what themes?'.

The only one we follow is black and white and that's because he has a white formal shirt with his [black] DJ and I have a black dress...well a couple actually so spoilt for choice!🙂

 

 

[Victoria2]

I'd add a ps and say apart from two bow ties to ring the Gala changes, my husband hasn't taken a [non Gala night] tie with him for two years now.

 

He doesn't miss them one jot! 🙂

[NE John]

I do feel for first time Cunard passengers trying to make sense of the dress code. I would imagine that a prospective Cunard passenger has some interest in dressing a bit more formal vs other lines?

However, Cunard makes a big deal (and should make a big deal) about creating a special “sense of occasion” after 6pm but then: markets that you don’t have to dress to the nine’s if you don’t want to,  offer two different definitions of Smart Attire nights on the US/UK sites, while all on the Cunard websites show young passengers dressed above and beyond the stated dress codes all contradicting the stated written definitions. 
Only as my opinion, a standardized dress code plays an important part in creating the evening “sense of occasion” that Cunard is trying to market and make itself different from other lines. Check out Celebrity, HAL, and other “premium” line CC boards and there is lots of frustration about dress codes going down the drain on those ships. 
However, it’s on Cunard (not us moaning about it on CC) to make a clear and consistent dress code that we can work with. 

[*Miss G*]

@judydoc, welcome to Cunard!  These are from the daily planners onboard:

 

 

 

I hope you find these helpful and I hope you have a wonderful time!!

[NE John]

7 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

@judydoc, welcome to Cunard!  These are from the daily planners onboard:

 

 

 

I hope you find these helpful and I hope you have a wonderful time!!

But those dress code definitions should be consistently communicated by Cunard before one goes onboard. Having separate Collared and Dress shirt requirements is confusing. 

[exlondoner]

16 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I'd add a ps and say apart from two bow ties to ring the Gala changes, my husband hasn't taken a [non Gala night] tie with him for two years now.

 

He doesn't miss them one jot! 🙂

Mine sometimes wears one, partly so he doesn’t forget how to tie a tie.

[*Miss G*]

Adding:

 

Think of a golf shirt as more of a “top” than a shirt.  For Cunard, the “collared shirt” is more like a “dress shirt”; the kind which you wear with a suit/jacket or similar to a button-down shirt that you wear untucked.  Sorry.  I don’t know how to make myself clearer.  I am not up with the mens clothing lingo!  😂

 

Having said that, I can’t imagine they will turn him away from the MDR on Smart Attire Night.

[*Miss G*]

4 minutes ago, NE John said:

But those dress code definitions should be consistently communicated by Cunard before one goes onboard. Having separate Collared and Dress shirt requirements is confusing. 

 

Plus the lingo is different in all countries.

[Desert Cruisers]

Take a deep breath and relax.  Many of the passengers on a Cunard Alaska cruise will also be first-time Cunard cruisers.  We will be on your sailing - our 3rd Alaska sailing.  Yes, there are men who will wear a jacket, dress shirt, & tie every night but that's their choice. 

 

Theme nights - Not necessary to follow the theme. If you enjoy doing so, then do it!

Formal nights - What would you wear to a Saturday evening wedding with "black tie optional" on the invitation?  [Not sure what the equivalent terminology would be in the UK.]

Smart casual/non-formal nights - Would suggest that you think about what you would wear out to a fancy restaurant but that can vary depending on where you are.  Based on our experience, you will not be turned away from the dining room for wearing a nice pair of trousers and a nice polo/golf shirt.  If concerned, wear a jacket or sweater over the shirt. 

[Victoria2]

 

WantedOnVoyage

 

The advice given to judydoc has been fine. What some aspire to and the reality are totally different these days.

Pre Covid, my husband would no more go tie less, than fly to the moon. In his own rebellious way, he's ditched them and that's from an 'old style' dresser. Still got the jackey tho' but that's his choice.

 

Like it or not, times have changed and when asked for advice, objective replies should be given and the reality is, 'Smart attire' is def. more casual  than it used to be.

 

Give incorrect info and lovely folk who would be the future of Cunard, might be put off and as I hope we have another 20 yrs of cruising in us, I hope Cunard survives. Tie less but with the option for us to scrub up if we want to.