What to wear for "casual" dining - Alaska

[trgthatsme]

We will by on the Ryndam July 9th for an Alaskan cruise. It is my understanding that there are four "casual" nights in addition to two formal nights and one semi-formal night. Is this correct? How casual is casual? Are people wearing blue jeans to dinner or is this too casual? FYI: I am an experienced cruiser and I understand appropriate dress. However, I have been told that people are dressed very casually for Alaskan cruises compared to other types of cruises. Any information would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[Roz]

According to the HAL dress code, jeans aren't acceptable attire in the dining room. Others will argue this point.

 

I wore the same thing in Alaska on casual night as I did in the Caribbean - a nice pair of pants with a knit top. I brought 2 pairs of pants in neutral colors and 3-4 tops to go with them.

 

Roz

[Scrumpy]

Jeans were no longer prohibited in the DR on our May Oosterdam cruise to Alaska. If you look in your "Know Before You Go" booklet, it will outline the dress code. Ours did NOT mention jeans being inappropriate. (There are several threads about this from back in April/May when people were getting their docs; I think Jhannah posted the page from the Know Before You Go booklet on one of them). There was also NO sign barring jeans at the DR entrance. People wore them in abundance on casual nights. This may or may not be destination-specific. Alaska has the reputation for being more casual. That was certainly the case on our cruise. Jeans on casual nights were almost standard uniform.

 

Do people LIKE seeing jeans in the dining room? No, some don't. But, what people like to see, the actual dress code, and the accepted practice onboard can all be miles apart. Do what makes you feel comfortable; there's nothing wrong with being dressed a little nicer if it makes you happy.

 

If you don't wear jeans, then Dockers, Capris, etc. are fine. A casual dress or skirt is fine. Moleskin pants or travel knits are fine. Just don't wear t-shirts or shorts or anything else specifically prohibited. If your Know Before You Go still lists jeans as inappropriate, then dress accordingly. Be aware that it is likely some others will still wear jeans, though.

[Roz]

Scrumpy,

 

Thanks for the clarification. I did Alaska in 2001 and 2003. At that time, jeans in the dining room were a no-no.

 

Roz

[Scrumpy]

No problem, Roz. This is a recent change and I don't know if it will apply to all ships/destinations or not. I noticed this cruise seemed more casual than when we were there in 2003. I would rather err on the side of caution and take it up a notch, but some folks love their jeans :)

[Bohrski]

Jeans on casual nights in the dining room were fine on the Zaandam in June. I even asked at the desk and the woman laughed and said it would be fine. I wore a nice sweater or blouse and not a T shirt though. I live in Florida so this is actually "dressy" by our standards. There were no informal nights and there were 2 formal. I had the earliest seating so I do not know what happened later in the evening....

[trgthatsme]

Thank you everyone for the information. I will certainly read the Know Before You Go cover to cover now. I also found the previous thread on the topic. Very informative. Thanks again!

[mfanderso]

On our cruise on the Westerdam in May we asked the front desk if we could wear jeans on casual night and we were told we would not be permitted into the dining room. So we followed their rules and wore nice slacks and a shirt. When we got to the dining room everyone had on jeans including our tables mates. The next casual night we wore jeans also. It seemed to be acceptable.

[cruisequeen10]

In the "Know before you go" it states that no jeans or t-shirts allowed in the Dining Room for dinner.

 

Last year I was on the NCL Star and there was a sign outside of the Dining Room "No Jeans after 5 p.m." I wore something appropriate, but many were wearing jeans. The next night I wore jeans and nobody said anything. If there is a sign, they should enforce it.

[crzn4fun]

trgthatsme, my DH will be in jeans on the casual nights. He hates to dress up. He is bringing his tux to wear on the first formal night, but my family has asked if we can skip the second. I am looking at my Know Before You Go and nowhere does it state that you can't wear jeans in the dining room. Its says "Comfortable, relaxed clothing is fine for evenings designated as casual; however, T-shirts, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the dining room, Lido Restaurant, or public areas during evening hours."

[lardan]

In the "Know before you go" it states that no jeans or t-shirts allowed in the Dining Room for dinner.

 

Cruisequeen:

 

I don't know the last time you got HAL docs, but I just looked again at my Zaandam docs for end of July and it does not say no jeans in the dining room, as stated earlier in the thread. Jeans are definitely allowed!!!!

[RuthC]

How casual is casual? Are people wearing blue jeans to dinner or is this too casual?

Jeans are far to casual for me to wear at night. 'Course, I wouldn't wear 'em in the daytime, either. :D But I won't wear my daytime slacks in the evening---they're far too casual.

On casual evenings in Alaska I'll wear what I wear on casual nights on any other cruise. I have a long, crinkly fabric dress in a wild print, some pearl grey evening pajamas, and a couple of Hawaiian dresses with a lacy shawl.

Dressy jewelry to polish it off, and a small purse.

[Copper10-8]

Jeans are far to casual for me to wear at night. 'Course, I wouldn't wear 'em in the daytime, either. :D But I won't wear my daytime slacks in the evening---they're far too casual.

 

On casual evenings in Alaska I'll wear what I wear on casual nights on any other cruise. I have a long, crinkly fabric dress in a wild print, some pearl grey evening pajamas, and a couple of Hawaiian dresses with a lacy shawl.

Dressy jewelry to polish it off, and a small purse.

 

You're wearing pearl grey PJ's with dressy jewelry and a small purse in the dining room?:eek: Holy moly!;)

[RuthC]

John best not even try to understand the names of women's fashions. It's a "girl" thing. :rolleyes:

(remember, I'm the one who showed up at Immigration in her nightgown?)

[RevNeal]

John best not even try to understand the names of women's fashions. It's a "girl" thing. :rolleyes:

(remember, I'm the one who showed up at Immigration in her nightgown?)

 

Yikes!!

:)

I'm glad it's a "girl" thing ... you don't want ME to show up in what I wear instead of PJs!!!! :D

[newcastleunited]

I choked a little when I noticed that you're booked for a Disney cruise in October. I've lived in Central Florida most of my life (born here), and always use RCCL out of Port Canaveral for trips to the Caribbean. Why? You will easily spend 30-40% more for the same trip on Disney as on RCCL out of Port Canaveral. I highly encourage you to make a sincere comparision with RCCL before taking the Disney cruise. I'm not married to RCCL, although I am a Diamond member, I'm doing a HAL Alaska cruise on 9/2 out of Seattle. I've done Celebrity too....but you will spend so much extra money on Disney's cruise, versus RCCL's for a similar trip, that you could go to Disney's theme parks and get your Disney "fix" there either before or after your RCCL cruise out of Port Canaveral. These are not just my feelings, but those of many of my local friends and cruise specialist that almost strangled me when I mentioned possibly taking my grandkids on a Disney cruise (she could book either for me). Some of my friends have said that they took Disney cruises and were so sick of seeing Disney related items and characters by the end of the cruise they wanted to jump ship. I look at these areas for comparison. When you compare the passenger to crew ratio for RCCL's Mariner you'll see a better ratio with RCCL versus Disney (better service). When you compare the ships you'll see that Disney crams a lot more wall/fold down beds into the cabins to increase how many children can fit on the ship versus the Mariner. My hairdresser took her two small children (ages 6 & 8) on the Disney 7-day cruise instead of the Mariner that I recommended, and she said it drove her crazy that Disney forced so much marketing down the passenger's throats while they were standing in line to sign their children into the kid's program. Also compare the price per square foot for the cabins on RCCL's Mariner versus Disney's ship.....better value on the Mariner.

 

Am I married to RCCL? Absolutely not. I had booked an Alaska cruise on Celebrity (same family as RCCL), and canceled it to do the HAL cruise this Sept because the value was much better on HAL. I called Celebrity/RCCL and told them I was canceling because HAL had a much better value for the same 7-day cruise.

 

I am sorry this was so long, but I hate to see money wasted that can instead go towards larger cabins, and maybe additional shore excursions.

[sail7seas]

It pains me to write this but I just looked at the Know Before you Go that I got with our documents for our upcoming Canada/New England Cruise. There is no mention of jeans that I could see.

 

I, like Ruth, will not be wearing jeans to the dining room in the evening. I guess it's a free for all........you wanna wear jeans, I guess you're gonna. ;)