Are Europen itinerary cruises more formal than Caribbean cruises?

[Florida_cruisers]

After reading the thread about how cruises have involved and how people are not dressing up as much anymore, as I wondering if a European itinerary (more especifically Mediterranean) cruises are more formal than the Caribbean cruises. I would think they are since the expense incurred in this type of cruise is much greater and they tend to feature an older crowd. I know it also depends on the time of the year as they are usually a lot more children in the Summer cruising with their parents.

 

We once cruised on Carnival in August to the Western Caribbean and hated because some of the people on the ship were so disrespectful. The second time we went with Royal Caribbean in November to the Eastern Caribbean (our honeymoon) and the difference was day and night. In this second cruise the atmosphere was much more formal (less kids, but also less activities on board (that a downside)), people really dressed up for the formal evenings, and they seemed more respectful of the crew and each other.

 

So am I safe to assume that European cruises are more formal than Caribbean?

 

We are going on a 12 day cruise to the Mediterranean next June

[momofmeg]

You have a point and you are right. Older people as a rule tend not to dress casually. Many a time I have seen the litle old lady with blue hair, dressed as though she's going to church or something and this is mid-week daytime in the grocery store.

 

I have heard europeans as a rule are not near as casual as Americans. If you have ever been to the fashion board at cruisecritic read some of the posts from Holly from Scotland. I believe that woman dresses to the nines at all times.

[imsulin]

I'm going to take a chance here, and say this:

Caribbean cruises do a "night and day" thing, where you change from shorts/tank tops to fully formal. I think that European cruises are less formal at night, but more "formal" during the day, especially with European passengers. In other words, you could see a guy with slacks and a light-colored blazer during the day wearing the same thing at formal dinner. I once went on a 4-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon on the CO river, and there was a group with us from Italy. They were lovely people, but the high-heeled sandals and Italian leather shoes got ruined the first day. The linen blazers and sundresses didn't fare well, either. We took up a "collection" of shorts, T-shirts, and Tevas that fit them, and they had a blast! In fact, one night the crew was cooking basic spaghetti on the sandy bank, and the lady (who didn't speak English) took over, added this-that-and-the-other, and it was the best spaghetti I've ever had! (Imagine high-heeled sandals, low-cut sundress, and big hair cooking spaghetti on the banks of the Colorado River! PRICELESS!!)

[drpclarke]

Prior to my Med. cruise on Splendour, I did two Carnival cruises to the Caribbean.

 

The interior of Splendour was just beautiful,, and not quite as "tacky" as the Carnival ships. Due to this and the lower number of children and higher number of Europeans, the ship was as a whole "more formal".

 

I am more comfortable in a more formal atmosphere, so I had a ball. My tablemates were all american with the exception of one woman who was Argentina's former ambassador to somewhere (I'm not kidding). Our table was formal, but comfortable.

 

In short, I preferred that cruise over others due to the more formal atmosphere, if that is an appropriate term. I'm just not a noise lover and found this cruise to be fun and relaxing.

 

You will have a ball------a 12 day itinerary-------wow, I am so jealous!

 

Rachel

 

Fantasy 12/00

Imagination 6/01

Splendour 6/03

Sovereign 12/04

[savva0122]

Prior to my Med. cruise on Splendour, I did two Carnival cruises to the Caribbean.

 

Rachel

 

Just wondered when you went on June, we went 6/19.

 

I felt that there was no appreciable difference between the formality of Splendour (Med) and recent Caribbean cruises. I was disappointed since I felt that people would dress up more for the reasons stated above.

 

I'm not sure Europeans dress "down" at night and "up" during the day. I don't think there's too much difference between Europeans (specifically Brits) and Americans during the day.

 

My advice - go for it anyway and have a ball!

[Littlegoo75]

I am dying to go on a European cruise. I LOVE Europe and have been there several times, but I also love cruising, so it would be great to combine the two. The thing that gets me is that as a late 20-something I love to mix and mingle with other 20 and 30-something as well as any other age, but it's nice to meet people that grew up in the same decade that you did.

 

Now, I am the type that will dress up to embark, I also like to dress nice ( but comfortable) on a flight. I wore a nice long sundress on embarkation on our last cruise and received a lot of compliments - like it's a rarity these days. I just like looking good, I guess. I will wear shorts and a tank-top on a shore excursion, but I think embarkation should be an event to dress up for ( or at least wear nice skirt and top).

Maybe I sound more like a "Crystal" or "Radisson" type, but being in my 20's, I want the fun of Carnival or RCCL. I would be bored to death on one of those more "upper class" lines.

So can anyone out there tell me what European cruises are out there that would be a good fit for me? I know that there is the one that RCCL does ( The Splendour? is it) and Carnival will be starting up next Summer. I would love to have a lot of younger people on board, but also would like some formality on the cruise. There must be young professionals out there who love to party, but also carry themselves well who want to cruise to Europe! Where are you all?????

 

Also, another thing people need to keep in mind, if you are going to tour a church / cathedral in Europe, don't you dare show up in shorts or if you are a guy, in a hat - BIG taboo. I have lived in Europe, have relatives in Europe, and have visited several times, different countries, and as a whole, the Europeans do dress better. I would much rather wear a dress than jeans any day, unless I was horseback-riding!

Although I do admire the way Europeans dress and carry themselves, I think it's pretty lame that the Italians went on a Rafting trip in high heels. C'mon! People need to dress appropriate. If I know I am going to tour a church, I will wear a dress or long pants, If I know I am going to explore ruins, I will wear sturdy footwear. Some people just don't exercise common sense.

[Tatka]

Littlegoo75,

 

We did Splendour 7 days cruise in May. We were 32 and 31 at that time.

 

"I want the fun of Carnival or RCCL. I would be bored to death on one of those more "upper class" lines." Look, Med cruises are really different than Caribbean.

 

Unless you skip all excurions in ports (which IMHO is a main reason to cruise Europe) I highly doubt you'll have time and won't be very tired for regular cruise fun.

 

There are great cruises on Celebrity (Galaxy, Millenium(?)) or Princess (I think Star, we saw her sailing from Barcelona)

 

I loved our cruise but one of the minuses was that most of the ports weren't really scenic. (most of them cargo-ports). The only truly nice ones were Villeferanche(tender) and Naples. Some ports like Livorno and Civitavecchia are really far from their cities (Pisa,Livorno and Rome) which made all tours really expensive since we had to pay for transfers.

[Florida_cruisers]

So can anyone out there tell me what European cruises are out there that would be a good fit for me? I know that there is the one that RCCL does ( The Splendour? is it) and Carnival will be starting up next Summer. I would love to have a lot of younger people on board, but also would like some formality on the cruise. There must be young professionals out there who love to party, but also carry themselves well who want to cruise to Europe! Where are you all?????

exercise common sense.

We are a professional young married couple (I am 26, and DH is 33). We love cruising and going to Europe as well, reason why we are combining the two a cruise to the Med on Brilliance of the Seas with RCCL.

I agree that you should dress according to your environment and activities. I love dressing up, especially on formal nights.

What annoys me is to see people in t-shirts on formal nights. It takes away from the whole atmosphere on the night.

[howard6933]

I've been on cruises in a lot of places throughout the world and I don't

think that there is much of a difference no matter where you go when it

comes to "dressing up" or not. When we go to the Caribbean I always

bring my tux and my wife brings her best finery. We live in Florida where

every day is a "casual" day, so it's nice to dress up once in awhile. However,

in october we're going on Splendor in Europe, and I just don't feel like

hauling my tuxedo all the way to Barcelona. So what I will do is bring

along a dark suit with white shirt and tie and I'm sure that it will do nicely.

On all the cruises I've been on, most people usually dress properly and

don't show up looking like "schlubs" in the restaurant for dinner. There is

one thing that does bother me, and that is, going to the dining room or

any other eating venue, and see men wearing baseball hats or caps while

eating. To me, this is extremely discourteous. I served in the USAF for 30

years, and lord help anybody who walks into a dining facility or any inside

office and does not take off their cap. Well anyway, I got that off my

chest.

[MattInFLL]

Europeans dress up more at night. Culturally, they tend to take more interest in fashion and style than we do. As for day time, it's all pretty casual. The only time there's a potential daytime issue is when visiting churches in Italy, Spain, Greece, etc - the very traditional Catholic med countries. They expect long pants and modest attire when entering a church.

[Littlegoo75]

Nice to see that I am not the only one that feels the way I do about dressing for dinner. I don't think that tux's are really necessary - my husband hates them. A nice, dark suit is plenty formal. I too cannot stand to see people wearing shorts and caps in the dining room. A guy can just take about 15 mins to shower and put on a fresh pair of khakis and a nice polo shirt if they want to be casual. My husband likes comfortable, casual clothes, and I like his to look nice, so we can both be happy if I buy him a Tommy Bahama wardrobe!

It just drives me crazy when people want to be slobs - it's not that hard to look presentable for dinner. Have some respect people! If you can afford to go on a cruise, then you can afford to buy some new, clean clothes and a bar of soap.

[momofmeg]

Nice to see that I am not the only one that feels the way I do about dressing for dinner. I don't think that tux's are really necessary - my husband hates them. A nice, dark suit is plenty formal. I too cannot stand to see people wearing shorts and caps in the dining room. A guy can just take about 15 mins to shower and put on a fresh pair of khakis and a nice polo shirt if they want to be casual. My husband likes comfortable, casual clothes, and I like his to look nice, so we can both be happy if I buy him a Tommy Bahama wardrobe!

It just drives me crazy when people want to be slobs - it's not that hard to look presentable for dinner. Have some respect people! If you can afford to go on a cruise, then you can afford to buy some new, clean clothes and a bar of soap.

Littlegoo it sounds as though you ran into the people we had on our Miracle cruise in April-not only did they dot dress for formal night but they were dirty and sweaty had not even brushed their hair and were wearing clothes you would wear to scrub the house or change oil in your car. That was a port day and I assume they had been fishing. I too don't mnid it that we Americans as a rule are not fashion plates but I do believe people should go to dinner clean and presentable even at Mac Donalds. I really felt the matr'd should have refused them admittance.

 

To me if they were that tired they should have orderd room service and paid the $2 or $3 tip for that.