Virtually No Dress Code on Our Summit Cruise

[kitty9]

I know this issue has been debated to death, but I just wanted to impart my experience with the dress code on our two week Summit cruise. In my estimation, and that of my travelmates, the dress code was quite a bit ignored, and no enforcement. I saw women and men in shorts and sandals on both casual and informal nights. I saw men in Hawaiian shirts and women in capri pants and tshirts on formal nights. I would say that at least 40% of the men didn't wear jackets on informal nights. For some reason, the second formal night was slightly better than either the first or third, but still, at the tables near us, a good number of passengers ignored the dress code completely. And I found this part interesting. While friends were waiting outside the dining room on formal night, a couple stood next to them and were amazed that people were dressed up. My friend, Larry, said to them "don't you know it's formal night"? The woman said, "we didn't know that". Larry replied,"didn't you read your daily paper?" Reply, "yes, but we didn't see anything about the dress code". I wonder if people don't read---or whatever. But, no one was denied entrance, even in shorts and t-shirts.

 

I wondered if the makeup of the passengers had anything to do with this. The average age on the cruise was well above 65, and I would say that at least half, if not more, of the passengers were non-American. I think the answer to this whole dress code thing was partially answered when we were disembarking. While we had our porter carrying our two-big-bags-apiece to the taxi area, many of our fellow passengers seemed to have gotten by for the two weeks with two carry-on sized luggages. I know for a fact that unless you wear Barbie doll sized clothes, you really cannot pack for two weeks in two carry ons. Heck, just shoes alone can take up a huge amount of space, right ladies????LOL

 

And, finally, on this cruise I saw the largest number of passengers who didn't stay in the code of the evening, and went to all other venues on the ship, even on formal nights, wearing shorts and flip flops.

 

Did this ruin our cruise??? No. But regardless of how you feel about it, it does change the ambience in the dining room especially on formal nights. Unfortunately, those of us who love the "old" Celebrity will have to swallow our pride and fully admit that the casualites are winning the fight for every cruise line.

[Captain Jake]

I suppose the dress is dropping with the dining room quality.We enjoy the formal nights,but lets face it,it's hard to get enthuised about dressing up when the menu doesn't fit the bill.On a recent RCL cruise fried chicken was one of the choiced for formal dinner.Now talk about shorts,teee shirts,flip flop fare..........................

[helenp2]

My last Celebrity cruise was also on the Summit. We saw young men (20/30) on formal night in the DR with baseball caps on backward. Doesn't Celebrity enforce the dress code at all??? Very strange, but we sail on HAL and have never seen shorts, t-shirts, capris & baseball caps in the DR. Time for Celebrity to step up to the bat and enforce their dress code.

[SusieV]

That would be so disappointing. We get dressed to the nines every formal night.

 

I hope it's not the same on our January Constellation cruise.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Doesn't sound much different than any of the Celebrity cruises we have been on. They have all been warm weather cruises (Caribbean, Panama Canal) which seems to inspire casual dress.

[beachdogboarder]

My last Celebrity cruise was also on the Summit. We saw young men (20/30) on formal night in the DR with baseball caps on backward. Doesn't Celebrity enforce the dress code at all??? Very strange, but we sail on HAL and have never seen shorts, t-shirts, capris & baseball caps in the DR. Time for Celebrity to step up to the bat and enforce their dress code.

 

pathetic

[bikinibottom]

On our Mercury cruise (Mexico) last spring there were many people in t-shirts and some tank tops on informal nights, and in shorts and jogging suits on casual nights. We were floored at how many folks were totally ignoring the code. Of course it didn't change our enjoyment of our meals it was just a surprise.

[jasm8449]

So is the day coming when those of us who dress up on formal night are the ones feeling out of place?? This is so disappointing. I'm actually starting to feel foolish thinking about packing my DH's tux and my formal wear. If Celebrity doesn't show respect for itself as a 'higher end of mass market' cruise line by at least turning away casual dressers on formal night, then the passengers will just follow their lead and ignore the dress code.

[drrich2]

I suspect the term 'informal' may occasionally create some misunderstanding.

 

While it may be common knowledge for some, to me it would've meant 'non-formal.' I don't split hairs that finely. To me there is formal (which for me usually means there's been a death or I've graduated from something - and I think I'm done with formal graduations, so...), non-formal (shirt, pants, shoes), and then I suppose 'trashy casual' with cut-offs, swim suits, etc...

 

People who aren't used to this sort of thing could easily give a cursory glance, see 'informal' and think 'not formal' and show up dressed down.

 

Just a guess that might apply in a minority of cases.

 

But like others, I believe there's a cultural shift away from the formal & elegant toward the casual & comfortable in the U.S. I don't know to what extent that applies to other countries.

 

Richard.

[Luxuriate]

I love dressing up, and always have. I dressed up for years at my office job and every time I went out into public to grocery shop, etc.. (I mean I used to put make-up, nice clothes, do my hair). That has all changed. People just don't get dressed to go anywhere anymore! I have finally started to relax and go with the flow. People are more casual these days. I find myself just wearing a nice clean jogging suit to shop in and crisp black pants and a colorful top for just about everything else. I only wear make-up if I am actually scheduled to meet someone (not that often). I still dress up as much as possible for cruising but I know that it just isn't the "norm" for most people these days.

 

Cheryl

 

P.S. I'm only 37 years old!

[Sparkle144]

I know this issue has been debated to death, but I just wanted to impart my experience with the dress code on our two week Summit cruise. In my estimation, and that of my travelmates, the dress code was quite a bit ignored, and no enforcement. I saw women and men in shorts and sandals on both casual and informal nights. I saw men in Hawaiian shirts and women in capri pants and tshirts on formal nights. I would say that at least 40% of the men didn't wear jackets on informal nights. For some reason, the second formal night was slightly better than either the first or third, but still, at the tables near us, a good number of passengers ignored the dress code completely. And I found this part interesting. While friends were waiting outside the dining room on formal night, a couple stood next to them and were amazed that people were dressed up. My friend, Larry, said to them "don't you know it's formal night"? The woman said, "we didn't know that". Larry replied,"didn't you read your daily paper?" Reply, "yes, but we didn't see anything about the dress code". I wonder if people don't read---or whatever. But, no one was denied entrance, even in shorts and t-shirts.

 

I wondered if the makeup of the passengers had anything to do with this. The average age on the cruise was well above 65, and I would say that at least half, if not more, of the passengers were non-American. I think the answer to this whole dress code thing was partially answered when we were disembarking. While we had our porter carrying our two-big-bags-apiece to the taxi area, many of our fellow passengers seemed to have gotten by for the two weeks with two carry-on sized luggages. I know for a fact that unless you wear Barbie doll sized clothes, you really cannot pack for two weeks in two carry ons. Heck, just shoes alone can take up a huge amount of space, right ladies????LOL

 

And, finally, on this cruise I saw the largest number of passengers who didn't stay in the code of the evening, and went to all other venues on the ship, even on formal nights, wearing shorts and flip flops.

 

Did this ruin our cruise??? No. But regardless of how you feel about it, it does change the ambience in the dining room especially on formal nights. Unfortunately, those of us who love the "old" Celebrity will have to swallow our pride and fully admit that the casualites are winning the fight for every cruise line.

I could not agree with you more. I Think it is an absolute disgrace that people can be so blase and so inconsiderate of others and of protocol.

My wife and I were on the QM2 RTW in Jan. and on formal nights nearly everyone adhered to the correct dress. Other nights as well.

Exception: A family at an adjacent table brought their teen age boys to dinner in jeans and T-shirts without fail. and often the wife wore jeans also. The only exception was on stated formal nights when they did deign to put the boys in long sleeve shirts (no jackets) and ties.

Later in the evening, at the shows they were back to Tshirts. I think this is terrible role modeling for your children; to infer that the rules do not apply except to "others".

I wrote two letters of complaint to no avail.

My wife and I had spent a great deal of both time and money to be appropiately attired and deeply resent others who think the rules are for everyone but them.....

Everyone at our table for six agreed totally.

 

One young mother had her little boy of about four with her and had even gone to the trouble to purchase a child size tuxedo for him.

 

Dean M.

[Sparkle144]

My last Celebrity cruise was also on the Summit. We saw young men (20/30) on formal night in the DR with baseball caps on backward. Doesn't Celebrity enforce the dress code at all??? Very strange, but we sail on HAL and have never seen shorts, t-shirts, capris & baseball caps in the DR. Time for Celebrity to step up to the bat and enforce their dress code.

I hope you made your feelings very clear in your cruise summary reports.

Please see my earlier remarks re the QM2.

Dean

[barryod]

Dean, I too wrote Celebrity last March when my two sons (19 & 25)questioned me as to why the tux when others weren't wearing them. I explained to them, my sons, that when in Rome, do as the Romans. Nothing frustrates me and angers me more than people thinking that because they pay for the cruise, they are given the right to do what they want. Sadly, this behavior is displayed more by my fellow Americans and not only on cruise lines. Some misplaced sense of entitlement. Shame on Celebrity for not enforcing what they write and also for not answering letters from passengers who still enjoy dressing up for dinner. If I ever went to dinner in a tux, based on that evening being a formal dinner, and was given fried chicken......not acceptable. As long as I'm on this earth, and I like to think after I'm gone, my children will observe what the rules are and not assume they can simply change them or ruin another's dinner and/or cruise just to be contrary. I deal with this kind of behavior daily and until Celebrity takes formal nights off of the itierary, I will continue to champion them in whatever way I can.:)

 

Barry

[grandsix]

Sad to say, there is not one cruise line that enforces the recommended dress code. Part of the problem is the Maitre D' and their staff are often written up by the guests for being rude. Even sat at the Captain's table on another line last year were a man wore jeans and no jacket.

[caviargal]

We found the same to be true on our last two X cruises, Century and Mercury; it is very sad that there are simply no standards at all left in terms of appropriate attire.

 

So far HAL is the only line where I have personally not seen flagrant disregard of the dress code. I hope that does not change. Two men on my recent Oosterdam cruise were turned away on an informal night and sent back to put on sport coats. I was thrilled to see the dress code enforced.

[smtcan]

I will make every effort to dress appropriately for our up coming cruise. However, I was interested by the comment about passengers with a small amount of luggage. Many airlines, especially on international routes restrict the amount of luggage, more so in cheaper fare categories, so packing a number of gowns is not an option. Mix and match will be the order of the day (evening) for me. A black skirt with a selection of fancy tops and one pair of black evening sandals will be in my one suitcase, since I am definitely not Barbie Doll size.

 

Sheila

[Wilba]

We were on Galaxy Greek Med Cruise in August. The majority of men were in Tux's, I'm pleased to announce & saw men smartly dressed, but with no jacket turned away on formal nights. They had a member of staff in a white tunic on door duty who refused entry to the non conformists. I am a Brit & cruise every year both Europe & Caribbean & see a significant difference in dress codes when the same ships are on different sides of the pond. Is it because more people make the effort in Europe & the Cruise lines respond accordingly?

[bellasorella]

You are all correct -- and I have seen this same lack of conformance even more on Princess lately -- sorry to hear it has moved along (like Norovirus!) to Celebrity, which I always experienced as more formal.

 

Sadly, it is the combination of 1) people just not caring to adhere to the rules and 2) lack of enforcement when they don't. Just like childrearing -- when there are no consequences for "misbehavior" why change?

 

And yes, I have spoken to several Maitre D's on the subject and they all say they are reluctant to say anything because guests then complain or become hostile/abusive. "We are here to make your cruise enjoyable" they said -- "we don't want people to be unhappy." And yes, I did mention it on my comment/survery card at every opportunity.

 

We will continue to dress up, altho my DH now wears a "Miami Vice" collarless silk knit shirt with his dinner jacket (tux) rather than a bow tie. I still dress "to the nines" and don't even wear nice slacks on informal nights. Good thought there, BTW -- Celebrity needs to rename the evenings. Back to formal, semi-formal, and "smart casual."

[jt1120]

Be a jerk - COMPLAIN! I have and wil continue to do so. Rules are rules. I wear a suit and tie to work every day, yet I have no problem wearing a tux on formal night. It is one of he great glories of cruising and we will continue to dress accordingly.

[bububr]

X seems to be catering to the Non-adhearant.

 

I was really surprised to find that on the 3 night PNW cruises as we have done in the past, which were Casual, Formal, Casual....are now Casual INFORMAL, Casual.......

 

And I know I will get flamed for this, but with the many number of families now travelling with children, and the addition of cell phone service on ships......the lack of etiquette, courtesy, and respect has fallen across the board.

 

Personally, we have decided that if the Maitre'd does not do his job and enforce the codes as they are written, we will not only write a complaint letter against him to corporate, Speak to the restaurant and hotel manager personally to wage a complaint, but we will NOT tip him any longer. While it may sound harsh to some, if he is not doing his job, why should he be rewarded?

 

We enjoy the ambience, and what is left of any cruising tradition on X.

However if the standards continue to fall, we will start looking to land based vacations and spend our money elsewhere.

 

Dave:eek:

[greeneg]

One factor that I haven't seen anyone mention is the issue with airlines and luggage. Luggage allowances are getting smaller, which makes it harder to pack the Tuxedo and it's accourtrements as easily as before. With more people having to fly and being at the mercy of the airlines, it tends to make you pack as efficiently as possible; And, I would argue, taking a Tux may not be the most efficient way to pack.

 

Yes, I do take and wear mine, but as the bags get smaller and heavier, you tend to look around to see what you can do without.

 

This is not to make an excuse for not following a published dress-code; just to offer a thought as to why some people appear to be getting away from the more formal experience.

[Coco Creek]

Some ideas for discussions:

 

• Eliminate informal nights and have only formal and casual dining. This will help with the packing issue.
  
• On Formal nights, offer the full dining room menu in the casual dining grill and room service so that persons who do not want to conform to the formal dress code can enjoy the full meal in either a social or private setting.

[caviargal]

However if the standards continue to fall, we will start looking to land based vacations and spend our money elsewhere.

 

Dave:eek:

 

We are recently back from an AI resort in Cancun having grown disenchanted with cruising over the past few years for all of the reasons mentioned in your post. There was a dress code and it was uniformly enforced. They posted photos of a couple in acceptable attire at the entrance to each of the restaurants to avoid personal interpretation of the dress code. It worked just fine and we really appreciated what it did for the ambiance.

 

The resort was a class act all the way around and a welcome change from recent cruises in most all aspects. We booked for next year and I doubt will go back to cruising unless things improve on several fronts, which I really doubt.

 

I agree with noting dissatisfaction on your comment card and also by not tipping. I do the same but believe it is a small minority who cares anymore:(.

[Sky Sweet]

We found the same to be true on our last two X cruises, Century and Mercury; it is very sad that there are simply no standards at all left in terms of appropriate attire.

 

So far HAL is the only line where I have personally not seen flagrant disregard of the dress code. I hope that does not change. Two men on my recent Oosterdam cruise were turned away on an informal night and sent back to put on sport coats. I was thrilled to see the dress code enforced.

 

Hi Caviargal :)

 

I was also impressed with the way passengers adhered to the dress code on our recent HAL cruise. The children and babies on that cruise were also well dressed

 

HAL only has two dress codes, formal and "smart casual", but most people also dressed very nicely on "smart casual" nights, as well.

[bububr]

I have never had a problem with over weight or too much luggage be it a 5 day or a 12 day cruise. Cold Climate cruises or a warm one. I pack not only a full tuxedo with all the extras, but a dinner jacket, a navy blazer and dress slacks with assorted ties for Informal nights, black Bostonians, black Patent Leathers, and casual shoes.

 

The difference is we ( John and I ) have learned to pack smart and efficiant, also to utilize the ships laundry services once or twice during the cruise. We bring what we NEED not what we think we'll need, and we leave all the unnecessary crap ( coffee makers, etc....) at home. A good book, and an Ipod do the trick for us.

 

All being said, its a bit different for a lady to pack. I can understand the weight restrictions regarding something like a beaded gown, heck, I wouldn't want to carry one of those around on me especially if I had heels on.:D . However, having done many cruises with many different people...some of the clothing which is deemed casual, lets say a velour sweat suit....USUALLY weighs more than a nice little black dress that can be worn on more than one ocassion and accessorized differently. One or two pair of dress shoes that can be used with multiple outfits as compared to a pair for every occasion would cut down on a LOT of weight and add the space needed for other NECESSARY items.

 

Smart packing means taking fewer items which can be laundered and or worn multiple times. Taking less bulky and weighty casual items that you won't wear often during the cruise ( if you want to bring jeans, wear them on and off the ship, and pack the shorts ).

 

Its NOT rocket science.

 

BTW: for those who don't want to wear a suit or tux because of money issues...( which BTW I have noticed usually have expensive sneakers, cell phones and designer jeans.) If you skip starbucks for a month, you can afford a 99.00 tux at JC Penny which is 100% light weight wool and looks really great to boot.

 

IMHO there really IS NO EXCUSE for not being able to adhear to the dress code, and PLEASE regardless of if the staff enforces the code strictly...grow up and act like an adult.

 

Dave:eek: