Dress Code Etc

[Guest SarahMichael]

Casual/Smart/Formal Dress

We are on our first cruise on the Balmoral in April.

Not sure the general age group but we are in our 40's.

My husband who says "he looks good in anything!" - (& dresses like a rainbow!) is refusing to take a jacket! I may be able to sneak in a tie but he generally wears smart trousers & short sleeve shirts in the evening.

Can someone give me an idea of the dress code & type of evenings available please? What is a formal evening? etc etc

I am beginning to dread this after reading some threads! We are hoping to chill out, eat when we're hungry, see as much as possible, snorkel, scuba dive, take some excursions on speedboats, catamarans & such like & relax in our BA cabin. Will it happen??? or will it be a trip planned with military precision, where we are told what to wear & are woken up by the captains tannoy every morning???.

 

Help!:eek:

[anstruther]

The A to Z booklet that you should receive with your confirmation explains the dress code for the different types of nights,if you have not received one you can download it on the Fred Olsen website.

[merecat]

If your husband is insistent that he is not going to wear a jacket ,he will not be allowed in the restaurant on formal night. However don,t worry about this because you can eat in the other buffet restaurant.

My husband won,t wear a DJ but will wear a dark blazer .Your husband can also wear a ordinary suit if he want or a sports jacket ,its mainly about wearing a jacket.:)

[Guest SarahMichael]

So what is formal night compared to other nights? Dinner with captain etc??

[merecat]

Is what it says ,you dress to impress ,meet the Captain ,formal photos taken ,wear clothes you would wear if going to a formal dinner.:)

[Averill42]

Casual/Smart/Formal Dress

We are on our first cruise on the Balmoral in April.

Not sure the general age group but we are in our 40's.

My husband who says "he looks good in anything!" - (& dresses like a rainbow!) is refusing to take a jacket! I may be able to sneak in a tie but he generally wears smart trousers & short sleeve shirts in the evening.

Can someone give me an idea of the dress code & type of evenings available please? What is a formal evening? etc etc

I am beginning to dread this after reading some threads! We are hoping to chill out, eat when we're hungry, see as much as possible, snorkel, scuba dive, take some excursions on speedboats, catamarans & such like & relax in our BA cabin. Will it happen??? or will it be a trip planned with military precision, where we are told what to wear & are woken up by the captains tannoy every morning???.

 

Help!:eek:

 

Hi Sarah,

We are on the Balmoral on the 14th april- 1st may, I am also in my forties, cruised now about 6 times & love it. Formal evenings are fun & you are made to feel special. Age groups on board vary last cruise i made, i think myself & hubby was the youngest on board but it was still great i always find its like a large family & everyone smiles with a hello & all so very friendly.

Let me know if you are on same cruise & maybe we can meet up.

Regards

Jacqui :)

[Guest SarahMichael]

Hi Jacqui,

 

We are flying to Miami this Thursday 3rd April to join the ship until 14th April so will just miss you.

I think I am looking forward to it !! :o Never cruised before, hubby and I are real independent travellers & I normally book travel, flights, accomodation myself so this is a real change using a travel agent ( They haven't been very good at all!)

We have decided to avoid the formal evenings as it's not really our cup of tea, What I am looking forward to is visiting 8 countries in 12 days. We will travel ashore in all & sightsee. We have booked some excursions in advance. Hope you have a good cruise!:cool:

 

Hi Sarah,

We are on the Balmoral on the 14th april- 1st may, I am also in my forties, cruised now about 6 times & love it. Formal evenings are fun & you are made to feel special. Age groups on board vary last cruise i made, i think myself & hubby was the youngest on board but it was still great i always find its like a large family & everyone smiles with a hello & all so very friendly.

Let me know if you are on same cruise & maybe we can meet up.

Regards

Jacqui :)

[Averill42]

Hi Jacqui,

 

We are flying to Miami this Thursday 3rd April to join the ship until 14th April so will just miss you.

I think I am looking forward to it !! :o Never cruised before, hubby and I are real independent travellers & I normally book travel, flights, accomodation myself so this is a real change using a travel agent ( They haven't been very good at all!)

We have decided to avoid the formal evenings as it's not really our cup of tea, What I am looking forward to is visiting 8 countries in 12 days. We will travel ashore in all & sightsee. We have booked some excursions in advance. Hope you have a good cruise!:cool:

 

Hi Sarah,

well i am sure you will enjoy your cruise, we love it dont like staying in hotels anymore, sure its due to many countries you visit & the fact you are thouroughly spoilt on board, apart from cruising we tend to fly over & spend a month every so often in Tobago with hubby's family :) Anyway have a great time & enjoy. We will pass you no doubt in miami airport.

Happy sailing

Jacqui x :D

[seapenarth]

Casual/Smart/Formal Dress

We are on our first cruise on the Balmoral in April.

Not sure the general age group but we are in our 40's.

My husband who says "he looks good in anything!" - (& dresses like a rainbow!) is refusing to take a jacket! I may be able to sneak in a tie but he generally wears smart trousers & short sleeve shirts in the evening.

Can someone give me an idea of the dress code & type of evenings available please? What is a formal evening? etc etc

I am beginning to dread this after reading some threads! We are hoping to chill out, eat when we're hungry, see as much as possible, snorkel, scuba dive, take some excursions on speedboats, catamarans & such like & relax in our BA cabin. Will it happen??? or will it be a trip planned with military precision, where we are told what to wear & are woken up by the captains tannoy every morning???.

 

No military precision, no wake up calls but you are asked to respect the varying dress requirements on board which are well explained before sailing. a formal evening is one where you dress in formal style, not shorts or jeans. Show respect for your fellow passengers.:cool:

[Guest SarahMichael]

.....

[Guest SarahMichael]

How cheeky was that? "Show respect for your fellow passengers!"

After being on the cruise I think it's typical of some of the passengers attitude.

Ignoring that & moving on........ our first cruise on the Balmoral was Fantastic..... everything was excellent, the entertainment, the food, the customer service, the communication, the excursions, the itinerary, the company (well some).

There were many people there who were "long term cruisers" & who were constantly comparing the Balmoral with the Black Watch, the Boudicca etc etc & complaining about trivial matters. I was astounded.

We had a BA superior balcony cabin & it was excellent. The view every morning at a different port was superb. The cabin stewardess was extremely efficient. Every time we left the cabin, she went in, tidied the bed or replaced the coffee tea etc.

The staff on the Balmoral were excellent. As for dress code - most evenings on our cruise were casual with 2 formal & 2 theme. But you can wear what you like - within reason (no shorts or flip flops in the restaurants in the evening). Your dress will just dictate where you eat. The Palms cafe was good for the casual meal.

They do say that your best customers are your regular customers but I think it's time Fred Olsen marketed to the new cruisers (there were several on our cruise)... the average age was approx. 55. So younger than I expected. Some excursions offered are aimed at the younger element, snorkelling etc. The itinerary including extremes..... eg: Key West v Guatemala. Both great places to visit for different reasons.

All in all an excellent holiday..... I have travelled extensively, mainly independently, in the past. If you want to see the world, guarantee excellent accomodation, food, cleanliness & hygiene. then the cruise is the way to do it.

[Guest Anorak33]

Show respect for your fellow passengers - don't you agree?

If you threw a nice formal dinner party, put that on the invitations, and one couple turned up in shorts and flipflops and a tanktop would you invite them again?

But then your husband didn't even want to take a jacket so maybe you wouldn't care - or know how to throw a dinner party anyway?

Really you don't have the right attitude to make a repeat typical FO passenger. Maybe you will in 10 years or so when the other cruise ships are over-run with drunken tattooed morons and their out of control ASBO kids.

And Fred Olsen still has standards which currently are above yours (and a little above mine actually)

Anyway I always say do what you want as long as you don't upset anyone else while you are doing it.

I have been on an NCL ship on an optional formal night and have sat at a table in the main dining room in an Hawaiian shirt and another couple were in the full monkey suits. We both commented we felt under/over dressed, and actually, because its NCL and not compulsory formal, no-one cared one way or the other. Wouldn't be good on Fred Olsen though in that situation.

I must admit I was there at the last minute as I realised it was lobster night and that was not available in the buffet where I had intended to eat,otherwise I would have dressed a little more formal, not in a tux though as I didn't take one, nor do you ever need to on NCL.

Anyway if you are not happy to conform on Fred Olsen maybe you shouldn't be one of the repeat passengers you denigrate.

[songanddance]

How cheeky was that? "Show respect for your fellow passengers!"

After being on the cruise I think it's typical of some of the passengers attitude.

Ignoring that & moving on........ our first cruise on the Balmoral was Fantastic..... everything was excellent, the entertainment, the food, the customer service, the communication, the excursions, the itinerary, the company (well some).

There were many people there who were "long term cruisers" & who were constantly comparing the Balmoral with the Black Watch, the Boudicca etc etc & complaining about trivial matters. I was astounded.

We had a BA superior balcony cabin & it was excellent. The view every morning at a different port was superb. The cabin stewardess was extremely efficient. Every time we left the cabin, she went in, tidied the bed or replaced the coffee tea etc.

The staff on the Balmoral were excellent. As for dress code - most evenings on our cruise were casual with 2 formal & 2 theme. But you can wear what you like - within reason (no shorts or flip flops in the restaurants in the evening). Your dress will just dictate where you eat. The Palms cafe was good for the casual meal.

They do say that your best customers are your regular customers but I think it's time Fred Olsen marketed to the new cruisers (there were several on our cruise)... the average age was approx. 55. So younger than I expected. Some excursions offered are aimed at the younger element, snorkelling etc. The itinerary including extremes..... eg: Key West v Guatemala. Both great places to visit for different reasons.

All in all an excellent holiday..... I have travelled extensively, mainly independently, in the past. If you want to see the world, guarantee excellent accomodation, food, cleanliness & hygiene. then the cruise is the way to do it.

 

Sounds like anotehr Rick Steve traveler. Entire wardrobe in a duffle bag. Now that the QE2 has been sold, I am looking for another ship or line that has single cabins and I understand Olsen is adding a bunch to the stretched former NCL Crown. However as I am well into my sixties and looking for a formal atmosphere, I fear that marketing the line to the younger down market set will not do for me.

 

Any comments other than the flames from the underdressed will be appreciated.

[Guest Anorak33]

Don't worry, although Fred Olsen is not as formal as QE2 I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

There will NOT be big changes coming, its not Fred's plan.

[merecat]

You seem to have cruised a lot on FO Anorak33 and know a lot about what FO is doing ,are you privvy to inside knowledge or one of the Olsen glan.

[Guest Anorak33]

I have spent some months at sea on various FO ships, and yes I do know Fred.

 

I do think Fred gets it right without going over the top formal.

 

On Balmoral last cruise the MaitreD' was only only enforcing dress code on formal nights, and there were only 2 in 11 days.

 

Other nights, whether listed in the daily program as casual smart casual or whatever you did not have to wear a jacket or necktie if you didn't want to - this may be because it was int he Caribbean, I think it wasn't a general slackening of standards.

 

This was the first time I have cruised on FO when the crew did not ever address me by name. While I don't care about this and it made no difference to the excellent service they have always done so in the past.

As the motto on FO is something like "its all about the people" this seems a strange way to go.

 

Anyone noticed this or got a comment?

[merecat]

Fred Senior or Fred Junior ,who now runs things.

[Pompeyboy]

I have read with interest all the threads and agree that where there are formal nights you should make an effort. My cruise In June is only my second but I picked FO because there is still the tradition of dressing for dinner on certain nights, which is why I would not choose to cruise on Ocean Village.

[borntocrz]

Hello all!!