What are your thoughts on the new Celebrity dress code

[Tatianablue]

I just returned from Alaska aboard the Westerdam. I have seen a dramatic change in formal wear and people's own idea of what they can get by as formal wear in the past 3 years. It used to be on formal night, all men wore suits and ties, the ladies wore gowns. It was a stunning sight to see everyone look so nice. Not to take away from those who looked so nice and were standing in line for photos. I even saw a very handsome man wearing a tux, he was goooood looooking!!!!!!

 

I also wear jeans/capris/ on a daily basis, when I go cruising, I choose to pack my nicest clothes, on formal night, I am going to be dressed up. I found on my last cruise to the carribean, that people were looking at me as if I was the one who didn't understand the word "formal" when I went to dinner dressed up and all sparkly on formal night.

 

I consider this to be part of the 'dumbing down of America', don't give in, if you like to dress up, then do so and have a great time!

[TexasHorseLady]

I just got back from my first Celebrity cruise. I didn't see any difference in how people dressed on Celebrity than any other cruise I have ever been on.

 

I saw some extremely nicely dressed people, as well as some less formal outfits. On formal night most women wore black or sparkly dresses, most men wore dark suits. A few tuxedos. On every other night there was a wide variety of 'dressiness'. I saw a few guys in jeans in the dining room...but never on formal night. They wore the jeans mostly paired with clean dress shirts or a blazer and they did not stand out as underdressed or sloppy at all. Probably because everybody was sitting down at dinner and all you saw was the top half of the guys anyway!

[Cuizer2]

I wanted to post this question over here because of the variety of cruisers that visit the fashion board and the broad range of lines that the cruisers here enjoy.

 

Celebrity has announced that they are eliminating informal night, which I can live with, but what shocked me was that they are going to permit jeans on casual night.

 

Ya'll know I'm not a snob, I buy half my stuff, kids stuff, and nearly all of DH's stuff at Walmart, but I love dressing up a bit more on a cruise. It takes me away from rural Arizona, and make me feel more elegant.

 

I realize that I am still free to dress up a bit more if I choose, but I am disappointed that jeans will now officially be allowed for dinner in the main dining room. When they weren't allowed, you'd still seem them here and there, but not dominating the dining room.

 

Am I crazy to think that some elegance will be lost in in allowance of jeans in the main dining room?

 

Some people go on vacation to relax and get away from the dress codes at work. Some people go on a cruise for other reasons. Its called diversity. There are plenty of restaurants on land that have formal dress codes. I for one don't want to have to put up with a formal dress codes when the reason I went on the cruise in the first place was to get away from that sort of daily "you have to do it this way" rules. I look forward to a more relaxed and less formal cruise. I could care less what anyone else is wearing, as long as it is clean and covers the areas that should be covered.

[Cruizer2008]

I like the freedom to be able to choose what ever we want to wear. Sometimes I like to just relax in a pair of jean, instead of wearing slacks like I have to do every day during the work week.

 

I don't have an issue with this policy change at all.

[Cuizer2]

I copied and pasted this from the Celebrity website:

 

Smart Casual and Above

Ladies: Skirt or pants complemented by sweater or blouse.

 

Gentlemen: Pants or jeans (no holes, rips or tears) with sports shirt or sweater. Shirts must have sleeves.

 

So, women still can not wear jeans at all in the dining room.

That is interesting, because women spell their name Jean, while men spell their name Gene, so one would think that women should be able to wear jeans while the men wear genes.

 

Are there any rules about genes in the dining room? Last cruise I was on everyone brought their genes every night, no matter what the dress code for the evening was.

[Cuizer2]

That doesn't make it appropriate.

 

Sadly it is a matter of giving in to the lowest common denominator. The staff was tired of being abused for trying to enforce to requested attire.

 

Again, I LOVE JEANS and wear them to dine in many places, but not on a cruise ship or anywhere else that has made it known that they are not appropriate. :p

Who decides what is and what is not appropriate? You? The cruise line? Or society in general?

[NorthernLite]

 

Just got off the Constellation on November 10. The daily's all said the following:

 

'Guests are asked to refrain from wearing t-shirts, swimwear, robes, bare feet, tank tops or baseball caps at any time in the main or specialty restaurants. And during evening hours, no shorts or flip-flops will be allowed in the main or specialty restaurants.

 

I wish they'd get the following straight also. It was an 11 night cruise and we suddenly had 3 formal nights.

Celebrity's new dress code will take effect on all sailings beginning on or after August 1, 2008. There will be one formal night on itineraries up to six nights, two on seven- to 11-night cruises, and three on 12-night or longer itineraries."

 

Pants were repeatedly referred to as clean, no holes or rips for both men and women for smart casual and above. The first night many wore jeans as it was COLD and rain was a possibility for sail away. I didn't see any grungy jeans and men tended to dress them up as much as women with shirts/blouses and sweaters or sport coats.

 

While I saw more suits than tuxs passed on past cruises; I saw more cocktail dresses and gowns than dressy pant suits also. Lots of really nice cocktail dresses..

[Cuizer2]

[TexasHorseLady]

Who decides what is and what is not appropriate? You? The cruise line? Or society in general?

 

The cruise line gets to decide what's appropriate. It's their business, they own it. Just as any restaurant on land can say what their dress code is. They can say no yellow sweaters if they want to. It's THEIR call.

 

Of course, we as individuals and as a society can say "I don't want to obey those rules" in which case you take the chance on annoying the cruiseline and many other people for the sake of your moment of freedom. Is it worth it? Maybe...but personally I think that's sort of a selfish attitude.

 

Having said that, I did wear jeans a BUNCH on last week's Med cruise, because it really was wet and cold. A bunch of other people were wearing jeans, too. But never to dinner. At casual dinner I wore black slacks and pretty blouses most of the time, and for formal dinner I dressed up in a fancy gown because those are the rules. :)

[Palmetto Lady]

Please explain - What are Mom Jeans?????

[Drew's Wife]

a Polyester Alfred Dunner pantsuit with crocs that many think fit the current dress codes. Just my opinion!:)

 

I was thinking of going to bed early, and then after reading this, knew it would give me nightmares! This image is now burned into my brain forever! :D

[simplelife]

It isn't so much the jeans but what is worn with the jeans. A nice pair of jeans, not faded and grungy, with a very nice top or jacket, very nice sandals and pretty accessories can be quite attractive. (I'm talking about women, of course.)

 

Even a man has ways to "dress up" his jeans. He needn't look as if he just plowed the back forty.

 

When the guests are seated, what you see is what they are wearing on top. They can still look quite good. Being able to wear jeans doesn't necessarily invite the wearer to don stained, faded, worn out T-shirts with pithy slogans or sports teams logos.

 

One can still maintain decorum while wearing jeans. It is a question of general grooming.

 

If someone's going to dress up in every way (Top, shoes, jewelry) except for the jeans, I can't see the appeal of being able to wear them. It takes the same amount of time and effort as if one had put on dressier slacks or a skirt with the rest of the outfit. Plus jeans are almost always heavier and bulkier to pack.

[Parrot Mom]

Having just completed a two week trans-atlantic with the NEW dress code..it seems it's almost every man/woman for themselves..lol.. Formal night found men either wearing a tux, sport jacket or suit which made Parrot Pop happy as he has had it after 20 years of wearing a tux (he brought two sport jackets). As for myself..formal nights I literally had three outfits that squashed together which I added jewelry and a dressy bag..Other nights..it was slacks with either a dressier top/blouse and I had two full skirts I wore on other nights.. Never did I wear capri/bermuda except for breakfast or lunch.. Bringing formal clothes presents now a problem with luggage weight and although I overpack..I never felt I was dressed inappropriately

[Megamania]

Jeans in my opinion are very nice, as previous posters have said,,,it all goes with what you wear with them. My entire opinion of cruising is getting way too complicated. Has anyone forgotten that we are on holidays,,,relax time,,,some people have to dress up every day for work,,,,so getting away on a relaxing cruise,,,soaking up the sun,,,having a few cocktails,,,,what's up with relaxing the dress code a bit. Not all of us "want" to get all fussed up all the time. Rules, rules, rules,,,sorta is taking the "fun' out of cruising.

I sure hope that we are not looked 'down' upon just because we decide to "relax" the dress option. Some will say,,,"then why choose a cruise"? Well,,some people like that option without all the fuss!! After all this is 2008!! Even most of the churches (years ago tradition stated you had to wear a white hat and gloves!) have very much relaxed their dress codes. We see nicely outfitted men, women and children in our church every Sunday. The times have changed people....be neat, clean, tidy and respectable,,,what more does a cruise line expect.

 

That's just my opinion,,,,I will see how our first Celebrity cruise goes,,,may make or break it for the entire cruising experience. Should be interesting to actually see how the majority are dressed as opposed to just reading posts on this forum from a selected few.

 

I look forward to "cruising for the first time". So glad I only am doing a 4 nighter to get a taste of it. I will either really like it or run for the hills.!!

 

:rolleyes:

[Palmetto Lady]

For some of us, getting dressed up IS part of the fun!

[ColumbiaSC]

Yes, indeed, dressing properly for the occasion and following the codes is a part of the fun and the reason for travelling on certain cruises or cruise lines, such as Cunard and Regent. Choose your pew.

[Parrot Mom]

We do two week trans-atlantics and with the weight limitations.. its difficult bringing extra clothes..but I do like dressing up. Until Celebrity gets with the program which I doubt they will.. they need to add washing machines to their ships

[TexasHorseLady]

We do two week trans-atlantics and with the weight limitations.. its difficult bringing extra clothes..but I do like dressing up. Until Celebrity gets with the program which I doubt they will.. they need to add washing machines to their ships

 

I don't get it. I have never done laundry while on a cruise! Why would you want to do laundry on vacation? Why not just bring enough clothes to get by without needing to wash anything?

 

We cruise all the time, and we travel almost exclusively overseas. All our cruises are at least ten days, and usually two weeks long.

 

We bring four suitcases... we check one with mainly shoes, makeup, handbags, accessories and hair stuff (blowdryer, curling iron, products, etc) which means there is always some room in that partially full bag for souveniers on the return flight. We also check a garment bag with all our formal clothes. We always dress up and I always bring several formal options. The other two bags are our remaining clothes.

 

It's not hard to handle four bags, we just use a cart. There are carts everywhere. And it's not expensive either, as long as you distibute the weight so none is too heavy...no extra fees. You are allowed 2 bags each, so no big deal bringing four.

 

I've been on ships that had laundry rooms, but I have never visited on. And I am pretty sure I never will! :D

[Parrot Mom]

I don't get it. I have never done laundry while on a cruise! Why would you want to do laundry on vacation? Why not just bring enough clothes to get by without needing to wash anything?

 

We cruise all the time, and we travel almost exclusively overseas. All our cruises are at least ten days, and usually two weeks long.

 

We bring four suitcases... we check one with mainly shoes, makeup, handbags, accessories and hair stuff (blowdryer, curling iron, products, etc) which means there is always some room in that partially full bag for souveniers on the return flight. We also check a garment bag with all our formal clothes. We always dress up and I always bring several formal options. The other two bags are our remaining clothes.

 

It's not hard to handle four bags, we just use a cart. There are carts everywhere. And it's not expensive either, as long as you distibute the weight so none is too heavy...no extra fees. You are allowed 2 bags each, so no big deal bringing four.

 

I've been on ships that had laundry rooms, but I have never visited on. And I am pretty sure I never will! :D

 

 

Why would I need to do laundry..I hate wearing underwear twice..and don't feel comfortable sending my undergarments..Not to mention we are senior citizens and Parrot Pop has problems and walks with a cane or is taken through the airports in wheel chairs.. With cruising in a hot climate I certainly don't feel comfortable wearing some items twice..but that is my hang up.. I do mix and match for dressy evenings and didn't feel underdressed, I just don't underpack.. you just never know what you want to wear..lol Four pieces of luggage and carry ons...porters are reasonable. Not to mention after twenty years of wearing tuxes.. my husband is tired of it..lol

[TexasHorseLady]

.. Not all of us "want" to get all fussed up all the time. Rules, rules, rules,,,sorta is taking the "fun' out of cruising.

I sure hope that we are not looked 'down' upon just because we decide to "relax" the dress option... :rolleyes:

 

 

Mega, a lot of people want to try to recreate that old glamorous feeling of cruising days gone by, like you might have seen in old black and white movies with Humphrey Bogart or Audrey Hepburn. Or in scenes from the movie Titanic...where everybody is strolling about looking dapper and ohhhh soooo well dressed. It's fun to pretend that life is like that again, like everybody onboard is thrown back into another world and time, where all well-heeled men wore tuxedos and all ladies wore gowns to dinner.

If the truth be told, it's all a grown-up costume party...but some people take it VERY seriously, and for them it's a huge part of the joy of cruising. But it sort of detracts from that elegant feeling when one guy is wearing a tuxedo and the guy next to him is wearing jeans. I agree that jeans can be really nice looking with a blazer or attractive sweater...but you have to admit they are never going to fit into that "dream scene" that people are trying to re-create in their minds.

Personally, I could deal with a guy in nice jeans and a blazer at dinner. The conversation, the ship, the cuisine, and the fun is more important to me than what anybody's wearning. But since I do like dressing up I always do go all out. For formal nights I wear a very elegant gown, high heels, pearls, etc...so I can promenade my little heart out with the rest of the elegant crowd! :D It's fun!

Now if this is not your thing, you might want to consider a cruiseline that encourages less formal attire. They're out there if you look around.

[TexasHorseLady]

Why would I need to do laundry..I hate wearing underwear twice..and don't feel comfortable sending my undergarments..

 

How heavy are your undergarments?? :eek:

(sorry, couldn't resist!)

But seriously, I could bring two week's worth of you know what's for top and as many you know what's for bottom AND ALSO two week's worth of socks and I don't still think all that combined would weigh two pounds or take up much room. I usually stuff it all in that extra webbed zippered area in my suitcase and pull it out as I need it. Used things get stuffed in a giant ziplock back to take home and wash.

I almost never wear anything twice...and certainly not undergarments. :p I just bring plenty. Which is infinitely better than doing laundry while on vacation, in my opinion.

But to each his own!

[Parrot Mom]

Mega, a lot of people want to try to recreate that old glamorous feeling of cruising days gone by, like you might have seen in old black and white movies with Humphrey Bogart or Audrey Hepburn. Or in scenes from the movie Titanic...where everybody is strolling about looking dapper and ohhhh soooo well dressed. It's fun to pretend that life is like that again, like everybody onboard is thrown back into another world and time, where all well-heeled men wore tuxedos and all ladies wore gowns to dinner.

If the truth be told, it's all a grown-up costume party...but some people take it VERY seriously, and for them it's a huge part of the joy of cruising. But it sort of detracts from that elegant feeling when one guy is wearing a tuxedo and the guy next to him is wearing jeans. I agree that jeans can be really nice looking with a blazer or attractive sweater...but you have to admit they are never going to fit into that "dream scene" that people are trying to re-create in their minds.

Personally, I could deal with a guy in nice jeans and a blazer at dinner. The conversation, the ship, the cuisine, and the fun is more important to me than what anybody's wearning. But since I do like dressing up I always do go all out. For formal nights I wear a very elegant gown, high heels, pearls, etc...so I can promenade my little heart out with the rest of the elegant crowd! :D It's fun!

Now if this is not your thing, you might want to consider a cruiseline that encourages less formal attire. They're out there if you look around.

 

 

For your information I take pride in the way I dress for formal, informal and casual evenings Not that it matters but I do not wear faux jewelry, I take pieces that compliment my outfits that I've had over the years.. If y our not happy with other people dressed in anything but a tux and ball gown perhaps you should go to a more formal cruise line like the Cunard. I'm not out to impress you or anybody else with my clothing on formal night or any other night for that matter..When will people learn.. it's not what is on the outside that matters but who you are and how you treat people. Lets face it.. cruising ain't what it used to be..it sadly is for the masses with ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls and whatever..it is being sold to the masses.. and there are cabins to fill on these mega ships.. and they are re-thinking dress codes..I find your statement,..*Now if this is not your thing, you might want to consider a cruiseline that encourages less formal attire. " vThey're out there if you look around. * personally very insulting

[Mermen]

Why would I need to do laundry..I hate wearing underwear twice..and don't feel comfortable sending my undergarments..

 

How heavy are your undergarments?? :eek:

 

(sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

But seriously, I could bring two week's worth of you know what's for top and as many you know what's for bottom AND ALSO two week's worth of socks and I don't still think all that combined would weigh two pounds or take up much room. I usually stuff it all in that extra webbed zippered area in my suitcase and pull it out as I need it. Used things get stuffed in a giant ziplock back to take home and wash.

 

I almost never wear anything twice...and certainly not undergarments. :p I just bring plenty. Which is infinitely better than doing laundry while on vacation, in my opinion.

 

But to each his own!

 

Wow, Horselady-I don't get it? Why do you have to have the last word in, and make sure you prove your point? Do you enjoy intimidating or picking on people? I have to say, your tone is really out of line and in my opinion, unfair. You've made your point, why not find another cruisecritic to harass? Or better yet-don't. Change the subject- Jeez...

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but your hostility, argumentative approach and tone jumps out as "in your face". Give it a rest-

 

I'm a younger generation, and certainly wouldn't mind a washer / dryer to at least wash out my swim suits. Having used the Celebrity dry cleaning and laundry, I can attest to doing a better job at laundry myself. I don't think ParrotMom said in her post that she was planning on camping out in the laundry mat, so why are you making insults?

[kidznp]

I find your statement,..*Now if this is not your thing, you might want to consider a cruiseline that encourages less formal attire. " vThey're out there if you look around. * personally very insulting

 

I don't think this is insulting at all, it is actually common sense. If I felt strongly that I needed to be able to wear jeans or shorts at all times while on a cruise I would certainly look around until I found one where doing that was appropriate and accepted or scrap the idea of a cruise altogether.

 

On the cruises I have taken, I dress up EVERY night and to me that is part of what makes it special. I am not out to impress anyone (except my DH ;)) or represent myself as something I am not. If I did not want to do that, I would choose a different vacation or stay home.

 

There are plenty of options for those who want a very casual environment but IMHO Celebrity is not one of these options.

[TexasHorseLady]

For your information I take pride in the way I dress for formal, informal and casual evenings Not that it matters but I do not wear faux jewelry, I take pieces that compliment my outfits that I've had over the years.. If y our not happy with other people dressed in anything but a tux and ball gown perhaps you should go to a more formal cruise line like the Cunard. I'm not out to impress you or anybody else with my clothing on formal night or any other night for that matter..When will people learn.. it's not what is on the outside that matters but who you are and how you treat people. Lets face it.. cruising ain't what it used to be..it sadly is for the masses with ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls and whatever..it is being sold to the masses.. and there are cabins to fill on these mega ships.. and they are re-thinking dress codes..I find your statement,..*Now if this is not your thing, you might want to consider a cruiseline that encourages less formal attire. " vThey're out there if you look around. * personally very insulting

 

HEY! Who said anything about how you dress, whether you take pride in this or that, or who you're trying to impress (or not impress)? I sure didn't.

I was just responding to the comment by Mega...not even by you....who said they didn't see anything wrong with jeans. Now if you'll read my response carefully you will see that I said it's a lot of other things on a cruise (conversation...cuisine...remember where I said that?) which are important to me, certainly not what anybody's wearing. I even said I think jeans can look nice and I wouldn't mind jeans at dinner. Sheesh. And you tell me I should go to a fancier cruiseline like Cunard? Please read what I said again. I was simply explaining why some people (not me for goodness sakes...read what I said) are so anti-jeans.