Kids on formal nights

[odden]

Hi all

 

Is it normal for Kids to attend formal nights (we have 9 yo girl) and what do they normally wear?

[sultan_sfo]

Definitely attend. I will let someone else answer the dress question -- my general view is what you and she can be proud to be seen in! Lots of photos are taken.

 

Hi all

 

Is it normal for Kids to attend formal nights (we have 9 yo girl) and what do they normally wear?

[CanadacruiseRN]

I have seen kids at formal night on every cruise I've been on. They are welcome at the shows and in the dining room. The dress code seems to be pretty dresses for girls and collared shirt and dress pants for boys...some even wear a tie and jacket. We travelled with a group of people on a 30 day cruise whose children had a blast with the various kids clubs on board. They sometimes ate together in the dining room...I am not sure if this happened on formal night. The kids seemed to enjoy dressing up and attending the ball!:D Even though there really is no actual "Ball"!

 

Laurel

[odden]

Definitely attend. I will let someone else answer the dress question -- my general view is what you and she can be proud to be seen in! Lots of photos are taken.

 

Cheers for that - she loves to dress up and with her big sister she looks like a mini me (10 years between them)

 

Looks like am buying sequins and things

[Putterdude]

Little girls are easy to dress up in a pretty dress....its the boys you have trouble with they tend to resist shirts and ties.:)

[highrollers]

My 11 yr old son HATES to get dressed up. If he has to put on anything beside blue jeans, he doesn't like it. When we took him on his first cruise to surprise him for his birthday we were waiting for the "Why to I have to dress fancy!" But, it never came. He wore a suit and tie on formal night and looked in the mirror and said "Man do I look cool!" So, sometimes they have fun with it. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

The kids' program does have some private dinners in the Horizon Court. I just don't remember if they are always on formal night. I know it's not on every formal night, at least.

[readytogo2]

Hi all

 

Is it normal for Kids to attend formal nights (we have 9 yo girl) and what do they normally wear?

It's not normal for kids to go on a cruise...leave them home! :DLOL

 

Only kidding..when we took our kids, they dressed up, no complaints about tie and jacket or fancy dress, they enjoyed it a lot and it's a good thing... I was lucky if my parents took us to a cabin in the country when I was their age.

[serene56]

Formal nights is THEE night to get formal family pics done. Dont settle with only getting one pic taken-- go to all the various backgrounds--let them pose you up then on the last night go and pick out one you really like. Cant beat the price--no pushy sales people...and no sitting fee.

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

Most cruises children are dressed to the nines and people like me are going arrrrrhh look.

Your little one will love the atmosphere of the night and the attention

[paul929207]

Definitely bring your daughter to formal night and have her wear her favorite dress.

[sherryf]

My 11 yr old son HATES to get dressed up. If he has to put on anything beside blue jeans, he doesn't like it. When we took him on his first cruise to surprise him for his birthday we were waiting for the "Why to I have to dress fancy!" But, it never came. He wore a suit and tie on formal night and looked in the mirror and said "Man do I look cool!" So, sometimes they have fun with it. :)

 

My sons were 5 & 8 when we cruised to Alaska back in 2001. I found them some really cute ties - zipper ties, which they thought were so fun, with prints like spiders on them. Very subtle unless you looked closely. Anyway, they thought it was cool to get dressed up too.

 

Now my oldest is nearly 16 and wears shorts, t-shirts and sneakers ALL the time, year round. But, he also loves to wear his (rented) tuxedo for concert band performances.

 

I'm getting married in July and it will be a casual wedding, so I don't plan to make them wear tuxedos, but I'm hoping to get them into dress shirts and maybe ties. I don't think they will complain too much. The hard part will be getting them to cut or pull back their long hair! (The boys are the two on the left!)

[juggles]

yeah, the kids were dressed in their party gear, they looked beautiful. Some little boys had suits on and most little girls had frilly dresses etc

[kelto]

We are just back from the Ruby last week...we had my 3 children and 9 nieces and nephews (and their parents) their ages 8mo to 17yo and all of them LOVED formal night. My inlaws descided to skip formal night and go eat in their rooms and my son who is 11yo who never likes to dress up said that formal night was his favorite night for dinner !! He didnt wear a suitcoat but he was in slacks and a tie and he said that he couldnt understand why papa and gram missed out on such a great night !! All the kids looked beautiful and it was a wonderful family night that we usually dont get a chance to have all together !!

[gambit57]

My parents bought me a suit. I've seen boys in just a shirt and tie and even in just a polo shirt. No one seems to care about the dress code of kids (in a strict way) like they do with adults. Most people just seem content that the kids aren't running amuck.

[juggles]

We are just back from the Ruby last week...we had my 3 children and 9 nieces and nephews (and their parents) their ages 8mo to 17yo and all of them LOVED formal night. My inlaws descided to skip formal night and go eat in their rooms and my son who is 11yo who never likes to dress up said that formal night was his favorite night for dinner !! He didnt wear a suitcoat but he was in slacks and a tie and he said that he couldnt understand why papa and gram missed out on such a great night !! All the kids looked beautiful and it was a wonderful family night that we usually dont get a chance to have all together !!

 

 

The 8mth old wasn't in a gorgeous pink frilly dress and head band, was she? If so I was admiring her

[kelto]

The 8mth old wasn't in a gorgeous pink frilly dress and head band, was she? If so I was admiring her

 

 

No pink dress...she wore 3 different dresses but they were all black and white. We stopped at alot of different backgrounds getting different family shots and everywhere people were stopping because she was smiling in all or them !! We had a GREAT time and got some good shots..to many to choose from.

[chipmaster]

Hi all

 

Is it normal for Kids to attend formal nights (we have 9 yo girl) and what do they normally wear?

 

 

Whether you choose to have your children join you is up to you on this night. No different then taking them or not out to a nice sit down dinner for example. I don't find the service or menu to be much different then the other nights ( you do get lobster on most cruises ). As OP have mentioned you see many kids, not measurably different then other nights.

 

Our kids have been going to formal night and all the sit down dinners on since they were, well babies.

 

They've worn things as varied as nice shorts / nice knit shirt ( Disney ), to nice dress or slacks+dress shirt + tie + jacket as they got older. Kids can get away with much more casual dressing but it is fun to dress up to enjoy the spirit of the evening and for a nice picture, but if that isn't their desire they can get in and still enjoy the evening in much less than formal wear too.

 

Enjoy!

[jojamidwood]

By all means encourage your 9 year old daughter to attend formal night- and dress up as much as she wants to-- On our Sept 2008 Alaskacruise my 8 DD wore a dress that was a junior bridesmaid dress from a wedding earlier in the summer--she loved looking pretty and getting compliments. For our upcoming cruise this summer, she has already asked me if we can go to Nordstrom's Rack to pick out some pretty dresses--and this is from a girl who normally lives in jeans and tee shirts

[3GR8Sons]

Yes, have her attend. On our last cruise we had 5 kids. 1 girl, 4 boys ranging in age from 6-14. They boys wore suits (JC Penney has inexpensive boys suits) and the girl wore a pretty dress.

[momphoto]

The formal nights are dd's favorite on the cruise. She LOVES to dress up! She was 6 on our first cruise and on the Ruby this spring she will be 13!! We just bought a dress today for a formal night....beautiful and on clearance after the holidays!! Ds is another story.....he will dress up in dress pants and shirt but changes as soon as dinner is over!! We too always get our family pictures done on these nights, its going to be a challenge to get ds (16) to hang around long enough to get a photo taken! LOL

[MaryPoppinz]

She should definitely join you! Easter and wedding season are coming up, so there should be lots of fancy dresses like this available right now:

http://www.dillards.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=301&langId=-1&storeId=301&productId=501795363&view=80&N=1094312&searchUrl=%2Fendeca%2FEndecaStartServlet%3Fview%3D80%26N%3D1094312&R=02923812

[Sandytoes]

Hi all

 

Is it normal for Kids to attend formal nights (we have 9 yo girl) and what do they normally wear?

Sequins mini ;)

[Jo_London_Mum]

Hiya, yep ,we love to show our boys off on formal night, as you can see from my picture!!!

We get so many comments and the boys love it, and we are such a proud mummy and daddy!!!

When they are older maybe thats when they might complain!

Have a wonderful time!!

[Gallivanting Souls]

But, it never came. He wore a suit and tie on formal night and looked in the mirror and said "Man do I look cool!" So, sometimes they have fun with it. :)

I found that you put a suit or tux on young man and instantly he will do the "tux walk" Young men like to dress up too! Just make sure you get the pictures while you can!