How "Formal" is Formal on Mediterranean Cruises?

[Queenzena]

We're sailing on the Voyager of the Seas on August 2 from Barcelona, and are wondering if it's at all worth the lugging of dress-up attire for Formal night(s)? We've been on several 7 day cruises before, so we're aware that there are usually two Formal nights. It's just that with airlines charging for extra baggage these days, and a very port-intensive itinerary, we're contemplating skipping Formal Nights, especially since we have early seating. Would appreciate any insight, guidance or comments, please!

[ziggypup]

I was always under the impression that Formal meant either a Tuxedo or a Suit with a tie. In the past I have rented a Tuxedo from the cruise lines rental company. You go online and put all your measurements in and the Tuxedo is in your cabin when you board. It was about $100.00 bucks for the basic Tuxedo and shoes. If it does not fit they will alter it for you on board.

[NorbertsNiece]

Med last year on Independence. 3 formal nights. Many men were in full tux, but not all. Smart suits and ties were in evidence too. Again some women had the full gown and jewels; others (me included) wore toned down cocktail wear.... amazing what looks you can conjure up with a nice pair of black trousers and some bling. The thing is to be comfortable in how you feel and not worry too much about what others are wearing.

 

At the end of the day you can always eat well in Windjammer.

[Aquahound]

It is the same as here regarding the level of formalness. But because of weight restrictions on flights, more people rent tuxes from the ship, rather than packing suits/tuxes.

 

Personally, I packed one black suit and used different color shirts and ties.

[Moondawgie]

QZ, after my exerience with Delta both ways to and from Europe, I will NOT be packing formal attire. I have a nice pair of dressy black slacks and a nice top (2). That will have to do. I almost had to pay over $150 - most of which was caused by my formal wear.

 

I noticed not everyone was all decked out either - probably for the same reason.

[Realtor at Sea]

On European itineraries we have found cruisers tend to be more dressy - more tuxes and long gowns. If you don't want to dress up you can always go the the Windjammer or other dining options.

[Florida_cruisers]

On both of our European cruises everyone seemed to dress up more than the Caribbean cruises. DH rents a tux and I wear a dress. Also, the Mediterranean cruises that are 12 days actually have 3 formal nights, although the cruise line might tell you 2, it is really 3. We had our 3rd formal while we were in Venice for the masquerade ball.

 

The same went for our Northern Europe cruise, they said 2 formals, and it turned out to be 3.

 

A rep from RCCL confessed to me that for our cruise next year which is 11 nights long, it is really 3 formals and not 2 like the website says.

 

In terms of what the ladies wear, they do get more dressy in Europe with some women wear sequence dresses and the dinners are later too to accomodate the Europe market. I wear my old brides maids dresses - yes you can actually wear those after the wedding.

 

Hope that helped.

[Ohunion Cruzers]

1 suit, 2 Dockers, 3 dress shirts, 2 ties, 4 polo shirts, 3 T-shirts, 2 shorts, 1 other long pants, 2 swim suits, 1 pr dress shoes, 1 pr sneakers, socks & underwear. It all fits in one checked bag (43 lbs) plus one carry on (18 lbs.). This is for a 7 day cruise. Add a polo shirt, socks and underwear for each additional day, if cruise is longer. Do not pack denim, since it is very heavy.

 

2 formal dresses, one sparkly top, one skirt, 3 Capris, 4 casual tops, 2 shorts, 3 T-shirts, 2 swimsuits, 1 pr dress shoes, 1 pr sneakers, 1 pr sandals, socks, underwear and panty hose. This all fits into a checked bag (41 lbs) and a carry on (20 lbs) as well.

 

This is for a 7 day cruise. No problems with airlines and easy to maneuver to and from airport.

 

 

 

You might rearrange 2 -3 lbs from your checked bag to the carry on to make the 40 lb limit.

[cusyl]

Because the Med cruises are so port intensive, I didn't see that many in long dresses. A cocktail dress is perfectly acceptable and a suit for the gentleman.

[Cymro1953]

1 suit, 2 Dockers, 3 dress shirts, 2 ties, 4 polo shirts, 3 T-shirts, 2 shorts, 1 other long pants, 2 swim suits, 1 pr dress shoes, 1 pr sneakers, socks & underwear. It all fits in one checked bag (43 lbs) plus one carry on (18 lbs.). This is for a 7 day cruise. Add a polo shirt, socks and underwear for each additional day, if cruise is longer. Do not pack denim, since it is very heavy.

 

2 formal dresses, one sparkly top, one skirt, 3 Capris, 4 casual tops, 2 shorts, 3 T-shirts, 2 swimsuits, 1 pr dress shoes, 1 pr sneakers, 1 pr sandals, socks, underwear and panty hose. This all fits into a checked bag (41 lbs) and a carry on (20 lbs) as well.

 

This is for a 7 day cruise. No problems with airlines and easy to maneuver to and from airport.

 

 

 

You might rearrange 2 -3 lbs from your checked bag to the carry on to make the 40 lb limit.

 

 

Thanks for those, I've just saved it into Word for June.

You're lucky with the extra hand luggage weight limits, we're restricted to about 11lbs

[north29]

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO retreat to the buffet for dinner because of dress.

 

I dress nicely on formal nights, but not elegantly , a sport coat, with either, a designer t-shirt(S) or if I have the room, a dress shirt and tie. I do not go on cruises to dress up, my lifestyle has been more of a Jimmy Buffet type. I have no fears of going into the dining room in that manor. Now if others want to formally dress that is OK with me different strokes for different folks. Luggage size is always at a high priority level for me, the large suit case is really tooo much for me but necessary for when I take a transatlantic or like this year, a cruise out of Barcelona, with several days of trips planned before and after the cruise.

I should add on a Costa transatlantic, a couple of years ago, only 50 Americans on board, many, but not all Europeans do dress quite elegantly and it was really nice to see the many gowns an designer level fashions. I could not figure out how they got all the shoes and clothes from Europe to the States, maybe they cruised over and cruised back. They had to have many suit cases

[Onessa]

We did the same RCCI cruise last autumn on Voyager and did an Eastern Med RCCI cruise the prior year. Two formal nights for each cruise. DH took his suit, wore the same shirt and two ties. DD (12 or 13YO at the time) wore a cute dress -- same one both evenings -- she's tiny so a size 0 junior dress with a pair of ballet flats did not take up much room. I wore dressy slacks and a "glittery" top -- same outfit both nights.

 

We did not see any long formal gowns -- mostly cocktail dresses and glittery tops for women.

[Cymro1953]

We did the same RCCI cruise last autumn on Voyager and did an Eastern Med RCCI cruise the prior year. Two formal nights for each cruise. DH took his suit, wore the same shirt and two ties. DD (12 or 13YO at the time) wore a cute dress -- same one both evenings -- she's tiny so a size 0 junior dress with a pair of ballet flats did not take up much room. I wore dressy slacks and a "glittery" top -- same outfit both nights.

 

We did not see any long formal gowns -- mostly cocktail dresses and glittery tops for women.

 

Thank you for that Onessa. We're doing 12 nights Eastern Med on 1st June and this has been getting my wife really stressed apart from the weight issue of the luggage

 

Berwyn

[Bella36]

I think you will find that Europeans, and especially the British, Italians and French, will certainly wear elegant and stylish evening clothes on formal nights.

 

We absolutely love to "dress up" and see it as being a special part of our cruise. If you are cruising in Europe, I would certainly recommend a tuxedo and evening dress for formal nights.

[rool]

I think you will find that Europeans, and especially the British, Italians and French, will certainly wear elegant and stylish evening clothes on formal nights.

 

 

Absolutely right,

 

Thank goodness for the 'Outstanding Value' range evening wear at M&S :D

 

I just hope I don't see someone wearing the same outfit on the night :eek:

[AnnieB925]

Great information. Thanks to all. We just booked a Med. cruise and I just posed this question (should have done more reading first...oops!) I'm glad to read that people dress up for formal night. My husband and I like to dress. He'll bring a black suit and I'll bring a cocktail dress and a long evening gown. Actually, both of my dresses weigh very little (there's just not that much to them.)

 

Personally, I don't care if I have to pay a bit more on the luggage. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the air/cruise.

 

Thanks to all.

[tomko2]

My suitcase weighed 42 lb (my DH 47 lb) for our 12 night Med. cruise on the Brilliance of the seas last summer including 4 nights on land. I were a long black dress with various jacket/shawls to dress it up or down; one pair black dress pants and variety of tops to dress smart casual or casual. Two pair of capris for sightseeing; one bather, sun protection shirts, tank tops, tee shirts, jogging pants and jacket for cooler evenings, pjs, pair of shorts, and a few other tops for late evening in the casino. Hats, crocs, tennis shoes, dress sandals and evening bag.

My DH had his tux, 2 pair dress pants, capris, shorts, etc.

We did use the laundry service onboard (big bag for $20.) and the drycleaning service for a couple of items.

Photos in the link below.

Had a wonderful cruise and still had more clothes than we needed. ;)

I cut my suitcase weight down 10 lbs from our 12 night Med. cruise in 2007 and didn't miss a thing!

Kathy:)

[navigator0709]

This is a very pertinent topic for my because my husband, myself, our 2 kids, and my parents will be taking an Eastern Mediterranean cruise this summer on Royal Caribbean, and following that with 2 weeks visiting family in Europe.

 

I am not at all concerned about the females in our group, we all have lightweight sparkly/fancy/formal cocktail dresses to take... they take up very little room in the bags and we won't have a single problem with dressing up. What I am MOST concerned about is my husband and my dad. Although they have no problem wearing suits as needed around here (we're not even considering the tux), the thought of hauling over a suit to wear for 3 hours x 2 nights is a bit daunting. Especially, since it will probably be 100 degrees (we're going in late July). I was thinking they would bring the formal slacks of their suits, with a white shirt and nice tie, and leave the jacket at home, after all, it is a vacation, and it will be HOT. Its seems kind of ridiculous to bring a suit jacket to our vacation in the heat.

 

I would like to hear from people who actually traveled on a Mediterranean cruise in the summer on mega type ship (RCCL, Carnival etc..) with thoughts on how the men dressed on formal night (we will be very "smartly" dresses on other nights :).

 

I would also like to say that I have traveled extensively in Europe and have a lot of family in Europe and I know they do dress much more "smartly" than Americans. Nice jeans, STYLISH tops for men and women and no fanny packs or white sneakers etc... however, I have never heard any of my friends over there say that they wore a tux to anything, so I'm rather surprised to read in the posts that most men on Euro cruises were wearing tuxes. Were these the actual Europeans or the Americans? I'm having trouble reconciling comments I've read on "tons of rude Italians and Spanish" on these ships and then reading that they all wear tuxes on formal night.

 

I understand we can wear whatever we want and not worry about others etc... I would love to hear about actual "sightings" and observations on men in the dining room on formal night on European cruises in the summer to make our final decision on weather to bring the jacket or not.

 

Thank you!

[Happy ks]

We cruised with 2 other couples, all 3 men rented tuxedos. We had 2 formal nights and I took 3 cocktail length dresses, but if I had it to do over again, I'd only take 2 and wear one twice.

 

Our trip lasted 19 days, we packed for a week and took advantage of the laundry services, that cost around $100. It was well worth it to not have excessive luggage along. Enough clothing for a week for both of us, plus 3 cocktail dresses for me filled 3 suitcases (2 medium, 1 small) and two carry ons. That's enough to handle.

 

You learn more from experience than you can ever learn on a message board, I would pack even lighter with casual evening clothes as well. I'd also not worry so much about carrying enough toiletries, since you can always pick that stuff up in any major city.

[dougp26364]

We're sailing on the Voyager of the Seas on August 2 from Barcelona, and are wondering if it's at all worth the lugging of dress-up attire for Formal night(s)? We've been on several 7 day cruises before, so we're aware that there are usually two Formal nights. It's just that with airlines charging for extra baggage these days, and a very port-intensive itinerary, we're contemplating skipping Formal Nights, especially since we have early seating. Would appreciate any insight, guidance or comments, please!

 

It wasn't all that formal on our last 7 night cruise on Voyager for the W. Med. The last W. Med cruise we sailed was Oct. of 2009. While I still wore my tux, I was greatly out numbered by suits. I wouldn't say it was any more formal than any other cruise we've been on.

[dougp26364]

I think you will find that Europeans, and especially the British, Italians and French, will certainly wear elegant and stylish evening clothes on formal nights.

 

We absolutely love to "dress up" and see it as being a special part of our cruise. If you are cruising in Europe, I would certainly recommend a tuxedo and evening dress for formal nights.

 

I didn't find that to be the case at all. We had a good number of English, Irish and Spanish on our last cruise. Suits rather than tuxes were the mainstay for formal nights. Woman were generally in nice dresses but not any more or less nice than any other cruise we've been on.

[little miss chatterbox]

We went on the IOS in August last year(around the Med). My DH wore dark suits for formals nights and that was fine. We did my time dining and people were wearing a mixture of styles.

[drarill]

I think you will find that Europeans, and especially the British, Italians and French, will certainly wear elegant and stylish evening clothes on formal nights.

 

We absolutely love to "dress up" and see it as being a special part of our cruise. If you are cruising in Europe, I would certainly recommend a tuxedo and evening dress for formal nights.

We like to "dress up" too, and I love to watch how people from different countries dress. Last June on the IOS we had a group of six asian couples, all over 60 yo, and I just loved the way the ladies dressed on formal nights. I also liked the scottish gentelmen.;)

[nellydean]

On European itineraries we have found cruisers tend to be more dressy - more tuxes and long gowns. If you don't want to dress up you can always go the the Windjammer or other dining options.

 

Or, you can go to the dining room dressed any way you like, as they will not turn you away. I exclude jeans and T-shirts, of course, but any smart clothes will do.

We took the works on the QM2, again for the Liberty, but less on the NOS and BOS, we might take more on JOS because we are leaving from the UK and so can take as much luggage as we wish, but I won't buy any new dresses and my husband will take his suit as usual. There is too much pressure put on people to dress up and, in this current financial situation we find ourselves in, that is not fair.

 

For people who are sticklers for formality, there are cruise lines (such as Cunard) where they can get dressed up to the nines and be surrounded by similarly-dressed passengers, but I don't hink it is fair to tell someone to go to the Windjammer because they won't take formal dining wear.

 

Besides, I think fellow cruisers have accepted that some will dress up and others won't - I never saw anyone turn their noses up at anyone dressed down on formal nights, they were too busy enjoying their own little posh frocks and tuxes to notice.

 

It would be different if the cruise line strictly enforced the policy, but they don't, because they know it will put people off cruising with them, and they can't afford the lost revenue.

[dougp26364]

Or, you can go to the dining room dressed any way you like, as they will not turn you away. I exclude jeans and T-shirts, of course, but any smart clothes will do.

 

Why exclude jeans and T-shirts? RCI doesn't.