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What if you don't like formal wear?


Fred66

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P & O also quote this on their site.

 

On board one of our six magnificent superliners you make the choices. This is your holiday after all. You can enjoy a spontaneous modern holiday. Or you can experience cruising with all the traditions. Our quality of service and attention to detail let you experience a world that is both carefree and tailored to you.

 

Modern holiday or Tradition the choice quite clearly is with the individual.

 

I might wear my birthday suit, pass the salt please diaB. :eek:

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I always think it is unhelpful to say to people "It's your holiday, wear what you like." on lines like P&O. Yes. you can eat in the buffet without wearing suits etc on formal nights. But is that all you want to do ? If you want to drink in the bars, go to the theatre or showlounge etc, you are going to look, and probably feel, a bit of a twit. You will also receive many disapproving glances from the many people on P&O who do like to keep up standards.

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I always think it is unhelpful to say to people "It's your holiday, wear what you like." on lines like P&O. Yes. you can eat in the buffet without wearing suits etc on formal nights. But is that all you want to do ? If you want to drink in the bars, go to the theatre or showlounge etc, you are going to look, and probably feel, a bit of a twit. You will also receive many disapproving glances from the many people on P&O who do like to keep up standards.

 

Which is why P&O/Carnival UK is shooting itself in the foot. You have seen on this board in just the last week or two several ex-Ov passengers planning on Ventura/Oceana and not planning on formal wear. Eventually these numbers will increase and it wont be 99% and 1% it will be 80% 20% and so on so they wont be disapproving looks..

 

They really should rebrand Ventura/Oceana back to the OV brand and keep the P&O brand formal for the traditionalists like yourself who like the regimental being told what to do, when to do it etc..

 

Its clear with the timing etc that P&O dropped the semi-formal nights on the two ships aimed towards families and casual cruisers..

 

You will see it as gangrene, it'll spread and eventually to stop it spreading (to the rest of the P&O fleet) you have to cut it off..

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Craig

Your observations are spot-on. I agree that Ventura and Oceana are being branded now for families and casual cruising.Tapping into the market which will be left by OV when they disband. Unfortunatly for me I booked Oceana before they decided to drop semi formal nights, and probably will not go on her again after the cruise I have booked this August. The marketing is children, dressing down, eat when you want freedom dining for both these ships which will appeal no doubt to families and younger people.. Azura is being marketed to couples and people who like the formality and fine wines and luxury spas, they hardly mention the childrens facilities in their promo booklet, although she is still a family ship.

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I think the world would be a better place if people took care of their own appearence and stopped criticizing others. We are now in the 21st century and not back in the age of steam powered ocean liners. If some enjoy getting dressed up for dinner that is great. If some do not it is not the end of the world. Being kind and accommodating to others is far more important and after reading some of these replies I think some people have forgotten that !

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Re-branding Ventura and Oceana is certainly spot on and should happen. However Carnival is trying to have its cake and eat it with the P&O brand, and is therefore unlikely to do that. As far as being regimented is concerned, far from it. The beauty of a cruise in fact is that you can pretty much do what you want and when. Flexible dining arrangements for those that prefer them do not have to also involve casual dress every night. Given that there are cruise lines that have dropped formality, it is difficult to see why people choose to cruise with P&O and its ilk, an then bitch about the formality ! As far as being considerate to others is concerned. I couldn't agree more, but not in the way intended in the above post. The dress codes exist for three purposes :- to enable everyone to feel comfortable in terms of not being too over-dressed or under-dressed compared with others, to avoid the ambience being the same evening after evening, and to provide a sense of occasion and glamour on selected evening when everyone has the chance to put on their glad rags. That is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is what is established and expected on certain cruise lines like P&O. Being inconsiderate in my view is to flout it deliberately, thus potentially diminishing the enjoyment of the vast majority of passengers, who have probably chosen that cruise line partly because they do want to conform to its conventions.

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Has long as people are fully aware that there are fomal evenings on board and that the majority of passengers will be dressed for the occasion on these evenings, where is the problem, just because they choose not to follow the masses and dress to the nine's, why should they be looked down upon. Its a sad day when your treated differently because of what you choose to wear, Fred is not saying that the four of them want to join everyone in the main dining areas, sadly they are already being made to feel that they must keep out of the way so as not to offend, unbelievable.

 

I dress for the occasion and think its lovely to do so but I would not for a minute treat anybody who was not dressed in formal wear any differently, in fact I might put on my formal evening wear and join Fred in the buffet and let them all look down on me for being overdressed.

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I think the world would be a better place if people took care of their own appearence and stopped criticizing others. We are now in the 21st century and not back in the age of steam powered ocean liners. If some enjoy getting dressed up for dinner that is great. If some do not it is not the end of the world. Being kind and accommodating to others is far more important and after reading some of these replies I think some people have forgotten that !

 

Not mentioning any names, but I think we all know which person your talking about.

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Isn't it funny how internet forums seldom represent mainstream opinion proportionately. If you go on the P&O ships, the vast majority of people do conform to the dress codes without complaint, and the substantial majority also seem to prefer reserved dining. Yet if you look at the internet forums you would get the impression that a substantial minority has a problem with the dress codes and with fixed times for the evening meals. (It's a similar picture on many forums on a variety of subjects, often involving far more extreme opinions, such as the loonies who seriously believe that George Bush blew up his own twin towers, or the thugs who celebrate football violence. The forums do attract a lot of people who have an axe to grind).

 

The reality is that Carnival will need to keep up traditional standards of dress and behaviour on at least the majority of its P&O ships if it wants to keep the bulk of its traditional customer base. It might try to gamble that it can dumb down P&O and get them to upgrade to Cunard, but then it runs the risk that a lot will defect to Celebrity.

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Has long as people are fully aware that there are fomal evenings on board and that the majority of passengers will be dressed for the occasion on these evenings, where is the problem, just because they choose not to follow the masses and dress to the nine's, why should they be looked down upon. Its a sad day when your treated differently because of what you choose to wear, Fred is not saying that the four of them want to join everyone in the main dining areas, sadly they are already being made to feel that they must keep out of the way so as not to offend, unbelievable.

 

I dress for the occasion and think its lovely to do so but I would not for a minute treat anybody who was not dressed in formal wear any differently, in fact I might put on my formal evening wear and join Fred in the buffet and let them all look down on me for being overdressed.

Totally agree with you Billy, Keep up Standards obviously hasn't read the O/P. Fred has no intention of " flouting " any dress rule, but just wanted to know what was open to her on formal nights. I would suggest to K/U/S to start at the top of the thread and read the O/P before shooting his/her mouth off.

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I would suggest to K/U/S to start at the top of the thread and read the O/P before shooting his/her mouth off.

 

What a splendid post Stopgob, did it take you very long to think of that insult to a new member?

 

 

:mad:

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ummm. but the fact remains only a very few people will not be dressed in formal wear.

 

 

Sue, I agree and that is really all we should say to new cruisers asking this particular question, that and the fact they will stand out like a sore thumb.

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I did actually read the opening post, and then criticised some of the replies because I though that they would be misleading to a new cruiser. This of course led to familiar forum flak because I had identified myself with the traditional type of cruiser -- an athema to a tiny minority of cruisers, but to a substantial portion of internet forum posters -- viz the axe to grind merchants.

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I did actually read the opening post, and then criticised some of the replies because I though that they would be misleading to a new cruiser. This of course led to familiar forum flak because I had identified myself with the traditional type of cruiser -- an athema to a tiny minority of cruisers, but to a substantial portion of internet forum posters -- viz the axe to grind merchants.

 

You recieved " forum flak " because you were wrong with your assumptions in your post, I suggest you re-read the orginal post. Fred was not going to flout the dress code, and was anxous not to.

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Bloody 'ell! For the last time, Fred is a her!:D

Yes really sorry I did know, I have known many Freds but they have all been male and over 60. Your grasp of the english language " is " considerably better than mine, so thanks for putting me right

By the way it nice to see you back on the P/O boards, from what I remember last time Gerry sent you packing in no uncertain words. I'm glad you recovered from " his " tongue lashing and hope to see more of you on these boards.

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PianoMan, good to see you back, sorry about StopGo, she does have trouble keeping up!

Funny, she seems to have no trouble trying to make trouble though.

 

I am sure she will make a contribution to this site one day........ perhaps not!

 

:D

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PianoMan, good to see you back, sorry about StopGo, she does have trouble keeping up!

Funny, she seems to have no trouble trying to make trouble though.

 

I am sure she will make a contribution to this site one day........ perhaps not!

 

:D

 

Trying to get back into PianoMans good books Gerry !

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PianoMan, good to see you back, sorry about StopGo, she does have trouble keeping up!

Funny, she seems to have no trouble trying to make trouble though.

 

I am sure she will make a contribution to this site one day........ perhaps not!

 

:D

 

Well, I did not feel run off by you Gerrym, really. I check back and lurk from time to time. I do see that the tenor of discourse over here remains little changed.:D

 

My take on the issue of "keeping up standards" is as follows - don't go to a French restaurant and expect a pizza. Know what the custom is and if it doesn't suit you, choose differently. It is a matter of respect for your fellow passengers to follow the dress code. If it seems a chore or you don't care about dressing for dinner, find a brand that fits your taste/lifestyle rather than whinging and seeking to have the line fit you, rather than vice verse. Of course, the corporate marketers will figure out what fills the most beds, but those who want to keep a more dignified evening atmosphere should hold their ground and resist the dressing down trend. Losing battle? Probably. But don't go quietly. And don't apologise.

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