Attire for the Carnival Cruise to St. Johns, Canada

[Peebies428]

We are going on the 4 day Carnival Triumph cruise to St. John's, Canada on July 9th. These are some of my questions regarding attire at night. I understand if you choose to eat in the formal dining room, you must have the proper attire. What is the dress code at the other restaurants after dark? Are jeans appropriate? Are jean shorts appropriate? Is is true that the first night you eat in the formal dining room it is not considered "so formal" because your luggage may not get to your room until after you have dined? These may be stupid questions, but I've NEVER cruised before and don't want to ruin my trip by not having enough of the proper clothing.

Any "clothing" tips you have would be appreciated

Thanks,

Peebies428

[Shipshape7]

We are going on the 4 day Carnival Triumph cruise to St. John's, Canada on July 9th. These are some of my questions regarding attire at night. I understand if you choose to eat in the formal dining room, you must have the proper attire. What is the dress code at the other restaurants after dark? Are jeans appropriate? Are jean shorts appropriate? Is is true that the first night you eat in the formal dining room it is not considered "so formal" because your luggage may not get to your room until after you have dined? These may be stupid questions, but I've NEVER cruised before and don't want to ruin my trip by not having enough of the proper clothing.

Any "clothing" tips you have would be appreciated

Thanks,

Peebies428

 

We have not cruised Carnival yet but are booked on the 5 day Triumph Canadian itinerary next week. I have been reading the boards and gather that Carnival is the most casual of all the lines dress-wise. Both jeans and jeans shorts (not cut offs or gym shorts) are officially allowed even in the main dining rooms on Carnival. There are no specialty restaurants on the Triumph and, yes, it is true that things are even more relaxed on the first night. The lido buffet requires only shoes and shirt. You can "dine" there in only a bathing suit and coverup if you choose. "Formal Night" has been demoted to "cruise elegant attire". I suspect that my cruise duds are going to make me a bit over dressed this time. Hope the "to each his own" attitude goes both ways because I like to dress up a bit:D

[nybumpkin]

We've done the Canada itinerary four times with Carnival, so I can give you an idea of what you'll generally see in the way of dining room attire. For casual nights, a lot of men will be wearing dockers/polo shirts, casual crew-neck tops (not tee shirts, though), some jeans, some dress shorts (although I wouldn't expect many shorts at night on the Canada cruises). For women, a casual top (again, no tee shirts), slacks or casual skirts, some jeans, some dress shorts. For us, DH usually wears a polo and dockers, and I usually opt for a casual shirt and slacks or a split skirt.

 

On "cruise elegant" nights (you'll only have one - it will be the evening of the first sea day), you'll see men mostly with shirt and tie/sports jacket, suits, a few tuxedos. I've seen men with polos/dockers, but fairly rare on these nights. Women mostly wear nice dresses/pantsuits or cocktail dresses. A few evening gowns, but not many. DH and I opt for tux/cocktail dress, but we're definitely in the minority (shipshape, the "to each his own" attitude definitely applies here - you won't be overdressed.)

 

We don't have dinner in the Lido restaurant (I wouldn't miss dinner in the dining room), but as shipshape says there really isn't a dress code there.

 

Hope this helps! Peebies, come over to the Carnival board - you'll find a lot of information specific to Carnival.

[Shipshape7]

We've done the Canada itinerary four times with Carnival, so I can give you an idea of what you'll generally see in the way of dining room attire. For casual nights, a lot of men will be wearing dockers/polo shirts, casual crew-neck tops (not tee shirts, though), some jeans, some dress shorts (although I wouldn't expect many shorts at night on the Canada cruises). For women, a casual top (again, no tee shirts), slacks or casual skirts, some jeans, some dress shorts. For us, DH usually wears a polo and dockers, and I usually opt for a casual shirt and slacks or a split skirt.

 

On "cruise elegant" nights (you'll only have one - it will be the evening of the first sea day), you'll see men mostly with shirt and tie/sports jacket, suits, a few tuxedos. I've seen men with polos/dockers, but fairly rare on these nights. Women mostly wear nice dresses/pantsuits or cocktail dresses. A few evening gowns, but not many. DH and I opt for tux/cocktail dress, but we're definitely in the minority (shipshape, the "to each his own" attitude definitely applies here - you won't be overdressed.)

 

We don't have dinner in the Lido restaurant (I wouldn't miss dinner in the dining room), but as shipshape says there really isn't a dress code there.

 

Hope this helps! Peebies, come over to the Carnival board - you'll find a lot of information specific to Carnival.

 

Thank you for the first-hand report, Kathy! I've been enjoying your other informative posts about Canada recently too. Sounds like Carnival is about the same as other lines, overall. Perhaps a bit less dressy on elegant night.