What Should The Dress Code Be?

[Trebor 7]

I agree with those people who have commented that dress codes should be enforced. 

 

However on American ships you are wasting your breath because in my experience formal nights are a joke on our last cruise brits were in a minority, and dressed up, whereas 75% of the people did not bother.

 

As there are more & more ships to fill every week they do not want to alienate their market.

 

[momoperth 1]

I enjoy the formal nights and we always travel to Southampton by car so do not have a problem with luggage allowances. The next cruise will be the first we have done since the semi=formal evenings have been done away with so it will be interesting to see if I have interpreted the code correctly!!

[doca 60]

Smart casual - fine.  No jeans, T-shirts etc. 

 

Formal - nonsensical.  Most cruise ships (P&O, Cunard etc) are pretty average for food (not even that, some might say) and the whole formal thing is just a cynical attempt to try to transform a very average dining experience into something that it patently isn't.

 

Given that the dining experience on P&O is akin to a mass-market low-middle chain restaurant, you can, I suppose, see why P&O would try to make it look a little more upmarket by the smoke and mirrors zero cost solution of getting people to dress up and make it look better than it actually is.  Brilliant!

[HLM 519]

Smart casual - fine.  No jeans, T-shirts etc. 

 

Formal - nonsensical.  Most cruise ships (P&O, Cunard etc) are pretty average for food (not even that, some might say) and the whole formal thing is just a cynical attempt to try to transform a very average dining experience into something that it patently isn't.

 

Given that the dining experience on P&O is akin to a mass-market low-middle chain restaurant, you can, I suppose, see why P&O would try to make it look a little more upmarket by the smoke and mirrors zero cost solution of getting people to dress up and make it look better than it actually is.  Brilliant!

Hello Doca, a very interesting analogy, and I can see where you're coming from.

Nice post.

HLM.

[samfox01 53]

My personal opinion, is maybe just 1 for a weeks cruise as a guide, and then 2 for 2 weeks, as you do the same thing for the first, second and third, how ever many thier are. So more semi-formal nights are best.

[seaworld1 0]

I live in Canada and will be flying to Britain for the August 20 Cunard Mediterranean cruise. Having to pack a tuxedo is a bit much as I never wear a tuxedo, no matter where I go, although I do wear a formal suit with starched shirt and nice tie every day for work. Maybe I will wear a Winston Churchill bow tie and a dark blue suit for the formal evenings of which there are two. If it was good enough for Winston it should be good enough for Cunard.   

My husband wears a smart suite and white  shirt ad a smart tie and has no problem. happy cruising.

[seaworld1 0]

I like dressing up for formal nights but as the airlines are getting stingy with baggage allowances, smart casual please, but the ships need to enforce the no shorts or tee shirts or flip flops at night.

Most Certainly!!!!

[Tally 392]

Our cruise in February was our first since the introduction of only two dress codes. I do think it made the formal nights a little more special. Although if I wanted to dress up a little more on the smart casual nights I did just that as did a lot of other ladies. I'm not sure some people interpreted 'smart dark denim' correctly.

[Starboard 13]

Hello Doca, a very interesting analogy, and I can see where you're coming from.

Nice post.

HLM.

 

Certainly is an interesting take on it. I do wonder whether it is a little cynical. I can understand the point but despite the reasons for the existence of formal nights, surely they should still be respected. 

[HLM 519]

Certainly is an interesting take on it. I do wonder whether it is a little cynical. I can understand the point but despite the reasons for the existence of formal nights, surely they should still be respected.

I agree there may of been a little cynicism in the post, but I just can't help but think there's a lot of truth in what was posted.

As for formal nights, whatever the dress code it should always be adhered too, simple as that.

HLM.

[doca 60]

Certainly is an interesting take on it. I do wonder whether it is a little cynical. I can understand the point but despite the reasons for the existence of formal nights, surely they should still be respected. 

It was a little cynical, certainly, but only to the extent that it reflects the cynical exploitation of 'formal nights' by Carnival companies operating in the UK (P&O and Cunard, primarily).

 

These companies have really cut back on the quality of the food and service offered to customers in their dining rooms (ask anyone who's been using them for a few years) but having everyone dress up in formal attire has the effect of covering all that over.  It's a simple enough trick, and magicians use it all the time.  Just get your customers to concentrate on themselves, their clothes, and the ambience created, and they're far less likely to notice the very mediocre quality of the food - and all the other little touches that have been surreptitiously removed to boost profits.

 

Take all that away, and what are you left with?  A very large, busy, rather noisy dining room which isn't really so very different from what you'd find in a land-based holiday complex.  It's the formal attire that changes it into something else - at no cost whatever to Carnival.

 

You have to hand it to them - it's a remarkably clever trick to pull off.  It's wearing a bit thin now, though, because the older, more traditional customers who liked that sort of thing are,,,,what shall we say.......becoming fewer in number now, and younger people are less keen to dress up.

 

One thing I'd certainly agree with, though - whatever the requirements laid down, formal, smart casual, whatever, if you book on that basis you should adhere to the rules.  And please - no scruffy clothes.  Smart casual should be the norm.

[sammy sun 1084]

I don't know if I'd agree with you on that doca. The formal night concept has been in place for decades and it's only in recent years that such cruise lines as P&O have been criticised for dropping their standards. During that time they have actually reduced the number of formal nights on board and cut out semi-formal on many ships in the fleet. Therefore the smoke and mirror tactic to disguise the drop in quality does not run parallel to the timeframe you suggest. 

[HLM 519]

It was a little cynical, certainly, but only to the extent that it reflects the cynical exploitation of 'formal nights' by Carnival companies operating in the UK (P&O and Cunard, primarily).

 

These companies have really cut back on the quality of the food and service offered to customers in their dining rooms (ask anyone who's been using them for a few years) but having everyone dress up in formal attire has the effect of covering all that over.  It's a simple enough trick, and magicians use it all the time.  Just get your customers to concentrate on themselves, their clothes, and the ambience created, and they're far less likely to notice the very mediocre quality of the food - and all the other little touches that have been surreptitiously removed to boost profits.

 

Take all that away, and what are you left with?  A very large, busy, rather noisy dining room which isn't really so very different from what you'd find in a land-based holiday complex.  It's the formal attire that changes it into something else - at no cost whatever to Carnival.

 

You have to hand it to them - it's a remarkably clever trick to pull off.  It's wearing a bit thin now, though, because the older, more traditional customers who liked that sort of thing are,,,,what shall we say.......becoming fewer in number now, and younger people are less keen to dress up.

 

One thing I'd certainly agree with, though - whatever the requirements laid down, formal, smart casual, whatever, if you book on that basis you should adhere to the rules.  And please - no scruffy clothes.  Smart casual should be the norm.

I certainly can't put a decent argument against what you say.

Maybe 50 years ago when it was real 'silver service' formal attire was appropriate, but now that cruising is for the masses formal attire is becoming less and less popular, and with the exception of Cunard I understand formal nights are decreasing on most cruise lines.

HLM

[Land Ahoy 797]

Hi  I cannot understand why those who wish to observe formal nights don't book a cruise line or ship which the passengers are more likely to wear to the attire suggested.  I stopped cruising on P&O many years ago due the lowering of standards and reading this forum it's become even worse.  On Saga, Fred Olsen, Silversea and Crystal to a lesser extent Cunard most passengers do wear formal attire.  For those who don't wish to dress formally plenty of lines from the 6 star (Seabourn, Regent), upper premium (Azamara, Oceania) and the mainstream lines (Thomson, NCL) which don't have formal nights.  P&O and Celebrity really don't know what to do about the dress code they have suggestions but don't enforce them.  If a cruise line doesn't meet your expectations than why not try another which will?

[Anchors-aweigh 49]

I for one regret the dumbing -down of dressing up for the evening meals. It seems to me quite disrespectful of the men turning up as so many do in Dining Rooms looking as if they came off the beach. Disrespectful to the ladies who in the main do still make an effort to look smart for their evening aboard ship. 

[MG16 149]

I agree excellent reasoning Sheila, it is also the customers responsibility to choose a product that caters for their tastes. No point in booking a line with a rigid dress code if you are not willing to adhere to it and as there is plenty of choice out there moaning about it after you have booked shows a lack of researching your own holiday.

Hi I cannot understand why those who wish to observe formal nights don't book a cruise line or ship which the passengers are more likely to wear to the attire suggested. I stopped cruising on P&O many years ago due the lowering of standards and reading this forum it's become even worse. On Saga, Fred Olsen, Silversea and Crystal to a lesser extent Cunard most passengers do wear formal attire. For those who don't wish to dress formally plenty of lines from the 6 star (Seabourn, Regent), upper premium (Azamara, Oceania) and the mainstream lines (Thomson, NCL) which don't have formal nights. P&O and Celebrity really don't know what to do about the dress code they have suggestions but don't enforce them. If a cruise line doesn't meet your expectations than why not try another which will?

I am not sure why passenger's who don't wish to dress formal should choose another cruise line if they like everything else about it. I for one love the formal nights, however my brother doesn't. Like others have said, he dresses in a suit every day for work and doesn't like having to do the same on holiday. He travels with P&O and may do 1 formal night but not every single one, on the others he goes up to the buffet and spends most of his night in the cabin relaxing. He does not complain that there are formal nights rather he has received tuts in the lift when he is going to or from the buffet - he is not trying to go in the dining room or the theatre! From passengers who probably think it is a 'lowering of standards' or a 'lack of research' which is not the case. He has done his research and his choice is not to participate in the formal nights, also because a professional who wears a suit everyday doesn't want to wear one on holiday is not a 'lowering of standards'.

He also has 4 children and have tried other cruise lines such as NCL and Royal Caribbean but much prefer P&O. Also due to the size of his family and age of his children 6 star companies are not an option. Why should he have to choose a different cruise line to the one they like purely because 1 or 2 nights of the holiday others are dressing formally? Am I the only person that sees this?

[HLM 519]

I am not sure why passenger's who don't wish to dress formal should choose another cruise line if they like everything else about it. I for one love the formal nights, however my brother doesn't. Like others have said, he dresses in a suit every day for work and doesn't like having to do the same on holiday. He travels with P&O and may do 1 formal night but not every single one, on the others he goes up to the buffet and spends most of his night in the cabin relaxing. He does not complain that there are formal nights rather he has received tuts in the lift when he is going to or from the buffet - he is not trying to go in the dining room or the theatre! From passengers who probably think it is a 'lowering of standards' or a 'lack of research' which is not the case. He has done his research and his choice is not to participate in the formal nights, also because a professional who wears a suit everyday doesn't want to wear one on holiday is not a 'lowering of standards'.

He also has 4 children and have tried other cruise lines such as NCL and Royal Caribbean but much prefer P&O. Also due to the size of his family and age of his children 6 star companies are not an option. Why should he have to choose a different cruise line to the one they like purely because 1 or 2 nights of the holiday others are dressing formally? Am I the only person that sees this?

Hello MG16, your brother has obviously done his research and on the whole chooses not to participate on formal evenings, that's fine and should be respected and not frowned upon.

I think what people are against are guests who turn up expecting to dine in non formal attire, such as jeans and t-shirts then moan if they are refused entry to the MDR or other venues, I personally wouldn't mind if all cruise lines went non formal, but until such time I will always respect the dress code.

HLM.

[lauro60 4]

There should be formal nights where everyone dresses up. To me it is part of the fun of cruising. If anyone really hates the idea there are other choices of cafe/restaurant on the formal nights.

[doca 60]

There should be formal nights where everyone dresses up. To me it is part of the fun of cruising. If anyone really hates the idea there are other choices of cafe/restaurant on the formal nights.

That's fine for you - but why should those of us that prefer to dress smartly, but not in outdated formal wear, be banished to places that frankly I'd prefer not to eat in.  Just because you find the idea of formal wear outmoded and rather silly doesn't mean you want to eat in a downmarket eating place.  Or cruise in a downmarket ship.

[Captain Kidd II 798]

That's fine for you - but why should those of us that prefer to dress smartly, but not in outdated formal wear, be banished to places that frankly I'd prefer not to eat in.  Just because you find the idea of formal wear outmoded and rather silly doesn't mean you want to eat in a downmarket eating place.  Or cruise in a downmarket ship.

The concept of dress smartly means different things to different people. I think I dress smartly in dark denim and shirt whilst someone else would need to wear a dark suit to feel the same. Formal wear is not outmoded with many schools and colleges taking up Prom evenings at the request of the young people who go there. The issue is one of preferring cruising tradition or not. It is the same when you look at the new ships being commissioned as they are now only floating hotels.

Perhaps the solution would be to have some ships stick to traditional cruising, whith all that entails, a bit like adult only ships whilst others take on the floating hotel role with a more casual approach to dress codes. When I right this I seem to be thinking about Disney cruises!

[doca 60]

I suppose it depends what you mean by 'traditional cruising' really.  The more traditional cruise lines such as P&O may be traditional in the sense that they cling to the concept of formal nights, mainly because of the age profile of their customers, but they've stripped away many of the other traditions (dramatically lowered standards of food and the removal of silver service spring to mind).  It's a clever concept, too, because the formal wear tends to take some people's minds away from the frankly indifferent food and service, and makes them think it's better than it actually is.

 

Celebrity offer higher standards all round, and they manage to do that without formal nights.

[Captain Kidd II 798]

Like everything you have a choice. The important thing is to ensure that we, as passengers, retain that choice so that doca can go on Celebrity and have no formal nights whilst enjoying high standards whilst my wife and I can go on P&O, dress up for the night, and enjoy the ambiance of the cruise whilst, perhaps on occassions, receiving food that is no longer the quality it used to be.

By the way, if you had not already guessed, I do not like the concept of floating hotels. Perhaps it is an age thing as I have cruised for over 40 years.

[Toxic 1]

My wife and I have only just joined the forum but it was this topic that drew my attention, we both enjoy the formal nights and do find it a little frustrating when others who do cruise don't follow it.

It is personal choice but if you don't like to dress up then look to cruise with a line that is less formal .

[MumJen 1]

We are a young couple with a one year old son. We love formal nights & enjoy the chance to dress up. We see it as something special & not something you usually get to do everyday back home to put on a tuxedo & evening dress! We also enjoy 'dressing for dinner' each night & like having dress codes on board for guidance.

On land back home, many restaurants & clubs have dress codes as part of their 'Conditions of Entry' such as no ripped jeans, no trainers etc where the door staff don't let you in I'd you don't fit the dress code. I think it should be the same on ships with dress codes for certain nights or certain areas onboard. It just adds to a special cruise experience.

[chriskirbs 2]

Having done many cruises.we personally love the formal nights.

Nowadays people don't dress to impress, but cruising is the one time you can, and it always looks amazing to see men in DJ's and ladies in elegant dresses.

Unfortunately a lot of people don't share those views, and still enter the restaurant in casual clothes on formal nights. I do think that formal clothing should be enforced on those few evenings on board, and for those that don't wish to dress, there are always plenty of other places to eat.