Question for past cruisers!!!

[jukeboxx99]

We will be crusing on the Wonder for a 4 day starting October 7th. We are so excited but I do have questions regarding dress codes on the ship. Are shorts permitted at dinner?? Is there a dress up night? I am trying to figure out packing for myself, husband and 2 children and need some help. Anyone out there who would like to give me some suggestions they would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks Kim

 

[WDWLVR]

I've moved this to the main cruise forum for you where I'm sure you will get a number of responses.

Shorts are not permitted in the dining room at dinner time. There usually is one night that is dressier than the others but not to the extent for Formal night like on the longer cruises.

 

[nokidz]

Please do not do shorts in the dinning rooms. The buffets are "shorts" friendly. In the dinning rooms khakis or dress slacks with a dress shirt or atleast a polo style golf shirt. We go by the rule of dressy casual in the dinning rooms. No jeans.

 

[inkkognito]

Actually you can do shorts at dinner if you go to the casual dinner option up at Beach Blanket Buffet. Pretty much anything goes there (well, maybe not swimwear or nudity ). The menu is almost the same as the main dining rooms, and they have a salad bar too.

Over the course of 58 Disney cruises, I have watched the dress get more and more casual. While shorts are still rare in the main diningrooms (and while you are asked not to wear them), jeans are becoming more commonplace. I usually wear jeans myself on the last night for dinner.

We had true formal nights on the transatlantic cruise, and some people's interpretations of "formal" were quite interesting! Sort of like what I'd wear to clean out the garage, but hey, to each their own. I behave and dress nicely so I won't return to find myself on DIS.

 

[ksc37]

We just got back from a 3 night cruise on Sunday. We had the first dinner seating (5:30), and I had DH and my two sons dress in khakis/polos (myself in a skirt) on the first night. I think we were the only ones not in shorts. But I think the main reason for that was we had just left port and most people rushed to dinner from the sail away party. I made my family go back and change (and I think they were all annoyed with me). The later dinner seatings followed the dress code a little more closely.

The other nights were a little more dressy, with the last night being "formal" (ladies in dresses and men in nicer shirts/pants).

 

[HLAuburn]

Aside from "dress up night" on the Wonder, are nice capris acceptable for dinner, or is that too casual? I don't want to be the most underdressed person there!

 

[Jusacuz]

We also just got off the Wonder on Sunday and I admit it, we wore shorts the first night at dinner. Honestly, we couldn't keep up with the pace the first night. It was our first cruise. We had the latest dinner seating there was (8:30), but still time got away from us and we didn't have time to run back and change. The other two nights, we made a point to dress nicely.

I saw people on the "dress up night" still wearing shorts. I'm not saying it was okay, but they were not refused service because of it.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Aside from "dress up night" on the Wonder, are nice capris acceptable for dinner, or is that too casual? I don't want to be the most underdressed person there!

Capris are just fine. The other great thing to bring is a pair of black pants because you can wear them on casual night as well as pirate night.

 

[dahuffy]

Aside from "dress up night" on the Wonder, are nice capris acceptable for dinner, or is that too casual? I don't want to be the most underdressed person there!

Yes,capris are just fine dear. I've worn black capris,white blouse,dressy sandal and some nice jewelry and fit right in.
Here's what we wore to Animators one night and Parrot Cay the other:

And then Palo:

And this was what we wore on the first night:

 

[PoohJen]

Just a point of clarification.

On our first Magic sailing, DS twins were 7 and wore nice khaki shorts with polo shirts at dinner on non-formal nights and looked nice. On our next cruise they were 9 and I had them wear pants (no jeans). Older DS was 12 and 13 on our cruises and did not wear shorts to dinner (wore khakis; suit on formal night).

HTH!

eta: I am taking my first "quickie" on the Wonder in Dec, and am not thrilled with the idea of having to pack any type of formal wear for the family, as this is a whirlwind cruise tacked on to a WDW vacation. Hmmm...need to come up with outfit that is nice, easy/comfortable to wear, not a pain to wear or pack...

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Just a point of clarification.

eta: I am taking my first "quickie" on the Wonder in Dec, and am not thrilled with the idea of having to pack any type of formal wear for the family, as this is a whirlwind cruise tacked on to a WDW vacation. Hmmm...need to come up with outfit that is nice, easy/comfortable to wear, not a pain to wear or pack...

Poohjen.....dress up night on the Wonder is not like formal night on the Magic. For my Wonder cruise last month I had khakis for casual night and a black skirt for dress up night. Think Sunday best for dress up night. I left all my formal wear at home.

Even the officers on dress up night did not wear their formal-night uniforms like they do on the Magic. To be honest, I wish they had as they look so nice, but that tells you something about the dress code.

DH did not bring a suit at all. He wore a nice tan silk jacket that he wears on casual nights on the Magic.

The idea of dress up night on the Wonder is just a way of getting everyone to look nice on the same night. The characters wear their "black tie" outfits so you get some really nice photos with them.

What I noticed on my Wonder cruise is that the only difference between casual night and dress up night for us ladies is that we wore skirts/dresses on dress up night. No long dresses unless you were doing to Palo.

 

[jukeboxx99]

Thanks all for the advice. Capris sound like a great idea for me and my daughter but to get my DH and DS in pants on vacation let alone dress pants will be tough. We are doing WDW before the cruise and I seriusly do not want to pack a ton of clothes for eveyone. Oh well our trip is in 30 days so I guess I need to start packing!!! Have Fun!!!

Kim

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Thanks all for the advice. Capris sound like a great idea for me and my daughter but to get my DH and DS in pants on vacation let alone dress pants will be tough. We are doing WDW before the cruise and I seriusly do not want to pack a ton of clothes for eveyone. Oh well our trip is in 30 days so I guess I need to start packing!!! Have Fun!!!

Kim

Let's be brutally honest.....if the clothes aren't stained and they don't smell you can wear them again. Pack one pair of tan pants for DH & DS and have them wear it just at dinner then they can run back to the room and change.

That's what DS did.

All four of us brought black pants for pirate night and that does double duty as well for other nights.

 

[dahuffy]

Let's be brutally honest.....if the clothes aren't stained and they don't smell you can wear them again. Pack one pair of tan pants for DH & DS and have them wear it just at dinner then they can run back to the room and change.

That's what DS did.

All four of us brought black pants for pirate night and that does double duty as well for other nights.

Exactly!

 

[LJC1861]

So, exactly how formal is formal night on the Magic?

We have a group of 6 women going on a 7 night Western in May 2008, and none of us are really dress up kind of gals. Will we be okay in nice black pants and dressier blouses?

Linda

 

[dahuffy]

It can get quite dressy. You'll see everything from what we have on in my Palo picture to formal gowns and tuxedos. A lot of little girls in their princess dresses.

 

[goofy4tink]

You know, thank heaven for these boards. At least I knew what to expect when we cruised for the first time last month. But, not everyone reads these type forums. We had an early seating, 6:30. Our first night at Parrot Cay, I wore my capris, dh wore a golf shirt/dressy bermuda shorts, dd a skirt and halter top. Our table mates had on NE Patriots tees/shorts....very casual. They were horrified to find out about dressy night the next night. They didn't even know there was a choice of seating when booking (they had booked a year or so in advance). Their TA told them nothing, told them they would have all the info they needed sent from Disney!!! They had no nicer clothes..only tees/shorts and not very dressy ones at that! I felt so bad for them. When we got dressed for dressy night the next night, my dh left off his tie, but wore his blue blazer, dress shirt, khakis. He left off the tie so the other guy at our table would feel better. Well, they never showed up again. We ate all by ourselves the rest of the time. I felt so bad.

 

[wee-haggis]

On our 4 night WONDER cruise the buffet was never openned for dinner it closed at 4pm. The guys wore khakis and polo shirts and the girls a simple cotton sun dress but we would have loved to be able to go to the buffet in shorts whenever we were ready for dinner rather than the pre-arranged dining times. In saying that we had a fabulous cruise and would go again in a heart beat.

 

[101DalmFan]

Here's my experience on "formal" night.

On our 11-night last year, we had two formal nights due to the length of the cruise. Both nights, I saw men in everything from tuxedos to -- I kid you not -- blue jeans and a short sleeved shirt, worn with athletic shoes. That man's wife was in a nice dress

I saw men in suits, I saw men in dress shirts but no jacket or tie. I saw men in a dress shirt and tie, but no jacket. In other words, the whole nine yards.

For women, I saw women in gowns, yes, but I also saw women in dress slacks and nice tops, skirts and blouses, and sundresses with a wrap over their shoulders. Or, no wrap.

I saw heels, I saw flats, I saw sandals. Me, I wore dressy sandals. And a nice dress with a wrap over my shoulders, but nowhere near what you'd call a gown.

My personal opinion is to go as dressy as you're comfortable with. If you're uncomfortable, you won't have a good evening no matter how nice you might look

 

[bonnielynn]

Such cute pictures!