Europe more formal?

[scrapycruiser]

Do people dress up more on formal night on the European cruises? I'm thinking renting a tux for my husband would save room in his suitcase. What is everyone doing?

 

[jtw999]

I've been wondering that, too! We have only been on an 3 night cruise and it was very casual. I brought some dressier clothes for dinner but they all stayed packed.
As well as the formal night, are all evenings dressier?

 

[HappyGrumpy]

I've been wondering that too! We have only been on an 3 night cruise and it was very casual. I brought some dressier clothes for dinner but they all stayed packed.
As well as the formal night, are all evenings dressier?

This is a great question!! We have done the 4 nights and Palo's but hubby normally wears coat and tie at Palo's. Even on "formal night" he will do a nice dress shirt and dress slacks but no tie that's it! I don't even mind if he wears his berks on those nights as long as he wears his nice dress socks with them

But I am curious if it is any different!

 

[cj'smom]

Have been on two 7-night Carribean cruises and always dressed up for formal night. DH wore tux, I wore long gown, my son wore dress slacks, button down shirt and dressy vest, my girls wore either cocktail length dressy dresses or formals. My philosopy is that at home I never go to things that require formal dressing so I enjoy the opportunity to get really dressed up on the cruise. We enjoyed seeing other families dressed to the nines. Lots of little girls wear the fancy princess dresses for formal and semi-formal night. They are adorable!

For the Med cruise I plan to take a lightweight long gown that will pack easily and am looking for something similar for my 9 yr old dd (the rest of the family is staying home on this cruise). Europeans in general tend to dress more nicely than Americans so it wouldn't surprise me if more people are decked out for formal night.

Bargain tip - I've had great success finding nice formals inexpensively in consignment stores and thrift stores in nice areas. Ditto for finding tuxes cheap.

 

[mrosen]

What is formal night? We are on the April Med cruise and have never cruised before.

 

[lmhall2000]

What is formal night? We are on the April Med cruise and have never cruised before.

mrosen, there are 2-3 nights where folks get dressed up a little more than standard dinner fare....the ship's captain is in his finest, some will wear tux's and long formal gowns, but it is just a suggestion, you will still be able to attend that night's dinner if you're not decked out.

Unfortunately for us, we have nice Sunday dresses but most likely will not dress in formals/tuxes/even a jacket for dh..mainly because the limits on baggage going across is sooooooo very limited..you only get one checked baggage, anything above that is cost prohibitive with 7 people travelling...so trying to get one outfit that can take up 1/5th the space in luggage to just wear one night is not practical. Not to mention extra shoes and such for everyone, we're all bringing one pair of nice slippers, sandals and walking shoes, just can't manage much more....we will enjoy seeing others dressed up!

Tara

 

[carmie3377]

Bargain tip - I've had great success finding nice formals inexpensively in consignment stores and thrift stores in nice areas. Ditto for finding tuxes cheap.

Great idea! I found a gorgeous red gown last year at Dillards for 75% off and I had so many compliments on it as CMs and other guests were stopping me asking me where I had bought and how pretty it was. It was a return (already had the return label on it) or otherwise I don't think it would have made it to the 75% off mark. Anyway, don't know if I'll be so lucky again so I might check out the consignments the next time I need to find a formal.

 

[owensamo]

Great idea! I found a gorgeous red gown last year at Dillards for 75% off and I had so many compliments on it as CMs and other guests were stopping me asking me where I had bought and how pretty it was. It was a return (already had the return label on it) or otherwise I don't think it would have made it to the 75% off mark. Anyway, don't know if I'll be so lucky again so I might check out the consignments the next time I need to find a formal.

Check out Goodwill - I found a *beautiful* formal gown at Goodwill that I'm sure was only worn once. It cost me $7! I did pay to have it dry cleaned and then shortened (since I'm rather short and even with heels it dragged) so all total it was more like $60, but still better than what it would have been had I been purchasing it anywhere else!

Also - I once found a $10 clearance rack outside a bridal store in the summer and got 2 gorgeous dresses that way too. Again, had to pay for cleaning and alterations, but still a really great deal. Bridal stores have to clear out their in-stock inventory yearly so you might be able to find some great dresses from last year's lines for a great price.

And there's always eBay!

 

[tea for girls]

The luggage restrictions for international travel really stinks. I have always looked forward to a longer "old fashioned" type cruise where the time moves by slowly and you have time to really dress-up. We are on the WB-Transatlantic next year and I am already stressing about how we can travel with such limited luggage and still look nice.

 

[eva]

I'm interested in this answer too. On the 7-Day cruises we usually stick to cocktail dresses and nice suits. But I might be tempted to rent a tux for DH and bring a formal for me, if there is a large majority that dress more formal.

 

[Anal Annie]

For those who have only sailed on the Wonder, it is WAY more casual than the longer cruises. I was shocked. I am sure luggage restrictions have had an impact on the Magic too but when we first sailed on the Magic back in 2005 we rented the tux for DH & just brought a sport coat for the other nights that weren't "cruise casual". I didn't want to pack all that for him so we even rented the shoes too. All I had to bring for him was a pair of black socks! I usually bring old holiday party dressy dresses or shop at like TJ Maxx for bargain dresses for myself. I think boys can get by in suits & look for them around Easter when there's lots of sales on that kind of stuff. I have a pair of dressy sandals that are a combination of black patent & clear straps that will go with most things so I try to make due with one pair of dressy shoes for myself. We will likely rent a tux again for DH when we do our Med cruise...so much easier.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We did the Med. Cruise in 2007. We had brought a garment bag with all our formal clothes in it. But unfortunately, it never made it to Barcelona so, we didn't have any formal clothes. Alot of people had missing luggage on our cruise. Our children had dresses in their regular suitcases that would pass for formal clothes. But dh and I didn't. I was able to buy a black dress in the gift shop and dh bought two dress shirts and pair of slacks to wear. I would say most of the cruise was pretty casual but I don't know if that had to do with the fact that many people had loss luggage. I was bummed because I had coordinated our formal clothes to match and I wanted to get a family picture done. But that didn't happen. Oh well... So, I don't know the answer to your question. We had planned on dressing up. Dh brought his tux, etc... We brought our pirate outfits to wear, etc.. For the Baltic Cruise we will probably still dress up. I find that since you can do laundry on the cruise ship that your really don't need to over pack. We'll be in London prior to our cruise so, I plan on doing laundry when we board and then, again mid way through our cruise.

 

[Rogillio]

I don't think the Med cruise is gonna be any different than any other cruise. Some families like to dress up and other don't. Some family will and some won't. On formal night you will tuxedos and you will be polos and slacks.

This is your vacation, do what you and your family wants to do. My son has grown so fast, had we bought him a suit, he would have outgrown it in 3 months....so kakis and button down shirt was his "formal". My daughter loves to dress up so she got a new dress for the cruise. Wife and I wear 'business casual' all year round and cetrainly did not want to dress UP on vacation....we wanted to dress DOWN. So it even went against our desire to bring business casual for the cruise but we did out of respect for the other cruisers who like to doll up for formal nights.

~Mike

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

In 2007 it was far less formal, fewer people dressed up, even Palo was more relaxed.

 

[cj'smom]

What is formal night? We are on the April Med cruise and have never cruised before.

There are usually 2 semi-formal nights - think nice church clothes to beaded cocktail dresses for the ladies and coat/tie or suit for men

Just one formal night - that's where you see the gowns/tuxes. Military in dress uniforms, etc.

But, lots of folks choose not to dress up and just wear nice casual for dinner. I would say it was about 50/50. If you enjoy dressing up, then go for it. If not, wear whatever works best for your family.

 

[cj'smom]

Check out Goodwill - I found a *beautiful* formal gown at Goodwill that I'm sure was only worn once. It cost me $7! I did pay to have it dry cleaned and then shortened (since I'm rather short and even with heels it dragged) so all total it was more like $60, but still better than what it would have been had I been purchasing it anywhere else!

Also - I once found a $10 clearance rack outside a bridal store in the summer and got 2 gorgeous dresses that way too. Again, had to pay for cleaning and alterations, but still a really great deal. Bridal stores have to clear out their in-stock inventory yearly so you might be able to find some great dresses from last year's lines for a great price.

And there's always eBay!

You both sound like my kind of shopper!
Gown for this crusie - $5
DD's homecoming dress - $1
DD's homecoming dress (long) $1 - had altered for $20
All of these were brand new with price tags ranging from $75 - $200. Found at consignment store.
DD's prom gown - $15 at thrift store, bought some beaded trim to add for $20 from fabric store. She looked gorgeous and got many compliments on her unique gown.
LOL, just saw the most beautiful wedding gown in a thrift store for $50. My oldest dd is only 17 so no wedding for a long time yet .. but it sure was tempting!

We live in an upscale community so the thrift stores here have good stuff. The trick with thrift stores is to go to where the people with $$$ replace their wardrobes on a frequent basis and then benefit from their castoffs. Never tried buying on e-bay. I like to be able to try things on - it's no bargain if it dosen't fit right and look good.

 

[calmpets]

Another great spot for formal dresses is the clearance rack at the bridal shops. I've bought a couple of cruise dresses for $20.

 

[Goofy Mum]

Well done, smart shoppers!

I bought a beautiful formal dress for my sisters wedding off ebay a few years ago. Brand new with tags. I wore it once and sold it on for the same price I bought it for. So check ebay!

Just today I bought a LBD on sale for £28. I found it online on a winter clearance sale.