Dress code info from DCL

[siki00]

Hello all,

The past couple of days I have asked a couple questions regarding the dress code for dinner. We are leaving on the 18th. Today I received this email from DCL. I thought I would share it with all of you. I know many others have the same questions and concerns as I did.

Here it is:


Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line vacation!

I would be happy to assist you.

Dining attire varies by venue or theme night on your cruise. In general, most meals are "Cruise Casual"-- jeans, khakis and capris are permitted.
Also, spaghetti strap shirts and dresses are acceptable; however, we ask that Guests refrain from wearing shorts, swimwear or tank tops in the dining rooms.

Below is the recommended attire for your cruise itinerary and is subject to change:

On 5-night cruises departing Friday:
*Night 1, 2 and 5: cruise casual
*Night 3: "dress-up night" (optional attire) - jacket or a dress shirt for men; dress or pantsuit for women *Night 4: pirate night with deck party - cruise casual or bring your best pirate outfit!

These requirements are not mandatory; however, in order to re-create a classic and memorable dining experience for you and all our Guests, we recommend the attire schedule that is planned for your upcoming cruise.


Palo is our romantic alternative restaurant exclusively for our Guests
18 years and older. To maintain this elegant feeling during the various dining options, a dress code is in place for the Palo Champagne Brunch and Palo Dinner.

-Palo Champagne Brunch:
Cruise casual wear suggested.
No shorts, swimwear, tank tops or blue jeans are permitted.

-Palo Dinner:
Men - A dress shirt or jacket is required.
Women - A dress or pantsuit is recommended. Dressy capris with a dressy top should be fine for Palo.
No shorts, swimwear, tank tops or blue jeans are permitted.

 

[breakingd_awn]

Even though they ask to refrain from wearing shorts to dinner, you'll still get people who say it's ok. It's always a big debate. I never have and never will wear shorts to dinner but that's just me, I like to see my family dress up for dinner on our vacation.We have fun with it. It doesn't make me feel like I'm FORCED into doing anything.

 

[JodyTG]

I just tell my DH that we're not going to Applebee's so he can at least wear Dockers for dinner. This is just for a week and I'll bet after we get home from our cruise he'll be wishing for a "Docker" dinner.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello all,

The past couple of days I have asked a couple questions regarding the dress code for dinner. We are leaving on the 18th. Today I received this email from DCL. I thought I would share it with all of you. I know many others have the same questions and concerns as I did.

Here it is:


Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line vacation!

I would be happy to assist you.

Dining attire varies by venue or theme night on your cruise. In general, most meals are "Cruise Casual"-- jeans, khakis and capris are permitted.
Also, spaghetti strap shirts and dresses are acceptable; however, we ask that Guests refrain from wearing shorts, swimwear or tank tops in the dining rooms.

Below is the recommended attire for your cruise itinerary and is subject to change:

On 5-night cruises departing Friday:
*Night 1, 2 and 5: cruise casual
*Night 3: "dress-up night" (optional attire) - jacket or a dress shirt for men; dress or pantsuit for women *Night 4: pirate night with deck party - cruise casual or bring your best pirate outfit!

These requirements are not mandatory; however, in order to re-create a classic and memorable dining experience for you and all our Guests, we recommend the attire schedule that is planned for your upcoming cruise.


Palo is our romantic alternative restaurant exclusively for our Guests
18 years and older. To maintain this elegant feeling during the various dining options, a dress code is in place for the Palo Champagne Brunch and Palo Dinner.

-Palo Champagne Brunch:
Cruise casual wear suggested.
No shorts, swimwear, tank tops or blue jeans are permitted.

-Palo Dinner:
Men - A dress shirt or jacket is required.
Women - A dress or pantsuit is recommended. Dressy capris with a dressy top should be fine for Palo.
No shorts, swimwear, tank tops or blue jeans are permitted.

"Should" be fine? I've not seen capris for dinner at Palo. Brunch, yes. A guy has to wear dress clothes and capris are OK for women?

 

[Skyw]

Thanks. My DH is doing the happy dance that he can wear a nice pair of Jeans to dinner. And it saves me some money too. DS doesn't even own dress pants. He has lots of collared shirts from school though!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks. My DH is doing the happy dance that he can wear a nice pair of Jeans to dinner. And it saves me some money too. DS doesn't even own dress pants. He has lots of collared shirts from school though!!!

I usually pay less for dress pants than for everyday jeans. Ds11's last pair of dress pants (looking like a suit jacket would go with) were only $9 at Syms. Sad they went out of business. Kohls has great sales and combined with a 30% off coupon are usually around $15.



We've been cruising since our boys were 7 & 4, now 15 & almost 12. They'd be mortified to wears shorts in the dining room. They enjoy getting dressed up; ds15 has known how to tie a necktie for about 2 yrs and keeps asking if he'll get a new suit for Alaska. Good thing they're not growing quite so fast now and we can get at least 2-4 cruises from a set of dress clothes/shoes.

 

[acourtwdw]

"Should" be fine? I've not seen capris for dinner at Palo. Brunch, yes. A guy has to wear dress clothes and capris are OK for women?

I have worn black capri pants to Palo dinner more than once without a problem.

 

[auntie]

We went on our first cruise on the Magic earlier this month.
While we did change for dinner..we saw LOTS of people who did not. There was an entire family in orange T-shirts. Most of whom were adults.
I thought there was a dress up night. Turned out it was a "semi-formal" night our second night. No way did we wear the very dressy clothes we brought. We would have felt ridiculously out of place.
We did go to the Palo brunch where I wore black dress slacks and a very dressy top. Husband wore a dress shirt and slacks. While most were nicely dressed...only one gentlemen had on a jacket (and they were newlyweds).
There were even a couple of men with the Tommy Bahama style shirts with nice slacks. It did appear the brunch is more casual than the dinner.

Personally, and just my opinion... but I don't think the dining rooms really lend themselves to the whole formal attire thing.
Other than Palo, they are loud, and pretty much assembly line in presentation. While the food was fine, it wasn't anything exceptional. In fact we only liked one out of the three, and if we sail again would order from that menu. In any case, they just didn't strike me as a "fine dining" experience.
I don't know about the larger ships..but this was our experience on the Magic. We would have liked to have had the option of another Upcharge restaurant, in additional to that of Palo.

 

[MillauFr]

Personally, and just my opinion... but I don't think the dining rooms really lend themselves to the whole formal attire thing.

I agree 100% The main dining rooms are no more formal than most chain restaurants. It is not equivalent to a nice restaurant in food quality or atmosphere. You are not eating at the French Laundry or Per Se.

 

[mareed]

I agree 100% The main dining rooms are no more formal than most chain restaurants. It is not equivalent to a nice restaurant in food quality or atmosphere. You are not eating at the French Laundry or Per Se.

Great for me to hear! We're going on our first ever cruise on the Magic out of Galveston and the formality requirement is one of the things that has prevented me from even considering a cruise before. We hate to dress up and don't even own dress-up clothes! I'm glad to see jeans included on the cruise casual list on the reply from Disney.

 

[CT Mom of 3]

My 2 cents - last summer on the Dream, my boys wore nice khaki shorts with either polo shirts or button down shirts w collars as their "cruise casual" wear and 85% of the other boys were wearing similar outfits. While I wouldn't wear shorts to dinner, I think little kids in nice shorts are perfectly acceptable.

 

[siki00]

I have worn black capri pants to Palo dinner more than once without a problem.

I'm so glad you posted this. I just bought a nice pair of capris with a dressy blouse and thought it would be fine to wear to Palo. The pants look just like dressy slacks, but a little shorter.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Great for me to hear! We're going on our first ever cruise on the Magic out of Galveston and the formality requirement is one of the things that has prevented me from even considering a cruise before. We hate to dress up and don't even own dress-up clothes! I'm glad to see jeans included on the cruise casual list on the reply from Disney.

That's one of the things we enjoy about Disney. On the 7-night + cruises with the Formal nights, you can dress up as much or as little that makes you feel comfortable. I've worn a tux before, but I've also worn slacks and a sports coat to formal night without a tie. I will probably wear a tie in the future to formal night, but that's just me. It doesn't bother me wearing a tie and I don't get to wear a Mickey tie that often! Even my boys have asked to wear a tie to these so we've brought them ties to wear, but they typically don't wear a sports coat or anything. For formal - Just khaki's and a long-sleeve "oxford" style shirt with a tie. I think they actually enjoyed dressing up. YMMV

On casual nights, it's very casual IMO - not "business" casual. Most will wear a polo or collared shirt which is ironic as there is no mention of that in the written dress request. Don't worry about the MDRs as there will always be someone dressed up more than you and someone dressed up less than you. Just enjoy the experience as they can be a fun evening with the family.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I agree 100% The main dining rooms are no more formal than most chain restaurants. It is not equivalent to a nice restaurant in food quality or atmosphere. You are not eating at the French Laundry or Per Se.

Which is why most evenings in the MDR are "casual" dress. I think it's meant to be a fun evening and not a stuffy fancy restaurant. What other restaurant can you see people wearing pirate costumes one night, tuxes the next and tropical shirts yet the next? To me, Disney is about theming and why not go with the flow? YMMV

That said, I do agree that eating at Parrot Cay in formal wear is a bit odd. We always cross our fingers that we'll be at Lumiere's (or equivalent) on formal night. Unfortunately, with the rotational dining, it's just the luck of the draw. It's only for a couple of hours and we get some great pictures of everyone dressed up.

 

[ccourtney]

My son (then 11) and I went on our second Disney cruise in November 2011 on the Dream. We had previously done a 3 night on the Wonder. For our cruise on The Dream I had insisted that my son wear dockers and a nice shirt each night for dinner because during our Wonder cruise, people at the table had made remarks about people not abiding by the dress code (which actually did come across a bit judgemental to me). My son hates to wear anything but jeans, shorts, tee shirts and sneakers, but I insisted. Every night that we went to dinner on our Dream cruise I had to listen to my son whine that hardly anyone else in the dining room was following the dress code. He was correct. I was surprised to see that most people came to dinner in shorts or jeans. I think the dress code is a guideline in the MDR areas and they are not inforced at all. That being said, when we are on our next cruise in November 2013 (7 night on The Fantasy!), we will abide by the guidelines again. We are just regular middle class people from a small town outside of Pittsburgh. The opportunity to go on a Disney Cruise and enjoy the amazing beauty, elegance and service they offer is a real treat for us so to me, putting in a little extra effort to look nice for dinner just adds to an experience we don't get to enjoy very often.

However, what I said above is merely my opinion and while I like to get a little dressed up for dinner on the cruises, I was not put off at all nor did I look down on anyone who came in wearing shorts and jeans. It didn't take away from my experience at all and I certainly do not think that a person's choice of attire makes any kind of statement on their character.

I guess I kind of went off on a tangent here, but basically my point in all of this is that the dress code for the MDR is a guideline. I've never seen it enforced and if you feel very strongly that you should not have to wear anything special then I wouldn't worry too much about it. I wouldn't recommend wearing a bikini or a speedo but that is pretty much common sense! Enjoy your vacation! Disney Cruises are the BEST!!

 

[ccourtney]

I will just add one more thing about men wearing docker-type pants vs. jeans to dinner . . . . Dockers do weigh less than jeans and if you are anything like me when it comes to packing, you will want to look for any way possible to come in under that 50lb weight limit the airlines have! Like I said in my previous post, my son hates dressing up, so I wasn't about to spend alot of money on dress clothes for him for the cruise. I was able to find very nice flat front dockers (he's tall so he's in men's sizes) at Walmart for about $12. I got him a black pair and a tan pair and he alternated them and since he only wore them to dinner they didn't get dirty (but if they do, I hear the dry cleaning service is very reasonable on board). Pair them with a nice golf shirt and he's good to go. I actually allowed my son to wear his with a button down shirt, worn unbuttoned with a plain white tee underneath. He still followed the guidelines but still maintained his "casual style". He still looked very nice.

 

[Bill Seattle]

The guidelines they mail to you specifically say no jeans so it's funny that CS says jeans are fine. I don't feel at all comfortable wearing a "dressy capris with a dressy top" to Palo so I will be wearing my speedos and tank top to Palo. It's my vacation and my money so they can't tell me I can't wear my speedos to Palo.

 

[algae]

At the risk of wading into dangerous waters, here's my 2 cents:

To me, cruises are special trips that, let's face it, are expensive and not everyone can afford to experience. Just the word "cruise" usually brings to mind exotic ports of call and elegant surroundings to most people. I, for one, would like to maintain that image for that is an essential part of the experience. If I wanted to hang around Disney characters and be able to wear t-shirts and shorts, I'd head to Disneyland or WDW (which we do often). As such, I try to dress a bit nicer on cruises than I would on a "regular" vacation to visit cities in the US and around the world. It would be great if others had the same feelings towards cruises and how to dress for them, but I know that many don't and I can accept that. I just hope the trend is not towards being so casual that the lustre of sailing on Disney disappears.

This is very similar to what happened with air travel. I remember a time when air travel was considered a special event (and I'm not that old, and it wasn't that long ago.) People would dress very nicely (like business casual or better) and it was kind of fun to fly. Now, flying has become a chore that has to be endured, not enjoyed. And, people treat it so. I just hope this is not the future of sailing.

Sorry for the long post. Back to normal posting mode now

 

[TXDCLfan]

At the risk of wading into dangerous waters, here's my 2 cents:

To me, cruises are special trips that, let's face it, are expensive and not everyone can afford to experience. Just the word "cruise" usually brings to mind exotic ports of call and elegant surroundings to most people. I, for one, would like to maintain that image for that is an essential part of the experience. If I wanted to hang around Disney characters and be able to wear t-shirts and shorts, I'd head to Disneyland or WDW (which we do often). As such, I try to dress a bit nicer on cruises than I would on a "regular" vacation to visit cities in the US and around the world. It would be great if others had the same feelings towards cruises and how to dress for them, but I know that many don't and I can accept that. I just hope the trend is not towards being so casual that the lustre of sailing on Disney disappears.

This is very similar to what happened with air travel. I remember a time when air travel was considered a special event (and I'm not that old, and it wasn't that long ago.) People would dress very nicely (like business casual or better) and it was kind of fun to fly. Now, flying has become a chore that has to be endured, not enjoyed. And, people treat it so. I just hope this is not the future of sailing.

Sorry for the long post. Back to normal posting mode now

I feel the same way. It is sad the way some people dress on planes these days.

 

[progs2]

Having never been on a Disney cruise (RCCL previously), I was inclined to check into the differences between the experiences. I realized Disney was less formal than RCCL, but I heard many people raving about the food and the dining experience.
Lately, I am starting to wonder. While the food may be excellent (we'll find that out soon) the dining experience is starting to sound more like a glorified Chuck-e-Cheese.
I hope I'm wrong, we really look forward to enjoying our dinners and dressing and acting appropriately for a nice restaurant.