FORMAL Night on the Magic ..... so sad .....

[rosermama]

My family and my best friend's family went on the Magic for Easter. We had a great time, but not only the formal night but for Easter Sunday I was disappointed in the way people dressed.

My BFF and I started cruising every year a couple of years out of college. Then it was 2 formal night, 3 semi formal and 2 casual nights for dinner. We always had the cute cocktail dresses and dressed to the nines. Then we started cruising with our husbands and they surprised us by renting tuxedos, we all looked great. Fast forward 1o years and we are now traveling with my boys 9 & 7 and her daughter 8.

Granted I didn't get suits for the boys, but they had dress pants, button down shirts and ties for dinner on formal night. As well as khakis and a golf shirt for Easter Sunday services and we put the same clothes on them for dinner that night. The kids complained since a lot of kids were really casual, they made us go back to the room to change before the went to Oceaneers lab. We looked around and there were numerous parents dressed like they were going to McDonald's not dinner on the ship.

I think more people were dressed for the pirate night than the formal night. Part of the fun of formal night is getting dressed up, so if you can pack a costume for one event, please pack the costume for the formal event too!

My DD thankfully is old enough to go to the clubs on her own so she doesnt mind putting on her dress for the shows she eats fast at the MDR and the heads out changes and runs to the club. The first year we took her on the ship one of us had to go with her while she changed but at least she gets in a dress for a little while.

 

[chateau]

Bet your family looked great! I'd just be checkin' you all out and not be concerned with the underdressed!

 

[biggdawg67]

We were on the Alaska cruise last week. We are Gold Castaway Cay members and our whole family really looks forward to dressing up for dinner. My boys have tuxedos (they are reasonably priced on eBay). When we went to Formal Night dinner there were probably more people in BLUE JEANS than formal wear !! SO SAD !!! Lot of newbies on this cruise but come on people........can you just wear a tie and khakis ??? We were VERY disappointed. Even people with shorts on. It just ruins it for everyone (in my opinion). Go and eat at Beach Blanket if you want to wear shorts on Formal Night.

Well I hope it didnt ruin your entire cruise for you....and how can you say it ruins it for everyone ....would not have bothered me thats for sure...I am gold as well and I do not judge people by what they are wearing....as long as they have clothes on ..... i cant blame them for they just spent umpteen thousand $$$ for a vacation and want to be comfortable while on vacation thats how i see it.

 

[kristinfly2]

I need help about what to dress DS5 in for formal night! DH will be wearing slacks/tie and i will wear a nice dress/heels. Our three girls will wear their fancy princess dresses. DS5 HATES buttons! I will wrestle him into a polo shirt for the other nights (he has no problem wearing real pants) I have been trying to think of alternatives for him. Can he wear a costume? We are on the 11/3/12 magic out of galveston so it is right after halloween. I am hoping to get him a knight, prince, peter pan or even captain costume. Is this done??? Thank you!

 

[darkwing818]

Trust me there is no one who hates wearing a suit & tie more than I do, especially after 30+ years of wearing suits to work. But hey how hard is to pack a nice dark suit or rent a tux on board. DW & our 2 DDs really like getting dressed up when we cruise, it's kind of fun actually.

 

[jlwhitney]

Common courtesy and respect for others seems to be forgotten by some of the guests when they board the ship. How sad.

It's a losing battle, there are too many rationalizations out there. I'm sorry this is one of your memories. For the next cruise (and there will be one!), try to not be affected by the few who don't care, and relish your family and the time together on the ship. Our cruises are fantastic...we are able to tune out the few who are overentitled.

Its not just on the cruise ship its everywhere. We enjoy going to the theater and that is something you use to always dress up for and now more than half the theater is in jeans and t shirts looking liked they rolled out bed.

I really don't think its the i don't want to pack it, its more they I don't care and its not what we want to do. everything is about me, not being polite or respectful.

 

[carmie3377]

We have dressed up too on our 3 formal nights - me in evening gown, dd in tween party dress, and the boys in suits. We've enjoyed it and have great pics. On the PC cruise when we stepped in the elevator, I heard a mom tell her two sons "He's younger than you and he's wearing a suit!" as she was obviously disappointed as they were "only" in khakis. That didn't bother me but what did was when a young lady showed up to Tritons on formal night in VERY short denim cutoffs that were frayed. I don't think those things belonged in the dining room period, much less on formal night! But there were other people in workout gear. I was very surprised by the dress of people.

 

[Weedy]

My family has always dress up for formal and semi formal night, but I have never paid attention to how many were not dressing up. This year we were on the June 10th Magic cruise out of NY, we had just a semi formal night. I looked around and there were just a few people who did not dress up. I was very surprised because by reading these boards you would think that is was more than half the people not dress up. On semi formal night in our dining room only one young couple had on jeans they were with a large party who were all dresses nice.

 

[bmer1rick]

We were on the Alaska cruise last week. We are Gold Castaway Cay members and our whole family really looks forward to dressing up for dinner. My boys have tuxedos (they are reasonably priced on eBay). When we went to Formal Night dinner there were probably more people in BLUE JEANS than formal wear !! SO SAD !!! Lot of newbies on this cruise but come on people........can you just wear a tie and khakis ??? We were VERY disappointed. Even people with shorts on. It just ruins it for everyone (in my opinion). Go and eat at Beach Blanket if you want to wear shorts on Formal Night.

After many cruises and seeing sooo much of this, I too was very disappointed to see so many in T-shirts, cutoffs, jeans, etc and let it affect my cruise experience. But, several cruises ago, my wife gave me some good advice and I continue to take it to heart..

Only worry about what you can control, everything else, just roll with the punches. It only ruins your experience if you let it.

Don't mean to marginalize anyone else's concerns/comments, but your cruise is what you make it. Enjoy dressing up yourself, getting great pictures with your kids and spending quality time together.

 

[CruznLexi]

When I started cruising nearly 30 years ago at the age of 18. I must have changed 3-4 times a day. Some many years later I hate to dress up . I am very happy in shorts and t shirts. I do not wear that to the main donning room. You will see me in capris a Disney style shirt that is handmade and sandals. I am more than happy to wear this every night with various pants or capris. On formal night I do wear black pants and black shirts with my Mickey pearls. But have been told by CM if you don't want to dress up you do not have to. With the extra money airlines are charging I can see why people do not bring extra clothes .

 

[braysmommy]

I need help about what to dress DS5 in for formal night! DH will be wearing slacks/tie and i will wear a nice dress/heels. Our three girls will wear their fancy princess dresses. DS5 HATES buttons! I will wrestle him into a polo shirt for the other nights (he has no problem wearing real pants) I have been trying to think of alternatives for him. Can he wear a costume? We are on the 11/3/12 magic out of galveston so it is right after halloween. I am hoping to get him a knight, prince, peter pan or even captain costume. Is this done??? Thank you!

For your DS how about a long sleeve cotton shirt and a sweater vest. Last year I got my DS a cute vest at either gap or children's place no buttons but still dressed up.

 

[MillauFr]

Disney is not going to turn away paying customers. Most people like casual. I was at the Empress Hotel in Victoria last week. The formal restaurant that requires a suit had maybe 3 couple in the entire place. The more casual restaurant was packed. They charged almost as much but they didn't require a suit.

 

[damiel]

DS5 HATES buttons! I will wrestle him into a polo shirt for the other nights (he has no problem wearing real pants) I have been trying to think of alternatives for him. Can he wear a costume? We are on the 11/3/12 magic out of galveston so it is right after halloween. I am hoping to get him a knight, prince, peter pan or even captain costume. Is this done??? Thank you!

What about a nice pullover sweater? Or even a cardigan with a polo under it?

 

[Rather Be At WDW]

I really don't think its the i don't want to pack it, its more they I don't care and its not what we want to do. everything is about me, not being polite or respectful.

Agree!

 

[princess aleya]

We really look forward to dressing up, for me thats one of the things I love about cruising.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Weeeeell....

I'm not the biggest fan of dressing up. I know. Gasp. The horror. I know. Hear me out.

We've only been on 2 cruises ever, both DCL & both less than 7 days so we've yet to encounter anything beyond just "dress-up" night. Even for that I've learned quickly it's not as much fun for me as it is for others. First & foremost is the cost for the clothes alone. I have 2 teenage sons. They grow crazy fast. They're both at opposing ends of the 'build' spectrum from head to toe so there is zero chance of the younger growing into his brother's clothes. Zero. In our normal lives we don't dress up unless we have a specific need to (ie. funerals or weddings). So each of these short cruises we've been on I had to buy these boys 2 polos, a button-up, 2 pairs of khakis, dark socks, & dress shoes. That hits me for about $600. That's not coats & ties either. Never mind whether or not the hubby or I should want something new to wear or whether or not we need any other clothes like shorts, swimwear, etc. Its a sizable amount of money to blow on clothes that get worn on the cruise then sit in closets until they're outgrown & head to the local Goodwill. Next May we've got our first 7-day booked & I'm not exactly excited about how much tuxes would run me in addition to all the other clothes & dress items they'll need. Renting a tux sounds great....until you have to rent three. Yes, that's $600 just to borrow clothes to wear for maybe 2 hours on 1 night. See where the absurdity starts to emerge?

Then there's the "fun" of pressing all these fancy clothes. Oh, I love the pressing service onboard but it also adds up quick when pressing pants and multiple shirts x3 + whatever dresses I've packed for myself. You have to make sure the stuff goes out for pressing by a certain time & makes it back. Then there's all the time to do my hair up, etc. I dunno. Feels more like work to me. Less on the fun scale...higher on the aggravation scale.

It's vacation. I go on vacation to relax. I don't want to stress over clothes before or during vacation. I do that enough just keeping up the laundry at home.

All that said, I realize it's Disney's ship & they have their attire requests. Hubby & I have discussed it briefly & think on our 7-night we'll just opt for Cabanas in lieu of throwing good money away needlessly on clothes we don't otherwise need or want. We'd rather put that towards more family vacations or excursions. We respect the requests of the cruise line & our fellow passengers so we'll forego the MDR on that night so as not to be disrespectful.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying shorts & tshirts when there are attire recommendations state otherwise are okay. If those folks didn't want to dress accordingly they should've opted for Cabanas/Topsiders as well.

Just wanted to lend some perspective as to why some don't readily welcome all the dress-up fun that others seem to enjoy so much.

 

[Brumbie13]

I don't know why I see so many reports about people being more casual on Alaska.
I would think that the natural beauty of Alaska, as well as the cold, would be enough to entice people to dress up more than on tropical waters, but for some reason, many of the reports I read say people dress less in Alaska.

 

[z80]

I don't know why I see so many reports about people being more casual on Alaska.
I would think that the natural beauty of Alaska, as well as the cold, would be enough to entice people to dress up more than on tropical waters, but for some reason, many of the reports I read say people dress less in Alaska.

Yes that is very much true. And not just the formal nights, it was on pirate night too. I felt over dressed at almost every dinner.

 

[kerstfan1]

im going on my first cruise next week and i want to know if it is oke to wear 3/4 pants because im going for 2 weeks and not wanting to bring too much stuff with me

 

[lmhall2000]

Weeeeell....

. I have 2 teenage sons. They grow crazy fast. They're both at opposing ends of the 'build' spectrum from head to toe so there is zero chance of the younger growing into his brother's clothes. Zero. In our normal lives we don't dress up unless we have a specific need to (ie. funerals or weddings). So each of these short cruises we've been on I had to buy these boys 2 polos, a button-up, 2 pairs of khakis, dark socks, & dress shoes. That hits me for about $600. That's not coats & ties either. Never mind whether or not the hubby or I should want something new to wear or whether or not we need any other clothes like shorts, swimwear, etc. Its a sizable amount of money to blow on clothes that get worn on the cruise then sit in closets until they're outgrown & head to the local Goodwill. Next May we've got our first 7-day booked & I'm not exactly excited about how much tuxes would run me in addition to all the other clothes & dress items they'll need. Renting a tux sounds great....until you have to rent three. Yes, that's $600 just to borrow clothes to wear for maybe 2 hours on 1 night. See where the absurdity starts to emerge?

Then there's the "fun" of pressing all these fancy clothes. Oh, I love the pressing service onboard but it also adds up quick when pressing pants and multiple shirts x3 + whatever dresses I've packed for myself. You have to make sure the stuff goes out for pressing by a certain time & makes it back. Then there's all the time to do my hair up, etc. I dunno. Feels more like work to me. Less on the fun scale...higher on the aggravation scale.

It's vacation. I go on vacation to relax. I don't want to stress over clothes before or during vacation. I do that enough just keeping up the laundry at home.

We are the same way (never dress up, wear jeans to church and work) but we make it happen and it is fun! My 6'3 teen gets a 'new' suit from the thrift store for $5...most the time they retailed for over $600 each! Great bargains! We buy our two teen daughters dresses on sale off season, got three dresses for under $25! It can be done inexpensively is all I am saying.

We do not even own an iron!! We hanfg the clothes up when we get to our room, could care less about pressing anything, they look fine after hanging a few days.

So, you can have dress up and it not be a hassle...but I agree with others, if we did not dress up we would not eat in MDR.