Shorts in the MDR - Poll

[darkwing818]

No one in our party wears jeans or shorts to the MDR. I will continue to enjoy dressing up, just a little, because it's a special occasion.

Pretty much sums up the way we look at as well.

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Personally I hate having to dress up for dinner but I want to enjoy the menu in the MDR. So I suck it up and do the very bare minimum to get by. I would find cruising much more enjoyable if the dress code was reevaluated.

Honestly, I am surprised that 19% of people surveyed feels that if others were wearing shorts it would interfere with their experience. I could care less what anyone else is doing/wearing. I'm more focused on enjoying my meal with my family.

 

[luvdamouse91]

I think it is too cold in the dining rooms to wear shorts.

 

[3mmm]

We have always let our young children wear dressy short sets. As they have gotten older we have enforced the pants rule but I'll be honest, my biggest problem is my husband. He hates the no shorts rule. His opinion, and I don't disagree but I am more of a rule person, is that he is on vacation and if he looks decent why should anyone else care. It is true that his nice shorts and polo is better than some people's choice of pants and a shirt.

I guess my point is that if DCL changes the rules, my DH and DSs will all be in shorts, except on semi formal and formal nights. They'll still look good so I guess it's okay. They wear shorts to all the nice restaurants around here in the summer.

 

[GrumpyPrincess75]

My son wore nice shorts and button downs, except for semi-formal and formal nights, and he wore a jacket and bow tie (Mickey bow tie, of course!). My husband wore shorts on pirate night, otherwise he wore slacks and on semi-formal night and formal night, a suit. I pretty much wear dresses exclusively while I'm cruising but I did wear pants one night.

As long as people look neat and presentable, I am not bothered by what they wear. I admit to being bothered by the amount of barefoot people and people of all ages walking around in bathing suits in the D Lounge, theaters, etc.. I saw my fair share of it and admit it caught me off guard.

 

[cwdefouw]

As far as the Poll goes, with so many options, I am not sure a obvious consensus can be reached. A better option would have maybe three choices.

As far as the topic goes, I don't really care as long people adhere to the stated policy, whatever that policy may be. What I don't like are the people that either didn't read the (old) policy, or that know the (old) policy and just don't care, wearing cutoff shorts, and other clothing that is clearly outside of the stated policy for the MDR. And I also don't like that the cruise line refuses to enforce the policy, which is really WHY they are changing the policy; so that enforcement is a non-issue. They are just giving in to those few that have entitlement issues.

With this change, the management has made it clear that in the future, anything goes. After a short time for this to become old news, I fully expect them to change to policy on saving deck chairs. Just wait, that will be next.

 

[Nini05]

Most men on our cruise wore long pantsin mdr. Shorts on first night tho.

 

[Denine]

I considered the "will not let the policy affect" choice, because if they do allow shorts, I'll still dress up and not wear them.

But I wasn't sure how you were meaning that response - like I interpreted it or in the vein of "I don't give a rat's patootie, it's my vacation and I'll wear whatever even if it's not allowed."

I interpreted it the same way, even though shorts may be allowed, we will not wear them and dress appropriately for a nice dinner.

 

[debsters41]

Ok, I get it that people are on vacation and want to wear shorts, etc. But that is why there is the option of eating upstairs at topsiders/cabanas with food from the MDR's, waiters, and all. Why detract from the sense of elegance that people on their vacation want to feel during dinner in the MDRs? Of course, I am talking about adults, not children. I *never* get a chance to go out to eat during the year. Ever. I like the idea of dressing up just a little bit.

 

[Mazz519]

thanks for the reply. If you see the results, you will see that SOME cruisers state that the atmosphere created by the wearing of shorts in the MDR does effect them.

Thats pretty sad that people on vacation would let what people wear to dinner affect them.. I pretty much wear shorts to the MDR every night on my cruises. I dont look at what other people are wearing nor do I care... and wud never let it affect my experience..... I am on vacation and will wear what I want. I dont wear shorts and a t shirt. they are dress shorts with a nice dress shirt and shoes... Again I really dont care what other people do.

 

[OKW4ME]

I can't believe DCL are lowering their standards to the lower classes of cruising. If anyone wants to wear shorts in the MDR, they should go to Carnival.

I thought DCL were a better class of ship and allowing shorts in the MDR is really sinking very low. Yes, people have done it in the past and were frowned upon, but this just gives people who don't give an effort the opportunity to walk into the dining room with the same shorts and tee they were wearing at the pool, I thought DCL was a bit more special than that and we paid the additional cost, compared with other cruise lines, to have a bit of class and not be next to people who are not prepared to make an effort.

Sad, sad day Disney Cruise Line :

 

[Dug720]

I can't believe DCL are lowering their standards to the lower classes of cruising. If anyone wants to wear shorts in the MDR, they should go to Carnival.

I thought DCL were a better class of ship and allowing shorts in the MDR is really sinking very low. Yes, people have done it in the past and were frowned upon, but this just gives people who don't give an effort the opportunity to walk into the dining room with the same shorts and tee they were wearing at the pool, I thought DCL was a bit more special than that and we paid the additional cost, compared with other cruise lines, to have a bit of class and not be next to people who are not prepared to make an effort.

Sad, sad day Disney Cruise Line :

I really tend to agree with you. For the people who say "It's MY vacation and I'll wear what I want"...well, you knew going in what you were signing up for. You could easily read the dress code before you booked. IMHO, in signing that cruise contract, you were agreeing to abide by the wishes of your host. (You being the entitled ones who think they can do whatever, not the poster I quoted.)

The fact that Disney is deciding to give in to people with the entitlement mentality rather than enforce their own stated requests does make me sad.

 

[hubbard53]

sorry, but this poll is poorly done. It should be two, maybe 3, choices and only one choice allowed. This wont tell you anything

 

[momof2n2]

I really tend to agree with you. For the people who say "It's MY vacation and I'll wear what I want"...well, you knew going in what you were signing up for. You could easily read the dress code before you booked. IMHO, in signing that cruise contract, you were agreeing to abide by the wishes of your host. (You being the entitled ones who think they can do whatever, not the poster I quoted.)

The fact that Disney is deciding to give in to people with the entitlement mentality rather than enforce their own stated requests does make me sad.

This is my take. You know what you are signing up for. Why not buy into the dress code, as opposed to bucking it. I don't WANT it to feel like Olive Garden, I want it to feel like an elegant 5-star as they (and many cruise lines) intended.

Sure, I CAN still dress up... But the experience is lost.

 

[FJS961]

I don't always wear shorts to the MDR but when I do, I wear Tommy Bahama. Stay classy my friends.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I voted that I wish they would just pick a policy and stick with it.

As long as the policy is no shorts, my dad will always change into long pants.

If they change the policy to shorts allowed, then I'm sure a couple of nights he'll wear his dress shorts.

For me, I don't care because I don't wear shorts outside of my house so that the world doesn't see my huge, pale white, flabby thighs and run screaming in terror.

 

[Justacruiser]

sorry, but this poll is poorly done. It should be two, maybe 3, choices and only one choice allowed. This wont tell you anything

sorry you feel the poll in inefficient. However, there was some madness to the design. The first two points asked "DO YOU WEAR SHORTS?" and "DO YOU NOT WEAR SHORTS?' Everyone should have check one or the other.

Then there were questions like IF YOU DON'T WEAR SHORTS, DO YOU CARE IF OTHERS DO? COULD YOU CARE LESS? DO YOU WANT POLICY CHANGE? WILL YOU FOLLOW THE POLICY SET IN PLACE? DO YOU THING THE ATMOSPHERE IS CHANGED BASED ON SHORTS IN THE MDR?

all are relevent questions, not put in the best context MAYBE, but that's why I don't conduct surveys for a living.

thanks

 

[MrsScooby]

so I personal think the poll questions are a bit off I mean why not just say do you mind if others wear shorts yes or no... Not sure what all this other mess of stuff really says about the views on this page...

ex: No one in our party wore shorts, but I don't mind what others are wearing, I don't let the policy effect what I wear and I could care less about the policy, and obviously it doesn't effect me what others wear...

ditto

 

[tvguy]

Since there are other dining options for those who wish to wear shorts, I'm not sure why a change is even necessary.
My first cruise I had to rent a tux because they were required for formal night, and a coat and tie on all other nights other than the last night.

 

[tajz90]

We've sailed DCL 13 times and have always adhered to the MDR dress code with two exceptions:

On our 12-night 2007 Med cruise, our luggage was lost by the airlines and didn't make it to the ship until the sixth day. It was estimated that 40% of our fellow cruisers were in the same situation. In the meantime, all we had were the jeans we wore on the flights to Barcelona and a couple of outfits we'd packed in carry-ons - all shorts. EVERYONE was very nice about it. Guest Relations encouraged us to eat in the MDRs while waiting for our luggage to arrive. When we told our servers our situation, they insisted we come every night regardless of what we were wearing. Our Head Server even made it a point to come over and put us at ease after learning we were going to skip formal night since we would have been severely under-dressed. Yay DCL!


On a personal note, we never pay attention to what anyone else is wearing in the MDRs, unless it's an outfit that is so inappropriate that you can't help but notice. (And we've seen a few of those!!!) If you want to dress to the nines, have at it. If you'd rather be cruise casual, more power to you. If you want to wear shorts, go ahead. It doesn't affect us in the least. In fact, if a new shorts-friendly policy is announced, you will most likely find us in shorts more nights than not!

This is us! We lost all of of our luggage on our 07 Med and we never got our luggage for the entire cruise. We wore shorts every single night (except for the night Disney loaned us a tux and a dress). Thank goodness Disney didn't care what we wore or we would have missed out at no fault of our own.

Now we pack minimally so the longer we are gone the more precious luggage space is. We pack what we will use the most which means dressier items fall to the wayside.

I personally don't care what anyone wears. Doesn't diminish my experience and I certainly don't look down on anyone that wears shorts or jeans. People shouldn't be so high and mighty. The trip down is a long one!