Dinner attire - what does the future hold?

[ChicosWife]

The future is now. On our Magic cruise in January 2014, I didn't really pay close attention to what anyone else was wearing but I did notice a guy in a white undershirt type t-shirt and shorts. He wore that every night. I didn't see his footwear. I noticed several folks where were quite dressed-down, but I noticed him nightly because he had a cute baby he was holding a lot (I am totally drawn to babies, especially now that my boys are teens. I try to be non-stalkerish about it though).

Does it ruin the ambiance for me when people are dressed slovenly? Yes a little, but it still doesn't ruin my dinner or my vacation, it's just not as fancy an atmosphere as I would like. If it were up to me, it would be a bit fancier than resort casual. Some folks might prefer blacktie, which I wouldn't like every night. However, it really doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks, because people have a right to wear whatever they want as long as they are following Disney's rules. And Disney seems to feel undershirts are acceptable dinner attire.

If I was that guy in the undershirt and everyone was dressed up, I would be the one to feel uncomfortable, like everyone is looking at me and thinking I am a slob. When you dress better, you feel better, especially at dinner. IMHO

 

[MUN]

I agree it will be hard to put the toothpaste back on the farm now that we've see ole Paree. (mixaphorically speaking)

Nice one! I always say "you can't put the tube back in the toothpaste."

MUN

 

[MUN]

The future is now. On our Magic cruise in January 2014, I didn't really pay close attention to what anyone else was wearing but I did notice a guy in a white undershirt type t-shirt and shorts. He wore that every night. I didn't see his footwear.

I don't blame you for not wanting to look at his feet.

 

[DCLDVC1]

When you dress better, you feel better, especially at dinner. IMHO

Not me. I feel much better when I'm dressed comfortably. I hate dining while dressed up and it's not enjoyable at all.

 

[Sir William]

So my question is, where will we be 10 years for now? We we continue to dress down all the way to grunge? Or will we circle back and start dressing up again?

Read the question folks! OP is not asking what you wear now and your justification for doing so, but what will be acceptable wear for dinner in the MDR 10 years from now. Will there continue to be a downward trend toward more casualness, or will the pendulum start to swing back to a the formal look of the Golden Age of Cruising?

This is a great question. Don't let it spiral into the usual typical rant.

 

[2-pointdoe]

Since there are so few opportunities to dress up anymore (my job is a jeans and t-shirt dress) I look forward to dressing up as a family and get pictures taken. I don't find nice clothes any less comfortable to sit and eat in.

 

[Rogillio]

Since there are so few opportunities to dress up anymore (my job is a jeans and t-shirt dress) I look forward to dressing up as a family and get pictures taken. I don't find nice clothes any less comfortable to sit and eat in.

You are correct. And this is why I think cruise attire will continue to get more casual. I recently changed job and had to go buy a suit for the interview as it had been so long since I'd worn one they no longer fit! Evidently cothes that hang in your closset for extended periods of time without being worn are prone to shrinking!

But I think fundamentally society - especially younger people - see what they wear as an expression of their indivuality won't be tied to the 'older generaton' by wearinng traditional dress clothes.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

Since there are so few opportunities to dress up anymore (my job is a jeans and t-shirt dress) I look forward to dressing up as a family and get pictures taken. I don't find nice clothes any less comfortable to sit and eat in.

Same here. We have recently done a 7 night cruise on the Magic and i took 6 long dresses and 1 pirate costume the same for my daughter.

I would love to see the dress code getting smarter in the future.

 

[winterface]

IMO I'm glad you don't have to dress up. Dressing up just is not appealing for me. Maybe its just my generation (late 20s/early 30s), I don't own a suit, or a tie, the most I ever get dressed up is maybe khaki pants and a polo shirt.

It should just be up to the person. If they want to wear a suit or a tux and they think its fun to do so, let 'em enjoy it. If someone wants to wear cargo shorts and an old tshirt, sure why not.

 

[2-pointdoe]

We are doing a 14 day and I am having so much fun coordinating DH, DD and myself. DH will only be in slacks, dress shirt and tie but we will all be coordinated. We also have our pirate costumes!

Same here. We have recently done a 7 night cruise on the Magic and i took 6 long dresses and 1 pirate costume the same for my daughter.

I would love to see the dress code getting smarter in the future.

 

[2-pointdoe]

It will continue to degrade. People used to dress up to fly, now you see pajamas and yoga pants. I think as we become a more computer connected society with less actual face to face contact with will degrade even more.

 

[DVC-Don]

If you see some old photographs you'll notice most men wore suits to baseball games in the 40's and 50's. Things change.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Folks on the Boardwalk in Ocean City Md. way back had on coats, ties and hats!!

 

[ChicosWife]

Not me. I feel much better when I'm dressed comfortably. I hate dining while dressed up and it's not enjoyable at all.

Even when all those around you are dressed up?

 

[Chirple]

Using my company’s dress code policy as my basis for these comments, I think the dress code on the ship will remain casual in 10 years but guests might be inclined to be a bit dressier in their casual wear.

When I started working for my company nearly 23 years ago, we had a business dress code. Men wore suits and women wore dresses, suits, or dress pants with nice tops/blouses. We then incorporated casual Friday where we could wear jeans. We were allowed to wear sneakers on Fridays, but no t-shirts unless they were adorned with the company logo.

I changed divisions, and my new work area tried to maintain a similar dress code. When we had a change in upper management, this is when the tide started to turn. The atmosphere was less formal. They tried to relax the policy to Business Casual. People started to take advantage of this new casualness. Casual Fridays started to become an influx of sports jerseys and torn jeans, and not just on Fridays. At some point our dress code policy became Casual Friday every day. Things got worse. I was in no position to enforce the dress code; I simply maintained the manner of dress in the guidelines.

I changed divisions once again, and now the dress code was Business Casual with Casual Friday. In my former area, once upper management changed again, some formality came back into the office. Today both areas are following Casual Friday every day, but I do see more people in nicer clothes than I did 10-18 years ago.

My MDR dress depends on what I’ve done that day—how early I had to get up for an excursion, how much time do I have to clean up before dinner, etc. I do not care how others are dressed. The attire of my tablemates in the Mediterranean ranged from very formal on the assigned night to extremely informal on cruise casual nights. No one cared and no one judged; we were eight good people having great conversations.

 

[RRB]

To answer the OP's question, I believe the trend will continue to move toward more casual dress codes because of the majority of the cruisers want it that way. Disney will accommodate to the majority on issues like this. My personal opinion is that the MDR's should be casual but I also believe that special venues such as Remy and Palo should be different.

 

[DahliaRW]

To answer the OP's question, I believe the trend will continue to move toward more casual dress codes because of the majority of the cruisers want it that way. Disney will accommodate to the majority on issues like this. My personal opinion is that the MDR's should be casual but I also believe that special venues such as Remy and Palo should be different.

I was actually wondering if the next change towards more casual would be in Palo and Remy.

I do find the trend interesting. My dh works in the tech sector, white collar, and if he wears anything other than jeans and a t-shirt he gets asked if he's going to a job interview elsewhere. He actually wore jeans to his initial interview where he works, back in 2002, his mom was convinced he wouldn't be hired!

As a teacher, I have to dress up, at least slacks/khakis and a nice shirt. Some schools have casual Fridays, but not all. I don't see jeans becoming everyday wear for teachers in classrooms anytime soon.

 

[Mickey4me!]

I don't really care how anyone dresses for dinner as long as they have showered, have clean hair and don't have overpowering body odor (or too much cologne or perfume). And I would prefer if someone is going to wear flip flops, they have had a pedicure or at least clean feet. To me, that's just basic social interaction 101 though.

 

[RRB]

I was actually wondering if the next change towards more casual would be in Palo and Remy.

I do find the trend interesting. My dh works in the tech sector, white collar, and if he wears anything other than jeans and a t-shirt he gets asked if he's going to a job interview elsewhere. He actually wore jeans to his initial interview where he works, back in 2002, his mom was convinced he wouldn't be hired!

As a teacher, I have to dress up, at least slacks/khakis and a nice shirt. Some schools have casual Fridays, but not all. I don't see jeans becoming everyday wear for teachers in classrooms anytime soon.

The casual trend is already happening in Palo and Remy. We cruise on the September 7th Dream cruise and did the Palo dinner, Remy dinner, Remy brunch and Remy dessert experience. All 4 times, there were people that dressed in the "bare minimum" code to dine. I was suprised.

 

[RRB]

I don't really care how anyone dresses for dinner as long as they have showered, have clean hair and don't have overpowering body odor (or too much cologne or perfume). And I would prefer if someone is going to wear flip flops, they have had a pedicure or at least clean feet. To me, that's just basic social interaction 101 though.

Not appropriate for Remy or Palo.