Formal Vs Semi-formal

[invaderzim]

My DD and I wore ankle length evening dresses on formal night and knee length dressy dresses on semi-formal. However, there were women there with very nice "formal" type pantsuits (with sparkly tops, silk, etc.) and they looked very nice and not out of place at all. I would say on formal night, just a typical pantsuit may look too casual. But I really don't think there are that many people on these cruises that point fingers.

We saw a gentleman on both formal and semi-formal night show up with uncombed hair, sandals and a tie-dye shirt! He REALLY stood out and looked ridiculous. In that case, many people were mumbling that he should have eaten at the buffet if he didn't at least have a shirt and tie! His wife looked embarrassed. And I saw some of the "table" pictures in Shutters later and it was unfortunate for the other people at that table because you certainly wouldn't want to buy that picture with him in it.

 

[piglet33]

We got DH's tux from cruiselineformal.com and since he got two shirts, he wore it on both formal and semi-formal nights. I wore a gown on formal night and a satin pantsuit on semi-formal.

To me it doesn't matter if you're overdressed or not as long as you're happy with what you're wearing.

Reneé

 

[callahanjulie10]

Mark- We only dine at Palo for brunch because we enjoy our family dinner together with our daughter. For brunch he would wear his khakis and a polo. In Lumeire's he would wear his nicest shirt and tie- no jacket.

Traycie- For me I usually try to find a formal full length skirt- I try and do a basic color such as black and then bring 2 nice tops (last time I bought a silver dressy sweater set and a chiffonny looking white tie at the waist wrap top). This way I had something nice for formal and semi formal that looked different but only required a small amount of space. Now- I have also brought 2 seperate dresses which I got so cheap at Dillard's that I couldn't resist and to be pefectly honest- they didn't take up that much more room- just make sure that you can wear the same shoes with both!
For the other nights- I bring sleeveless cotton dresses. This way I can also throw them over my bathing suit as a cover-up! I use the Downey Wrinkle releaser to get out any wrinkles from the previous night's wear. For port days- I usually bring a pair of capri's with a couple of different shirts. These are acceptable everywhere and are easy to put on over a bathing suit (though I always bring a set of unmentionables in my bag so I can change after I swim).
I will usually bring 2 slip in pairs of sandals and a pair of shoes for formal night BUT remember to bring closed toes shoes if your are booking horseback riding excursions, hiking excursions, or kyaking excursions. I forgot last time and had to buy a pair of shoes in Key West and had to pay a huge amount of $$ to get Sperry Topsiders- which were the only normal shoes I could find in Key West!
I feel that I am a pretty good packer and planner when it comes to clothing- at least my DH and my DD think so!