How Many Actually Dress Formal At Dinner?

[shaylahc1]

I'll answer your question.

• I wear a suit six days a week and don't much care for it. On my vacation, I'll not wear one.
• DCL does not require me to wear a suit, so I'll not wear one.
• Baggage fees are becoming a not insignificant cost of travel. Minimizing the amount of clothes that are packed for a trip is prudent. The first thing to be cut is the suit that I would only wear to one or two meals.
• Shlepping the suit halfway around the world and then dealing with making it look presentable and sending back out to be cleaned just so I can wear it to a meal or two seems like a great waste of time, effort, and money.
• The fact that others prefer to get all dressed up doesn't require me to do so.

I agree wholeheartedly I have only been on one cruise (the Wonder in January) and we did not dress up. We were clean and presentable and did not wear shorts or flip flops, etc, but I felt NO desire to dress myself or my children up. We are doing the EBTA and Med cruises and we have no plans to bring any kind of formal wear. As far as I'm concerned if we're clean and presentable, it's all good

 

[Sleepyluke]

Well I guess thanks for answering questions that I did not ask. I was simply giving my input to the original poster about how many dress up.
Point is, do what makes you feel comfortable and no one is going to kick you out of anywhere. I simply added that I appreciate the atmosphere on formal nights. OP - sorry for the add on comments and have a good cruise.

Add on edit: I guess there was a question in there did not remember that guess the tie cut off oxygen to the brain

 

[art010606]

i didnt wear a jacket or anything and dont plan to again, but we put my son in either a polo or long sleeved button up, my wife and daughter wore dresses, and i would wear a pair of slacks, dress shoes, and a button up long sleeved shirt dress shirt. no ties or anything fancy, just some stuff from express.

 

[dylan'smom]

We dress up because it is fun to get dressed up and have a fancy meal. I love seeing my husband dressed up. I also like to see everyone else dressed up as well. It adds to the feeling of the old fancy steamliners with their elegant cruisers enjoying an evening of splendor. It's kind of a bummer when you're all dressed up enjoying your formal evening and the guy at the table next to you is wearing jeans. I don't think that he is a bad person, or look down on him. It just kind of spoils the ambience. I just enjoy the gradeur of the evening and seeing how everyone took the effort to look so nice and add enjoyment for everyone. Not the end of the world if everyone doesn't dress up, it's just so much fun when the majority of the people around you look so elegant

Very well put! I agree & really think that the elegant celebration is what DCL is going for. It really is special.

Even though DCL will allow diners to ignore the "suggested attire" as stated in the Navigator, we will continue to enjoy going along with our host's suggestions & having a great time.

(Should also say we haven't done anything shorter than 7 nights, so always have at least one formal night, and that may be very different in The Navigator.)

 

[Sleepyluke]

Very well put! I agree & really think that the elegant celebration is what DCL is going for. It really is special.

Even though DCL will allow diners to ignore the "suggested attire" as stated in the Navigator, we will continue to enjoy going along with our host's suggestions & having a great time.

(Should also say we haven't done anything shorter than 7 nights, so always have at least one formal night, and that may be very different in The Navigator.)

These are what i was trying to say, but apparently did not do so well. I guess my filter was not turned on when i started that....

 

[Jessebuggy]

Well, I guess I feel better????? I was gonna do a post entitled "Formal Night Confession"...but found this at the top of the list. We just got back from our 3rd 7-night cruise. We normally go all out for formal night because we like it. When looking at our dining rotation this cruise, I noticied we were scheduled to eat in Parrot Cay. Although the food is wonderful, the atmosphere is not what I would call formal. So, for this girl, I went more cocktail than formal. The formals stayed in the closet. We still had family pictures done, they just weren't as fancy as they normally would have been. There, now you havemy confession and I feel better!! Do what feels right for you and your family. You paid for your cruise...not the family at the table next to you!! Remember folks, some people spent all their money to make Magic happen...the clothes don't make the man...

 

[dylan'smom]

These are what i was trying to say, but apparently did not do so well. I guess my filter was not turned on when i started that....

I thought you expressed yourself well.
I agree with your sentiments and BTW didn't see a question there either...lol

... So, for this girl, I went more cocktail than formal...We still had family pictures done, they just weren't as fancy as they normally would have been...

"Cocktail" sounds nice & festive and a far cry from casual. Sounds like you had a good compromise & made an effort to look nice & enjoy the elegant evening! I bet you had great photos, too!




.

 

[boudreaux0]

My wife and I get so caught up in the daily grind of everyday life that its nice to get dressed up for dinner. No tux for me, but a suit and tie. Wife wears a formal gown. We like to dress up...helps set the mood for the night

 

[MissReeRee]

Dh is probaly going to be wearing some khakis and a button up shirt for our formal, and 2 semi formal nights... I was planning on a cocktail dress for formal and a more 'church' dress for semi formal... DS dressed same as DH and dd will probably be wearing a princess dress for all three nights (might as well, the things cost a fortune!)

We have the opportunity to go to military balls so that is our chance to dress up and we just attended one two months ago and got some great pictures. I can totally understand why people would want to dress up, it is a lot of fun but we are skipping it for this cruise... Bags are 20 euro each for us to check so we are trying to keep it light!

 

[kimtenn]

DH and I enjoy dressing up on formal night as we don't get to go to many other formal occasions. DH owns a tux, and I can usually find a long dress right after prom season for a fraction of the cost at Macy's or Dillard's. Now that we have a son, we got a little tux for him too on eBay. I know last cruise in 2004 had only about 15% of guys in a tux and around 30% of ladies in long dresses. I think it's a fine alternative for men to wear a dark suit or sport coat on formal night, with ladies in a dressy dress. I think the point is to kick it up a notch from what you normally wear.