I have questions about formal and semi-formal nights

[dizneygirl]

Hello,
We are going on our first Disney Cruise in June. For those of you who have done the Disney Cruises, what do you wear to these semi formal and formal nights? I am a stay at home mom and don't go to many formal dinners.

I just want to know what I need to go out and get for myself, my husband and my kids. Also, on these formal nights, is it a good idea to have the little ones (he's 2) go to Flounder's Nursery? I'm thinking that's what I'm going to do.

Any info would be great!
Thanks,
Dizneygirl!!

 

[RonnieJo66]

Hi Dizneygirl

I too am a domestic goddess (liked it better than stay at home mom )

This October will be our 6th Disney cruise...I usually wear a long (prom type) dress to formal and semi-formal nights. My kids are older (DS 15 & DD 13) my son wears dress pants, dress shirt and tie (no jacket) my DD ususally gets some sort of formal jr. style dress (a good idea is to look for leftover Easter attire on clearance) My DH wears a suit and tie, although some men do wear tuxedos. How formal you get, is up to you...I have seen many varying degrees.

Hope that helps...

Hugs,

RonnieJo

 

[webray]

On the semi formal nights you will see men in a suit/tie or some in tux..because they already have it for formal night. We have also seen some men in the white dinner jackets and others in kilts. For women on semi formal night...a nice dress or pant suit. For me, typically the standard little black dress does just fine.

For formal night you will see a lot of suits/tux on the men. You can purchase a great tux at JC penney for $99. Or you disney offers a tux rental option, tux is delivered to your stateroom and you use it for the entire cruise as you please.

For women..I do the gown thing, many do the little black dress thing. Just depends on what you are comfortable with. Hubby owns his tux, so I found some great gowns and we have a blast on formal night. The pictures come out so wonderful and we don't often get a chance to dress up like this.

Happy shopping!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

I, too, am a stay-at-home mom , and love formal night.

The first two times we cruised (DCL), I wore a 'little black dress,' but then switched to full-length black formal last year when a beautiful 'have to have it,' dress jumped out at me. It was the first time I'd worn full-length since my senior prom (28 years earlier.)

I wore the 'little black dress' for semi-formal. (I love formal and semi-formal nights on DCL, in case you can't tell.)

 

[disnut8]

I haven't cruised yet but I don't get many chances to dress up either so here's what I'm doing for the formal and semi-formal nights.

For the formal night, I'm wearing the long black shell dress I got for my son's wedding. It came with a long sleeve pull over that makes me look kind of matronly and was appropriate for the wedding. However, I want a more fun look for the cruise. I got a beaded white short sleeve pullover to change to. Cost of the original outfit was $50 on sale at JC Penney. Cost of the new white pullover was $12 at Ross Dress for Less.

For the semi formal night, I'm going with a short black shirt and another pull over. Both again from Ross and both less than $15 each.

I'm extemely cheap when it comes to clothes and find it amusing when people compliment me on an outfit that I put together for less than $25.

 

[aprilgail2]

I didn't see many gowns or tuxes at all on semi formal night....formal night we ate at topsiders-which was PACKED that night with people not wanting to dress up formal for dinner either....on semi formal night I wore a pair of black pants and a purple blouse and fit in just fine....

 

[tarheel_girl]

Hi! I love formal/semi-formal nights. Great pics with the characters since they will be dressed up also. I ususally wear a long prom/bridesmaid style dress for formal night. This was an investment for me. Wore it in my sister's wedding and two cruises before. This will be the 3rd cruise for this dress. I just don't buy pictures every year since I'm in the same dress. For semi-formal this cruise, I plan on wearing a floral print dress with a blue sweater/shell over my arms. It's not very 'formal' at all but I didn't see too many people "really" dressed up on semi-formal night on my last cruise. I'm not married, but my dad went on the last cruise. He wore a suit and tie for both the formal/semi-formal nights. Hope this helps!

 

[Melrosgirl]

In the past I have worn evening gowns (think Prom dress). My last cruise though we skipped formal nights altogether...ate dinner at the buffet those nights. I prefer that actually. Means I don't have to pack as much

 

[dizneygirl]

Hello,
Thank you all so much for your replies. That helps me a lot in deciding what to wear on these nights. We were all mostly worried about that. How much do the tuxedos cost that they will let you borrow on the ship?

I loved the term "domestic goddess" that's a good way of saying stay at home mom! It's a tough job, but a very rewarding one, too!

Thanks again!
Dizneygirl

 

[kristieuk]

Can someone please clarify - am I right in thinking the formal /semi formal nights aren't on the 3 night cruise? Wouldn't want to be caught out!

 

[tkd lisa]

kristieuk, yes they are on the 7 night cruises only.

You will see the whole range of outfits. I did go with a long dress for formal night on all 3 of our cruises. But the men in the family (including my son who was between 8 and 11 on the cruises) wore a suit and tie instead of a tux. For semi-formal night, I wore nice black slacks with a fancy beaded top that I got on clearance.

You should be able to find some great buys this time of year, since prom dresses will be going on clearance. I've bought 3 of them, and I think the most I paid was $35. JC Penneys, Chadwicks of Boston, and the other major department stores are great places to look. Another good time is just after New Years when the holiday dresses are on clearance. Happy shopping!

 

[Buddy Bear]

Also, on these formal nights, is it a good idea to have the little ones (he's 2) go to Flounder's Nursery? I'm thinking that's what I'm going to do.

I wouldn't recommend sending DS to Flounder's Nursery on formal night. There are many great opportunities to get family photos taken on the ship and formal night is one of the better ones.

You may have to wait in a long line with an impatient 2 year old, but the memories are forever (see below). I love the smile on my little Sarah's face.

 

[suesings]

Hi,
We are cruising on the first West Coast Cruise at the end of this month. We have two little girls and I am so excited about dressing them up for formal & semi formal night. I bought them both gorgeous "flower girl" type dresses in pink and white. They are just beautiful and I can't wait to see them in the dresses. I am also very excited about the photo opportunities with the princesses when our little girls are dressed up!! There is another DIS member who has a picture of her daughter and Cinderella in blue dresses and I just love that photo!! My 5 year old loves Sleeping Beauty so I got the same dress but in pink. Kids grow up so fast and this opportunity doesn't come around everyday!
We are so lucky!

 

[mmouse37]

Here is one of our formal pics....my girls usually wear their prom dresses and son and hubby wear suits...I wear a long gown. Check the links

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48728383IIyrEs

And, me and my favorite mice.....

http://community.webshots.com/photo/48196942/48728853GWewMZ

 

[aprilgail2]

Hello,


I just want to know what I need to go out and get for myself, my husband and my kids. Also, on these formal nights, is it a good idea to have the little ones (he's 2) go to Flounder's Nursery? I'm thinking that's what I'm going to do.

My 5 year old asked if she could stay in the kids club this cruise for formal night since she didn't enjoy dressing up at all for it and I said fine...but then I thought about it and realized that I didn't want to get dressed up either so we went to topsiders for dinner!
If you want to get pics done with the 2 year old then get there early, have them taken and then take him to flounders after that.

 

[danicaw]

This is our third cruise but first with a child. We are taking our DS almost 2 and I found the cutest outfit for him to wear on formal night.

Its on closeout so sizes are limited. But its a nice pair of navy blue pants, with white dress shirt, clip on navy blue tie and the vest with all the fancy stuff on it.
http://www.infashionkids.com/boys-navy-sailor-vest-outfit---4-pcs.html

My hubby has a tux, and I did the floor length dress the last time, this time I am doing the black dress. I rarely dress up anymore, my offical attire for my job (stay at home mom or domestic goddess) is jeans and t-shirt so this will be a fun change.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Danicaw, that suit is adorable! Be sure to have your son's picture taken with the Captain if the opportunity arises. Also, a family portrait next to Mickey and Minnie in their formal attire would be a good one too!

 

[jordgubben]

Don't underestimate the power of ebay!

Our outfits were $80 each (mine included a wrap - not shown because it was so warm on the ship that night, and purse which I gladly did not carry). DH is in a black tux with vest and tie. He wore the jacket and pants again on semi-formal night with red shirt and black tie with small palm trees and flamingos (figured if he could get away with it anywhere it was on the cruise). I defaulted to LBD on semi-formal because the other formal dress I brought was not comfortable enough to wear all night (so, yes, I wore two dresses that night... oh well).

P.S. Compared to what I had read on these boards it seemed the men were particularly dressed on our cruise for formal night. DH said he was glad he was in a tux as he would have felt underdressed otherwise. This could have been a fluke and just the crowd we were with for dinner.