Newbie DCL ? on formality/elegance issues?

[robinsegg]

Hi!
We've never been on a cruise before, but dh is *very* interested in one. We thought since we'd be going on our first with our kids, DCL might be the best way to go

My question deals with the fact that we are rather casual people. For instance, we very much enjoyed our stay at WL, but wouldn't dream of going into a place like Artist Pointe . . . just *too* formal for us. We ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe and decided GF was a nice place to visit for a meal, but we wouldn't enjoy staying there because of the ambiance.

Dh does have a sport jacket, but not a suit; I have dresses and skirts and enjoy them, but they are fairly casual (I prefer tea-length, but nothing very formal . . . my favorite is a jean skirt right now). Will we actually be *comfortable* going on a Disney (or any other, for that matter) cruise?

Thanks in advance for your opinions on this matter!

 

[Fastpaks]

You'll be fine. There will be those that say this and that. I went on a 7 night Western. On the formal nights, I went in some Kakis and and nice button down. I was little surprised that there were some that were less formal than me. Not many were. Most were dressed in suit attire and nice skirts. The thing that I ultimately learned most on a DCL cruise, though you may meet folks from all walks of life, its your vacation. Of the 2400 people on board, I ran into one family of snobs. I wouldn't let it worry you!

Palo, is a different story. During the day (brunch or high tea), a polo shirt is fine for a man and no jeans. At night, you need a jacket. IMO it should be that way.

 

[robinsegg]

Thank you for this info!
I was starting to get nervous with seeing mentions of "formal night" and such. We're *really* just *not* formal people. Our dress for a date is usually jeans and a nice shirt

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

I'm with you on this! We are also just not formal people! My husband owns one navy blue blazer which he wears only when absolutely necessary (his version of black tie). He has no problem with khaki's and a nice shirt, though (phew!). Glad to hear that on DCL many varieties of dress are acceptable as "formal".

 

[aburns84]

Hi!
We've never been on a cruise before, but dh is *very* interested in one. We thought since we'd be going on our first with our kids, DCL might be the best way to go

My question deals with the fact that we are rather casual people. For instance, we very much enjoyed our stay at WL, but wouldn't dream of going into a place like Artist Pointe . . . just *too* formal for us. We ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe and decided GF was a nice place to visit for a meal, but we wouldn't enjoy staying there because of the ambiance.

Dh does have a sport jacket, but not a suit; I have dresses and skirts and enjoy them, but they are fairly casual (I prefer tea-length, but nothing very formal . . . my favorite is a jean skirt right now). Will we actually be *comfortable* going on a Disney (or any other, for that matter) cruise?

Thanks in advance for your opinions on this matter!

We brought suits. However, about half of the men were wearing polos and khakis. The other half suits. Don't forget it is not required. If you don't want the hassle of bringing your nice suit (almost a whole bag just for one set of formal clothes for the fam) you can go to the buffet that night. The food is basically the same as every other night (at least was on the 7 day carribean cruise). The buffet is really good. You are not losing much by eating at the buffet that night. There were several families on formal night that were no shows and returned the other nights.

 

[Jodijo]

We don't do formal - at all! So, we skipped the formal night on our first cruise. The next night the waiter asked us why we missed. We told him we don't do formal. He said that they do not enforce it and we could were what we wanted. So, on our next cruise, my DH and DS wore nice dark jeans and nice button up shirts. My daughter and I wore skirts and nice shirts. We fit in just fine.

You will see some that love to dress up and go all out. But on our last cruise, they were in the minority. So, relax and enjoy yourselves!

 

[heatherb819]

My DH takes one pair of dress pants and one pair of khakis and wears a shirt and tie on formal night (no jacket) and his khakis and button down shirt on the other nights. I take a pair of black dress pants and a few different nice tops to wear with the same pair of pants. Pray I don't spill anything on me at dinner, if so I'll send them off to be laundered. We change out of those clothes right after dinner anyway so I don't see a need to take a different outfit for each night. Also, this way we each only have to take one pair of dress shoes, sandals for me! After several cruises, I've figured out how to make this work to help reduce luggage. Different jewelry with the same outfit can change the entire look too!