Please tell me about "Formal Nights"

[JimB.]

As a guy who dresses up for weddings, funerals & not much else, I am looking forward to these "formal Nights" like a trip to the dentist.

If those "in the know" can fill me in on the specifics for a 7 day cruise (what day(s), restaurants, etc, etc.) I'd really appreciate it.

Also............... Since I am not the kind of person to crash the Prom in a pair of blue jeans & a t-shirt, what are the alternatives if we decide that this is not really what we'd like to do??

Thanks for the input.............................


(33 days to go...................... Is it time to pack yet??)

 

[vixenslc]

You will find a great many different responses to your question since dressing is such a subjective thing but I'll tell you how my husband has dressed for our two seven day cruises. He always wears long pants (which I believe is "required" in any of the dining rooms for dinner except for the tropical themed night) and usually a linen shirt with a lighter fabric blend jacket for the two more formal nights. On the other nights he usually wears khakis and a nice golf shirt or another light material long sleeved shirt. We know there is a tradition of dressing for dinner on cruises but we have found that this arrangement makes him comfortable without looking to relaxed on the formal nights. It seems as if most people find a similar arrangment within their own standards of taste and level of comfort. Enjoy your cruise, hope this helps!

 

[ruvidu]

You make the statement that you wear a suit to Weddings and Funerals - WHY? I assume out of respect to those you have gone there to be with, right. Well, it's pretty much the same for dinner most nights on board ship. Our host has asked us to dress up a little a couple of nights. You will see some tuxedos and you will see some shorts and t-shirts. What you will see the most of is dark suits and ties. What I did last year was to purchase a new black suit (Hey, good for wedding and funerals) and packed two shirts, one grey and one white. I took a couple of contrasting ties to go with these outfits. I wore the white shirt on formal night and the grey shirt on semi-formal night. We had late seating and I was ready both nights around 7 so we could make the shows. Immediatly after dinner I dropped the suit for shorts and golf shirts and off to the clubs. 3 hours Max every night but man I looked good and fit right in duirng that time. My better half looked good too and we made some beautiful photos.
Just for notation: I am a technician on printing presses. I wear jeans, t-shirts and boots on the days I work. I like dressing up every once in a while.
I know some are going to burn me for not wearing the tux but I figured the cost of a tux rental will be close to a down payment on my next cruise.
In ending let me say that there are no clothes police and you will never be turned away at a resturant. Wear what you feel to be appropiate for the occasion.
Have a great time,
Russ

 

[donald@home]

After my April cruise I posted a list of things not to worry about (and a list of things TO worry about). I can bump the post if you are interested. On my list of things NOT to worry about was the following:

6- Don't worry about what you are going to wear for dinner. As long as you are not in shorts or jeans, you will be fine. On formal night, we saw many people dressed in a Tuxedo, many people in dark suits, many people in suits of other colors, many people in shirts and ties, many people in shirts with no ties, etc. etc. etc. No one stood out as not being dressed appropriately. I was in a light grey/green suit and did not feel at all out of place. On casual dinner nights, once again we saw everything (except Tuxedos), and on tropical night, many fun tropical shirts with dress pants, khakis or shorts (Tropical night was the only night we saw shorts).

On formal nights you WILL be in the minority if you are not in a suit, but as I mentioned, a few people were not dressed up in the least.

I must say, even though I wasn't in a tux or a dark suit, I did enjoy being dressed up and part of the party.

I hope this helps.

 

[PiperG]

I would love to see that list!

 

[terp]

The vast majority of people were dressed up for formal night on our cruise. I did see one family extremely casual. I felt bad for the other family at their table as they were formaly dressed. You couldn't help but notice how they were dressed since they stood out from the crowd. At the same token they were allowed in the Dining room. So do what you are comfortable with.

 

[izzinmac]

On our cruise, I rented the Tux through the Disney order form. Never tried it on until formal night. When I took it out of the plastic cover, it had a giant blob ironed right in the lapel. Looked like dried gum. Anyway, it was unusable. So I wore the same casual clothes like any other night and was fine. Lots of people in all types of clothes. Donald's post is right on!
As a side, I showed the coat to our room attendant, he immediately said he would take care of it, we were quickly visited by a stateroom officer who apologized profusely and said I would get a full refund. Had the refund and an apology from the Tux company when I got home.

 

[ruvidu]

There is a poll on this very subject on the Cruisecritic site.
http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=767097554&m=2183071315
There are interesting remarks there as well.

 

[Michelemouse]

Just an FYI about Tuxes...I just got a great tux for DH on eBay. It was from a rental company that sells off their stock as they get new in. I paid $49.99 including the shipping for a Ralph Lauren Chaps tuxedo in great condition.

If DH were going to wear this tux often we probably would have sprung for a new one. Since we're not dressy people I had no problem getting a used one. And to top it all of it was almost half the cost of renting one.

Check them out...there are some really great deals.

 

[Mtdewbuzz]

I hate dressing up as much as it sounds like you do. From what I gather, they have a formal night, a semi-formal night, and you have to dress formal for Palo's. So my plan? Book reservations for Palo's on formal night, thus killing two birds with one stone. I'll probably just be wearing a dark suit. Then for semi-formal night, I switch the shirt & tie, and ditch the jacket, wearing the same pants & shoes. Seems reasonable to me!!