Tell Me About Formal Night....

[ChicosWife]

We've been on a couple of cruises, but haven't been to formal night. Please give me details. Is it held at a different restaurant? Is it the same as the Captain's dinner? How formal does everyone dress?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We've been on a couple of cruises, but haven't been to formal night. Please give me details. Is it held at a different restaurant? Is it the same as the Captain's dinner? How formal does everyone dress?

Formal night is one night of the cruise (typically 6 night and longer cruises have Formal Night).

Time was it was "for the evening", so dinner/show/for the night. Sadly, the trend is to (for those who still continue to dress formally) to do so only for dinner. That said, not everyone dresses up (even on formal night you're going to see tshirts and shorts in the dining room).

Formal night is typically on the first sea day (second night) of a 7 night or longer cruise. And, sometimes, there's a semi-formal night on night 6. Semi-formal night is the night that the Captain's Gala menu is served in the dining rooms.

 

[AquaDame]

Its at whichever restaurant you happen to be in that night - typically yes it is in conjunction with the captains' dinner I think..? Hopefully someone knows for sure. Everyone tends to dress nicer than the other nights but honestly I've seen everything in the restaurants regardless of the suggestion..! Most were not in ties or ball gowns on my last cruise but the majority were at least a little dressy. More summer dresses and polos - that sort of thing which I always considered more business to semi formal, but it does save on the luggage space...

I did also note on our last cruise that Palo was much firmer on their dress code than they have been with us in the past. Several men (my husband included) had to "rent" shoes as theirs were not dressy enough.

 

[ChicosWife]

Formal night is one night of the cruise (typically 6 night and longer cruises have Formal Night).

Time was it was "for the evening", so dinner/show/for the night. Sadly, the trend is to (for those who still continue to dress formally) to do so only for dinner. That said, not everyone dresses up (even on formal night you're going to see tshirts and shorts in the dining room).

Formal night is typically on the first sea day (second night) of a 7 night or longer cruise. And, sometimes, there's a semi-formal night on night 6. Semi-formal night is the night that the Captain's Gala menu is served in the dining rooms.

So, the dinner is held at your normally scheduled restaurant? The only difference is attire?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So, the dinner is held at your normally scheduled restaurant? The only difference is attire?

Yes, the Navigator will show the suggested dress for the evening. The dining rotation is set.

 

[Weedy]

The characters will be in the formal clothing also and will be available for pictures

 

[Cackyschmackers]

The characters will be in the formal clothing also and will be available for pictures

This is one of my favorite aspects of formal night; that and getting wonderful formal photos from the photographers (and my own camera) that make special family memories.when we're all "dressed " for a change!

 

[Pens Fan]

Our first cruise I was basically clueless about, well, everything. I knew there was a formal night, but didn't understand the logistics. I (wrongly) assumed that you dressed formally on the night you ate at the more formal restaurant (Tritons or Lumiere's - this was before the Dream class). Imagine our surprise when we showed up at Parrot Cay in our casual clothes when everyone else was dressed to the nines!!!

To their credit, our servers and table mates were very kind. We all got a good laugh about it and had a lovely dinner. We did dress in our formal attire when we ate at Tritons, while everyone else was casual and we all got another laugh.

Live and learn! OP, your question has already been answered, but kudos to you for seeking clarification instead of just bumbling though as we did!! I understand now why it's a ship wide formal night regardless of where you dine, but at first it seemed odd to dress so formally in a casual setting.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our first cruise I was basically clueless about, well, everything. I knew there was a formal night, but didn't understand the logistics. I (wrongly) assumed that you dressed formally on the night you ate at the more formal restaurant (Tritons or Lumiere's - this was before the Dream class). Imagine our surprise when we showed up at Parrot Cay in our casual clothes when everyone else was dressed to the nines!!!

To their credit, our servers and table mates were very kind. We all got a good laugh about it and had a lovely dinner. We did dress in our formal attire when we ate at Tritons, while everyone else was casual and we all got another laugh.

Live and learn! OP, your question has already been answered, but kudos to you for seeking clarification instead of just bumbling though as we did!! I understand now why it's a ship wide formal night regardless of where you dine, but at first it seemed odd to dress so formally in a casual setting.

We've dined in all the dining rooms on formal night. As well as on Pirate night. We find the ambiance isn't that much different due to the location.

 

[Pens Fan]

We've dined in all the dining rooms on formal night. As well as on Pirate night. We find the ambiance isn't that much different due to the location.

We will have to agree to disagree. As much as I loved the old Parrot Cay (and I really did - I thought it was kitschy fun!) I wouldn't call it even remotely formal. AP is beautiful (at least on the classics, I'm not a big fan of the redesign on the Dream class), but the nature of show(s) to me makes it less than formal. I've never had an animated turtle interrupt my dinner at a formal restaurant on land.

 

[lklgoodman]

How funny would it be if Disney could have Crush and the other animals in the show in top hats and ties on formal night. Lol!!

 

[ChicosWife]

Our first cruise I was basically clueless about, well, everything. I knew there was a formal night, but didn't understand the logistics. I (wrongly) assumed that you dressed formally on the night you ate at the more formal restaurant (Tritons or Lumiere's - this was before the Dream class). Imagine our surprise when we showed up at Parrot Cay in our casual clothes when everyone else was dressed to the nines!!!

To their credit, our servers and table mates were very kind. We all got a good laugh about it and had a lovely dinner. We did dress in our formal attire when we ate at Tritons, while everyone else was casual and we all got another laugh.

Live and learn! OP, your question has already been answered, but kudos to you for seeking clarification instead of just bumbling though as we did!! I understand now why it's a ship wide formal night regardless of where you dine, but at first it seemed odd to dress so formally in a casual setting.

Oh no!!! LOL. At least you all had a few good laughs!!!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We definitely saw evening gowns and tuxes, cocktail dresses and suits, and everything on down to shorts.

 

[cmwade77]

Really, I think the answer is do what you are comfortable with. Personally, I don't own a suit and I am not going to spend the kind of money needed to rent one. I don't need one, so I see no point in paying for it. On Formal and Semi-Formal night I will wear dress pants and a nice shirt, but again I just can't justify the cost of a suit or tux and being uncomfortable in it for the night.

 

[hanscarlet]

Besides attire they have champagne and more photo opportunities with the captain and such because people are dressed up more. The atrium is buzzing with the elegance, I love it!

 

[Geomom]

As pp said, on Formal night there is the Captain's Reception in the atrium with FREE alcoholic drinks. It is before both dining times and you can mingle with the officers. I grabbed a drink as our family got in line to take a pic with formal Mickey (it was Minnie when we got in line, but Mickey by the time we got up front--which worked out well--it was our Christmas card pic last year!)

 

[DCLDVC1]

I wouldn't worry about attire. Wear what makes you comfortable and you won't feel out of place. I'd guess that less than 25% of the people dress any differently on formal night vs any other night. I might wear a button down or collared shirt but I'm still wearing my shorts and flip-flops.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I'll never advise ignoring suggested attire. The MDR will have a specific attire suggested for each evening and on Formal night formal attire is suggested. Cabanas offers dinner as well and casual attire is suggested. While it may be named "formal night" the suggested attire is far from truly "formal"....dress pants with a jacket or a suit for men, and dress or pantsuit for women. You will see some who dress well beyond the suggestion, you will see alot of men in suits and you will see some who ignore the suggestion altogether.

 

[GPaLarry]

After being through eight formal nights I have given up sweating what others do or don't wear. For some, this is the cruise of a lifetime, perhaps first and only, so they dress like the day they got married, as formal as you can get and their photos become family heirlooms. Others believe they are on vacation, gave the mouse a lot of $$ and they can wear what they want. Only Palo and Remys seem to enforce any standards. I would advise doing some research, watch a few videos and decide for yourself. I am retired and hate ties. I still wear a suit for formal night with a hidden Mickey tie (granddaughters love it). My son, almost 50, rents a tux and uses the photos for, as noted above, his Christmas card.
Now, about pirate's night...formal or informal?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

After being through eight formal nights I have given up sweating what others do or don't wear. For some, this is the cruise of a lifetime, perhaps first and only, so they dress like the day they got married, as formal as you can get and their photos become family heirlooms. Others believe they are on vacation, gave the mouse a lot of $$ and they can wear what they want. Only Palo and Remys seem to enforce any standards. I would advise doing some research, watch a few videos and decide for yourself. I am retired and hate ties. I still wear a suit for formal night with a hidden Mickey tie (granddaughters love it). My son, almost 50, rents a tux and uses the photos for, as noted above, his Christmas card.
Now, about pirate's night...formal or informal?

On Pirate night the suggest dress code is "Cruise Casual or Pirate".