njpln

Throwing a question out there about what people actually really wear on the so-called dressing nights.   We haven’t been on Celebrity since 2018.(how time flies…).  The last time we cruised hubby wore a blazer and trousers and I wore a nice dress on the dressy nights. Our previous cruises were all in the Caribbean with Celebrity...

Now we have rebooked and have three Celebrity cruises scheduled in 2022.  One is a Caribbean, and two are Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific. So I’m starting to wonder whether or not people dress up differently for Caribbean cruises versus the south pacific area cruises.  
 

There are so many threads about people not dressing up too much anymore, but I’d love to hear what people really see on the evening chic nights..

looking forward to your replies.
 

I’m not sure if this was covered anywhere, but we had bought cruisenext certificates in 2019 that will be expiring in 2023. Obviously, due to Covid, we’ve lost at least 15 months worth of cruising… Does anyone know if Norwegian will extend the expiration on the certificates?

We have been on both cruise lines in the past few years.  We really like Cunard, especially the suites.  The perk of a separate lounge and smaller, quieter dining rooms is truly elegant, fine dining and merits dressing up.

We haven’t been on HAL ship that has a separate  dining  room for suites, not sure if any do, but that’s a huge drawback.  The food in the grilles dining rooms is superb.  If you sale HAL and pay for a suite, you get to eat the same food as everyone else, and it’s just OK.

The other big difference is dancing.  Cunard has two nice spaces to dance. They have the night club dance floor and they have the ballroom dance floor. So whatever suits your dance style you have a place to dance. HAL only has a small nightclub dance floor, and the bands tend to play too loud for the size of the room.

Other than those two issues, they both have good activities, shows and speakers, in my opinion.  
 

The dress code is definitely more rigid on Cunard, but that’s what makes them stand out. They have no problem filling up ships with people who are willing to dress up every night.

Hope this helps you in figuring out which is better for you.

We are booked on the first currently scheduled QV out of Southampton this May.  It will be interesting to see if it actually sets sail, and what the requirements are in order to cruise. Also, since we are coming from the US what will the UK entry requirements be.

My husband has already had his two shots, I’m hope to get mine in the next round and keeping my fingers crossed that I will have my shots well before May.  Finally, we’re hoping that having vaccinations, will make things a lot easier.  We’re OK with still wearing a mask in crowded spaces, but not when we’re  social distancing or outside.

We also booked a crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona for August 2022, can’t remember if it’s the QE or the QV.  Hoping life will be back to “normal” by then.

We have Cruised in the Princess Grilles several times and are considering trying a penthouse suite.  What I’d like feedback on is the actual room layout.

The rooms are larger, but the diagrams of the layout look like they were poorly designed.  Is there really only one sink in the bathroom when the princess suites have two? And how well are the closets laid out?  And why would they have two desks instead of a larger sitting area?  I’d love to hear how past cruisers feel about the room layout.  I’m aware there are several perks of the Queens, but just can’t decide about the room itself.

Thank much in advance...

Norma

11 hours ago, Mura said:

If you want to dress up, you should do so.  When we go into dinner in a restaurant on the ship I tend to dress up a bit more than others.  No formal gowns, though.  (Actually, on our first Renaissance cruise we saw a group of 8 who were dressed to the nines, the women in formal gowns.  We enjoyed looking at them and they were having a great time.)

 

When I say "dress up" I tend to go to a long casual cocktail outfit kind of thing ... unfortunately I wore out my favorite outfit some years ago ...But you should NOT feel awkward about dressing up more than others may.  Do what makes you happy! I don't think you will be alone.

 

Mura

 

Thanks Mura.  We will definitely be dressing within our comfort range. 😊  (Which falls in the range of what’s been described here).....LOL.

Norma

21 hours ago, Smokeyham said:

Just wanted to say "thank you" to the original poster for asking the question.   I know we can watch the videos put out by the cruise lines, and read the published dress codes, but it is helpful to know what people are really doing on board.   

 

For me, it sounds like Oceania has found the comfortable place of not having formal outfits but still maintaining a look of casual elegance.   

You are welcome!!!  It’s been helpful to me for sure. 
 

Norma

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

The main thing is to enjoy  but do not complain because others do not meet your standards

JMO

Agreed.   To each his own. 

Well this has been interesting. As the OP here I was just looking for what’s “real” on Oceania… I certainly am not critical of people who overdress or underdress. We’ve done enough cruises to know that people do whatever they do, and cruise lines enforce whatever the individual maître d’ chooses to enforce.

But to those of you who feel like dressing up on vacation is too much work, that’s OK for you.   But you need to know that for some of us, since we are retired for several years, we actually enjoy dressing up when we have all the time in the world to do so! Seriously, DH enjoys it!  That being said, we don’t want to be the only ones who dress up… We’d rather bring our “country club” clothes.…It’s not a matter of who’s right or wrong, it’s just a difference of opinion.

Vive la difference in clothing choices.....

Thank you all for your replies… DH has a closet full of Tori Richards shirts from all our trips to Hawaii…And he’s also OK with wearing a brooks brothers button down shirt and trousers… And I never have a problem dressing nicely.  So....

I think we’re going to be fine… Now let’s see if the November cruise actually sails...
 

😷
Norma 

We will be new to Oceania if our cruise goes in November, (not counting on it) or whenever we rebook, since we will rebook if it’s cancelled.  We have traveled on Celebrity, Cunard, HAL and Norwegian, and are happy to dress elegantly for dinner, and typically look more upscale than the average cruiser, except on Cunard which demands the cocktail dress and blazer at minimum.
 

What do folks really wear to the MDR and specialty restaurants?  We don’t usually go the to buffets, so we don’t need to know what we can wear there...

Do men wear sport coats or blazers?  Do the women wear cocktail dresses?  I have looked at the pix on the Oceania website, and it looks pretty elegant, but those are models who are dressed to show what Oceania would like...  what’s real?  What do YOU and your spouse/partner/companion wear?  
 

thanks for your replies in advance....hope it briefly takes your mind off the darn pandemic and our cancelled cruises...

Norma

We used Cunard air twice.  A one-way over when we TA’d back, and round trip when cruising out of Southampton and back.  Both were in business class.  
 

I had some flights in mind before calling them, so I knew what the fares were.  Cunard looked at several airlines and multiple flight options.  All the prices were fantastic.  Much lower than what I could buy the same flights for.  I was able to get the exact flights I wanted. And on the airline we chose, we could pick our seats that day, and we paid for the fights with our final payment.

The only caveat I could  see is on a return flight from Southampton, if you fly out the same day you disembark.  Cunard will not let you go out on morning flights, they make you take a mid afternoon flight or later, because they allow several hours for your trip to London, so you dont miss your flight. This is something to consider if you cruise East.

We live in the US.  Our July Fiords cruise was booked via a TA, and it was cancelled on April 23rd. I did the form requesting a refund myself that day.

Today I decided it’s time to follow up. I called Cunard and only waited a minute or two for an agent. He told me that it had been processed on June 16 and should take 7 to 10 days to show up on our credit card as a refund.

Very happy to hear!

Hello All,

In light of the fact that our this year b2b cruises will be cancelled,  I’m looking at adding/booking a second cruise to one we already had booked for next year. Having already booked a cabin, I can’t get the same one on the second cruise.  As I see it we have 2 options, change cabins on port day, or try to get a different cabin on the existing booking. 
 

This leads me to 2 questions for the Cunard cruisers who have much more experience with Cunard than we do.

1.  How much of a hassle is it to change cabins on Cunard?  We have done it on another Cruise line and we basically had to pack up everything, and unpack again...I would have liked to at least move the hanging clothes without packing them again but it was not an option.  Is it the same on Cunard?

2.  What happens if you want to change cabins in an existing booking, within the same class of cabin?  Do they make you do a new booking or will they let you switch cabins within the same fare class?

Maybe there are other options I haven’t considered?

Appreciate any advice.....thanks .

 Norma

Getting back to the original topic, we are Americans who love the “pomp and circumstance” that goes along with the Cunard cruises. We don’t do all of our cruises on Cunard, but we do enjoy the ones that we have taken.  When we cruise on Cunard,we don’t mind dressing up, it’s part of the experience...we ship our formal clothes ahead of time so we have less luggage to lug...lol.  Sorry for the bad pun.  
 

Dealing with their antiquated systems related to the website and on line check-in does require patience but I guess we are used to it now.  I love the packet that they send out with the cruise info and  luggage tags, it’s old fashioned but this luggage tags are sturdy compared with the computer paper printed ones that we have to laminate or otherwise protect them in plastic tag holders. 
 

We find that the Grilles dining rooms have very good food/menus/ service, but Britannia food and menus can’t compete with Celebrity Cruises MDR, which would be comparable in price for us. We like the fact that we can always find someplace to go and sit and play cards or read, the ships never seem overcrowded.   We also like the fact that there are real dance floors, as so many other cruise lines have shrunk the dance floors or eliminated them altogether. 
 

The most unique experience we had that defines Cunard:

 Last July we were on QE2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Queen Mary was there the same day.  At the end of the day as the two ships left the port, they did a special “Sail away” and passed each other in the harbor, saluting  each other with their horns. Also there were tugs shooting water/water cannons and it was wonderful to watch.  It was a bit like a parade with 2 ships and a few tugboats.  It’s not something you see every day on Cunard, and you certainly don’t see it with other cruise lines.

So Cunard is not for everyone, but different strokes for different folks...

We have received the drink package on all the PG suites we have booked for US fares for the past three years.  We even received  it for a 2021 booking that didn’t clearly state it when we booked it. We consider it to be “paid for” in our cruise fare.  But, because we have enjoyed this benefit, we have never sought out a lower fare without the drink package.  
 

I don’t know if Cunard offers the option to book without the drink package, but other American focused mid priced cruise lines do so I can’t imagine Cunard doesn’t.  However, typically  the “included”  drink package is worth it if you drink a couple of drinks a day, and it’s not worth the tiny discount of the fare without drinks.  That’s been my observation when booking other cruise lines who all seem to have these drink packages now. 
 

An additional note, the sommeliers always help us choose by-the -glass wines based on what we like, and we have not been disappointed.  
 

We are boomers who have done at least 15 cruises, but we are now looking for a Mediterranean cruise with our millennial son and his wife.  Most important is the nightlife, they like club dancing and modern Latin dancing, while we like more traditional ballroom type dancing, or at least dancing to the oldies if in a club setting.  
 

We have found cruised Celebrity, HAL, Norwegian, Princess, and Cunard, and our experience is that some lines/ships favor one or the other but not both, the big exception is Cunard, but the dressy nature of the evenings is not for the “kids”.

So we are looking for advice/recommendations for any cruises lines that might offer us the dance options I’ve described above.  We have noticed that sometimes the ships and the individual itinerary makes a difference, so any and all recommendations are appreciated. 
 

Thanks,

Norma

DH and I have done three cruises with Cunard.  The first two were b2b on QE and QM, and we both had a large case just for evening wear.   DH had a couple of  jackets plus the tux. While on these cruises I paid attention to what others were wearing so I could maybe pack a bit more efficiently for the next Cunard cruise.  
 

Most gentlemen had one suit or tux for the gala nights and a navy blue blazer. So this year we did 3 weeks on QE and DH brought a tux and  only the navy blazer.   He changed up the outfits by combining the blazer with  4 shirts, two pair trousers and a handful of ties. Never wore the same combo twice.  

I think it’s great if folks want to bring several large cases, but we were happy to have one less large case this year and we both still dressed (per code) for dinner every evening.  

We are starting to book our excursions for our upcoming western Caribbean cruise and want to scuba..However one of the requirements is that you have dived  in the past year and can prove it.  

So so we have not dived in the past year but are certified and have dived many times over the years. Do they really ask for proof or documentation?

Appreciate any feed back.

thanks,

Norma

We are new to river cruising.   We are used to getting some token OBC from our travel agents when ocean cruising,  in addition we to what we usually get from the cruise line..  But on this, our first river cruise, with  Viking, which the TA pushed, we did not get anything from the TA or Viking.  Mind you, we booked a suite, so we are thinking she got a handsome commission and would have given us something since we didn’t gat anything from the cruise line...

The nice thing is that there are not so many expenses on board, but we might have used it for an optional excursion or for the gratuities.  

What at is considered normal for river cruising? 

Thanks for input..

Norma

I wanted to post my experience with my recent booking because I learned something about Cunard airfares. (We flew one way this year, next year we fly from the Florida to the UK and back.) I was definitely impressed with this past year’s business class pricing for the one way from UKto Fl.

I called to get flights through Cunard, and they booked us two one-way business class fares.  Not sure why they don’t do round trip, I questioned it but he just said that’s how they do it.   After getting the prices, I went on the airlines website to compare.

If I book a round trip, Cunard's total price of the two one-way fares is about a 13% discount from the carrier’s round trip fare, which is good but not great.  However, if I booked two one-way fares with the carrier, the numbers come out as a whopping 77% discount, because the one-way fares don’t get discounted the way a round trip fare does when booking with the carrier.  So in comparing the one-way fares Cunard has a great fare, and if you’re only going one way, it’s definitely worth it...

In the end, we’ll take the 13% discount because it’s still a sizeable chunk of money.  😊

Clearly this is a huge discount if when you’re flying one-way internationally.  

I wanted to post information for anyone else who wants to have their luggage forwarded related to a Cunard cruise.  

Last year we used the white star luggage service from Florida to Southampton and then from New York City back to Florida. While Cunard for the most part managed it very well, I found the paperwork to be a bit cumbersome (having to list each item in each case with a value)and it seemed a bit high in price for a maximum insured value of approx $1000.  But in the end I was happy to ship the larger luggage so my husband and I could travel with just carry-ons. 

This year we cruised home Florida to Southampton and since we live in Florida, we only needed the return luggage service from Southampton back home.   I was really surprised to see that Cunard had discontinued the white star luggage service and instructed passengers to use luggage forward. They also were not very helpful, other than directing you to the website, which is a free website on the ship Wi-Fi. 

It was really a nice  surprise to see how user-friendly Luggage Forward is.  The website is very clear.  I had a couple questions while I was putting together information, and I just did the online chat while I was doing the reservation, getting my questions answered right then.  Furthermore, you can choose how much insurance you want, by paying a minimal amount to raise the insurance by $500 increments, and the final price was significantly cheaper than Cunard.    At least 20 percent less for our luggage.  And best of all, you don’t have to do the itemized list.

 We were able to print out all the paperwork on the computer in the ship’s library and the purser’s desk gave us the plastic envelopes used to attach them to your luggage  After we collected our luggage in the Southampton terminal, we  easily found the luggage forward representative with a couple of signs around him. It was easy. This was similar to the White Star service.   Both services used the same carrier, although  luggage forward did not tell me ahead of time who they would use. They told me they use any of these three- FedEx, UPS and DHL to the US, all of which are good. The luggage arrived home eight days after we got off the ship.  Not bad. 

 Overall I highly recommend using luggage forward. I believe it was a bit less hassle than the white star and it was less costly which was a bonus!

😀

Norma

Was on QE in June.  My situation may be different than yours, because I am type II and avoid sugar as much as possible.   I always look for no-sugar-added, because if a dessert is made with milk there is milk sugar in it, and that is not a major issue for me. For me it’s important they are not adding table sugar.  I can’t recall specifically what was sugar free and what what was no sugar added, but:

If you like sweetened tea or coffee, bring your own sweetener. I think they had saccharin (which I dont like,) but no aspartame, sucralose or stevia that was readily available.  I did get some candela aspartame when I begged, but I will be bringing my own sweetener tabs on my next cruise. 

They did have sugar free jams or jellies, I found them readily at the buffet. 

Regarding desserts, I think they had at least one no-sugar-added every day. I do not recall if any were sugar free. 

I recommend you advise Cunard and they will help you.  

Good Luck. Enjoy!

Thanks so much. We may use this since we've a full day before our cruise next month.

Norma

I am finding this thread interesting. I wonder how many of the “no hose with sandals” voters wear slips?

I’m in my sixties and still wear slips and occasionally wear sheer toe hose with dressy sandals. It may be old fashioned but it’s no crime worthy of the fashion police .. Lol.

Live and let wear hose or not as you choose!!!