Formal night attire on RCL vs Celebrity...What to wear

We sailed Celebrity Solstice to Alaska in July. As usual we brought our formal wear, gowns, tuxes. We were surprised when we boarded that the new formal wear description was “Evening Chic”, in its description it dressed it down to designer jeans with a nice top. Not knowing what to expect we wore out usual attire, long dress and tux. We were the only ones dressed up...we got a lot of stares, I felt a bit uncomfortable but also elegant. We did not wear it the second formal night. The reason for this post is...what is formal night attire on Royal. I don’t want to waste time packing dresses and tuxes if they will not be worn.

Thanks for the update..

I think it was the Alaska cruise. On Royal, you will see everything from shorts to Tuxes. If you like to dress up, just go for it.

We were on Royal 3 months prior and saw no changes to formal attire so we were very surprised by the Celebrity attire change. You may be right and it may be Alaska, or it may be Celebrity making a fleet wide change. I hope not, we enjoy the formal nights.

We were on Royal 3 months prior and saw no changes to formal attire so we were very surprised by the Celebrity attire change. You may be right and it may be Alaska, or it may be Celebrity making a fleet wide change. I hope not, we enjoy the formal nights.

We do too, and really enjoy dressing up. Some don't even bother making an effort. If Hubby wants to buy me a new dress, I'm going for it!!:D

We were on Royal 3 months prior and saw no changes to formal attire so we were very surprised by the Celebrity attire change. You may be right and it may be Alaska, or it may be Celebrity making a fleet wide change. I hope not, we enjoy the formal nights.

 

Yes it is a fleet wide change. FYI, per Celebrity's website.

Onboard Dress Code

Q. What is the onboard dress code?

A. Formal Night gets a modern luxury reboot. Say goodbye to Formal Night, and hello to Evening Chic. It’s your time to shine—your way. Get glamorous. Get chic. Be sophisticated. Now, on up to two nights on every cruise, Evening Chic activities have been introduced, and Evening Chic attire has replaced Formal attire. While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

• A cocktail dress
  
• Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top
  

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

• Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater
  
• Optional sport coat or blazer
  

Evening Chic means that you can get glamorous and be sophisticated in your own way. If you would like to still wear a tuxedo or formal gown on Evening Chic nights, you absolutely should.

All cruises that are 7 nights or longer will feature two Evening Chic nights. Any cruise 6-nights or shorter will feature one Evening Chic night. All other nights of the cruise will feature Smart Casual attire. Celebrity Xpedition will continue to feature casual attire for the entire cruise.

Smart Casual attire can be enjoyed every other night of your cruise.

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

• Skirt, pants or jeans with a casual top
  

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

• Pants or jeans with a sport shirt that has sleeves
  

Note: T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurant at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. The dress code will be enforced at all restaurants. And guests are asked to follow the Smart Casual or Evening Chic dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances. The daily program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will be your guide to the correct attire each evening.

Interesting that celebrity requires you to stay dressed up for the theater performances.

I changed to my casual clothes after dinners on royal.

Interesting that celebrity requires you to stay dressed up for the theater performances.

I changed to my casual clothes after dinners on royal.

 

It's only suggested on Celebrity website and not in the ships daily "Celebrity Today". A lot of others do as you do.

You really can't be "overdressed" on formal nights. The others may be "underdressed", but you were fine!

We do too, and really enjoy dressing up. Some don't even bother making an effort. If Hubby wants to buy me a new dress, I'm going for it!!:D

 

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Perhaps the cruise lines could consider both formal and casual on the same evening but yet separate. Perhaps direct the Formal people in one direction (as to a Specialty restaurant) and the Casual people in another direction such as the regular evening dining room or another Specialty restaurant).

 

In the meantime ---- Does anyone know what cruise line/ship has a true FORMAL NIGHT?

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In the meantime ---- Does anyone know what cruise line/ship has a true FORMAL NIGHT?

Cunard. ?

Cunard. ?

Celebrity was strange to me about 15 yrs ago. Had a tux on formal nights and loved the food. Special touches like the staff that would take your plates on a tray from the buffet line to a table. The part that that still keeps me from Celebrity was the policy that banned shorts and required long pants for lunch in the dining room when we sailed Zenith a few months after 9/11 when the travel industry was struggling as a whole. I feel more comfortable on Royal even though I felt the food and service was better on Celebrity and worthy of a higher fare. You may want to stick to Celebrity if dressing up is something that is a priority to you. Edited October 19, 2017 by coaster

That has changed now, Coaster. In 2007 DH wore nice shorts to lunch in the MDR on X. Also as Kathy posted, Celebrity is not as formal as once was. We last did X in 2012 and DH did wear his TUX. We have another X booked in 2019 from Auckland to Sydney followed by a B2B TP on Explorer. We are celebrating our 50th Anniversary and do want to dress up. In our case with at least 6 elegant nights, DH wants to bring his tux that he has not worn for the last several years on cruises.

 

If we are stared at, we will just smile!:D

Cunard. ?

Even they aren’t really formal.

Even they aren’t really formal.

WOW, I would bet that Cunard would be!

WOW, I would bet that Cunard would be!

 

 

From their FAQs

 

Formal:

Evening wear consists of an evening or cocktail dress or smart trouser suit for ladies. A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dark suit with appropriate neck wear for men or you may wear formal national dress and military uniform.

So it may depend on your definition of formal. But to me TUX or Military “Dress” uniform is the minimum and as you can see they will even accept a dark lounge suit.

From their FAQs

 

Formal:

Evening wear consists of an evening or cocktail dress or smart trouser suit for ladies. A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dark suit with appropriate neck wear for men or you may wear formal national dress and military uniform.

So it may depend on your definition of formal. But to me TUX or Military “Dress” uniform is the minimum and as you can see they will even accept a dark lounge suit.

Well, that does describe formal a bit more than X or Royal. It even mentions neck wear.

When we did a RT LA to Hawaii in January, 2006 Formal night was still required. At late seating most of the men wore a tux. Since then, I went on X in 2013 and did not see one Tux on formal night.

 

Also heard that European cruises were much more formal and on a Med cruise in 2015 and a Baltic cruise this year on Royal did not see any such thing among the average passenger. These trips were port intensive and everyone was tired after all day touring.

 

We were invited to a "Signature Event" for Platinum or above on the European trips and most of those passengers were dressed up. Pretty sure that Formal night is gone.

 

Sue

It's only suggested on Celebrity website and not in the ships daily "Celebrity Today". A lot of others do as you do.

 

On Royal I stay dressed up the entire evening.

Cunard. ?

 

 

My first cruise on Cunard I did see men wearing jackets every night but I’m sorry on that cruise they may have been dress with jackets but so old fashion and out of style it look more ridiculous than just a nice to date polo and slacks.

 

 

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Cunard is building 3 more ships by 2022 and I wouldn't be surprised their dress code will come down further as they try to fill their new ships.

I've never understood why Royal Caribbean (and other cruise lines) won't compromise on Formal Nights. Many of the ships have multi-level dining rooms. On formal nights, why can't they designate one or two levels for formal and the remainder for casual? It could be a booking question and they would know exactly how many levels they would need for what. This way, everyone could peacefully enjoy their vacation. Has Royal Caribbean ever done a passenger poll to find out what their customers actually prefer?

I ... On formal nights, why can't they designate one or two levels for formal and the remainder for casual? ...

Because people would not follow the policy. There will always be the group where some will be formal and some will be casual, but they will want to sit at the same table.

I've never understood why Royal Caribbean (and other cruise lines) won't compromise on Formal Nights. Many of the ships have multi-level dining rooms. On formal nights, why can't they designate one or two levels for formal and the remainder for casual?

 

 

We actually like Celebrity’s move to Chic night. For us we see it as a good compromise. If folks want to dress up formally they certainly can. But those that don’t want to dress formally don’t have to. Shirt and slacks (...and flip-flops) are all I need.

 

Since we don’t do formal. We’ve always booked our specialty restaurant dining nights on formal nights to avoid making the tux wearers feel bad. [emoji15]

 

Cheers

Tom

The only cruise we didn't dress up for formal nights was Alaska. I just did't want to bring a suiter to pay for on the plane, and really didn't think that Alaska warranted dressing up. In the Carib, we dress up for dinner, and the show, then change to casual for the rest of the night.

We sailed on Allure of the Seas in July and I didn't see, or probably should say notice, anyone in a tux or a long gown. We had anytime dining and with our reservations, we had to wait in the area near the bar until a table became available.

 

The majority of men I saw while waiting had on dress shirts/dress pants with or without ties. Most women had on sun dress types or some had on pants and dressy tops. The dress was far from formal.

 

I think it was about the same when we went on Allure in January too. I think, and I could be wrong, that fewer people feel the need to dress to the nines on cruises any more. It seems to me that the new cruisers dress up more, as do the younger cruisers than those who have cruised for years. JMO.