Help - with clothes!!

[mamacat3]

As a first time X cruiser I am of the opinion that one would dress a little nicer than on other lines - is this fact or fiction??

 

How dressed do people usually get on formal nights? Casual nights would call for what??!! We are sailing on Solstice for 7 nights if that helps. Any help that you could give would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!!:)

[eandj]

Smart casual in the evening. Men, nice pants..not jeans. Cotton or golf shirt. ladies, nice capris or slacks, skirt, dress. Really anything that has a put together look.

 

Formal, most men wear dark suits, some tuxes and some sports coats. 99% wear ties. Women, most wear cocktail length, but you also will see a few long dresses and many pretty pants with fancy top. Some in just their "Sunday best".

 

Is X "nicer"? I'd say that most X cruisers put some thought into what they wear. Not just throwing something together that is clean.;)

[Ma Bell]

All this advice is good with the exception of sports coats for formal wear. A dinner jacket is not a sports coat. It all depends on the cruise as well. Many times long gowns or skirts along with dressy formal pants are in the majority for women.

[ccruisequeen]

I'm packing a dark jersey pair of slacks & a dark jersey skirt to mix & match with about 5 nice blouses (also wearable with shorts for daytime). Also taking a long black jersey dress to accessorize in different ways for formal night. (14 day cruise)

[dzcruisers]

People appear to have dressed when they go to dinner. They look clean, fresh and not like they have just gotten off a hike. Smart casual is what X says. One cruise line we were on some of the people looked like they had on the same thing at breakfast and dinner after a heavy day of activities.

Formal, if you've followed the board at all is not what it was in 2007 even.

This year, far fewer men in tuxes, and I saw very few gowns. People were understatedly elegant. Most men wore a dark suit and tie. You would not feel uncomfortable in a tux as maybe 25% were still wearing them.

 

On the Infinity last fall I saw men turned away on formal night for no jacket but they let men in with a golf shirt and blue blazer.

On my first cruise on X in 1999 the people were not as dressed as I thought they would be. If you have cruised on Princess the dress is basically the same. You'll be surprised at some of the casualness. Men in shorts and port shirts were commonplace. Women in similar outfits during the day were there too. No criticism, it's just that everyone is not dressed in smart cruise wear all the time as some would like you to believe.

 

Have a great cruise! Relax and enjoy!

[eandj]

You'll be surprised at some of the casualness. Men in shorts and port shirts were commonplace. Women in similar outfits during the day were there too.

!

 

The above is always part of the daytime casual wear on X which is NOT labeled as "smart casual." Just don't plan on the above for dinners. You aren't getting in the dining room in shorts on X.

[eandj]

All this advice is good with the exception of sports coats for formal wear. A dinner jacket is not a sports coat. It all depends on the cruise as well. Many times long gowns or skirts along with dressy formal pants are in the majority for women.

 

 

Of course a sports coat is not a dinner coat. But neither is a cocktail dress or suit "formal". ;)

 

There WILL be sports coats with ties on formal night. And on the 7 night Solstice cruise, you will see far fewer long dresses than short. More young professionals trying X for the first time on the new ships, are not dressing truly "Formal".

 

You might see a few more long dresses on longer cruises, especially European. But we saw only 30% of men in tuxes and women in long dresses even on our 12 night Med cruise this past Sept. on X.

 

Times are changing and the new generation of cruisers are not showing up in the long dresses and tuxes of the past. Doesn't stop anyone from doing a full formal dress tho. Just a bit more leeway in some people's tastes. Hope it doesn't slip any more than what I see now, which still looks very nice.

[Ma Bell]

No, a cocktail dress and suit are not true formal wear but they are included in Celebrity's definition of what is appropriate for formal evenings. A sport coat isn't.

 

If people keep saying they are OK we will be seeing more of them, won't we?;) I personally have only seen a few, but then I've only been on about 7 cruises in the last year.

[eandj]

On our Solstice cruise earlier this month, I spoke to the maitre d for a few minutes about dress code and how it is so debated here.

He told me they are keeping a "few sportcoats" on hand for any gentleman to borrow that doesn't have one on when he enters the MDR. (Really???) Unfortunately, if the man wants to turn it down, he can, and still enter the dining room. So much for trying to enforce a dress code. :rolleyes: When I asked about a required tie. He said that is not a requirement to enter. :(

 

Times are indeed changing on X. Not to my liking.

[dzcruisers]

On our Solstice cruise earlier this month, I spoke to the maitre d for a few minutes about dress code and how it is so debated here.

He told me they are keeping a "few sportcoats" on hand for any gentleman to borrow that doesn't have one on when he enters the MDR. (Really???) Unfortunately, if the man wants to turn it down, he can, and still enter the dining room. So much for trying to enforce a dress code. :rolleyes: When I asked about a required tie. He said that is not a requirement to enter. :(

 

Times are indeed changing on X. Not to my liking.

 

That's exactly what we found on the Infinity. ties were not required on formal night, jackets were. Now it sounds like they may have relaxed that since October.

[JMHappy]

I think because of the luggage limitations on airlines it has prohibited our choices of formal wear. We are going on a transatlantic cruise (13 days) and can only carry 44 lbs of luggage. We have 3 formal nights and will be having a change in climate from 80 degrees to 30....

 

On our last transatlantic cruise we were choosing to "opt out" of formal nights and our waiters encouraged us to continue to attend (my husband only had a sports coat and tie).

[ccruisequeen]

I think because of the luggage limitations on airlines it has prohibited our choices of formal wear. We are going on a transatlantic cruise (13 days) and can only carry 44 lbs of luggage. We have 3 formal nights and will be having a change in climate from 80 degrees to 30....

 

On our last transatlantic cruise we were choosing to "opt out" of formal nights and our waiters encouraged us to continue to attend (my husband only had a sports coat and tie).

Take one long jersey dress with 2 (or 3) sets of accessories (broaches, necklaces, scarves, belts, etc) to dress it up into different looks. accessories are lightweight & can pack into corners of suitcase or shoes

[mamacat3]

Thank you all for your replies. I am sad to see the decline of formal wear however, I do understand it with the luggage limitations for flying. Part of the elegance of cruising , IMHO, is getting dressed like you don't at home!!

 

I have a much better feel for what to take now - thanks!!!!:)

[margeecruiser]

Hi, Momacat My DH and I are part of the 'getting dressed up is part of the fun' crowd. He wears a tux and I wear long formal gowns for formal nights. He wears a sport coat on the plane (likes the extra pockets) and wears that for casual nights. He does not wear a tie on casual nights; he wears a silk(?) thin knit shirt with the sport coat. I wear nice slacks or a knee length dress for casual nights. We have found Celebrity to be more formal than other lines (Carnival, Princess, RCCL, NCL) and this is part of the elegance we like. We did see the dining room manager turn away men who were not wearing a coat on one of our Celebrity cruises, so it does happen. We have no problem with packing and staying under the weight limit on luggage. A tux does not weight that much more than a suit. Happy sails to you!!:D