Would we look completely out of place if we dress up one evening?

[MetalManCPA]

Do whatever you want - whatever makes YOU feel good.

 

I'm not particularly fond of dressing up on a cruise and part of me is looking forward not to have to. I say that with reservation though, as my wife and I haven't really discussed it yet. So if she wants to play dress up, I will too.

[Winters in NZ]

The majority of your fellow passengers will admire you in your sartorial splendour and glamour. Just be prepared for all of the extra positive attention that will be comming your way.

[cynbar]

I think a lot of this depends on how the OP feels ---- some people are uncomfortable if they are dressed in a way that is different from what most other people are wearing. We have been on 2 recent NCL cruises and have found dress to be very casual, but it sounds as if this isn't always the case. I would say to the OP ---- probably more people will be quite casual than dressed up, even on Dress Up or Not Nights. How you react to that is up to you. I have to say, we usually enjoy formal nights on our more traditional cruises, but didn't mind leaving the fancy clothes home on our NCL cruises.

[del47618]

Just off the Pearl's May 16 sailing and I have to agree with all the posters above. We had one "dress up" night with our family, and we had fun doing that and getting pictures done in the atrium, and we did not feel at all out of place. Yes, perhaps you would feel a little odd in a tux, but there were plenty of people in suit-like outfits. I think the fact that many staff are dressed like that sets the stage that makes you not feel so out of place :)

[LoisGriffin1]

We just returned from the Gem Adriatic sailing and this was my first NCL cruise. I was surprised how many people were dressed up. I thought the whole 'freestyle' thing would be pretty casual. There were a few people in tuxes.

 

I say 'go for it'. Dress up and look fabulous! :)

 

I am going on this cruise shortly. Did you enjoy it?

 

I do expect a European cruise to be a little more dressy so have purchased a really nice dress to wear.

 

On my last cruise a large number of people dressed up. Most people dressed pretty smartly in the smart dining room.

[Browezilla]

My experience after 3 NCL cruises has been most like UandMe4Ever's above. I don't know the percentage that dressed up, but it felt much less than 1 out of 10. We dressed up, and I don't regret it, but we were in a small minority. We frequently saw shorts and tee shirts in the dining rooms. It was the most "relaxed" dress code we've seen on a cruise line.

[vacation luvver]

I sailed solo on the Dawn in November of 2006. I booked the cruise less than two weeks ahead of time and was unaware of the "dress up or not" policy (completely my fault). So I dressed up on the second night in a gown fit for a black tie optional wedding, and I felt extremely ill at ease, since everyone else I saw was dressed very casually. Unfortunately, the Queen was not on the ship, or we might have wound up sitting together at dinner. If anyone else on the cruise thought that I looked nice, he/she kept it to himself/herself. It was horrible. Then and there I decided that on future NCL cruises, I would not bring along anything other than extremely casual clothing. Since then, I wore jeans every night when cruising with NCL and felt much better.

[Sauer-kraut]

I suppose it would mostly hinge on where the cruise was going and the make up of the passengers. I can imagine that the Baltics cruises might tend to dressier as they might have a higher number of European passengers on board who are more inclined? to dress up a bit. Whereas an Alaskan cruise or Carribbean might be more casual because of the itinerary. If I had to pack warmer clothes and keep within weight limits for Alaska the fancy stuff would be put in the 'leave home' pile. :)

[tdcjerry]

No!

[Needhamite]

Freestyle cruising works both ways with regards to clothing. You are free to go causual and you re free to dress-up. With a couple of thousand people on board making their individual decisions there is bound to be a wide range of styles on any given night. We just returned from the Boston-Bermuda trip and enjoyed seeing this variety. If I spotted someone looking "dressed-up" I thought, "they must be celebrating something special tonight - I hope that they are having a good time. Maybe they will even get a photo taken to commemorate it!" Now, my definition of "formal" means either white tie or black tie. There certainly was no one on our cruise in tails and I don't recall seeing even one tux. But you wouldn't be alone in a business suit and tie (and the corresponding fancy dress or pant suit for the lady) particularly if you were eating in one of the surcharged restaurants. How you would feel about how you are dressed is entirely a personal thing.

[BIG_Steve]

When we dress up, it's because we think it's fun to be at an affair where everyone is dressed up. If that's how you feel, you will feel silly dressing up on NCL.

 

But if you dress up just because you like to, or want to stand out in a crowd, then you will feel great dressing up on NCL.

 

(Not going to argue that............)

[rannoch]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. I think that for me it will be a suit for the "dress up or don't" nights, and open shirt and slacks for the rest.

 

One question related in a way to the dress code - smoking in the casino or any public areas for that matter.

 

We don't smoke, and detest our clothes ending up smelling of smoke.

 

Some comments have indicated that, for example the casino is "smoky". Is it really bad?

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. I think that for me it will be a suit for the "dress up or don't" nights, and open shirt and slacks for the rest.

 

One question related in a way to the dress code - smoking in the casino or any public areas for that matter.

 

We don't smoke, and detest our clothes ending up smelling of smoke.

 

Some comments have indicated that, for example the casino is "smoky". Is it really bad?

 

It can be, yes.

[STARFISH*4]

To be completely honest, most NCL passengers are very casual, in fact too casually dressed at times. We saw very few people dressed up in the main dining rooms. More like resprt casual. In fact, NCL premits any type of clothing the first night because the cruise line feels that many passengers may not be aware of the dress requirement.

 

it really depends on sailings, times of year, passengers so this is not always true.

NCL allows pretty much anything the first night for the reason that not everyone may have gotten their luggage to change for dinner not anything to do with being aware of the dress requirement.

and RESORT CASUAL is the DRESS for NCL all the time....

 

but YOU CAN DRESS UP or NOT any night of your cruise and others will be doing the same...its FREESTYLE...its YOUR CHOICE!!

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!!