My FORMAL NIGHT Experience...(AND RANT)

[iceman93]

Yes, but I would expect a more casual feel on a Hawaii/Tahiti cruise. On the cruises I've taken, I'd estimate more like a 60% tux wear rate. In fact, on a 7-day Oosterdam Mexican Riviera cruise that was partly chartered by a surfing group, the surfers all wore tuxes with flip-flops on formal night! (But at least they were wearing tuxes...)

[navybankerteacher]

Very few wear Tux -- perhaps half wear a dark suit -- most of the rest wear a jacket and tie - usually not with jeans --- it's not that hard to comply --if you really do not want to make that effort - go to the Lido.

 

This topic has been done to death -- both by the traditionalists who mourn the passing of true formal dress and by the louts who believe that no rules of any sort should apply to them.

[woodofpine]

Over the years... the consistent high emotive rationality/irrationality of Formal Dress thread responses would provide plenty of material for innumerable social-psychiatry studies.

 

It really is amazing to me the responses to something as functionally basic (clothing) prompts. Food is the same to a degree.

 

As an aside, the French berque legislation is considered a virtual declaration of war by some; yet, on the other hand when Kemal Attaturk secularized Turkey in the early 20's one of the first reforms he undertook was banning Ottoman dress. 'Atta Turk!'

 

I suppose if you're a real western traditionalist, it started when Adam picked up a fig leaf... and Eve exclaimed, "You don't need THAT big a fig leaf!" ('Oops!') :D

[fann1sh]

Over 3,200 views and all of these comments in only 2 days. WOW! Just to clarify...we do a lot of research before we travel. In reading the Alaska boards, I seemed to see a lot of comments about Alaska cruises being a little more casual than other cruises. Since we were going to be gone for 28 days, staying at hotels in 3 different cities, traveling by auto, train, automobile, and 2 different cruise ships, while also packing for Alaska and Hawaii, I didn't take a suit. That is all there is to it. No desire on my part to circumvent any rules or codes. I was really surprised when I was "not accepted". It was just a word of "advice" to others who may be planning the same type of cruise. I have stated that I really enjoyed the cruise, LOVED the happy hour each day where we met so many different people, and am going on HAL, again, next month. So, nice to hear the different comments, but I think you have me figured wrong. I will be writing my reviews later this week. If you read them, you will find them to be most positive. Travel safe and take care.

 

 

Glad to hear you do research. So many people don't. You still have avoided stating in clear terms whether you knew what the dress code was before you sailed. Whether it was included in your research for your last cruise, now you certainly know that 2 nights per week HAL wants gentlemen in jacket/tie in the main dining room.

 

If you don't want to pack a suit, you could wear a blazer onto the plane, with a tie in the pocket. Some gentlemen have posted woman have it easier - "little black dress". But the classic LBD requires *high heeled shoes* and other accessories. Something gentlemen need not fuss over! Both sexes seem to think the other's job is easier. C'est la vie.

 

So, teacherman: will you pack a jacket/tie this time? Or, will you go to the Lido on formal nights, where they serve - practically - the same menu (shrimp instead of lobster tail on the second formal night)? What is the net result of this experience?

 

Do you attend the shows in the evening? Does the fact that HAL requests guests remain in their formal dress all evening for activities have any impact on your choices?

 

Since this is your thread, looking forward to hearing from you.

[Opinions]

Do you attend the shows in the evening? Does the fact that HAL requests guests remain in their formal dress all evening for activities have any impact on your choices?

 

.

 

HAL doesn't request that one remain in their formal wear all evening...They request that one wears the "suggested" dress...The suggested dress for the Lido on Formal nights is certainly not formal...If one wears casual to the Lido on formal nights there is no requirement to change into formal to see a show.

[iancal]

I think HAL's notion that one can wear casual clothes in the Lido on formal night but request formal clothes in all other venues is well.....unattainable from a common sense perspective. How exactly would one get to and from the Lido? HAL wants everyone out of their respective cabins spending money on formal nights...whether it be in the casino, the bars or the shops. Those who eat in the Lido will actually have more time to loose money in the casinos or buy whatever in the shops.

[krewzin]

while i realize this would be a guesstimate (and then vary by ship and itinerary), but what % of men would actually wear tuxedos on the formal nights?

Thanks

 

 

17%.

[sail7seas]

I don't think we've ever been on a HAL cruise where less than 40% of the men wore tuxes/dinner jackets. Average is slightly higher.

 

[mudscraper]

17%.

Link.

[startwin]

I don't think we've ever been on a HAL cruise where less than 40% of the men wore tuxes/dinner jackets. Average is slightly higher.

 

 

 

On our last cruise with 1400 passengers I saw two men in tuxes on both formal nights.

[JeffCoud]

We sailed September 8-15 on Holland Volendam round trip from Vancouver to Alaska. I will write a review of the cruise on the Review Board, but wanted to put this here on the Holland Board. We had sailed Holland 4 years ago in the Baltic and enjoyed it. This cruise was also enjoyable....BUT as we were traveling on two ships, trains, airplanes, rental cars, and packing for both Alaska and Hawaii, I chose not to bring formal clothes (as I also have done on my last 10 cruises on different lines). On first formal night, I wore dark blue trousers, black shoes, a dark blue pin-striped shirt that matched the trousers, and a navy blue zip up cardigan sweater (all nicely co-ordinated). As we arrived at the dining room, the greeter said "it was formal night." "Yes, I know," said I, "and these are my formal clothes for the cruise". "We require a jacket," says he. "I have none," says I. "We have one you can borrow," says he. "That would be nice," says I. He then reached under his desk and handed to me a black tuxedo type dinner jacket. I took off my sweater, which my wife held, and tried to put on the jacket. I am a size 44 and it was about a 36. "I don't think it fits correctly'" says I. "It looks just fine," says he. "Please follow me." And I walked to my table, wearing a jacket that looked as though I had selected it from the little boy department. It also had clearly showing food stains (I hope) on the sleeve. I was seated with my dining companions for that evening (Any Time Dining). I ate my meal, enjoyed it, but, for some reason, there was no conversation from anyone during dinner. After dinner, I returned the jacket and asked if there was a charge for using it. "No," says he. "Well, thank you," says I. QUESTION: WHAT WAS THE POINT???? In the dining room were men wearing tuxes, suits, sport coats, or just shirts with tie and no coat. Also, men with open neck shirts and coats, and others who had removed their coats and placed them on the back of their chairs, either because they were feeling warm or uncomfortable. If the thought was to make my dining companions enjoy formal night, I don't think it worked, as they seemed more uncomfortable looking at me than I did wearing this ill fitting jacket. The next formal night we chose to dine in the Canaletto Restaurant which was so enjoyable and relaxing that we also dined there on the last evening of the cruise. This experience did not take away from my cruise enjoyment, but come on...it is 2010 and not 1920. If people want to dress up, then let them. But don't turn away people who are cleanly and neatly dressed. The next week, we sailed on RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas, where the same outfit was welcomed by my dinner comapnions and the dining steward, who said, "We would not turn you away, sir. You are our GUEST." We sail again, next month, on HAL. Can't wait to see what happens on that particular ship.

 

Or certainly they should get better jackets!

[JeffCoud]

- Can anyone but Elton John wear 'puffy' shirts and get away with it?

 

Barry Manilow can pull it off too!

[MidnightPomegranate]

You will forgive me...I very much understand the formal vs not formal and I dress accordingly when on a HAL ship, but nobody has addressed the part where he was given an ill fitting/food stained jacket to bring him into compliance? Is an ill fitting/food stained article of clothing really better than what he was already wearing? So, it doesn't matter the condition of the tux as long as it is a tux?

This is exactly what I was thinking. I'm sure he looked better in his snappy cardigan than a small stained jacket. That was demeaning and uncalled for.

[serendipity1499]

I don't think we've ever been on a HAL cruise where less than 40% of the men wore tuxes/dinner jackets. Average is slightly higher.

 

 

On our last cruise with 1400 passengers I saw two men in tuxes on both formal nights.

 

On the Veendam in Aug, only two men wore a TUX in Open seating, & one of them was DH..Copper 10-8 had the same experience on his Veendam cruise in Sept..

That's the reason DH says he would rather wear a suit from now on..It breaks my heart, but I understand why..

 

Cheers.....:)Betty

[Nancyquilts]

DH usually wears a white dinner jacket instead of the tux jacket - and looks great!:D Well, he didn't wear it on the last Alaska trip, but did wear a jacket, etc.

[mudscraper]

On the Veendam in Aug, only two men wore a TUX in Open seating, & one of them was DH..Copper 10-8 had the same experience on his Veendam cruise in Sept..

 

That's the reason DH says he would rather wear a suit from now on..It breaks my heart, but I understand why..

 

Cheers.....:)Betty

Copper sat on the wrong side of the dining room.:) He covered the port side while I patrolled the starboard. Numerous James Bond and Cary Grant sightings within my field of vision.

[anniegb]

We all need to get a life!

 

I was on a HAL cruise and saw 1 tux! BTW I saw jeans and leisure suits in the MDR. Who cares? I don't.

 

I felt overdressed at a Captain's cocktail party wearing a non-cocktail dress.

 

I just wondered if this obsession with dress code was mainly a North American thing?

 

People are on holiday - let them wear what they want!

[sapper1]

While my husband has always taken a tux plus a blazer and ties on our cruises, we are rethinking it for our upcoming 29 day Med cruise. Instead of the tux he will take a dark dress suit so that he can wear it on formal nights and other evenings that he would like to dress up---such as in the Pinnacle Grill. He often wears the blazer on ordinary nights in the MDR.

 

There is just not room in the luggage for a suit, tux and blazer. I know there are those who will say that he could wear the blazer on the plane but it is a loose weave type which can easily pick and would not stand up to the rigors of travel.

 

I have gone from taking long beaded gowns to shorter black fancy dresses which weigh less. Although we are allowed 50 pounds per suitcase I find that I simply cannot lift anything heavier than 42 pounds now, so that is also a factor to consider when I pack for us. I am considerably younger than my husband so I am the one who does the suitcase lifting.

 

Looking ahead to the day when we will not be able to travel without assistance with our luggage I have a question to ask of those who routinely travel while needing assistance-------what do you do in airports in the baggage claim area? I have never noticed anyone around to help passengers but maybe I just haven't been looking closely enough. I am sure there must be some help available as so many people seem to travel when they are very advanced in age.

[teacherman]

Since you asked-

I DID know that HAL "suggested" jackets and/or ties. I have been on other cruises where suggestions were not followed by all passengers. It far more bothers me to see someone dining in the Lido for dinner dressed in bathing suit, tee shirt, baseball hat, and flip-flops (several times on the last cruise) than it does to see someone in the DR on formail night without a jacket or tie. But that is just me. As we are ONLY going to be gone for 11 nights on this next cruise, as opposed to 28, I will most likely take a shirt and tie. It does not bother me to play "dress-up". Our basic rule is we don't take more luggage than we can handle by ourselves. We try to limit it to one suitcase (checked) and one carry-on. It seems like a lot of bother to take a special dress-up outfit, plus dress shoes, for about 10 hours total out of 11 days. It is my cruise, paid for with my money. I do not try to offend anyone or circumvent any rules, like all the people who ask how they can smuggle booze onto the ship. Safe travels to all.

[Cruising-along]

We all need to get a life!

 

I was on a HAL cruise and saw 1 tux! BTW I saw jeans and leisure suits in the MDR. Who cares? I don't.

 

I felt overdressed at a Captain's cocktail party wearing a non-cocktail dress.

 

I just wondered if this obsession with dress code was mainly a North American thing?

People are on holiday - let them wear what they want!

 

I don't think it's a North American thing, but I've often wondered if it might have anything to do with location within North America.

 

We've lived on the west coast. east coast, and midwest of the US. IMO (and only in my experience, I'm sure there are many, many exceptions) in general I think the west coast is a bit more casual and "live and let live", and this is especially true in the PNW where I live.

[fann1sh]

Since you asked-

I DID know that HAL "suggested" jackets and/or ties. I have been on other cruises where suggestions were not followed by all passengers. It far more bothers me to see someone dining in the Lido for dinner dressed in bathing suit, tee shirt, baseball hat, and flip-flops (several times on the last cruise) than it does to see someone in the DR on formail night without a jacket or tie. But that is just me. As we are ONLY going to be gone for 11 nights on this next cruise, as opposed to 28, I will most likely take a shirt and tie. It does not bother me to play "dress-up". Our basic rule is we don't take more luggage than we can handle by ourselves. We try to limit it to one suitcase (checked) and one carry-on. It seems like a lot of bother to take a special dress-up outfit, plus dress shoes, for about 10 hours total out of 11 days. It is my cruise, paid for with my money. I do not try to offend anyone or circumvent any rules, like all the people who ask how they can smuggle booze onto the ship. Safe travels to all.

 

You have rationalized your behaviour quite neatly. However, here is what I see as an outsider:

 

You knew HAL had a dress code, but chose to ignore it. You yourself have enforced dress codes at school, so know what this is all about. You got caught, but instead of admitting your mistake like an adult, you chose to "rant" (your word) about it like one of your more childish students.

 

I find packing for "formal" night, into luggage I can manage on my own, very easy. (I also do similar packing for my 87 year old dad.) I am mildly disabled with a chronic disease (RA), so I'm not hefting multiple 50 pound bags!

 

I simply prioritize differently than people who really don't want to pack anything except smart casual clothes and (this is just my opinion) use luggage as a handy excuse. I put the dressier clothes in first. That may mean I can't take 3 identical pairs of casual slacks, or 12 similar T's, but I seldom do wash on board ship and manage just fine. YMMV. Volendam does have a self serve laundry. The newest HAL ships don't. However, I always take extra shampoo for emergency sink washes.

 

Have you considered that many other people may not particularly care for dressing up, but pack and dress according to code because they consider it polite? To HAL, who makes the request, and is their "host"? And to their fellow travellers? Others have made the effort, and are expecting everyone to behave like a grownup instead of a child ("I don't wanna!")

 

My Dad is one of these people.

 

I hope that now you've learned that HAL can and will call you out for not observing the dress code, you will either:

 

pack accordingly, and include a jacket and tie;

 

go to the Lido on formal nights.

 

And again - why would someone who values casual dress pick HAL - then *complain* about the very traditional things that make HAL different from other lines? Royal Caribbean, Norwegian (and perhaps even Princess) do Alaska, and have dress codes which fit your preferences. I'm puzzled!

[Sea King]

You have rationalized your behaviour quite neatly.

 

I hope that now you've learned that HAL can and will call you out for not observing the dress code, you will either:

 

pack accordingly, and include a jacket and tie;

 

go to the Lido on formal nights.

 

And again - why would someone who values casual dress pick HAL - then *complain* about the very traditional things that make HAL different from other lines? Royal Caribbean, Norwegian (and perhaps even Princess) do Alaska, and have dress codes which fit your preferences. I'm puzzled!

 

bravo! couldn't have said it any better:D

 

but don't be puzzled .. it's just one person's view aimed IMO at starting controversy .. just didn't work, that's all

 

the answer to the "self made problem" is so simple: don't go the MDR unless you're willing to "play by the rules" .. :eek:

 

really tough isn't it:rolleyes:

[madelinerose]

"It looks just fine' date='"[/color'] says he. "Please follow me." And I walked to my table, wearing a jacket that looked as though I had selected it from the little boy department. It also had clearly showing food stains (I hope) on the sleeve.

 

Well, there you go. This is just so wrong in so many ways it makes me LOL while my head spins. :D

 

Too bad you didn't ask the "greeter" to try on the jacket first. ;)

 

Why pack clean clothes that fit when you're given the option to borrow dirty clothes that don't fit? :D:rolleyes:

[anniegb]

The issue is surely that HAL does not consistently enforce 'their' dress code. Why is that? Commercial reasons?

 

People book HAL because of itinerary not because of a 'dress code'. Traditional cruise line - you are kidding? What traditions ? Afternoon tea - made in a cup?

 

The world is a changing.

 

People need to get a life and stop trying to bully other passengers/clients.

 

Get a life - there are far more important issues to get worked up over.

 

 

Amen

[debsjc]

We all need to get a life!

 

I was on a HAL cruise and saw 1 tux! BTW I saw jeans and leisure suits in the MDR. Who cares? I don't.

 

I felt overdressed at a Captain's cocktail party wearing a non-cocktail dress.

 

I just wondered if this obsession with dress code was mainly a North American thing?

 

People are on holiday - let them wear what they want!

 

I don't think it's a North American thing

 

I love seeing people dressed up in their formal wear. It's something we wouldn't normally get a chance to do, and part of the cruise experience.

 

Personally I find it a bit disappointing that so many ladies seem to wear black trousers with some sort of 'sparkly' top. I enjoy fashion and clothes and I miss seeing all the beautiful dresses that were around just 3-5 years ago.