What is the dress code on Silversea?

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

I find it quite acceptable to board in jeans in any port, and even board in shorts in the Caribbean or in the Mediterranean in the heat of August.

 

What about a woman wearing a bikini around the swimming pool. Is that also a no-no?

 

Do we really need to get bent out of shape if a man chooses not to wear a tie as long as he looks respectable as far as the rest of his clothes are concerned?

 

Remember, except for certain rules, such as no flip-flops, baseball caps, shorts, jeans in the dining room at night, the rest of the guidelines are mere SUGGESTIONS.

 

The other comment above about Silversea ships sailing full is misleading. Yes, the ships are sailing full -- with travel agents, Silversea employees, and last minute passengers paying the Venetian Value rates (the latter I admit includes myself on my last few cruises).

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Travelcat2]

Please allow me to clarify my statement about which cruise line is sailing full. Due to aggressive marketing and changes in policy (adding an included hotel pre-cruise, etc.), Regent is running full. Some itineraries are full months in advance. All this indicates to me is that Silversea is either not marketing as aggressively, or, Regent's policies are appealing to more luxury travelers. Having just returned from a 2 week cruise on Regent, many guests feel as I do. . . . we would take either Regent or Silversea, depending upon the itinerary. The dress code, however, is still a sticking point with many Americans and Canadians.

 

In terms of dress outside of the ship, I assume that most people would check the etiquette website in the countries you will be visiting. While wearing shorts in London during the day would be fine, shorts would be offensive to many in Egypt.

 

decorate: Your post pointed out differences in guests from different countries. What is proper dress for visiting a township near you (assuming a township is a small city?) would not be the same for all readers of the Silversea board. Cruising is somewhat of a melting pot. . . people from all over the world with different customs and modes of dress together. On the ship, I do agree with following the guidelines.

[wripro]

Why does the Spirit seem to be more casual than the other SS ships? Is it because of the preponderance of seven day itineraries?

[meow!]

Travelcat2: Thank you kindly for the clarification. We are quite amazed with FDR's marketing skills, through the years, he appeared to have increased fares the most and yet made them stick. When the Oceania large new ships all get into service, then we will know whether this "magic" is permanent or temporary .. meow!

[justfoxie]

Where do you find out information about which days on any given voyage are formal? Not that it matters a huge deal I suppose, but I gather that on a 7 day cruise there are 2?

[turnip eater]

Where do you find out information about which days on any given voyage are formal? Not that it matters a huge deal I suppose, but I gather that on a 7 day cruise there are 2?

 

 

You only find out the actual information on board. It is given in the daily bulletin. You will be told the number of formal evenings with your documentation.

[Scotspea]

Gosh, being new to Silversea, I cannot believe what I am reading. We were on the Spirit in November (Caribbean -- warm weather). T-shirts, shorts or cotton pants were worn by many, many guests during the day. Men dining in Hot Rocks at night wore short sleeve shirts and slacks (the weather outside in the Caribbean was quite warm).

 

I find the posts on what should or should not be the proper attire on Silversea (aside from the stated dress code) to be a bit judgmental. People in many parts of the world were raised differently as it pertains to dress. In New York, for instance, many "dress" to go to the supermarket. In Los Angeles, it is perfectly fine to put a "cover-up" over your bikini/swim suit when you go to the market.

 

Customs throughout the world are so interesting. . . and, IMO, should be respected. :o

 

 

and, IMO so should RULES :mad:

[dusababy]

and, imo so should rules :mad:

 

 

bravo !!!

[clkc86]

As newbies to Silversea, my husband and I will certainly try to adhere to the rules, but I hope if we do make a fashion faux pas that we won't be judged too harshly. My husband does not own a tux, has no need of one in "regular" life and has a lovely good quality black suit that will have to suffice. I do not own a ball gown and will instead wear nice separates, that I would wear to the most formal event I could ever envision attending, barring an inaugural ball. We are only on a 7 night Caribbean cruise, so hopefully our clothing will not offend too very many people. So keep educating us, but please cut us some slack if we aren't completely perfect.

[dusababy]

As newbies to Silversea, my husband and I will certainly try to adhere to the rules, but I hope if we do make a fashion faux pas that we won't be judged too harshly. My husband does not own a tux, has no need of one in "regular" life and has a lovely good quality black suit that will have to suffice. I do not own a ball gown and will instead wear nice separates, that I would wear to the most formal event I could ever envision attending, barring an inaugural ball. We are only on a 7 night Caribbean cruise, so hopefully our clothing will not offend too very many people. So keep educating us, but please cut us some slack if we aren't completely perfect.

 

Dear Tulsa Cool Cruiser -- don't give it a second thought.

You will be fine.

Actually I love to point out to friends that I've cruised with Silversea since 1996 and my pix albums show me in the same "classic" wardrobe today -- really -- and when I return to dining room on formal nights I love to think the staff is saying....."there she is again".....

Don't sweat it. My "nice separates" are mix and match -- and I'm a knock out !! ;)

[Travelcat2]

and, IMO so should RULES :mad:

 

Did I say something wrong? I believe that Silverseas guidelines should be followed. I was simply speaking to the fact that there are differences in terms of what is considered proper dress throughout the world. T-shirts and shorts are not against Silversea daytime guidelines and were worn by many on the Silver Spirit in the Caribbean (not by me. . . . well, maybe the t-shirt part when we went horse back riding). My post was not intended to offend. My DH is from the UK, so I am very aware of the cultural differences.

Edited January 28, 2011 by Travelcat2

[CanadianKate]

You only find out the actual information on board. It is given in the daily bulletin. You will be told the number of formal evenings with your documentation.

 

Just got my silver box and the only reference to # of formal nights is in the 'Setting Sail' pamphlet which is generic. There's a chart that goes up to 20 days long and says on a 20 day cruise there are 4 formal nights. I'm on a 21 day cruise. Besides, the chart says on a 10 day cruise there are 2 formal nights and last September we had 3.

 

I'm having trouble finding the listing for our particular cruise online. I found the same chart as in the 'Setting Sail' pamphlet but I can't find details for cruise 5106.

 

I'm interested that the Spirit is more casual. This will be our first Spirit cruise and our first completely hot weather cruise.

[WinWin]

Dear friends:

 

I find it quite acceptable to board in jeans in any port, and even board in shorts in the Caribbean or in the Mediterranean in the heat of August.

 

What about a woman wearing a bikini around the swimming pool. Is that also a no-no?

 

Do we really need to get bent out of shape if a man chooses not to wear a tie as long as he looks respectable as far as the rest of his clothes are concerned?

 

Remember, except for certain rules, such as no flip-flops, baseball caps, shorts, jeans in the dining room at night, the rest of the guidelines are mere SUGGESTIONS.

 

The other comment above about Silversea ships sailing full is misleading. Yes, the ships are sailing full -- with travel agents, Silversea employees, and last minute passengers paying the Venetian Value rates (the latter I admit includes myself on my last few cruises).

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

Oh heavens - We totally did NOT mean to imply that jeans are unacceptable - only that this is something that we have seen recently on Silversea that was not as noticeable as before.

 

Our observation is that it really does not matter - things are changing, but then again, so are we - we are getting older - and perhaps we enjoy the formal dress more than a generation younger than ourselves.

 

Gunther and Uta - we hope to meet you on a cruise in the near future - for our faux pas we apologize - we will buy....

[CruisinGerman]

Just different people's respectable opinions.

 

It would be a pleasure to meet you on a cruise.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[wripro]

I have been wearing jeans during the day on silversea since June 1994 when I first sailed the Cloud. Never had a second look from anyone. And guess what....they let me keep booking over and over,

[Goldens4]

I'll drink to that one wripro. Cheers!

[jjmurph01]

As a new member of the community I hope I use this forum correctly.

 

We are planning our first (ever) cruise and will be on Silversea Silver Spirit late October - early November from Rome to Barcelona. We had planned a cruise on Oceania last year but unfortunately had to cancel, so we are first time cruisers.

 

My challenge is with packing. We are spending 4 days in Tuscany before returning to Rome for two nights and then onboard the ship. Packing will be a challenge, I think.

 

I've heard that Silversea has a formal night that requires the gentlemen and ladies to dress up. From what I've read, this could be dark suit and tie or tuxedo for the gentleman and a wide variety of dressy outfits for the ladies. Concentrating on the man's side, wondering if I only pack a dark sports coat, along with ties and shirts, would that suffice?

 

I understand that if we don't want to dress up there are restaurants or grills on the ship where we can eat without the formal attire.

 

Last question: I would hope that "formal night" would infer more than just dressing up. Is there something special about Silversea formal nights that warrants the formal attire? Different events? Different entertainment? Different dining experience?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds. And, by the way, if you're on the Silversea leaving Rome on October 29, give us a shout. Best part of cruising is making new friends.

[Catlover54]

Cross-ref to this other dress code thread too, which pretty much covers the attire issue. Yes, dark jacket and tie is fine ( DH brought a black travel suit with nice shirts and ties, and then also wore the jacket with other pants on informal nights, so no need to bring two jackets)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2311654&highlight=dress+code

 

ALL dinners on SS are special, but sometimes the MDR has something even more special on formal night, like lobster, though usually it was special enough for us in the informal venue where we would "hide"

 

I did not see anything different on entertainment on our four SS cruises, last in 2015

 

Have a wonderful time!

[lolawpb]

Congratulations on your first cruise! To break down the SS dress code as it was confusing to us last year also on our first cruise, daytime is casual dress until 6pm. This will vary according to the location you are sailing in as it seems to be driven by the excursions people are dressed for. I would guess that your itinerary will be mostly resort casual wear during the day whereas places like Alaska are much more informal. For formal evenings, the itinerary drives this a little also. Our Alaska cruise last year was a little less glitzy while the Caribbean cruise this year was very dressy. We did see lots of men wearing tuxedos but also some just wore a nice dark jacket and tie so you should be fine either way. Ladies were either in gowns or glittery tops. Not everyone goes all out but the general feel is pretty formal. Usually at least one of the formal nights ties in with the captain's welcome when all passengers are invited into the theater to toast the voyage and the captain and cruise director do a small presentation. This is where the formal dress stands out as well as in the main dining room. On our cruise to the Caribbean, it was stated that you could dine at the hot rocks on the pool deck or in La Terrazza if you didn't want to fully go formal. It is enjoyable thought see everyone dressed up and felt a little nostalgic like the old way of cruising that we really only see in movies these days. Other nights are informal and casual. Informal is still dressy, jacket for men, nice dress or pantsuit for women, but not quite as glitzy. Casual is resort casual-- khakis or slacks with a nice shirt--still no jeans or shorts in the evening but these are both fine for daytime. Hope this helps!

[Silver Spectre]

Last question: I would hope that "formal night" would infer more than just dressing up. Is there something special about Silversea formal nights that warrants the formal attire? Different events? Different entertainment? Different dining experience?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds. And, by the way, if you're on the Silversea leaving Rome on October 29, give us a shout. Best part of cruising is making new friends.

 

Welcome to CC and Silversea. Sometimes on a 'formal night' there might be dancing in the MDR and sometimes you may be invited to have dinner with one of the officers or senior shipboard management.

[turtlemichael]

On an upcoming cruise we have an overnight in port. Is the overnight stay usually a casual night? The reason I am asking is that we want to invite guests on board. Many thanks.

[lolawpb]

I have only been on one cruise with Silversea that had an overnight in port and it was a casual night. It was also a night when the entertainers took a break and they showed a movie in the theater instead since a lot of people will be off the ship in the evening. One other cruise had a very late departure, after 11 pm, and they did the same on that night.

[duct tape]

Turtlemichel, yes ove nights are usually casual. In season, 7 day cruises in the Med, the Carribean and Alaska have NO formal nights.

[wripro]

In my experience. most overnights are casual.

[Silver Spectre]

Yet to have one that has not been casual (except of course on a cricket charter)😎