Elegant/Formal Night Kaput on Carnival

[OneNewTexan]

Just returned from our second and very last voyage on Carnival. Our first Carnival experience was over the Christmas holiday in 2008 and the passengers dressed reasonably well, probably due to the holiday season. Yesterday, we left the Triumph in New Orleans with the conclusion that the "Elegant Night" is really a joke on Carnival. Out of 3,500 passengers on board (1,100 of them children), only about five percent made any attempt to dress well in the dining room on "Elegant Night." Most were in jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and other very casual attire. I even saw some folks wearing flip-flops and one fello wearing gym sweats to the dining room. I did see about 20 men and boys wearing a tux. My son and I were two of this 20 or so. My wife and our two daughters were dressed appropriate for a formal dinner. This was really a let down to our family and is not what we expected. I know that many of you out there like this new super-casual dress standard, but it is not for us and we will be booking our future cruises on more upscale cruise lines where the passengers dress up more. I just cancelled a NCL booking this morning as we did not want to encounter the same lax dress code as we saw on Carnival. This is an FYI to all those new cruisers looking to book future trips. I will be booking Celebrity to replace the cancelled NCL booking.

[jenwales]

Have fun!

[nytraveller53]

I see your point, but how does how others dress at dinner affect your total cruise vacation? Do you cruise just to see everyone in nice clothes?

 

You might of had bad luck, because on the Valor, at the Elegant Nights, everyone looked very nice, and it was a very "classy" night.

Additionally, I think you may be fibbing/exaggerating a little. If those passengers were really dressed so badly, then the Maitre D' would ask them to eat at the Lido. (They are instructed to do this; I have seen them doing this before).

 

PS - you cruised during Spring Break. 'Nuff said.

[klfrodo]

I won't disagree with you.

I also am one of the few whom you will see in a Tux on elegant night. However, I can't really say that whatever else one was wearing affected my experience in any way.

[c85f9]

It's a shame you let what other people are wearing ruin your vacation. Good luck finding what you want on 'more upscale cruise lines'!

Happy Cruising,

 

Jill

[JaniceB]

I wonder if spring break had something to do with people dressing more casual? From what I have read on the forum, it doesn't sound like most cruises have that many people not participating in formal nights.

[OneNewTexan]

After purchasing a new tux for my son (he outgrew his old one) and spending nearly a $1,000 total for new fancy dresses for my wife and two teenage daughters for the two elegant nights (must have a different dress for each night), it is disappointing when your daughters comment that they feel out of place in their new beautiful dresses when they are surrounded by jeans, shorts, and t-shirts. Our trip wasn't ruined, it just wasn't what was expected. I will note that our cabin steward was fantastic (called us each by our name and was always so friendly) and the food in the main dining room was very good.

[kkdleon]

We dress for formal/elegant night, but mainly to blend in with everyone else dressed up. We have a cruise on RCCL in April, but we are not taking the formal wear. We will take church attire , and are going to eat in a specialty restaurant that night to avoid the formal issue. We have a cruise booked for the Dream this summer. If the majority will be dressed in a more casual manner, I think we will trend that way as well, but not to the extent of flip flops and shorts in the main dining room. We will dress the same way on the cruise for dinner as we do on land. The restaurant dictates the attire. We always look clean and presentable, and hopefully no one will be bothered by our church clothes in the main dining room. My apologies if our attire does not mesh with your formal wear.

 

I don't know why anyone would get upset about what everyone else is wearing unless they are feeling like they stand out. Dress to your comfort level, and if you feel like you will be more comfortable on another cruise line, I say to each their own. I feel certain that if you read the boards for the other lines, you will find they are having the same issues with people being too casual. Not everyone can afford to buy tuxedos and formal gowns for their children. Good luck finding a line with 2000+ people who are all dressed up to your liking.

 

Not trying to be snarky, just being realistic with the posters unrealistic expectations.

[jackdis]

We were just on the Dream last month. People, ourselves included, were dressed nicely for dinner. I know that jeans were not allowed into the dining room on formal night. Sorry you had such a bad experience and that it ruined your vacation. We had a great time!

[NanCan]

I only look at myself :D

[Sauer-kraut]

Wow! $1000 on dresses? for a cruise? not even on an 'elegant' cruiseline such as Seabourne or Cunard where dressing formally for at least 3 nights on a 7 night cruise is required.

 

I think you're more disappointed about the cost of the new duds and not getting the bang for the buck experience. With the way airlines are charging for luggage and overweight fees more and more cruises will be leaning to a more casual mode. I know for our Cunard crossing we had beaded gown issues as those puppies are HEAVY! Never again, I know now how and what to pack and still look dressed up and it won't include having to check a bag to fly to the port. (Case in point for the July cruise, one small carry on duffle bag with a dress for a wedding as well as a dressy dress for the elegant night plus shoes)

[Vanessa L]

After purchasing a new tux for my son (he outgrew his old one) and spending nearly a $1,000 total for new fancy dresses for my wife and two teenage daughters for the two elegant nights (must have a different dress for each night), it is disappointing when your daughters comment that they feel out of place in their new beautiful dresses when they are surrounded by jeans, shorts, and t-shirts. Our trip wasn't ruined, it just wasn't what was expected. I will note that our cabin steward was fantastic (called us each by our name and was always so friendly) and the food in the main dining room was very good.

 

 

This isn't complicated, ONT. It is well documented on this, and I suspect many other forums/boards that "Elegant" night is used VERY loosely on Carnival. I too have seen many varying degrees of dress on elegant night. On our last cruise on the Miracle, the guy in front of us was literally in a wife beater t-shirt and thank God, the hostess came out and told him we was going to have to have sleeves to enter the dining room. But to him, a wife beater made perfect sense on elegant night.

 

Speaking only for me, I could care less what other people wear, and we do dress up for elegant night (though not in tuxes for DH, as that is over-dressed on Carnival). I have taught my children that there are all walks of life and they should just be themselves and enjoy being so, rather than worrying about what others around them are doing. If you choose to raise your children to be worried about what others around them are doing, then that is certainly your business. Similarly, it is up to you to choose to cruise the upscale lines. We choose Carnival because while we could afford the others, it is important to me to make sure my children are not kept in an "us vs. them" bubble. If I choose to simply cruise where everyone is the same (i.e. the upscale lines), it doesn't expose them to the fact that there ARE differences in people and in the overall big picture, that is perfectly ok.

 

Just my $.02

[GreenZolie]

After purchasing a new tux for my son (he outgrew his old one) and spending nearly a $1,000 total for new fancy dresses for my wife and two teenage daughters for the two elegant nights (must have a different dress for each night), it is disappointing when your daughters comment that they feel out of place in their new beautiful dresses when they are surrounded by jeans, shorts, and t-shirts. Our trip wasn't ruined, it just wasn't what was expected. I will note that our cabin steward was fantastic (called us each by our name and was always so friendly) and the food in the main dining room was very good.

 

I totally get what you are saying. You are not saying your trip was ruined, you were just disappointed to discover it was not necessary to spend the extra money on the formal attire, and take the time/effort to get all dolled up, when it apparently was not the standard on this cruise.

 

That's like being invited to a formal dinner party and getting all dressed up, only to discover when you get there that everyone else is merely wearing casual attire. You feel out of place and wonder why you bothered if no one else was going to bother.

 

Also, atmosphere is a huge part of enjoying any event (no matter what type of event it is). Dressy clothes tend to make for an elegant atmosphere. Everyone feels pretty, handsome, etc, and it shows in their demeanor, contributing to the overall ambiance of the place.

 

I too like to dress up and will continue to do so on Elegant nights on a cruise, but not formal gowns and tuxes for us. Just really dressy long dresses/skirts and nice suits.

[babyblue78]

I am thinking that spring break had something to do with it, we were on Freedom in February and nearly everyone was dressed very nicely on both elegant nights. :)

[Vanessa L]

I totally get what you are saying. You are not saying your trip was ruined, you were just disappointed to discover it was not necessary to spend the extra money on the formal attire, and take the time/effort to get all dolled up, when it apparently was not the standard on this cruise.

 

 

My entire formal wardrobe is designer. Price I paid for everything? About $200. Three words: "Ebay" and "thrift store". 'Nuff said.

[bookcreator]

I won't disagree with you.

I also am one of the few whom you will see in a Tux on elegant night. However, I can't really say that whatever else one was wearing affected my experience in any way.

 

Tuxes and gowns here as well - don't care what others are wearing. We have our own personal standards and we dress accordingly. It certainly does not ruin our cruise experience if others have different standards. If Carnival lets them in the dining room based on their published dress codes, no one should take issue. Our opinion is that they are not dressed properly, but doesn't affect our cruise. Plus, no one values or asked for our option so that is a mute point.

[travelntreats]

OP... I agree with you on many of your points regarding the more "relaxed" dress code on CCL, but in the defense of the more relaxed attire, the cruiselines are just following passengers trends and that is for a more casual approach regarding dress codes/suggestions.

 

Do I think that CCL turns their head to passengers that blatantly abuse the more relaxed policies/dress code suggestion...YES.

 

Do I like their attitude on enforcing the dress code policies/"suggestions"....No, I certainly do not, but that would not be the only reason that I would cross CCL off my cruiseline list of choice, but that is your decision to do so. But it is just another reason I have chosen to refrain from cruising with CCL.

 

Celebrity is probably a good choice and you may want to consider Princess as well for a more "refined" cruise experience.

 

Best of luck to you in your future cruises and I hope they meet your needs better than CCL's attempt.

[Jacky01]

To the OP: we dont carry around real formal dressing anymore either, cause of flight regulations, weight, paying per suitcase, etc..

 

To say you will not sail Carnival again cause of it, and cancelled NCL for Celebrity for the same reason, you might find that disappointing too.

Admitting that passengers on Celebrity do hang more to the formal side, you also see the T-shirts, jeans, open shoes.

The real formal night is not forced on any cruiseline anymore.

 

Like said by others, people from all walk of life cruise are on all cruiselines, no matter how they dress. Its holiday and relax.

 

If you are happy to dress up and look like a million box, go for it and you sure will make nice appearance and pictures. Have a great cruise, whatever your next one is!

[tattoos]

I, too, believe it was the time of year that you cruised. We have always "dressed up" for dinner in the main dining room regardless if it is formal night or not, feel the atmosphere of formal dining merits it. On most of our cruises, the majority of people were dressed in at least business casual attire in the MDR. I also have seen the Maitre d' approach people and ask them to leave the dining room and eat at another food venue. If you feel comfortable on formal night in gowns and tuxes, please do so, I'll certainly appreciate your effort. I think the teenage girls love to dress up and they always look great on formal night, I applaud them and also tell them how great they look. As far as jeans in the dining room, never ruins my cruise experience, but don't get me started on inappropriateness.

[LaJollaCruiser]

Celebrity won't do it for you. Yes, you won't find jeans in the dining room, maybe, maybe, but you also are not going to find men in black tie. In fact, the higher up you go in cruise line scale, the fewer men in black tie you will see. On Seaborne, you will see men in silk or linen shirts and dress slacks, no ties, rather than overly dressed. At my yacht club, the only men one sees dressed formally are the servants.

[sb4ever]

I am sorry you had a poor experience. I am not speaking for all passengers, but on my last cruise in November, my husband forgot to put one of our suitcases in the car and we didn't realize it until we got to the airport. I had to have our driver stop at the store so I could quickly buy new clothes for the boys in our family before heading to the port. While I picked up a pair of khakis for my husband, it was in no way what we had planned to wear for formal night. So, while we had the best of intentions, formal night didn't work out for us. I know it's not the same for all passengers, but try to think beyond what you immediately see.

[Sauer-kraut]

Celebrity won't do it for you. Yes, you won't find jeans in the dining room, maybe, maybe, but you also are not going to find men in black tie. In fact, the higher up you go in cruise line scale, the fewer men in black tie you will see. On Seaborne, you will see men in silk or linen shirts and dress slacks, no ties, rather than overly dressed. At my yacht club, the only men one sees dressed formally are the servants.

 

Guess the OP will just have to stick with Cunard then, at least 90% of the pax will adhere to the dress code and won't go back to the cabin to change back into shorts after dinner either. :D

[lindseywagners]

I remember almost feeling a little awkward myself and definitely bad for the other people on those nights. They themselves, while dressed up, looked very uncomfortable and out of place. Most people on these cruises rarely wear formal attire (they aren't attending lavish social gatherings twice a week), and doing it here is basically staging the whole thing. And me, well, I don't attend those gatherings either, so it was like, 'do I really need to be wearing this?' As far as spending all that money on clothes specifically for the cruise, I wouldn't advise it.

[LSEA]

I agree with the OP that some passengers take the casual thing a bit too far. Sweat pants in the mdr is inappropriate. On the other hand, I think spending $1000 on elegant clothing for a Carnival cruise is taking it a bit too far in the other direction. If the OP expected other passengers to reflect his choices back to him he was destined to be disappointed.

 

We enjoy cruising on Carnival but also enjoy other lines as well. Based on our experience I would suggest that the OP try Celebrity, we find it a delightful mix of affordable yet elegant.

[msbask]

We haven't cruised yet, our first is coming up in September 2011, but I don't think any of us realized when we booked that was even such a thing as "formal night". Granted, we haven't read all of our cruise documents yet, so I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

 

I will say that none of us in our party owns a gown or tuxedo, so I'm not sure what we're supposed to do. Does formal really mean tuxedos and gowns? I guess i assumed from reading this board that it meant "dressy".