Elegant/Formal Night Kaput on Carnival

[stewpapa]

We were on the Triumph last month and didn't see anybody wearing the clothes you described. Everybody had at least shirts and ties on. Never saw jeans or seeat pants in the dining room. There was a family with 4 young boys sitting next to us, and they all had on matching Hawaiian shirts, with Dad to match. They were really cute! I'm sure their "formal"picture looked great.

 

 

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[H82seaUgo]

As long as I am getting the service and food that I get on Carnival, the surroundings are irrelevant to me. Some fuss and whine about the Bacchus dining room on the Miracle because of the "grapes". Personally, I love it, but know the food would taste the same if the walls were grey. Surroundings, like dress, do not make or break an experience for me. Give me yummy food anywhere and it's still yummy food.

 

then carnival is wasting time on cruisers like you who try to come up with different themes on different ships in differert rooms.

 

make them all the same, and launch them all with the name "ship". just serve the yummy food. :rolleyes:

[mzloolue]

again, i wonder how many of those who say they don't care how others dress, would eat in a room with 4 gray walls, no wall or window furnishings, and florescent lights.

 

it's all aesthetics.

 

 

Actually, this is a really accurate description of the place where I work.

Gray walls, no windows, florescent lights, plus noisy and dusty.:)

 

On spring break cruises we are probably lucky that certain people have on any clothing at all.

[Cruiser from MS]

What I like most about Carnival is the casualness. I dress nice for work 5 days a week. I don't want to "dress up" for dinner while on vacation. For me jeans in the MDR does not bother me, nor does someone dressing up for dinner. As for me I found the casual dress on the Triump really nice. I saw shorts, jeans, and flip flops in the MDR and that did not ruin my cruise. It was really nice not having to have to carry a garment bag for this cruise. In fact this cruise rates as one of my most favorite cruses.

[westcruzer]

I was just on a spring break cruise....from what I saw most were in suits and ties or nice dresses for women. I know that no one I saw was in jeans or shorts....in fact in the MDR for breakfast I saw one person have to put a sweatshirt on because his shirt was sleeveless one the head servers went up to him and told him sleeveless was not allowed in the MDR at any time.

[elcuchio24]

Not a new development.

[hockeyluver]

We do dress up, but not as we did when we first started cruising. Back then there wasnt a charge for luggage!! We try and pack as little as possible therefor no tux/suit for my husband and no long gowns for myself. We each bring one pair of dressy pants and different shirts/tops to match them. Thus keeping our flight costs down.

 

 

I am sorry if this affects your cruise but I am on vacation after all!!:p

[Julienatul]

We sailed Miracle over New Years and found everyone dressed to the hilt. Very few people in casual wear. I think its the luck of the draw, some sailings people are more formal than others. I personally dont care how others dress if they are enjoying themselves dressed casually then so be it. I do think most people adhere to the dress codes.

[sugarsmacksweet]

I LOVE to wear my cute dresses ... i have NO WHERE else to wear them so i enjoy wearing them on formal nights on the cruise ... my fiance could care less but does it for me ... but what everyone else is wearing does no enhance the formal night experience nor does is ruin it :)

[WeBeCruisin']

If it is allowed, it is allowed. What is the problem? If it is not enforced, take it up with Carnival, not your fellow cruisers.

 

 

 

 

That it is all about money is reality. To deny would be to reject reality.

 

The debate is not about me or about dinosaurs or penguins.

 

I will forgive your ignorance of the history of Carnival. ;) It was started as a very much anti-elitist concept. Me thinks you are trying to compare ocean liners providing basic transportation, albeit in different classes (a caste system) with cruise liners, providing a basic vacation package, in general returning you to the point where you began.

 

I, too, object to lies and other statistics, but you won't hear them from me.

 

It is the fashion police who are the criminals, not the agents of change.

 

You keep whining that's it's all about money, but you never explain what you mean. Your imagined caste system is all about money? The passengers who want to dress up as per the cruise line's request are all about money? Passengers brag about how much money they make? What? If you're going to rant, rant specifically, not into the wind. :)

 

You didn't refer to the creation of cruises as being specific to Carnival. You, as usual, made a general statement which was inaccurate and unfounded. The earliest cruises were on luxury ships between America and Europe or Asia. Please don't call someone else ignorant when you haven't even thought ahead even to clearly express your meaning. :rolleyes:

 

Even the term "fashion police" is replete with false implications and snide and snarky innuendo. Do the people who want to dress up have the capacity to arrest people who don't see things their way and then incarcerate them? Can the people who want to see the cruise line's requests and preferences honored issue warrants and subpoenas? Do they have the capacity to use tazers and weapons to enforce their wishes?

 

Zydie, please try to think things out and realize that words have meanings and your meaning should be reflected in the meaning of your words.... and stuff. :D And, yes, I tried to dumb things down a little in that last sentence so that you could possibly understand the concept. :) Try to refrain from your knee-jerk reactions which seem to increasingly take on the mien of inchoate babbling and sputtering.

 

Happy cruises, and keep taking lots of pictures of half-eaten sammies. :D

[Min Pin Mom]

We were on this cruise. The OP is correct, there were very few people dressed for Cruise Elegant. We had early seating in the Paris dining room. Many of the people in our dining room were dressed "cruise casual" AT BEST.

 

Did it annoy me? ~ yes

Did we let it ruin our evenings? ~ no

 

Our boys wore shirts/ties. DD had 2 pretty dresses. DH wore his suit. I do not like dresses, so I wore dressy pants/sparkly tops. ;)

 

BTW~ I saw several college age young men dressed nicely. It seemed to be the parents (around my age :eek:) that didn't care what the dress code was.

[Sargent_Schultz]

 

Happy cruises' date=' and keep taking lots of pictures of half-eaten sammies. :D[/quote']

 

Welcome to Ignoresville and say hello to the stalker monkeys.

[WeBeCruisin']

Welcome to Ignoresville and say hello to the stalker monkeys.

 

Wimp. :) I guess hitting the triangle and putting me on Ignore is a lot easier than admitting you were wrong. :p

[LHP]

Everyone cruises for a different reason.

 

If being around really dressed up people is the reason the OP wants to cruise, more power to them!

 

I cruise to karaoke and I know MOST folks probably don't understand the thrill in that.... :D

 

I hope they find the cruise lines that will give them that "feeling" that they want....

[Sargent_Schultz]

I'm guessing by the OP's screen name that perhaps they are not originally from Texas.

 

Once upon a time, NCL sailed from Houston and did, in fact, have a real dress code that they mostly enforced on most sailings. But not from Texas. The dress code for Texas sailings was modified to allow blue jeans in all eating venues, specifically due to the Texas "culture."

 

In many ways, Texas helped pioneer relaxed dress codes on cruise ships, allowing many people to wear what is reasonable and customary, and not to wear absurd costumes for the sake of other people's fantasies.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

To you guys saying he is teaching his kids a horrible lesson?

 

REALLY?

 

The Dad is teaching his kids about responsibility and adhering to standards. Is that so bad?

 

Do you guys teach your kids to break the rules and lower their standards if they don't feel like putting out any effort?

[nanapapa23]

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.

 

There does seem to be a trend these days to more casual attire on cruise ships, however we rarely see shorts T shirts flip flops in the MDR evening sittings.

Wow, you and your entire family concern yourself WAY too much about what others look like, and what you look like amongst those that did not add up to your expectations. Chill out, folks. Don't judge Carnival or any ship for that matter on what people are wearing. Most people we have met on cruises are very nice people and some have remained dear friends. I sure didn't care what they were wearing.

$1,000 would buy me another cruise.

[jolyroger]

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)

 

 

You know I was'nt gonna say anything but thank you! I thought the same thing about $1,000 on dresses! I've been on cruises with my two girls and hubby and there is no way I'm gonna spend that amount! I love to bargin shop before and I usually do very well....But also I don't mind checking out the local resale shops and getting a great bargin!

 

And to the OP , to me its kinda sad that this casual attire that some other cruisers worn ruined your trip....To me it is what you make of it....Consider yourself Fortunate enough to be able to afford to go in the first place...I don't know, I 've done the fancy elegant dinners...Yeah does nothing for me .....Those nites we usually go to the buffet..In all honesty I really like to relax on vacation not get all dressed up in a gown....But to each is own!

[MissDiva1]

again, i wonder how many of those who say they don't care how others dress, would eat in a room with 4 gray walls, no wall or window furnishings, and florescent lights.

 

it's all aesthetics.

 

People that book inside cabins:confused:

[Sargent_Schultz]

Lord forbid that anyone would would wear anything that would spoil the 5 star ambiance. :p

 

 

It's the Fun Ship - not the military.

 

Teaching your children not to cave to (fashion police) bullies is always a valuable lesson.

[golfb4cruzing]

Sarge after watching the videos and looks like a good times, does someone really believe a tux is needed? Do you want to be dressed in your gown with someone dancing LOW,LOW,LOW in front of you? Got to relax and enjoy. It has to be uncomfortable sitting on all that puckeredness.

[cybercon]

:mad:

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.

 

So sorry:

 

I am that you feel that way. My dad is an up scale cruiser and feels the same way. One makes a cruise what they want it to be. My wife and I don't dress up either because of our professional appearance that we must show 5 days a week we like to down grade.

[English Tim]

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).

 

 

Not on our recent Conquest cruise, he didn't! On casual nights many people wore baseball hats, which at least disappeared on formal nights, but many people broke the dress code, as did the chair-hoggers break that rule and the smokers that rule, yet they pinched a bottle of champagne from my case!

 

I believe that they they don't like to risk a confrontation in a public place, so nothing is said.

 

That said, although we are booked on the Magic, if standards don't improve we might switch back to Princess or Celebrity, but Carnival wont lose much because the vast majority of its clients are probably delighted with the tremendous base value for money and the rest of the glitz.

[T&Dcruisers]

I dress up every night on a cruise. Why? Because I choose to do so. I like dressing up and having nice pictures taken (usually with our camera). Do I care if I'm not dressed like the rest of the dining room? No. Just like I don't let what others wear affect my choice of vacations.

[Harrier1961]

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.

 

Can we say SNOB?

 

Just saying...

Andy