How Formal are Formal Nights on European Itineraries?

[elena7seas]

I am considering renting a tux for my DH on our upcoming Med cruise on the Solstice (rather than bringing his own tux or a dress suit), as we are trying to keep our luggage to a minimum.

 

Our issue is that we are travelling as a family of 5 this time (four adults and a four-year-old) and we will be renting a SUV when we get off the cruise, so we need the luggage for the five of us to fit in the vehicle!

 

For anyone who is cruising, or has recently cruised on a European itinerary, how many tuxes are you seeing on formal nights?

 

Does anyone have any recent pictures of the MDR or out-and-about on formal nights that they could post?

 

Thanks!

[c-legs]

Hi,

 

IMO, formal is...well....formal ...!

I suggest a ''non-tuxed'' formal attire will do quite well ( proper pants, which he'd have to pack anyways ) , dress shirt & tie and a blazer/ jacket ( which I find is best ''packed'' on my way over to the embarkation city by simply....wearing it !!! ). Thus no need to pack anything extra special or renting a tux...and he still will look very much ''properly attired''.

 

My opinion.

Milleage will vary

 

Cheers

ps the little fellow can be similarly attired...his '' jacket'' won't take that much room and he can wear the cleaner pants on his way over to the city of embarkation. As to the shirt & tie element...I wouldn't be surprised if he

actually looked forward to be outfitted, '' like the grown-ups''...

you can tell I have two generations following me who taught me a few things....

[elena7seas]

Hi,

 

IMO, formal is...well....formal ...!

I suggest a ''non-tuxed'' formal attire will do quite well ( proper pants, which he'd have to pack anyways ) , dress shirt & tie and a blazer/ jacket ( which I find is best ''packed'' on my way over to the embarkation city by simply....wearing it !!! ). Thus no need to pack anything extra special or renting a tux...and he still will look very much ''properly attired''.

 

My opinion.

Milleage will vary

 

Cheers

ps the little fellow can be similarly attired...his '' jacket'' won't take that much room and he can wear the cleaner pants on his way over to the city of embarkation. As to the shirt & tie element...I wouldn't be surprised if he

actually looked forward to be outfitted, '' like the grown-ups''...

you can tell I have two generations following me who taught me a few things....

 

Hi C-legs...thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

 

What I'm trying to gauge is how many tuxes we are likely to see on our upcoming cruise. If I save some room in the suitcase by ordering a tux, will DH be part of 10% wearing a tux, or part of 50% wearing a tux? We last cruised with Celebrity in Europe in 2009 and I would say there were probably 35-40% in tuxes, and the vast majority of the rest were in dark suits on formal night. If I thought there would only be 10% in tuxes, I might bring a black suit for him. At 25% and above, I'd rent the tux.

 

Our four-year old grandchild is a girl, and she's at the point in her life where she thinks she's a princess. The rest of us had better dress to come up to HER standards. If I don't rent a tux for DH, he will bring a suit this time for formal nights, at his own request, because he will want to escort his princess in proper style. Although on our last couple of cruises he's been trying to avoid formal nights, he's all ready to shine on our upcoming cruise.

[Dr. Pam]

Get the children started young! They will then appreciate the times that it is required to be in formal dress!

[Loracpin2]

We have taken 5 European cruises, and our experience has always been that there are far more tuxes more than a Caribbean cruise. My best guess is somwhere between 30-40%.

[cruise kitty]

 

What I'm trying to gauge is how many tuxes we are likely to see on our upcoming cruise. If I save some room in the suitcase by ordering a tux, will DH be part of 10% wearing a tux, or part of 50% wearing a tux?

 

 

Hi, our kids just got back from the Med. on EQ. On formal night he wore a suit & she wore cocktail dress. They said about 20% men they saw were in Tuxes. When we did a TA there were more...I'd say closer to 40%. Seems like a TA is the most formal, followed by a longer Med trip. I'm guessing shorter Med trips are less formal. Hope this helps.

 

P.S.: if he's comfortable wearing a Tux, I'd say save the weight & space & go ahead & order the rental. Even if he's not in the majority, he'll look great & it's easy to do.

[Christine Frances]

My DH finds it is much easier to rent a tux than pack a suit. He uses the extra space for his smart casual stuff. The only thing he brings for formal night is his dress shoes and he uses them every evening. Works for him. I bring way more shoes:D

[merprincess]

I am considering renting a tux for my DH on our upcoming Med cruise on the Solstice (rather than bringing his own tux or a dress suit), as we are trying to keep our luggage to a minimum.

 

Our issue is that we are travelling as a family of 5 this time (four adults and a four-year-old) and we will be renting a SUV when we get off the cruise, so we need the luggage for the five of us to fit in the vehicle!

 

For anyone who is cruising, or has recently cruised on a European itinerary, how many tuxes are you seeing on formal nights?

 

Does anyone have any recent pictures of the MDR or out-and-about on formal nights that they could post?

 

Thanks!

 

We were on a 12 night Med. cruise in May. I would estimate that perhaps 10% of men were in tux. The clear majority were in dark suits.

[iancal]

We have taken to skipping formal evenings in the MDR. It makes packing much easier. We usually combine cruises with land tours. Even though there are only 2 of us we find that we enjoy the land portion much more if we pack light. That is just us. Formal dress is only required in the MDR on formal evenings. After numerous cruises we find that the meal in the MDR is really not that special.

[Esprit]

I don't buy the excuse of the luggage weight restriction. I'll be taking both my white tux' and black dinner jacket for our three formal nights aboard Solstice this summer.

[cruise kitty]

oops double post

[J.E.C]

My DH will be taking his tux on our Eastern Med cruise, on our recent 4 nighter on Eclipse I reckon well over 50% were in Tux's and the ones that remained casual stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

We have no luggage issue as being English we dont have as worry as long as the luggage fits in the car :). Having flown out to the States last year I appreciate the luggage issue.

 

I think it also depends on the itinnary - ours is for 16 nights with lots of sea days so plenty of time to enjoy the dressing up, but I understand the pressure of a port intensive cruise when you may not want the hassel.

 

Its so rare these days at home to get the chance to dress up properly so I enjoy it when I can.

 

Our roll call is very quiet which I have found in the past means that there are a lot of Brits on board so lots of folk with no weight restrictions could well mean a lot of folk formally attired.

[iancal]

We do not pack light because of the luggage restriction or because of luggage surcharges. We pack light because we often use trains, rental cars etc. It is not much fun to hump loads of suitcases on to trains, over cobblestones, up one or two flights of stairs in a B&B, let alone fit it into the car...we always rent a small one.

 

It would be different if we were just taking our bags to the airport and then to the ship.

 

We always dress according to Celebrity's request. Celebrity requests formal wear in the MDR only on formal nights. On those nights we select an alternative dining venue.

[staygulf]

Having just done a med cruise on Eclipse, there were about 60-70 % in formal wear by which I mean dinner suits (tux), but the mix was mainly Brits. Celebrity are giving away European cruises at the moment because Americans aren't flying over and the higher the Brit/US ratio I think you'll find a higher tux ratio. This is not meant to be a put down to those from the US, but I think it's a reflection of the packing issue mentioned earlier, particularly if sailing out of Southampton on the Eclipse.

[austinlw]

Thanks for the information. I always bring my own suit on cruises, but I'm considering renting a tux on my upcoming Equinox Med cruise because I would rather avoid carrying all the stuff in my luggage on a European trip, especially my very large black shoes (14s). :eek: We are planning to spend a few days in Italy pre-cruise, involving dragging luggage through trains and stations. May be worth the cost this time. Hmmm...

[Esprit]

Just to clarify my earlier post. On our flight to Barcelona our weight limit is 20 kgs for hold luggage and you allowed one piece of hand luggage of a certain dimension. There is no weight limited on the hand luggage so long as you can place it in the overhead compartment unassisted.

 

My intention therefore is to pack heavier items in my hand luggage thus enabling me to easily take my DJ and tux'. No problem!

 

Whether people choose to adhere to the suggested dress code or not doesn't bother me in the slightest but to harp on that the luggage restriction prevents then taking their formal wear/lounge suits is a pathetic excuse IMHO.

[staygulf]

Thanks for the information. I always bring my own suit on cruises, but I'm considering renting a tux on my upcoming Equinox Med cruise because I would rather avoid carrying all the stuff in my luggage on a European trip, especially my very large black shoes (14s). :eek: We are planning to spend a few days in Italy pre-cruise, involving dragging luggage through trains and stations. May be worth the cost this time. Hmmm...

 

I was on the Equinox out of Rome in October and I would say the tux/no tux mix was about 50/50, so even if you didn't hire one you wouldn't be out of place. Not so sure about the shoes though. Presumably if you are thinking of renting a tux you would take your size 14's with you ?

[Cruise Junky]

Just to clarify my earlier post. On our flight to Barcelona our weight limit is 20 kgs for hold luggage and you allowed one piece of hand luggage of a certain dimension. There is no weight limited on the hand luggage so long as you can place it in the overhead compartment unassisted.

 

My intention therefore is to pack heavier items in my hand luggage thus enabling me to easily take my DJ and tux'. No problem!

 

Whether people choose to adhere to the suggested dress code or not doesn't bother me in the slightest but to harp on that the luggage restriction prevents then taking their formal wear/lounge suits is a pathetic excuse IMHO.

 

 

Where exactly are you reading that the OP is complaining about "Weight"? Oh, nowhere, thought so. :rolleyes:

[staygulf]

Just to clarify my earlier post. On our flight to Barcelona our weight limit is 20 kgs for hold luggage and you allowed one piece of hand luggage of a certain dimension. There is no weight limited on the hand luggage so long as you can place it in the overhead compartment unassisted.

 

My intention therefore is to pack heavier items in my hand luggage thus enabling me to easily take my DJ and tux'. No problem!

 

Whether people choose to adhere to the suggested dress code or not doesn't bother me in the slightest but to harp on that the luggage restriction prevents then taking their formal wear/lounge suits is a pathetic excuse IMHO.

 

A pathetic excuse for what ? Seeing as the poster is considering renting a tux instead of bringing one, what is your beef ?

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Just off the Eclipse in the Baltic. I would estimate 60% or so of the men wore a tux or a kilt. Have never seen so many tuxes on formal night. Most of the women were dressed to the nines as well, including on smart casual night, which I thought was interesting. My guess would be that they were all Brits or Scots who drove to the port and therefore could schlep tons of formal wear.

[Esprit]

A pathetic excuse for what ? Seeing as the poster is considering renting a tux instead of bringing one, what is your beef ?

 

You're right and my reply was not directed to the OP. I of course apologize if it was misconstrued.

[ariawoman]

I'm glad to read that my boyfriend wont feel out of place in his tux. He purchased a tux last year before our Med cruise on HAL, and he was def in the minority wearing it, but there were some tuxes on board for sure. Hopefully there will be more tuxes this year, so he'll appreciate his purchase even more. He got to wear it 3 times last trip, I'm presuming 2 times on this one (a 10 day sailing). Money well spent! :-)

[staygulf]

I'm glad to read that my boyfriend wont feel out of place in his tux. He purchased a tux last year before our Med cruise on HAL, and he was def in the minority wearing it, but there were some tuxes on board for sure. Hopefully there will be more tuxes this year, so he'll appreciate his purchase even more. He got to wear it 3 times last trip, I'm presuming 2 times on this one (a 10 day sailing). Money well spent! :-)

 

Yes, 2 formal nights. But to get even more value out of his purchase he could also wear it on the other 8 nights. ;)

[toxicesq]

Interesting to hear there were kilts on Happy Cruiser's Baltic cruise. What fun! I've never been to a formal event where the men wore kilts. Hope there are some Scots on the Eclipse in August.

[elena7seas]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I think we'll go ahead and rent the tux. :)