Formal Nights....... We Haven't Done This for a While......

[sail7seas]

I don't remember the last time we had a yea or nay thread regarding formal nights.

 

It appears HAL is easing back on the number of formal nights per cruise and that, for me, raises the question, do you want them to cease having formal nights or do you want them to continue?

 

We are ready to be done with them.

[Nancyquilts]

Continue - I never get a chance to get dressed up at home. Formal nights are part of what makes cruising different and enjoyable. JMHO.:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

I want them to continue.

We like dressing up -- had many formal functions when we worked and enjoyed them.

Should it stop all together -- you are going to see tons of people dressed as slobs at dinner and I don't want to see that.

[jayisgerman]

We enjoy dressing up for dinner. It makes it a special date and the meal so nice. I would hate for casual wear to start becoming the norm. :(

[Mar56]

We loved formal nights. It made our cruise so special as we never dress up like that at home.

[isujim]

I'm kinda in the middle.........I will not do a tux anymore........and now after so many cruises will go with a sport coat and tie......

 

I appreciate that HAL tries to uphold formal night.........and will at least try to adhere to a minimum standard acceptable for all.......

 

but like 7sails.........I could also do without them.........

[Knightsbridge]

I don't remember the last time we had a yea or nay thread regarding formal nights.

 

It appears HAL is easing back on the number of formal nights per cruise and that, for me, raises the question, do you want them to cease having formal nights or do you want them to continue?

 

We are ready to be done with them.

 

 

It appears that many people enjoy formal nights. There are options for those who do not. Why can't it be both ways? The ships are large enough. Or is it a matter of control?

[mamaofami]

I'm kind of in the middle. I love how everyone looks, but I think I've had enough of formal nights. I know DH has. I wouldn't be unhappy if they stopped them.

[cmdchiefthom]

I have a couple of tuxes, civilian and military so its no big deal to bring one. However, when you add my DW and her requirements for 2 or 3 formal evenings, extra shoes, dresses, etc., and the airline charges for luggage, it adds, and I do mean adds, an extra burden financially to an already expensive travel hobby. Don't get me worng, I absolutely love the tradition of a formal nights, but I can understand the difficulty in presents for passengers in practice. ;)

[iancal]

We do not care. We are casual now and HAL certainly gives us options. We have had enough of them in the past and they are no longer special.

 

They are special for many people and I see no reason why HAL should discontinue them.

 

This may be a bit of a mute point though, given that HAL's very spotty enforcement would lead one to believe that HAL does not really care about it either.

[cavecreekguy]

I'm on the fence too.

 

I remember the first cruise I took and saying "Wait a minute...you mean I have to get dressed up in a suit on a Caribbean vacation?!?"

 

Since then I purchased a tux specifically to wear on formal nights on cruises.

 

It would certainly make packing easier, but I do like to have a reason to break the tux out.

 

But as others have pointed out, no one is forced to participate in formal night on HAL.

 

Hmmm...maybe I won't bring the tux this time and have dinner in the Lido those nights...

[sail7seas]

We always bring formal appropriate clothes and are always dressed as we should be in the dining room. We don't care to go to Lido so do what is expected of us in the dining room. But, for us, I think it's a matter of having done it so many times for so many years, and finding I really want to lighten the load of how much we drag with us each cruise, that is the 'obvious' place to cut down on what we bring.

 

As long as HAL has a formal night, we will dress appropriately. :)

 

I think KK has a point that if HAL lowers the expectation, how low will some guests drag their idea of casual? I also do not want to see a bunch of sloppily dressed, overly casual folks in the lovely HAL dining rooms. The appearance of the dining room does matter to us.... a lot.

 

First thing I look at when we arrive in a dining room we've never seen is the ceiling. There are a few I care for less but most HAL MDR ceilings are great IMO

 

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I personally like how NCL does it. They have one "Formal or Not Night" on each sailing. The officers are all dressed in their Formal attire as well as the crew. The photo opportunities are also there and dining is more like a Formal night even though they do push everyone to go to the carious speciality restaurants.

Several of the luxury lines are also going to the Country Club Casual.

 

I have to admit I would love to see them go away and I am pretty sure that Tom feels the same way. While we like how everyone looks the way things have changed with flying it just would be a lot easier not to have to deal with Formal wear and things you need for the formal attire.

[lola1999]

I enjoy dressing up a little bit for formal nights, but we don't really go all out. For our upcoming cruise, we are planning on a suit for DH and cocktail dresses for me. A couple of years ago, I did get a gown and DH rented a tux and I love looking back at the pics! Maybe for our next cruise we'll try that again....;) I would be a little sad if they discontinued formal nights.

[sail7seas]

I personally like how NCL does it. They have one "Formal or Not Night" on each sailing. The officers are all dressed in their Formal attire as well as the crew. The photo opportunities are also there and dining is more like a Formal night even though they do push everyone to go to the carious speciality restaurants.

 

Several of the luxury lines are also going to the Country Club Casual.

 

I have to admit I would love to see them go away and I am pretty sure that Tom feels the same way. While we like how everyone looks the way things have changed with flying it just would be a lot easier not to have to deal with Formal wear and things you need for the formal attire.

 

 

Good point about luxury lines not being formal but they have done that for years.

 

No formal on Oceania, Azzamara, Regent Seven Seas ..... they have not had formal for years. I believe Seabourn has formal optional? No formal on Windstar.

 

[serendipity1499]

I enjoy formal nights, as rarely get dressed up living in Fla, except at Christmas, weddings etc., & I have a ton of hardly used dressy

clothes in our guest-room closet..:D:D

However, think DH has had it with formal nights, since he no longer wants to take his tux & instead wears a dark suit..Wish he would go back to his Tux though, as it doesn't wrinkle as much as the suit does..

I do understand that many who fly don't want the excess baggage, but my thoughts are; If we spend so much for the cruise & airfare, what difference does an extra $25-$50 make for one more bag..

And, as another poster pointed out, if HAL discontinued them altogether, people might tend to become very lax in their dress..

Again this probably is a selfish reason on my part, as it does mean an extra bag for DH to schlep around, as must have shoes, purse etc to match each outfit & I try not to wear the same formal outfit, more than once..:)LOL

 

I always take far too many clothes on our cruises..:o:o

 

Cheers...:)Betty

[sail7seas]

It isn't about the extra $25 or $50, for us, Betty. That's a tiny amount in comparison to what our cruises/hotels/air cost us.

 

It's about dragging all that luggage with us. It's harder to manage multiple bags andkeep track of them all and pack/unpack. We've done it so many times and though DH bought another new tuxedo about a year ago, we'd be happy to hang it up in a garment bag and forget about it. :)

 

[tip]

I have no great love for formal nights, but recognize that some folks do enjoy them and I would not propose that they be abolished, just made optional. I do put on a jacket and tie, but if they were to go away, I would not miss them.

[KirkNC]

When we first started cruising we really enjoyed formal nights. I find that not to be the case as much any more. Our last few cruises we have taken formal wear but skipped one or more formal nights by eating in Lido. I find us doing that more and more. Last summer we did 2 out of 5 formal nights, this winter we did 1 out of 2. For our summer cruise this year on Princess, we are considering skipping all formal nights as we can also go to specialty restaurants in smart casual. Having said all that, I am fine if HAL continues there policy. My only comment would be less formal nights on longer cruises. Five out of nineteen days seemed like a lot to us last summer.

[SilvertoGold]

I was just looking through some port info from a cruise in 2007 and noticed, with surprise, Informal Night! Wow! Seems like a long time ago that we had Informal Nights on HAL.

 

Informal Night was a nice intermediate between dress-down Casual Night and Dress-up Formal Night. Much like the Country Club Casual on some lines.

This would not really be a solution to the packing/dragging bags around problem: men still need that jacket, women need a dressier than casual outfit, but those who want to dress up could and others could fit into the scheme easily enough without packing a huge amount more.

 

I personally love Formal Nights, but have to agree with Sail and others that it can be a pain in many ways.

[outoftowner]

We enjoy the formal nights, but we have never done the tux and gown route. Just a nice suit and a dressier dress or pants outfit. But it is nice to still have the option and to enjoy the "specialness" of it.

[dakrewser]

We are ready for formal nights to go away, but that wouldn't mean people are forbidden to "dress up"! Those who want to "dress to the 9s" can continue to do so - any night.

[Jade13]

I would like them to discontinue formal nights. We have 3 on our upcoming 22 night cruise. I will bring one gown (wish they offered a couple of items pressed like Celebrity does for past passengers at their second tier level) but after that what I wear is not really formal. Most women do not wear gowns and very few men wear tuxes anymore.

 

We prefer country club casual every night.

[big green]

After our first cruise on HAL this past December (2011)-- what we saw on formal nights indicated to us that formal nights were almost gone--people did not dress up to a defined formal level--also the dining rooms are far being formal in atmosphere as they are loud and crowded--I think HAL would benefit from a profit stand point by more bookings because of a relaxed dress code.

 

Big Green

[Two@Sea]

Living in Florida, and being able to drive to a cruise port, doesn't negate the hassle of packing formal wear and the extra appropriate shoes. I think we're tired of formal nights too, and wouldn't mind seeing them end.

 

I doubt the demise of formal night would lower the general standard of dining room attire. Why would it degenerate simply because formal attire was no longer required? It would remain like any other evening now, no?

 

I like Lisa's description of 'formal optional' cruises. That would appease everyone's preference.