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

[Typhoon1]

I wonder: is airfare + luggage fees today really that much more expensive that just the airfare was before they started charging for luggage?

 

I tend to believe so, Peter. We spoke with some people on the cruise who had hundreds of dollars in overweight and oversize luggage fees. Of course they had multiple bags, also. There are ways to reduce your costs.

[startwin]

They are having 3 formal nights on our 22 night cruise.

 

Which one are you doing? We have 5 on our 22-day cruise. We though it would be 6, so they have cut it back a bit.

[QM2 Cruiser]

To be very honest, I would probably switch to a different cruise line if HAL discontinued formal nights. I love HAL's product, and formal nights mean a lot to me. Although I can live with two formal nights per seven night cruise, I wish HAL had a third tier to their dress code: formal (tuxedo/gown), semi-formal (sport coat/cocktail dress), and elegant casual (collared shirt/blouse).

[dakrewser]

People? Is there anyone telling you that you can't "dress up" and pretend to be William Powell and Myrna Loy?

 

There's nothing stopping anyone from wearing a tux, a suit, a coat & tie or tails in the MDR any night. Even if there were no official "formal nights".

 

So go ahead and wear what you want. So will I.

[sail7seas]

They are having 3 formal nights on our 22 night cruise.

 

Which one are you doing? We have 5 on our 22-day cruise. We though it would be 6, so they have cut it back a bit.

 

 

 

I wonder why such a difference. Equal number of night cruises but about half the formal nights? :confused:

 

[Spender Nui]

Traditionally, HAL has had three formal nights for ten days cruises but recently we have read here that though cruise documents said there would be three formal nights, when people actually got to the ship, some found, on some cruises, they only had two formal nights.

 

 

Just off the Zuiderdam 2/27 cruise. 11 nights and 3 formals.

[sail7seas]

Good to know.

I'm interested what happens on our upcoming Maasdam cruise. Our docs say three formal, so we'll see. :)

 

[Crusin Kelly]

Just off the Zuiderdam 2/27 cruise. 11 nights and 3 formals.

 

We are taking same trip starting Easter Monday.... Which nights were the formal nights ? ? I am looking to make reservations in Pinnacle on a non-formal night.

[innlady1]

We had three on our recent 14-day Maasdam cruise. I could do without Formal Nights...it's not about the cost of the extra luggage, but it's about "lightening the load" as we age!

[boards]

We are on the Volendam Mar. 27 14 days and we are scheduled for 11 casual and 3 formal nights. We are planning to do all 3 but that could change.

[Spender Nui]

We are taking same trip starting Easter Monday.... Which nights were the formal nights ? ? I am looking to make reservations in Pinnacle on a non-formal night.

 

Days 3, 7and 10.

 

This is probably the last cruise for my tux. There were not a lot of them. I'll take a suit in the future but actually prefer country club casual (not schlocky).

[jg51]

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. :(

Each passenger is free to "dress up" for ANY or EVERY dinner.

 

Therefore, each passenger should be permitted to dress casually (though not sloppily) for ANY and EVERY dinner.

 

If every dinner on a HAL cruise were to be labeled "casual" or "resort casual," that would not prevent anyone from wearing a gown or a tuxedo.

 

No one should be forced to "dress up" to impress other folks, to make the night seem "special," or to make other folks feel more comfortable because THEY are "dressing up."

 

It is because of the above logical reasoning that several cruise lines no longer have ANY formal nights -- while other cruise lines allow even casually dressed people to enter a MDR even on a supposedly formal night.

[sail7seas]

Each passenger is free to "dress up" for ANY or EVERY dinner.

 

Therefore, each passenger should be permitted to dress casually (though not sloppily) for ANY and EVERY dinner.

 

If every dinner on a HAL cruise were to be labeled "casual" or "resort casual," that would not prevent anyone from wearing a gown or a tuxedo.

 

No one should be forced to "dress up" to impress other folks, to make the night seem "special," or to make other folks feel more comfortable because THEY are "dressing up."

 

It is because of the above logical reasoning that several cruise lines no longer have ANY formal nights -- while other cruise lines allow even casually dressed people to enter a MDR even on a supposedly formal night.

 

 

For someone to wear a gown or tuxedo on a casual night would make them appear a little 'out of place', don't you think?

 

One should dress appropriate to the occassion and to requested dress code IMO

 

If requested dress code is smart casual, a tuxedo or gown is not appropriate.

 

I'm to OP who started this thread and am fine with eliminating formal nights but am not fine with dressing innapproriately.

 

 

 

[Opinions]

I'm to OP who started this thread and am fine with eliminating formal nights but am not fine with dressing innapproriately.

 

 

 

 

The solution is the Formal-Optional night...HAL has had these in the past...We had one on a Med cruise...Thus one can dress either Formal or Smart Casual and be dressed appropriately.

[jg51]

For someone to wear a gown or tuxedo on a casual night would make them appear a little 'out of place', don't you think?

No, we don't think so -- which is why we stated what we did, above. To us, there is no such thing as "out of place." It's a case of "mind over matter." Intelligent, mature adults are able to ignore or enjoy the environment, no matter what they are wearing and no matter what others are wearing. It is totally unnecessary for people who are sharing a public room to be dressed in a similar mode. Someone with power and influence came up with that idea, a long time (centuries?) ago, but it was always totally artificial and subject to change. It was always just a custom, and customs are not "locked in" forever.

One should dress appropriate to the occassion and to requested dress code IMO. If requested dress code is smart casual, a tuxedo or gown is not appropriate. I'm to OP who started this thread and am fine with eliminating formal nights but am not fine with dressing inappropriately.

You are free to cling to that opinion, but it is merely based on feelings/emotions, not on logic. There is no logical reason to think that a mixture of dressing styles is "inappropriate." More importantly, there is no logical reason for a cruise line to impose a dressing code on passengers.

 

The member named, "Opinions," states:

"The solution is the Formal-Optional night."

 

We do not agree, and we have already stated why: EVERY night can be "formal optional." Mature adults do not need to have a cruise line tell them whether or not "formal" is optional.

.

[mountainmare]

After our last cruise we drove home by way of the Jekyll Island Club in Ga. We dined in the Grand Diningroom and played dress up, DH in his tux and me in a nice dress. No--it is not a formal diningroom but we find it fun to play dress up.

Even on the Regent boards there was a group who would plan "Fred and Ginger" evenings after that line went all casual dress.

DH would not think of dining in the Pinnacle without a coat and tie--and we don't feel out of place.

I don't understand the dragging too much along argument either. You don't need extra shoes or an evening bag--why on earth do you need a bag??? you are on a ship, you only need your room card. I find that my casual clothes take up more room than my formal stuff.

The beauty of cruising is that you really can do what you wish. If you don't want to bring along formal wear you have plenty of options, why let one more cruising tradition go by the wayside?

If they do away with formal night it will probably be at the same time they do away with tradition set seating to make every night a truly casual affair.

[beacha]

Well I'm new to this but, When we go out to a really nice restaurant we see many different types of clothing. If the occasion is for a birthday, I would probably be dressed in cocktail attire with DH in a coat and tie. Others around us might be less dressed up, but I don't care. Perhaps it's the behavior and demeanor of the diners that makes an impression on me.I'm sure it's really exciting to go into the dining room on a formal night. I wouldn't look down on those who are dresses less formal, only if they were sloppy, unkempt, and badly behaved.

[Opinions]

Mature adults do not need to have a cruise line tell them whether or not "formal" is optional.

.

 

Perhaps I am not "mature" but I appreciated that when HAL changed a scheduled Formal night to Formal-Optional they told me...It was port day and after a long day touring it was helful to know of the change.

[DFD1]

IMO, formal nights are destined to give way to resort casual. It may take a while and HAL may be one of the last to let go of formal nights, but I think they eventually will.

 

That's fine with us. We dress now primarily for the benefit of the ladies with whom we are traveling....they like to dress, so we dress. That's the way life is sometimes.

[gelo7]

I enjoy them, but it won't be the end of the world if they do away with them.

[hal lover]

Two women here and we always fit everything into one simple carry-on each. No checked baggage.

 

Please share how on earth you do that? :eek::eek: Sounds great if only I could figure it out!

[Wannaknow]

The solution is the Formal-Optional night...HAL has had these in the past...We had one on a Med cruise...Thus one can dress either Formal or Smart Casual and be dressed appropriately.

 

This would be my choice too. I dislike all the fuss of formal nite & would be happy to see them go, but I think there should be an option for everyone. I have been to several formal nites where we dressed formally and IMO neither the formal "dress" we observed nor the occasion merited all this constant formal dress/casual whining. Just because lobster (which wasn't very good) is served didn't make it special. Nor did the clothing - not at all.

 

As long as most everyone is clean and neatly dressed, we could care less.

[startwin]

No, we don't think so -- which is why we stated what we did, above. To us, there is no such thing as "out of place." It's a case of "mind over matter." Intelligent, mature adults are able to ignore or enjoy the environment, no matter what they are wearing and no matter what others are wearing. It is totally unnecessary for people who are sharing a public room to be dressed in a similar mode. Someone with power and influence came up with that idea, a long time (centuries?) ago, but it was always totally artificial and subject to change. It was always just a custom, and customs are not "locked in" forever.

You are free to cling to that opinion, but it is merely based on feelings/emotions, not on logic. There is no logical reason to think that a mixture of dressing styles is "inappropriate." More importantly, there is no logical reason for a cruise line to impose a dressing code on passengers.

 

The member named, "Opinions," states:

"The solution is the Formal-Optional night."

 

We do not agree, and we have already stated why: EVERY night can be "formal optional." Mature adults do not need to have a cruise line tell them whether or not "formal" is optional.

.

 

I totally agree. We're all grown up people, we make our choices and I can even decide what to wear myself without help from anyone else. And what others wear has absolutely no impact on my enjoyment of a meal and evening.

[sachmo9085]

I usually sail on Carnival, but I really enjoy dressing up for dinner every night on the cruise. I never dress up for fun at home (only for work), so for me it makes the dinners more special and kind of like a date night every night. I also think it is fun to see everyone dressed up on formal nights and to see some of the gorgeous outfits people choose. I guess I would be bummed if they stopped requiring it, but I would still be dressing up every night anyways :)

[scapel]

This thread about Formal night and others is one that has been hashed over many times before. The daily newspaper whatever it is called on your ship list a suggested wear for the evening. It does not say formal optional, or informal optional. It doesn't have to. It is only a suggestion for those that maybe can't decide what to wear for the evening. It is just a guide and not mandatory therefore is always optional without optional having to be mentioned. I have never seen anyone turned away from a dining room because of what they have on. The Maitre'd might remind the individual that the suggested dress was formal so they would not be embarrassed if they had just forgotten.

I have never been embarrassed for anyone else who came casual or informal on a formal night. I hardly notice what others have on anyhow. My wife will point it out to me so I don't have to bother with it. HA!! After all I was on a cruise with my carryon for 8 days when my luggage was lost. I was just so happy it was not my wife's luggage that was lost.

I do get a little nauseated when I see people walking around with the waist of pants almost down to their knees. Those I would ask the Maitre'd to put out of my sight or hurry and seat them so I don't look anymore. Huggh!! I guess they are trying to make a statement, but I still don't understand the statement. Does it say "look how sloppy I can look".