Dress Code, with apologies!

[cruiserj12]

Can anyone on this forum please clarify what the dress code is on Regents for dinner for men? Are polo or nice short sleeved button down shirts acceptable with slacks or khakis? Thanks.

[WesW]

Cruiserj12, here is what Regent's website says about dress:

 

Q: What is the dress code onboard the ships?

A: Attire ranges from Casual to Formal Optional. Casual wear is appropriate for daytime onboard or ashore, and consists of resort-style outfits. Casual wear, including shorts and jeans, is not appropriate after 6:00 pm, with the exception of the final evening of the cruise. On the night prior to disembarkation, guests may need to pack their luggage early due to morning flights the next day. With this in mind on the last night of every voyage we will relax the dress code for dinner to Casual.

 

The recommended onboard dress in the evenings is Elegant Casual resort wear. Formal and semi-formal attire is optional on sailings of 16 nights or more. Dinner dress includes skirt, or slacks with blouse or sweater, pant suit or dress for ladies; slacks and collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional. Jeans, shorts, t-shirts or tennis shoes are not to be worn at dinner. Ties are not required.

 

Believe your button down shirt is perfect, have read here where Polo shirts are acceptable, but will let other posters respond. Personally, prefer to wear Tommy Bahama in

warm climates and long sleeve button down shirts paired with nice slacks in colder climates.

[A Tucson Guy]

Nice collared shirt and pants from Dockers to silk slacks are acceptable. Some men will wear a sports coat or suit with or without a tie but my observation is that is the minority. Typical dress like at a private county club IMHO. It's a vacation so I like to relax including my clothes.

Aloha

[cruiserj12]

Great, your comments helped to clarify the dress code for me. I was really hoping to not bring a jacket, as it will be July in the Mediterranean and very warm, so this sounds good.

[marinaro44]

No need for a jacket. Relax and enjoy the excellent food and service.

[poss]

Piping in with my usual 2 cents on this subject:

 

My husband and I are often uncomfortably cold on the Regent ships-- in the hallways, the dining venues, etc. For our taste, the ship is way over-refrigerated (others, of course, don't feel this way at all). This by way of saying that if you're someone who happens to feel chilled easily, I recommend bringing some sort of coverup. My husband, e.g., is almost never able to go without his sports jacket (blazer usually) at dinner, and I am never without a wrap of some sort. Other women, as I've said, seem perfectly comfortable in bare back, arms, etc.

 

I hope you have as lovely a time as we always do on our Regent cruises.

[Travelcat2]

poss: do you dine early? We do and find CR cool when we arrive but really warms up by the time we leave (2 or so hours later).

[RachelG]

I am someone who tends to feel cold a lot, and I agree with Poss that the ship feels over refrigerated to me. But I have my thermostat in my house at 80 in summer and 70 in winter. So I take some sort of wrap to dinner just in case.

[Sunviking]

I've looked at the Regent cruise from Barcelona to Rio in November 2013 and on the itinerary it lists every night as "Elegant Casual." Does that mean that despite the fact that it's longer than 15 nights there are no formal nights?

[Gcto]

Short sleeve or long sleeve shirt is just fine. I always bring a blazer or sports jacket and …find myself not wearing it, leaving it in the cabin.

You will find all sorts of casual attire for men, from the sports jacket and suit to the more colorful. It’s casual and you are supposed to enjoy yourself, not worry too much.

[hondorner]

I've looked at the Regent cruise from Barcelona to Rio in November 2013 and on the itinerary it lists every night as "Elegant Casual." Does that mean that despite the fact that it's longer than 15 nights there are no formal nights?

There are no more formal nights on any Regent cruise. On some longer cruises, there have been some nights described as "formal optional", which means that if you want to dress up on the same evening that a few other people might also dress up, that's the one. But, formal dress is never suggested, let alone required, on any night, including the "formal optional" evenings.

[Travelcat2]

On our two most recent cruises quite a few men wore suits and/or sports jackets -- especially on the nights of the Captain's Reception, Captain's Farewell and the night of the Seven Seas Society Cocktail party. While certainly not required, there are some men who enjoy dressing up in the evening. We have also noticed that Alaska and Caribbean cruises tend to be a bit more casual than cruises in other parts of the world.

 

The bottom line to me is to dress within Regent's guidelines and be comfortable -- no one is really looking at what everyone is wearing (unless you are in jeans or shorts after 6:00 p.m.)

[English Tim]

If your name happens to be 'Jean', you're not allowed out after 6pm!:D

[TedC]

If your name happens to be 'Jean', you're not allowed out after 6pm!:D

 

Good one!

[journeyfan]

I was on a 24-night cruise last year and although every night was listed as "elegant casual" when I booked the cruise, about a month before departure, the dress code for 2 of those nights was changed to "formal optional" so maybe the same thing will happen on your cruise. I'm not sure how long a cruise has to be for this to occur: 18+ or 20+ nights?

[harrodsfan]

We were on an 18 night cruise on the Voyager in March and we also had the change to two 'formal optional" nights before the cruise. Dress was soup to nuts..Tommy Bahama shirts to tuxes. Most of the women had cocktail dresses but a few were in really formal attire. I am like the poster who said it was cold on the ship. I was never without a shawl at night. My husband wore his sport coat 4 nights. Three with tie and one without.

[debijaynes]

Our cruise last year was over Thanksgiving. My husband took a jacket for that night, feeling that it might be a little dressier--- he was one of three in the dining room that night with a jacket! Lots of Tommy Bahama silks work great!

[Avondale]

Never wear a short sleeve shirt to dinner (ie:polo) your hairs will get in your neighbours soup!!! Also, t's never too cool in the dining room or elsewhere. This is what my wife tells me (hot flashes, maybe?). If it's a problem wear a shawl.

[Travelcat2]

Many men wear short sleeved shirts to dinner (an exception could be on "special" nights). Women who tend to be cold all the time may want a pashmina/shawl. It has been our experience that Compass Rose is cold when it opens at 6:30 p.m. By the time most passengers arrive (7:30 - 8:30 p.m.), it is quite warm.

 

It does seem that Regent turns Elegant Casual to Formal Optional at the last minute which leaves passengers a bit surprised. While many passengers do not want "Formal" (neither do I), it is nice to dress up a bit for the nights of the Captain's Reception, Seven Seas Society Cocktail Party and Captain's Farewell. While there is no way I would want my DH to wear a tux, a jacket and maybe a tie does seem appropriate.

[freddie]

"While there is no way I would want my DH to wear a tux, a jacket and maybe a tie does seem appropriate."

 

As many of us would agree, the term "appropriate" is a term of opinion, not of the ship's policy. Further, that statement does not necessarily reflect the reality of the attire on those "special" evenings.

 

I would suggest that TC2's own posts on previous threads have acknowledged that many men wear their Tommy Bahama-style shirts on all evenings on the Regent ships, including the Formal Optional evenings, entirely in keeping with Regent's dress code.

 

Tommy Bahama Rules!!! Cheers, Fred

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm not sure who said, "consistency is my most elusive goal". We all strive and fail.

 

But I'm with you Fred, I don't believe a jacket is particularly more "appropriate" on a formal optional night, or a Captain's Reception night either.

[Travelcat2]

IMO, it is all personal preference. Tommy Bahama shirts are acceptable -- even on "formal optional" nights. However, some men would not be comfortable dressed in this manner. Some men are comfortablei in shirts and ties every night -- that is fine as well. To me, Tommy Bahama shirts are at one end of the spectrum and tuxedos are at the other. My personal preference would be slacks and a sports coat (no tie) on "special" nights. It is nice to have a choice and not to have anyone belittle you because of how you choose to dress (within Regent guidelines). I do feel that it is only fair to let newbies know what to expect when they dine in CR, P-7 or Signatures. There was one occasion when my DH wore a sports coat and tie in P-7. He was the only man dressed that way. He removed his tie, placed his jacket on the back of the chair and felt more comfortable.

[English Tim]

I am now wiser having 'Googled' these TB shirts, which I tend to wear most of the time. When going on Carnival or Princess I take my 'Tux', but I'm also happy to be more casual and it reduces the packing.

[Delilah21]

I am now wiser having 'Googled' these TB shirts, which I tend to wear most of the time. When going on Carnival or Princess I take my 'Tux', but I'm also happy to be more casual and it reduces the packing.

 

I too had to google Tommy Bahama shirts to see what they were! Being English I'm afraid I had never heard of them

[A Tucson Guy]

Those of us that live in tropical areas wear a lot of Tommy Bahama shirts. I must have well over a hundred of them and I love 'em. A Tommy shirt represents an attitude and way of life to me. A lot of the shirts have a little tag sewn on the inside with one word on the cloth tag. The word is "RELAX" and I try to look at those tags once in a while. While TB shirts and tee shirts are not for everybody (they also make ladies clothing), they are quite popular in the USA.

Aloha,

Al