Cunard Dress Code change: Formal and Informal

[Salacia]

According to this report http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9937320/Cunard-relaxes-cruise-ship-dress-code.html Cunard has changed the dress code from Formal, Semi-formal and Elegant Casual to Formal and Informal, effective on all ships after the world cruise season ends in April and May of this year.

 

Partial quote:

"...Peter Shanks, Cunard's President and Managing Director, said the decision was in response to growing travel trends, “where everything seems to tend towards the casual”. Formal dress requirements will now be limited to three times a week on Transatlantic Crossings and twice a week on sailings to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and beyond.

The formal nights will be accompanied by four or five informal evenings, where ties are now optional but jackets will still be required..."

 

I know we've been speculating on other threads about possible changes to the dress code, but this appears to be the official word. -S.

 

Additional source: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2013/03/18/43497/cunard-updates-formal-dress-codes.html

[flag fan]

Thank you for posting--very useful information. I like the plan to go to 2 dress styles instead of 3. It will make it much easier to pack.

[Underwatr]

Not as bad as I had feared. The formality is still there, and I like keeping the requirement of a jacket (the subtle suggestion that a tie would not be out of place helps soften the perception of a lowering of standards).

 

I'll think about how I feel about reducing the number of full-on formal nights, but on the Caribbean cruise it felt odd putting on a tux after a day at the beach.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm curious to see what they "suggest" as informal wear for women. For men it's easy to define the different dress codees. But women's clothing is on such a wide spectrum that it's hard to draw defining lines.

 

And the articles say that if you don't dress for formal nights, your options are the buffet, one lounge, one bar. Does anyone really think they're going to stop someone not dressed for formal night from entering the Queens Room????

 

Sorry to sound doom and gloom, but I can see a reduction in enforcement following close on the heels of the reduction in formal nights. I hope Cunard will prove me wrong.

[DDBINK1]

I think the dress code for informal can mean what ever you want to wear. Wear a tie or not. I like wearing a tie to dinner. Kind of acts as a bib at times I am afraid.

Now if they could just have a Valet assigned to each QG Suite to help with the dressing part.

[Fifer]

Simplicity has to be a good thing and, given the port-intensive nature and packing constraints of the Med Fly/Cruises, fewer formals there is not a problem. I suspect I'll still miss them on the round-trip Southampton voyages and on the Transatlantics, where there will be more sea days and I will missing dressing up after a relaxing day afloat.

 

There is, of course, nothing to stop those - like me - who want to treat the 'informal' definition as a floor not a ceiling from doing so and wearing ties.

[lucky white heather]

I'm disappointed... at losing the Cunard status quo arrangements on the formal/ semiformal/ elegant casual dress codes .

We work hard at bringing the correct blend of clothing to fit with dress code suggestions and we tailor our weight allowance on the flights to suit... not everyone comes by car with the chance of its vast amount of luggage possibilities.

We left behind a long period of expensive "loyalty" on another cruiseline when it dumbed down its dress codes so much, it felt like we were paying all that money to eat in somewhere like a Macdonalds outlet...can't call them restaurants.

Because we save up hard to take cruise holidays as we consider them to be a "something special" holiday ... we look forward to the chance to "dress up" while we are enjoying dinner / show/ dancing every night etc ...something we never have an opportunity to do at home.....so if Cunard does this..... it looks like we'll be looking for an alternative cruiseline again and leave behind another long period of expensive "loyalty" to a company which seems to be bending to the whims of the minority few who don't want the long tradition of dress codes associated with Cunard.

I'm sure there are many loyal Cunard guests who would prefer things to remain as they are.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm disappointed... at losing the Cunard status quo arrangements on the formal/ semiformal/ elegant casual dress codes .

We work hard at bringing the correct blend of clothing to fit with dress code suggestions and we tailor our weight allowance on the flights to suit... not everyone comes by car with the chance of its vast amount of luggage possibilities.

We left behind a long period of expensive "loyalty" on another cruiseline when it dumbed down its dress codes so much, it felt like we were paying all that money to eat in somewhere like a Macdonalds outlet...can't call them restaurants.

Because we save up hard to take cruise holidays as we consider them to be a "something special" holiday ... we look forward to the chance to "dress up" while we are enjoying dinner / show/ dancing every night etc ...something we never have an opportunity to do at home.....so if Cunard does this..... it looks like we'll be looking for an alternative cruiseline again and leave behind another long period of expensive "loyalty" to a company which seems to be bending to the whims of the minority few who don't want the long tradition of dress codes associated with Cunard.

I'm sure there are many loyal Cunard guests who would prefer things to remain as they are.

 

I understand how you feel. But where are you going to look? As far as I can tell, Cunard is the most formal line out there.

[Wordzz]

I'm disappointed... at losing the Cunard status quo arrangements on the formal/ semiformal/ elegant casual dress codes .

We work hard at bringing the correct blend of clothing to fit with dress code suggestions and we tailor our weight allowance on the flights to suit... not everyone comes by car with the chance of its vast amount of luggage possibilities.

We left behind a long period of expensive "loyalty" on another cruiseline when it dumbed down its dress codes so much, it felt like we were paying all that money to eat in somewhere like a Macdonalds outlet...can't call them restaurants.

Because we save up hard to take cruise holidays as we consider them to be a "something special" holiday ... we look forward to the chance to "dress up" while we are enjoying dinner / show/ dancing every night etc ...something we never have an opportunity to do at home.....so if Cunard does this..... it looks like we'll be looking for an alternative cruiseline again and leave behind another long period of expensive "loyalty" to a company which seems to be bending to the whims of the minority few who don't want the long tradition of dress codes associated with Cunard.

I'm sure there are many loyal Cunard guests who would prefer things to remain as they are.

 

I agree 100%. It will be interesting to see how formal the ambience stays once this is brought in.

 

However, I suspect that 3rdGenCunarder is also right, and that once Cunard dumbs down, there won't be anywhere else to go for that special experience. The formality isn't the be all and end all for us, but it does make Cunard feel very different from the Celebrity and Princess cruises we've been on. They were much cheaper too; is a Cunard without the dominant formality still worth the premium it charges?

[lucky white heather]

I understand how you feel. But where are you going to look? As far as I can tell, Cunard is the most formal line out there.

 

You're right...the chances of finding an alternative cruisline who seem to want to retain some level of formality even on a few occasions during a cruise are becoming less and less.We left a perfectly good cruiseline after almost 30 cruises completed because it no longer offered the standards we thought we were paying to enjoy and found Cunard which seemed to fit our needs better...now we'll be left with no other real choice .

It feels like the last few years of our happy cruising experiences spent with Cunard at its existing standards will now be coming to an end.

We regret not having been able to start cruising earlier in our lives to enjoy more of what was considered then a retirement dream holiday but because it was (and still is for us ) an expensive holiday ....we'll have to consider if it is worth the sacrifices we make . If it feels like it is no longer worth the effort of saving to afford it or feel we are not having the "special holiday" we anticipated, then we'll have to look at other things.

[Lanky Lad]

I have never acknowleged informal, I will carry on with formal and semi formal.

[Cruachan]

Simplicity has to be a good thing and, given the port-intensive nature and packing constraints of the Med Fly/Cruises, fewer formals there is not a problem. I suspect I'll still miss them on the round-trip Southampton voyages and on the Transatlantics, where there will be more sea days and I will missing dressing up after a relaxing day afloat.

 

There is, of course, nothing to stop those - like me - who want to treat the 'informal' definition as a floor not a ceiling from doing so and wearing ties.

 

I'll be following your guidelines! :D

 

J

[balf]

Thank you for posting--very useful information. I like the plan to go to 2 dress styles instead of 3. It will make it much easier to pack.

 

Not sure why, there is little difference really in non formal dress with this change and most gents will continue to wear a tie with a jacket.

 

David.

[balf]

 

And the articles say that if you don't dress for formal nights, your options are the buffet, one lounge, one bar. Does anyone really think they're going to stop someone not dressed for formal night from entering the Queens Room????

 

Sorry to sound doom and gloom, but I can see a reduction in enforcement following close on the heels of the reduction in formal nights. I hope Cunard will prove me wrong.

 

There is little "enforcement" now and Mr Shanks knows it, or should, so his comment need not be taken seriously.

 

Anyway, I don't want to go cruising and be subject to enforcement.

 

David.

[balf]

Now if they could just have a Valet assigned to each QG Suite to help with the dressing part.

 

Blonde of course.

 

David.

[balf]

 

Good luck with that one.

 

David.

[Pies4u]

I'll be following your guidelines! :D

 

J

 

So will I!

 

It is bit of a "non-announcement" tbf. Neither one thing nor the other to me, pointless change. Hopefully most customers will opt for a tie with a suit in any event.

[lucky white heather]

 

Good luck with that one.

 

David.

 

 

 

Any suggestions treated with consideration!

[Classiccruiser777]

I have never acknowleged informal, I will carry on with formal and semi formal.

Me too. Cheers!

[capnpugwash]

Blonde of course.

 

David.

 

Is this what you envisage? :):)

 

[NomDePlume]

He'll do.

[lucky white heather]

Simplicity has to be a good thing and, given the port-intensive nature and packing constraints of the Med Fly/Cruises, fewer formals there is not a problem. I suspect I'll still miss them on the round-trip Southampton voyages and on the Transatlantics, where there will be more sea days and I will missing dressing up after a relaxing day afloat.

 

There is, of course, nothing to stop those - like me - who want to treat the 'informal' definition as a floor not a ceiling from doing so and wearing ties.

 

If you plan your dress code choices appropriately as we have to do very regularly to suit a 20 kgs allowance (..that's 44 pounds of weight in old money ) which you can hardly carry if we're all being absolutely honest .

We fly EDI to SOU and return most times ... so what's this about packing restraints for MEd / fly cruises ?????

 

Personally we've never had a problem with being able to bring sufficient "appropriate evening gear" along with "daytime/whatever activity gear " was needed for all our cruises on a 20 kg allowance .

 

I think the " oh dearie me... it's a packing issue...we 'll have to dumb down the dress codes because of it " ...... is IMO a worn out excuse.

[Salacia]

As 3rdGenCunarder indicated previously, replacing Semi-formal with Informal has the most immediate impact on women. For men it simply means wearing a tie is optional. For women, it means a totally different style of outfit.

 

For example, on Semi-formal nights, I wore a cocktail dress. Now that Semi-formal has been replaced with Informal, I'm certainly not going to be wearing a cocktail dress because I would be over-dressed, according to the dress code. I'm guessing that the Informal dress code for women is the equivalent of the discontinued Elegant Casual category, and that is very different from semi-formal from a female perspective.

 

I find it unfortunate that Cunard was not more forthcoming with the announcement regarding the change in dress code, and allowed more lead before it will be put into effect, if for no other reason that some of us have already purchased new clothes to wear on our upcoming voyages to reflect the dress code as published on Voyage Personalizer and on the Cunard website --which is now obsolete.

 

Repeated statements from various Cunard representatives that Cunard had no plans to change it's formality of dress code was misleading. Eliminating Semi-formal in place of Informal does indeed change the formality - most certainly for women, which in turn, affects the general ambiance of the evening.

 

It remains to be seen whether this change in dress code has the effect Cunard is hoping for.

 

-Salacia

[NomDePlume]

If you plan your dress code choices appropriately as we have to do very regularly to suit a 20 kgs allowance (..that's 44 pounds of weight in old money ) which you can hardly carry if we're all being absolutely honest .

We fly EDI to SOU and return most times ... so what's this about packing restraints for MEd / fly cruises ?????

 

Personally we've never had a problem with being able to bring sufficient "appropriate evening gear" along with "daytime/whatever activity gear " was needed for all our cruises on a 20 kg allowance .

 

I think the " oh dearie me... it's a packing issue...we 'll have to dumb down the dress codes because of it " ...... is IMO a worn out excuse.

 

I agree. What I can never understand is people who, whilst paying hundreds and/or thousands of (insert local currency here) for a cruise or crossing, then complain about having to pay to bring an extra suitcase... :confused:

[grandsix]

This is just the beginning. More and more people will push the envelope

YOU WILL SEE. When this happens, we are out of here.