Cunard Dress Code change: Formal and Informal

[Underwatr]

The reality is that that's the way it works now, at least in the 3 years I've been cruising Cunard. No one will bar you from the Golden Lion or the Royal Court Theatre for not wearing a jacket. Never have.

[charliedalrymple]

Nevermind already purchasing clothes to conform to the old dress code...I actually decided to splurge and bought first-class airline tickets from Stockholm to London so that we could carry the extra bags necessary for our full three-tier wardrobes. I was then planning to mail everything back home once we were in New York. (Yes, I know it would have been cheaper to simply pay for the extra bags in economy class, but it gave me an excuse to fly first class--let me enjoy the moment as a martyr.)

 

Some people complained about the old dress code, but in some ways it was easier to conform and you had a rough idea what everyone else would be wearing. Less stressful I would have thought.

Whitemarsh, you hit the nail on the head. I have no doubt that you would be able to put together a trendy and stylish outfit like the pouty male models in your pictures, but I know that I couldn't. I've worn suits all of my professional life and consider them more or less a uniform, whereas I find the whole casual concept quite stressful. New dress code or not, I'm sticking to suits and ties on the nights I'm not wearing my tux!

 

As it says nothing about having to wear a collared shirt, t-shirts under a jacket are fine. T-shirts have short sleeves so they meet the new informal dress code. It is going to be very different, as you may very well find yourself in a cocktail dress next to a man in a jacket, t-shirt and jeans.

I have to relay a story. I was a young diplomat in the 80's and was invited to a swanky event at the Ambassador's residence. "Miami Vice" was all the rage on television, and I showed up in a white linen suit with the arms rolled up and a powder blue t-shirt--along with my frosted Rod Stewart hair. I thought I looked pretty spiffy until I walked into the party to find everyone else in black tie. :o

[Cunard Cruiser]

What will be next? Freestyle dining or tee shirt and shorts in the dining rooms. If I wanted a casual holiday with no tradition or glamour I would book on Princess or Carnival.

Just when I think they are done with stripping away the Cunard tradition they find something else to water down. I cruise a few times a year with Cunard; however thinking it is not worth spending my money anymore since we are almost at the level of Carnival (nickel and dime, water down traditions, etc).

[Mysticalmother]

To say the least. What I find most alarming is the outrageously short notice--the first few affected voyages on each ship are well past final payment date. Compare that with Crystal, which when changing their dress from three levels to two levels [plus one "black-tie optional" night per cruise] gave well over a half years notice. Now I cannot remotely consider changing my holiday this late in the game; who I really feel for are those booked on the two-day Soton-Hamburg sailings that bookend my Northern Highlights cruise. While a few past commenters have called those two days "glorified booze cruises" far more report that they use them as a rare chance to fit the Grills into their budget--or at least as a needed excuse to dust off their best evening wear for one night. Now those nights have been downgraded from semi-formal to informal. I still plan on wearing a dinner jacket and will be anxious to see how many others do as well (as opposed to how many will consider "no shorts, tank tops or blue denim" the maximum advice they need).

 

I am on Q308 - the first voyage affected by this change and which sails in less than 3 weeks and to say I am p****d by this is an understatement . I've actually been "offline" for 24 hours and only just picked up this thread. I have received absolutely nothing from Cunard about it and have already purchased my wardrobe:mad: I'm going to wear what I planned to anyway but that is not the point. My voyage personaliser has NOT been updated as of about 5 minutes ago although thanks to an earlier post here I have managed to find the new schedule for my voyage. I have emailed Cunard expressing my displeasure at their attitude to existing customers but I don't hold out any hope of getting anything other than a "corporate" response.

I shall however try to update you all of how this impacts my voyage via CC "live" from my voyage.

Whitemarsh - if you read this can you tell me how to upload photos please. Thanks!

[Salacia]

I actually think that by getting rid of the word "casual" from the dress code that things may well improve on the dress code front..or perhaps I'm being optimistic :rolleyes:

 

Hi Midsomer Madness. Following the new Informal category - which is the dress code on the majority of evenings, women may dress in anything from a cocktail dress and high heels to a tank top, capri pants and sneakers (trainers) for those that consider that to be "stylish separates". If nothing else, that will certainly make for an interesting visual mix of costumes - but an improvement?

 

Clearly, Cunard is making this change in the dress code to attract passengers who wish to dress more casually, so I expect there will be more casually dressed passengers in the future.

 

For those reasons, I'm afraid I don't share your optimism, but I sincerley hope you are right. Regards, -S.

[Pushka]

I am on Q308 - the first voyage affected by this change and which sails in less than 3 weeks and to say I am p****d by this is an understatement .

 

I totally understand. Changes of this nature, especially for a Cunard liner which prides itself on its dress standards, and which feature very prominently in their literature. should not be imposed on cruises without many months notice.

 

I think that everyone on your cruise will be in the same position though, so I am sure most people will be doing as you are going to do, and wear the clothes you had originally planned.

 

I think people are going to look like a very mixed bag on informal nights - everything from cocktail dresses to white denim jeans.

[Ab Ovo]

Hate the dumbing down of Cunard's on-board dress code ... but I will cope:

 

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/525/Going_with_the_flow_1.png :)

[Wordzz]

I am on Q308 - the first voyage affected by this change and which sails in less than 3 weeks and to say I am p****d by this is an understatement . I've actually been "offline" for 24 hours and only just picked up this thread. I have received absolutely nothing from Cunard about it and have already purchased my wardrobe:mad: I'm going to wear what I planned to anyway but that is not the point. My voyage personaliser has NOT been updated as of about 5 minutes ago although thanks to an earlier post here I have managed to find the new schedule for my voyage. I have emailed Cunard expressing my displeasure at their attitude to existing customers but I don't hold out any hope of getting anything other than a "corporate" response.

I shall however try to update you all of how this impacts my voyage via CC "live" from my voyage.

Whitemarsh - if you read this can you tell me how to upload photos please. Thanks!

 

I really sympathise. We're in much the same boat, no pun intended. We are on the M304 westbound TA on 26 April. The Voyage Personaliser is still showing the 'old' dress code for our crossing, but the FAQs say that our voyage will be under the new regime. I haven't dared tell my wife yet. She so loved the formality on our first crossing last year - even on 'non-formal' nights, the way people dressed, and hence the atmosphere, was pretty special - that she has spent a small fortune on new outfits for this crossing. We have not received any notification from Cunard either - in fact I thought ours might be the last voyage before the new code came in; it was only after seeing your post that I went and checked just now.

We will make the best of it, and we will have a good time, and my wife will wear her beautiful new clothes, but I feel seriously disillusioned with Cunard at this point.

[Mysticalmother]

We will make the best of it, and we will have a good time, and my wife will wear her beautiful new clothes, but I feel seriously disillusioned with Cunard at this point.

 

Thanks - like yourselves we will have a good time nonetheless, but as you say it's the disillusionment with Cunard (their customer service in particular) that irks. Will certainly make me think very very carefully before booking with them again. It's such a shame they used to be so much better than the others but sadly no longer.

 

Have a good trip - we loved the QM2 on our TA.

[Pushka]

I really don't think that the change will impact on those cruises in the next few months. People have already purchased their cruise based on what they knew Cunard to be, so will already have thought about their wardrobe anyway, and like you, will want to wear it. It is cruises that are occurring in the later part of this year and next, that may even be marketed differently, that will notice the change.

 

I really wouldn't worry for cruises departing in the next say, 6 months. After that, well.....:o

[Wordzz]

I really don't think that the change will impact on those cruises in the next few months. People have already purchased their cruise based on what they knew Cunard to be, so will already have thought about their wardrobe anyway, and like you, will want to wear it. It is cruises that are occurring in the later part of this year and next, that may even be marketed differently, that will notice the change.

 

I really wouldn't worry for cruises departing in the next say, 6 months. After that, well.....:o

 

You may be right, and I certainly hope so. We shall see. I'll report back when we return!

Like Mysticalmother, though, it has given me food for thought about future bookings. We thought we had found 'our' line and had decided that we would henceforth only consider Cunard. Now, however, I am thinking we might spend our money elsewhere for our planned trip to the Fjords next year. I will certainly now look at other options, whereas until now we had just decided that we were going to book whilst onboard our forthcoming TA.

[Pushka]

But as others have said there aren't many options like Cunard out there.

[Salacia]

I really don't think that the change will impact on those cruises in the next few months. People have already purchased their cruise based on what they knew Cunard to be, so will already have thought about their wardrobe anyway, and like you, will want to wear it. It is cruises that are occurring in the later part of this year and next, that may even be marketed differently, that will notice the change.

 

I really wouldn't worry for cruises departing in the next say, 6 months. After that, well.....:o

 

Puska, that was also my thought, although last minute deals can be very attractive, and those who have never sailed on Cunard previously have no past experience as a reference; they have every reason to go by the new dress code with its highly personal interpretation.

 

Final payment for USA passengers on September cruises (six months from now) is due in June, and -- like you, I doubt there will be an accurate reading of the effect of this new dress code at that time. -S.

[Salacia]

But as others have said there aren't many options like Cunard out there.

 

 

Land-based vacations are becoming more and more attractive. If I want to go casual, I can rent a very nice beach house and dress casually, chill out and cook my own food fresh from the ocean and nearby farms. Have family and friends as guests. Actually, if I hadn't spent so much money on Cunard voyages, I'd own that beach house now:eek:

[Pushka]

Land-based vacations are becoming more and more attractive.

 

I think here in Australia it's the opposite. But then Cunard isn't quite as well known here so this change doesn't affect most people quite so much I'd say.

 

We had planned to go to Egypt on a cruise but the risk of the ship cancelling is just too great. So that will be a land tour for us.

[Salacia]

I think here in Australia it's the opposite. But then Cunard isn't quite as well known here so this change doesn't affect most people quite so much I'd say.

 

We had planned to go to Egypt on a cruise but the risk of the ship cancelling is just too great. So that will be a land tour for us.

 

Egypt on a land tour? You are a brave person. Cheers & best wishes, -S.

[Germancruiser]

Greath fashin pictures and nice sugestions Whitemarsh - this suits me just well- my pointed dress shoes in different colors go nicely with the new dress code - and add a certain" style" . LOL. Any sugestions in that (shoe) corner

Whitemarsh?

Michael

[rubrrick]

We are on M307, 25th of May, and after hearing of the great news, just purchased a new pink t-shirt and shorts. Should go well with my white knee highs and tennies!

 

Seriously, still hoping someone gets mad and cancels, so that we can move up to the Grills! For grins, we are now waitlisted in the QG as well as the PG.;)

 

Rick

[DreamflightPat]

Hate the dumbing down of Cunard's on-board dress code ... but I will cope:

 

 

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/525/Going_with_the_flow_1.png :)

I agree. I hate it and will still continue to dress up. That is the reason I have booked Cunard and not some other main stream cruise line with no finesse!!!!

[Pushka]

Egypt on a land tour? You are a brave person. Cheers & best wishes, -S.

 

We do stuff like that. :). Travelled to Sri Lanka in the very midst of their civil war.

[MasterNotCommander]

From the moment that the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth Fincantieri Vista Class cruise SHIPS were introduced, it was very clear that Carnival Corp was going to try and move towards mass market on the back of the Cunard brand name, and milk the brand for every cent they could. They've done an excellent job of it, and have managed to meet the highest end of mass market cruising, but unfortunately have left those that enjoyed the high end liner experience out of the picture. They're following a similar suit with the bigger ships on Seabourn, moving away from their high end, high pax to crew ratio cruising.

I suspect that many of the traditional cruisers will move to the likes of Swan Hellenic and Silverseas.

 

Is this a bad thing, not necessarily, but it's Carnival Corps method of making money, and they seem pretty good at making money so far.

[bazzaw]

From the moment that the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth Fincantieri Vista Class cruise SHIPS were introduced, it was very clear that Carnival Corp was going to try and move towards mass market on the back of the Cunard brand name, and milk the brand for every cent they could.

 

Don't forget that QM2 was a particularly expensive build, due to the way in which she was built (as an Atlantic liner) - so something/someone has to pay for her!

 

Barry

[phillipahain]

If they are dumbing down the dress standards on Cunard it would be more sensible to remove the need for men to wear a jacket every evening tie or no tie

 

Its packing a tux and a jacket that poses problems weight wise flying these days

 

we love the formal dress and standards that Cunard upheld and feel very sad that this will all now be spoilt by the mass market "fashion louts" who refuse to consider others and dress elegantly

 

For many cruisers the chance to dress up is a very major part of the cruise experience when everywhere else in business and life has become so casual and sloppy

[MasterNotCommander]

Don't forget that QM2 was a particularly expensive build, due to the way in which she was built (as an Atlantic liner) - so something/someone has to pay for her!

 

Barry

 

+1 to that, well worth every penny I say!

[audal29]

Appears that the old Elegant Casual has

been renamed Informal ? Hooray! No tie

required !

That simplifies things for me .

That 3rd level of dress was a nuisance

for me .

Quite agree it needed simplifying particularly if on early sitting and transatlantic with clocks going forward every day at noon. Late breakfast and your thinking about dress code for evening.