What not to Wear

[Barb Nahoumi]

Help Help, Stacey & Clinton,

 

It is such a mind-boggeling decision to choose the proper outfits for a cruise.

Obviously, what will work with one cruiseline, will not on one which is more upscale. Of course, shorts, tanks & tees are no nos everywhere. It is the degree of casual which creates questions.

 

Do I wear cotton slacks & a knit top, or are skirts required. I have always cruised Mass Market ships, but might want to upgrade to another level of cruise.

 

I have seen all types of fashion in the dining room, ranging from grunge to haute couture.

 

I feel that fashion is personal, and clothes reflect the wearers character. Our clothes make us unique. But yes, we must stay within the perameters of the cruiseline's dress code.

[tumeroll]

Qualifying statement - I am 66 years young and can remember when ladies always wore dresses or skirts when venturing into public places. I realize that those days may have left us for ever as a close to 100% rule.

 

 

 

However, my vote would be to dress better than you think is required rather than looking for ways to tone it all down. You may stand out in the crowd but better to stand out better dressed than to stand out looking like one of the crew from the dock.

[Steamboatin]

There are two other things to consider in selecting appropriate dress wear when packing:

 

1. Climate and temperature of weather in which you will be cruising. Example: Baltic vs. Caribbean

 

2. Will you be going on excursions that will be taking you into churches and cathedrals. If so than one would dress to cover the shoulders, knees and maybe even the elbows and so wear skirts or pants with a longer sleeve blouse or shirt. And definetly no hats for men inside the churches please.

[Happy ks]

I'm going to assume you are talking about the dining room in the evening, right? Each and every cruiseline publishes a guideline of clothing suggestions for evenings. Not all luxury cruiselines require formal wear, some are country club casual every night. Take a look at some of the brochures, most of them have models wearing what would be appropriate clothing.

 

For me, I interpret the evenings the following way:

 

Formal - dress to the nines, a gown or very fancy skirt and top, any length but most women wear longer dresses.

 

Semi-Formal (or informal) - a cocktail dress or dressy pantsuit, what you might wear to a very formal wedding.

 

Casual - skirts or pants with a nice top or sundresses, what you might wear going out to dinner with friends on a Saturday night at an upscale restaurant.

 

Shorts, tank tops are welcome all over the ship during the daytime hours, weather permitting.

[kitty9]

Barb, are you talking about going on a more upscale cruise ship? Which ship, because that makes a big difference in what you wear. Also, when you talk no shorts or tanks, are you referring to dinner only? You can wear shorts and tanks in the dining room for breakfast and lunch (probably not on lines like Seabourn), but on all the mass market lines, you can wear shorts.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Hi Kitty,

 

To date, all of our cruises have been 7 nights on Carnival or Norwegian, which have 1 formal night, the rest are country-club or resort casual.

 

To answer your question, I am talking dinner only, because we do wear shorts on board during the day------changing for the evening.

 

Eventually, we might cruise Celebrity, HAL, or others. My husband wants to try a western Mediterranean or Transatlantic some day.

 

Thank you everybody, for your help.

[momofmeg]

Hi Kitty,

 

To date, all of our cruises have been 7 nights on Carnival or Norwegian, which have 1 formal night, the rest are country-club or resort casual.

 

To answer your question, I am talking dinner only, because we do wear shorts on board during the day------changing for the evening.

 

Eventually, we might cruise Celebrity, HAL, or others. My husband wants to try a western Mediterranean or Transatlantic some day.

 

Thank you everybody, for your help.

 

when I first read your post I thought you were just joking and was not seriously asking. But it appears you are serious and not showing us your sarcastic whit. Not that I object to people doing that here-sometimes I think that is needed. I would hate to be a first time cruiser reading this stuff-all the strong opinions here would have me terrified I would make a faux-paux. We need someone to occasionially inject some whit to lighten things up a little.

 

Well I have done 4 Carnival cruises, one HAL and one Princess. To me the dress was similiar. Except HAL did have what they called a semi-formal or informal night. Otherwise casual was casual and formal was formal though you do see more of the jeans and shorts people on Carnival on casual nights (not dressing to the "suggested code") and there were a few more men in tuxes on HAL and Princess on formal night.

 

To me if you just dress nice-you will be fine no matter what line you are on.

[2forthesea]

I found the Transatlantic cruise became more casual in the dining room as we were at sea more days. Interesting. (Great cruise, too!)

 

I agree with Happy ks' suggestions, and that's the way I dress on all my cruises.

[jkwalker11760]

I am cruising on the Conquest the last of September 2005. I am wondering about the "no white after Labor Day" rule. Do I still go by that rule even though I am going to be in a summer and hot place. I hope that is not a dumb question!!!

jkwalker11760

[LandLockedInAZ]

I am cruising on the Conquest the last of September 2005. I am wondering about the "no white after Labor Day" rule. Do I still go by that rule even though I am going to be in a summer and hot place. I hope that is not a dumb question!!!

jkwalker11760

 

It is not a dumb question- I have seen it asked here before.

I believe the consensus on this board is that the colors/fabric should have more to do with the weather than the time of year when cruising.

Enjoy!

[Juliadlf]

Are capris acceptable attire for daytime and casual dinner? :o We've not been on a cruise before and we are sailing the med in late September.

Thanks

[Barb Nahoumi]

I think that Capris are definitely acceptable for daytime wear. As for dinner, they should be ok when worn with a dressy top.

 

I cruise on Norwegian and Carnival, and had NO problems with capris.

[caviargal]

I do not wear capris to dinner but agree that they are commonplace on Carnival and NCL.

 

On Celebrity, HAL and Princess, and on RCI Radiance Class, I do not think capris are apppropriate for dinner in the formal dining rooms. I have seen very dressy capris in silk and brocade fabrics and with matching tops or jackets that look fine when worn with heels and accessories for nights that are not formal.

[hajekfam]

I found the Transatlantic cruise became more casual in the dining room as we were at sea more days. Interesting. (Great cruise, too!)

 

I agree with Happy ks' suggestions, and that's the way I dress on all my cruises.

I found that our Celebrity transatlantics were dressier than our Celebrity Caribbean cruises especially at second seating. On formal nights, all the men at our table and those surrounding us wore tuxes, on informal nights - suits and ties were seen in abundance, and on casual nights quite a few men wore sports jackets.

[2forthesea]

Yes, I agree that Celebrity is more dressy. I was referring to our Splendour Transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to the Caribbean. As we got closer to the Caribbean, the clothes on casual nights got more and more casual.

 

However, I have seen very few capris on Celebrity in the dining room. RCI, yes, on casual nights.