Alternative Take on Dress Codes

[mcd2745]

let's say 20 years ago it was $5,000 for a single cruise fare and that came with all the bells and whistles of a great dining experience, chocolates on your pillow, towel animals, etc., etc., etc., and lines could fill 1000 passenger ships. I agree, there is a huge financial component to the evolution of offerings in the cruise industry. The question is, did the lines decide they could make more money by lowering quality and getting more passengers, or did the passengers lower their expectations so the lines lowered their quality? That is, instead of $5,000 for 1000 passengers, they went the way of $1,000 for 5000 passengers. Where does the dress code fit in? Patrons who don't "dress up" and who want to be in-and-out of the MDR so they can get to the hot tub, the casino, or the club, simply aren't expecting (and therefore aren't going to be given) a "dining" experience.

 

Me, I love the dining experience. My family and I do 2+ hour dinners with wine, after dinner drinks, entrée sharing, and lively discussion of the days events. I enjoy seeing my wife, daughter, family, and friends dressed up. It doesn't make a damn bit of difference what's going on around me. However, I do feel that what's going on around me is influencing what's being offered to me and that is a shame.

 

 

You bring up 20 years ago...I admittedly wasn't cruising 20 years ago. However, I do think I know the answer to the following question: How many families with young children were cruising 20 years ago compared to the number today? That's probably the biggest factor for they way things have evolved into now. While most adults would probablty enjoy the dining experience you describe, it is unrealistic to expect kids to sit through 2-3 hours of that.

 

For those that are looking for that dining experience, it seems to me that they should probably be on a different cruise line. I haven't cruised Celebrity, but isn't that line more likely to give you the dinig experience you are looking for?

[phish tales]

I believe post was intended not thread. :)

thank you. yes you are correct i meant post. my boo boo.

but i guess it was easier for him to trash my mistake rather than take time to answer my POST.

[Ocean Boy]

thank you. yes you are correct i meant post. my boo boo.

but i guess it was easier for him to trash my mistake rather than take time to answer my POST.

 

Really? I trashed your mistake? And I don't recall a question in your POST to answer. What was it?

[palofmine]

I think i paid for the port, not the boat :)

[phish tales]

Really? I trashed your mistake? And I don't recall a question in your POST to answer. What was it?

 

ok you win.----have a nice day. i am too tired trying to reason with a rookie cruiser. have a wonderful day and many happy cruises.

[jessicalorene]

ok you win.----have a nice day. i am too tired trying to reason with a rookie cruiser. have a wonderful day and many happy cruises.

 

Yeah you lowly rookie!

I swear I thought this post would end with a flounce and a nose in the air!

[BeachChik]

ok you win.----have a nice day. i am too tired trying to reason with a rookie cruiser. have a wonderful day and many happy cruises.

 

Do you deliberately make your posts as pretentious as possible or is it an accident?

 

We all get that you have cruised a lot. You point it out in almost every post. I promise it doesn't make you better than anyone else. It just makes you look like a blowhard.

[A&L_Ont]

Yeah you lowly rookie!

I swear I thought this post would end with a flounce and a nose in the air!

 

Do you deliberately make your posts as pretentious as possible or is it an accident?

 

We all get that you have cruised a lot. You point it out in almost every post. I promise it doesn't make you better than anyone else. It just makes you look like a blowhard.

 

I guess I "misunderstood" what Phish Tales wrote in post#29 where they state "my friends and I cruise a lot more than most and always, i mean always, dress proper on forma nightl. check out the dia+ cruisers and even the pinnacle on formal night. 99.9% of them are dressed to the nines." My polite post was later scorned by Phish Tales in post #71.

 

I wonder if Phish Tales knows that capital letters online mean YELLING? As I took offence to them claiming that any one who has "been there done that" is to quote her/him from their post #29 "JUST A LAME EXCUSE". Her capitals made me feel like I need to stand up for myself and the other lame excuses out there. At least he/she will be dressed proper on formal night, unlike me even though I am in the right venue for my attire. However, I will still have proper spelling and grammar, and formal clothes at home in my closet.

 

As another poster stated I guess the "nouveau riche" are taking over and the preverbal walls of the village are crumbling. I guess I should always state in my posts or in the CL or DL that we cruise in suites, live 2,300 kilometres away from our favourite port and fly executive, have stayed twice in the Royal Loft Suite, once in the Royal suite, and another two times in the Sky Loft Suite all in the last year. Our upcoming cruises will be the the SLS X2 and an OS. I should follow that with I am only 42 and our 6 year old son should be Pinnacle by the time he is 18 by our points or at least D+ under his own merit. Would my net worth be a bit too much information?;)

 

Anyone from CC who has met me knows I would never state anything like what I just wrote above, even though it is all true. I do not measure/judge people as we are all human. Almost always the people who paint their own image are the ones that I avoid. Madoff dressed well, and we all know where he is... just saying don't judge a book by its cover. I think that Jessicalorene and BeachChik (sorry for dragging you both in) are like minded and I know there are more out there.

[hellsop]

]Question: What's the point of providing 5-star food and service to a group of patrons happy to dress for fast-food dinning? Are these food/service declines not just a reversion to the lowest common denominator? After all, it seems universal that specialty restaurants (where you typically find the dress and atmosphere nicer) do the dining experience better.

 

Said another way: In my experience, eating establishments with higher standards for their patrons also apply higher standards to their food and service.

 

Said yet another way: Why would any cruise line whose patrons can't distinguish between beach wear and formal wear assume they can identify (or even want) a fine dining experience?

 

Remember this the next time you want to complain about your small, overcooked lobster as you leave the dining room wearing cargo shorts and a Coors Light t-shirt.

 

In advance, any response that contains "it's my vacation" or a discussion of "suggested versus required" need not apply.

 

Before you post the usual response, seriously think about this and decide if we are simply now sleeping in the bed we have made?

 

Your enjoyment of "five star food and service" should not depend on whether I'm wearing a tie. That's giving me FAR too much control over your experience. If you cannot enjoy your meal because I am not behaving in a way that you expect, you are not giving the five-star food and service the attention it deserves.

 

I, personally, have not noticed any precipitous decline in food *or* service on RCCL. The staff seem glad to see me, they welcome me, they bring out tasty tasty things, and they're skilled enough to suggest more based on learning my taste in a very short time. Maybe I'm getting better food than you are. Or maybe I'm just enjoying it more.

 

But no matter what, I can guarantee that I won't enjoy even more than I am if I'm worrying about staining my tie or getting salad dressing on my sleeve cuffs. Or worrying about what someone else on the other side of the dining room is wearing.

[SeagoingMom]

I agree with this. I have also always thought that the decor of the dining room demands better dress than jeans or cargo shorts. I find it difficult to understand why the servers are better dressed than many of the dining guests. I also believe that people behave better when they are dressed up, especially women when they wear dresses.

Ha! You have got to be kidding me -- how do the women you know behave when not wearing dresses? :D This is the most hilarious and ludicrous statement I have read on all the dress code threads I have read (and I have read them all, I suppose...) What a hoot! Someone finally introduced a new idea to the topic!!

 

(Now if you had made this statement about 8 year-old girls, I might have taken it seriously, but...)

[sandy toes]

Just read the thread...have to agree with someone a bit back that said they would rather sit with someone in jeans and a t-shirt with manners than someone all dressed up without any manners. Last cruise, we did MyTime Dining and one evening we sat with a 2 couples (they were brother & sister). It was the worse example I have seen in a long while of lack of upbringing. My Dad was USN and manners were a must growing up. They held their flatware with a fist grip, slurped their drinks, and the brother actually licked the dessert dish. Come one people...even if you grew up in a cave, there are TV, DVDs, instructional self-help books, etc. Do you really think no one at work notices? I am here to tell you management does take notice of behavior. I have sat in on meetings many times when instead of performance (what I focused on), it was more about the PR impression or etiquette at the last meeting, seminar, or conference that leads to the promotion or biggest grab of the pay raise scale. I do believe that the airline industry has caused many people to rethink the way (amount) they pack and that is the largest factor in the decline of "formal" wear. I have found ways to pack one outfit that can be dressed up 2 ways (for 2 formal nights) and still not pay for an overage at the airport.

[A&L_Ont]

Just read the thread...have to agree with someone a bit back that said they would rather sit with someone in jeans and a t-shirt with manners than someone all dressed up without any manners. Last cruise, we did MyTime Dining and one evening we sat with a 2 couples (they were brother & sister). It was the worse example I have seen in a long while of lack of upbringing. My Dad was USN and manners were a must growing up. They held their flatware with a fist grip, slurped their drinks, and the brother actually licked the dessert dish. Come one people...even if you grew up in a cave, there are TV, DVDs, instructional self-help books, etc. Do you really think no one at work notices? I am here to tell you management does take notice of behavior. I have sat in on meetings many times when instead of performance (what I focused on), it was more about the PR impression or etiquette at the last meeting, seminar, or conference that leads to the promotion or biggest grab of the pay raise scale. I do believe that the airline industry has caused many people to rethink the way (amount) they pack and that is the largest factor in the decline of "formal" wear. I have found ways to pack one outfit that can be dressed up 2 ways (for 2 formal nights) and still not pay for an overage at the airport.

 

I am guessing (Canadian here) USN is the US Navy? If so please thank him for his service. The couple you spoke of would have drove him insane, and you too as you were brought up in the same house. Having been a Military Cadet during some of my school years organization, presentation, and preparation were a few key focus points that were emphasized and still stick with me today 30 years later.

 

Your comments are 100% correct relating to management decisions, at least for our business which is extremely people related. Proper personality as well as the ability to work well and communicate effectively with others rivals the importance of a job well done. As for clothing I do the same trick only for the smart casual clothing which I wear to speciality restaurants on formal nights. I have become a bit lazy over the years, but have been told that is a lame excuse. However, it does help to reduce extra weight in the suitcase.

[griffy116]

We're Diamond so I guess we fall into the middle. We aren't rookies, but we cruise less than we would like to because of school and jobs. A few years ago, we dressed more formal on formal nights. We still adhere to the guidelines, but instead of a formal evening gown, I carry slacks and a couple of sparkly tops. Seeing the comments, I'm sure we wouldn't meet the level of the minimum standard, but I think we are being respectful of the guidelines while making it possible for us to pack less. Not only have the airline restrictions made us rethink our packing, but lugging luggage around and a more laid-back approach to travel priorities have made us quite proud of the adjustments in our priorities. We prefer to spend the money on getting our laundry done on the ship, rather than extra luggage fees. We prefer to spend our time doing something fun, rather than spending time in the cabin unpacking when we begin our cruise and packing at the end of the cruise. I absolutely do not care whether someone is in a tux or a t-shirt and it doesn't affect my dining experience whatsoever. Why would anyone let how someone else dresses ruin their vacation or their dining experience. JMO.

[monn_a]

I have never been in a 5-star restaurant where the wait staff sang and twirled towels.

Thank you, I say this all the time...

[fergusonvt]

the only thing everyone should be required to wear in the MDR is a smile:D:D:D:D:D

 

 

And a touch of deodorant!

[aurelius180]

Reading people try to act superior to others while arguing about dress on a mass market cruiseline looking to cater to all of us schlubs never gets old. :cool:

[fergusonvt]

Reading people try to act superior to others while arguing about dress on a mass market cruiseline looking to cater to all of us sclubs never gets old. :cool:

 

 

Yup, and doesn't seem to vary much from line to line either. Always good for an amusing read though.

[DirtyDawg]

I have never been in a 5-star restaurant where the wait staff sang and twirled towels.

 

:D:D LOL Brilliant!!

 

If I can paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen in that famous debate with Dan Quayle;

 

"I know 5 star restaurants.......Royal's MDR, your're no 5 star restaurant."

;)

[ryano]

*Yawn*

[toxicfairy]

We fly in to Florida and we still manage to pack (without any extra charge) suits for my DH and 2 gowns for me. plus I wear a nice dress on nights that are not formal. My DH does not wear a tux but he does wear tailored dark suits on formal nights and chino type pants with a button down shirt on all other nights. I can get a gown for under $100. and a nice dress for about $25. or less. So the I can't afford it is just silly ...if you can't afford the clothing you probably shouldn't spend money on a cruise. We are not wealthy people by any means we just save for vacation and I shop around for cloths. When we took our 2 DD's (13 and 18 at the time) I told them if you can not dress appropriately then don't come with us. I purchased gowns for them , one I got at a thrift store and a couple at the stores after prom season on clearance!!! The WORST excuse I think is the "we dress up nice every day for work so we don't want to on vacation"...REALLY?? Or "my DH refuses to wear a jacket" ( what cave did you find him in)???? I guess I must be getting old!

[GUEST080219]

Or "my DH refuses to wear a jacket" ( what cave did you find him in)???? I guess I must be getting old!

 

Some people are so charming on these "discussions" :rolleyes:

[Ifoundmydream]

so, can my husband wear ...

 

A tux on formal nights

A short sleeve open collar shirt and chino type trousers the rest of the time?

 

does he really need a sports jacket type affair? He ones not wear one normally, its either dressed up, shirt and trousers, or polo shirt and shorts at home. He really doesn't want the hassle of another jacket ...

[ryano]

so, can my husband wear ...

 

A tux on formal nights

A short sleeve open collar shirt and chino type trousers the rest of the time?

 

Yes. :)

[Ifoundmydream]

Yes. :)

 

Phew :D

[mcd2745]

The WORST excuse I think is the "we dress up nice every day for work so we don't want to on vacation"...REALLY??

 

 

Why is that the worst excuse? I no longer get "dressed up" for work every day as my compnay (and most others, thankfully) have gone to "business casual". However, if I were still wearing a suit and tie every day, it would be the last thing I would want to wear on vacation. After all, a vacation is meant to be a break from the things you do every day. How is that difficult to understand?