Questions on Formal Wear etc. (for those of you who have sailed RCI before)

[dobes3kh]

I know, another post on formal attire. ;) However, I just read through our edocs for our 12 night cruise, and it appears there are only 2 formal nights. The actual breakdown is as follows:

 

for cruise lengths of 10-12 nights

 

5-7 casual evenings

3 smart casual evenings

2 formal evenings

 

 

Couple of questions---I was under the impression after reading several posts on CC that cruises of 12 nights duration had 3 formal evenings. Has anyone sailed this length of cruise and only had 2 formal nights?

 

Second---is there really a difference between casual evenings and smart casual?

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

A 12 night cruise may have 2 or 3 formal nights, depends on the ship. It seems in Europe they are more likely to have the 3rd formal night.

[oneputt18]

No difference between casual and smart casual.

[Azamazingal]

We had just two formal evenings on our 13 day trip to Iceland and Norway earlier this year. The others were "casual". No "smart casual" as I remember. In any case, the difference between the two is what you make of it. Others may have totally different values.

[madmarti]

We had only 2 formal nights on our Italy cruise, Legend. It was a 12nt., also. Madmarti

[MS52]

We had a nine day on Enchantment of the Seas in January and had three formal nights. I was told by the waiter that it is up to the captain how many formal nights there are. I was not prepared for three so one night I was a bit undressed.

 

IMHO, it's not hearts and livers - nobody died. In other words, just not a big deal!

[dobes3kh]

Thanks for all your responses. If we weren't flying, I wouldn't be considering the luggage restrictions!

[janrey1234]

Unless you really want to dress up, I just returned from a cruise with 2 formal nights. For a guy, dress slacks and a sport coat and tie or no tie is fine. For women a light weight non wrinkeable dress is great. We had 2 casual nights first and last and many men wore shorts both nights. Don't worry to death over clothes, frankly they're hardly worth the bother.

[papaflamingo]

Copy and paste from RCCL suggested dress guidelines:

 

There are three distinct types of evenings onboard: casual, smart casual and formal. Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

 

But reality is very few even notice in the cruise compass that it's "Smart Casual" night. I will wear a sport coat and tie, but often plan that night for Chops and consider it a nice dress up night for a special occasion. However these are the suggested guidelines and it's always appropriate to dress accordingly.

[bouhunter]

For those who enjoy dressing up it's nice that RCCL still designates a couple formal nights. It's just silly to try and dictate three different categories though. Only at RCCL would someone think "smart casual" means coat and tie:rolleyes:

 

For us every night is casual:)

[DonnaK]

We had a nine day on Enchantment of the Seas in January and had three formal nights. I was told by the waiter that it is up to the captain how many formal nights there are. I was not prepared for three so one night I was a bit undressed.

 

IMHO, it's not hearts and livers - nobody died. In other words, just not a big deal!

 

 

We had 3 formal nights on our 9 night Explorer cruise last year. Just about everyone ignored the 3rd one, and dressed casually. It was kind of confusing because it was listed in the cruise planner that you get on the first day as smart casual, but in the Compass for that day as formal. Even the waiters seemed confused.

 

I've never been on a cruise where there was a real distinction between casual and smart casual. People just dressed casually for both.

[Barb Nahoumi]

For those who enjoy dressing up it's nice that RCCL still designates a couple formal nights. It's just silly to try and dictate three different categories though. Only at RCCL would someone think "smart casual" means coat and tie:rolleyes:

 

For us every night is casual:)

 

That is because it is "Suggested" on the dresscode link.

[cb at sea]

We were on a 10 nighter...with 2 formal nights and 3 "smart casual"....there truly is little different between casual and smart casual. Some men, mostly older, would have a sports coat....most didn't.

 

The women tend to be "smart casual" every night, anyway! No worries!

[tserface]

Yeah, wearing a tie on vacation never seems very "smart" to me. They should go back to calling it "Semi-formal" like the old days. No one is fooled by the new name.

 

Tom

 

For those who enjoy dressing up it's nice that RCCL still designates a couple formal nights. It's just silly to try and dictate three different categories though. Only at RCCL would someone think "smart casual" means coat and tie:rolleyes:

 

For us every night is casual:)