De Facto Dress Code on Cruises Starting in Australia

[jan-n-john]

I'm sure the written code is no different, but I also understand the Aussies, bless their hearts, are a highly informal people some of whom may consider recently-pressed shorts for men to qualify as "formal." ;)

 

We will be doing a trip out of Australia with (I understand) mostly Australians aboard, and it's a long way to fly out there so I'm wondering what we actually need to pack, and whether that would be different from a trip out of, say, Rome. We are in Aqua Class so formal nights at the MDR are not in our scope in any event.

[north29]

Just look nicer than normal on Formal night if they are truly formal night. Jacket, unless someone is more informed than me, I have never actually seen the need for a jacket in all my cruises, however I usually take one on short cruises and repeat never really needed it to dine in the MDR or any where.

Having been on a long haul flight with cruise. If your luggage is basically handled by others, you might throw in a jacket and nicer pants, designer T shirt, no need for for tie and dress shirts. The lighter you travel, travel will be more fun.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

:D:eek: do people iron shorts!!!?

[macntosh]

I'm sure the written code is no different, but I also understand the Aussies, bless their hearts, are a highly informal people some of whom may consider recently-pressed shorts for men to qualify as "formal." ;)

 

We will be doing a trip out of Australia with (I understand) mostly Australians aboard, and it's a long way to fly out there so I'm wondering what we actually need to pack, and whether that would be different from a trip out of, say, Rome. We are in Aqua Class so formal nights at the MDR are not in our scope in any event.

 

Dear Jan-n-John,

 

Can I suggest you google the word "bogan".

 

It might surprise you that no self-respecting Aussie worth their salt would ever were shorts that were pressed. :rolleyes: more creases and wrinkles the better....

 

Next we will be wearing jeans with seams ironed into them.:eek:

 

Yes, bless our hearts and our little cotton socks, but suggest you continue to pack "dressier" clothing than an "ironed" pair of shorts.

 

Oh, and by the way we have electricity now... ;)

 

Yes, I'm playing with you... but seriously, you will need to pack at least one classy outfit for the MDR and Blu. Most men wear at least a suit on formal nights, but good trousers, a sports jacket and tie are also very acceptable for men and the ladies always seem to have some amazing "blingy" tops / outfits.

 

Remember, enjoy your cruise down under and be aware that many Aussies will "pull your leg" occasionally. It's the Aussie larrikin nature.

All part of life's experiences.

 

Have a great trip.

[Beanb41]

Aussies are always a problem. lol

[woodyren]

I'm an Aussie but strangely enough I have not cruised to or from Australia. I have cruised on Celebrity though. It was our first cruise and we had to travel extensively both to the cruise and afterwards flying coach along with it's minimal baggage allowance. We are also quite laid back and to be honest I did not own either a suit or a tie before our cruise. I wanted to respect the rules, other passengers and also feel comfortable in own selves.

We could not have organised and planned our first big trip without CC but despite all the great help I also read some quite extreme opinions on this forum concerning dress codes and too be honest it caused us a fair amount of stress wondering what to do.

My DW ended up buying a few dresses that she would wear on board (I guess they were certainly not formal dresses but neither of us would really know) and I purchased a sports coat and borrowed a tie.

 

You know what.

 

We should have not worried at all because on board even in the main dinning room on formal nights there were all sorts of clothing choices ranging from tuxes and ball gowns ( the dress name is a guess) to suits, sports coats, shirts with ties and even dress shirts with nice trousers (plus the female equivalent that I do not know how to correctly name). Everyone I saw was dressed (what I would describe as) neatly and NO ONE seemed to take any issue with others all enjoying their preferred dress style.

 

So my advice is to bring something that the two of YOU feel comfortable in and also will fit into your luggage. As long as it looks a "little dressy".

 

Seeing as you are in Rome do it the Aussie way. To each there own within reasonable boundaries.

Edited August 2, 2014 by woodyren

[Pushka]

We are quite an informal bunch down under but you'll find that relates to how we mix with people. You will find bogans and you will find people who know how to dress. And we take jackets even on all long haul flights which include all cruises except from those starting in Australia.

[Boatharbour]

We live in Australia and sailed out of Sydney on a 13 night cruise on Solstice last year. Most of the passengers were Australian.

 

There were three formal nights and on each occasion the dressing was of a standard consistent with Celebrity policy. Tuxes, formal gowns worn by many, but dark suits, cocktail dresses worn by the majority. In fact most people seemed to enjoy the opportunity to dress up.

 

We did see some passengers dressed less formally , but they were heading to the Oceanview buffet.

 

The standard of dress in the mdr every night was smart casual. No shorts in sight!

[jan-n-john]

We live in Australia and sailed out of Sydney on a 13 night cruise on Solstice last year. Most of the passengers were Australian.

 

There were three formal nights and on each occasion the dressing was of a standard consistent with Celebrity policy. Tuxes, formal gowns worn by many, but dark suits, cocktail dresses worn by the majority. In fact most people seemed to enjoy the opportunity to dress up.

 

We did see some passengers dressed less formally , but they were heading to the Oceanview buffet.

 

The standard of dress in the mdr every night was smart casual. No shorts in sight!

 

Well thank you and thanks to all the others who have responded to my original inquiry. Looks like I'll have to at least bring along a jacket, even with the lousy 70 lb. luggage weight limit.

 

We certainly don't want to look like bogans, but maybe I'll pick up a pair of Stubbies anyway before we sail (wow I'm learning all these new Austrailian terms already!) :)

[woodyren]

While I couldn't be more specific with the clothes in general I can give you much more info about how the exercise dress and regimen will be adapted to suit the "Aussie lifestyle" while in our waters.

 

Here is a simple instruction video.

 

Edited August 3, 2014 by woodyren

[Wine-O]

Well thank you and thanks to all the others who have responded to my original inquiry. Looks like I'll have to at least bring along a jacket, even with the lousy 70 lb. luggage weight limit.

 

 

70 lb. weight limit? It's only 50 lbs on most airlines unless, of course, you are flying first class, then 70 lb would be ok, and you could take 3 pieces of luggage each, with more than enough room/weight for a suit or tux. :)

[GUT2407]

Dear Jan-n-John,

 

Can I suggest you google the word "bogan".

 

It might surprise you that no self-respecting Aussie worth their salt would ever were shorts that were pressed. :rolleyes: more creases and wrinkles the better....

 

Next we will be wearing jeans with seams ironed into them.:eek:

 

Yes, bless our hearts and our little cotton socks, but suggest you continue to pack "dressier" clothing than an "ironed" pair of shorts.

 

Oh, and by the way we have electricity now... ;)

 

Yes, I'm playing with you... but seriously, you will need to pack at least one classy outfit for the MDR and Blu. Most men wear at least a suit on formal nights, but good trousers, a sports jacket and tie are also very acceptable for men and the ladies always seem to have some amazing "blingy" tops / outfits.

 

Remember, enjoy your cruise down under and be aware that many Aussies will "pull your leg" occasionally. It's the Aussie larrikin nature.

All part of life's experiences.

 

Have a great trip.

 

 

G'day Mark

 

You must lve n the big smoke if you got that new fangled lectricity stuff. Amd I never wear jeans, she gets really upset.

[GUT2407]

Well thank you and thanks to all the others who have responded to my original inquiry. Looks like I'll have to at least bring along a jacket, even with the lousy 70 lb. luggage weight limit.

 

We certainly don't want to look like bogans, but maybe I'll pick up a pair of Stubbies anyway before we sail (wow I'm learning all these new Austrailian terms already!) :)

 

 

Struth mate ya gotta have a pair of stubbies or you'll stand out like a sore thumb, but don't get all mixed up between the one's you wear and the one's ya drink outa.

Edited August 3, 2014 by GUT2407

[woodyren]

GUT2407. CC username of the year.

 

Is that you in the video I posted?

[GUT2407]

Nope he's to skinny to be me.,

 

But as we are talking dinner you should have posted this one:

 

[jan-n-john]

70 lb. weight limit? It's only 50 lbs on most airlines unless, of course, you are flying first class, then 70 lb would be ok, and you could take 3 pieces of luggage each, with more than enough room/weight for a suit or tux. :)

 

Oops, you're right. It's worse than I thought. We did upgrade to business for part of the trip (70 lb.), but for another part we're in steerage so the free allowance is only 23kg (51lb.) Drat. Maybe that jacket isn't going to make the trip after all. I guess we'll be dining at the buffet on formal nights (well, I lied, we are in AQ so we'll just skip the MDR all together and go to Blu).

[Wine-O]

Blu is smart casual on formal nights. Enjoy the cruise -- We love Blu.

[Pushka]

Ours was 20kilo on one internal flight in Europe but the jacket was still taken.

[upwarduk]

Ours was 20kilo on one internal flight in Europe but the jacket was still taken.

 

My husband wore his jacket on the plane, but it's not a suit jacket!

We managed with 20kg on our 5 week trip down under.

Thank goodness for laundry and we were only 'Select ' then, not Elite.

Edited August 3, 2014 by upwarduk

[bonapart5]

Also an Aussie and yes we do get dressed up quite a lot of the time.

 

 

Qantas (code share American Airlines) and Virgin allow 2 pieces of checked baggage up to 23 kg each per passenger in economy class. I believe all airlines operating between the US and Australia have to do this but check with the airline or your TA. This will allow you to throw in as many ballgowns as you wish or Tuxes.

 

If you have internal flights you will need to check with your TA.

 

Have a good time!

[gek]

Contrary to some popular misconceptions, most bogans actually love dressing up, particularly if the men get to wear a sharp suit with a black shirt and brightly coloured tie. For woman anything that shows a copious amount of flesh and or leg is essential.

 

For more information I suggest you consult the excellent "Things Bogans Like" page and refer to the section on "Suiting Up":

 

http://thingsboganslike.com/2010/05/20/141-suiting-up-2/

[macntosh]

Contrary to some popular misconceptions, most bogans actually love dressing up, particularly if the men get to wear a sharp suit with a black shirt and brightly coloured tie. For woman anything that shows a copious amount of flesh and or leg is essential.

 

For more information I suggest you consult the excellent "Things Bogans Like" page and refer to the section on "Suiting Up":

 

http://thingsboganslike.com/2010/05/20/141-suiting-up-2/

 

And for the retro bogans, there is always the Safari suit...

Lightweight and wrinkle free... :) Perfect for the long haul traveller...

 

Not sure I have laughed so much in ages reading this thread.

[goodycruising]

Could I ask which cruise you're are going on? We are booked on a Solstice on 3rd Nov 2014, and it is a reunion cruise, also a Hilton owners' cruise, and I don't know what else, but the roll call is chock full of USA locations. So you might be surprised depending on the date you are going.

 

We are thinking that it will be more formal that we saw last January during Aussie school holidays on Radiance, where I kid you not, stubbies, slogan t-shirts and baseball caps (that were not taken off during the meal) were worn on many nights at a table near us. Upon enquiring here on CC I was told that it is up to the host what the dress allowed is, and just enjoy our cruise doing the standard of dress we enjoy. We do enjoy to dress up a bit, as it makes the cruise more special for us.

 

You don't need to iron shorts. Put them under the mattress and they will flatten out :D

Edited August 3, 2014 by goodycruising

[emileg]

...Can I suggest you google the word "bogan"....

Actually, I did and learned what a bogan is on Wikipedia. Thank you. I learned a new word today.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan

 

In the United States, an equivalent term might be "redneck." Used both pejoratively and in self-depreciation. Think Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian.

Edited August 3, 2014 by emileg

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

"Suit up" STOP IT!!!! :D I got tears hear!! Much too funny!