Am I the only one who misses formal ?

[cookingchick]

I hope formal nights don't disappear. We don't cruise to dress up, nor do we care what others choose to do on formal nights but my husband and I love to dress up for ourselves and each other and having the opportunity to do so when we're relaxing on a cruise is perfect. We attend Mardi Gras balls every year...which are much more formal than what you see on a cruise ship...so a regular tux and slinky evening gown are not over the top to us. But I will say that, depending on the itinerary, I would opt to leave the formalwear at home. For instance, we're planning an Alaskan cruise for next summer and I don't think we'll be packing the tux or long dresses for that one. I'd rather see people having a good time no matter how they're dressed than to feel miserable because they were forced to wear something they didn't want to wear!

[roysue]

We had MTD and the night before formal night, our waiter asked if we would be coming for formal night. We told him "no", we had not brought appropriate clothes. He told us that what we were wearing would be "fine". Our clothing could best be described as snappy casual - men in collared polo shirts and dress pants, girls in dress pants and a nice top. We had no jackets, no lace or sparkly tops. We came the next night to formal night as he advised. I actually saw a man in the dining room wearing shorts and a t shirt! I looked around the room and here is my unscientific survey:

Men - 5% in Tux

15% in suits

75% in shirt and slacks, a few with sport coats

5% in shorts, jeans, tennis shoes and other very casual clothes.

 

Ladies - very few formals

a few cocktail dresses, dresses you might wear to a nice wedding

a few "office wear" dresses

a lot of dress pants and a top

I don't really know what is even happening to formal night. I'm not sure what "formal night" even means on a cruise.

 

No flames please - just my observation.

[calliopecruiser]

I don't really know what is even happening to formal night. I'm not sure what "formal night" even means on a cruise.

 

No flames please - just my observation.

 

The cruise line makes a big difference - formal night on RCI will be different than on Cunard, or Crystal (probably the 2 most formal "formal nights").

[Repsol Rod]

I'm one who loves to see and be seen - and formal night is a great opportunity to take advantage. Even if the evening goes away, I don't need someone to extend an invitation for me to don a coat and tie.....I'll just take it upon myself.:D

 

Rep

[Queen of Oakville]

Formal nights are alive and well on Celebrity! I love to see my dh in his tux or dinner jacket, for a longer cruise we go "old school" and there is the tux, dinner jacket, dark suit and navy blazer.

 

Our cruise to Alaska - I think I will leave the tux home and just go with the dark suit and I'll stick to blingy cocktail dresses. That is my going "more casual" for us. :D

 

 

HA HA ... how quickly your response became dated!!!

 

The celebrity board is alive with the buzz of "evening chic" which includes designer jeans.:eek:

 

I think the whole thing is ridiculous.

 

When they should have been tightening down and enforcing/preserving the dress code; they have let open the flood gates.

 

 

I can honestly say that I have not dressed "formal" but I am among the best dressed in the dining room. I guess I follow Celebrity's version of "evening chic" on smart casual nights, and go for glitz and glamour on formal nights.

 

Nothing will change on my part. But I hope this is not the transition to smart casual every night.

 

My DH wears a dark suit on formal night. My 8 year old wears a tux one formal night and a dark suit the other. He wears a short-sleeve collared shirt the first night and usually shirt and tie for all other nights. My daughter treats most nights as formal nights.

 

We sail in a week, and hopefully we don't experience the last of the formal nights. I know they will be "officially" gone from celebrity, but time will tell how much leeway this grants to those that don't want to dress up.

[JanineM]

We sail Celebrity frequently but now eat in Blu where most people don't wear gowns or tuxes for formal night. If I feel like taking a gown and throwing DH's tux in the bag, I do, and maybe we're dressed better than some, maybe we're not. It's always nice to have something great to wear in case you get invited to the Captain's Table! :p

 

Since Celebrity is on the hot seat right now, it's been my observation that those who sail on that line know that they can dress up if they want to ... no one is holding anyone's hand to the flame and telling them they must wear 'designer jeans' on formal night.

 

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my personality, but if I want to dress up I do. What others wear doesn't make or ruin my cruise/formal evening :)

 

I expect flames and sheer nastiness from dress code devotees ... but the times they are a changing'! (Dang, now I sound like my niece, the hippy ;) )

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We have sailed Celebrity exclusively up to this time and will probably continue to do so. My DH still wants to take his tux on our 2 week March cruise to the Caribbean. Just to be on the safe side, I bought my version of an "Evening Chic" top today. Now the problem becomes finding a skirt to wear with it. Jeans are too hot in the Caribbean and I can never find pants that I like or that fit right, I don't own one pair of slacks. Maybe I'll stick with my gowns.

[Porthopper101]

I expect flames and sheer nastiness from dress code devotees ... but the times they are a changing'! (Dang, now I sound like my niece, the hippy ;) )

 

 

Nope! No bitchy or nastiness from me, a matter of fact I really don't care what you or other people wear. For me it's all about the company's guideline; dress code has a meaning.

 

We have been on four world cruises with CUNARD, we dressed accordingly to CUNARD's guideline.

 

Next year we will be on Insignia's Oceania for six months, there is no formal and that's fine with us. In my mind, dresses code does not make a difference.

 

Have a nice evening

 

M

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

...

Edited November 17, 2015 by cruisinwithmaandpa

[Queen of Oakville]

We have sailed Celebrity exclusively up to this time and will probably continue to do so. My DH still wants to take his tux on our 2 week March cruise to the Caribbean. Just to be on the safe side, I bought my version of an "Evening Chic" top today. Now the problem becomes finding a skirt to wear with it. Jeans are too hot in the Caribbean and I can never find pants that I like or that fit right, I don't own one pair of slacks. Maybe I'll stick with my gowns.

 

Why not look for a light pair of palazzo pants ... I have a pair like this that I bought at dress barn ... they would go with any evening chic top. They are light weight and take no room at all in a suit case!

 

http://www.dressbarn.com/pants/palazzo--soft-pants

 

Sorry the pic is so large, I don't know how to resize!

 

[islandgirlejfan]

Why not look for a light pair of palazzo pants ... I have a pair like this that I bought at dress barn ... they would go with any evening chic top. They are light weight and take no room at all in a suit case!

 

http://www.dressbarn.com/pants/palazzo--soft-pants

 

Sorry the pic is so large, I don't know how to resize!

 

 

I have these from Dress Barn. They have them on their racks in regular and plus size most of the year. They are wonderful and work well for formal night. I pair them with a glittery, sparkly or embellished top with a pair of nice black sandals. They pack wonderfully as well. We normally sail Celebrity these days and the dress code is a hot button....for me, it's all about ease. These work very well for me and I can still pack light. I've never been much with what other people are doing....I gotta admit, I don't get to see my cruise bestie that often and we are pretty self involved having fun with our husbands to pay attention to what everyone has on....having said that, we do try to play by the rules which is why these work so well! :D

[geocruiser]

Why not look for a light pair of palazzo pants ... I have a pair like this that I bought at dress barn ... they would go with any evening chic top. They are light weight and take no room at all in a suit case!

 

http://www.dressbarn.com/pants/palazzo--soft-pants

 

Sorry the pic is so large, I don't know how to resize!

 

 

I also have a pair of them too. I wear them with fancy tops that I make. They do pack great.

[jerrymanos]

Lady Kathryn and I just found some great deals on Cunard on back-to-back trans-Atlantics aboard the Queen Mary 2. We will have at least 5 formal nights and that will be great for us. 17 straight nights of great dancing, with elegantly dressed passengers and for some of us, real formal wear that is comfortable, too. We love the formality of Cunard and the ride of the QM 2 in the north Atlantic.

 

We used to enjoy Celebrity a lot, but we now prefer Cunard and Crystal. With the new dress code on Celebrity and their style of music, things are not what I was used to. They obviously are targeting a younger demographic than myself. I used to think that they were just trying to attract additional younger clients, but I now think that they are trying to disinvite older clients that have previously been their mainstay. If they can chase people in my age group off, then it will be easier to market to younger cruisers by being known as a cruise line with a younger average age.

Looking forward to dressing up for a couple of weeks, Jerry of Jerry and Lady Kathryn

[CannyCruiser]

Personally, I like a more formal dress code, as I enjoy dressing up for special dinners, etc., I purchase reasonable evening jewelry from a little vintage shop on Etsy.

[CannyCruiser]

Love those palazzo pants. Very chic.

[crystalspin]

I do not miss formal. But it's not (wasn't) the only time I get to do it; 4-5 times a year is enough. Everyone should be free to dress up, and I am happy to observe a smart-casual standard in MDR and specialty, every night.

 

We pack carry-on only for land or sea trips. With the Gala-or-not option, I can bring a reversible polyester slip-dress and he can wear a sportscoat on the plane. Or not, depending on what weather extremes may be forecast. Even two pounds is two pounds, which could be 10% of carry-on allowance, depending on airline limit.

[ladytaekwondo]

I love formal nights and my DH puts up with wearing a tux just for me--its the only time I ever get to wear a ball gown and I feel like a princess....!

[Drew's Wife]

We dress formal every night. It's just so much fun and part of the excitement of cruising for us. I have to say that I love walking around with "MY arm candy" Mr Drew! He always looks so handsome.;)

[cruiseonthebrain]

We always get dressed up- regardless of what our cruise-mates are doing. Because we like to.

[frangran]

Last Christmas, which was also Elegant Night, my DD & I wore beautiful long gowns. The people at the table next to us wore shorts & faded tee shirts. No doubt they have freedom of expression & all, but I think it's sad that they didn't even try to make their evening special.

[calliopecruiser]

Last Christmas, which was also Elegant Night, my DD & I wore beautiful long gowns. The people at the table next to us wore shorts & faded tee shirts. No doubt they have freedom of expression & all, but I think it's sad that they didn't even try to make their evening special.

 

Well, that's a pretty limited view, assuming that their clothing choice meant that their evening wasn't special to them. It's not about "freedom of expression", it's really just about "freedom not to live up to other people's expectations".

[frangran]

...

Edited December 16, 2015 by frangran

[frangran]

...

[SuperdudeAbides]

We did it up for both formals, the rest of the time I was wearing khakis and a nice shirt. We enjoyed it a great deal, we dont have "LOTS" of chances to dress to the nines.

 

:D

 

First New Year's party

 

And second the first formal.

[florence11]

I love the formal nights but we live in the UK so when we do a fly cruise it can be difficult with the weight allowance. I think it would be nice to keep at least 1 formal night as it does make you feel abit more special when you are dressed up.