Not participating in cruise elegant evening

[elainmir]

We are not "dress up" people..we do our own casual thing for the dining room and have never had an issue..we do NOT show up in wife beaters, shorty shorts, skimpy suits ,etc....casual does not mean half naked.

[Towel Critter]

Who are we kidding here? I wore basketball shorts and a t-shirt one night. I'm on vacation and I'll dress how I feel is appropriate.

 

I'm sorry, but your statement reeks of entitlement and immaturity. Yes, you are on a vacation - that you paid for (I assume... at least someone did), but you are on a ship not owned by you. This ship has rules. Whether or not they choose to enforce them is another matter, but the fact is, if they tell you you cannot enter the MDR dressed like a teenager on a skateboard, you will not enter it. So no, you won't dress "how you feel is appropriate" unless the maître d' is feeling lenient and allows you to. He, or she, may allow it, but the decision is theirs and not yours.

[BallFour4]

not for elegant night you won't, enjoy the buffet

 

Ummm... Here's your cruise history, expect some things have changed a little since 2011. Not saying I agree with them, but it's been a while for you.

 

 

• Carnivale 82
  
• Carla C 84
  
• Big Red Boat 94
  
• Imagination 96
  
• Holiday 98
  
• Elation 99
  
• Victory 12/01
  
• Destiny 12/15/02
  
• Valor 12/19/04
  
• Miracle 12/31/06
  
• Victory 12/30/07
  
• NCL Star 9/10/2011
  

 

 

 

 

.

Edited November 4, 2015 by BallFour4

[cruisescrapper]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions! I really like the idea to enjoy the serenity deck while everyone is at dinner. We have always dressed up, and my husband and son have even worn a tux a few times. Looking forward to keeping more to shorts and tees this tme. Can't wait till April!

[summersigh]

For Elegant night

.....on Carnival men can do kakis and a golf shirt.

.....on Holland America most maître'ds enforce tie and/or sports coat.

 

Difference in expectations.:rolleyes:

[mousey]

Hi,

You can wear quite casual clothing for Carnival's elegant nights so you can still enjoy them and not dress up much at all.

For men all you need are long pants and a shirt,even a golf shirt is fine.

For women really any slacks or dress would be OK.

I think the only thing that is just not allowed is to wear shorts that night into the MDR.

IF you still don't want to eat in the dining room you won't be alone at the Lido or anywhere else on the ship.

There are usually plenty of people that just don't feel like sitting through a long dinner so please yourselves!

It is your vacation!!

 

I totally agree. On most ships these days you can dress casually on what are considered "dress up" nights. I've never missed going to the MDR on "formal" nights and I long ago stopped dressing "formal". It's up to you what you chose to do. The most important thing is that you enjoy yourself whatever decision you make about where you eat on your cruise.

[ajaeb]

I'm going on the Sunshine 12/27 and going casual for dinner. My best friend and I figured with 4 kids it's better to be relaxed and enjoy everything. However my question is what night do they usually do formal night? It's my 1st time on Carnival.. We've sailed 4 previous with Disney so I don't know how Carnival works.

[InspireLiberty]

I'm sorry, but your statement reeks of entitlement and immaturity. Yes, you are on a vacation - that you paid for (I assume... at least someone did), but you are on a ship not owned by you. This ship has rules. Whether or not they choose to enforce them is another matter, but the fact is, if they tell you you cannot enter the MDR dressed like a teenager on a skateboard, you will not enter it. So no, you won't dress "how you feel is appropriate" unless the maître d' is feeling lenient and allows you to. He, or she, may allow it, but the decision is theirs and not yours.

 

Oh my, this is amusing.

[cruznjan]

We always participate in elegant/formal nights. Being old school, it's a part of the cruise experience for me.

[SMSACE6]

I have always ( 9 cruises ) looked forward to and enjoyed dressing up for formal, or now elegant nights. This last cruise, just a week ago, I was prepared for it, and had brought appropriate clothing for the evening, but when that evening rolled around, I just had no appetite, was not terribly hungry, and just decided to grab a light bite at the lido. I would have pulled myself together, had I been with cruising with friends and family, but it was just an off night, and I was travelling solo, so it made the decision that much easier.

 

Lite bite at Lido, then just do whatever I had been planning for the evening, which I think just turned into an early night anyway.

 

If you are on a cruise of 7, 8 days or more, there will be more than one elegant night, so if you miss one, you can always enjoy the other one.

[misguidedangel]

I have seen a family come to elegant night dinner where the father was wearing a plain t-shirt and board shorts. Mom had capri's and a tank top. Don't let how others dress force you to skip a meal in the dining room. On one cruise the mom dressed nice and the son walked in looking like he could sub in at a NBA basketball game....

[imnance]

I haven't even seen the inside of a main dining room on our last 4 cruises. I just don't feel like fussing when I'm on vacation.

[DebJ14]

Have no fear, you will not be out of place on elegant evening on Carnival. We just got off the Freedom yesterday and I must say it was the least dressed crowd I have ever seen on any cruise. Most people were hanging out, even greeting the Captain, in shorts and tee shirts and flip flops.

 

I got really irritated however when about 30 minutes after late dinner started a couple waltzed in wearing shorts, T shirts and flip flops and were seated and served dinner. It really messed up service for their waiters and the other guests at their table.

[AmberTeka]

Has anyone had experience in not participating in cruise elegant evenings? By not participating, I mean not dressing up and going to a main dining area. We have done many cruises and always dressed up and get nice pictures done and had a fun night however we are planning an 8 day this spring and are thinking of leaving home the dress clothes and just enjoy a very casual cruise. Has anyone else done this? Did you miss it once you were there? thanks.

 

On formal night, my husband now wears black slacks, ,a nice white polo shirt with a collar and a black sweater. He has never appeared out of place. I admit it was Summer Time. For Christmas Cruise........he will take the suit.. Easier to get him to cruise now too. Now on Princess........he will take the Suit. but then he does not like to sail Princess too much either.

Edited November 9, 2015 by AmberTeka

[AmberTeka]

I'm going on the Sunshine 12/27 and going casual for dinner. My best friend and I figured with 4 kids it's better to be relaxed and enjoy everything. However my question is what night do they usually do formal night? It's my 1st time on Carnival.. We've sailed 4 previous with Disney so I don't know how Carnival works.

 

If you are doing an Eight day..........the Second day is usually the Formal Night.

[Towel Critter]

Oh my, this is amusing.

 

Great rebuttal.:rolleyes:

[pghsteelerfan]

Has anyone had experience in not participating in cruise elegant evenings? By not participating, I mean not dressing up and going to a main dining area. We have done many cruises and always dressed up and get nice pictures done and had a fun night however we are planning an 8 day this spring and are thinking of leaving home the dress clothes and just enjoy a very casual cruise. Has anyone else done this? Did you miss it once you were there? thanks.

 

We've skipped cruise elegant evenings on three of our prior cruises (Glory 2010; Valor 2013; Liberty 2014) since we didn't feel like adding the extra weight for dress clothes and shoes to the luggage. We had to consider checked bag weight restrictions (50 pounds or $100 overweight baggage fee) because we also like to bring things home from places we visit. We also prefer more casual. We didn't feel we were missing anything as we could eat at our leisure on Lido and had a lot more time in the evenings to have fun on the ship and enjoy what all there is to do. We did attend one of the cruise elegant evenings on our most recent trip, just to see if anything had changed and if we were missing anything. We really weren't but I love the Spaghetti Carbonara and that's the only time we could get it.

[CanadianDee]

On our last Carnival cruise, I didn't realize it was formal/elegant night and dressed more casually ... smart casual, I would say. I realized when my mistake when we got to the MDR, but never felt uncomfortable.

 

My husband and granddaughter dressed up, though, because they do every night while on a cruise. :-)

Edited November 9, 2015 by CanadianDee

[ch27088]

We always skip the second elegant night when we cruise. It's just not that big of deal for us. We don't mind the first night, when we dress up, get the pictures taken, etc. The second night, we just eat at the buffet or order room service, and relax.

[cruizinisthebest]

Sometimes we do it. Sometimes we don't. I always pack dressy clothes. Don't always use them. Depends on what collective mood we're in. Either way, we always shower and change for dinner. Always. Even if we dress casually and/or eat from the Lido deck. Dressing up is nice. Nothing wrong with if you so choose.