Gala night on the Oosterdam

[hunt182644]

Just returned from twenty one days on the Oosterdam. Had a great cruise, couple of minor blips but all in all a fantastic trip. Ship seemed to be a very happy ship with smiles and greetings everywhere. Good to see it will be going into drydock soon a few things that are showing some wear but nothing to deter from the cruise. Anything that I have not mentioned you can assume we were quite happy with. Now to Gala night before our cruise I had read that a lot of men were going with the new format. I did not bring a suit this time decided to go with shirt and tie. From what I observed on Gala nights evidently quite a few men did not get the memo about a more relaxed code. Suits well outnumbered shirts and ties. Myself I believe I will continue to just pack my tie. For those traditionalists good for, you did add a touch of class to the dining room. To dress or not the most important thing cruise as often as you can for life can be entirely to short.

[sail7seas]

So happy you had a (mostly) great cruise on Oosterdam.

Thanks for sharing your comments with us particularly about gala night. I am cleaning my closets for spring and deciding whether to part with most of my cocktail/gala night sort of cruise clothes. :)

 

[RMLincoln]

Thanks for the report and so happy you enjoyed your cruise. I've thought that Oosterdam is the most elegant ship! Glad to hear she still looks good. I think she was my second HAL cruise after Maasdam and I was impressed with the difference. Just like siblings, on eis not a copy of the other.

 

For gala nights we are in-between. We would still dress a bit more formally than the minimum if possible, but our last couple of HAL cruises have been part of a major complex itinerary with touring and luggage limitations so didn't bring DH's suit, just dress shirt, tie and back cardigan (doing double duty as a warm layer when needed) - oh yes black slacks too. Not sure how it will go next time, ... no plans yet, just hoping there will be a next time :).

m--

[iflyrc5]

We were on the Oosterdam for 42 days - got off 2 weeks ago today. I also noticed that about 80% of the men were in Jacket and tie on Gala nights. I will also say that on the "casual" nights I did see a lot of blue jeans and several "T-shirts".

 

We also had a couple of Oops - lost and damaged clothes from the laundry but overall a great cruise and have 100+ days booked on DAM ships for the next year:D

[rajkr74]

Just returned from twenty one days on the Oosterdam. Had a great cruise, couple of minor blips but all in all a fantastic trip. Ship seemed to be a very happy ship with smiles and greetings everywhere. Good to see it will be going into drydock soon a few things that are showing some wear but nothing to deter from the cruise. Anything that I have not mentioned you can assume we were quite happy with. Now to Gala night before our cruise I had read that a lot of men were going with the new format. I did not bring a suit this time decided to go with shirt and tie. From what I observed on Gala nights evidently quite a few men did not get the memo about a more relaxed code. Suits well outnumbered shirts and ties. Myself I believe I will continue to just pack my tie. For those traditionalists good for, you did add a touch of class to the dining room. To dress or not the most important thing cruise as often as you can for life can be entirely to short.

 

We were on the same cruise with you. We wore the normal formal attire, with me in a suit and my wife in a formal short length dress. We saw fewer tuxes and fewer full length dress for the women than previous cruises. There were a lot more sport jackets and jackets worn without ties and those with shirt and ties only. We also saw numerous people seated that did not even meet the minimum Gala Night dress code. However that did not deter us from having very nice evenings in the MD along with a great cruise. Staff were great, friendly, and the ship was in good condition, better than I expected. Yes, there are things that need be addressed in dry dock, but nothing that deterred us from having a great cruise, it was a fun cruise.

Edited March 14, 2016 by rajkr74

[Lizzie68]

Thank you for the report. DH and I plan on dressing as per usual for gala/formal night which means that DH will be wearing a suit.

[KirkNC]

We are following this topic with interest as well. Our next cruise is a TA and for the first time in a long time I am not talking a tux. I am going with a sports coat and tie.

[nycwebdude]

Thanks all for your comments. I'm boarding Oosterdam on Monday (3/21/16) for a 13-day Passage to Rome from Ft. Lauderdale. I'm sort of on the young side but still feel like I will wear a sport coat to dinner. It's my 16th cruise but 1st on HAL and I'm looking forward to a bit more upscale feeling than RCI. I'm also expecting her to be ready for dry dock but it's nice to hear that she's not showing signs of wear that will get in the way of enjoying the cruise. Thanks again.

[kevingastreich]

So happy you had a (mostly) great cruise on Oosterdam.

Thanks for sharing your comments with us particularly about gala night. I am cleaning my closets for spring and deciding whether to part with most of my cocktail/gala night sort of cruise clothes. :)

 

 

Keep them! It does add class to the MDR.

[SLOTheta]

Suits well outnumbered shirts and ties. Myself I believe I will continue to just pack my tie. For those traditionalists good for, you did add a touch of class to the dining room. To dress or not the most important thing cruise as often as you can for life can be entirely to short.

 

 

I'm happy to hear you felt comfortable and didn't feel pressured or out of place. People should dress how they want.

 

But, I'm a little excited to hear people are still dressing up. We are going to our 1st cruise and will be attending a wedding on board. Our group is wearing tuxes and formal dress. I love dressing up, but I don't mind if others don't.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[utahtea]

We were on the same cruise with you. We wore the normal formal attire, with me in a suit and my wife in a formal short length dress. We saw fewer tuxes and fewer full length dress for the women than previous cruises. There were a lot more sport jackets and jackets worn without ties and those with shirt and ties only. We also saw numerous people seated that did not even meet the minimum Gala Night dress code. However that did not deter us from having very nice evenings in the MD along with a great cruise. Staff were great, friendly, and the ship was in good condition, better than I expected. Yes, there are things that need be addressed in dry dock, but nothing that deterred us from having a great cruise, it was a fun cruise.

 

Rick and Joyce, Thanks for the information on Gala night. I think I've talked DH into brining his suit on our upcoming cruise. Hope you're having a great time on your cruise! Can't wait to see your pictures and hear all about the cruise!

 

Utahtea

Edited March 17, 2016 by utahtea

[Pia1913]

Thanks all for your comments. I'm boarding Oosterdam on Monday (3/21/16) for a 13-day Passage to Rome from Ft. Lauderdale. I'm sort of on the young side but still feel like I will wear a sport coat to dinner. It's my 16th cruise but 1st on HAL and I'm looking forward to a bit more upscale feeling than RCI. I'm also expecting her to be ready for dry dock but it's nice to hear that she's not showing signs of wear that will get in the way of enjoying the cruise. Thanks again.

 

We're on the same cruise. Did you join the roll call? Still not too late.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191086

 

That being said, after 100+ cruises, we no longer feel the need to "dress." Casual does it for us.

 

See you aboard.

[big-time-cruiser]

Oh great, glad to hear you had a great time on Oosterdam. The gals and I will be going on Oosterdam later this year after dry dock, and we are really looking forward to it. All the best to you.:)