Dress code for dinner and afterwards

[jbailey]

Travel-to-Go, if you do not want to (or can't) wear heels and nylons with formal wear, try silky pants with sparkly tops and very dressy low-heeled sandals. I have a pair of gold and silver sandals with only a slight heel that I can wear under formal pantsuits and look perfectly elegant.

 

A black silky skirt and black silky pants with a variety of sheer or sparkly tops are very flexible and comfortable as well.

[Wendell]

My wife and I will be touring Europe from April 12th-May 17th, then making our first transatlantic crossing on QM2, eastbound from Southampton, departing on May 17th.

 

We are planning a 5 week "post-collegiate, backpack/eurail-pass tour of Europe." Our itinerary has us sleeping in couchettes about 1/3 of the evenings on our tour. We are travelling ala Rick Steves (we live about 30 minutes from his travel agency and take advantage of their travel library) with a single bag and a lot of Ex-Officio/REI clothing.

 

The last 24 hours of our tour, for example, will have us finishing a 3 day bicycle tour of the D-Day beaches of Normandy, catching a midnight overnight ferry across the channel from Le Havre to Portsmouth, touring the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Museums, then catching the train to Southampton in the afternoon.

 

We are in our late '30s, live in Seattle and are used to a rather informal dress code. I work as a software developer and the interview "uniform" in Seattle is a blue blazer and khaki trousers. The dress code at work is very casual and if someone arrives at work "dressed up", it is assumed that they're interviewing at another company.

 

My wardrobe leans toward the casual - I've got a blue blazer, Harris tweed jacket and no suit (haven't needed one in over a decade.) I do own a tuxedo, which sees use at the occasional black tie event. I've also got a black kilt (a Utilikilt - a Seattle company) which goes nicely with the tuxedo jacket.

 

Since we'll be "packing light" and in Europe for a month prior to our embarkation, our plan is to pack a "steamer trunk" (i.e. large suitcase) before we depart and arrange for it to be delivered to our stateroom.

 

We are sailing Britannia Grill Class, and, as I understand it, there's two casual nights, two semi-formal nights and two formal nights.

 

I think that I'm covered for the formal nights (tuxedo with trousers, tuxedo with Utilikilt.) I'm hoping that the laundry will be able to press tux/shirt, etc. - I suspect that they'll be rumpled from a month in a suitcase.

 

Will Ex-Officio trousers and a polo shirt be appropriate for dinner on the first casual night? (This is presuming that our suitcase might not arrive in time for us to dress for dinner.)

 

Will blazer and khakis (or Harris tweed jacket) with tie be appropriate for semi-formal evenings?

 

Wendell

[Spring]

I was on the Nov 1st New York to Southhmpton QM2. WE had two casual nights, One semi-formal nights and three formal nights.

[kitty9]

One of the things that disappointed us on the QM2 last January was the disregard for the dress code, even in the Queen's Grill. A number of women on formal night were wearing sweater twin sets and slacks or plain black skirts and white oxford blouses, and the men were in sports coats and not very dressy slacks. A good number of men chose not to wear ties with their jackets on informal nights and I saw quite a few in jeans on casual nights---and not just on the first night, but on all the casual nights. And the number of persons who changed into "grubbies" after dinner was amazing. Lots of jeans, shorts, t-shirts and flip flops in the casino, bars and show lounge. I guess Cunard is bowing to the ever increasing American desire for casual, and in the attempt to fill their ships, they look the other way in the clothing department.

[resistk]

Sorry but with relatively few washing machine and maybe one ironing board per floor or less how on earth would you do all that formal dressing on the QM2? Three formal nights is pushing it already. And yes I saw some down right shabby dress on the 2 crossings I did this year with no enforcement aside from being told to take my hat off at lunch which I had quite forgotten to once. I brought a tux because of all this hoo hah about the QM2 being ultra formal when a comfortable dark suit would have been just as good. Well live and learn. Oddly the most casual dressers were not Americans but the Europeans including Brits, Germans, and Dutch.

[travel-to-go]

My wife and I will be touring Europe from April 12th-May 17th, then making our first transatlantic crossing on QM2, eastbound from Southampton, departing on May 17th.

 

I think that I'm covered for the formal nights (tuxedo with trousers, tuxedo with Utilikilt.) I'm hoping that the laundry will be able to press tux/shirt, etc. - I suspect that they'll be rumpled from a month in a suitcase.

 

 

Wendell

OOh! I've always wanted to see a real Utilikilt in Action. Do guys in Washington really wear them? It's a fad I'd like to see catch on. They do look comfortable. I have nothing against dresses and skirts. Only stockings! Be sure to buy a Sporran to make your utilikilt formal! I think they have them on the web page!

(hope I spelled that right)

 

Your itinerary is quite ambitious! I'm envious. I'm old and decrepit (51). If they can wheel my stretcher up the gangplank and prop my fading body up to see the sunsets I'll be happy! <G>

 

P.S. I agree with most of you on the proper dress. One of the reasons we love Cunard is because of the class and decorum with which most guests comport themselves. Makes us feel special and like we, too, are classy, if only for a week! Then it's back to grubby work clothes for another year.

[curlyQ]

Sorry but with relatively few washing machine and maybe one ironing board per floor or less how on earth would you do all that formal dressing on the QM2? Three formal nights is pushing it already. And yes I saw some down right shabby dress on the 2 crossings I did this year with no enforcement aside from being told to take my hat off at lunch which I had quite forgotten to once. I brought a tux because of all this hoo hah about the QM2 being ultra formal when a comfortable dark suit would have been just as good. Well live and learn. Oddly the most casual dressers were not Americans but the Europeans including Brits, Germans, and Dutch.

 

Oh dear! - it sounds as though you have a chip on your shoulder

stemming from being asked to remove your 'hat' in the dining room.

If it was a baseball cap I would understand, anyway...

QM2 also have a wonderful laundry service, perhaps you should try

that next time - it's not that expensive and Cunard do a simply

fabulous job of washing, ironing, starching and folding - just fabulous

darling.

 

As regards to the Brits dressing down, I have to disagree - the

Brits love to dress up, especially on formal nights.

 

happy sails to you.

[imacruizer]

I don't think anyone has answered your question. First, your extended trip sounds wonderful. The things that you plan to wear on the ship seem very appropriate to me. I think you will be just fine with those choices. Enjoy your crossing. The QM2 is an amazing ship.

[Coolgran]

Have only sailed on QE2 but am in favour of keeping the evenings which are Formal as just that. There are enough occasions in Life (and in cruising) to be more casual but everyone I have spoken to loves the elegance of being 'dressed up' makes everyone feel special and is like having two holidays in one. Hope QM2 is following in the tradition

[carlmm]

There are enough occasions in Life (and in cruising) to be more casual but everyone I have spoken to loves the elegance of being 'dressed up' makes everyone feel special and is like having two holidays in one. Hope QM2 is following in the tradition

 

Very well said. And I like to add that elegant liners like the QE2 and QM2 deserve a certain degree of elegance every night. The QE2 didn't see me a single night without jacket and tie, an approach which was shared by the vast majority of passengers.

Already disappointed by the high number of evenings denoted as casual on my upcoming QM2 voyage, I just hope that passengers understand that this can be followed in a nice dressed up way as people did on other Cunard ships.

[tandemtourer]

carlmm wrote

Already disappointed by the high number of evenings denoted as casual on my upcoming QM2 voyage

Or you could just ignore it and dress more formally than stipulated. ;) When QM2 was first launched there was a similar discussion and the seasoned travellers who were happy with the dress code on QE2 crossings agreed to wear black tie all nights at sea. It must have had an effect because Cunard increased the number of formal nights.

 

Captaintandem and I disregard the casual night suggestion in favor of more dressy attire and we are not alone in doing so.

[cruiserking]

I'm with you guys. Casual or no casual, I much prefer to wear a jacket and tie and blend in with the elegance aboard the QM2.

 

Cruiserking

[wotec]

Re: laundry & dry cleaning service on board, I can vouch for QE2. They do a great job and at a fair price. I purposely don't dry clean or press clothes before we go. Once on board I have the laundry and dry cleaning done and everything is fresh and at a reasonable price.

[wotec]

Re: laundry & dry cleaning service on board, I can vouch for QE2. They do a great job and at a fair price. I purposely don't dry clean or press clothes before we go. Once on board I have the laundry and dry cleaning done and everything is fresh and at a reasonable price.

[kevankiki]

What do you class as a reasonable price for ironing please? I hate ironing and if it's very reasonable I might be tempted to leave mine until we board too :cool:

[Wendell]

OOh! I've always wanted to see a real Utilikilt in Action. Do guys in Washington really wear them? It's a fad I'd like to see catch on. They do look comfortable...

 

They're quite comfortable - I met a gentleman this weekend who owns 10 of them! My brother in law wore his to Thanksgiving dinner and I wore mine "out on the town" on Saturday. I did get a bit chilly Saturday evening - I stepped out on the deck and the wind was blowing in off Puget Sound - I stepped outside to a blast of cold, damp air right up my kilt - quite bracing!

 

Wendell

[travel-to-go]

Travel-to-Go, if you do not want to (or can't) wear heels and nylons with formal wear, try silky pants with sparkly tops and very dressy low-heeled sandals. I have a pair of gold and silver sandals with only a slight heel that I can wear under formal pantsuits and look perfectly elegant.

 

A black silky skirt and black silky pants with a variety of sheer or sparkly tops are very flexible and comfortable as well.

 

I am so sorry, I somehow missed this post!

I still can't get the hang of the fact that, I think, if you've been on the board at all, it seems to mark all the threads as read, whether you have gone into them or not!

at least that's what I think happens! (I'd better hurry, it's 11:30 here now!) I didn't leave work til 10 tonight. So I'll quick, look at all the threads with new posts! <G>

 

Anyway, I do try to wear nice dressy pants, but I am afraid it isn't always easy to find ones that fit and look good on me. sadly. A lot of my weight is from prednisone, and it tends to put it on disproportionately! I'm all belly! To get pants big enough for the belly, (I have no waist line I'm a big round apple!) they tend to fall down on me, and have legs that are very baggy! Not too elegeant <LOL>! I do love wearing a nice gown, even if I never look like the picture in the magazine! <G> (But then, who does!) BTW, Anyone know why plus size fashion catalogs always show their clothes on skinny girls? Is it because they won't look good on plus size women? <EG>

 

Ah, I digress. I thank you for your thoughtful suggestion. I have the most beautiful almost neon royal blue satin overshirt I have been dying to wear for years! But I have yet to find just the right pants and accessories to pair it with! It's too funny, I bring it- I try it with whatever I brought to wear it with, look in the mirror and take it back off! And last year, I got on the ship, pulled out a pair of cream dress pants, and discovered they hadn't been dry cleaned! I KNEW I had picked them up at the dry cleaners! Well, I kept unpacking and lo and behold. out came ANOTHER pair of nearly identical cream dress pants on a hanger, freshly dry-cleaned and pressed! I didn't even KNOW I had two pair of them!

 

Yep! I'm a real clothes horse!

Thanks again for the suggestion. I am trying to get my outfits chosen, at least in my head, for the Jan 3 Panama trip! (And getting quite excited and panicking tht I will forget something!)