Clothes for the Evening on Eclipse in March

[Canugess]

So, having read on here about the whole 'Evening chic' debate. We have a cruise in a few weeks time and I have started to think about packing.

 

I cannot find any information on the Celebrity site regarding dress codes. None. So, do I assume this was just a passing thing and I do not have to worry about what we wear in the evenings? We did a short P&O cruise last year after which my hubby went out an bought a tux as he felt under dressed in his grey suit. Do I pack it?

 

Will my evening dancing attire be suitable. I tend to wear Jeggings and a long sparkly top. (We are rather hoping to be able to dance in the evenings, and this is something that is none to comfortable in a posh tight frock) or I could bring a couple of posh tight dresses and then just get changed. #packingdilemmas

 

Confused from Chatham

[cruisestitch]

Im surprised you can find the dress code on the Celebrity site, but perhaps that's just a temporary glitch. On Eclipse now, and on the "chic" nights there were a smattering of tuxedos and dark business suits, some more casual blazers and jackets, and some men in king-sleeved shirts. Women tended to be dressed in cocktail dresses, rather sparkly for the most part, I didn't see traditional evening gowns, but lots of silky and lacy tops, and striking jewelry.

 

A suit and a tux take up essentially the same space in a suitcase, so it's his choice which he would rather wear.

[dkjretired]

So, having read on here about the whole 'Evening chic' debate. We have a cruise in a few weeks time and I have started to think about packing.

 

I cannot find any information on the Celebrity site regarding dress codes. None. So, do I assume this was just a passing thing and I do not have to worry about what we wear in the evenings? We did a short P&O cruise last year after which my hubby went out an bought a tux as he felt under dressed in his grey suit. Do I pack it?

 

Will my evening dancing attire be suitable. I tend to wear Jeggings and a long sparkly top. (We are rather hoping to be able to dance in the evenings, and this is something that is none to comfortable in a posh tight frock) or I could bring a couple of posh tight dresses and then just get changed. #packingdilemmas

 

Confused from Chatham

 

 

First, the dress code applies to the restaurants only, nowhere else on the ship except possibly the theater but that is generally not enforced.

 

Here is the dress code.

 

What is the onboard dress code?

Formal Night gets a modern luxury reboot. Say goodbye to Formal Night, and hello to Evening Chic. It’s your time to shine—your way. Get glamorous. Get chic. Be sophisticated. Now, on up to two nights on every cruise, Evening Chic activities have been introduced, and Evening Chic attire has replaced Formal attire. While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

 

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

 

• A cocktail dress

• Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

• Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater

• Optional sport coat or blazer

Evening Chic means that you can get glamorous and be sophisticated in your own way. If you would like to still wear a tuxedo or formal gown on Evening Chic nights, you absolutely should.

 

All cruises that are 7 nights or longer will feature two Evening Chic nights. Any cruise 6-nights or shorter will feature one Evening Chic night. All other nights of the cruise will feature Smart Casual attire. Celebrity Xpedition will continue to feature casual attire for the entire cruise.

 

Smart Casual attire can be enjoyed every other night of your cruise.

 

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

• Skirt, pants or jeans with a casual top

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

 

• Pants or jeans with a sport shirt that has sleeves

Note: T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurant at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. The dress code will be enforced at all restaurants. And guests are asked to follow the Smart Casual or Evening Chic dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances. The daily program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will be your guide to the correct

Edited February 5, 2017 by dkjretired

[thon]

You can find their dress code spelled out under "FAQs" at the bottom of their opening page on their website.

[Canugess]

Thank you, I've found it now in the section 'what should I pack' I think the uk site may be different to the US site.

 

So it looks like I'll need to go shopping. 3 new dresses!

[Tyrosine]

Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. You'll find will dress up as much as they individually want to.

Also, if you decide dressing up isn't for you that evening you can enjoy your evening in one of the more casual areas too, such as cafe al bacio. People understand and are accepting of your choices.

 

Enjoy your cruise and take lots of pictures!

[Cruizen Susan]

There is so much written on this topic, but I do love the topic and like to help out.

 

Someone above posted the "official" dress "suggestions." And for the most part, except for shorts in the dining room, almost anything goes. That being said, the majority of men dress in either a jacket and tie, or no tie, or no jacket, just a collared sport shirt or long-sleeved dress shirt and khaki pants or dress pants. There are still a small percentage of tuxes, perhaps 10% or less, and I am always happy to see them. Love a man in a tux!! (and kilts!) :) Most women rarely wear a formal evening gown.

 

Personally, My DH now wears a jacket and tie on Evening Chic night, and a nice shirt and pants on the other evenings. I wear maxi-dresses or fancy tops and pants every night. Lots of bling accessories/jewelry. None of which is necessary, but I love it, my husband loves it, and I am in good company with many other women who dress similarly.

 

My clothing are easy care, non-wrinkle and easy to pack.

 

While we don't care at all what anyone wears, we do enjoy elegance and enjoy that many others on Celebrity enjoy it too.

 

Enjoy your cruise, no matter what you pack!! :)

Edited February 5, 2017 by Cruisen'Susan

[macaroni]

I wore capris every night and never felt underdressed...my husband never wore a jacket....no need to go shopping unless you just want to...

[Lisah101]

Please remember when reading all the advise that I've found the dress to be very different depending on the cruise. Evening Chic dress on a Caribbean cruise is more more laid back than the transatlantic or European cruises. I think all the advise is good but again, I've found the dress to be very different depending on the itinerary. I love the European and transatlantic as I thought there were more dressed up. Doesn't mean you have to but it was nice to see and experience something that fun. I also love seeing the men in kilts now and then on the European cruises!!

[Fish Lover]

There is so much written on this topic' date=' but I do love the topic and like to help out.

 

Someone above posted the "official" dress "suggestions." And for the most part, except for shorts in the dining room, almost anything goes. That being said, the majority of men dress in either a jacket and tie, or no tie, or no jacket, just a collared sport shirt or long-sleeved dress shirt and khaki pants or dress pants. There are still a small percentage of tuxes, perhaps 10% or less, and I am always happy to see them. Love a man in a tux!! (and kilts!) :) Most women rarely wear a formal evening gown.

 

Personally, My DH now wears a jacket and tie on Evening Chic night, and a nice shirt and pants on the other evenings. I wear maxi-dresses or fancy tops and pants every night. Lots of bling accessories/jewelry. None of which is necessary, but I love it, my husband loves it, and I am in good company with many other women who dress similarly.

 

My clothing are easy care, non-wrinkle and easy to pack.

 

While we don't care at all what anyone wears, we do enjoy elegance and enjoy that many others on Celebrity enjoy it too.

 

Enjoy your cruise, no matter what you pack!! :)[/quote']

 

I just want to mention that my mother and I travel Aqua, so we eat in Blu. The past two years, on evening chic nights, we see about 10-20% of men wearing tuxes and nearly all the other men in suits. Women wearing sparkly tops with nice slacks or maxi dresses. It's nice.

[X-elite]

Matching sweatsuits would be a chic choice for dancing! Enjoy your cruise! :rolleyes:

[Cruizen Susan]

I just want to mention that my mother and I travel Aqua, so we eat in Blu. The past two years, on evening chic nights, we see about 10-20% of men wearing tuxes and nearly all the other men in suits. Women wearing sparkly tops with nice slacks or maxi dresses. It's nice.

 

I'm sooo happy to hear that, Fish Lover!! Thank you for sharing that info! Until DH retires and can take more time off, we mainly sail on 10-night Caribbean cruises and even the Caribbean sailings seem to maintain an atmosphere of elegance!

 

You are right, "it's nice!"

[dkjretired]

I'm sooo happy to hear that' date=' Fish Lover!! Thank you for sharing that info! Until DH retires and can take more time off, we mainly sail on 10-night Caribbean cruises and even the Caribbean sailings seem to maintain an atmosphere of elegance!

 

You are right, "it's nice!"[/quote']

 

I disagree with Fish Lover and agree with the previous poster that the dress code is very much itinerary driven. We did Alaska and hardly anyone dressed up, suits and sport jackets but most smart casual. You could count on both hands how many tuxes were on that cruise and this when Celebrity stilll had formal nights. The Caribbean and Bermuda cruises we have recently been on had many men in suits and sport jackets, more tuxes than Alaska but more people in smart casual than anything else. Also, since the OPs question was about evening dress there were loads of people in shorts throughout the ship. Longer cruises, transatlantic and Europeans cruises seem to be a bit more formal but don't expect that in the Caribbean and Alaska. With all that being said , the beauty of the dress code is that you can decide what you want to wear within certain limitations.

[Fish Lover]

I disagree with Fish Lover and agree with the previous poster that the dress code is very much itinerary driven. We did Alaska and hardly anyone dressed up, suits and sport jackets but most smart casual. You could count on both hands how many tuxes were on that cruise and this when Celebrity stilll had formal nights. The Caribbean and Bermuda cruises we have recently been on had many men in suits and sport jackets, more tuxes than Alaska but more people in smart casual than anything else. Also, since the OPs question was about evening dress there were loads of people in shorts throughout the ship. Longer cruises, transatlantic and Europeans cruises seem to be a bit more formal but don't expect that in the Caribbean and Alaska. With all that being said , the beauty of the dress code is that you can decide what you want to wear within certain limitations.

 

My post has nothing to agree or disagree with. It is my experience. You may be correct in that the itinerary or length of cruise has an impact. My last three years have been on 7 day cruises. Yes, one may do as they please. That is abundantly clear. Both the Celebrity policy and goodness knows posters here make it very clear.

 

Therefore, my contribution to the discussion is to relate my actual experience on the matter. Roughly 10-20% of passengers dining in Blu wear tuxes or dinner jackets on "chic" nights. Nearly all of the remaining men wear suits. Just one or two wear shirtsleeves. That is my experience. I have also found that folks who dine in Blu have a tendency to want to dress up on "chic" nights.That is anecdotal and from conversations, although my experience would coincide with that.

[dkjretired]

My post has nothing to agree or disagree with. It is my experience. You may be correct in that the itinerary or length of cruise has an impact. My last three years have been on 7 day cruises. Yes, one may do as they please. That is abundantly clear. Both the Celebrity policy and goodness knows posters here make it very clear.

 

Therefore, my contribution to the discussion is to relate my actual experience on the matter. Roughly 10-20% of passengers dining in Blu wear tuxes or dinner jackets on "chic" nights. Nearly all of the remaining men wear suits. Just one or two wear shirtsleeves. That is my experience. I have also found that folks who dine in Blu have a tendency to want to dress up on "chic" nights.That is anecdotal and from conversations, although my experience would coincide with that.

 

Appreciate your opinion and mine is not what you have seen. I also disagree about people in Blu having a tendency to want to dress up. There have been literally 100s of posta on this board over the past few years where people expressed their happiness that Blu was smart casual. When the formal dress code was in effect people came on this board and stated they booked Aqua because of the smart casual dress code. Yours may be anecdotal but mine is based on my experience and the wishes of hundreds of people going back many years.

[bigbenboys]

Appreciate your opinion and mine is not what you have seen. I also disagree about people in Blu having a tendency to want to dress up. There have been literally 100s of posta on this board over the past few years where people expressed their happiness that Blu was smart casual. When the formal dress code was in effect people came on this board and stated they booked Aqua because of the smart casual dress code. Yours may be anecdotal but mine is based on my experience and the wishes of hundreds of people going back many years.

 

I'm so happy with Evening Chic. Not that Aqua or suites had to dress formal. I dont have to pack a suit anymore. That being said. We have cruised 3 times now in suites. I'm fine with my Polo Jeans and Polo's every night. Our last cruise Hong Kong to Shanghai. The people in suites dressed up more. Did I feel out of place no, but I might start bring a black suit again. With Delta and British Airways we get 2 or 3 bags at 70 lbs or 31 kgs each. I only want to bring 1 suitcase and 1 carry on per person. Our next cruise is Hawaii to Vancouver.

[sollyman]

Thanks Swigsgo for confirming Aqua class restaurant has always been casual.

[Fish Lover]

Appreciate your opinion and mine is not what you have seen. I also disagree about people in Blu having a tendency to want to dress up. There have been literally 100s of posta on this board over the past few years where people expressed their happiness that Blu was smart casual. When the formal dress code was in effect people came on this board and stated they booked Aqua because of the smart casual dress code. Yours may be anecdotal but mine is based on my experience and the wishes of hundreds of people going back many years.

 

I don't dispute your experience. However, as far as the posters here...not so much. The posters here are but a tiny drop in the bucket of the total cruisers on Celebrity. By no stretch of the imagination would they be considered a cross-section of the general passenger demographic and therefore you can not take posters opinions, even in the aggregate, as being representative of all celebrity cruisers. Not only that, but there are plenty of cruisers on this board that are in support of dressing up occasionally. They just aren't as prolific and insistent as those that are not. My experience is indisputable. My itinerary of choice and length of cruise is changing this coming year. We are going for 14 days and traveling north, so it will be interesting to see if the experience is different.

[varoo]

.........., wear whatever you feel comfortable in and enjoy your cruise.

We always do

Exactly!. That was the intent of the change in the dress code over a year ago, for passengers to be free to express their individuality and wear what they enjoy wearing,

not to force everyone to dress alike.

 

It seemed like that would have made everyone happy and ended all the dress code arguments.

 

But no, some are still not satisfied, so amazingly the same old arguments continue, even though there is nothing left to argue about. :D

 

[eandj]

What we saw just 2 weeks ago on the Eclipse in the Caribbean, was a variety. But everyone looked like they put effort into looking nice. Very few tuxes, no long gowns from what I saw. Many men in suits or sport coats with or without ties . Many ladies in pretty short dresses. But along with that, some with nice but not very dressy outfits. No one seemed bothered by what others wore. "Chic" doesn't dictate any particular dress code. It's subjective and each persons choice.;)

[varoo]

....Will my evening dancing attire be suitable. I tend to wear Jeggings and a long sparkly top. (We are rather hoping to be able to dance in the evenings, and this is something that is none to comfortable in a posh tight frock) or I could bring a couple of posh tight dresses and then just get changed. #packingdilemmas

 

Confused from Chatham

 

The outfit you describe will be just fine.

Some on the dance floor dress up formally, some dress very casually, and others wear just about anything and everything in between.

 

Thank you, I've found it now in the section 'what should I pack' I think the uk site may be different to the US site.

 

So it looks like I'll need to go shopping. 3 new dresses!

 

If you want to use this cruise as an excuse to buy 3 new dresses, by all means do so.

 

But do you really need to buy 3 new dresses (or even 1 new dress) for the cruise? Not at all.

You probably are aware that even Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, repeats the same outfits.

 

 

Wishing you a wonderful cruise, whatever you choose to wear.

Nobody else besides the 2 of you will care what you wear, so wear whatever makes you happy.

 

 

[dkjretired]

I don't dispute your experience. However, as far as the posters here...not so much. The posters here are but a tiny drop in the bucket of the total cruisers on Celebrity. By no stretch of the imagination would they be considered a cross-section of the general passenger demographic and therefore you can not take posters opinions, even in the aggregate, as being representative of all celebrity cruisers. Not only that, but there are plenty of cruisers on this board that are in support of dressing up occasionally. They just aren't as prolific and insistent as those that are not. My experience is indisputable. My itinerary of choice and length of cruise is changing this coming year. We are going for 14 days and traveling north, so it will be interesting to see if the experience is different.

 

Never said the comments were representative of all Celebrity cruisers but it is the only sample we have. When hundreds of people express the wish to dress casual in Blu and the Specialty restaurants, you can't ignore that. This long before you joined this board and pretty much since Solstice came out in 2008. I have never seen anyone say they want to book Blu because they can dress up, it makes no sense but many have said they book AQ so they don't have to dress up. Your experience may be indisputable to you but not to many others. I think people see what they want to see.

 

I have said many times that I don't care how people dress, my family has followed the dress code for 25 years and will continue to do so.

 

Oh, by the way, the people who do not like the dress code because they want to dress formal have been just as loud and vociferous on this board ever since dress codes were changed several years ago from 3 to 2.

[Lastdance]

Actually, dressing in Luminae is across the board and Blu is pretty much the same. i have been in both several times on different cruises, but all in Europe. This will be my first TA and I may dress up just a little more on Modern Chic nights, but that will be my decision...I am not one to really care much about what others think, although I still care about how I look and behave. No pretense for me! I am on vacation and not in a competition. It is more about how you present yourself and not just what you are wearing...IMHO!

[keithm]

So, having read on here about the whole 'Evening chic' debate. We have a cruise in a few weeks time and I have started to think about packing.

 

I cannot find any information on the Celebrity site regarding dress codes. None. So, do I assume this was just a passing thing and I do not have to worry about what we wear in the evenings? We did a short P&O cruise last year after which my hubby went out an bought a tux as he felt under dressed in his grey suit. Do I pack it?

 

Will my evening dancing attire be suitable. I tend to wear Jeggings and a long sparkly top. (We are rather hoping to be able to dance in the evenings, and this is something that is none to comfortable in a posh tight frock) or I could bring a couple of posh tight dresses and then just get changed. #packingdilemmas

 

Confused from Chatham

Sounds fine. A lot of women were real "sparkly" on Chic night these past 2 weeks(the Eclipse)Gents can wear everything from a tux to sport coat with or without tie. The slob who wore a tux T shirt(who, I hope reads this)was soundly laughed at when he left the elevator.(Eclipse)Really, guy? That was the best you could do? The third Chic night seemed to have the best dressed overall. We wore sport coats & ties & looked fine.

[dkjretired]

Sounds fine. A lot of women were real "sparkly" on Chic night these past 2 weeks(the Eclipse)Gents can wear everything from a tux to sport coat with or without tie. The slob who wore a tux T shirt(who, I hope reads this)was soundly laughed at when he left the elevator.(Eclipse)Really, guy? That was the best you could do? The third Chic night seemed to have the best dressed overall. We wore sport coats & ties & looked fine.

 

I laugh when I'm reminded of those t shirts. We did an NCL cruise a few years ago and all the waiters in the restaurants were wearing them, that was their uniform. Food wasn't much better