Current status of the "Formal Night"

[Bruin Steve]

I hate to start another one of those dreaded threads on the Dress Code...and hope this one doesn't turn into another war between those who love formal nights and those who hate them. Rather, this is just a question on the current status. What IS RCCL doing here?

 

The RCCL website, if you know where to search, has an old page which has been there a long time which says (edited):

 

When you're onboard, the right look will vary by venue. But here are a few types of suggested attire you'll see, grouped by item.

Casual: You're on vacation – relax! Jeans, polos, sundresses and blouses are all the right amount of laid back. Please keep swimwear to the Pool Deck. Shorts are welcomed for breakfast and lunch.

Smart Casual: Think of this as a step up from your typical dinner wear. Dress to impress with collared shirts, dresses, skirts and blouses, or pantsuits. Jackets, sports coats and blazers are snazzy and welcomed.

Formal: Make it a night out in your best black-tie look – suits and ties, tuxedos, cocktail dresses or evening gowns.

Please note that bare feet are not allowed at any time in any venue and tank tops are not permitted in the Main Dining Room or Specialty Dining venues for dinner.

Dinner attire...

Meals in the main dining room follow this schedule:

(Then there is a chart showing number of nights/number of casual/smart casual/formal)

 

They used to publish that same code and chart in the printed version of brochures in the section in the back with all of the rules and policies. But, I have a hard copy of the current printed brochure...and though all of the other policies are still there, this one is nowhere to be found.

 

Next, I went to the website FAQ section and did a search on "dress code", "formal night" and "what to pack", and get only THIS FAQ:

 

Q What is the dress code onboard all ships?

A When you’re onboard, the right look will vary by venue. But here are a few types of suggested attire you’ll see, grouped by item.

Casual: You’re on vacation – relax! Jeans, polos, sundresses and blouses are all the right amount of laid back. Please keep swimwear to the Pool Deck. Shorts are welcomed for breakfast and lunch.

Smart Casual:

Formal: Make it a night out in your best black-tie look – suits and ties, tuxedos, cocktail dresses or evening gowns.

There can be 1-3 formal nights during a sailing and is at the ship’s discretion.

 

That's right...The definition of "Smart Casual" has been deleted...it just shows up as a blank. But more disconcerting is that last line that reads: "There can be 1-3 formal nights during a sailing and is at the ship’s discretion."

 

Assuming one is planning on following the ship's dress code, it is sort of important to know exactly how much formal wear one might need to pack. I am assuming I ignore this and still pack for the number of nights they used to put on the chart. But, if you read that FAQ the way that it is written, it's anyone's guess. You could be on a 3 night cruise with 3 formal nights...and you've packed all wrong. Or, you could be on a 14 night cruise, pack for 3 formal nights and find you have only one...and have wasted your valuable luggage space packing too much formal wear.

 

Overall, it seems people are following the formal dress code far and far less anyway...and this FAQ pretty much makes the whole thing confusing enough that more people will just throw up their hands and say "Why bother?"

 

Now, RCCL is bound to amend this at some point, but, for now, it seems exceedingly vague...

[cb at sea]

Yes..it's vague. And, it means you can wear what you want...you will NOT be turned away on formal night, if you choose not to dress "formally". No worries!

[PrincessPete]

Hi, for what it is worth, we have just returned from our first Royal Caribbean cruise (on Rhapsody, great cruise, review to follow in a day or two) and the two formal nights were largely ignored by everyone. A tiny number of men wore dinner jacket, a small number a suit, the rest were as scruffy as every other night. I make no comment - I am merely relating the facts. Kind regards Peter

[Fitzget]

Here's a short video that Royal Caribbean has on their website, that explains dress codes. According to this, shorts are allowed in the main dining room, or any casual restaurant, even at dinner time (except for Formal night, of course) I think formal nights are still alive and well, for anyone who wants to participate.

 

[BillOh]

Yes..it's vague. And, it means you can wear what you want...you will NOT be turned away on formal night, if you choose not to dress "formally". No worries!

 

 

A fairly accurate post as far as I know. The OP did quote a section where it said - When you're onboard, the right look will vary by venue

The venu part seems to be inconsistent as well from ship to ship, time to time. On a few cruises that we decided to not go to formal might, or to only go to 1 on a 7 day or longer we will chose Chops or Giovanni for that night. On most ships those restaurants were always SMART CASUAL, of course a few people will still maintain formal in there. Allure in 2013 Ken Rush said the other restaurants followed the MDR, but that was the only time I heard it. (We weren't thrown out of Chops in smart casual that night)

[Retired LEO]

Shorts were allowed in Coastal Kitchen on the Oasis so I assume swim suits are allowed in the MDR. :rolleyes:

[Redrobo]

Hi, for what it is worth, we have just returned from our first Royal Caribbean cruise (on Rhapsody, great cruise, review to follow in a day or two) and the two formal nights were largely ignored by everyone. A tiny number of men wore dinner jacket, a small number a suit, the rest were as scruffy as every other night. I make no comment - I am merely relating the facts. Kind regards Peter

 

We are just off Brilliance, I would hazard a guess that over 70% dressed appropriately for the two formal nights. DJ's Kilts and national Dress suits and ties.

[swooldri]

Based on my last two RCI cruises in the last month, shorts and flip plops are now OK in the main dinning room during dinner. I even saw a bathing suit one night that a man was wearing. WTH RCI? :(

[Sammierose464]

I'm glad to hear that it's not super formal actually. With a husband who's in manufacturing, and me working with a casual dress code - we don't own much in terms of "formal". A dress or two will be packed for me, and a nice button down and khakis for him. Maybe a tie.

[pandvsmith]

On our TA cruise last April, there was a woman in approximately her late 70's that wore what I would describe in length as "Daisy Duke" shorts, a jacket and dressy sandals every night to the MDR.

[katiel53]

On Allure in July, we had a 5 night package with the specialty restaurants. I was very surprised to see a group of 10 or so in Giovanni's with shorts and tee shirts, along with ball caps in Giovanni's. The group had a couple of very young children who were dressed far nicer than the parents. The group was also very loud and made it hard for those of us near them to have a normal conversation,

 

We did have dinner in Chops three nights and passengers were nicely dressed with some men wearing suits or sports coats while others wore dress shirts, dress pants and ties. The woman looked beautiful and looked as though they took some time to look great.

 

We had dinner in the MDR two nights, one of which was formal. It was a total mixed bag of clothing on the formal night, Everything from men in khakis with golf shirts and sneakers (one was a relative of someone in our group) and dress pants, dress shirts, ties, suits and sports jackets.

 

The last night we also had dinner in the MDR and there were a lot of people in shorts etc. I can more readily understand the dress that night as we were debarking the next morning and I think many had on what they planned to wear home.

 

The reason I noticed the dress in the MDR both nights is because even though we had reservations with MTD, we had to go into the waiting area for about 20 minutes before we were seated, so there isn't much to do there except look around at the others in there,

 

I think people are getting more casual in their dress on cruises of today as compared to even a few years ago. I don't know if it's just the times or if it's because some have outgrown another line and bring their sense of style or lack thereof to Royal Caribbean. I am inclined to think it's a combo of both.

[CTCruiser76]

Wow - in the attached video - she comes right out and says that "shorts" are ok for the MDR on casual nights - that is a big change. On our last cruise - I did not see anyone with shorts on, but I am sure I am going to see it now. If my husband sees this, he is going to want to wear shorts........:rolleyes:

[Jasukkie]

We just did what we consider to be "dinner presentable" every night. I wore a dress and low heels, my husband wore a jacket with an open neck shirt and dress pants each night. It was a short cruise with one formal night and no one seemed to take issue with anyone's dress anyway. There was definitely a range on formal night, great people watching. Honestly, some people looked great and they caught my eye a lot more than people who opted out. So if you are feeling it, dress up and have fun with it. You won't be alone. We didn't go as formal as we did on our past cruises back in the early 2000s but felt appropriate enough.