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Are these dresses too formal for Elegant Night?

gardn198

By gardn198,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Gallivanting Souls

Gallivanting Souls

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I enjoy dressing up for elegant nights as well as my DH. The only thing that I started to take into consideration is the material that the dress is made of. Not this past cruise but the one for our 25th anniversary, I brought a gown that was made of taffeta. I won't make that mistake any time soon. Even know I was able to send it to have it pressed? it still had wrinkles. I have got a bit more choosey about fabrics. Our cruise last year was over the Christmas holidays. I feel like more people dressed up than not. It was our first Carnival cruise and I was worried. To me, I could really care less if everyone else wore their jeans. DH and I like to pose for the photo ops. This is the only time that either of us willingly pose for photos. Have fun. Both of your dresses looked elegant.

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mdsgu

mdsgu

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Honestly, you would have to try hard to be underdressed.

 

Back in the early 2000s, I would pack a tux and my wife (girlfriend at the time) would pack two formal dresses -- and all the accoutrements that go along with them. We would dress to the nines on both formal nights.

 

Now, it seems such a hassle with two kids (ages 8 and 7). We still dress nicely, but nothing "formal." On our most recent cruise, the couple at the table next to use wore jean shorts, flip-flops, and t-shirts to the MDR on formal night! And they were allowed in!

 

So, take whatever formal dress you'd like, or just dress comfortably. Since there are rules about dress in the dining rooms, I would try to follow them (don't do like that couple did), but beyond that -- just enjoy your cruise!

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OntaCruiser

OntaCruiser

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Those are gorgeous and not too formal at all! I would love to pack a dress like your first one, but I would worry about the space it would take in my suitcase, as we are flying to port and I'm trying to pack light. I have some formal looking dresses that I'll be bringing, but thankfully they're lightweight and compact.

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no1racefan1

no1racefan1

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I like them both! That red dress is super flattering on you! I don't own any long gowns (yet) but I always bring my nicest dresses to wear. I love dressing up and don't have many occasions to do so at home. I have never given a thought as to whether I will be overdressed, I don't really care! I just want to feel fabulous :)

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Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

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And send your significant other over to Penney's or some such place (even Amazon) and get a tux. Or come sit at my table! We dress up for a number of reasons, and fun is one of them!!

 

 

For a decent tux, check out Men's Wearhouse. Excluding shoes, you can walk out with everything you need for about $400-$500 and it will serve you well for many many years. Trust me: a cheap tux looks like a cheap tux.

As to the women's wear, I know just enough about the contemporary fashion/cruising connection to comfortably say: you can never go wrong with a "little black (cocktail) dress." Something like Ann Taylor is the standard.

 

 

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ricew001

ricew001

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Wear what makes you happy. I always take options because sometimes I end up not being in the "mood" to wear what I thought I was going to wear. On our last cruise which was Carribean there was one night we raced back from port and I didn't feel like wearing what I'd brought for that night. There was one night we'd been at the bar too long and just getting to dinner was going to be a challenge ( HE HE HE) so my outfit was different than I expected.

I did wear a black floor length gown in August this year for formal night.

In August 2002 in Alaska I got very sea sick and getting dressed was difficult with the ship swaying so I opted for something less formal than planned.

It's your cruise! Wear what you want! Enjoy!

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sandy toes

sandy toes

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Enjoy YOUR cruise. You can be as fancy as you want , as elegant as you desire or just plain Jane. It is YOUR holiday time to enjoy. I think both dresses are wonderful. I know you will see many people dressed as you are planning to dress and others hanging out in their jeans on formal nights. There are many dining venues and you might want to splurge on one when you dress up on for the elegant evening. No matter what you decide, have fun!

 

My granddaughter (7 yr old) just said you can always play Cinderella. She loves the red dress and wants to see you on ship in it. Now, why didn't I think of that? After the cruise, post a review and a pic.

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chefchick

chefchick

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As the others have said...you do you! “We” have so few opportunities to dress up as a society anymore, I use cruises as an excuse to break out my gowns, BECAUSE I enjoy doing so. I have no problem with people dressing up or down (it’s their vacation) but I think we have all seen the infamous “chain mail dress”....please, don’t be that girl

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gardn198

gardn198

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Enjoy YOUR cruise. You can be as fancy as you want , as elegant as you desire or just plain Jane. It is YOUR holiday time to enjoy. I think both dresses are wonderful. I know you will see many people dressed as you are planning to dress and others hanging out in their jeans on formal nights. There are many dining venues and you might want to splurge on one when you dress up on for the elegant evening. No matter what you decide, have fun!

 

My granddaughter (7 yr old) just said you can always play Cinderella. She loves the red dress and wants to see you on ship in it. Now, why didn't I think of that? After the cruise, post a review and a pic.

 

Aw that is so sweet! I will post an update after our cruise on the Sunshine next month!

 

Thank you everyone else for your kind words. I'm actually going with 5 girlfriends for a bachelorette party, I don't have an SO but I *DID* meet my last boyfriend on my first Carnival cruise a few years ago, maybe with these dresses I'll have the same luck this time ;)

 

Even though we're in our late 20s now, my friends and I still feel like kids in a candy shop on the ship! It's our chance to dress up and get fancy and reminisce on times when people did dress up for dinner and stuff, we usually wear less formal cocktail dresses to dinner in the MDR regardless of formal night. But now that we're a little older I just got a tad self conscious about looking like we're going to prom or something! I will be bringing both gowns and I will update with pics after our cruise in February!

 

And yes, I do love Titanic - I usually stopped watching after the ship hit the iceberg, LOL.

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chicchic325

chicchic325

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photo.php?fbid=146281109017&set=a.489648454017.268265.581054017&type=3&theater

Apparently, I don't keep my fancy formal photos on my computer...But this is what I wore on my senior trip back in 2007. (edit- cruise critic won't let me upload the photo no matter what I do to change the size of it, but it was a profile pic on FB, so you should be able to go to the link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=146281109017&set=a.489648454017.268265.581054017&type=3&theater

 

Now, on formal nights, I am dressed to the nines. On other nights, I look like I'm going to a fancy cocktail party. I don't get to dress up in my daily life, so I do it every single night on a cruise.

 

That said- I'm usually the most dressy person on the ship, you will not totally fit in with Carnival in those dresses, you will be on the fancy end of the scale, but don't let that make you uncomfortable!

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AmBear

AmBear

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Hi guys!

 

EDIT --- HOW DO I ADD PHOTOS TO A POST WITHOUT THE **** showing up??

A few friends have told me these dresses are too formal for Cruise Elegant. I don't really have anything less formal without being too un-formal and I'd rather be overdressed than underdressed - but I also don't want to look silly! Do you think these could work for Formal Night?

 

Dress 1:

 

Dress 2:

 

Who cares what anyone else thinks, wear what you want!:D

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Flatbush Flyer

Flatbush Flyer

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Who cares what anyone else thinks, wear what you want!:D

 

 

 

Yet another reason to avoid certain cruise lines. Note that some folks base their cruise line decision in part based on the published expectations for dress and behavior (not to mention common sense and reasonable comportment).

 

 

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Havingfun2010

Havingfun2010

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Yet another reason to avoid certain cruise lines. Note that some folks base their cruise line decision in part based on the published expectations for dress and behavior (not to mention common sense and reasonable comportment).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

It's all about respect for yourself and others, which is lacking on certain ships.

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