Dress Code - Either Enforce it of Forget It

[grammymarcia]

People are WAY over exaggerating this. On elegant night, 90% of the people dress pretty darn elegant. The other 10% are closer to business casual (polo/slacks)...

 

The vibe is certainly elegant. And I thought the vibe throughout the ship even after dinner remained very elegant.

 

Carnival doesn't need to enforce/not enforce or change policy since it's a non-issue. Turning away the 10% who don't dress up is going to anger a lot more people than the 6 cruisers who complain here about a fake issue.

I'm with you, 39 cruises and I just don't see all the wife beater shirts, shorts , Beach flip flops, etc. on elegant night. There have been a few outfits I've seen, that I wouldn't wear (just because it comes in your size) but not one person has ruined any of my meals, not even the person in the bathrobe at breakfast. I wear what most people would consider flip flops all the time (the state of Florida official shoe) elegant night they are a little fancier. Never once do I remember the Maitre d' looking at my feet. Just off the 14 day Panama Canal cruise and didn't see one baseball cap being worn. Not saying there wasn't any but I was concentrating on my family and friends not what people had on. so perhaps I missed them.

[Keys2Heaven]

As someone just mentioned, it comes down to a choice.

 

You willingly choose to follow or disregard the rules/code.

You willingly choose to become upset or not by those who don't.

You willingly choose to act or not.

[BNBR]

I appreciate your response. However I think its important not to discount the experiences of others. As I said before, I’ve read too many posts & reviews along the same theme. It is difficult to put an actual percentage on the issue because Carnival hasn’t provided any empirical data. Any particular number (i.e. 10%) is simply a guess. So my husband and I need to see for ourselves in July and draw our own opinion. It’s not something that will, on its own deter, us from Carnival. But we will be disappointed.

 

The fact that Carnival doesn't see an issue should be proof enough. It's an elegant/formal atmosphere. If there is someone trying to wear shorts and a wife beater, they are definitely in the minority, and possibly not even allowed in. Sure, plenty of business casual as well but this idea that it's a total mess with people running around in shorts on formal night is ridiculous, completely ridiculous. A vast majority are dressed up and the look/feel/vibe of the dining room is formal. Which is why others are saying it shouldn't bother you if a random person isn't quite formal enough, because it's by far the exception and it's why Carnival isn't strict about such a non-issue.

[BNBR]

I'm with you, 39 cruises and I just don't see all the wife beater shirts, shorts , Beach flip flops, etc. on elegant night. There have been a few outfits I've seen, that I wouldn't wear (just because it comes in your size) but not one person has ruined any of my meals, not even the person in the bathrobe at breakfast. I wear what most people would consider flip flops all the time (the state of Florida official shoe) elegant night they are a little fancier. Never once do I remember the Maitre d' looking at my feet. Just off the 14 day Panama Canal cruise and didn't see one baseball cap being worn. Not saying there wasn't any but I was concentrating on my family and friends not what people had on. so perhaps I missed them.

 

Reading these forums, you would think half of the dining shows up in bathing suits on elegant night!

[Keys2Heaven]

The fact that Carnival doesn't see an issue should be proof enough. It's an elegant/formal atmosphere. If there is someone trying to wear shorts and a wife beater, they are definitely in the minority, and possibly not even allowed in. Sure, plenty of business casual as well but this idea that it's a total mess with people running around in shorts on formal night is ridiculous, completely ridiculous. A vast majority are dressed up and the look/feel/vibe of the dining room is formal. Which is why others are saying it shouldn't bother you if a random person isn't quite formal enough, because it's by far the exception and it's why Carnival isn't strict about such a non-issue.

 

I agree with you. It's very occasionally that we see someone dressed in a way that raises an eyebrow. I honestly don't know why it is such a huge deal on these forums and why it comes up at least once a week.

[tallnthensome]

You obviously weren't on my 8 day Vista cruise....I was on 2nd FL of MDR and counted atleast 5-6 x each night where people came in with tanktops/t-shirts, caps, basketball shorts, etc. And comparing dressing up to dressing down....is not even relevant.... if your uncomfortable over a a couple dressed up....than maybe you need to look at what your wearing cause it obviously conscientiously is telling you something???

You and I must have been on the ame 8 day Vista cruise because I saw a lot of this on my cruise as well. Trashy trailer park low-lifes that probably had their 80 year old mom/grandma pay their way onto the cruise. Not following the guidelines of the dress code in the dining room is disrespectful to the staff and passengers around you. I also laugh when I hear the excuses people make .... "My husband doesn't own dress clothes", etc ..... You can get on a 3K-6K cruise but people in your family don't any nice even semi-dressy clothes, eh? Well, most people who pay for the elegant cruise night experience don't want to see nor sit next to your husband in his old dirty Harley Davidson tank top with his armpit hair crawling up his neck either ....... I saw more than enough slobs in the MDR that looked like they came off the streets of a Compton gang fight or rode in the bed of a pickup from their trailer park to the cruise pier .....

[amysb]

I'm beginning to think that I'm in the minority when it comes to NOT worrying about what others are wearing at dinner time. Hardly a week goes by without someone commenting on how others are dressed, and how that "ruined" their dining. Maybe the time is long over due to do away with Elegant Night and go with either "Business Casual" or "Cruise Casual". And, instead of coming on here and whining about how certain other passengers are dressed at dinner time, why not voice your complaint directly to the Maitre D?

 

On our last cruise in November on the Conquest, we did just that. We asked our headwaiter to speak with the maître d' when a women came in on the first Elegant night in cutoffs and a t-shirt. Instead of coming to speak with us, the waiter just returned to say the woman had lost her luggage. I was upset, not so much about the attire, but because the maître d' couldn't be bothered to come speak with us. As for losing luggage, we had already had an evening with the shops open and a full day in Nassau, so to me it sounded like a canned, phony reply that they use for everyone.

Upon leaving the dining room, we stopped at the hostess desk and asked once again to speak with the maître d', and he came to meet us - actually he was an assistant maître d' and I made a point of snapping a photo of his picture with name so I could be sure to include him in my survey. He gave us the same runaround the waiter had, and my logical argument about shops open & Nassau apparently meant nothing to him, at which point I told him that since the rules don't appear to matter, I was going to go smoke on my balcony.:evilsmile: And no, I did not do that :halo:.

My survey pointed out this issue in a very calm and rational manner. Did it ruin my cruise? Of course not. I normally don't even notice what people are wearing - DH was the one who noticed and pointed it out to me & chose to ask for the maître d'. I only got involved and ticked off by the brush-off.

So, since the maître d' chose to ignore our comments, I choose to come here and whine on CC. ;)

[BNBR]

You and I must have been on the ame 8 day Vista cruise because I saw a lot of this on my cruise as well. Trashy trailer park low-lifes that probably had their 80 year old mom/grandma pay their way onto the cruise. Not following the guidelines of the dress code in the dining room is disrespectful to the staff and passengers around you. I also laugh when I hear the excuses people make .... "My husband doesn't own dress clothes", etc ..... You can get on a 3K-6K cruise but people in your family don't any nice even semi-dressy clothes, eh? Well, most people who pay for the elegant cruise night experience don't want to see nor sit next to your husband in his old dirty Harley Davidson tank top with his armpit hair crawling up his neck either ....... I saw more than enough slobs in the MDR that looked like they came off the streets of a Compton gang fight or rode in the bed of a pickup from their trailer park to the cruise pier .....

 

Tell us how you really feel.

[BNBR]

On our last cruise in November on the Conquest, we did just that. We asked our headwaiter to speak with the maître d' when a women came in on the first Elegant night in cutoffs and a t-shirt. Instead of coming to speak with us, the waiter just returned to say the woman had lost her luggage. I was upset, not so much about the attire, but because the maître d' couldn't be bothered to come speak with us. As for losing luggage, we had already had an evening with the shops open and a full day in Nassau, so to me it sounded like a canned, phony reply that they use for everyone.

Upon leaving the dining room, we stopped at the hostess desk and asked once again to speak with the maître d', and he came to meet us - actually he was an assistant maître d' and I made a point of snapping a photo of his picture with name so I could be sure to include him in my survey. He gave us the same runaround the waiter had, and my logical argument about shops open & Nassau apparently meant nothing to him, at which point I told him that since the rules don't appear to matter, I was going to go smoke on my balcony.:evilsmile: And no, I did not do that :halo:.

My survey pointed out this issue in a very calm and rational manner. Did it ruin my cruise? Of course not. I normally don't even notice what people are wearing - DH was the one who noticed and pointed it out to me & chose to ask for the maître d'. I only got involved and ticked off by the brush-off.

So, since the maître d' chose to ignore our comments, I choose to come here and whine on CC. ;)

 

Is this an actual story or just sarcasm?! I can't tell. Nobody would seriously snap pictures of the maitre d' to complain to Carnival because someone showed up in shorts, right?! No freakin' way!!!!!

[mz-s]

You and I must have been on the ame 8 day Vista cruise because I saw a lot of this on my cruise as well. Trashy trailer park low-lifes that probably had their 80 year old mom/grandma pay their way onto the cruise. Not following the guidelines of the dress code in the dining room is disrespectful to the staff and passengers around you. I also laugh when I hear the excuses people make .... "My husband doesn't own dress clothes", etc ..... You can get on a 3K-6K cruise but people in your family don't any nice even semi-dressy clothes, eh? Well, most people who pay for the elegant cruise night experience don't want to see nor sit next to your husband in his old dirty Harley Davidson tank top with his armpit hair crawling up his neck either ....... I saw more than enough slobs in the MDR that looked like they came off the streets of a Compton gang fight or rode in the bed of a pickup from their trailer park to the cruise pier .....

 

Time for me to unsubscribe from this thread. I've read enough superiority complex diatribes for today.

[Knights Templar]

I agree with you. It's very occasionally that we see someone dressed in a way that raises an eyebrow. I honestly don't know why it is such a huge deal on these forums and why it comes up at least once a week.

 

FTTF....Cheers....Chair Hogs....Smokers....Dress Code....those topics drive these threads

[BNBR]

FTTF....Cheers....Chair Hogs....Smokers....Dress Code....those topics drive these threads

 

Chairs hogs and smokers are a real issue. ;p

[Keys2Heaven]

FTTF....Cheers....Chair Hogs....Smokers....Dress Code....those topics drive these threads

 

New avatar pic? Nice!

 

Yes, I walk a fine line in how far down the rabbit hole I wish to go with any of them. The times I do, I end up getting my hand smacked.

[amysb]

Is this an actual story or just sarcasm?! I can't tell. Nobody would seriously snap pictures of the maitre d' to complain to Carnival because someone showed up in shorts, right?! No freakin' way!!!!!

 

No, it really happened. And I take photos of everyone's name on a cruise that may show up in my surveys, as the likelihood of me remembering names a week after a cruise is usually remote. And the majority of my surveys are glowing compliments of people who have gone above and beyond, as was this survey other than this one issue.

 

As I thought I made clear, this issue wasn't the shorts. The issue was being brushed off by the maître d' and my post was in response to someone asking why we don't speak to the maître d'. We did and nothing happened.

[Knights Templar]

You and I must have been on the ame 8 day Vista cruise because I saw a lot of this on my cruise as well. Trashy trailer park low-lifes that probably had their 80 year old mom/grandma pay their way onto the cruise. Not following the guidelines of the dress code in the dining room is disrespectful to the staff and passengers around you. I also laugh when I hear the excuses people make .... "My husband doesn't own dress clothes", etc ..... You can get on a 3K-6K cruise but people in your family don't any nice even semi-dressy clothes, eh? Well, most people who pay for the elegant cruise night experience don't want to see nor sit next to your husband in his old dirty Harley Davidson tank top with his armpit hair crawling up his neck either ....... I saw more than enough slobs in the MDR that looked like they came off the streets of a Compton gang fight or rode in the bed of a pickup from their trailer park to the cruise pier .....

 

:')....line of the day!!!! Preach brother!!!! :loudcry:

[lcpagejr]

You and I must have been on the ame 8 day Vista cruise because I saw a lot of this on my cruise as well. Trashy trailer park low-lifes that probably had their 80 year old mom/grandma pay their way onto the cruise. Not following the guidelines of the dress code in the dining room is disrespectful to the staff and passengers around you. I also laugh when I hear the excuses people make .... "My husband doesn't own dress clothes", etc ..... You can get on a 3K-6K cruise but people in your family don't any nice even semi-dressy clothes, eh? Well, most people who pay for the elegant cruise night experience don't want to see nor sit next to your husband in his old dirty Harley Davidson tank top with his armpit hair crawling up his neck either ....... I saw more than enough slobs in the MDR that looked like they came off the streets of a Compton gang fight or rode in the bed of a pickup from their trailer park to the cruise pier .....

 

Boy do you have that right!!!! It's funny you pointed that out....it was like they gave away free cruises to people LOL!!! Thank heavens we were in Havana...sheltered us a little!!

[SMSACE6]

Dress code is just one of the many things on a list of things that Carnival is insconsistent about. Their dress code, even on "elegant" nights is pretty liberal, so dont know why they cant just maintain that minimum consistently between ships. But, not really anything that any of us can do much about, other than voice your opinion on the after cruise survey (if you get one). If you dont get one, you can always send off a comment email, to after cruise customer care, but Im not sure how much of those comments are really looked at beyond the first person who gets them. Just my opinion.

[tradosaurus]

I think Carnival should distinguish between 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers and only allow 1st class passengers access to the MDR. The priority for the lifeboats should be 1st, 2nd then 3rd class too.

Oh wait....I just described the Titanic. Never mind.

[famof4togo]

I think Carnival should distinguish between 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers and only allow 1st class passengers access to the MDR. The priority for the lifeboats should be 1st, 2nd then 3rd class too.

Oh wait....I just described the Titanic. Never mind.

 

 

 

LOVE IT !!!! giggle of the day

[ProgRockCruiser]

Trust me boiled steak is not fancy.

Fancy is in the presentation and atmosphere, mostly, not the food itself.

 

I can have a lovely steak at a high end steakhouse, dressed to the nines, with waiters carefully pouring a nice red wine.

 

Or I can grill that same steak at home, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and serve myself that same nice wine. Food is the same.

 

And for the record, fondue was always a fancy dinner night at home when I was a kid. And fondue bourguignonne (hey, now I know the proper name!) wasn't "boiled" in a broth, we used high-temp cooking oil.

[mz-s]

~~~~~~~

Edited February 13, 2018 by mz-s
I was being rude.

[teknoge3k]

I think Carnival should distinguish between 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers and only allow 1st class passengers access to the MDR. The priority for the lifeboats should be 1st, 2nd then 3rd class too.

Oh wait....I just described the Titanic. Never mind.

 

 

Seriously though, Rose had PLENTY of room for Jack on that door. All she had to do was slide over, but nooooo :mad:

[quickrate]

Recently on the Dream several men wearing shorts and t-shirts in the MDR on an elegant night. "Ladies" were wearing knee length pants and t-shirts, one even wore a tank top. I was offended and this display was just one of the many reasons this was my last Carnival cruise.

 

 

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I will never understand being offended by what others wear. I agree people should follow the dress code for elegant code but being offended is a waste of energy.

Pat

[BlerkOne]

Carnival has suggestions for dress for those who want/need it, and has lax enforcement for those who don't. IMO, that is by design.

[Shaded Lady]

Really....so let me ask this....Guy rolls into the MDR in his tanktop and lo and behold he is seated at your table. He has been duly blessed with plenty of armpit hair and he likes to reach across the table for that breadbasket. It happens to be right over your water glass....we all good Dog? No effect on your cruise, right? :loudcry:

Well, that painted a picture, didn't it???

 

But let me ask a contrary question... would the gentleman's armpit waving over your water glass be any less offensive on casual dining nights in the MDR? or does Elegant Night suddenly transform rude, disgusting behavior into something unacceptable?