Dress Code - Either Enforce it of Forget It

[BK512]

I liken it to going to a nice restaurant for a special occasion. I might wear something nice, and my husband might also wear something nice. But I am not upset if I look across the restaurant and see someone in jeans and a t-shirt. They're also having a nice time, I am sure. I don't care if they are wearing a cap on their heads (although it used to be bad manners to wear a hat indoors, but I digress). Seriously, so long as they're not ugly drunk and starting arguments or fights, I don't worry about what they're doing, or wearing!

[BlerkOne]

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

 

So we can ignore them? :evilsmile:

[bakersdozen12]

Why do people care what others wear to dinner? How does it affect your experience? I have never once paid attention to what others wear to dinner. I’m too busy having a nice dinner with my husband, and enjoying a nice conversation with him. It’s too bad more people don’t cruise with people that they actually enjoy being with. Perhaps then those people won’t be so bored that they have nothing better to do than to stare at other people and scrutinize what they are wearing.

 

 

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[Knights Templar]

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?

 

 

 

Obviously no it wouldn’t. I just dont get why people would wear a tank top into the MDR when Carnival clearly states dont....is it ignorance? Self entitlement? Just a perverse desire to do the opposite of what the rule states?

[BallFour4]

Obviously no it wouldn’t. I just don't get why people would wear a tank top into the MDR when Carnival clearly states don't....is it ignorance? Self entitlement? Just a perverse desire to do the opposite of what the rule states?

 

As the number approaches 40 on cruises I've never seen a tank top (or armpit hair as you described earlier) in the MDR. Granted, I'm not saying people don't do it, but we have had main seating dining for every cruise and have missed three of those meals due to shore excursions getting back late for the duration of days at sea.

One thing we can agree on; this would be a appetite killer...

.

[BookDragon]

Book, if I can add, I dont think this issue is limited to only Carnival. I have seen the same ignorant/self entitled/contrarian mindset on Royal, NCL, Holland, etc as well

 

Thanks Knights Templar! I browse the other lines’ forums also, and I agree with you. This seems to be a problem even on the more expensive cruiselines. I also agree with the assessment of these rule breakers as being ignorant/self entitled & contrarian. But I would also add “Enablers” to the list of characteristics as there are a number of, “It doesn’t bother me so why should it bother you” posts. Enablers do not help the situation either.

[Chervil]

Why do people care what others wear to dinner? How does it affect your experience? I have never once paid attention to what others wear to dinner. I’m too busy having a nice dinner with my husband, and enjoying a nice conversation with him. It’s too bad more people don’t cruise with people that they actually enjoy being with. Perhaps then those people won’t be so bored that they have nothing better to do than to stare at other people and scrutinize what they are wearing.

 

 

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I think this is less about being upset about what people are wearing and more about the fact that if you are going to set guidelines for something, then they should at least enforce them.

If not, then do away with the guidelines.

 

Suppose you are going to board and during the security process they pulled a rum runner flask or bottle of liquor out of someone's bag, and then just ignore it, letting them carry it on.

Or suppose you are already on board and someone pulled out their own flask or bottle and started pouring their own drinks in front of you and the crew members and that was just ignored it and nothing was done.

Does it affect you personally?

No.

Does it upset you that other people are ignoring the rules and guidelines and nothing is being done?

Yeah, it kinda does.

 

If you are going to have rules, they should be enforced or don't bother having them.

 

On a note about proper attire:

I remember my very first cruise about 20 years ago (before I was married) I went with some family friends who were about 30 years older.

The husband was a very "proper" person, having been an English professor for years (even taught in the Cayman Islands for a bit).

I borrowed a tuxedo to bring (it was on RCL in the late 90s, so trying to be stylish).

He showed up in a black tuxedo with matching short pants. I had never seen tuxedo shorts before, but was more shocked that this particular person was wearing them.

It completely changed the image I had built up of him in my mind.

 

Now would I have a problem with someone wearing that on Formal Night?

Certainly not.

And I don't have an issue with how someone dresses on the other nights in the MDR.

But if you don't feel like dressing up for formal night, then there is the buffet or several other venues for getting food and having a good time that don't involve a dress code.

[lcpagejr]

I think this is less about being upset about what people are wearing and more about the fact that if you are going to set guidelines for something, then they should at least enforce them.

If not, then do away with the guidelines.

 

Suppose you are going to board and during the security process they pulled a rum runner flask or bottle of liquor out of someone's bag, and then just ignore it, letting them carry it on.

Or suppose you are already on board and someone pulled out their own flask or bottle and started pouring their own drinks in front of you and the crew members and that was just ignored it and nothing was done.

Does it affect you personally?

No.

Does it upset you that other people are ignoring the rules and guidelines and nothing is being done?

Yeah, it kinda does.

 

If you are going to have rules, they should be enforced or don't bother having them.

 

On a note about proper attire:

I remember my very first cruise about 20 years ago (before I was married) I went with some family friends who were about 30 years older.

The husband was a very "proper" person, having been an English professor for years (even taught in the Cayman Islands for a bit).

I borrowed a tuxedo to bring (it was on RCL in the late 90s, so trying to be stylish).

He showed up in a black tuxedo with matching short pants. I had never seen tuxedo shorts before, but was more shocked that this particular person was wearing them.

It completely changed the image I had built up of him in my mind.

 

Now would I have a problem with someone wearing that on Formal Night?

Certainly not.

And I don't have an issue with how someone dresses on the other nights in the MDR.

But if you don't feel like dressing up for formal night, then there is the buffet or several other venues for getting food and having a good time that don't involve a dress code.

 

Chervil... Well said!!

[declansdad]

I guess I should count myself lucky. Granted we have only completed 5 cruises, 3 being with Carnival, and I don't think I have seen one wife beater or the gangs of Compton in the MDR.

 

Oh and I guess I'm an enabler. Learn something new everyday.

[Fastfredcruise]

On a recent Holland American, Caribbean cruise, they enforced the dress code. Saw several asked to leave.

[treeco]

DH and I have been taking cruises since 1994 and have watched the dress codes lessen as society craved less formal options. I understand that people who have to fly to cruise ports have to pay for luggage or extra luggage and more formal clothes take up a lot of luggage space. However, after 44 cruises and 31 on Carnival, the dress code for elegant nights is pretty straightforward, but passengers still wear baseball caps and jeans with holes in them, women wearing short shorts, let alone t-shirts with offensive sayings on them. They are still allowed in the MDR on elegant nights. Is that what people really wear to restaurants that cater to elegant dining? Why even have a dress code if it is continually ignored? I just don't get it.

 

 

 

I agree! If people aren't interested in adhering to the dress code, then they need to eat at the buffet. Dressing nicely at dinner is respectful of the elegant setting and superb food and service. I'm noticing this more and more at nice restaurants around town, also. People wearing pajamas to Walmart and on airplanes is migrating into every inappropriate area of life. Yuck!

 

 

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[teknoge3k]

I guess I should count myself lucky. Granted we have only completed 5 cruises, 3 being with Carnival, and I don't think I have seen one wife beater or the gangs of Compton in the MDR.

 

Oh and I guess I'm an enabler. Learn something new everyday.

 

You missed out then. Our last cruise Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and the entire NWA group was at a table behind us. Eazy E also! We weren't worried though, the Maitre'D made them leave their AK's at the door. :')

[jefffrompawpaw]

Bold my emphasis.

 

Did you complain to the Maitre D'? I think the only way Carnival will react to such matters is actual complaints - if folks don't say anything, then they will let the standards relax to keep the paying customers coming back.

 

I don't think I could ever be truly offended, mainly because there are lots of really truly offensive things that are about a million times worse. Annoyed would be my reaction, perhaps bemused or non-plussed.

 

I do think it is a sign of the very self-centric society that we have become: "Rules are for losers! I don't want to follow rules, so I will follow only those rules that are truly enforced to make sure I don't get arrested or given a ticket. And even then, if the ticket is small enough..."

 

Maybe time for a poke at Mr Heald on FB and see if he can create a poll?

 

"Do you think Carnival should strictly enforce the dress codes for Elegant Night?"

 

"Do you think Carnival should go back to truly Formal Night, requiring coats & ties?"

 

"What about top hats and tails?"

 

It's a lose, lose situation. They offend customers if they don't allow them to dress as they want on elegant night and they will offend customers who want a more formal dining experience.

 

 

My family me wife and 2 daughters(43,39,15,13) go all out. I wear a Tux jacket and bow tie and my girls wear fancy dresses and full makeup and hair. We definitely get looks like we are out of place. But it's fun. It's a rare occasion I get to dress up in a tux for business dinner or function. And never do my girls get a chance to go 100% .

 

Don't let it bother you is my way of dealing with it, and enjoy the experience.

[treeco]

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

 

 

 

Hahaha! Didn't you see the Mythbusters episode where they tested that theory and it FAILED! Jack could not have shared the door with Rose. I was shocked but they tested it a zillion different ways. [emoji23][emoji23]

 

 

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[riclop]

DH and I have been taking cruises since 1994 and have watched the dress codes lessen as society craved less formal options. I understand that people who have to fly to cruise ports have to pay for luggage or extra luggage and more formal clothes take up a lot of luggage space. However, after 44 cruises and 31 on Carnival, the dress code for elegant nights is pretty straightforward, but passengers still wear baseball caps and jeans with holes in them, women wearing short shorts, let alone t-shirts with offensive sayings on them. They are still allowed in the MDR on elegant nights. Is that what people really wear to restaurants that cater to elegant dining? Why even have a dress code if it is continually ignored? I just don't get it.

It's Carnival !!!!!!

[gameover]

I’d say if someone does not meet the dress code on elegant night, let them be seated but they cannot eat the lobster tail or prime rib. They can eat the chicken nuggets and jello instead :p.

[Mysticks1]

I agree. I am not willing as a consumer of the Carnival brand to allow the dress code to continually slip until the MDR resembles Golden Corral.

 

I find comments like the OP and this interesting - it seems like to me that you are unhappy with what Carnival is providing and you seem to want the "old" Traditional dining experience where everyone dressed up and you saw lots of floor length gowns and most of the men wore tuxedos and everyone stayed in those clothes for the entire night. Well times have changed and Carnival is adapting to what it's customers are asking for and more casual is the way that it is heading. If you follow John Heald on Facebook you can even see it in the Poll questions that he asks now. There was a lot of talk a year ago about how important the table cloths were and then they went away except for Elegant nights.

They have been slowly changing the menu's from what was very nice meals to now what is the American Table menu which is nothing like what it was 10 years ago when I started cruising. Nothing fancy about it - quite Casual actually to match the tables.

So my question to all of you that want the Fancier dress and dinners is why don't you start booking your cruises on a cruise line that still offers that experience rather than continuing to spend your hard earned dollars with Carnival and not be happy and come home and complain about it?

[sassy0930]

I'm totally split on this. On the one hand, I really don't care what other people wear. Unless someone is rubbing up against me in their wet swimsuit, I just don't care. But I also LOVE a chance to really dress up and I would hate for things to become so informal that I would begin to feel out of place for it.

 

Perhaps even making one of the dining times more formal for the whole cruise would be a good compromise. So late dining has higher dress standards and it's advertised as such. Early dining has a more cruise casual the whole time. My time dining is cruise casual with elegant nights.

[hate2shop]

I agree. I am not willing as a consumer of the Carnival brand to allow the dress code to continually slip until the MDR resembles Golden Corral.

 

 

The Carnival Brand has two other lines that may be more to your liking with Princess and HAL. I hear they are more vigilant with enforcing the dress code but haven't tried them yet.

[honestguy]

This thread is just silly. Almost as silly as the tablecloth threads. Carnival should do away with dress codes. I've been in the restaurant business for 17 years, and just the other day I had a guy all angry over two men wearing a hat into the restaurant.(semi private club restaurant bar and grille feel) As the F&B manager I told him I didn't have a problem with them wearing a hat. I agreed that I was raised differently, and wouldn't do it, but I wouldn't risk two complaints just to push his values on someone else.

 

In the grand scheme of things that's what this boils down to. People not minding their own business. You have your views and values, and I have mind. When you let my views and values ruin your cruise or dinner, like this man did because they aren't the same of someone else's you are at fault. Mind your own business. Does a pair of shorts or a hat bother you that much. Again stay on your side of the fence and mind your business.

 

In closing I'll be 40 years old next month. Last cruise I took I didn't pack a suit or dress pants. I gotta laugh when someone says buy a pair of dockers. I wouldn't be caught dead in such rags. My jeans you snicker at cost as much as 10 pairs of dockers at kohl's and feel about 100 times better. I already know when I take my cruise in august I won't pack a suit. Even though I have several hanging in the closet. Why? I'm with my wife and kids, and I don't feel like dressing up. It's jeans and a button down shirt every night.(ok I may take the pink dress pants;) I'm sure you would snicker at that too) When I cruise for my parents 50th in 2019, I will pack a suit, heck I might pack my tux like I did when I went on the first ever journeys cruise carnival offered.

 

People go have a good time worry about yourselves and nobody else. You want X out of a cruise, and I want Y out of a cruise. I don't let you wearing an out of date Hideous JC penny's stafford suit ruin my cruise, so don't let me wearing a pair diesel jeans, with my robert graham shirt, and a pair of shoes from my collection that is worth more than all your clothes you carried on board ruin your cruise either.

[Alibaster McGillicutty]

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

 

But what was Jack wearing??????

[Alibaster McGillicutty]

Oh and I guess I'm an enabler. Learn something new everyday.

 

I know right?

Now we are getting told how to feel on this subject. I should not ignore patrons disobeying the dress code and I should let it ruin my evening?

Unless I do that I am an enabler?

 

This post has gone off the rails.

[bigbadandugly]

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.

 

 

This is the problem with selling to the general public - cruise lines, retail stores, etc. don’t want to piss customers or potential customers off that they don’t enforce certain rules consistently, but they fail to realize that by not enforcing rules consistently, they are pissing other customers off. Many of which do what you did - walk away.

[Jonlb79]

It would be my guess that a lot of cruisers, especially new ones, have absolutely no idea about Elegant Night nor what it entails.

 

If you do not know about Elegant Night, you might not even pack clothes that are acceptable for Elegant Night.

Our first cruise we knew there would be a formal night, but we didn't know when. We also didn't know yet that the dress code for the evening was on the Fun Times. We were dressed fairly casually and they let us in. We figured out it was formal night too late and apologized profusely to our server, who told us not to worry about it. If we had been kicked out that night for violating formal night, we would have been so embarrassed and may not have gone back to the dining room. We know better now, but I'm thankful that the dress code wasn't enforced that night. It made our first "cruise mistake" a minor situation. After that, on future cruises, we've never judged people for their attire, regardless of the dress code that evening because we don't know what their specific situation is and we know what it's like to be out of place accidentally.

 

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[CareCare]

My husband and I cruised MSC for the first time, in January. After reading the dress code and planning accordingly, I found that we were the best dressed people there. Many people were more casual chic on formal night.

 

 

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