How formal does everyone dress on the Miracle?

[lnew1gd1]

Hello all,

 

We are sailing on the Miracle Feb 12, 2006 and this is our first time on Carnival.

 

Hope everyone had a good holiday and Santa brought everyone just what they wanted.

 

I have to share a quick bit of good luck story with you. Apparently (because I don't remember) I must have entered some kind of contest locally and I received a call that I won one of the prizes. It was a $250.00 gift certificate for a local bridal store (yeah, right, like I need a bridal store! LOL).

 

Hoping that I can find a nice dress or two for our formal/semi formal nights. Can anyone out there can give me suggestions as to what to look for? Since this is our first Carnival cruise I am not sure how formal or dressed up the cruisers get on these nights. I am used to RCCL, HAL, Princess where most everyone really "does it up" on the formal nights.

 

My DH usually wears a tux and I go long and very formal. This time we thought we should "tone it down" a little and just do suits and cocktail dresses. I have heard that Carnival is more relaxed and not so dressy on those nights. Can anyone who has been on this ship or any of the other Carnival ships give us some hints as to what the majority seemed to be wearing? We like playing "dress-up" and don't mind the formal wear---we just don't want to be the only ones that dressed up.

 

Any suggestions or help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

[Cotton]

Welcome to CCL cruising.:)

 

The idea that Carnival passengers are more dressed 'down' for formal nights is just not a reality. Yes, there are some who don't choose to join in the festivities, and that's their choosing. However, MOST folks do dress according to the suggested dress code for formal night(s).

 

On all my CCL cruises, I've seen ladies in full length sequined gowns, cocktail attire, and even nice dresses that would do for church or weddings. You'll see men in tux, dark suits, and even sports coat/tie.

 

So - if you like being dressed to the nines, then by all means, go for it. Also - there's nothing like a man in a tux!:) Personally, I wear either the 'little black dress' or a sequined top and dressy lounging pants. Enjoy!

[MrPete]

I see Cotton has just responded also, but in cruising for 18 years, the idea that dress down exists on Carnival is not true.

 

Some may gather that when they read some posts on here. That's not to say you may see some odd choices of clothing once on board. Just think in terms of attending a formal affair on land, and someone shows up in (fill in the blank). As a people watcher, I shift from staring at them, to staring at those staring at them. It's always quite funny.

 

Anyway.....

 

I've dressed from suit and tie, to even doing a tux twice, cause we were in that mood. And I liked the thought that I could just rent it on board.

[BambiRumsey]

We dress up regardless of the cruise line because we like to....hubby looks fab in his tux and I LOVE my party dresses.

 

DH brings a navy sport coat for semi-formal nights and super clubs but the remainder of the evening he wears a button down shirt and dress slacks, other than when he is in his tux, he does not wear a tie on cruises.

 

If you cruise a lot, go get yourself a dress you can wear on any line. I know for me presonally I get tired of seeing myself in pictures in the same couple of formal gowns! You could also get hubby some tux accessories, some bridal shops carry that too, maybe a vest with a windsor tie for fresh new look for him.

[Cuizer2]

Here is a link to the Carnival dress code ...

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Dining_Room_Dress_Requirements.aspx

[lnew1gd1]

Thanks everyone,

 

I was hoping that the replies would say formal is good. Like I said we love to dress up!

 

BambiRumsey, I agree with you. I am tired of seeing myself in the formal portraits in the same "ole, same ole"! And, I loved your suggestion about getting hubby some accessories to go with his formal wear. Thanks!

 

Sounds like you all dress the same as DH and I did on our past cruises, so I guess the consensus is Carnival's formal nights are just like the other ship lines. I, for one, am glad.

 

Cotton, thanks for the welcome to Carnival cruising. I must admit I was a little skeptical about booking with Carnival due to everything we heard about them. (the Wal Mart of cruising, too much noise, very laid back, too tacky etc.) but I am really looking forward to this trip and making my own decision about this cruise line. We better like it! We already booked a Hawaii cruise for April '07 on the Spirit. But, as the saying goes, A bad day on vacation (I changed it to 'on a cruise') is still better than any good day at work!

 

Mr. Pete, thank you for your reply and we agree with you also. Renting the tux on board is great. No carrying it to and from. Just leave it there when you are done! The last 2 cruises we took, my DH rented one from a local tux place---what a pain. Make sure all the parts are there, packing it up and running it back. He just may rent on board again. That worked out well for him when we did that in the past.

 

Well, you all helped us make our decision, we are still going formal!

 

What a great group of people on these boards!

[BambiRumsey]

If you cruise frequently maybe look into purchasing a tux for hubby. Basically the cost of 2-3 rentals, plus you can be certain it fits like a dream...

 

So far we have enjoyed Carnival MORE than Disney and RCCL and while the food is sublime on HAL, Carnival is just more FUN, more to do (or not as our case is often!).

 

Only line we like better the Carnival is Celebrity but their prices seem to have gone skyward of late....

 

I'll post a review of our Miracle cruise after we return on the 8th..keep your eyes open for it.

[lnew1gd1]

We will be looking for your review! Can't wait to go, looking forward to trying a new shipline and so glad we can dress up.

[lnew1gd1]

Do any of you have any pictures of yourselves/friends/co-cruisers in your formal wear that you would be willing to share with us?

 

We would love to see them.

[BambiRumsey]

Here is the link to my webshots page There are photos we had taken on our Disney cruise, only one is us in formal wear. My gown is a deep navy blue with a sparkle top and satin straight skirt with a slit in the back. AS you can see, I put a little more effort into dressing our daughter - my own little barbie!

 

I have more from other cruises on my other computer so I will put those up later. Also one of me on formal night on the Imagination, but my eyes are closed and I am 5 months pregnant so my choices of which dresses fit me, was limited.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/bambirumsey

[JEREME]

Just Got Back From Our 1st Carnival Miracle Cruise Dec.11th Thru 18th And We Had A Great Time!

The 1st Formal Night Which Was Tues. I Wore A Long Velvet ,"sexy If I Must Say' Dress And My Husband Wore A Gorgeous Black Suit And Tie. My Cousin On The Other Hand Wore A Tux. We Saw People With Sparkly And We Saw People That Didn't Look In The Mirror Before They Left Their Room.

We Also Booked Excursions Online Thru. This Site So If Your Interested I Can Turn You Onto A Couple Of Excursions We Went On.

Hope I Helped You Out.

By The Way 2/12 My Son Will Be 9 Years Old.....have Fun

[lnew1gd1]

Thanks for your replies!

 

Jereme,

Yes, I would be very much interested in what exchursions you took and would love to hear about them. Thanks for the info on the "attire" choices on this ship.

 

Wish your son a very Happy Birthday for us on 2/12!

 

Jennifer,

Thanks so much for sharing your pics. Can't wait to see the rest!

 

Now, you guys are all making me really excitied to try Carnival. Can't wait and I am counting down the days. 46 to go. Actually have the suitcase out and starting to put in the summer stuff I want to take. I know, rushing it a little but, woo woo--vacation is a 'comin.

[MIMom4]

We have sailed both Disney and Carnival Miracle. Surprisingly, Carnival seemed to have many more people who tried to be formal... emphasis on tried. Our rationale for this was that the crowd on Disney was not as focused on trying to impress. Disney attire tended toward consistent resort casual while carnival fluctuated between jean shorts and hagar suits with docksiders. Some formal folks looked great, but we also saw some of the worst mis-fitting suits and bad bridesmaid dresses. Tuxes were maybe 10%. We did not really find that the atmosphere on Carnival lent itself to formality, which was actually what we preferred this time out. I think one can very reasonably feel comfortable either dressing up or not.

[lnew1gd1]

We have sailed both Disney and Carnival Miracle. Surprisingly, Carnival seemed to have many more people who tried to be formal... emphasis on tried. Our rationale for this was that the crowd on Disney was not as focused on trying to impress. Disney attire tended toward consistent resort casual while carnival fluctuated between jean shorts and hagar suits with docksiders. Some formal folks looked great, but we also saw some of the worst mis-fitting suits and bad bridesmaid dresses. Tuxes were maybe 10%. We did not really find that the atmosphere on Carnival lent itself to formality, which was actually what we preferred this time out. I think one can very reasonably feel comfortable either dressing up or not.

 

Thanks, your reply was very helpful!

[Johnny Cruiser]

Hi all, we're also cruising on the Miracle Feb. 12. Six of us for our 10th anniversary. I've always just wore a suit on formal nights but am considering the tux. How much are they? Any different if you book for both formal nights? Any accessories I should bring?

 

Thanks in advance as always.

[MrPete]

Last I did it was 2001, and it was just under $100, including shoes. Two shirts. Delivered to your cabin. Convenient, and I'm gald we did it. TWICE, in fact!

[lnew1gd1]

My DH has rented from the local Tux shop for our last 4 cruises and the cost for the week's rental was only $60.00 including 2 shirts and shoes and all the "fixin's". Not a bad deal. He is considering renting from the cruise line this time just because you don't have to carry everything back and forth.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Here is the info on rental from Carnival's gifts and services section:

Black Tux or White Dinner jacket with black trousers is $85.00

 

One black tuxedo and white dinner jacket is $115.00

 

Both are for the week with 2 shirts and shoes and accessories.

[lnew1gd1]

Hello Johnny Cruiser,

 

Would like to invite you to our roll call.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=255089

 

Stop by for a visit and say hello. We are cruising with you on the Miracle 2/12/2006 and celebrating our 2nd anniversary on Valentine's Day. (even though we are "old timers" in our 50's--it's only been 2 years that we have put up with each other---LOL)

 

We plan on being at the Piano Bar 10:30 pm 1st night. Stop by and say hello to Mark, the Piano Bar performer, and to us, Lynn and Dennis!

[b8tzm]

Conquest 12/11 we saw everything formal night. One guy had dark blue jeans on and said "they're nicer & more expensive than most of the guys slacks & I paid my money so I'm staying"

 

Sad but true