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Please help me with dress code - Couple in 30's


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Hi everyone, we are looking forward to our first cruise next week, with Fred Olsen to Norway.

 

As the title says, we are a couple in our 30's. We have young children and as such, we really haven't had a chance to dress up in the last 8 years or so. We need to buy some new clothing to meet the dress code for dinner and formal nights. I'm aware that the cruise is usually over 60's, which isn't a problem as we love to get to know people of all ages, but I don't want to offend by not wearing suitable clothing.

 

Firstly, can we rent a suit on board for formal night? My husband has a mid grey suit that he wears to work and several french cuff shirts, which look very nice on him but I'm not sure this will be suitable for formal night (x2).

 

For normal, evening dining in the restaurant what kind of shirt is my husband expected to wear?

 

I like to dress quite stylishly and sharp most days, but I often wear dark black, slim fit jeans with a nice blouse/top and belt. Would this kind of thing be suitable for the other 5 nights? Or should I go buy some dark trousers instead? (I only own jeans!) I'm not very comfortable in dresses so I'd rather not wear one every night to dinner and entertainment.

 

Any advice is appreciated, I understand my experience of what "smart casual" means is probably different to what other Fred Olsen passengers expect, so I would like to know your thoughts!

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Hi everyone, we are looking forward to our first cruise next week, with Fred Olsen to Norway.

 

As the title says, we are a couple in our 30's. We have young children and as such, we really haven't had a chance to dress up in the last 8 years or so. We need to buy some new clothing to meet the dress code for dinner and formal nights. I'm aware that the cruise is usually over 60's, which isn't a problem as we love to get to know people of all ages, but I don't want to offend by not wearing suitable clothing.

 

Firstly, can we rent a suit on board for formal night? My husband has a mid grey suit that he wears to work and several french cuff shirts, which look very nice on him but I'm not sure this will be suitable for formal night (x2).

 

For normal, evening dining in the restaurant what kind of shirt is my husband expected to wear?

 

I like to dress quite stylishly and sharp most days, but I often wear dark black, slim fit jeans with a nice blouse/top and belt. Would this kind of thing be suitable for the other 5 nights? Or should I go buy some dark trousers instead? (I only own jeans!) I'm not very comfortable in dresses so I'd rather not wear one every night to dinner and entertainment.

 

Any advice is appreciated, I understand my experience of what "smart casual" means is probably different to what other Fred Olsen passengers expect, so I would like to know your thoughts!

 

As a man I take a dinner suit, dress shirt and black bow tie for formal nights. I am not sure if you can hire a dinner suit on board but a full outfit can be bought for less than £100 at outlets such as Matalan. For informal nights I take a blazer or jacket and dark or grey coloured trousers with a plain coloured shirt and tie. For smart casual I wear the same trousers with a short sleeve patterned shirt and no jacket or tie. You should have received notification of how many formal, informal and smart casual nights are on your cruise, If you have only one formal night you can give it a miss by eating in the alternative restaurant. Are you excited about going on your first cruise? I know I was. I hope you have a wonderful time on your first cruise and have many more to come.

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https://www.fredolsencruises.com/faqs/on-board/whats-the-dress-code-whilst-on-board

 

The above link will take you to the dress code on Fred's website. I noticed when reading it that smart dark jeans are mentioned as acceptable for men on smart casual nights. I cannot see why this should not apply to women as well. Your husband will be fine wearing a polo shirt on smart casual nights, no need to always wear a dress shirt, In my experience very few jackets around except on formal nights.

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As a man I take a dinner suit, dress shirt and black bow tie for formal nights. I am not sure if you can hire a dinner suit on board but a full outfit can be bought for less than £100 at outlets such as Matalan. For informal nights I take a blazer or jacket and dark or grey coloured trousers with a plain coloured shirt and tie. For smart casual I wear the same trousers with a short sleeve patterned shirt and no jacket or tie. You should have received notification of how many formal, informal and smart casual nights are on your cruise, If you have only one formal night you can give it a miss by eating in the alternative restaurant. Are you excited about going on your first cruise? I know I was. I hope you have a wonderful time on your first cruise and have many more to come.

 

Thankfully informal nights are a thing of past on Fred, only formal and smart casual now. No longer a need to take an extra jacket or tie, although nothing to stop you wearing them if you wish. I'm almost certain that formal wear cannot be hired on board but, as Pugwash says, it is relatively cheap to buy an outfit these days including from M&S. Might be a better investment, however, to buy a dark suit unless you are considering further cruising in the future

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Thankfully informal nights are a thing of past on Fred, only formal and smart casual now. No longer a need to take an extra jacket or tie, although nothing to stop you wearing them if you wish. I'm almost certain that formal wear cannot be hired on board but, as Pugwash says, it is relatively cheap to buy an outfit these days including from M&S. Might be a better investment, however, to buy a dark suit unless you are considering further cruising in the future

 

Although not strictly required I take a jacket for those cooler evenings.

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Just a little tip, as you will be one of the younger cruisers onboard, you will look like crew, mainly entertainment staff, which mingle with guests in the venues.

Make yourself known to staff that you are not crew, so you get served/asked for drinks orders. If the staff think you are crew they will avoid asking if you want a drink, because the crew aren't allowed to drink with guests in the lounges.

I was on black watch, thinking that being late 30's (at that time) that I would be the youngest, but there was a lovely couple in their late 20's and they said they struggled to get table service in the bars and lounges. I thought they were entertainment staff at first as well. lol.

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