Oceania dress code

[Charles4515]

This is "much ado about nothing". I have learned that what other people do and wear on vacation is their business, I am there to enjoy myself, not concern myself with this superficial craziness. If they violate the hotel or cruise policy, it is up to them to do something about it, not mine. I wish people would move on from this topic.

 

Hear, Hear! I don't care about what other people wear. If someone is wearing something not appropriate I leave it to the cruise line staff to determine.

 

As for what I will be wearing on Oceania..... I won't be wearing a jacket in the GDR or specialty restaurants. Or a tie. A sports shirt or polo shirt, and long pants.

[TLCOhio]

Hear, Hear! I don't care about what other people wear. If someone is wearing something not appropriate I leave it to the cruise line staff to determine. As for what I will be wearing on Oceania..... I won't be wearing a jacket in the GDR or specialty restaurants. Or a tie. A sports shirt or polo shirt, and long pants.

 

Interesting discussions, comments and sharing on this thread. Looking forward to trying Oceania for the first time and not having to worry about packing a suit or sport coat. For our Nov. 16-Dec. 5, 2018, Nautica sailing from Athens to Dubai, 20-day cruise with Oceania, this will give us our first visits to the Holy Lands, Egypt, Middle East, etc. Excited about this cruise and seeing these historic areas. And, trying the Oceania food!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 38,521 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, V

[Go-Bucks!]

So I am unsure where the country club casual comes in for evening?

Comes from what all the experienced Oceania posters have posted....sorry I ruffled your feathers...I was just comparing my experience to what I read on this board. :D

[LHT28]

So I am unsure where the country club casual comes in for evening?

maybe from Oceania advertising

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/life-on-board/country-club-casual/

[stpiloui]

I don’t belong to a Country Club, so can’t use that comparison. Plan on DH and myself bring comfortable, yet presentable (similar to dining at a restaurant at home).

Should I not meet other’s standards, oh well.

Everyone- enjoy YOUR cruise.

 

 

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[Mura]

I'm sure I'm not the first to comment that this is a very frequent question. Perhaps it largely comes from people who have travelled on lines that require formal or semi-formal attire at meals (such as we found on the QE2 on our two Cunard cruises). And I understand puzzlement about "country club casual" since I still am not sure what it means! (My family DID belong to a country club when I was in high school, but it was a rather low level country club.)

 

But as so many have said ... casual nice will do it. What would you wear to a nice restaurant for dinner? That might be all you need to know.

 

It's been made very clear that gents don't need a jacket and tie although SOME DO. It's not required. I've reported before how we shared a table in the GDR with a couple one night and his first question was about attire since he was in a suit/tie. I told him he didn't need to ... and he never did again! He was always nicely dressed, just without the jacket and tie.

 

It's always easier for women in this respect ... When we were on the QE2 the men had to have a suit and tie virtually every night, but the women could get away with pants suits, nice slacks with a pretty top, etc. Casual long tops and skirts worked too. On the "formal" nights, we went to the buffet.

 

People really should NOT get bent out of shape on this question. Don't wear grungy clothes to dinner and you'll probably be fine.

 

Someone earlier today mentioned nice sports jackets for men and grungy shoes ... those should be avoided!

 

Mura

[stpiloui]

Thanks Mura- I think we will be OK with our attire

 

 

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[Mura]

I'm sure you will! It's really not that complicated ...People who are concerned rarely create a problem!

:)

[Flatbush Flyer]

Dooleygeo we saw the same thing on the Barcelona to Barcelona trip that ended 4/21. We also saw some of the worst dress men in the GDR that we have ever seen( this was our 5th cruise). Men had on nice jackets with boat shoes or dockers that looked as though they were ages old. At first we were giving people the benefit of the doubt and maybe they had lost luggage but we saw people dressed really bad. I could go on and on about the dress code but it wouldn't make any difference.

 

 

 

It appears that you are, obviously, not a "yachtie" whose "dress" uniform would always be a blue blazer, Dockers khakis and Sebago Billfish boat shoes to which you'd add a blue or white button down shirt (w/wo tasteful tie -preferably with an actual yacht club logo pattern). "Timeless" and rightly so.

[ronrick1943]

To confirm what you said, I've never worn a jacket on "O" or any other cruise line with a similar dress code. In fact I will no longer sail on a cruise line that requires men to wear a jacket, even if it's for only one or two nights of the cruise.

My daily dress at dinner in the dining room or a specialty is khakis with a polo shirt or sport shirt and many men I see are wearing the same.

I could care less about what the fashion police think or whether 99.9% of the other men are wearing jackets (which of course isn't true). I'm following the dress code and I'm perfectly comfortable with my choice.

O's dress code is simple and straightforward. It's as easy to follow as any I've seen. Why people create false nuances and interpretations is beyond me.

 

I think most people fill that way, which is why we cruise Oceania or Regent.

[Zandarr]

It appears that you are, obviously, not a "yachtie" whose "dress" uniform would always be a blue blazer, Dockers khakis and Sebago Billfish boat shoes to which you'd add a blue or white button down shirt (w/wo tasteful tie -preferably with an actual yacht club logo pattern). "Timeless" and rightly so.

 

 

No I am not as you say a Yachtie but if I were. My blue blazer would not look like it came from Walmart and my Dockers would not look like they came from Goodwill either. Oh and did I mention that my boat shoes wouldn't look as though I had just walked a mile in the desert? I am not going to go back and forth on this issue but my wish is that OC stuck by their own rules. But then again I am 50 and and I guess the older generation could not care less about how they look. God I hope I never change.

Edited May 6, 2018 by Zandarr
missed a word

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

Seems that every cruise board has these dress code discussions. On almost every one there will be individuals that want to suggest we should adapt to their idea of clothing style. It just reminds me of lyrics from an oldie that was one of the final songs recorded by Rick Nelson - "You can't please everyone so you'll have to please yourself".

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[keithm]

I know that Oceania recommends (or requires?) "Country Club Casual". My question is, does that apply only to the dining rooms in the evening, or does it mean all over the ship 24/7? In other words, can I wear a T-shirt or turtleneck, shorts, and sandals or flip-flops around the ship? Where do Island shirts fit into the dress code?

I'm basing my experience on our Jan.2018 cruise on Riviera. The dress code is known "Country club Casual" as you stated. It does NOT mean Shorts/T shirts/ flip flops at night! You are expected to show some proper decorum. While you are expected to wear the following, I will explain what we actually saw: During the day shorts/t shirts/ flips are ok, at night you need to dress more sharp. The code implies no jeans in the venues. Some guy disputed that, but the sign was at every dining venue entry. Pax wore the following: Dress shirt/nice slacks/ nice shoes. About 25% wore a sport coat in the Grand Dining Room. Strangely, about 60%(or more) wore sport coats in the specialty dining venues. We saw 1 tux worn the second night. After that only what we saw as mentioned before. It seems pax kind of used the "sea night" as the time to dress up a little more..This meant more pax wore a tie with their suits. Probably about 25% in the specialty venues. Main dining room dress style never really changed. As to island(Hawaiian/Guayabera)type shirts a few during the day. A few more at night. Those were pretty much confined to the buffet(which IS excellent by the way)These type of casual shirts were name brands like Tommy Bahama, etc. A few pax wore polo type shirts, again higher end brands like Ralph Lauren. So overall the line caters to higher end casual. Out of all the nights we spent, one guy had jeans(the only "kid") we saw on board. We figured the staff didn't enforce the code on him for fear of the old "race card" getting played. His parents, by the way always dressed very nicely(actually over the top nicely)So if you're looking for "Carnival type" casual, this would NOT be the line for you. There are standards that are expected to be adhered to & the staff will enforce more rigorously than other lines. I never saw a single chair hog for instance. There are notations in all areas about "saving seats" & staff enforces those rules. The ship is very sedate at night.(generally a much older level of pax)That one "kid"(in the jeans) we saw was probably about 25 at most. Entertainment is pretty lacking, as the budget is geared towards the outstanding food. Being in the food industry, this IS why we chose to try them out. We're back for 14 more days next Jan.

[keithm]

On my first O cruise, to Cuba, passengers in the GDR and specialty restaurants were dressed up more than "country club casual." Not formal, but what you'd wear to a nice restaurant. I didn't pack anything but country club casual so mostly ate dinner in the buffet. Now I know better for the next cruise.

We brought ties, but it was way too warm at night in the dining venues, yet, we saw others wear them. Just too hot for us!

[keithm]

DH has some nice navy Dockers that he wears they look like a nice dress pant

Those will look fine.

[LHT28]

Those will look fine.

Yes I know he wore them on our past O cruises

[keithm]

Hmm? In our city what folks wear to nice restaurants is probably less than country club casual! IF you are allowed to wear that at night why bring more formal clothes just because others have done so?

Are you saying that most men wore jackets at night or just dress shirts and slacks instead of golf shirts??

DH hasn't worn anything more formal than a guyabera and slacks since he retired. I would hope that he would be able to be comfy during our Cuba cruise in that sort of clothing.

I just read on another thread that men cannot wear jeans at night to dinner.

Is that a rule or just something that the dress code "police" have decided???

ALL cruise line should have some form of clothes police! If I wanted to cruise on a trailer trash line, I'd look for one! Jeans were NOT allowed in the dining venues on the Riviera. It does say that "nice" jeans are allowed, but the Maître D pretty much turned anyone with jeans away with one exception: One kid(the only person under 25) got away with it, as staff didn't need to see the "race card" get played. You're expected to wear decent shirts/slacks/shoes. A few(and I MEAN few)wore golf style polo shirts/Guayabera type shirts. Most in the Grand dining room wore dress shirts & slacks a few wore sport coats(us & a few others)most others had the dress shirts/slacks. In the specialty venues most wore the sport coats(most especially in Jacques)Some wore ties. We didn't wear our ties. Just to hot on board the ship.

Edited May 6, 2018 by keithm
additions

[keithm]

I don’t usually respond to the hundred or so dress code threads, but I just had to respond....I have seen you repeat the stmt of country club casual a couple of times, but in the Oceania FAQ’s for evening, and appropriate dress, it states:

Is there a dress code?

Recommended onboard clothing is resort or country club casual. For evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is suggested. We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM. Baseball caps may be worn in the Terrace Café after 6 PM.

Googling elegant casual resort wear, gives quite a few examples, of pant suits, fancy sundress, slacks, etc for women, and lists men’s also.

So I am unsure where the country club casual comes in for evening?

The country Club casual generally is smart casual that's more "high end". In other words, you'll see more "designer" type Ralph Lauren type clothing. We weren't sure what to expect, but Richard & I always dress up anyway. We brought suits & ties. In the GDR we lowered our style a bit & generally wore nice khaki/dockers type pants & a nice dress shirts. The specialty venues we generally wore our suits without tie. This style was the rule overall in those places. A few guys had turtle necks with sport coats. Looked nice, but I'd be boiling in that attire. Generally what you'd wear is similar to what you'd wear at a "nice" restaurant. When I'm saying nice, I do NOT mean places like: Applebee's/Sizzler/Golden Corral etc.

[keithm]

maybe from Oceania advertising

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/life-on-board/country-club-casual/

Even their definition is pretty lacking! It almost sounds like you're wearing the "ship" as your clothing. In my club there was no such thing as casual...except after the golf game in the summer or the Curling Bonspiel in the winter.

[ORV]

I never ignore anyone, but I'm close.

 

Please stop posting the same thing over and over.

[suspaul]

To confirm what you said, I've never worn a jacket on "O" or any other cruise line with a similar dress code. In fact I will no longer sail on a cruise line that requires men to wear a jacket, even if it's for only one or two nights of the cruise.

 

My daily dress at dinner in the dining room or a specialty is khakis with a polo shirt or sport shirt and many men I see are wearing the same.

 

I could care less about what the fashion police think or whether 99.9% of the other men are wearing jackets (which of course isn't true). I'm following the dress code and I'm perfectly comfortable with my choice.

 

O's dress code is simple and straightforward. It's as easy to follow as any I've seen. Why people create false nuances and interpretations is beyond me.

 

 

 

Thank you njhorseman, 3 years ago we were celebrating a significant anniversary and had a cruise with O on hold. I asked on this forum about the evening dress in the MDR as my husband would not be wearing a suit and tie. Basically I was told that if we couldn’t AFFORD to dress appropriately O was not the cruise line for us but we could always dine in the buffet. Pompous, self serving snobs.

 

Talk about off-putting comments, I thought many of the responses were truly uncalled for. My finances are not your business, we are never embarrassed with our apparel and in that case, O was NOT the cruise line for us. As a result we cancelled that particular trip. It really left a bad taste in our mouths so these types of topics touch a nerve.

 

I like and appreciate your post. I’m still not feeling it with O after the negative comments. No one needs the fashion police breathing down their necks while on vacation. Yes, I will follow any dress code but my clothing doesn’t conform to many here and I refuse to yield.

 

 

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[Mura]

Thank you njhorseman, 3 years ago we were celebrating a significant anniversary and had a cruise with O on hold. I asked on this forum about the evening dress in the MDR as my husband would not be wearing a suit and tie. Basically I was told that if we couldn’t AFFORD to dress appropriately O was not the cruise line for us but we could always dine in the buffet. Pompous, self serving snobs.

 

Talk about off-putting comments, I thought many of the responses were truly uncalled for. My finances are not your business, we are never embarrassed with our apparel and in that case, O was NOT the cruise line for us. As a result we cancelled that particular trip. It really left a bad taste in our mouths so these types of topics touch a nerve.

 

I like and appreciate your post. I’m still not feeling it with O after the negative comments. No one needs the fashion police breathing down their necks while on vacation. Yes, I will follow any dress code but my clothing doesn’t conform to many here and I refuse to yield

 

Nor should you feel the need to. I have never seen comments like that here and am glad I haven't. The comments I see are most of what have been said already -- you don't need a jacket and tie to be presentable.

 

 

Saying that if you couldn't afford to dress appropriately you should go elsewhere was truly beyond the pale. If that were the case, the majority of passengers on O don't belong there.

 

Sorry that happened to you.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Thank you njhorseman, 3 years ago we were celebrating a significant anniversary and had a cruise with O on hold. I asked on this forum about the evening dress in the MDR as my husband would not be wearing a suit and tie. Basically I was told that if we couldn’t AFFORD to dress appropriately O was not the cruise line for us but we could always dine in the buffet. Pompous, self serving snobs.

not to disagree

 

but since no suit or a tie was ever required on Oceania I find it hard to believe

 

 

you may be thinking of another cruise line

[Cruseforme]

not to disagree

 

but since no suit or a tie was ever required on Oceania I find it hard to believe

 

 

you may be thinking of another cruise line

I believe it was Crystal. They responded in a haughty manner that if you can’t afford clothes, you can’t afford Crystal, or something like that. History of TS shows this, and not Oceania.

[LHT28]

I believe it was Crystal. They responded in a haughty manner that if you can’t afford clothes, you can’t afford Crystal, or something like that. History of TS shows this, and not Oceania.

I did not look at previous posts for her

 

 

I dislike like it when people make up stories to discredit the cruise line or other people :rolleyes:

 

AH yes

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=43436610&postcount=31

Edited May 6, 2018 by LHT28