Two formal nights necessary?

[tx121]

Just came back from a 7 night cruise and was wondering what others thought of having 2 formal nights on a week long cruise. I think 1 formal night is enough for a week. Do you think RCL keeps it in place because of tradition?

[sherezada]

I love formal nights! Th opportunities to dress up on my regular life are very seldom, so I look forward to primping up and feeling like a million bucks. No one is forced to dress up, it is SUGGESTED attire, so I don't see how a 2nd formal night is detrimental to anyone.

[champagne123]

I love formal nights! Th opportunities to dress up on my regular life are very seldom, so I look forward to primping up and feeling like a million bucks. No one is forced to dress up, it is SUGGESTED attire, so I don't see how a 2nd formal night is detrimental to anyone.

I agree. It is all about choices!

[JAMESCC]

Just came back from a 7 night cruise and was wondering what others thought of having 2 formal nights on a week long cruise. I think 1 formal night is enough for a week. Do you think RCL keeps it in place because of tradition?

1 is too many. It's not really enforced so there really aren't any formal nights actually.

 

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[yuvraj]

I'm ok with it. It is optional and RC is fairly relaxed so it is our choice whether we want to conform.

[cruzeluver]

It's not really enforced so there really aren't any formal nights actually.

 

Yep. Walking around on "formal night" it looks like some folks are going to a wedding, some are going out for a nice dinner and some just left the drive-through at McDonalds.

[firerecruit71295]

My wife and I love formal nights. We dont go crazy and wear a tux and ball gown but shirt, tie, and slacks and a nice cocktail dress. I dont understand why its a big deal to anyone.. RC doesnt enforce the dress code like they should. The MDR is a "formal" setting and should be treated as such. If people choose not to dress up those nights then the windjammer is always an option. Why change a "tradition" because people choose not to follow the dress code or push to have the tradition changed? (alright i have my hose ready next to me so FLAME ON!)

[MacMarauder]

If they are going to keep doing formal nights they may as well have two. If I'm going through the hassle of packing a suit and jacket I may as well get two uses out of it! As others have said you can skip one or both formal nights without a problem. We didn't pack formal clothes for Allure and ate at Johnny Rockets for one formal night and the WJ for the other. I do think if you are wearing casual clothes you should eat somewhere other than the MDR but that's just my take on it.

[Clarea]

Just came back from a 7 night cruise and was wondering what others thought of having 2 formal nights on a week long cruise. I think 1 formal night is enough for a week. Do you think RCL keeps it in place because of tradition?

Formal nights are good for the photography business.

[SevenSeas1492]

formal nights are good for the photography business.

 

 

bingo! $$$$$

[island lady]

 

Yep. Walking around on "formal night" it looks like some folks are going to a wedding, some are going out for a nice dinner and some just left the drive-through at McDonalds.

 

+ one. ^ LOL!!

 

Formal night is only formal if you want it to be. No one forcing anyone to dress up .....though we enjoy it. :)

[TEXASMUNK]

If you dislike formal nights, do not participate. There are still a ton of folks that enjoy the evenings. You will probably not see a lot of folks demanding those that dislike formal nights stay in the cabin, so why knock those that do enjoy those evenings?

[jennyp0208]

Necessary? Probably not, but it's one of the things I'm most looking forward to. Hubby and I love to get dressed up.

[NateUpNorth]

Its a choice, 2 isn't that terrible.

I just wish the MDR on formal nights would enforce the dress code. A simple "this is a formal night, informal attire is more than welcome at one of our other restaurants tonight" would be fantastic.

[JAMESCC]

You can dress up any night. There is no rule you have to and no rule saying you can't. You can have formal but every night if you want. I hate it and I'm glad they don't in force it.

 

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[davekathy]

+ one. ^ LOL!!

 

Formal night is only formal if you want it to be. No one forcing anyone to dress up .....though we enjoy it. :)

Agree. Just another evening no matter what we are wearing. We're on a cruise and having a blast.

Edited June 7, 2018 by davekathy

[Pratique]

I will say this. I once worked for a company that changed its dress code from business casual to casual. People started showing up to work looking like they had just been gardening. It was bad, and they reverted to business casual.

 

I think if the cruise line reduced or eliminated formal night, fewer and fewer people would dress up and it would look more like what I see people wearing at Walmart. By keeping formal nights, people have a reason to bring nice clothes, even if it is "optional," since they know others will dress up for dinner too.

 

Personally, I enjoy wearing a suit coat to dinner just about every night, and I just add a tie for formal nights, because cruising is a special time for us.

[earlybird8]

I love formal night and hope they keep two. Those who don't want to participate don't have to, but it's nice for those of us who do.

[beachnative]

When we began cruising in 1997 “Formal NIght” was followed as suggested by the “Compass”. We enjoyed dressing up for Formal NIght then and still do at times. In 1997 we seldom saw someone dressed DOWN on formal night and therefore those nights had a special atmosphere throughout the ship.

As years have passed, more and more people have decided that dressing up was not their preference and dressed casual on Formal NIghts usually claiming “I paid for this cruise and I will dress the way I want”. These “dress down” people have diluted the Formal NIght atmosphere to the point that we have abandoned our preference to dress up and adopted the more casual mentality.

We used to verbally support “Formal Nights” on this board, but now we simply no longer care.

Now we only dress up when we have a dinner in the Main Dining Room with a high ranking officer....why?...out of respect for his/her position.

Do we miss seeing the ship filled with well dress guests....certainly. Do we still enjoy cruising and Formal Nights....absolutely. We smile, and compliment those who “dress up” and go about our business of enjoying the evening in our more casual clothes.

Edited June 7, 2018 by beachnative

[BillOh]

 

Yep. Walking around on "formal night" it looks like some folks are going to a wedding, some are going out for a nice dinner and some just left the drive-through at McDonalds.

 

 

I didn't know we were supposed to stay in our cabins if we weren't dressing up. Totally kidding. I at least make a minimal effort (white shirt/tie) on 7 day cruises. For my upcoming 4 day it will be smart casual every night.

[JAMESCC]

I didn't know we were supposed to stay in our cabins if we weren't dressing up. Totally kidding. I at least make a minimal effort (white shirt/tie) on 7 day cruises. For my upcoming 4 day it will be smart casual every night.

Go on the Cunard board. They will tell you flat out if you don't have a tux on for the evenings you will be relagated to your room. Need one to just walk the ship at night. After that I was like, ok that's not for me even though I would kill to see the QM2.

 

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[Desert Cruizers]

I too enjoy the Formal Night evenings, but will admit I am not dressing up as I did on our first few cruises. We each have our choices to dress for Formal or not to, I say leave the Formal nights in place and those who enjoy the evening and wish to dress up we can while others who prefer to remain casual can dress as they wish . Why take it away from those who enjoy the Formal evenings. Speaking for myself, I am casual at home 24/7 so the few nights I get to dress up a little, makes my cruise more special to me seeing many dressed up.

[mollyeilis]

When we began cruising in 1997 “Formal NIght” was followed as suggested by the “Compass”. We enjoyed dressing up for Formal NIght then and still do at times. In 1997 we seldom saw someone dressed DOWN on formal night and therefore those nights had a special atmosphere throughout the ship.

As years have passed, more and more people have decided that dressing up was not their preference and dressed casual on Formal NIghts usually claiming “I paid for this cruise and I will dress the way I want”. These “dress down” people have diluted the Formal NIght atmosphere to the point that we have abandoned our preference to dress up and adopted the more casual mentality.

We used to verbally support “Formal Nights” on this board, but now we simply no longer care.

Now we only dress up when we have a dinner in the Main Dining Room with a high ranking officer....why?...out of respect for his/her position.

Do we miss seeing the ship filled with well dress guests....certainly. Do we still enjoy cruising and Formal Nights....absolutely. We smile, and compliment those who “dress up” and go about our business of enjoying the evening in our more casual clothes.

 

 

 

Seems to me that if you enjoyed it there’s no reason to stop. Don’t let what others aren’t doing impact you. To another person on the ship who wants to dress up but is letting peer pressure get to them, you’re part of the problem if you’re not going formal anymore.

 

 

Go on the Cunard board. They will tell you flat out if you don't have a tux on for the evenings you will be relagated to your room. Need one to just walk the ship at night. After that I was like, ok that's not for me even though I would kill to see the QM2.

 

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Husband and son tell me that a properly fitted suit is just as comfy as a pair of khakis etc. No reason to not be comfortable in a tux; just gotta put the alternations time and money into it.

 

If you’d kill to see qm2, I think wearing a tux would be easier. :):)

 

 

 

 

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[JAMESCC]

Seems to me that if you enjoyed it there’s no reason to stop. Don’t let what others aren’t doing impact you. To another person on the ship who wants to dress up but is letting peer pressure get to them, you’re part of the problem if you’re not going formal anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

Husband and son tell me that a properly fitted suit is just as comfy as a pair of khakis etc. No reason to not be comfortable in a tux; just gotta put the alternations time and money into it.

 

If you’d kill to see qm2, I think wearing a tux would be easier. :):)

 

 

 

 

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No thanks. Beautiful ship, but no thanks.

 

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[TBone2K]

We usually chose the second formal night to do a different restaurant for dinner.

 

...fewer and fewer people would dress up and it would look more like what I see people wearing at Walmart.

 

LOL. You haven't seen the "people of walmart" web site, have you?