yet another dining room question

[hlb76]

I was trying to search for my answer but was unable to find it so please help. I am 17 days away from our cruise so I am ready to start doing the serious packing. We are on a 5 day cruise and I am trying to decide what to bring for dinner. I am planning on dining in the dining room.I know one formal night (when is this night) and the rest is nice dinner wear. I am fully aware of what is acceptable have read many posts about this. But I thought i read that the first and last night is much more relaxed due to not have luggage in the rooms. Is this true? And how relaxed? I plan to board the ship in shorts and t-shirt would this work? I have read a lot of posts and seen that this is a "hot" topic so please do not get worked up I do not want to be flamed. I was trying to pack a light and reasonable as possible. So please any help would be appericated. Thanks in advance:)

[habby]

Shorts and t-shirts is what we wear, as do a lot of others on those nights.

[GoinCruisin]

I have seen people in shorts in the dining room for dinner on the first night, those that have not received their luggage... have not seen many however, but always have late seating and most of the luggage is delivered well before then.

[jckvpa0]

Last night is not as lax as the first night because people plan accordingly. On the first night you will see some shorts but not as many as you might think, most people do have their luggage by the time they need to go to the dinning room. I think at times there are people that like to use the excuse that they have not gotten their bags in time to go to dinner just to stay in their casual clothes because they are so tired from their long day traveling.I really can't blame them for wanting to be relaxed.

[b8tzm]

First night about anything goes, same thing for all other nights, accept the 2 formal nights. They dont want shorts , beachwear etc after the first night. Jeans are okay every night they may say something formal night, we had a guy near us in jeans on both formal nights, they didnt boot him. They want your money for cruise and dining staff want tips

[Scoutcat]

We recently sailed on the Valor (Dec. 18-25). As previous posters mentioned, the first night you will see just about everything except swim suits allowed in the dining room. Any other night you will need to at least have nice pants, dressy capris, or a skirt along with a nice top in order to not feel pretty underdressed. Shorts and tanks will definitely get you turned away from the main dining rooms....my son saw that happen one night during our cruise. On non-formal nights the dress requested is called "elegant casual"....so basically if you would wear it to church or a nice restaurant, you should be fine (I almost said clean and neat, but for some folks that could still be jeans and a tishirt--LOL). There were quite a few people dressed up on the formal nights (including us).....although I suspect the fact that it was so close to the holidays had some impact on that. I saw a number of guys in suits/blazers and women in "cocktail" dresses that night as well.

 

They really do try to make dinner in the main dining rooms a special part of the day (and it was, every night), so it seems like part of the game to make a special effort to look nice as far as I'm concerned. The guys rented tuxes from Carnival ahead of time---a terrific way to do that, as you get them on the ship, no packing hassles! All of our girlie goodies were off bargain racks, but we looked MAHVELOUS...if I do say so myself.

 

"Scout" aka Carol

Dayton, OH

[Wennfred]

Not sure if it was mentioned here but alot of us bring a carry on, these carry on bags have all it would take to survive the first or even the 2nd dinner night, from toiletries to nice slacks or even a nice simple dress and shoes. So to be safe plan on packing an emergency carry on bag. I have seen people on every cruise I have been on that the airline has lost all of their luggage. Neatly Carry on some of your clothing is the way to go.

[MrPete]

The Maitre D' will make his speech the first night telling you the dress code for each night, also stating that shorts are not allowed all the other nights.

[Cotton]

Heather, yes you may wear your shorts the first night at dinner. When boading, I always wear something like capris that would be more appropriate in the dining room, but shorts are certainly allowed the first night. The last night is more like the other non-formal nights, as there's plenty of time after dinner to pack, so no need to dress 'down'.

 

For those who say they wear shorts in the dining room any night - I'll just say that I've seen, on more than one occasion, folks being turned away by the maitre d' for not being properly dressed. That's why the Lido Deck buffet is there - for those who choose to have their meals in a casual setting.

 

On a five night cruise, there is only one formal night, and it's usually your second night on board the ship. Seems that you've read and appreciate the cruiseline's rules...so...BON VOYAGE!:)

[scaredsilly]

Heather, I am also going on a cruise in 17 days and my name is Heather also. Which cruise are you going on? We are on the Elation out of Galveston...

[hlb76]

Wish we where on the same one we are on Imagination out of Maimi. Thanks to everyone who has answered. I have been freaking out about how much to pack. Feel like we will have at least 2 bags for each person and we do not own that much luggage nor do I want to drag it around the airport. So all the help I can get is very useful.

[Ellya]

Another thing to remember is that you will only be wearing your dinner clothes for a few hours. On a port day or about the pool, you'll be wearing your bathing suit or shorts for the rest of the day. So, you can easily wear items to the dining room more than one night, especially if you mix and match. I personally would freeze in the dining room in shorts and a T shirt.

[habby]

Heather, I am also going on a cruise in 17 days and my name is Heather also. Which cruise are you going on? We are on the Elation out of Galveston...

 

Scared,

 

check out the main menu board for the section on "Need Help Using the Boards?" There are instructions there for a countdown clock.

 

Have a great time on your cruise.