Dress Codes for Women - QE2

[rjms74]

For my next QE2 cruise I will be travelling with another female family member who having never been on a cruise before is a bit concerned at how 'dressy' the ship will be on the various evenings - I would welcome any advice or comments on the interpretation of the casual, informal & formal dress codes for women on QE2. I would say that the dress code being enforced is more so for the male passengers on board? I could be wrong.

 

We will be dining in one of the Grills.

 

 

Kind Regards & many thanks,

 

 

RJMS74

[curlyQ]

You do not mention which QE2 sailing you are on.

Since QE2 trans-Atlantics are few after QM2 has

taken over, I assume you are on a cruise.

 

A Mediterranean cruise tends to be a little more

dressier than a Caribbean due to the ports and

most Med cruises are made up of mostly Brits, who

I have found love to 'dress up'.

 

In the grills, the 'jewells' seem to come out more

than the other dining rooms ( at nite ) no matter

where you are sailing.

 

Here is an easy 'attire onboard' guide put out by

Cunard with suggstions for the ladies ( just in case

you have not seen this yet ):

 

FORMAL: Evening gown or other formal attire for

woman

INFORMAL: Coctkail dress, dressy pantsuit or similar.

CASUAL: Skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse.

 

No matter what you ladies decide, I am sure you will

both look fabulous - enjoy QE2 and bon voyage!

[wotec]

We've sailed on QE2 a number of times the past few years, dining in one of the Grills. You certainly can't be over dressed on formal evenings. Most Qe2'ers enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to dress and that is one of the reasons many passengers choose QE2 and are repeat passengers. You'll see ladies in wonderful gowns as well as ladies in basic long black skirts or flowing pants with a variety of lovely dressy tops.

Informal means what one would wear to a dressy cocktail party, in other words, NOT "casual" or "country club casual" or "smart casual" so your lady friend will enjoy something pretty for those nights as well.

In the grills, on the nights that are not "black tie" or "formal", the vast majority of gentlemen wear ties and blazers, even on the "casual" nights (usually first and last night out) where tie is required. You will find most passengers stay "dressed" for the evening (we've been on some cruise ships where people changed out of their formal attire after dinner, which was odd). Being a passenger on QE2 is a treat. Enjoy!

[Kindlychap]

The QE2 doesn't do "casual" save when in port for an evening and on those days where the sailing time is after 6.00pm.

 

First and last nights are informal - the middle level.

 

From a male perspective, a dress suit for formal nights, good suit for informal and blazer and tie for casual.

 

Whilst lunch is different, I don't feel that it is appropriate to not wear a tie in one of the grill rooms. Having said that, I'm not saying that anyone who took a less formal view of the casual code would be wrong.

 

In all my time on the QE2 I have only ever had one casual night.

[susietb]

We were on the QE II this summer in a Grill Class accomodation. Everybody dresses. We also found that even in the other dining rooms people more or less wore their finest. You can't be overdressed on this ship. On our sailing the one time we were in port until eight (a supposedly casual night), a jacket for the men was still required for dinner.

 

It is such a fabulous, elegant ship you'll be glad you brought all your evening clothes.

[tochan]

Glad to hear it as my wife is closing up her 6th piece of luggage now for Jan 11 World Cruise on QE2....our 16th cruise but first time on Cunard...so excited and looking forward to Princess Grill , #2111. Anyone had experience with this stateroom?

[CruiserBruiser]

I just got back from a 16-day holiday cruise on the QE2. I traveled with my parents and we basically had a good time. Although we traveled in Mauretania class, all venues other than the dinning rooms are open to everyone so we were able to gauge the dress of all passengers. For the most part, the dress code of "formal" applies to men. They must wear a tuxedo or suit and tie (or dashing kilts!) and many men simply wore a tux every night. My father felt he overpacked in that he had brought two dark suites and a tuxedo in addition to informal blazers and ties. We noticed that the daily program only mentioned "tuxedo or dark suit and tie" when describing the dress code for the evening and never referred to ladies' wear. My mother commented that that made sense as what sort of gentleman would openly criticize a lady's choice of dress (barring some outrageously offensive clothing choice)? We saw all sorts of "evening" wear; gowns, ankle-length skirts and blouses, silk or other elegant pant suits, cocktail dresses, dark slacks and blouses, and even pretty day dresses. Dress in the dining rooms for breakfast and lunch was casual (no jacket or tie required) but for dinning in the Lido (alternative restaurant which had the best food in our opinion) a blazer and tie were recommended. I say recommended because while there's a notice saying a jacket and tie are required to dine in the Lido we ate there once as a last minute choice without giving my father a chance to change into a blazer and tie and no word was said about his attire or anyone else dining casually. Basically, the dress seems to be more remininscent of Las Vegas in my opinion, in that you'll be comfortable in a beautiful ball gown (if you have one, show it off!) but not be out of place in more informal wear. Wear your best, but you don't need to go out and shop for new clothes because you're worrying about fitting in. By the way, on our 16 day cruise there were 8 formal nights, 6 informal and one "elegant casual." Most informal nights are the nights when you've been in port. The exception was New Year's Eve where formal was the dress code despite our not leaving Funchal port until after midnight.

[catsmum]

I too am doing a section of the world cruise. Los Angeles to Sydney. Presume formal doesn't always mean full length? First cunard cruise and board been useful to decide upon Princess Grill and P1 category. Any advice on weather on this leg - Sydney is pretty hot at the moment!

[susietb]

Formal in the Grill Dining Rooms is about 50% long gowns, the rest very dressy dresses. Sydney in January is pretty hot, starts to moderate end February.