Formal nights? And how formal?

[holidaydude]

Its been a number of years since we have cruised with RCL.

We are going on Allure for a week in February and from what I see we will have 2 formal nights.

How formal is formal these days?

I remember past cruises the men all wore dinner suits and ladies lovely gowns.  Has all this changed?

Any comments appreciated

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, holidaydude said:

Its been a number of years since we have cruised with RCL.

We are going on Allure for a week in February and from what I see we will have 2 formal nights.

How formal is formal these days?

I remember past cruises the men all wore dinner suits and ladies lovely gowns.  Has all this changed?

Any comments appreciated

Wear what you want. Nothing is enforced. You will find a wide mix of attire. 

[bowler15547]

This tends to be a touchy subject with folks. You are going to get answers ranging from you are good in nice shorts to full on tux, and you will see that on board as well. 

 

Here is my answer, you can take it for what its worth. I've been cruising for 18 years, and I have always worn a suit with a tie on Formal nights. That is the "suggested" attire according to the cruise compass and RCCL. 

[SRF]

As has been said, you will see a mix.  You will see men in shorts.

 

To me, on the last 2 cruises, most men tend to dress a bit.  At least a button up, collared shirt.  Many wore ties.  A number wore at least a blazer or sports coat.  More seemed to be tuxes versus suits, but plenty of both.

 

Women the same mix, but I would say more of them dressed up and to a higher average level than the men.

[George C]

We cruise a couple of times a year and always had tux on past rccl cruises, very few really dress up , will wear a jacket for formal night without a tie on cruise in a couple of weeks. 

[Desert Cruizers]

Anyone else having trouble, I can't get into my Roll calls keep getting message I don't have permission, My user name isn't showing at the top, so will see if I can even post this message. Oops now my name is there

 

Gay

[fla gang]

I've been on 26 cruises and I wear a coat and tie on one formal night and just a nice shirt and tie on the other formal night. We like to dress up. Others don't like dressing up. I've seen it all. Men in shorts and T shirts and tennis shoes on formal night. I've also seen a gentleman turned away because of how he was dressed. Come on, a tank top on formal night!

[DrivesLikeMario]

After a break from RCI for 9 years, we noticed a huge change to much more casual dress everywhere on the ship at night even on formal nights.

My husband either dresses in a dark suit with tie or we eat in a more casual venue like the buffet where he can dress in shorts.   You will see a wide range of clothing.

 

[mkam2821]

There's no hard and fast rule, but Royal is no different than any of the other mainstream lines.  The world has become a lot more casual, not only on cruises but everywhere.  There was a time no man would go into their house of worship without a jacket and tie 9and women a dress and maybe even hat and gloves).  today anything goes!! Holland America used to enforce a jacket fule for men in the MDR, not sure if they still do. 

Living in south Florida our day to day is partifularly casual so we do like to glam it up a bit (especially since we drive to the port so luggage isn't an issue) when on a cruise.  

Where what you are happy in. 

[Espn]

Just off Allure last week so I will chime in. As others have said anything goes and you should wear what you want. I wore nice dark jeans, a button down shirt, and Sperry boat shoes in the MDR the first formal, the food was anything but formal but that would be another thread, and my wife wore nice capris. The second formal night I wore jeans and a polo shirt in the Coastal Kitchen. There were people dressed in everything from shorts to tuxes and gowns. I barely noticed what anyone was wearing and no one looked at us funny. I figure it is my vacation and no one else's and I am not there to impress anyone.

 

Eat where you want and wear what you want on formal night, don't let anyone convince you that you must dress up or go to the buffet. 

[ReneeFLL]

As others have said there is a wide range of clothing. We still wear a tux and gown on all of our cruises regardless of where they are cruising to.

[Ewing]

Wear whatever you want. I personally wear a suit to work, so won't wear one when on holidays.

 

I always put long pants on for dinner anyway regardless of the night so formal night for me means changing up from my usual polo shirt to a collared shirt. If I'm cruising in a cooler location I might also wear a blazer but that's it.

 

I've never felt underdressed...

Edited November 8, 2018 by Ewing

[wytygr8]

If you prefer to be respectful of others, wear at least dress slacks and shirt.

 

If you don’t care about respecting others, you can probably get away with nice shorts or jeans with a T-shirt and tennis shoes.

[SRF]

I typically wear khakis.  So dress shirt, tie, and blazer and I am OK.

 

Although last year, we were invited to dine with the Staff Captain, and I wished I had packed a suit.

[kentuckytravelgirl]

On 11/7/2018 at 8:06 AM, holidaydude said:

Its been a number of years since we have cruised with RCL.

We are going on Allure for a week in February and from what I see we will have 2 formal nights.

How formal is formal these days?

I remember past cruises the men all wore dinner suits and ladies lovely gowns.  Has all this changed?

Any comments appreciated

I do think they draw the line at shorts in the MDR at dinner.  I hope so...part of the fun for me is getting all gussied up!

 

[2Long2NxtCrz]

It's amazing how strongly folks feel about this topic!

 

I was on Harmony in June with a group of eight.  We all had a blast dressing for dinner every night and got especially "sparkly" on formal nights.  But there were five women and three men and my son "forgot" his suit coat (sure he did), so he was only in dress pants, long sleeves, and a tie on formal nights. Hubby was in a black suit.  Our large table was right in front so we got to see all the other diners walk in and there were a lot of formal dresses.  Gorgeous ones that caught my eye.  For the men, in general, I definitely didn't see as much formal wear.

On Radiance in August in Alaska, it was definitely more casual in the MDR.  We dressed up because I enjoy doing so, but I did not bring the long formal dresses.  But my brother and stepdad always wore at least a suit jacket.

 

It really depends on the itinerary, too.  When hubby and I did a 12-day Med, we dressed up (rented a tux through the ship) and so did most folks.  But that was a longer cruise based in Europe.  Definitely a different audience than the Caribbean.

 

We have fun dressing up, but that's not for everyone.  You can still look sharp without being in formal wear, though.

[vacationlover_mn]

I’ve seen everything from dress shorts and Hawaiian shirts to gowns and tuxes.  All fit in fine 🙂.  I usually do a nice dress (not gown), and DH will do a long sleeve shirt and dress pants and usually a tie.  I just got a fancy dress from a wedding I was in, so I’ll probably do fancy gown one night 🙂. We dress up a little because we like to do nice pictures those nights.  Here is a typical example... 🙂

[OCruisers]

Yes, things have changed.  RCCL is WAY less formal that it once was.

Dress as you wish and enjoy your cruise!