CASUAL ELEGANT DINING.....NOT ANYMORE

[Sassy Chassis]

We watched the Wind Spirit coming into the port of Papeete this morning (thanks jet lag!) from our balcony at the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort. Boarding begins at one pm today and I will be happy to report back in one week as to my Fashion Findings. 

[milepig]

54 minutes ago, Sassy Chassis said:

We watched the Wind Spirit coming into the port of Papeete this morning (thanks jet lag!) from our balcony at the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort. Boarding begins at one pm today and I will be happy to report back in one week as to my Fashion Findings. 

 

Lucky you!  How's the Pearl - we were at the IC a couple months ago watching the planes land. We saw one ship sail past the 2nd night, but it was dark and we couldn't identify it.

[msears101]

I usually try to get a room with a view of the boat coming into they day we embark.  It is a perfect beginning to a cruise.

[Petoonya]

I don’t like drunken folks and usually don’t get close enough to people to smell them. But when the wait staff has made an effort to dress nicely, for myself I want to follow the dress code. I’d dress differently if I were in Cheeseburger in Paradise and my server was in island wear. Others may differ and it’s none of my beeswax if they do. My pet peeve in the dining room is excessively loud talkers- shouters. But even that might be attributed to those who are hard of hearing.

 

We’re all so darn fortunate to be able to cruise it’s awfully hard to gripe about anything or anybody. I kind of get a kick out of seeing what people wear to dinner. It might not be what I wear and may not be what Windstar suggests. But many people who buck the rules can also be hugely entertaining outside of the dining room. It’s just not for me- I feel like honoring our servers with nicer clothing.

[Barrycat]

WHAT A RESPONSE

Of  all of the posts I started on CC this has gotten the most enthusiastic response. An un scientific tally indicated a slight, but slight, leaning towards agreeing with my original point to enforce the published dress policy.

Any cruise in my mind is a package. The itinerary, the condition of the ship, the quality of the food,the level of staff services and others determine the total quality of this package.The Windstar experience is somewhere near but not at the upper end of this scale. There are some cruise lines higher on the cost and luxury scale and many below that scale. 

To those that suggest that maintaining a dress code in Amphora is unimportant, I disagree. A reasonable dress code is part of that “package” and like all other factors  impact the total experience. It may not be important to the Carnival cruiser that suggested we “get a life”, but some part of that package that is immaterial to me may be important to him/her. A standard, whatever it is, must be maintained or changed. Otherwise the drip, drip of decreasing the quality of the total experience is inevitable.

[Petoonya]

What a great post Barrycat- nicely said. I love "otherwise the drip, drip of decreasing the quality of the total experience is inevitable".  And "some part of that package that is immaterial to me may be important to him/her." It truly is the whole package as you say. I agree with you but think we are slipping into Cheeseburgers in Paradise in the dining room regardless, and it's unfortunate. It's the way other cruise lines have gone and the whole product is slowly and inevitably cheapened. Still believe that I want to emulate the server's clothing choice or whomever is serving me, at a friend's home or waiter's dining room. Regardless I feel so fortunate to be on a Windstar cruise it's hard for me to fuss about anything.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Petoonya

[wripro]

If someone else's attire bothers you and doesn't conform to your idea of what the total experience on the ship should be then you always have the option of going on a different cruise line. It's your money and if you're truly offended but what someone else is wearing take your money elsewhere. Or watch Titanic again.

[6rugrats]

Not sure what you mean by watching Titanic again.  I thought those people were never going to finish drowning.

[wripro]

On 3/4/2019 at 10:29 AM, 6rugrats said:

Not sure what you mean by watching Titanic again.  I thought those people were never going to finish drowning.

 

On 3/4/2019 at 10:29 AM, 6rugrats said:

Not sure what you mean by watching Titanic again.  I thought those people were never going to finish drowning.

But they were drowning in black tie!!!! That would have passed muster on these dress code boards!!!

[O2B@Cagain]

wripro: I really don't understand your posts. We were talking about the stated dress code for Windstar. It is pretty simple. No tuxes and formal nights. They only request collared shirts and long pants for guys, dresses or slacks etc. for ladies at night, for dinner. Is that so hard for people to follow? I like Windstar because I don't have to get dressed up. But I like a bit of civilization in dress and conduct in the evening. 😉

[Petoonya]

On 3/4/2019 at 10:12 AM, wripro said:

If someone else's attire bothers you and doesn't conform to your idea of what the total experience on the ship should be then you always have the option of going on a different cruise line. It's your money and if you're truly offended but what someone else is wearing take your money elsewhere. Or watch Titanic again.

With all due respect the fact that someone notices that the dress code is slowly being worn thin doesn't require a response that tells that person to go shove it. It's hard to believe that you'd say the above to another person face to face. I come to this board to share cruise info and get advice. Not told my opinion is junk. Judgment of others views is not what the board is for.

 

Most of us don't like these dress code threads either but generally folks should be able to express opinions without feeling like that opinion will be demeaned..

[marinaro44]

12 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Judgment of others views is not what the board is for.

Rather hypocritical, then, to be judging others' clothes.

[6rugrats]

Stating people are dressing more casually is not “judging other’s clothes.”  But hey, feel free to judge comments 😁!

[Petoonya]

4 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Rather hypocritical, then, to be judging others' clothes.

Saying the dress code isn't being followed is certainly not judging other peoples clothes. If I posted that you look funny in a clown suit, then yes, a big pie in my eye for being a hypocrit.

Edited March 6, 2019 by Petoonya

[Sassy Chassis]

Well, I can state that the passengers seemed to follow the stated dress code for Amphora. I believe we ended up only eating in the restaurant twice! We had Candles twice, the deck bbq, the motu event, and ate at Bloody Mary’s. It was an incredible trip! 

 

milepig - the Pearl Beach is still very nice, but the service was slow at times (restaurant)

[ducklite]

I am in favor of enforcing a collared shirt and slacks for men and similar for ladies, however I do think  it's not a bad idea to relax it on the first night.  Luggage may have been lost or people who flew in that day could be very tired--particularly on European sailings.

[Barrycat]

My understanding is that a more relaxed dress code on the first night has been the policy for the reason mentioned. It’s the other nights that are a problem

[Luv my furbaby]

I have no problem with people dressing appropriately, but on a ship like this there is no buffet to go to.  The only other thing to do is get room service and eat in your room. I’m the kind of person that if I’ve had a long hot day the last thing no I want to do is get dressed up BUT I can still handle a pair of pants and nice shirt. Honestly, it really doesn’t bother me what people wear. 

[Barrycat]

To those that are having a problem with my use of the word PROBLEM in describing the erosion of dress code standards in Amphora, let me suggest CONCERN as a more appropriate description.

However, whichever term is used, they are both relative to a persons standards. If you have what I would consider high standards, I think you might be CONCERNED that Windstar has chosen not to enforce minimum published standards for appropriate dress in Amphora at dinner. As I said earlier, a Windstar Cruise is a total experience made up of many parts. Once you let any of those experiential elements slip it indicates a casual attitude toward maintaining the standards that make us keep coming back. I don’t want to see that trend start a Windstar.

To those who think that this subject is silly, there are plenty of cruise lines where your jeans, flip flops and tee shirts will be welcome at the prime dining room, except of course for that one night you drag out your rented tux. Why not give them the pleasure of your business.

[wripro]

18 hours ago, Barrycat said:

To those that are having a problem with my use of the word PROBLEM in describing the erosion of dress code standards in Amphora, let me suggest CONCERN as a more appropriate description.

However, whichever term is used, they are both relative to a persons standards. If you have what I would consider high standards, I think you might be CONCERNED that Windstar has chosen not to enforce minimum published standards for appropriate dress in Amphora at dinner. As I said earlier, a Windstar Cruise is a total experience made up of many parts. Once you let any of those experiential elements slip it indicates a casual attitude toward maintaining the standards that make us keep coming back. I don’t want to see that trend start a Windstar.

To those who think that this subject is silly, there are plenty of cruise lines where your jeans, flip flops and tee shirts will be welcome at the prime dining room, except of course for that one night you drag out your rented tux. Why not give them the pleasure of your business.

Nd perhaps you should give Cunard the pleasure of your business where the dress code is even more stringent. The whole point here is that one should feel comfortable without being offensive. 

[Snow cat]

Anyhooo.  We were just on a Caribbean Classic cruise a week ago; I didn't particularly notice any degradation of the dress code then.  I was making note because I had read comments on this thread before my departure.

 

I can say however, that I have found that on the Med cruises people tend to dress slightly more formally (myself included).

 

Enjoyable dining experience, inside Amphora and outside at Candles.

 

[Barrycat]

I’m glad that I brought up this subject originally and I found interesting the very different points of view by the many respondents. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the most recent posts have spent more time questioning each other’s opinion rather than focusing on the original subject of my post. I have not been blameless in this situation by my snarky replies to others.

As Rodney Kingg said “cant we all just get along”? In that spirit I suggest that future posts be limited more to comments on the subject and less on each other’s opinions.

[marinaro44]

Regarding the original topic:  It's a tempest in a teapot.

[wripro]

The way to avoid all the bickering tis ti stop posting dress code threads. Rather than Can't We All Get Along we should be asking Can't We All Ignore What Others Are Wearing? Nothing anyone else wears will ruin my cruise. If anything an unusual wardrobe choice could give me a good laugh.

[Strenz]

I am with Furbaby, what other people wear is not of my  concern, I think the crew can try respectfully  inform people, if someone slips by so be it. Who notices not us. I notice loud, obnoxious people who drink too much and are rude and smokers who think they can smoke anywhere they want. Luckily that does not happen often on WS cruises. We love the experience and are grateful. So happy sailing one and all.