Formal Wear

[JM034512]

My husband and I will be cruising for the first time in December (our honeymoon). We will ne cruising on the Carnival Magic to the Caribbean. My question is how does everyone travel with thier formal wear. Hiwndonyou keep it from wrinkling during travel? Since thier is no irons allowed how do you get wrinkles out of your clothes?

[Toofarfromthesea]

Since you say that this is your first cruise I should point out that vast majority of your fellow passengers will never appear in formal wear.  So if you are bringing formal wear because that is what you like to do, great.  But if you are bringing it because you think it is required or expected, it isn't.

That said, if you are going to bring it I would suggest going to the Carnival board and asking there about laundry/pressing facilities.  I've never been on Carnival, but on some of the other lines they offered pressing.  For a fee, of course.

[Essiesmom]

Carnival has self service laundries on nearly every deck with cabins, and there are irons and boards.  But the most important thing is to gather a collection of clothing that doesn't wrinkle - or comes pre-wrinkled - and is lightweight.  We love to dress up but find a little black dress goes a long way and takes up little space in the suitcase.  EM

[KmomChicago]

I always see a couple of tuxedos and gowns on Carnival, but they are the exception.  Cocktail or sundresses and shirt-and-ties are common.  I can't imagine the extra hassle of bringing a blazer or suit in a garment bag and trying to keep it presentable. They don't even call it formal night anymore, but rather "cruise elegant" night. And there are plenty of people who skip it entirely and eat dinner those nights up in the lido buffet in their shorts, tank tops and baseball caps.

 

A couple of comfortable dresses that travel well, as Essiesmom mentions, will easily cover it, or you can do slacks and a nice dressy top of your choice.  Men just need a collared button up shirt, with or without a tie, and decent slacks and shoes. 

[ger_77]

If you are flying to port, pack your formal clothing last.  I always put ours in dry cleaner's plastic (on the hangars), and tuck them in around the other clothes in the suitcase.  As soon as we get to the ship (or the port, if we're staying a few days prior), I remove the clothing from the suitcase and hang it up.  If there are any wrinkles, once you are on the ship, hang the clothes on the back of the bathroom door while showering, and most (if not all) of the wrinkles will fall out.

 

Enjoy your first cruise!!! 🙂🙂🙂

[MCC retired]

Reconsider Formal for a Carnival cruise unless you really want to dress up then that is always OK . You will be in the minority .

[cb at sea]

Few actually do "formal wear" anymore.  But, Carnival has self-laundries, with irons, if you're so inclined. In the past, we just pack on the hanger, in dry-cleaning bags...allowing the fabric to "slip and slide" prevents those pesky wrinkles.

[lenquixote66]

I have never worn formal wear on a cruise mainly because I do not own any.

[sparks1093]

I brought my tuxedo on one cruise and that was to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I packed it in the garment bag in the plastic bag it came home from the cleaners it. It didn't need any touch up at all. On Carnival it is called elegant night and I normally bring a business suit to wear. As others point out "formal" doesn't apply and you will very likely see folks dressed in shorts on those nights (not strictly allowed but rarely enforced). If you are bringing the formals to commemorate your honeymoon then go for it and hang what other people are doing.

[shipgeeks]

When we pack items that are larger than suitcase-size, we place half the garment into the suitcase, place another half-garment onto it, and so on, then start folding over til all are in the suitcase.  Many of those items are on hangers. This way, there are no sharp creases.  When we get our luggage, I make a point of unpacking, which for most items, is just to hang up as is.  We've taken 40+ cruises, and never had to iron anything.

As mentioned above, not everyone will be formally dressed.  However, we always do, some others do, and we think it makes the cruise even more special.  Especially on a honeymoon!

[OCruisers]

23 hours ago, MCC retired said:

Reconsider Formal for a Carnival cruise unless you really want to dress up then that is always OK . You will be in the minority .

 

Per above .... You really do not need to dress formally for Elegant Nights on Carnival.  

Very few do.  

[navybankerteacher]

Put bluntly:  “formal” wear on most Lines means anything dressier than jeans.

[jlp20]

Only bothered with a suit 6 times out of 14 cruises, wife takes nice dress. Learned quite quickly a long sleeve dress shirt and tie did the job. 

My trick for wrinkles, put everything possible on wire hangers. Use the flimsy plastic dry cleaners use to protect clean clothes, up to three articles per "bag". When packing just lay clothes in back and forth motion. Pack snugly or strap items in place. While traveling, the plastic allows the items to slide back and forth rather than bunch up. 

[Debbborra]

9 hours ago, jlp20 said:

Only bothered with a suit 6 times out of 14 cruises, wife takes nice dress. Learned quite quickly a long sleeve dress shirt and tie did the job. 

My trick for wrinkles, put everything possible on wire hangers. Use the flimsy plastic dry cleaners use to protect clean clothes, up to three articles per "bag". When packing just lay clothes in back and forth motion. Pack snugly or strap items in place. While traveling, the plastic allows the items to slide back and forth rather than bunch up. 

I was just going to say that! Did this last time I went to a wedding. Hung it in the bathroom while showering and any wrinkles in the taffeta smoohed themselves out. Of course, they tell me cruise ship bathrooms are stinkier than hotel bathrooms, so there is that.