Formal Night

[meaty_petey]

Formal night to me is like halloween. Dress up, fantasy, playing a game.

There are all kinds of ways to be 'formal'. use your imagination. You could go 'Harley' formal.... full gear!? boots, leather, etc. I've heard of people who did the anti-formal thing and went in bathrobes. It's your cruise, have fun, (no hotshorts tho- unless your at my table lol). How about bow tie, leather vest and formal pants. Go with it! have fun, don't let other tell you how to be 'formal'. Just look at Hollywood and fashion shows

 

I don't want to knock your advice about finding dress-up alternatives, but you're dead wrong when you imply that the word "formal" is completely open to interpretation. "Formal" has a very specific and established meaning: "following or according with established form, custom, or rule e.g. a formal dinner party, formal attire". Dressing up in Harley clothes, while certainly creative, has absolutely nothing to do with formality.

 

Your suggestion for mixing a bow tie with less formal accessories is a good one, though! It's known as "Creative Black Tie" and allows for ingenious ways to bridge the gap between the informal and formal dress that is worn on formal nights. However, the anti-formal thing is in poor taste. To all the folks who truly enjoy dressing up for dinner, showing up in something like a bathrobe is the equivalent of wearing a big "f**k you" sign on your chest. As most others have suggested, there are plenty of alternatives for people who don't wish to dress up and therefore there is no need for this type of insulting behaviour. (Same goes for "casual" clothing.)

[crcossel]

I really don't get the controversy. I love the idea of a cruise because it presents a different lifestyle that is out of the ordinary. I don't get to dress to the nine's in normal life. I am so looking forward to this. My plan was to get my husband in a tux (yummmmmy) but now after reading this I don't I will be able to. Why would he want to when there are so many that have dumbed down the whole "formal night" concept.

 

I am very disappointed in the attitudes. It was mentioned in a couple of reviews that Carnival tends to attract lower income levels. Now I disagreed because some of us just like to save money no matter the income levels. But now I understand what they were saying. People who are courteous, generous and put others ahead of themselves are just not that plentiful. Today's world (and the cheaper the person the more you see this) is all about me. F**$ everyone else, I am the only important person here. Saying F**$ to the formal night is the same as saying that in the face to the person who has honored the request and dressed up in honor of the even. Not very classy.

 

Personally I hate that attitude but that is definitly what I am seeing here.

[meaty_petey]

This crap is from the Princess board and was best left there.

 

Asking people to show respect for their fellow diners is "crap"?

[JerseyGirl97]

I am very disappointed in the attitudes. It was mentioned in a couple of reviews that Carnival tends to attract lower income levels. Now I disagreed because some of us just like to save money no matter the income levels. But now I understand what they were saying. People who are courteous, generous and put others ahead of themselves are just not that plentiful. Today's world (and the cheaper the person the more you see this) is all about me. F**$ everyone else, I am the only important person here. Saying F**$ to the formal night is the same as saying that in the face to the person who has honored the request and dressed up in honor of the even. Not very classy.

 

I like to read a lot of the different boards, not just the Carnival one. And I can say that this debate is wide spread on all the boards. All the cruise line boards that I have visited here have had the same debate with the same excuses. It is not a Carnival thing.

And I have not cruised yet. But my parents have gone on many cruises and have used different cruise lines. According to their experiences, most people do dress up. I don't think this "I want to be comfortable on MY cruise" attitude is really that popular. They say that although most don't do the tux/gown thing on formal night, the vast majority make an excellent effort in looking their best. I am dressing up on my cruise. I think that is half the fun! Tell your husband how extremely attractive you will find him if he dresses up. That might do it! :D

[StacyandTim]

We tend to skip formal night. To us, the idea of having to lug formal wear on the cruise & fuss in a confined space to get it and us ready for dinner is far more bother than it's worth, especially since the menu selections are never anything to die for. We can conveniently dress up & have a nice dinner any day we want here at home, so we choose not to complicate our vacation with this.

 

I know there are many who really enjoy it for whatever their reasons may be, but the highlights of our trips usually involve the places we visit and the people we meet...formal night ranks very low on the list. We typically use formal night as an opportunity to try a new restaurant (if we are in port), have a private picnic in our suite/balcony, or check out the buffet/alternative dining options on board.

 

We just don't find it that big a deal I guess. Just my opinion...I know I'm in the minority.

 

DH and I totally are in the same boat (no pun intended). The first few cruises we took he'd pack a tux, I packed formal gowns, then we realized, we aren't doing anyting different than we do at home...we are supposed to be on vacation!!!! We soon ditched the tux, the gowns, and eat at the buffet on formal nights!!!!

[StacyandTim]

That is my experience.

 

Of course, you could always put on a decent pair of jeans and top and try the main dining room. All they can say is no, and the odds of them saying that are slim and none.

 

I had to laugh, because both formal night aboard the Liberty last week, we dressed up, only to change right after seeing how others were dressed. Of course, we didn't put on Jeans (as neither of us packed any on any of our cruises) but more casual as you'd normally expect on formal night.

 

To tell you the truth, I felt more comfortable in my non-formal attire than I did in our formal-wear.

[F5Loar]

You got that right. It's on pretty much all the other lines even the ones that have the "freestyle,personal choice" dining. You will always find those certain ones that simple don't get it or do it for spite. However on Carnival you will see more of it. More of those trying to just get by without a tie, without a jacket, with flipflops, with T-shirts with the painted tux on the front. And it's not necessarily the price as I have cruised HAL for less money than certain Carnival ships. Even on my last Celebrity cruise where you hear how high and snooty those people are you will find those few who tumb their noses at the dress code and come on in like they are going to Denny's.

The percentage of folks who buck the system vary from week to week and that is one reason you hear conflicting reports here about how many they saw. You get a week full of Lutherans then 99% will dress as suggested(I'm not picking on Lutherans just using them as examples). The next week you get a week full of Nascar fans and you would be lucky to have 30% dressed properly(Only using Nascar as an example not exclusively). So you see it's really not so bad, it's who is going with you your week and you have no control over that. I'd rather just do as your host suggest, it's just so much easier that way and face you will look nice for those formal photos. Right will always be right and wrong will always be wrong but then my glass is always half full! You wrong people go ahead and do it your way and I'll be sure and not let it empty my glass!

[b8tzm]

You got that right. It's on pretty much all the other lines even the ones that have the "freestyle,personal choice" dining. You will always find those certain ones that simple don't get it or do it for spite. However on Carnival you will see more of it. More of those trying to just get by without a tie, without a jacket, with flipflops, with T-shirts with the painted tux on the front. And it's not necessarily the price as I have cruised HAL for less money than certain Carnival ships. Even on my last Celebrity cruise where you hear how high and snooty those people are you will find those few who tumb their noses at the dress code and come on in like they are going to Denny's.

The percentage of folks who buck the system vary from week to week and that is one reason you hear conflicting reports here about how many they saw. You get a week full of Lutherans then 99% will dress as suggested(I'm not picking on Lutherans just using them as examples). The next week you get a week full of Nascar fans and you would be lucky to have 30% dressed properly(Only using Nascar as an example not exclusively). So you see it's really not so bad, it's who is going with you your week and you have no control over that. I'd rather just do as your host suggest, it's just so much easier that way and face you will look nice for those formal photos. Right will always be right and wrong will always be wrong but then my glass is always half full! You wrong people go ahead and do it your way and I'll be sure and not let it empty my glass!

 

You said: "You will always find those certain ones that simple don't get it or do it for spite."

 

It may be more like you don't get it. If the rules don't specifically exclude anything other than tanktops and shorts and/or no one in charge cares, why are people that wear jeans wrong? Some of the men in plaid coats and women in dresses 3 sizes to small with body parts hanging out are more of a distraction. We personally like dressing up formal nights.

[meaty_petey]

To answer your question:

 

If the rules don't specifically exclude anything other than tanktops and shorts ...

Do you really want to go there? ;) Do you really want to start obeying rules based on what they don't say rather than what they do say? If we were to follow that path then an argument could be made for nose-picking, belching, T-shirts with obscene messages, etc. etc. With all due respect, that is an approach that children use when arguing with their parents ("You said I couldn't hit Susy but you didn't say I couldn't KICK her.") and one they usually grow out of as they mature and learn to appreciate the intention of a rule.

 

...and/or no one in charge cares ...

Many of the other diners care. Don't they count?

 

why are people that wear jeans wrong? Some of the men in plaid coats and women in dresses 3 sizes to small with body parts hanging out are more of a distraction.

The men in the plaid coats and the women in the ill-fitting dresses are at least honouring the spirit of formal night. The people in jeans are not.

[CMKMKRK]

Is it always dressy in the dining room? Is a jean skirt alright on a non formal night?:) :)