Staycation Dress Code

[JohnScot]

Looks like I am in the minority but on holiday I hate to be trussed up in a suit and tie, feel more comfortable with an open neck dressed shirt.

 Is it correct that the buffet is the only option on Celebration nights unless you are wearing a tie.

Surely this does not apply to bars and entertainment venues on Celebration nights.

 

[davecttr]

38 minutes ago, JohnScot said:

Looks like I am in the minority but on holiday I hate to be trussed up in a suit and tie, feel more comfortable with an open neck dressed shirt.

 Is it correct that the buffet is the only option on Celebration nights unless you are wearing a tie.

Surely this does not apply to bars and entertainment venues on Celebration nights.

 

There are other eating venues open on formal nights where you don't have to wear a suit. It varies by ship of course. So far we only have Britannia cruising so it will be interesting to see the formal situation on Iona with a large number of restaurants and bars.

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

Just disembarked Britannia today and can report that 90% of the men I saw in the Atrium or MDR on Celebration night were in dinner  suits or dark lounge suits. 

[JohnScot]

What is acceptable. A dark lounge suit with conventional tie or is a bow tie required.

[jaydee6969]

6 minutes ago, JohnScot said:

What is acceptable. A dark lounge suit with conventional tie or is a bow tie required.

 

A conventional tie is absolutely fine.

[BestGuessed]

18 hours ago, HalifaxYorksCruiser said:

Just disembarked Britannia today and can report that 90% of the men I saw in the Atrium or MDR on Celebration night were in dinner  suits or dark lounge suits. 

Thank you for reporting back  ….. My husband and I find that very pleasing to know as we are amongst the guests who enjoy dressing up for the formal nights !!

We are eagerly anticipating our Britannia cruise later next month.
 

[davecttr]

I await with interest how the dress codes are implemented on Iona, specifically which venues on the ship will have the formal dress code on celebration night. This information is available on the P&O site but not for Iona so far. For the ships mentioned on the P&O site the venues listed have never matched the actual reality on most of the ships. I have cruised on Azura and Ventura several times and although the Glass House on those ships is listed as formal it was not! Remember the 'old' Oceana, my favourite P&O ship, apart from the MDR etc the only formal bar was Magnums, the 'rotten compost' was listed but never was in actuality. If the correct formal ambience is wanted you need to avoid designating venues that are transit routes for other venues or suffer a constant stream of 'scruffs' passing through 😁

Edited August 6, 2021 by davecttr

[squink]

Hello , my wife and I are about to enjoy our first cruise on Britannia starting 22 Aug for 4 n, it seemed a great price for a cruise taster so off we go. Regarding the Celebration Night, I definitely have nothing that is suitably formal and I'm a bit against buying new or hiring a DJ specifically at the moment. I do have a palish grey suit and can accessorise that so would that do? Is the general experience that compliance with black tie and DJs is pretty good, if somebody has pictures from the last cruise  and can post then that would also be good to see.

If not , then perhaps I do need to hire one.

Lastly, if I didn't what are the alternatives on board, can we squirrel ourselves away in a bar somewhere and where do we eat if the MDH is formal?

Just want to be comfortable in our surroundings and not rock the boat so to speak 🙂.

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, squink said:

Hello , my wife and I are about to enjoy our first cruise on Britannia starting 22 Aug for 4 n, it seemed a great price for a cruise taster so off we go. Regarding the Celebration Night, I definitely have nothing that is suitably formal and I'm a bit against buying new or hiring a DJ specifically at the moment. I do have a palish grey suit and can accessorise that so would that do? Is the general experience that compliance with black tie and DJs is pretty good, if somebody has pictures from the last cruise  and can post then that would also be good to see.

If not , then perhaps I do need to hire one.

Lastly, if I didn't what are the alternatives on board, can we squirrel ourselves away in a bar somewhere and where do we eat if the MDH is formal?

Just want to be comfortable in our surroundings and not rock the boat so to speak 🙂.

If you wore your suit you would be a lot smarter than many others!

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

Just pre-pandemic, I went in the MDR with a mid-grey conventional suit and green or red tie, and there were others - in the minority - dressed similarly, so I'd say don't get too hung up on it and go with what you've got. The only suit I'd not recommend is your birthday one. 😂

Edited August 12, 2021 by BillieJeanKaraokeKing

[BestGuessed]

1 hour ago, squink said:

Hello , my wife and I are about to enjoy our first cruise on Britannia starting 22 Aug for 4 n, it seemed a great price for a cruise taster so off we go. Regarding the Celebration Night, I definitely have nothing that is suitably formal and I'm a bit against buying new or hiring a DJ specifically at the moment. I do have a palish grey suit and can accessorise that so would that do? Is the general experience that compliance with black tie and DJs is pretty good, if somebody has pictures from the last cruise  and can post then that would also be good to see.

If not , then perhaps I do need to hire one.

Lastly, if I didn't what are the alternatives on board, can we squirrel ourselves away in a bar somewhere and where do we eat if the MDH is formal?

Just want to be comfortable in our surroundings and not rock the boat so to speak 🙂.

 

Hello Squink … in our experience you will be absolutely fine wearing your pale grey suit and you certainly won’t have to hide away in the corner of a bar !!  
Not every gentleman will be wearing a dinner suit and many will be in lounge suits. As long as you are smartly dressed with a tie you should be welcomed in the main dining room so do not fret about the dress code.
Not everyone dresses to the nines and many people both ladies and gentlemen just go for a smarter than casual look.  Enjoy your cruise.

[Britboys]

On 8/6/2021 at 4:11 PM, davecttr said:

I await with interest how the dress codes are implemented on Iona, specifically which venues on the ship will have the formal dress code on celebration night. This information is available on the P&O site but not for Iona so far. For the ships mentioned on the P&O site the venues listed have never matched the actual reality on most of the ships. I have cruised on Azura and Ventura several times and although the Glass House on those ships is listed as formal it was not! Remember the 'old' Oceana, my favourite P&O ship, apart from the MDR etc the only formal bar was Magnums, the 'rotten compost' was listed but never was in actuality. If the correct formal ambience is wanted you need to avoid designating venues that are transit routes for other venues or suffer a constant stream of 'scruffs' passing through 😁

I suspect that policing/maintaining the formal dress code on Iona will be pretty difficult. I think it will be interesting to see how long it will be before P&O drop it due to "customer feedback"...

[squink]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

If you wore your suit you would be a lot smarter than many others!

wowzz, BillieJeanKaraokeKing & BestGuessed, thankyou for your comments, I guess I was , or am, hung up on this a bit, currently I'm going for the suit option, I'm also in Manchester tomorrow (Slaters) and I'll ask in there cost of hiring and go from there. If nothing else the cruise has given me the push to ditch old stuff for new 'smart casual' 😁.

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I suspect that policing/maintaining the formal dress code on Iona will be pretty difficult. I think it will be interesting to see how long it will be before P&O drop it due to "customer feedback"...

I'd give it two years at the most. It is obvious to me that with Iona and Arvia P&O are trying to attract broader and perhaps younger clientelle who may not react well to being told to dress in a certain way, even if they personally might choose to do so. I expect that they will follow Celebrity etc and have smart nights (dress to impress?) on which people are invited to don black tie if they so choose, but are not penalised if they do not.

[Britboys]

40 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I'd give it two years at the most. It is obvious to me that with Iona and Arvia P&O are trying to attract broader and perhaps younger clientelle who may not react well to being told to dress in a certain way, even if they personally might choose to do so. I expect that they will follow Celebrity etc and have smart nights (dress to impress?) on which people are invited to don black tie if they so choose, but are not penalised if they do not.

I agree with you that that's likely to be the way that P&O go. I've only once sailed when there was a "dress to impress" night and sadly there were not many that impressed me...😀

[debsjc]

We found 90% of people dressed up for celebration night. Was surprised to see one man in the dining room in chinos and an open neck white shirt (no jacket) 

[davecttr]

27 minutes ago, debsjc said:

We found 90% of people dressed up for celebration night. Was surprised to see one man in the dining room in chinos and an open neck white shirt (no jacket) 

So there was no formal dress code required for various venues then?

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

So there was no formal dress code required for various venues then?

 

There was, but maybe that one person just slipped in for some reason! I wasn't studying every one, but I did not notice any other men not in some sort of suit/ jacket 

[DS_Dean]

On 8/12/2021 at 10:38 PM, Denarius said:

I'd give it two years at the most. It is obvious to me that with Iona and Arvia P&O are trying to attract broader and perhaps younger clientelle who may not react well to being told to dress in a certain way, even if they personally might choose to do so. I expect that they will follow Celebrity etc and have smart nights (dress to impress?) on which people are invited to don black tie if they so choose, but are not penalised if they do not.

 

In terms of trying to have the whole ship dressing up for a a formal night, I agree, I think it is finished on the newer ships. The good news is that the ships are to large with many venues that they can still have some venues with a dress code and others without as to keep both types of customer happy.

 

For the Aurora/Acadia/Azura/Britannia (maybe)/Ventura ships they could keep the status quo as it is now and Arvia and Iona can be used to give people the choice and flexibility to be fully casual if they like.

 

I have no doubt one of the reasons holding P&O back from younger clientele is dress code.

[Jennizor]

Not sure about your last comment. On our pre-COVID cruises on Britannia and Azura, there were loads of younger ones dressed up beautifully on formal nights. It was lovely to see.  They always looked like they were having a great time. 

[davecttr]

I think the key is to provide choice, it is already there as far as Azura/Ventura/Britannia are concerned. all the main entertainment venues do not have formal dress codes and also several of the bars and some restaurants. I have cruised on these ships with and without formal dress without issue. Iona and Arvia are much bigger so should offer even more choice. P&O do need to clarify the long lasting confusion resulting from their website listing venues as formal when the reality onboard is they are not. I refer specifically to the Azura/Ventura Glass House which in my experience remain evening casual throughout the cruise.

[Denarius]

17 minutes ago, davecttr said:

I think the key is to provide choice, it is already there as far as Azura/Ventura/Britannia are concerned. all the main entertainment venues do not have formal dress codes and also several of the bars and some restaurants. I have cruised on these ships with and without formal dress without issue. Iona and Arvia are much bigger so should offer even more choice. P&O do need to clarify the long lasting confusion resulting from their website listing venues as formal when the reality onboard is they are not. I refer specifically to the Azura/Ventura Glass House which in my experience remain evening casual throughout the cruise.

I suspect where P&O will eventually end up is somewhere like this

 

"On sailings of 16 nights or more, Formal and Semi-Formal attire is optional on two of the evenings. On the two Formal Optional evenings, guests are welcome to dress as per the elegant Casual dress code or opt for a more formal choice of clothing including gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies; tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with tie for gentlemen."

(Regent Seven Seas Cruises)

 

Which seems to me to give those who wish to dress up the option of doing so without feeling overdressed whilst not forcing those who do not to do so.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Denarius
expanded

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, Denarius said:

I suspect where P&O will eventually end up is somewhere like this

 

"On sailings of 16 nights or more, Formal and Semi-Formal attire is optional on two of the evenings. On the two Formal Optional evenings, guests are welcome to dress as per the elegant Casual dress code or opt for a more formal choice of clothing including gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies; tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with tie for gentlemen."

(Regent Seven Seas Cruises)

 

Which seems to me to give those who wish to dress up the option of doing so without feeling overdressed whilst not forcing those who do not to do so.

Hmmmm. A difference here is that P&O's 'casual' isn't very elegant. Jeans, shirt and casual shoes may indeed not be scruffy but elegant they are not.

The problem for P&O is that they are trying to be all things to all pax across a very diverse fleet. They want to give a more traditional, formal cruise on the smaller ships and a more casual, contemporary experience on the larger, newer ones. Not easy to balance.

My own feeling is that things will stay the same for the next year or two and then when Aurora is disposed of, there will be a 'sea-change' in style.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Hmmmm. A difference here is that P&O's 'casual' isn't very elegant. Jeans, shirt and casual shoes may indeed not be scruffy but elegant they are not.

The problem for P&O is that they are trying to be all things to all pax across a very diverse fleet. They want to give a more traditional, formal cruise on the smaller ships and a more casual, contemporary experience on the larger, newer ones. Not easy to balance.

My own feeling is that things will stay the same for the next year or two and then when Aurora is disposed of, there will be a 'sea-change' in style.

I think P&O should hive off Arcadia and Aurora into a sub-brand (P&O+) aimed at the slightly older cruising market,  competing against the likes of Fred and Saga.  Will they do it - no of course not, because they are geared  up to the mass cruising market,  where profit margins are slim, but consumption is high! 

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think P&O should hive off Arcadia and Aurora into a sub-brand (P&O+) aimed at the slightly older cruising market,  competing against the likes of Fred and Saga.  Will they do it - no of course not, because they are geared  up to the mass cruising market,  where profit margins are slim, but consumption is high! 

That is something I have been saying for a number of years - that the brand should have been split into P&O Classic and P&O Contemporary. Totally agree with you that it won't happen now as they are completely focused on the new megaships. They'll dispose of Aurora and Arcadia as soon as they feel it is practically possible.