Virtuosa experiences

[uktog]

Just curious if we were to book - are they having "formal nights" on the current 7 night UK cruises,  I presume on a sea day?

How dressed are they -  if we went, DH will want to take full formal, will he look out of place

Any other dress things we should be aware of, we are thinking about Yacht club

Any shore excursion advice - do you have to book well ahead or can you decide once onboard

 

Not sure this idea will happen but gathering intel just in case thanks

[Cruiseforever11]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Just curious if we were to book - are they having "formal nights" on the current 7 night UK cruises,  I presume on a sea day?

How dressed are they -  if we went, DH will want to take full formal, will he look out of place

Any other dress things we should be aware of, we are thinking about Yacht club

Any shore excursion advice - do you have to book well ahead or can you decide once onboard

 

Not sure this idea will happen but gathering intel just in case thanks

Hi uktog I was on 3rd July sailing and going back on 24th July. There were 2 formal nights. It is personal choice to dress up or not. Some people go for it and others like myself and hubby make a conscious effort and look smarter than usual! For some people it's just not their thing and that's OK too. The 2 formal nights on our cruise were if I remember were the Monday sea day and Thursday which was Belfast. There is also a white night which normally there would be a white night party on deck but because of circumstances they didn't do the party but people can wear something white or something with white in it if they want too. I can't say much about YC as not been in YC so i'm sure someone will help out on that one. 😀

[Cruiseforever11]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Just curious if we were to book - are they having "formal nights" on the current 7 night UK cruises,  I presume on a sea day?

How dressed are they -  if we went, DH will want to take full formal, will he look out of place

Any other dress things we should be aware of, we are thinking about Yacht club

Any shore excursion advice - do you have to book well ahead or can you decide once onboard

 

Not sure this idea will happen but gathering intel just in case thanks

Regarding shore excursions normally cheaper to book in advance or you can book when on board. We didn’t do any as we were just so happy to be back on a ship to be honest. A friend of ours did and they did a walking tour round Liverpool which they really liked and a 3hrs coach tour in Belfast. All tours done in a group bubble. 

[Huntingdon1701]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

Just curious if we were to book - are they having "formal nights" on the current 7 night UK cruises,  I presume on a sea day?

How dressed are they -  if we went, DH will want to take full formal, will he look out of place

Any other dress things we should be aware of, we are thinking about Yacht club

Any shore excursion advice - do you have to book well ahead or can you decide once onboard

 

Not sure this idea will happen but gathering intel just in case thanks

 

The second night was more formal than the first for some reason, and there were a couple of full tuxedos in the Yacht Club. Smart shirts and jackets were the majority though and most people did noticeably dress up in some form. You don't have to go the whole hog unless you want to, but you also wouldn't look out of place if you did. 

 

The rest of the time Yacht Club was as casual as the rest of the ship. 

 

Shore excursions are cheaper booked ahead, but you could still book them on board if you wanted and very easy to do so through the Yacht Club concierge. 

 

Most of the cruise critic reviews are of the yacht club and should give a decent picture - mine is here https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=681590 If you do go, I recommend trying to get 16007 because Mary Sanz the butler was amazing! Also the balcony was one that didn't have a post in the middle of it. 

[kernow]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

Just curious if we were to book - are they having "formal nights" on the current 7 night UK cruises,  I presume on a sea day?

How dressed are they -  if we went, DH will want to take full formal, will he look out of place

Any other dress things we should be aware of, we are thinking about Yacht club

Any shore excursion advice - do you have to book well ahead or can you decide once onboard

 

Not sure this idea will happen but gathering intel just in case thanks

We were on 5th June in YC. As mentioned 2 formal nights, DH and I dressed up for both as did others, Didn't see anyone in YC anything less than very smart. On the second formal we went for a drink and walk around the ship before dinner and saw more of a mix even a few shorts.

 

White night was very widely followed in YC too.

[kernow]

3 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

 

Most of the cruise critic reviews are of the yacht club and should give a decent picture - mine is here https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=681590 If you do go, I recommend trying to get 16007 because Mary Sanz the butler was amazing! Also the balcony was one that didn't have a post in the middle of it. 

We also had Mary and agree she is wonderful. 

[uktog]

Thanks for all the advice - love the outfit Kernow,   If we go, DH would certainly be in DJ or Tuxedo, for me, having not had a "posh frock" on for 18 months this might be interesting!

 

I think the only rooms available are on Deck 15 for when we are looking but who knows.  I am sure if we go whoever we get will be lovely to have someone keeping an eye on us as opposed to us keeping an eye on others.  

 

As an Azamara/small ship regular I will report back how I get on!

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

The second night was more formal than the first for some reason, and there were a couple of full tuxedos in the Yacht Club. Smart shirts and jackets were the majority though and most people did noticeably dress up in some form. You don't have to go the whole hog unless you want to, but you also wouldn't look out of place if you did. 

 

The rest of the time Yacht Club was as casual as the rest of the ship. 

 

Shore excursions are cheaper booked ahead, but you could still book them on board if you wanted and very easy to do so through the Yacht Club concierge. 

 

Most of the cruise critic reviews are of the yacht club and should give a decent picture - mine is here https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=681590 If you do go, I recommend trying to get 16007 because Mary Sanz the butler was amazing! Also the balcony was one that didn't have a post in the middle of it. 

Really helpful review, thanks, paints a picture which helps with decisioning!

 

[uktog]

Well we did indeed bite the bullet and now we are in a mad spin- it will be eight days from booking to boarding!  Thanks to everyone who was so helpful, we are small ship people so will be very much testing the ship within a ship concept.  The excitement of getting properly dressed does however wane a little when you try out some of your old favourites and realise a byproduct of covid is its shrinks clothes in your wardrobe, a previously not fully reported phenomenon by the scientists 🙂 

[kernow]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Well we did indeed bite the bullet and now we are in a mad spin- it will be eight days from booking to boarding!  Thanks to everyone who was so helpful, we are small ship people so will be very much testing the ship within a ship concept.  The excitement of getting properly dressed does however wane a little when you try out some of your old favourites and realise a byproduct of covid is its shrinks clothes in your wardrobe, a previously not fully reported phenomenon by the scientists 🙂 

Please let us know how it compares when you return. We've often been tempted to try the smaller ships for more of a luxury experience but have always ended up opting for the big ship experience instead. After our YC experience we think we've found a good compromise but would be interested to hear your take on it.

[CaroleC]

13 hours ago, uktog said:

The excitement of getting properly dressed does however wane a little when you try out some of your old favourites and realise a byproduct of covid is its shrinks clothes in your wardrobe, a previously not fully reported phenomenon by the scientists 🙂 

Don’t forget the sea air will shrink them even further! 😂