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Formal night options


Gate10
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We are first timers with Saga and are travelling next week on Celtic Escape Spirit of Discovery. If we decide to eat in the Grill on the formal night ie we are in smart casual attire rather than evening dress can we still use the bars /lounges ? Advice appreciated.

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There does not seem to be clear messaging about this as it is not mentioned on the Saga website where it says that informal dress in the Grill may be worn on formal nights. In the past there was no problem with people in informal dress eating in the buffet then mingling after dinner, however when we were on the SoD in 2019 formal dress was compulsory everywhere, even in the Grill. In fact we were invited to dine at the Staff Captain’s table which was held in the Grill on a formal night. Whether the Grill is now completely informal on formal nights or only one section of it remains to be seen.In any case you have to walk through the public areas to reach the Grill whatever you choose to wear. Perhaps someone with recent experience will tell us what is actually happening in practice?

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From previous posts on this subject,  I seem to think that formal nights require formal wear everywhere on the ship. 

So, if you don't want to comply, I suggest a room service dinner, two bottles of wine and a film on the cabin TV.  

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9 hours ago, wowzz said:

From previous posts on this subject,  I seem to think that formal nights require formal wear everywhere on the ship. 

So, if you don't want to comply, I suggest a room service dinner, two bottles of wine and a film on the cabin TV.  

I seem to recall that was the case on our Saga cruise last year, although things may have changed since.

 

We didn't fancy one particular formal night on that cruise, so we did as you suggest in your second paragraph.

 

Bob

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On formal nights there’s absolutely no need for anyone to dine in their cabins if don’t wish to wear formal dress. It now states very clearly on the Saga website that on these occasions passengers wearing informal dress may dine in the Grill.

Gate10’s question was about before and after dining. On that the Saga website is silent.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Returned from Celtic Escape cruise last weekend just thought I'd update you on formal dress code. I did manage to speak to Saga before we travelled and they assured me that on formal night the dress code was applicable across the ship but you could eat in the buffet in smart casual attire but bars /lounges would apply formal only dress code. This was most definitely NOT the case. There were a lot of people not in formal dress in the bars and nothing was said by the staff . Lots of gents with no tie/jacket and plenty of ladies in far from formal attire.Am happy to abide by a dress code but Saga need to make up their minds about the implementation of it .

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It’s may be that it’s impossible to enforce where the numbers of people involved are too great. The interpretation of formal dress has always been pretty loose for women. Some love to go for an Oscars look, others prefer a more modest jumper and skirt. Equally some men may prefer to shed the jacket and tie once the meal is over. When people are moving around the ship in informal dress to access the Grill there is bound to be a degree of overlap anyway.
We will be on SOA next week so it will be interesting to see what is happening. 
 

 

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The solution seems simple , allow casual dress  in the Brittania lounge which is up by the grill, but keep south/north cape bar and living room down by the formal restaurants formal only . As there will be an official casual bar , i think it should police itself.

 

Allow casual in theatre,  should be looking at stage not other people. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Having said I would report back on dress codes after being on SOA, I can honestly say that I forgot to make a point of checking out other guests’ dress on formal nights. As a general impression, most were in some type of formal dress around the ship. We ate with new friends in the Grill on each occasion so I was more focussed on the conversation than what people on other tables were wearing.

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  • 3 months later...
On 10/5/2021 at 8:11 AM, Kohima said:

It’s may be that it’s impossible to enforce where the numbers of people involved are too great. The interpretation of formal dress has always been pretty loose for women. Some love to go for an Oscars look, others prefer a more modest jumper and skirt. Equally some men may prefer to shed the jacket and tie once the meal is over. When people are moving around the ship in informal dress to access the Grill there is bound to be a degree of overlap anyway.
We will be on SOA next week so it will be interesting to see what is happening. 
 

 

Don't know how anyone could interpret formal dress as jumper and a skirt

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When I have been on board, it was generally just a few of the really old ladies who dressed a bit informally on formal nights (I mean late 80's onwards) and I think they were forgiven - just getting yourself around at all can be difficult for some.  

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Way too wound up about dress code..... we're on a cruise and will wear what we want any evening. I'm sorry if people are offended by my dress sense. We don't wear jeans on formal nights and should we dress up for dinner in the Grill we may prefer to change into more comfortable wear after dining. I like to bling up but my friend doesn't. The ship accommodates all. Seriously there are more important things to worry about.

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1 hour ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Way too wound up about dress code..... we're on a cruise and will wear what we want any evening. I'm sorry if people are offended by my dress sense. We don't wear jeans on formal nights and should we dress up for dinner in the Grill we may prefer to change into more comfortable wear after dining. I like to bling up but my friend doesn't. The ship accommodates all. Seriously there are more important things to worry about.

I agree It just seems that it is the gentlemen who are more scrutinised. Fortunately we didn't witness anyone not in 'formal attire' thrown out of the lounges on our last cruise. 

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We dined in one of the speciality restaurants on a formal night. Gentleman on next table turned up in an open necked casual shirt and refused to put on a jacket offered to him. After this an explicit notice appeared in the daily programme on formal nights that the grill was available for those who wished to dine in casual wear.

Edited by david05
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21 hours ago, david05 said:

We dined in one of the speciality restaurants on a formal night. Gentleman on next table turned up in an open necked casual shirt and refused to put on a jacket offered to him. After this an explicit notice appeared in the daily programme on formal nights that the grill was available for those who wished to dine in casual wear.

How confusing - in 2019 on SoD, our dinner table companion was told by the MaitreD that if he did not want to go formal, then he should dine in one of the speciality restaurants on formal nights...

 

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On 2/20/2022 at 12:39 PM, nosapphire said:

How confusing - in 2019 on SoD, our dinner table companion was told by the MaitreD that if he did not want to go formal, then he should dine in one of the speciality restaurants on formal nights...

 

The discussion here is indicative of the fact that Saga does not have a consistent policy and it would probably be better for all if they did!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The obvious answer is that Saga insist that on formal night everyone throughout the ship should be formally dressed!

Any passengers who don’t like that arrangement would know before they sail what the ruling is and can therefore book with another cruise line.

We, like many others have cruised with several other lines and seen the gradual erosion of Formal dress requirements on certain cruise ships to the point were male passengers can be seen in the MDR in shorts on formal night.

There is always someone determined to change the rules.

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