No formal night?

[QHsailor]

I’m a first time Alaska cruiser. Many southern cruises on many lines. My May HAL cruise has listed SMART CASUAL as the dress for all nights in my itinerary. Just wondering if I should believe this ????

[CruiserBruce]

There will be two "Gala" nights...probably the second night and the second to last night.

 

"Gala" is the new name...not as formal. Look around the board, many discussions of "gala" nights.

[RuthC]

There are normally two 'Gala' nights on a 7-day cruise, which is what I would plan for no matter what the itinerary says. 
'Gala' nights are supposed to be dressy, although many passengers don't dress up. Smart Casual is the minimum level of expected dress. You will likely find passengers who can't seem to manage even this level of dress. 

[FlaMariner]

As RuthC references......

 

I wear "smart casual" all evenings no matter what the daily program says.......kaki pants and dress shirt....."rinse and repeat".

 

 

[PACD_JG]

Don't be surprised if there is only one Gala Night - I called HAL the other day and asked when the Gala Nights were so I could plan specialty dining.  HAL said it's ultimately up to the captain, but on the upcoming 7-night Alaska cruises there will most likely only be one - on the 2nd night.

[atexsix]

35 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

As RuthC references......

 

I wear "smart casual" all evenings no matter what the daily program says.......kaki pants and dress shirt....."rinse and repeat".

 

 

We do this too, that way we're not constantly 2nd guessing if we look okay.  Gala nights are too much fuss for us now and we go to the lido or do something in our room, even though I'm sure our version of smart casual is passable, we're in coats/ties.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

I wear "smart casual" all evenings no matter what the daily program says.......kaki pants and dress shirt....."rinse and repeat".

That is about what I wear as well, every night. My Tux went out in 2012 and after I retired in 2020 so did all my suits, coats and ties. The last time I wore that tux on a summer Caribbean cruise I lost 5 pounds of sweat on formal night.

 

You will see everything from Tuxes and dinner jackets to even shorts with T Shirts (unless the MDR manager doesn't let them in).. In Europe on shore excursions long pants and no bare shoulders are required to enter most historic religious cathedrals and churches, so I always have several Kaki long pants to wear for dinner on the ship. For me it is a vacation and I wear what is comfortable but meets the dress suggestions on and off the ship.

[kochleffel]

I typically add a blue blazer for whatever special nights there are, but without a tie.

 

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

Don't be surprised if there is only one Gala Night - I called HAL the other day and asked when the Gala Nights were so I could plan specialty dining.  HAL said it's ultimately up to the captain, but on the upcoming 7-night Alaska cruises there will most likely only be one - on the 2nd night.

My 27 April Alaska boarding pass shows two Gala Nights. 

[deliver42]

Alaska is the one cruise that I don't dress up for Gala Night. Maybe a sport coat, but no tie.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

My 27 April Alaska boarding pass shows two Gala Nights. 

That’s what I would expect as well unless hal has decided to cut back on these out of the blue. 

[kochleffel]

2 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Alaska is the one cruise that I don't dress up for Gala Night. Maybe a sport coat, but no tie.

 

I have thought that a "Canadian tuxedo" would be just the thing, although I don't have one and wouldn't look good in it.

[ScoutDiver]

I just downloaded preliminary boarding pass for MAY 22 Koningsdam Alaska cruise.   The pass mentioned 2 Gala nights.

 

[QHsailor]

My boarding pass shows 2 gala nights as well but on the app it shows only smart casual nights   My question was not about how to dress. I guess i didn’t ask the question very well. I do like to dress up and eat with a tablecloth!  That’s what is great about HAL. You can do what you feel like. As the formality diminishes in the non-luxury lines I hope we can keep at least 1 gala night. Hopefully the app is wrong. Boarding passes get updated 14 days out and I’m 17 away so fingers crossed 

[rkacruiser]

4 minutes ago, QHsailor said:

Hopefully the app is wrong

 

Dress "Gala" when it fits when you want to do so.  And, don't be of any worry for you.

 

An earlier poster mentioned that when such an occasion is depends on when the Captain wants it.  I doubt that.  The ship's Master has more important matters about which to be concerned than when "Gala" night is going to be or if it happens at all.  If there is one Senior Officer that might have some influence in that decision it would be the Hotel Director, in my opinion.  

[zgscl]

I believe there is a glitch on the website (shocking I know). For a very long time my upcoming 5 night coastal cruise said 0 gala nights which was a bit of a surprise but I wrote it off as maybe they just don’t do it on shorter cruises. Once the final boarding pass with the barcode was available it listed 1 gala night which is what I expected. Will report back after the sailing. 
 

You can very reliably count on 2 gala nights on a 7 day sailing. For round trip Seattle/Vancouver Alaska sailings it is typically the first sea day and the last port day. Not sure about the north/southbound Alaska cruises. It will never be embarkation day or the last day of the cruise and as others have noted it is ultimately up to the captain. 
 

Gala nights are a far cry from the formal nights they used to have. A jacket and button down with slacks for men (no tie required) will suffice and for ladies anything remotely dressy or semiprofessional dress. I’ve definitely seen men in Hawaiian shirts or with an untucked polo and extremely wrinkled chinos or khaki shorts. A few people go all out but tuxedos are not common except maybe on longer voyages. It’s been a while since I have done one. 

[BobbiSox]

If there is one thing you can count on when asking for information from any HAL employee or rep, it's this: they will NEVER say "I don't know". In twenty-fives years of sailing HAL, I have never heard anyone utter those three words. There must be a clause in their contract that prohibits it. They will answer the question regardless, but never assume it's the correct answer. 

[DaveOKC]

53 minutes ago, BobbiSox said:

If there is one thing you can count on when asking for information from any HAL employee or rep, it's this: they will NEVER say "I don't know". In twenty-fives years of sailing HAL, I have never heard anyone utter those three words. There must be a clause in their contract that prohibits it. They will answer the question regardless, but never assume it's the correct answer. 

So true!  I suspect it is in their training not to say "I do not know".

[mightycruisequeen]

Whether there are or aren't official gala nights on your cruise, you can still get as gussied up as you want. 🤴👸

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

So true!  I suspect it is in their training not to say "I do not know".

 

There is a significant guest relations problem with such an answer in my opinion.  I have heard that as well.  My thought has been:  well, why don't you try to find out?  

 

On the Prinsendam, I had repeated instances of trying to get desired information about who had provided a gift to me when I embarked.  All of the Front Office regular staff could never find out.  They blamed the "Night Auditor" for not providing them with the answer to my question.  One afternoon, a Front Desk Officer was in earshot when I expressed my frustration to the staff member.  She took control of our conversation and said she would find out.  She did.  

[POA1]

Because of luggage weight limits, it's difficult to pack everything you need plus formal wear without running into extra expense. We took an extra suitcase for our dress clothes but we were in the minority. Business casual is fine for Alaska.

[gknep]

I was on an Alaska cruise on HAL and slacks and a button down shirt did not bring a sport coat for Gala Night. Walking around the ship I felt like I was in the minority and underdressed compared to those that went full Gala Night but much better dressed than those that ignored it.  I was on a Mexican Riviera cruise in January and brought a jacket and tie for Gala Night and blended right in with everyone else that dressed for the occasion. There was not a lot of middle ground. You were either dressed up or you were not. 

[RuthC]

11 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Because of luggage weight limits, it's difficult to pack everything you need plus formal wear without running into extra expense.

I read that argument often on here, but it still doesn't make any sense to me. You need to pack something to wear at night anyway, so what's the difference if it is something a little more dressed up vs. not as dressed up? 

Now, I'll admit I'm thinking like a woman, but in either case, I need underwear, a nice dress, hose, shoes, and jewelry. The weight is approximately the same. As a matter of fact, my dressy clothes weigh less than some of my casual evening clothes because they are made of something like chiffon, which weighs almost nothing. 

For a man, a collared shirt in a knot or cotton weighs less than a plaid flannel shirt (which I have seen in Alaska). Jeans weigh more than Dockers.  

[rkacruiser]

25 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Because of luggage weight limits, it's difficult to pack everything you need plus formal wear without running into extra expense. 

 

I have flown internationally with two pieces of luggage and a carry-on with my tux, two formal shirts with studs and cuff links, ties, and a pair of black dress shoes as well as with a couple of dress pants and a sport coat with appropriate dress for when I would wear them as well with other casual dress that is appropriate for where I am cruising.  Have never paid any money for being over the weight limits for the baggage.  And, I am one who is a chronic overpacker!  

Edited April 19, 2022 by rkacruiser

[POA1]

12 hours ago, RuthC said:

I read that argument often on here, but it still doesn't make any sense to me. You need to pack something to wear at night anyway, so what's the difference if it is something a little more dressed up vs. not as dressed up? 

In my case, it's a tuxedo, the formal shirts, vests/cummerbunds, formal shoes, etc. I can wear a jacket on the plane for free. If I choose something like a blue blazer, I can save a fair amount of weight.