App says "Smart Casual" every night

[LindaJ+]

... for three weeks of cruising.  Shall I tell hubby he doesn't need to pack his sport coat?

[barb-ottawa]

He doesn't need his sport coat to be admitted to the MDR or any specialty restaurant. A collared shirt and slacks is all that is required, even on gala night. It's his choice.

[Taters]

If you look at your documents on either the HAL website or on Navigator, you'll see that there are Gala nights.  You can access the documents vis "Check In", then go to "Docs" from there.

[jeh10641]

Hi, LindaJ+,

My wife and I were on Rotterdam in Dec. 2021. On gala nights, I wore a long-sleeved dress shirt with a nice sweater even in the specialty venues. This was true even on our previous HAL cruises. No jacket has been my mantra since I retired in 2011!

 

Jim

[waiting2retire]

The app said Smart Casual for all nights of the cruise we are currently on right up until we boarded the ship. Don’t know why they can’t decide ahead of time to help with planning specialty restaurants. 

[LindaJ+]

41 minutes ago, Taters said:

If you look at your documents on either the HAL website or on Navigator, you'll see that there are Gala nights.  You can access the documents vis "Check In", then go to "Docs" from there.

The Navigator app says "Smart Casual" on every date.

 

On the website - are you talking about the 12-page "boarding pass"?  It mentions the fact that there are "Dressy nights".  It does not call them "Gala nights."  It does not specify any dates.

[LindaJ+]

17 minutes ago, waiting2retire said:

The app said Smart Casual for all nights of the cruise we are currently on right up until we boarded the ship. Don’t know why they can’t decide ahead of time to help with planning specialty restaurants. 

Well, really!  I mean to help in planning for packing, etc.!  I'm at the point where I'm just not trusting much of the information from HAL.

[RuthC]

I would not believe that APP on this subject. I'll bet my cruise budget that it is wrong. 
If by 'three weeks of cruising' you mean one 21-day cruise, then it would be 3 Gala nights. If it is 3 consecutive 7-night cruises, then it is 6 Gala nights. If it is two cruises of 10 and 11 days, it will either be 4 or 5 Gala nights. 

[waiting2retire]

The boarding pass did say 5 Gala nights for my 21 day cruise, just not which nights they would be. This info was available about 2 weeks prior to boarding. 

[LindaJ+]

2 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I would not believe that APP on this subject. I'll bet my cruise budget that it is wrong. 

That's a lotta $$$!  I wonder if I should take screen shots of what I see right now ... just in case there are any disputes later.

[taxmantoo]

A "sport coat" (or blazer) IS smart casual. 😉 Pack it!

[CruiserBruce]

This was just discussed a few days ago. When we sailed on KDam late in February, we saw the Gala nights on the app about 2 weeks out. However, a more recent update of the app has made this much more difficult.

 

I promise you there will be Gala nights (but I am not risking my cruise budget!!!😁). There has been zero indication Gala nights are going away, nor that the standard amount per cruise has changed.

[LindaJ+]

Well, I can pack a dressy top and a necklace.  Hubby says he's going to bring his "travel" sport coat anyway (has lots of hidden pockets with zippers).  It's the ugliest thing on God's green earth but I guess there's no inspection. 😁

[TiogaCruiser]

2 hours ago, LindaJ+ said:

Well, I can pack a dressy top and a necklace.  Hubby says he's going to bring his "travel" sport coat anyway (has lots of hidden pockets with zippers).  It's the ugliest thing on God's green earth but I guess there's no inspection. 😁

There is no inspection.

Your DH’s travel jacket sounds more appropriate than the khaki fishing vest ( with pockets all over it) that some guy wore to the MDR on our first Gala night. (It stuck out so much that DH noticed.)

[Diane Rose]

I was ecstatic when I saw Smart Casual in the app for evening dress, Only to find out 2 Gala nights!
 

 It has been years since we cruised on HAL.  Back then it was formal nights.  So what is the difference between Gala and formal?

 

Diane

[aniyafa]

Curious on what the standard is for evenings and gala nights on Alaska cruises, I have heard they are quite casual.  Planning for my DH who will wear a button down shirt no problem but lives in casual pants (not jeans, think khakis and grey cargo pants) and hiking shoes.  I'm hoping dress shoes will only be necessary on gala nights and khakis, plaid button down and a sweater dress are fine for gala nights as well.  

 

We are planning on Tamarind, Caneletto, and MDR for dinner.  

 

It is his first cruise and both our first time on HAL.

[Crazy For Cats]

On gala nights men can wear dress slacks and a collared shirt without a problem. Some passengers may pass judgment that you aren’t wearing a coat and tie but it isn’t necessary.

[Wakepatrol]

I have good news. Tracksuits are out

[Vict0riann]

Our itinerary on the Navigator also said no gala nights, until the day the cruise started.  Surprise!  But DH always takes a blazer anyway, for dinners in the Pinnacle, so it didn't matter that suddenly gala nights appeared...

[albingirl]

My husband loves to pack his suit since he gets it dry cleaned for free.  Hey, it beats a trip to the cleaners and he's a happy camper. 

[Wakepatrol]

16 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

There is no inspection.

Your DH’s travel jacket sounds more appropriate than the khaki fishing vest ( with pockets all over it) that some guy wore to the MDR on our first Gala night. (It stuck out so much that DH noticed.)

There’s an Elmer Fudd on every cruise

[karen_6161]

Fyi,  Our April 30th Koningsdam Alaska cruise also showed "smart casual"  everyday on the app until today.  It now shows "dressy" on the first sea day May 1 and the Glacier Bay day May 4th.   

[oakridger]

@karen_6161"Dressy" must be a new category name for HAL! Works for me. Those days on an Alaska cruise would usually have been the Gala nights.  I'll check their website later to see if they have changed the name from "Gala" to Dressy,

 

~Nancy 

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, karen_6161 said:

Fyi,  Our April 30th Koningsdam Alaska cruise also showed "smart casual"  everyday on the app until today.  It now shows "dressy" on the first sea day May 1 and the Glacier Bay day May 4th.   

I noticed this on Zuiderdam this week. Maybe it’s supposed to be less confusing than gala? 

[FlaMariner]

On 4/23/2022 at 1:20 PM, LindaJ+ said:

... for three weeks of cruising.  Shall I tell hubby he doesn't need to pack his sport coat?

 

Every night is really Smart Casual now....That's all I bring....I wear my kaki pants and dress shirt and it meets the standard for every night in the MDR.  

 

I've left the coat and the tie at home and it works and it is wonderful.