How Dressy is Elegant Night - 4 night Cruise

[cfreas]

It has been 7 years since my last cruise, and looking to book a short 4 day from Port Canaveral or Charleston.  Can you help me understand the dress code these days?  Are the days of cocktail dresses & suits done?  I simply want to pack light BUT not be our of place.  will shorts and polo shirts on non elegant night work for my husband and maybe polo and pants on the elegant night?

[Cruise, J.D.]

Based on my experiences, yes to your questions re: your husband. Technically, he should wear a "dress shirt" on elegant night according to the dress code, but it's not strictly enforced.

[ninjacat123]

8 minutes ago, cfreas said:

It has been 7 years since my last cruise, and looking to book a short 4 day from Port Canaveral or Charleston.  Can you help me understand the dress code these days?  Are the days of cocktail dresses & suits done?  I simply want to pack light BUT not be our of place.  will shorts and polo shirts on non elegant night work for my husband and maybe polo and pants on the elegant night?

My DH brought suits (and even a tux) on past cruises.  Now since the restart he wore a suit in Sept (5 day cruise) and slacks and a nice shirt in January (4 day cruise).  We are trying to keep it all in carry ons so a suit takes up too much room. I usually wear some sparkly top with a skirt or a Lily Pulitzer dress with heels.  Hope that helps!

[jsglow]

Your husband is PERFECT. On Elegant I upgrade to khaki pants, a Tommy Bahama, and docksiders. Longer shorts and a polo are perfect for regular night. I haven't brought a jacket for dinner in several years although one is certainly welcome and appropriate. 

[ymncruise]

You’ll notice that it’s a lot more relaxed than it used to be. It makes packing a lot easier. 

[Bostwick girl]

I usually wear a pair of black dress pants and a sparkly blouse of some kind with nice sandals. DH wears a pullover collared shirt and black or blue Dockers style long pants. On regular nights we just wear whatever we wore for the day, ie nice shorts and top/shirt.  Just off Liberty Monday, saw a lady dressed in her capris and hoodie on elegant night! Guess whatever you want to wear is up to you.

 

[ninjacat123]

33 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

I usually wear a pair of black dress pants and a sparkly blouse of some kind with nice sandals. DH wears a pullover collared shirt and black or blue Dockers style long pants. On regular nights we just wear whatever we wore for the day, ie nice shorts and top/shirt.  Just off Liberty Monday, saw a lady dressed in her capris and hoodie on elegant night! Guess whatever you want to wear is up to you.

 

Did her hoodie have sparkles?😁 I hope so

[john91498]

Not even sure why they call it elegant night anymore...

[cfreas]

2 minutes ago, john91498 said:

Not even sure why they call it elegant night anymore...

I used to love the elegant nights.  I still love to dress up . . . what I hate is the extra clothes and shoes ad bags!

[Itried4498]

You don't have to dress up.  During the Welcome Aboard show, when the CD goes through the 'it's your vacation,' spiel they say 'want to wear jeans to elegant night?  Go ahead, it's your vacation, your choice not to dress up.  Want to wear a speedo?  Sorry, we have to draw the line somewhere.'

 

And I agree, welcome to 2022 - if you want to dress up that's your choice but if you don't, that's your choice as well.  Even most professional offices no longer require employees to dress up... most department (and department-like) stores have been reducing & even removing their dressiest sections.  Let's not pretend like change is a bad thing.

[Bostwick girl]

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Did her hoodie have sparkles?😁 I hope so

Nope, just plain old grey!

 

[sanmarcosman]

Instead of Sunday go to meeting attire think Tuesday leftovers night with the kids at the kitchen table attire. 

[stobe1]

We do like to dress up on formal nights, but no one really cares to be honest. Do whatever works for you. 

 

There may be one or two Karens and Brads that will be judge-y, but who cares? You do you and don't worry about anyone else. 

[mz-s]

You may be surprised on how many people still do dress up on elegant night. A lot of cruises out of Jacksonville and Charleston have a lot of first time cruisers, or a big family cruising and grandma wants nice pictures of everyone, etc.

 

But it's your vacation wear what you want - they will wear what they want. Life is good. As others have said just don't wear poolside attire to the dining room and you'll be fine.

[Guest BasicSailor]

5 minutes ago, mz-s said:

You may be surprised on how many people still do dress up on elegant night. A lot of cruises out of Jacksonville and Charleston have a lot of first time cruisers, or a big family cruising and grandma wants nice pictures of everyone, etc.

 

But it's your vacation wear what you want - they will wear what they want. Life is good. As others have said just don't wear poolside attire to the dining room and you'll be fine.

Well spoken.

[Bgwest]

It’s not. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

3 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

It’s not. 

What should it be called then, boots and ball cap night?😉

[Bgwest]

7 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

What should it be called then, boots and ball cap night?😉

Someone would be sure to show up wearing a $3500 pair of full quills. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

1 minute ago, Bgwest said:

Someone would be sure to show up wearing a $3500 pair of full quills. 

Or either that chain linked dress that's floating around the net somewhere 🤣

[Bgwest]

Just now, BasicSailor said:

Or either that chain linked dress that's floating around the net somewhere 🤣

Perfect for the two step!

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

Nope, just plain old grey!

 

Gray is the new black😉

[Itried4498]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

You may be surprised on how many people still do dress up on elegant night. A lot of cruises out of Jacksonville and Charleston have a lot of first time cruisers, or a big family cruising and grandma wants nice pictures of everyone, etc.

 

But it's your vacation wear what you want - they will wear what they want. Life is good. As others have said just don't wear poolside attire to the dining room and you'll be fine.

 

On every cruise I've been on, the majority of people eating in the dining room did dress up on elegant night.  Some of the girls clearly spent several hours glamming themselves up and wore their Sunday best.  Good for them, I was wearing a nice polo shirt and dark jeans - no way I'm packing my best on a vacation.

[Skippy]

Is there any issue with my 13yo son wearing shorts for dinner? He doesn’t have any dressy clothes at all but before I drag him shopping I wanted to check first. He does have athletic pants. Our last carnival cruise was in 2016. We last sailed Royal Caribbean in 2018. Not sure how much things have changed. 

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, Skippy said:

Is there any issue with my 13yo son wearing shorts for dinner? He doesn’t have any dressy clothes at all but before I drag him shopping I wanted to check first. He does have athletic pants. Our last carnival cruise was in 2016. We last sailed Royal Caribbean in 2018. Not sure how much things have changed. 

If they are khaki shorts probably fine for all nights at MDR except Elegant night.  Khaki pants are good for Elegant night.

[pattycruisealot21]

Have you guys seen ladies with long dresses on gala night lately? I Know before it was a thing but not sure if its been so much lately. Do you guys think that a long dress for the gala night is too much? With Covid I haven't had a chance to use it so I was thinking of wearing it for our next cruise.