Westerdam - Alaska - Tux?

[crystalspin]

8 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Post your intentions on your roll call!   

Alas, Alaska roll calls tend to be very quiet. But of course if there is one, he should post!

[ivanidea]

As somebody who is used to the Cunard dress code, I always wear a Tuxedo or kilt on formal / gala nights.

But, packing for my forthcoming Alaska cruise, my case was over 50lbs, so I ditched the Tux in favour of warm clothing (also heavy), since I did not want the hassle of an extra case. 

 

Cruises I don't fly to, I will always take the kilt and tuxedo.

 

My last HAL cruise, in the Caribbean, I only saw one other gentleman wearing a tuxedo. 

 

My Alaska trip, I will have to settle for jacket and tie for dressy nights.  I feel terrible for letting my standard slip, but this will be the first cruise I have needed to fly to.  All others have been drivable and not subject to weight limits.

[ivanidea]

After upgrading to a Neptune suite on the Eurodam, which includes free laundry, I was able to ditch some clothing to make room for the Tuxedo.

 

As far as I could see, I was the only one, although there were a few men wearing jacket and tie.  Of course, many ladies make the effort to dress up too.

[Dmghouse]

Huge changes at HAL since COVID.  When we first started, there were three dress code levels.  I still wear a blazer and tie to dinner in MDR every night.  And a tux or dinner jacket to formal nights.  (Ooops!  Dressy nights.) But HA has eliminated formal crew attire and they are always in the same uniforms.  We were in the Pinnacle Grill on formal night and I was the only one in a tux, with more than a few t-shirts.  (Westerdam early October Alaska from Seattle.  Our first since before COVID hit in 2020.) And it’s always humorous to us to notice the gender disparity, with ladies dressed to the nines with an escort in jeans and t-shirt.  As with the Yum Yum Man, after dinner mints, mints on pillow turn down service, and other trappings of elegant cruising, HAL appears to be recouping COVID losses by cutting the traditions apparently unimportant to a mass clientele.  We’ve begun the search to a more elegant cruise line.

[Seasick Sailor]

3 hours ago, Dmghouse said:

Huge changes at HAL since COVID.  When we first started, there were three dress code levels.  I still wear a blazer and tie to dinner in MDR every night.  And a tux or dinner jacket to formal nights.  (Ooops!  Dressy nights.) But HA has eliminated formal crew attire and they are always in the same uniforms.  We were in the Pinnacle Grill on formal night and I was the only one in a tux, with more than a few t-shirts.  (Westerdam early October Alaska from Seattle.  Our first since before COVID hit in 2020.) And it’s always humorous to us to notice the gender disparity, with ladies dressed to the nines with an escort in jeans and t-shirt.  As with the Yum Yum Man, after dinner mints, mints on pillow turn down service, and other trappings of elegant cruising, HAL appears to be recouping COVID losses by cutting the traditions apparently unimportant to a mass clientele.  We’ve begun the search to a more elegant cruise line.

 

Goodness I wish you all the best. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

3 hours ago, Dmghouse said:

Huge changes at HAL since COVID.  When we first started, there were three dress code levels.  I still wear a blazer and tie to dinner in MDR every night.  And a tux or dinner jacket to formal nights.  (Ooops!  Dressy nights.) But HA has eliminated formal crew attire and they are always in the same uniforms.  We were in the Pinnacle Grill on formal night and I was the only one in a tux, with more than a few t-shirts.  (Westerdam early October Alaska from Seattle.  Our first since before COVID hit in 2020.) And it’s always humorous to us to notice the gender disparity, with ladies dressed to the nines with an escort in jeans and t-shirt.  As with the Yum Yum Man, after dinner mints, mints on pillow turn down service, and other trappings of elegant cruising, HAL appears to be recouping COVID losses by cutting the traditions apparently unimportant to a mass clientele.  We’ve begun the search to a more elegant cruise line.

Cunard is the only line left (that I discovered)  that maintains old school dress codes -...

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Cunard is the only line left (that I discovered)  that maintains old school dress codes -...

 

And, based on what I read on the Cunard Message Boards, what is "required" is not what the guests always demonstrate.  

[The-Inside-Cabin]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

 

And, based on what I read on the Cunard Message Boards, what is "required" is not what the guests always demonstrate.  

I only had one Cunard Cruise - back in 2016 - it was 90% tuxes then - sounds like that's no longer the case - I will have to nib around Cunard boards....thanks

[rkacruiser]

2 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I only had one Cunard Cruise - back in 2016 - it was 90% tuxes then - sounds like that's no longer the case - I will have to nib around Cunard boards....thanks

 

I sailed on QM2 on a Caribbean cruise from New York only a couple of years after she entered service.  Britannia Restaurant level guest, on the non-formal nights, the type of attire most wore for dinner was what one would find on a HAL ship today (for those that are properly attired for such an evening).  Shorts in the MDR for breakfast and lunch?  OK.  Formal nights?  People did dress appropriately for the evening and I was not alone wearing my tux.