Dress code

[Snow Hill]

When we book our next cruise, whenever that maybe, might have a problem with dress code for formal nights, my dinner suit is way past it’s sell by date, the jacket has a couple of marks in prominent areas which can’t be removed, the trousers are too tight, so it’s been recycled. As I only bought it in 2010 from George at ASDA it’s lasted well, but have no intention of replacing it given that I will rarely wear iit outside of a cruise. I do have blue suit about 6 years old, not dark blue though so guess if forced I could wear that, otherwise it’s my dark blue jacket and dark trousers, not necessarily matching. Ties, I have few novelty ones and a clip on blue bow tie.

 

Neither of my 2 sons own a suit, both are in managerial roles, but company policy doesn’t require a suit to be worn, the only time my son wore a suit was as an extra in a film  3 . years ago and that was provided. 
 

P&O will change but it will take time, they will relax the rules, those that want to dress up we still be able to do so, others will chose a different way and still look relatively smart. 

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Sorry, incorrect regarding M&S not selling suits. Bought one less than a month ago. Tuxedos also readily available, certainly in the larger stores.

Thanks for the clarification. My local very large modern M&S store no longer sells suits

[Red Leicester]

Given the rather garish bright patterned waistcoat that I saw sat next to me one evening I’d argue maybe some aspects of those in formal attire has got out of hand!
 

 

[Josy1953]

Perhaps it is time for P&O to make all evenings smart casual.  DH & I enjoy the formal evenings as we don’t get the opportunity to dress up to often but I do think that a lot of people now prefer less formality.

We were in M&S this morning because DH tried his dinner suit on last night because he said that it was too tight on our last cruise, he couldn't  button up the jacket. He now has a nice new one ready the next cruise.

[Red Leicester]

I think they are here for a few years yet.  It’s amazing how much room I saved not taking all the formal stuff though. 

[dgs1956]

4 hours ago, Ja21 said:

Thanks all, some good insights here, my husband isn’t one for dressing up on holiday, he wants to relax and be comfortable so will probably pack a tie for the “special” night and polo shirt / casual shirt for the rest of it, I don’t much like spending hours getting ready myself on holiday so we can be the ship scruffs together ! Personally I think the idea of black tie and long glittery dresses for a cruise is a bit old fashioned 

That's why I made the point about selecting a cruise line that suits you. There are plenty of people who think its not old fashioned as you put it. I absolutely understand why people don't want to dress up so why book on P&O? 

[Red Leicester]

3 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

That's why I made the point about selecting a cruise line that suits you. There are plenty of people who think its not old fashioned as you put it. I absolutely understand why people don't want to dress up so why book on P&O? 

As apart from formal nights P&O suits my needs and expectations.  I don't want a huge party ship nor a floating shopping centre.  They offer the package for me going to places I want to go and I can dodge formal night.

 

Same way as I love my job and it matches my needs and expectations except on Mondays at 11:00.  Doesn't mean I'm going to ditch my career as there's one part I don't particularly agree with.

[Ja21]

33 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

That's why I made the point about selecting a cruise line that suits you. There are plenty of people who think its not old fashioned as you put it. I absolutely understand why people don't want to dress up so why book on P&O? 

The same reason most people select one holiday over another these days, the availability fits in with my annual leave, the price was right, the destination was right and the flight was from my local airport so didn’t have to travel for hours to get to Southampton, for us cruising is about being able to experience multiple destinations and see places, the ship is just  a means to get there

[Yorkypete]

13 hours ago, Red Leicester said:

First time poster and commenter on such things...

 

On Britannia a couple of weeks back I didn't take my suit as I'm not one for dressing up really.  I took either (very) dark blue jeans or smarter trousers and casual shirts / polos with a pair of smart black Skechers.  Never had any problem or issue, bar the odd look of disgust from my fellow passengers.  Only the Crow's Nest, Sindhu, Epicurean and main dining rooms were out of bounds.  Possibly theatres and shows too, almost certain they would have been.  I was expecting more to be honest including bars in the Atrium.

 

Although the dress code isn't for me and I dodge it I respect those who want to follow it and wouldn't even dream of venturing into somewhere that is out of bounds.  It's my choice not to do it so I live with the restrictions.  I have seen people asked to leave establishments onboard.

I would add there were more on my last cruise who didn't dress up and the proportion seemed to be higher.  But I'm talking the vast vast vast majority still go formal.  Something like 85% formal / 15% not.

 

Away from formal nights the dark blue jeans and polo sufficed, no problems.  Never saw anyone in breach with shorts etc.

On the same cruise I wore jeans (grey) and a smart t shirt for a show on formal night...no problem, nor being served at the Atrium bars. At the show at least 25% or so were not dressed formally.

[Red Leicester]

3 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

On the same cruise I wore jeans (grey) and a smart t shirt for a show on formal night...no problem, nor being served at the Atrium bars. At the show at least 25% or so were not dressed formally.

Rebel!  

 

I don't really do the shows so couldn't comment but the clientele outside were done up.  The Atrium bars did surprise me it wasn't barred.  I wonder whether a near capacity ship would have made a difference.

 

I think in summary we can conclude if you don't want to do formal attire you don't have to, it's not unusual, though you'll still be in the minority, and there are plenty of places to go.  

[JDB78]

3 hours ago, dgs1956 said:

That's why I made the point about selecting a cruise line that suits you. There are plenty of people who think its not old fashioned as you put it. I absolutely understand why people don't want to dress up so why book on P&O? 

 

I think you've got your head in the sand a little bit in terms of who sails with P&O and dress code in the UK in general. I'm 44 and the 1st job I had expected everyone to wear trousers and shirts no matter what position they held. You couldn't get in town or city centre pubs / clubs without your shirt and shoes.

 

For better or worse things have changed. P&O's target market has also widened due to the size of ships and the pure number of passengers they need to keep the business going. I was on Ventura in July and attended all 4 formal nights - would I have done so if it wasn't 'expected' of me? Probably not.

 

I get that there a lot of people who sail with P&O who have done so for a number of years and enjoy the formal aspects and dressing up. I would imagine however that percentage is reducing each year. Slowly but surely cruises are becoming a 'normal' holiday rather than an experience??

[Angel57]

3 hours ago, JDB78 said:

 

 

Slowly but surely cruises are becoming a 'normal' holiday rather than an experience??

I personally like one formal night a week but I find that last comment of yours (which I totally agree with by the way) rather sad. I don’t ever want my holiday to be just “normal” - but that is all P&O are aspiring to be now? 😢

Edited October 11, 2022 by Angel57
Missed word

[Snow Hill]

9 hours ago, davecttr said:

Thanks for the clarification. My local very large modern M&S store no longer sells suits

My local M&S has stopped selling them as well, only Moss Bros and a local independent store  are the only places suits can be purchased locally

[zap99]

8 hours ago, Red Leicester said:

As apart from formal nights P&O suits my needs and expectations.  I don't want a huge party ship nor a floating shopping centre.  They offer the package for me going to places I want to go and I can dodge formal night.

 

Same way as I love my job and it matches my needs and expectations except on Mondays at 11:00.  Doesn't mean I'm going to ditch my career as there's one part I don't particularly agree with.

Exactly. We are on  Britannia and have skipped 2 so far. Might do the others, might not. We enjoy the ships and itineraries,  but tolerate formal nights.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Angel57 said:

I personally like one formal night a week but I find that last comment of yours (which I totally agree with by the way) rather sad. I don’t ever want my holiday to be just “normal” - but that is all P&O are aspiring to be now? 😢

We take about 6 holidays a year. One or 2 ' special experiences' will do. The others can be normal, relaxing ,visiting new places. Just a holiday.

[davecttr]

8 hours ago, dgs1956 said:

That's why I made the point about selecting a cruise line that suits you. There are plenty of people who think its not old fashioned as you put it. I absolutely understand why people don't want to dress up so why book on P&O? 

Because P&O gives me the relaxing cruise I now prefer. I used to wear formal dress but over 25 cruises with P&O have proved I can have an enjoyable cruise without formal wear. More so with Iona which has many alternate venues offering evening casual dress code. 

[davecttr]

8 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

On the same cruise I wore jeans (grey) and a smart t shirt for a show on formal night...no problem, nor being served at the Atrium bars. At the show at least 25% or so were not dressed formally.

The theatre and show lounges have been evening casual code for years.

[davecttr]

8 hours ago, Red Leicester said:

Rebel!  

 

I don't really do the shows so couldn't comment but the clientele outside were done up.  The Atrium bars did surprise me it wasn't barred.  I wonder whether a near capacity ship would have made a difference.

 

I think in summary we can conclude if you don't want to do formal attire you don't have to, it's not unusual, though you'll still be in the minority, and there are plenty of places to go.  

That would just cause confusion. Back in the day when there were jacket required evenings P&O's Oceana ran a jacket required code for the winter season and evening casual for summer. The result was confusion. The jacket required code was amusing as it resulted in the MDR looking like a tramps convention. P&O dropped the code

[dgs1956]

5 hours ago, JDB78 said:

 

I think you've got your head in the sand a little bit in terms of who sails with P&O and dress code in the UK in general. I'm 44 and the 1st job I had expected everyone to wear trousers and shirts no matter what position they held. You couldn't get in town or city centre pubs / clubs without your shirt and shoes.

 

For better or worse things have changed. P&O's target market has also widened due to the size of ships and the pure number of passengers they need to keep the business going. I was on Ventura in July and attended all 4 formal nights - would I have done so if it wasn't 'expected' of me? Probably not.

 

I get that there a lot of people who sail with P&O who have done so for a number of years and enjoy the formal aspects and dressing up. I would imagine however that percentage is reducing each year. Slowly but surely cruises are becoming a 'normal' holiday rather than an experience??

"Head in the sand" ? There is no need to try and be derogatory, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I've cruised with P&O for years and been on these Forums for years and the "dress code" topic pops up regularly with the same comments and the same non-conclusion. The small minority of people that want casual dress live in hope. 

[davecttr]

If you want a pure formal experience Iona may not be for you. Having eaten in the MDR, Epicurian or Sindu which venues can you use for the rest of the evening with a guarantee of formal dress? The answer is the Crows Nest, everywhere else is evening casual including Andersons!.

[Angel57]

Just now, davecttr said:

If you want a pure formal experience Iona may not be for you. Having eaten in the MDR, Epicurian or Sindu which venues can you use for the rest of the evening with a guarantee of formal dress? The answer is the Crows Nest, everywhere else is evening casual including Andersons!.

I think that is good advice. As said above I like one formal a week and if P&O want to make the newer ships more casual then that is a good compromise.

[Harry Peterson]

11 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

I've cruised with P&O for years and been on these Forums for years and the "dress code" topic pops up regularly with the same comments and the same non-conclusion. The small minority of people that want casual dress live in hope. 

Likewise, but I don’t think it’s a small minority now.  It was, a few years back, but the customer base has changed, times have changed, and P&O has changed almost beyond recognition.

 

Everyone’s obviously entitled to their own view, and P&O will know what those views are, but my vote would be for smart casual throughout all dining areas apart from the buffet. With those who prefer formal obviously able to choose to do so. Others will have their own views.

[Red Leicester]

17 minutes ago, dgs1956 said:

"Head in the sand" ? There is no need to try and be derogatory, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I've cruised with P&O for years and been on these Forums for years and the "dress code" topic pops up regularly with the same comments and the same non-conclusion. The small minority of people that want casual dress live in hope. 

The small minority is getting bigger though.

 

I get dress code comes up but some of us are new to this forum and there are always new cruisers too.

[kalos]

 

[wowzz]

I've only been posting here for seven years or so, but the feeling about formal nights does seem to be changing. Fortunately, the discussions are not as vitriolic as on some of the US forums !

For what it's worth, I like the fact that P&O try  and keep a smart casual ambience on non formal nights. No shorts, wife beater vests, baseball caps etc.

However, I do think a move away from formal nights to a 'dress to impress' format is overdue. Black tie for those who wish to do so, or just something a bit more blingy for the rest. And once a week is enough.