QM2 Dress Code

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

People who fly to meet the ship seem to always be under the gun with luggage size and weight restrictions that prevents them from bringing along a proper blazer for evening wear yet they favor jeans vs year round wool or linen both or which are about 1/3 the bulk of jeans no matter how "designer" they be.  My favorite pro jeaner and trainers pax is a cruise sailor not a liner sailor and that may be the reason for the extra casual approach.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone and to those not celebrating this event Happy Holidays may your stocking hung by the heath be filled with ripe stelsin.

There is definitely a marked structural difference between a liner and a cruise ship but their main functions are the same.

Vacations.

There will be ''jeaners'' [my new favourite word 🙂] on both just as there will be  Lakesregioners on both. My parents, avid world cruise Cunarders, would definitely have been Lakesregioners but equally, would have welcomed and accepted all manners of dress which lay within any given boundaries, without comment or question.

Both sets are correct and neither are wrong. 🙂

 

I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends in Boston years ago. What an occasion. Enjoy tomorrow  🍗 🥂 and that goes for all the  American members of this lovely board.

 

[indiana123]

Have a great time RedMeerkat.  Mind your feet!!!!

 

A bit off thread but will mention dress code..

 

An unexpected pleasure for us was having a coffee  overlooking the grand Queens Ballroom  in the morning and watching the  'light' exercise class with fellow passengers  of all ages,  etc, in all manner of  'sporty'  attire (some hadn't seen daylight for years!)  doing what bit they could manage and thoroughly enjoying themselves.    They were in a beautiful place and on a cruise.  No-one cared if they couldn't do some of it and it made us  happy watching their pleasure.... THEN in the evening the whole ballroom lit  up and those same people were  booted and suited and once again really enjoying themselves.  Different times of day, different  lighting different clothes, but all magic!

 

Just a thought if, on your cruises, you hear  the words "wheelchairing" (me) or "jeaners" (Victoria 2) you will know you are in the company of fellow Cruise Critic...ers   (oh no.. not another one,,) ☺️

 

[PORT ROYAL]

3 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

There is definitely a marked structural difference between a liner and a cruise ship but their main functions are the same.

Vacations.

 

The heart of the discussion is identified.

 

Fully understand one’s position when taking a cruise on Cunard, being seen as a Vacation.

A Vacation equates to a Holiday (a break from employment or a Holy Day).  A Holiday has many connotations, based on a personal interpretation of needs and wants.  Dress Code included.

 

Other’s Vacation (old school) interpretation is to take a Voyage, being a genteel journey, a perambulation, interspersed with visits to interesting places, encompassing every element of the ship, crew, places, sights, sounds and Cunarders.

 

It is the state of mind of the cruiser being the difference.

 

Holiday Makers or Voyage Takers.  The two are poles apart and will probably never meet.

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by PORT ROYAL
Typo

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

The heart of the discussion is identified.

 

Fully understand one’s position when taking a cruise on Cunard, being seen as a Vacation.

A Vacation equates to a Holiday (a break from employment or a Holy Day).  A Holiday has many connotations, based on a personal interpretation of needs and wants.  Dress Code included.

 

Other’s Vacation (old school) interpretation is to take a Voyage, being a genteel journey, a perambulation, interspersed with visits to interesting places, encompassing every element of the ship, crew, places, sights, sounds and Cunarders.

 

It is the state of mind of the cruiser being the difference.

 

Holiday Makers or Voyage Takers.  The two are poles apart and will probably never meet.

 

I cannot for the life of me see how these differ much, though it seems rather bizarre to call a journey on a ship a perambulation, which means walking around.

 

Of course there are a significant number of passengers on QM2 whose voyages are simply for the purpose of getting from A to B. Not sure how they fit in with either of your similar definitions.

[Lakesregion]

1 hour ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

The heart of the discussion is identified.

 

Fully understand one’s position when taking a cruise on Cunard, being seen as a Vacation.

A Vacation equates to a Holiday (a break from employment or a Holy Day).  A Holiday has many connotations, based on a personal interpretation of needs and wants.  Dress Code included.

 

Other’s Vacation (old school) interpretation is to take a Voyage, being a genteel journey, a perambulation, interspersed with visits to interesting places, encompassing every element of the ship, crew, places, sights, sounds and Cunarders.

 

It is the state of mind of the cruiser being the difference.

 

Holiday Makers or Voyage Takers.  The two are poles apart and will probably never meet.

 

I do say. I think you have nailed it. Well said.

[Ladycommonsense]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:50 AM, Solent Richard said:

Fully agree. In fact I'm a trifle suspicious about this whole thread: particularly when My wife and I have cruised almost as many times with P&O as we have with Cunard.

What an odd to say that you are suspicious about this whole thread … I started this  thread so what on earth are you suspicious about?

[ExArkie]

6 hours ago, indiana123 said:

you will know you are in the company of fellow Cruise Critic...ers   (oh no.. not another one,,) 

Hmm, maybe “Cruise Critters?”

[hmorrow]

We'll be taking our first Cunard trip, next Oct. We've been on over 100 cruises, on many different lines.

I'll try not to be slovenly.

Really?

[Victoria2]

39 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Hmm, maybe “Cruise Critters?”

Come on, this is the Cunard board,

Let's go posh with Cruise Critiquers  😀

[indiana123]

49 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Come on, this is the Cunard board,

Let's go posh with Cruise Critiquers  😀

 

 

Love it!  😀

[ballroom-cruisers]

Nice one - or even perhaps Cunard Critiquers (by the way 'critiquer' in French translates to 'criticise' in English! So the CC brigade lives on!

[D&N]

20 hours ago, Lakesregion said:

People who fly to meet the ship seem to always be under the gun with luggage size and weight restrictions that prevents them from bringing along a proper blazer for evening wear ...................

I don't understand that argument (I know it's not you making it!). There will be a very few passengers who are restricted to travelling on airlines that charge extra for all but the very minimum of luggage and perhaps are taking a sailing as part of a much longer trip where they require to pack clothing to suit various climates.

 

But most are likely to travel directly to and from the ship.

 

We used the Nice to Heathrow route and our modest fare included; 23 kg each hold luggage with size limits much greater than the medium cases we took; 23 kg each in cabin bags in the overhead lockers; and 23 kg each in smaller bags to fit under the seat in front of us. I'm not sure what one would actually pack in the various cabin bags to reach anything like those maximum weights!

 

In practice our total luggage weight/volume heading for 14 nights on QM2 was 58 kg/290 litres out of the 138 kg/740 litres we could have taken.

 

That included 3 tux suits and 3 dark lounge suits for me, enough gowns, dresses, skirts, suits, tops, smart shorts and shoes for my wife to wear 14 different evening outfits and 12 lunch outfits, and everything else we required.

 

With a little planning it wasn't difficult to pack all we needed in.

 

[techteach]

@D&N We’re in the process of packing. 1 Tux, 2 Suits, and all of the accoutrements. 2 Formal dresses, lots of other nice wear for dinners. I can’t get it into a regular size case. This weekend I’m going to unpack and put it into a larger suitcase. This will go through luggage forward to the ship, but we will try to get it home along with 4 other pieces of luggage from NY to home. We would probably be ok if my shoulder wasn’t so messed up. Flying to cruise IS an issue partly because we spend days ahead of the cruise that involves not only dress for day but also for nice dinners out.

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, D&N said:

I don't understand that argument (I know it's not you making it!). There will be a very few passengers who are restricted to travelling on airlines that charge extra for all but the very minimum of luggage and perhaps are taking a sailing as part of a much longer trip where they require to pack clothing to suit various climates.

 

But most are likely to travel directly to and from the ship.

 

We used the Nice to Heathrow route and our modest fare included; 23 kg each hold luggage with size limits much greater than the medium cases we took; 23 kg each in cabin bags in the overhead lockers; and 23 kg each in smaller bags to fit under the seat in front of us. I'm not sure what one would actually pack in the various cabin bags to reach anything like those maximum weights!

 

In practice our total luggage weight/volume heading for 14 nights on QM2 was 58 kg/290 litres out of the 138 kg/740 litres we could have taken.

 

That included 3 tux suits and 3 dark lounge suits for me, enough gowns, dresses, skirts, suits, tops, smart shorts and shoes for my wife to wear 14 different evening outfits and 12 lunch outfits, and everything else we required.

 

With a little planning it wasn't difficult to pack all we needed in.

 

I think part of the issue is if, like Lissie, you are doing a cruise as part of a much longer trip, requiring entirely different clothes, and don’t want to be heaving too much weight of luggage around with you. But I agree with you generally.

[david,Mississauga]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:54 AM, Victoria2 said:

Of course they're not. Jeans  was the initial catalyst  and then the word ''slovenly'' was introduced. Your ''but'' is definitely true but only goes to compliment my comment.

 

I was being facetious. Sorry, I will give myself a slap on the wrist.

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

I was being facetious. Sorry, I will give myself a slap on the wrist.

Ah, no slap needed.  I'm so used to being in the wrong with some members, I take posts at face value.  Derr!😃

[techteach]

I would wear jeans to the QG grill for breakfast or lunch with a nice sweater. I would not feel comfortable wearing jeans of any kind to dinner unless I’m sitting outside at a picnic table. Jeans do not equal “slovenly.” I personally don’t wear a t-shirt unless doing really messy cooking or gardening.

[techteach]

Anyone want to make a guess how many more posts we’ll have before HH has to shut us down? 🙂

 

[Lakesregion]

2 minutes ago, techteach said:

I would wear jeans to the QG grill for breakfast or lunch with a nice sweater. I would not feel comfortable wearing jeans of any kind to dinner unless I’m sitting outside at a picnic table. Jeans do not equal “slovenly.” I personally don’t wear a t-shirt unless doing really messy cooking or gardening.

Why do you feel comfortable in a linen laid liveried staff dining room for breakfast or lunch in Jeans but uncomfortable  in jeans in the exact same room with the same staff for dinner. That makes zero sense. Now if the tables in the dining room were stripped of their linen and the staff was in corresponding casual attire for breakfast and lunch  as you are in Jeans then I can see the difference. Please explain.

[Lakesregion]

On 11/20/2022 at 11:30 AM, Ladycommonsense said:

Apologies if this has been covered before but I am new to Cunard …..   I have done over 100 cruises with P&O over the last 40 years and sadly it is now time to look further afield for my adventures. I am keen to go on the QM2 and do a half-world joining in Sydney. I have so many questions as although I have cruised for many years I feel like a Newby coming to Cunard! First and foremost is the dress code; over the years P&O have got rid of all the formal events - even the black and white night, so now they just do two celebration nights in a 2-week Cruise, so my question is how many formal nights are there on QM2 cruises and are there any other theme nights of interest? And importantly what is the acceptable standard of dress on QM2 - I’m really hoping it’s not jeans and T-shirts in the dining room at  lunchtime… 

This thread has been across lots of territory in the past few days with the Jeaners going to the barricades to defend their position.

 

Here is my suggestion - YOU set the tone for your table on the very first evening. Wear something a tad above norm. The same goes for the Tea in the Queens Grill. Wear your very best afternoon frock and the gentlemen can wear blazers for both occasion. I find that the vast majority of folks on the first day and night are looking to see what others are wearing and if you set the tone on the high end of the spectrum, you have every good chance of keeping it there for the entire cruise/Voyage at "Your" table and at your four top at Tea. Enjoy!!

[techteach]

Breakfast and lunch are not formal affairs. People are out and about. You don’t run back to your cabin to change for lunch partly because you’ll probably be going from lunch to fun activity. You dress for dinner. As I pointed out I would only wear jeans to dinner if it was a picnic type of situation. I tried to make it clear in my post that these were my personal feelings.

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, techteach said:

Breakfast and lunch are not formal affairs. People are out and about. You don’t run back to your cabin to change for lunch partly because you’ll probably be going from lunch to fun activity. You dress for dinner. As I pointed out I would only wear jeans to dinner if it was a picnic type of situation. I tried to make it clear in my post that these were my personal feelings.

On the average Med. cruise, I can’t remember there being a problem with people wearing shorts for breakfast and lunch, never mind jeans.

[exlondoner]

20 minutes ago, Lakesregion said:

This thread has been across lots of territory in the past few days with the Jeaners going to the barricades to defend their position.

 

Here is my suggestion - YOU set the tone for your table on the very first evening. Wear something a tad above norm. The same goes for the Tea in the Queens Grill. Wear your very best afternoon frock and the gentlemen can wear blazers for both occasion. I find that the vast majority of folks on the first day and night are looking to see what others are wearing and if you set the tone on the high end of the spectrum, you have every good chance of keeping it there for the entire cruise/Voyage at "Your" table and at your four top at Tea. Enjoy!!

How can you possibly profess to know what the ‘vast majority of folks’ are doing or thinking? I would think most people are interested in the food, but I don’t know either.

[Victoria2]

Well. to be fair, if I've been out in the sun, I do shower and change before lunch and also, a cup of tea in PG  but the talked about liveried staff stuff affecting level of dress is outdated. old fashioned and completely  out of touch with the reality of life onboard Cunard ships and quite frankly, gives the incorrect impression to those thinking of giving Cunard a try.

 

The restaurant staff wear a uniform. Said uniform harks back to years gone by which is lovely as Cunard has tradition and it's rather nice to ''dress'' for dinner but in no way will any uniform dictate day time wear on a Cunard ship.

 

Cunard are not out to emulate The Royal Yacht Britannia and one is most definitely not  lunching with HRH.  🙂

 

That saying of course, those who wish to dress to  a Royal Yacht standard are perfectly at liberty to do so but the reality is quite different.

 

[RedMeerkat]

16 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Well. to be fair, if I've been out in the sun, I do shower and change before lunch and also, a cup of tea in PG  but the talked about liveried staff stuff affecting level of dress is outdated. old fashioned and completely  out of touch with the reality of life onboard Cunard ships and quite frankly, gives the incorrect impression to those thinking of giving Cunard a try.

 

Thank you for posting this.  I’m about to embark on my first Cunard cruise (QV next week) and find some of the opinions here rather odd.  I’m going to wear my jeans at lunch and not consider myself in the last bit slovenly (which by the way is a description I personally find offensive) but I’m looking forward to “dressing for dinner”.