All your P&O dress code comments and queries.

[Adawn47]

I have one long dress that I love, so take that and then evening trousers with dressy/sparkly tops. My husband takes his dinner suit, dress shirts and a couple of bow ties. You don't have to be uncomfortable to be dressy.

Avril

[Jennizor]

This is my favourite formal outfit, it is a split skirt with trousers in the same material underneath.

 

 

[Denarius]

On 3/26/2023 at 10:54 PM, wowzz said:

Don't ask me - I don't write the rules!

I suspect it is because Caribbean cruises are dominated by US lines which operate a more relaxed dress code.

[Vampiress88]

Just remind me where won’t let you in if you aren’t in a suit please? 
 

the parents in law have hijacked our holiday and the father in law will not where a suit

[davecttr]

On Celebration Night, once per week the four main dining rooms, Epicurian, Sindhu and the Chefs Table restaurants, The Crows Nest bar and possibly Sindhu and Andersons bars although Andersons is not listed on the P&O site. Everywhere else is evening casual.

[terrierjohn]

50 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Just remind me where won’t let you in if you aren’t in a suit please? 
 

the parents in law have hijacked our holiday and the father in law will not where a suit

Why not send them to the buffet with the girls, while you two enjoy a romantic date night in the MDR or a speciality restaurants.

[Vampiress88]

24 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Why not send them to the buffet with the girls, while you two enjoy a romantic date night in the MDR or a speciality restaurants.

I’ve said that to them if they don’t want to dress up

[Camberley]

On a previous cruise one of our friends refused to wear any of shirt, tie, jacket on formal night: and made a big point before the cruise of “it’s my holiday so I will wear what I want”.
 

So that night on board he went to Brodies and the buffet by himself while we, all dressed up, went to the Crows Nest and Epicurean. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Camberley

[Vampiress88]

Will do that yes. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Vampiress88

[WestonOne]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:17 PM, Camberley said:

On a previous cruise one of our friends refused to wear any of shirt, tie, jacket on formal night: and made a big point before the cruise of “it’s my holiday so I will wear what I want”.
 

So that night on board he went to Brodies and the buffet by himself while we, all dressed up, went to the Crows Nest and Epicurean. 

I must admit I find this attitude a bit strange, though far from rare.  There are plenty of alternative lines where you do not have to dress up at all.  Why pick one of the relatively few that promote dressing up and then refuse to do it, rather than go for a line where you are comfortable?

[Camberley]

6 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

I must admit I find this attitude a bit strange, though far from rare.  There are plenty of alternative lines where you do not have to dress up at all.  Why pick one of the relatively few that promote dressing up and then refuse to do it, rather than go for a line where you are comfortable?

I think some people are just bloody-minded, stubborn and like to be contrary for the sake of it. Granted, most end up in politics but a few cruise 🤣

[jaydee6969]

I don't understand why it bothers some people so much.  I do black tie on some cruises, and don't bother on others.  I am more than happy to not go to the MDR/Crows Nest etc, and use the rest of the ship.  In fact on Azura last week we used both the Beach House and Sindhu for black tie nights.  Even thought Sindhu has a black tie notice outside on Azura, it does not apply to the dining area.

 

I still can not find in the P&O T's and C's where it states that it is a condition of booking that you adhere to formal dress code on said evenings.  My understanding since our first cruise was that it was an option, which many enjoy and indeed look forward too.  We too enjoy them, but only when it suits us.

[snaefell]

When we book a cruise the important points are the date of departure & where it is going,which cruise line it is & what the dress code is tend to be less of a consideration.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, jaydee6969 said:

I don't understand why it bothers some people so much.  I do black tie on some cruises, and don't bother on others.  I am more than happy to not go to the MDR/Crows Nest etc, and use the rest of the ship.  In fact on Azura last week we used both the Beach House and Sindhu for black tie nights.  Even thought Sindhu has a black tie notice outside on Azura, it does not apply to the dining area.

 

I still can not find in the P&O T's and C's where it states that it is a condition of booking that you adhere to formal dress code on said evenings.  My understanding since our first cruise was that it was an option, which many enjoy and indeed look forward too.  We too enjoy them, but only when it suits us.

It is an option but only in the areas of the ship that are not designated formal wear only, this can vary between ships, which might be one reason for it not be in the T&Cs.  However in brochures of old there were pages of what to expect on your cruise, and wearing formal dress in some venues would have been highlighted in here. However it does now say that essential information is now on line, and dress code is one of the items.

Edited April 4, 2023 by terrierjohn

[jaydee6969]

9 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

It is an option but only in the areas of the ship that are designated formal wear only, this can vary between ships, which might be one reason for it not be in the T&Cs.  However in brochures of old there were pages of what to expect on your cruise, and wearing formal dress in some venues would have been highlighted in here. However it does now say that essential information is now on line, and dress code is one of the items.

 

I may not have got my point across too well.

 

It still is highlighted that formal nights require you to wear suitable attire for parts of the ship.  This is not in question, or an issue.

 

The comments that you should not cruise on P&O if you do not want to adhere to formal nights and find a non formal cruise line are objectionable.  The actual notes in Horizon do state that smart casual is the minimum dress code on black tie nights not formal attire.  Now that is another can of worms.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by jaydee6969

[davecttr]

5 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

I may not have got my point across too well.

 

It still is highlighted that formal nights require you to wear suitable attire for parts of the ship.  This is not in question, or an issue.

 

The comments that you should not cruise on P&O if you do not want to adhere to formal nights and find a non formal cruise line are objectionable.  The actual notes in Horizon do state that smart casual is the minimum dress code on black tie nights not formal attire.  Now that is another can of worms.

 

 

Nowadays thing are either black or white, no shades of grey. The dress code is an example of this. P&O ships are large enough to cater for both points of view and do so. Wear black tie or evening casual your choice. So P&O ships do cater for those shades of grey.

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, jaydee6969 said:

I don't understand why it bothers some people so much.  I do black tie on some cruises, and don't bother on others.  I am more than happy to not go to the MDR/Crows Nest etc, and use the rest of the ship.  In fact on Azura last week we used both the Beach House and Sindhu for black tie nights.  Even thought Sindhu has a black tie notice outside on Azura, it does not apply to the dining area.

 

I still can not find in the P&O T's and C's where it states that it is a condition of booking that you adhere to formal dress code on said evenings.  My understanding since our first cruise was that it was an option, which many enjoy and indeed look forward too.  We too enjoy them, but only when it suits us.

It is probably an attitude which is more prevalent among us longer-term cruisers who in the past have been used to formal wear being a requirement ship-wide on certain nights. The more formal dress is something I have always enjoyed and for me the sight of everyone dressed in their finery makes for a lovely atmosphere. If I'm in the theatre dressed in Black Tie and someone next to me is in jeans and casual shirt, it does take the shine off the evening.

Does it ruin my night? No of course not. Does it make me think I am a 'better' person? Absolutely not. I accept P&O's dress code but do somewhat rue the passing of the stricter dress codes of 'tymes gone bye' 😉.

[Angel57]

3 minutes ago, Britboys said:

It is probably an attitude which is more prevalent among us longer-term cruisers who in the past have been used to formal wear being a requirement ship-wide on certain nights. The more formal dress is something I have always enjoyed and for me the sight of everyone dressed in their finery makes for a lovely atmosphere. If I'm in the theatre dressed in Black Tie and someone next to me is in jeans and casual shirt, it does take the shine off the evening.

Does it ruin my night? No of course not. Does it make me think I am a 'better' person? Absolutely not. I accept P&O's dress code but do somewhat rue the passing of the stricter dress codes of 'tymes gone bye' 😉.

Perfectly put and I feel the same.

[zap99]

5 hours ago, snaefell said:

When we book a cruise the important points are the date of departure & where it is going,which cruise line it is & what the dress code is tend to be less of a consideration.

Sometimes we dress up, sometimes we don't.  If we don't, we accept that the MDR, Crows Nest and a couple of others are off limits. We will go to the beach house instead. We select the cruise mainly on itinerary  date and price. Not always P&O.

[WestonOne]

7 hours ago, jaydee6969 said:

The comments that you should not cruise on P&O if you do not want to adhere to formal nights and find a non formal cruise line are objectionable. 

 

 

For clarity, that is not what I said, or at least not what I meant.  My point was that lots of other lines have no formal nights and it makes sense to look at those if dressing up is something you really object to.  Yes, you can decide to eat elsewhere than the MDR, for example, but why build such a limitation into your holiday if you don''t need to? So I am not saying "you should not travel P+O," but "have you considered other lines you may like better?"

 

I would say, though, that as a matter of consideration for those around you, demanding entry into the MDR on a formal night in casual dress because "I paid for my holiday so I can do what I like" is something I find pretty antisocial. Everyone else paid for their holiday as well.

 

To dress casually on a formal night and be happy to stay where that is accepted is completely reasonable and socially aware.

Edited April 4, 2023 by WestonOne

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

For clarity, that is not what I said, or at least not what I meant.  My point was that lots of other lines have no formal nights and it makes sense to look at those if dressing up is something you really object to.  Yes, you can decide to eat elsewhere than the MDR, for example, but why build such a limitation into your holiday if you don''t need to? So I am not saying "you should not travel P+O," but "have you considered other lines you may like

I don't object to formal nights, but often can't be bothered. On a cruise we will only eat in the MDR about half the time, so can easily plan to eat somewhere else on formal nights. If folk object to me walking through the ships common areas dressed smart casual that is their problem, not mine.

 

[Dermotsgirl]

At this point, I’m bored with the concept of formal nights, or gala or celebration nights, whatever they might be calling them these days. This feeling accelerated after doing some longer cruises. Each time a formal evening rolled around, my general thoughts were, ‘ not another one, what’s the point’.

 

However, I accept that the formal nights are a feature of most cruiselines that I’m likely to sail with. This dress code is a tiny part of the cruise experience, so I’m willing to wear a pair of evening trousers and a sparkling top for those evenings. 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, Dermotsgirl said:

At this point, I’m bored with the concept of formal nights, or gala or celebration nights, whatever they might be calling them these days. This feeling accelerated after doing some longer cruises. Each time a formal evening rolled around, my general thoughts were, ‘ not another one, what’s the point’.

 

However, I accept that the formal nights are a feature of most cruiselines that I’m likely to sail with. This dress code is a tiny part of the cruise experience, so I’m willing to wear a pair of evening trousers and a sparkling top for those evenings. 

I think you ladies could get away with most things you wear on smart casual  nights for formal wear, but for men an additional jacket and tie is the minimum requirement.

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I think you ladies could get away with most things you wear on smart casual  nights for formal wear, but for men an additional jacket and tie is the minimum requirement.

I’m not ‘getting away with anything’ though. What I described is my formal wear, I don’t wear those things on a smart casual night 

[Harry Peterson]

39 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I’m not ‘getting away with anything’ though. What I described is my formal wear, I don’t wear those things on a smart casual night 

Absolutely!  My wife complies absolutely with the rules, as do I, but she wears Doc Martens under a long dress because they're much more comfortable than traditional shoes.  Nobody sees them, but she does enjoy the occasional 'protest'!