The Real Scoop on Dressing Down

[lissie]

11 hours ago, carlsbadbruin said:

Thanks, all! He'll be sure to pack decent travel pants and collared shirts for the non-Gala nights, and maybe I can talk him into bringing one dark suit "just in case" :). It's nice to have options, rather than being disappointed once on board.

There may also be an option for him to hire a gala outfit on board.  They didn't have a size to fit my partner otherwise we may have considered it 

[Down-Unders]

On 5/16/2023 at 2:54 PM, carlsbadbruin said:

Ok, so my husband doesn't want to dress up... at all. I'm lucky if he'll wear jeans or cargo pants instead of shorts. If you're wondering why Cunard... well, we didn't realize this when we booked. He doesn't own a suit, or a tux, and refuses to wear one on a vacation (he's a physician and doesn't take many vacations, so I'm giving in). So, do we need to eat every evening meal (QV2, Fjords itinerary) at the buffet, or are there other eateries we can go to? Does the food in the buffet include the highlights from the dining room? Can we still attend any of the shows or anything else, like the casino? We don't dance (or drink), but like theatrical shows, etc. What are we really missing? Thank you! We promise not to walk anywhere we're not welcome -- I will be the woman in a cute dress with the guy in jeans :).

With respect to your husband my wife and I hear this regularly whilst cruising, think it is time these fellas thought less about themselves and more for their partners and make it a special occasion especially travelling on Cunard. 

[Victoria2]

5 hours ago, Down-Unders said:

With respect to your husband my wife and I hear this regularly whilst cruising, think it is time these fellas thought less about themselves and more for their partners and make it a special occasion especially travelling on Cunard. 

With respect [don't you just love that phrase!😁] if Mr carlsbadbruin is prepared to carry on with their booking in spite of the discovered dress codes so that, I imagine, his wife will enjoy the cruise, as it would have been so easy to cancel I would say he HAS thought about his wife and less about himself.

 

Reading the last sentence of #1 and further comments, I doubt they will upset those who are 'concerned', in any way. 🙂

 

[PORT ROYAL]

Think @carisbadbruin wishes to enjoy the experience and all venues (Theatre etc) that Cunard offers together, as a couple.  Sadly, this will not be possible because of the mindset of her current husband.  Hopefully, a gentleman will emerge from the Dark Side.

[Victoria2]

32 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Think @carisbadbruin wishes to enjoy the experience and all venues (Theatre etc) that Cunard offers together, as a couple.  Sadly, this will not be possible because of the mindset of her current husband.  Hopefully, a gentleman will emerge from the Dark Side.

A gentleman will emerge from the Dark Side? Is this comment for real or did you forget a smilie or something?

 

If it's pukka and not tongue in cheek [hope it is 🙂], we obviously don't have the same mindset as to what constitutes a gentleman.

 

[Down-Unders]

14 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

With respect [don't you just love that phrase!😁] if Mr carlsbadbruin is prepared to carry on with their booking in spite of the discovered dress codes so that, I imagine, his wife will enjoy the cruise, as it would have been so easy to cancel I would say he HAS thought about his wife and less about himself.

 

Reading the last sentence of #1 and further comments, I doubt they will upset those who are 'concerned', in any way. 🙂

 

?????

[Victoria2]

10 hours ago, Down-Unders said:

?????

Which part are you, I assume, questioning? The possible ambiguity of 'with respect' or the fact a booking could have been cancelled once the dress advisories were discovered but wasn't so a 'fella' and his wife would still enjoy Cunard in their own fashion, especially as acceptable after six wear will seemingly now be packed with the possibility of a suit too?

 

Every single person who travels on a Cunard ship will have their own thoughts  on how to enjoy the experience. For many, their ideas will be the same, dressing to and above advisories etc.

 

To imply some 'fellas' need to up their game dress wise to ' make it a special occasion especially travelling on Cunard' smacks of pomposity to those who travel with Cunard and will enjoy the experience in their own way without the need to Gala up or dress above the basic advisories on other nights.

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Victoria2

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

 

Every single person who travels on a Cunard ship will have their own thoughts  on how to enjoy the experience. For many, their ideas will be the same, dressing to and above advisories etc.

 

To imply some 'fellas' need to up their game dress wise to ' make it a special occasion especially travelling on Cunard' smacks of pomposity to those who travel with Cunard and will enjoy the experience in their own way without the need to Gala up or dress above the basic advisories on other nights.

 

 

 

 

Victoria2 I completely agree with your sentiments above, people can enjoy Cunard in their own way and everyone should enjoy others enjoyment and not woory about others dress. 

 

I  know you didn't mean to talk down the "advisories" , ie the Cunard dress code by calling them "basic advisories" but those who are not dress code zealots , need to be careful. As the zealots want everyone to  revert to the 50s and look down on current dress code, calling it a basic minimum. Whereas it is a perfectly acceptable way of dressing. 

[Down-Unders]

22 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Which part are you, I assume, questioning? The possible ambiguity of 'with respect' or the fact a booking could have been cancelled once the dress advisories were discovered but wasn't so a 'fella' and his wife would still enjoy Cunard in their own fashion, especially as acceptable after six wear will seemingly now be packed with the possibility of a suit too?

 

Every single person who travels on a Cunard ship will have their own thoughts  on how to enjoy the experience. For many, their ideas will be the same, dressing to and above advisories etc.

 

To imply some 'fellas' need to up their game dress wise to ' make it a special occasion especially travelling on Cunard' smacks of pomposity to those who travel with Cunard and will enjoy the experience in their own way without the need to Gala up or dress above the basic advisories on other nights.

 

Friend you do it your way and I will do it my way, all I can say if I see anyone who thinks the are on a ferry regarding dress sense I shall bring it to the attention of the staff!  Pomposity! I don't think so! 

 

 

[Victoria2]

Down-Unders, 

Bottom line. a question was asked and answered and a compromise seems to be in the pipeline with the husband prepared to make concessions. They could easily have cancelled the booking and for me, that shows 'the fella' is thinking of the holiday and not just himself, which was my point.

 

 

You brought up the 'these fellas' group re not thinking of their partners, when you have no idea if 'they' are  both in their comfort zone in order to enjoy the ship. The majority of passengers scrub up really well and will continue to do and to indicate attire should be elevated to please partners, is an unnecessary reaction and as I said, smacks of or has elements of pomposity.

 

As for 'ferry like' clothing. Is that  yet another level of the dress code [I've never come across that one 🙂] or is it your interpretation of day time attire? If it is and so far, no one has said folk will be wearing day clothes after six, I have seen day clothes [ blue jeans and an untucked lumber jack shirt etc is rather noticeable on a Gala night] worn around the ship/out of designated areas after dinner but I presume no one has sent them off to the Lido or to their cabin with a note for their mother. They stand out but have no effect on me whatsoever other than they are noticed.

 

Now more than a few  'lumberjacks' roaming the ship on a Gala night, that will be a very different matter and there, I will agree some kind of  'policing' from staff should be in order. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[exlondoner]

Furthermore, the original poster made quite clear they had no intention of breaking the dress code by going into the formal areas in inappropriate garb. So even the most sensitive are unlikely to be distressed. But I tend to agree that fitting a suit into the packing would enable them both to have a better time. 🙂

[D&N]

I feel the need to defend the honour of "ferry passengers". 🤣

 

Some of my favourite ships are car ferries. Several of them are much nicer than many cruise ships, like the MS Silja Serenade in the picture. We would certainly dress for dinner (perhaps not a tux) in any of it's 5 main restaurants.

 

[ballroom-cruisers]

That is one gorgeous classy cruise ferry - the Scandinavians know how to build and operate a luxury ferry that is oh so different to the kind of ferry that I have been on in the past going from the UK to one of the continental ferry ports across the North Sea or the English Channel. 

Now if the ferry companies in Britain operated that kind of cruise ferry we would want to go on weekend jaunts to the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium, every weekend - and dress up for the occasion too - great picture - thank you for posting. By the way the Finnish ferry company web site that the picture came from also has lots of other pictures showing the bars and lounges and it is more like a cruise ship than a 'pure' ferry.  If I was holidaying in that area taking this ferry across the archipelago would be like having a mini-cruise!

Edited May 20, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
Added sentence

[exlondoner]

11 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

That is one gorgeous classy cruise ferry - the Scandinavians know how to build and operate a luxury ferry that is oh so different to the kind of ferry that I have been on in the past going from the UK to one of the continental ferry ports across the North Sea or the English Channel. 

Now if the ferry companies in Britain operated that kind of cruise ferry we would want to go on weekend jaunts to the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium, every weekend - and dress up for the occasion too - great picture - thank you for posting. By the way the Finnish ferry company web site that the picture came from also has lots of other pictures showing the bars and lounges and it is more like a cruise ship than a 'pure' ferry.  If I was holidaying in that area taking this ferry across the archipelago would be like having a mini-cruise!

Brittany Ferries has some nice ferries, with good restaurants. And the two Stena Harwich to Hook ferries are impressive, I believe.

[D&N]

It actually has some similarities to Cunard. Those in Commodore Cabins and Suites have a card controlled section with their own lounge, saunas and jacuzzis. Their inclusive breakfast is served in the best a la carte restaurant. Deluxe cabin corridors are also entered by card only and the special breakfast for them is served in another restaurant. Other grades pay separately for breakfast in the buffet.

20 years ago we were in a deluxe, then known as "Silja Seaside" rather than the inner ones overlooking the mall. The self selection part of breakfast included a huge tray of glasses of champagne!

Serenade and it's sister are 33 years old and still some of the best ferries in world. If we ever get round to doing it again I'd do the mini-cruise from Stockholm twice B2B and probably not get off during the two visits to Helsinki. That would let us dine in different restaurants on the four nights.

[ballroom-cruisers]

It sounds like real luxury ferry travel - the only fly in the ointment for us would be that despite the nice lounges, restaurant choice, the entertainment and the bars, there is no chance to do your own ballroom dancing.....

Edited May 20, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
added word

[D&N]

3 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

It sounds like real luxury ferry travel - the only fly in the ointment for us would be that despite the nice lounges, restaurant choice, the entertainment and the bars, there is no chance to do your own ballroom dancing.....

Well maybe not what you get on Cunard.....

We danced most of the night on a reasonably sized floor in the show lounge. The band changed at Helsinki so the first night was best. We vividly recall doing Viennese Waltz with about 50 others, mainly Russian teenagers, around that floor. There wasn't much chance of falling over as we were packed like sardines.

[ballroom-cruisers]

Sounds like fun!  If everyone else was flowing nicely the same direction then being part of the flow works - a bit like any one starling flying in a starling swarm, swirling around the sky! It would be fun to have a separate thread on a topic something like "the greatest cruise or ferry experiences in the world"?

Edited May 20, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
Added sentence

[D&N]

17 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Brittany Ferries has some nice ferries, with good restaurants. And the two Stena Harwich to Hook ferries are impressive, I believe.

One of my other favourites was the first of two 1990s Stena Britannicas from Harwich. It was previously Silvia Regina and later Stena Saga. I think it's now anchored in The Philippines. Originally built for the Baltic Capitals route as well.

It had a really classy Tivoli Gardens two floored restaurant and was the first ferry we experienced decent cabins on.

[ballroom-cruisers]

In contrast my own memories as a young child of sailing from the UK to South Africa on a Union Castle line ship, was certainly not of the same level of luxury as some of those ferries nor of the level of modern Cunard ships, but the elaborate equator crossing ceremonies of those days are a strong memory!

Edited May 20, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
typo

[exlondoner]

11 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

In contrast my own memories as a young child of sailing from the UK to South Africa on a Union Castle line ship, was certainly not of the same level of luxury as some of those ferries nor of the level of modern Cunard ships, but the elaborate equator crossing ceremonies of those days are a strong memory!

I can’t think of a ship that had more beautiful lines than Windsor Castle.

[ballroom-cruisers]

They were liners but a lot smaller than QM2!

[NE John]

The last overnight ferry we took from Palermo to Naples was nowhere near as fancy-schmamcy as the gorgeous ferry picture above. 

[exlondoner]

18 minutes ago, NE John said:

The last overnight ferry we took from Palermo to Naples was nowhere near as fancy-schmamcy as the gorgeous ferry picture above. 

Take the sleeper, which goes on its own ferry.

[D&N]

38 minutes ago, NE John said:

The last overnight ferry we took from Palermo to Naples was nowhere near as fancy-schmamcy as the gorgeous ferry picture above. 

Many of the Med ferries operating to Corsica and Sardinia originated from Silja and Viking in the Baltic. I'm sometimes tempted to take a trip to Corsica just to travel on some of them. However I fear we'd be disappointed as I don't think Corsica Ferries and Moby Lines have the standards of the Baltic operators.