Dress code must have's

[BVILady]

I have not been on Cunard before but am booked now for 2025 on Queen Victoria, due to the schedule offered. I usually do only book according the schedule suiting my fancy and am not loyal to any cruise-line.  I am currently on a World Cruise with Costa but had a nasty fall before my departure and will have to rest about 4 weeks out of my 4 month cruise instead of taking excursions, Now I am questioning how advisable it is for me to travel solo and consider maybe talk my son to book the cruise also, The problem is he is in IT and probably never has even worn a tie. What would he necessarily need to come along, if he should decide to. I do get that schedules say Gala Night black/white - again what is the minimum requirement. What, even for me, stands Masquerade or Roaring Twenties for. Will hate to have to cancel the cruise and naturally take a loss on the deposit.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, BVILady said:

I have not been on Cunard before but am booked now for 2025 on Queen Victoria, due to the schedule offered. I usually do only book according the schedule suiting my fancy and am not loyal to any cruise-line.  I am currently on a World Cruise with Costa but had a nasty fall before my departure and will have to rest about 4 weeks out of my 4 month cruise instead of taking excursions, Now I am questioning how advisable it is for me to travel solo and consider maybe talk my son to book the cruise also, The problem is he is in IT and probably never has even worn a tie. What would he necessarily need to come along, if he should decide to. I do get that schedules say Gala Night black/white - again what is the minimum requirement. What, even for me, stands Masquerade or Roaring Twenties for. Will hate to have to cancel the cruise and naturally take a loss on the deposit.

Don’t worry about the themes. But a dark suit and tie at least would be needed for the main restaurants on gala nights. There are venues where you can dress more informally, but he’d miss a lot of the fun.

[NE John]

Your son may enjoy dressing up, who knows? Many younger people I speak with and show pictures from Gala Nights are excited about the idea of dressing up and participating in Gala nights. Not all, but many more than I thought. Note that there is also a minimum dress code for “Smart Attire” nights to consider too.  He mainly has to realize that Cunard doesn’t have all the amusements and activities that the Mega/Mall ships offer; overall, Cunard is more laid back and quiet but he’ll be kept busy. 

[BVILady]

13 minutes ago, NE John said:

Your son may enjoy dressing up, who knows? Many younger people I speak with and show pictures from Gala Nights are excited about the idea of dressing up and participating in Gala nights. Not all, but many more than I thought. Note that there is also a minimum dress code for “Smart Attire” nights to consider too.  He mainly has to realize that Cunard doesn’t have all the amusements and activities that the Mega/Mall ships offer; overall, Cunard is more laid back and quiet but he’ll be kept busy. 

thank you, he is laid back, we live in the Caribbean so I am pretty sure dressing up is not what he is looking for, will have to twist his arm hard.  What will he need for smart attire?  Thanks

 

[BigMac1953]

There are umpteen posts on this site regarding dress code.

 

Here's a recent one: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2978838-dress-code-and-themes/

 

 

Remember, the code is a MINIMUM standard not the target. Many pax will dress to a much higher standard, e.g. jackets and ties every night, especially in the Grills.

 

 

 

[Victoria2]

The advised minimum for Smart Attire MDR dining is a pair of, say, chinos and a dress shirt and that is most acceptable and he would not be out of place at all. Gala evenings in the MDR are dark suit or Tux..The Lido is an evening option where one can dine if any of this isn't on the cards.

Don't worry about any themes. They can be ignored.

 

Obviously I don't know any resulting issues with your fall and assuming you aren't in an accessible cabin and not knowing at which port you're boarding and making an assumption you can walk a little, if going solo could be an option and if the availability is there, have you thought of hiring a collapsible power chair for ease of getting around?

Edited January 8 by Victoria2

[MCC retired]

There are times in life that 1 dark suit and tie is handy to have.

Weddings  Funerals, job interviews and Cunard Formal Nights.

17 Cunard cruises for me , just a dark suit every time.

Plenty of Smart Casual nights where jacket and tie are no longer required.

Theme Nights , never participate.

[Jim_Iain]

I live in Silicon Valley which of course has very relaxed dress even among some of the titan's of the largest high tech companies.   Steve Jobs was an example as well as Mark Zukerberg. 

Personally I love to dress up and excited for my first Cunard cruise so I can wear a Versace Tuxedo I bought and only worn once.

I pretty sure Cunard still have a Tuxedo Rental facility that may work well.   After all he will only have to wear it a coupe times on the cruise and he may finds he loves the experience,  especially when he realizes how elegant he feel dressed up next to you on the Gala nights.     Tell him just pretend it's Halloween.   If all else fails play the Mom Guilt Trip on him.    We all love to please our Mothers.

[NE John]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I live in Silicon Valley which of course has very relaxed dress even among some of the titan's of the largest high tech companies.   Steve Jobs was an example as well as Mark Zukerberg. 

Personally I love to dress up and excited for my first Cunard cruise so I can wear a Versace Tuxedo I bought and only worn once.

I pretty sure Cunard still have a Tuxedo Rental facility that may work well.   After all he will only have to wear it a coupe times on the cruise and he may finds he loves the experience,  especially when he realizes how elegant he feel dressed up next to you on the Gala nights.     Tell him just pretend it's Halloween.   If all else fails play the Mom Guilt Trip on him.    We all love to please our Mothers.

I believe I read that you’re booked in QG so note that even on “Smart Attire” nights most in Grills dress above the minimum. Actually most of the pax across QM2 dress above the minimum asks. I’ve read some of your Celebrity posts and can’t wait to follow your musings here. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

I do relish these dress code discussions.... it makes one think Cunard passengers are watching their mothers sew in or stencil their names on their cricket kit and remembering to put in two extra collars before packing off them off to the station to some severe boarding school. 

 

It was true in 1910 as it is now: every gentleman over the age of 14 need only a smart navy blue suit, a crisp white shirt and presentable pair of shoes for any worthwhile endeavour after 6:00 p.m.  Today, alas, the tie seems subject to bizarre angst driven confusion.  But the rest, at least for gentlemen.... how difficult can it be, really?

[Victoria2]

4 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

I do relish these dress code discussions.... it makes one think Cunard passengers are watching their mothers sew in or stencil their names on their cricket kit and remembering to put in two extra collars before packing off them off to the station to some severe boarding school. 

 

It was true in 1910 as it is now: every gentleman over the age of 14 need only a smart navy blue suit, a crisp white shirt and presentable pair of shoes for any worthwhile endeavour after 6:00 p.m.  Today, alas, the tie seems subject to bizarre angst driven confusion.  But the rest, at least for gentlemen.... how difficult can it be, really?

Absolutely, why the angst.

Gentleman or Nobleman, there are occasions when a tie is required, and then there are occasions when not or optional. Should a possible tie less situation arise, it's comforting to know the choice is there to wear, or not to wear whilst ignoring the  raised eyebrows of those who would seek to impose their own ideals on others. 🙂

[Solent Richard]

11 hours ago, NE John said:

I believe I read that you’re booked in QG so note that even on “Smart Attire” nights most in Grills dress above the minimum. Actually most of the pax across QM2 dress above the minimum asks. I’ve read some of your Celebrity posts and can’t wait to follow your musings here. 

Well 'most' certainly do. 😉😉

[BVILady]

I do live on a Tropical Island and even fur funerals or weddings gentlemen do not wear suits. How does the Tuxedo-Rental work, anyone can advise me on that? Is there an option for us to eat at the Buffet on Gala Nights, I really don't want to have to buy a suit for these 2 weeks, he will never have use for again. We will be in Europe for about 6 weeks, the suit will take up luggage-space we don't have. Whenever he travels with me and his sister he needs available empty space in his suit-case to take back our purchases which don't fit in our suit-case 🙂 So he will need a smart black pants, dress-shirts and one or 2 ties and dress-shoes.

[Winifred 22]

4 hours ago, BVILady said:

I do live on a Tropical Island and even fur funerals or weddings gentlemen do not wear suits. How does the Tuxedo-Rental work, anyone can advise me on that? Is there an option for us to eat at the Buffet on Gala Nights, I really don't want to have to buy a suit for these 2 weeks, he will never have use for again. We will be in Europe for about 6 weeks, the suit will take up luggage-space we don't have. Whenever he travels with me and his sister he needs available empty space in his suit-case to take back our purchases which don't fit in our suit-case 🙂 So he will need a smart black pants, dress-shirts and one or 2 ties and dress-shoes.

He will need a jacket as well as what  you have suggested. You can eat at the buffet or room service any night. As for rental I think you just enquire at the shop selling clothes and other merchandise. I have seen men trying jackets and shirts on on gala nights. No idea about the cost . 

[Napagirl]

We have a similar situation to VBILady. We're traveling for a month and don't want to take up extra luggage room with a tux he will only wear on this leg of our trip. BUT, my husband is 6'6"! It's not typical for him to find anything in his size very easily. I'm thinking we just go with a nice suit and call it a day. But sure would be fantastic if they could outfit him with a rental.

[Bejay219]

Would appreciate it if anyone has any information on renting a tux on board. My husband is also tall (6'5") and we will be traveling for almost 2 months before we take the westbound transatlantic on the QM2. We will be hard pressed to take any more suitcases as we have to be prepared for warm temperatures and northern Norway! 

[rakkor]

I'm 6'6" renting is not even an option, plus the cost is way more than buying at M&S - As previously stated elsewhere Marks & Spencer sell a cheap tux which I can get into and can be ordered online for collection in their Southampton store.

[Winifred 22]

Happy to explain the M and S ordering system for anyone who would like information how it could work for them. 

[Chart Room Princess]

My father is 6’4”. He rented a tux onboard one time. It wasn’t a perfect fit but was adequate. I know that the number of rental tuxes is limited so go right away upon boarding the ship. This is especially important for special sizes. Unfortunately I don’t recall the price that was charged.

[Host Hattie]

From the Cunard website 

 

Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria

 

Yes, gentlemen can hire tuxedos including shirts, trousers and dinner jackets on board from the shops.

 

Tuxedo packages range from $90 for one night up to $250 for 5 nights.

[D&N]

If it's $90 for one night, it would be cheaper to order from M&S at £70 jacket and if needed £40 trousers, then give away at end of trip.

This looks to be the option with most extensive choice of sizes:

https://www.marksandspencer.com/regular-fit-stretch-tuxedo-suit/p/ds2a0bff729b2180c9ecacc85e1c643781?prevPage=srp#intid=pid_pg1pip17g4r4c1

 

[Pushpit]

There's also a big eBay and charity shop trade in this area, you can pick up some extraordinary bargains. Or indeed sell on something you won't use again, though I'm struggling with the concept of a once-only Cunard traveller.  For men's outfits, they fold or roll down to very little space, given that you (generally) have to wear something for dinner. The whole concept of going on Cunard, paying for it, and not actually enjoying the unique features of Cunard is another mystery in this.

[Victoria2]

Nothing worse than trousers at half mast and 6fft 5'' is pretty 'unaverage' for suit rental.

Here's an idea.

 

Buy the correct length of tux 'ish black trousers in the US and pop into M&S for a black jacket. OK, the blacks might not be precisely the same blacks, but you'll have the equivalent of a dark suit. Add a tie and a shirt, and you'll pass muster.

Well you would for me, if only for trying to 'blend in'.

 

If the trousers, or any other garment for that matter, needs a press, send out!

[BVILady]

I don't know, I had booked that cruise because I liked the itinerary. If a black suit is not going to be enough (which I will have to talk him into already), I will just have no choice then to cancel and cut my losses with the deposit already paid. Never thought we well-traveled island-people will end up not being suitable for any trip. 🤣😀🤣 This is just too much trouble for the money we are spending.

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, BVILady said:

I don't know, I had booked that cruise because I liked the itinerary. If a black suit is not going to be enough (which I will have to talk him into already), I will just have no choice then to cancel and cut my losses with the deposit already paid. Never thought we well-traveled island-people will end up not being suitable for any trip. 🤣😀🤣 This is just too much trouble for the money we are spending.

A black suit is fine. If not, M and S is your friend. But, honestly, a black suit is fine.