How formal are the formal nights these days?

[lisiamc]

I did do a search on formal attire, and the most recent answer I could find was from 2019 ~four years ago, and pre-Covid, so things could have changed. Are the majority of passengers in DJs and evening gowns these days? Husband still has a DJ, but it’s been some years since I’ve owned an evening gown. We are contemplating booking for the Adriatic at Easter cruise. 

[JMMKUK]

Not as formal as they used to be. If your husband is in DJ & you wear a cocktail or tea dress you will be accepted at formally dressed.

When my husband wore a lounge suit we got directed to the non formal side of the grill. That may have been because the formal side was full of course.

Even when the sea is rough & the Captain has announced formal wear isn't required there's usually quite a few who still bother.

[lisiamc]

6 minutes ago, JMMKUK said:

Not as formal as they used to be. If your husband is in DJ & you wear a cocktail or tea dress you will be accepted at formally dressed.

When my husband wore a lounge suit we got directed to the non formal side of the grill. That may have been because the formal side was full of course.

Even when the sea is rough & the Captain has announced formal wear isn't required there's usually quite a few who still bother.

Thank you, that’s really helpful to know!

[nosapphire]

I believe lounge suit and tie is acceptable on formal nights (husband accepted in MDR on both Discovery and Adventure in 2023).

Only a few full-on evening gowns seen (much admired) - cocktail-type dress, or trousers/skirt with a dressy top was the norm.

It was evident that everybody made an effort, but there was a big enough mix that nobody felt over-dressed or under-dressed.

(It was also apparent that, regardless of what was on top, many ladies were firmly staying with comfy shoes. Quite right, too).

[LondonLad60]

I've never had any problem accessing any venue when wearing a lounge suit and tie on formal nights

[Tabicat]

Not as dressy as they once were.  Some men wore dinner suits with bow ties but many wore suits with ties.  Didn't see any ladies in full length dresses as most wore cocktail dresses.  A couple of men on our last cruise were in full dress tartan kilts which looked very smart.  On the non formal nights most men had on smart trousers and jackets, some with ties, and the ladies had smart dresses or trousers and glitter tops

[Brummijam]

1 hour ago, LondonLad60 said:

I've never had any problem accessing any venue when wearing a lounge suit and tie on formal nights

Exactly this on the recent  Xmas/ new year cruise.

[lisiamc]

Thank you everyone! I’ve got a black taffeta skirt and a lacy black top that should do nicely, and I may go shopping for something sparkly as well.

[JMMKUK]

2 hours ago, nosapphire said:

I believe lounge suit and tie is acceptable on formal nights (husband accepted in MDR on both Discovery and Adventure in 2023).

Only a few full-on evening gowns seen (much admired) - cocktail-type dress, or trousers/skirt with a dressy top was the norm.

It was evident that everybody made an effort, but there was a big enough mix that nobody felt over-dressed or under-dressed.

(It was also apparent that, regardless of what was on top, many ladies were firmly staying with comfy shoes. Quite right, too).

On NY 2022, wearing full evening dress, sequins & chiffon, I had changed into Crocs to see the fireworks & bumped into the Captain on the way to Deck 14.

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, lisiamc said:

Thank you everyone! I’ve got a black taffeta skirt and a lacy black top that should do nicely, and I may go shopping for something sparkly as well.

You’ll be fine in a skirt and nice top, I don’t own a dress so always wear trousers and nice tops (sparkly on formal nights). DH wears a suit on formal nights, he never takes a DJ now, other nights he wears trousers and a shirt (no tie). 
 

 

[GerryL13]

On 1/16/2024 at 7:17 AM, lisiamc said:

Thank you everyone! I’ve got a black taffeta skirt and a lacy black top that should do nicely, and I may go shopping for something sparkly as well.

You'll be fine. I made it through 5 formal nights with an LBD (little black dress) and a collection of accessories.

[sleepingcat]

We disembarked from 2 weeks on SoD yesterday. There were 3 formal evenings. however one of them was on a port day, which I have never experienced before, and having been ashore all day it seemed like too much of a faff to get in to formal wear. and by the look of the numbers of people dining in the Grill, it may be that quite a few people felt the same as us. 

 

Plenty of DJs and sparkly dresses around on the 2 nights we did bother. And yes, @GerryL13 I had a well loved LBD worn with a brand new chiffon jacket to smarten it up a bit. 

[Denarius]

On 1/19/2024 at 10:22 PM, sleepingcat said:

We disembarked from 2 weeks on SoD yesterday. There were 3 formal evenings. however one of them was on a port day, which I have never experienced before, and having been ashore all day it seemed like too much of a faff to get in to formal wear. and by the look of the numbers of people dining in the Grill, it may be that quite a few people felt the same as us. 

 

Plenty of DJs and sparkly dresses around on the 2 nights we did bother. And yes, @GerryL13 I had a well loved LBD worn with a brand new chiffon jacket to smarten it up a bit. 

Interesting. I sailed recently on SofA and we too had formal nights on port days although there were plenty of sea days available. Tradition used to dictate that only sea days were formal. The formal nights coincided with onboard functions such as the captain's reception, the Britannia Club get together and the farewell gala dinner so there was some logic to it. But it meant that passengers were encouraged to dress for dinner on nights which many would have preferred not to. Having said that, the majority of passengers did although there were noticably more men wearing lounge suits rather than dinner suits than I have experienced on previous Saga cruises. The the fact that (according to the captain) some 400 passengers were new to Saga may well explain this, but it may be a sign of things to come.