Do Different ships have different ideas for what is considered "formal" wear?

[chopstix2000]

So, is formal really formal on some ships and not as formal on others? I am going to be sailing on RC Rhapsody of the Seas. I've heard that on some ships that cruisers dress really formal on formal nights and other ships not so much.

 

I had posted a pic on a previous thread of what I thought was a formal enough dress but doesn't seem like it is anymore so now I'm not sure what I should be looking for and I really can't spend that much money on buying another one (since the one I bought cost me almost $200 and that's not including the shoes! :p).

 

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[momofmeg]

So, is formal really formal on some ships and not as formal on others? I am going to be sailing on RC Rhapsody of the Seas. I've heard that on some ships that cruisers dress really formal on formal nights and other ships not so much.

 

I had posted a pic on a previous thread of what I thought was a formal enough dress but doesn't seem like it is anymore so now I'm not sure what I should be looking for and I really can't spend that much money on buying another one (since the one I bought cost me almost $200 and that's not including the shoes! :p).

 

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

You know I am not even sure anymore-some cruises people look like bums and others people dress very nice. I think it boils down to who happened to book the same cruise as you-you know a luck of the dice type thing. Some people tell you only on Carnival do people dress like bums but on my first 2 Carnival cruises people dressed nice-it was the later ones they didn't. The last Carnival cruise I was on had the stinky people in the dinningroom that I have mentioned in other posts. That was 2 years ago and I have opted to cruise on other lines since that incident.

 

I will say this- I was on Mariner of the Seas last fall and we had a table near us that wore blue jeans and tee shirts to dinner every night we were there including the 2 formal nights. One night we were at Chops so I have no idea what they wore that night.

 

Now in Feb. people dressed very nicely on Celebrity Zenith and respected the suggested dresscode-I only saw maybe a couple violaters at the most-and those were at the shows-not at dinner.

 

I can say this-I have been on 11 cruises and even on HAL and Celebrity very few wore evening gowns and tuxes. You see more cocktail dresses, LBD's and dress slacks with sparkly tops on the women. Most men opted for the dark suit. But on those two cruises people were dressed nicely and not the jeans and shorts "this is my vacation I will wear what I want" types.

 

Personally though I feel I like to dress nice and if others ignore the dresscode that is them-I like to dress nice for myself and I don't worry about others. That is as long as I don't have to smell them.

[momofmeg]

ps-I think I replied to you on that thread too and I told you you will be better dresed then most. as I said-you would probally feel out of place in a formal evening gown since so few do that.

[Happy ks]

When you ask questions on this board, it is usually very helpful if you give not just the ship name, but where you are cruising to and how many days.

 

I did look up your ship, seeing you're going on a 7 night cruise out of Galveston, right? Now, I don't know about formal night, but it seems as though the cruises out of Texas are a little more casual than others. I'm basing this on what I've read here in the past.

 

If you were going on a shorter cruise, say 3 - 5 days, I would say they are a lot less dressy than a longer cruise. But, I like your dress and I see no reason why you should go out and buy another (unless you want a second for the second formal night :) ).

 

You may be worrying too much about your clothing. Although you read many differing opinions on this board, the truth is that there are just average, everyday people onboard a cruise. I doubt you'll run into any fashion models and I also doubt you'll hear any comments or receive any "looks" despite what you read here.

 

I've only been to Texas once, but have met many Texans at other times and I've yet to find one that isn't friendly, open and welcoming. I have a feeling that is what you will find the majority of people like on your cruise ship.

 

So many times I read returning cruisers come back and post that they worried too much about clothes and that next time they will take a lot less. I've yet to read a post where someone stated they felt underdressed and wished they'd packed more shoes.

 

Have fun planning and have a marvelous cruise :)

 

The answer to your question is yes, but it would be a higher end cruise line, the main stream lines are pretty much all the same.