Toddler--dinner wear?

[Beffy1167]

My son will be 17 months old when we cruise in November. He's got a really adorable suit for formal nights but doesn't have much other stuff in the way of "dressy" clothes. He does have church clothes but not enough outfits to go a full week's cruise. He's got some wonderful polo-shirt style rompers but they're shorts.

 

I know there's a lot of heat to the topic but will there be any major issues with him wearing shorts for dinner?

 

Please don't suggest shopping at thrift stores. I've been searching them since even before he was born and there is absolutely NOTHING that even vaguely resembles "grown-up" cruise dress-code stuff.

[Kerry's Girls]

It is a hard one, but I'd be concerned about enforcement of the "no shorts" rule. There's no way to know if the specific head waiter in your dining room is going to allow him to enter with shorts on (or if some passenger complains, if the rule would suddenly be enforced mid-way through your cruise). I think it's better to plan for the rule to be enforced, but at the same time I don't think you need grown-up clothes for him for every night - just not shorts.

 

Can he just wear the same pants each evening and change tops? I just bought some cropped pants for my twins at babystyle.com on sale for $5 each and saw they have some in Navy.

 

Best,

Mia

[Nebr.cruiser]

I don't really think they'll turn a toddler away because he's wearing shorts, especially 'dressier' ones like navy twill or nice khakis, but since you never know I 'd find a couple of pairs of navy or khaki slacks and pair them with either button-down or polo shirts. That should be fine for any but formal nights.

 

I've recently seen toddler boys dress pants, vest and bow-tie at Penny's, on sale, maybe around $18. Our grandson wore an outfit like that on formal night, at 3, and looked adorable. As the holidays approach you should be able to find more outfits like that in stores.

[Beffy1167]

He has the suit for formal nights and two pairs of dress pants ("Docker-style" khakis). I did think about mixing and matching tops to go with them. But he self-feeds a great deal and it's not uncommon for some stuff to land in his lap, at which time the pants may become unwearable until laundered.

 

I've also seen the holiday outfits hitting the stores but, since he's got one already, I can't see spending another $20-40 on each additional outfit. :eek: We do go to church every week (DH and I are both pastors) but that doesn't demand more than two outfits (or so), which is why we have what we do.

 

I've been soooooooo disappointed at the stuff in thrift shops. We booked this cruise even before he was out of the hospital (he's a preemie) and have looked, looked and looked! Absolutely nothing. Maybe we're too rural. I don't know. But it's been frustrating, that's for sure.

 

Oh well. I'll plan on the slacks and, in the event they become too dirty, we may have to switch to the rompers. And if they won't let us eat in the dining room, we do have other options. The rest of our family will be in the DR though so I'd rather eat there.

 

Might also start looking for longer bibs to protect the pants from accidental spills! :)

[crusinmama06]

Well since you and I are both in PA, I know what the weather is like outside. So doesn't he have pants right now that you could dress him in? The only reason that I am asking is that the dining room on those ships are really so cold, that I don't think he'll be warm enough in a romper. They always have the air conditioning cranked.

 

My daughters are always so cold in the dining rooms that I have to bring sweaters for them.

 

Also, have you tried ebay? At the very least Target? You could always get a pair of khakis for him at Target for $7.99.

 

Edited to say...I just checked ebay for size 18 months "lot" of dress clothes and there are a few auctions going right now. Under $7.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-20-Toddler-Baby-Boy-Dress-Clothes-18-Mos_W0QQitemZ150035721488QQihZ005QQcategoryZ48757QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Beffy1167]

Well since you and I are both in PA, I know what the weather is like outside. So doesn't he have pants right now that you could dress him in? The only reason that I am asking is that the dining room on those ships are really so cold, that I don't think he'll be warm enough in a romper. They always have the air conditioning cranked.

 

My daughters are always so cold in the dining rooms that I have to bring sweaters for them.

 

Also, have you tried ebay? At the very least Target? You could always get a pair of khakis for him at Target for $7.99.

 

Oh, we've got pants for him.....but they're jeans and cargo pants. The other pants outfits we've got are similar to the short rompers but they're long-sleeved and rather heavy for cruise ship wear. Our part of PA doesn't demand many long-pant/short sleeve days even in the fall. Seems like we go from shorts and t-shirts to jeans and sweatshirts with only a few days here and there that call for short sleeve shirts with long pants--which is what he'd really need on board.

 

This is our son's first cruise but my husband and I have cruised before so we do know that it can be a bit cool on board. Thankfully, our son actually prefers the cooler temperatures so, although we'll take a sweater with us, I don't really expect to use it.

 

He's wearing 18 month size in length but isn't even really wearing 12 month pants (they sit at his hips and if it weren't for his diaper, they'd fall right off). He's a skinny guy--a trait NOT inherited from Mommy! LOL

 

As for shopping, we're living more than an hour from the nearest Wal-Mart and more than two hours from Target. We do have a K-mart but they don't have any pants without buying whole dressy outfits--all of which include turtlenecks and sweaters, which makes them pricey AND inappropriate!

 

Oooooooooooooooh.....I envy those of you who live near real shopping places!

 

But now you've got me thinking......my mother lives in FL and we're arriving four days before we board the ship. Maybe her local Wal-mart and/or Target will have stuff for us! They're not likely to have the heavy winter stuff we have.

 

Thanks for the input.

[crusinmama06]

Our part of PA doesn't demand many long-pant/short sleeve days even in the fall.

 

Really? It's 55 degrees there right now? Brrrrrrrr

 

I would hate to live so far from a store. Thank God for online shopping. :p His cargo pants would work well though.

 

November will be a great time to get away from the cold. I am so envying you right now.

[Beffy1167]

You're about two hours south of us! We used to live in Huntingdon County and, boy, do I miss the Altoona and State College shopping areas!

 

You're right about November being a great time to leave. Only better time is February....it's always good to escape from the lake-effect snow! We rarely get to do that, though. The extra worship services of Lent seem to interfere.

 

You're also right about online shopping! I've learned to do a great deal of that!

[VPIcruiser]

Hi. You can find great deals on ebay. I find a lot of great stuff for my DS on ebay.