Formal Wear Questions URGENT only a 20 days left!

[CruznShe]

My husband is going absolutly nuts! Does he have to wear a tux jacket? Can he just wear a nice shirt, dress pants & tie with a leather jacket?

 

Or does he have to go all out and buy a new formal TUX?

 

Please any help would greatly be appreciated!

 

BTW - this is our first cruise!

[2Cruise4Ever]

What cruiseline and ship? In my experience (NCL, Princess, RCCL, and Carnival), no he doesn't have to wear a tux. Does he have a dark suit? That would suffice on all the above mentioned cruiselines except NCL. NCL's freestyle dining has made formal night optional. He could wear dockers and a golf shirt any night of the week on NCL.

 

Otherwise, if he doesn't have a suit. A nice pair of slacks, tie, and jacket will be fine.

 

Happy Sailing!:D

[Keith1010]

My best advice to you is to post this question on the cruise line section of cruise critic for the line that you are going on.

 

You'll get the best feedback over there for your paritcular cruise line.

 

Keith

[98Charlie]

We are about to take our first Carnival cruise. However, in 15 cruises on NCL Princess, Celebrity and Royal, we have seen everything from shirt/tie/slacks (no jacket) to tuxes on formal nights.

 

IMHO a tie would be all that is required.

 

Charlie

[Cotton]

I think you'll be on Carnival, right?

 

You'll see men in tuxes, dark suits, jacket and tie. He'll be fine in either, and they won't turn him away from the dining room. (Tuxes are available for rental on the ship.) I wonder about the leather jacket you mentioned. For a Caribbean cruise, it would be a little warm and maybe look a tiny bit out of place? Otherwise, tell him not to worry so much.:)

[PokaDaddy]

you Can Wear Whatever You Want - Geezzzz, Relax

[Pisti]

you Can Wear Whatever You Want - Geezzzz, Relax

 

No, that's not good advice. IMHO, Posts #2, 4 and 5 are real and sensible. Have to be careful with answers on some of these questions. Some people find it amusing to give incorrect advice.

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[momofmeg]

you Can Wear Whatever You Want - Geezzzz, Relax

 

Ofcourse they can-as long as they don't mind standing out as jerks-they would not have posted here if they were not concerned about how they look and I have heard-even on Carnival-some mat'rd's will not allow admittance to the dinning room without a sport coat or jacket for men.

 

No you don't need a tux or even a dark suit. If he doesn't like wearing sportcoats-I was just in Kohl's this past weekend and they had very nice suede sportcoats which could double as a lightweight outerwear jackets on sale for $100-normally $240.

 

If you bought him that-you know he would wear it again-and he would also look great on formal night.

[PeterO]

Alot depends on what you are planning on wearing.

If you are dressed to the nines your husband might look out of place.

If you both enjoy getting dressed up - go for the tux!

[caviargal]

While there are many acceptable options for formal nights (tux, dark suit, military dress uniform, kilt) I do not think a leather jacket will be appropriate.

[PokaDaddy]

You tell him to wear his leather jacket and don't worry about what others think, let him be himself and enjoy his vacation, having someone tell you a leather jacket is inappropriate is ridiculous ...

[critterchick]

Alot depends on what you are planning on wearing.

If you are dressed to the nines your husband might look out of place.

If you both enjoy getting dressed up - go for the tux!

 

I agree with Peter - if you get all glammed up, he's going to look kinda weird standing/sitting next to you in a leather jacket. And I agree with Caviargal that a leather jacket isn't appropriate for formal night. Not that you won't see everything from T-shirts to tuxes, but I still don't think it's appropriate. He won't stick like a sore thumb, though.

 

If the issue is buying & packing the tux, have him look into renting one onboard. He can order everything down to the shoes and it will be waiting for him in the stateroom. Since this is your first cruise, that might be the better option than buying one, finding out that you hate cruising and then never having an occasion to wear one again. I think the total cost for everything (tux, shirt, studs, tie/cummerbund/vest & shoes) is around $100.

 

http://www.cruiselineformal.com/index.html will give you an example(although they don't service Carnival, which should tell you something), and the cruiseline website should also offer the service.

 

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise!

[kitty9]

He doesn't need a tux, but at the very least a nice dark sport jacket with a dress shirt, dress slacks and a tie. And like the others, a leather jacket isn't really appropriate. Plus, a leather jacket will be WAY too warm on the ship. Men perspire just wearing a lightweight sports coat, so a leather jacket will be like being in a sauna.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

What kind of leather jacket? Does it have lapels and look like a suit jacket or is it more of an aviator's style which is not very dressy at all? Also is it a smooth leather or a raw-hide leather or a dark brown coarser-grain leather?

 

Anyway, your husband probably CAN wear a leather jacket on NCL, Carnival, Princess, Royal Carribean, but not premium ships. That said, I do think he would stand out among men in tuxes or dark suits, even on mass market ships.

 

There are other solutions. If he really doesn't want to wear standard formal attire, why not eat in the premium restaurant on formal nights or go to the buffet? You are not required to eat in the main dining room on formal night.

[Traveler353]

Very simply it is your vacation. Wear what ever you desire.

[momofmeg]

Kohls also had these very nice cashmere sportcoats for $125- they came in navy and other colors- navy best for formal night in my opinion-I felt that was very reasonable and a sportcoat may come in handy later-a funneral for ex.-also nowadays many men use sportcoats as cool but not cold weather outerwear. With a nice pair of jeans that cashemere jacket would look great for after the cruise-not formal night ofcourse!

[momofmeg]

What kind of leather jacket? Does it have lapels and look like a suit jacket or is it more of an aviator's style which is not very dressy at all? Also is it a smooth leather or a raw-hide leather or a dark brown coarser-grain leather?

 

Anyway, your husband probably CAN wear a leather jacket on NCL, Carnival, Princess, Royal Carribean, but not premium ships. That said, I do think he would stand out among men in tuxes or dark suits, even on mass market ships.

 

There are other solutions. If he really doesn't want to wear standard formal attire, why not eat in the premium restaurant on formal nights or go to the buffet? You are not required to eat in the main dining room on formal night.

 

The suede jacket that I suggested was sportcoat in style-not a bomber jacket-and could be either used as a sportcoat or outerwear on a mild winter day or a cool fall day.

 

He may stand out some in a suede jacket but I think in a dark chocolate color he would be fine and not look jerky like the guy minus his jacket does.

[CruznShe]

Hi All,

 

We just wanted to let everyone know just how thankful we are to all of you for the needed suggestions. First of all me & my husband have been together for almost 15 years and he has never EVER worn a TUX plus we have not taken a family picture for almost 10 years now. Our daughters are 13 & 11 so you can see that is seriously needed. We have decided to go with a rental. He going all out! I am so happy cause its the first time I will ever see him in a TUX & we get Family PICS yippeeee. We tried searching for clothing but it was hard because he's a big guy and so the TUX was also the easiest since they fit you to it. Well, thank a bunch for all your help & see you all in 18 days....

 

 

Sheila

[momofmeg]

Hi All,

 

We just wanted to let everyone know just how thankful we are to all of you for the needed suggestions. First of all me & my husband have been together for almost 15 years and he has never EVER worn a TUX plus we have not taken a family picture for almost 10 years now. Our daughters are 13 & 11 so you can see that is seriously needed. We have decided to go with a rental. He going all out! I am so happy cause its the first time I will ever see him in a TUX & we get Family PICS yippeeee. We tried searching for clothing but it was hard because he's a big guy and so the TUX was also the easiest since they fit you to it. Well, thank a bunch for all your help & see you all in 18 days....

 

 

Sheila

Have fun! and your hubby will be gorgeous and make great pics! You will be so proud of him!

[Cotton]

Yay! Glad your DH decided to rent the tux. I'm sure you'll find him extra attractive, not to mention the great photo ops that will be in store for y'all. Have a great cruise.:)

[Maddle]

Honestly - I think a rental is the best option. He looks fabulous for a small outlay of money (less than even the Kohl's sports coats) he doesn't have to carry it or pack it or press it. Everyone wins with this one.

 

Maddle

 

PS - I think this is my 100th post! yeah!

[oldmedic]

What cruiseline and ship? In my experience (NCL, Princess, RCCL, and Carnival), no he doesn't have to wear a tux. Does he have a dark suit? That would suffice on all the above mentioned cruiselines except NCL. NCL's freestyle dining has made formal night optional. He could wear dockers and a golf shirt any night of the week on NCL.

 

Otherwise, if he doesn't have a suit. A nice pair of slacks, tie, and jacket will be fine.

 

Happy Sailing!:D

 

Love your picture!!! Silence!!!! iky

[mapsmith]

And to what I always post on Tux Question Threads.

 

I am on my third tux purchased from Thrift Stores. My last one was the most expensive and cost all of $30. Mapwife likes me in a Tux so I will wear one.

 

And once you own a Tuxedo, you need a reason to wear it. Thus more cruises.

 

 

:)

[Fredr]

Very simply it is your vacation. Wear what ever you desire.

 

 

Hello,

 

You are entitled to your opinion and here is wishing you many more Carnival cruises.

 

There are some out there who like the traditions of travel by sea, and this includes enjoying formal nights while on a cruise. It does not or should not imply in any way that people who like formal nights are mean spirited, snobs, or or anything of the sort.

 

Probably not so much today but in my view one of the reasons for the huge growth in cruising, is that many women enjoy dressing up for special occasions. It does not mean that they want to dress up every night for dinner, but once or twice on a cruise, surely seems to make them feel special. Further, having their husbands or whomever dressed up seems to add to their enjoyment.

 

I especially resent the term "dress police". No one should pass judgment on another's choice of clothing. Persons new to cruises ask for guidance and most of the responders advise that it is best to follow the cruise line's

suggestions on dress for formal nights. Persons new to cruises should know that the cruise line's suggestions are not cast in stone and that there are several ways to be very nicely dressed on formal nights. Not long long ago I saw an older man looking just great in a very expensive carmel's hair sport coat and tie. I have seen military people in the dress uniforms, and the Scots in their kilts.

[Happy ks]

Fredr, you do realize you are responding to a comment made 3 years and 2 days ago?