Dining Room Attire Thought

[FuzzyMelton]

I know what I say won't matter to anyone, or really change anyone's mind but here goes.

 

My wife and I like cruising and we enjoy dressing for dinner. We have always worn "nice" clothes on formal night and only wear jeans to dinner on the first night (if ever). If you choose to go on a cruise vacation then why do you feel the need to violate the dress code? If you can't or won't dress up, then go to the alternate eateries. It's the I can do whatever I want because I paid my money attitude that bothers me. Freedom comes with responsibility too. By violating the dress code, what are you teaching your children. It is a minor thing in life, but our kids watch everything we do and say and they formulate their opinions based upon that. If it is ok to do it over here, then it is ok to do it over there. Would you show up at a fine dining restaurant in a big city with shorts, jeans or t-shirts. No, and if you did, the maitr'e-d wouldn't let you in anyhow. If you didn't have a jacket they might have one you could borrow. So for those 2 nights aboard a cruise ship the dining room is a formal affair. I want to dress up and have rented a tux for our cruise. If you don't I really don't care, just stay out of the dining room. I will not judge you, I promise, all I am asking is that you follow the rules you agreed to when you purchased the ticket.

[happyscot]

I pour my favourite vodka in some old Mountain Dew bottles, wrap it in bubble wrap, then a zip loc bag, then another zip loc, then put it it my checked luggage and it goes right on through. Never had a problem.

 

Oh wait, damn, wrong thread................

[Cruzin2paradise09]

I can't believe I just sat and read 8 pages of self-centered crap.

 

I would like to know when these boards went from Cruise Critic to Cruiser Criticizers. Unbelievable.

 

The OP was giving his/her opinion -- he/she didn't say they were going to wear cutoffs and tank tops.

 

So, why don't all of you get over yourselves! It's ridiculous that new cruisers can't come here and ask a question or make an observation without the same holier-than-thou people jumping in and trying to make everyone else feel insufficient.

 

These boards just don't appeal to a lot of people anymore and thank goodness for cruise line fans where people are human over there and you can ask a question without getting your butt kicked by the cruise police over here.

 

good riddance to cruise critic a/k/a cruiser criticizer!

 

Oh and I won't be back.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

As was stated in the previous post, you miss the point that is being made.

 

You say that you feel the same way about the "dress code", however you are not speaking about the Princess Dress Code, which was posted previously. That is the point that is being made. Princess has what they called designated dress codes for the different evenings in the dining room. The discussion was not about anybody telling you what to wear, but about what the cruise line themselves say is the requirement.

 

It is the very statement that you made, "as long as we are spending very good hard earned money we can wear anything presentable" that is the contention on this thread.

 

Princess does not state as part of its policy "those who spend very good hard earned money may wear whatever they think is presentable."

 

Folks do you not get that this is not about anyone caring what you wear, but that there is an obvious policy that some are choosing to ignore.

 

Chef

 

The rule comes from Princess but is not being enforced by the DR staff so when they do that pax will adhere to the 'rules' 'codes' etc until then everyone will have there own opinion to what the code is:D

 

On DCL Palo's has a rule that tie and jacket is required, if you are not wearing either they will request you to get one or offer you ones they have but will not relax the 'rule' 'code' for anyone.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Donna, the reality is that unless a cruise line chooses to enforce it's dress code suggestions, it is allowing people to wear what they want. So, in that case, a cruise vacation is entirely appropriate.

 

Another poster commented that, for them, it wasn't so much what people chose to wear as the attitude of entitlement they disliked.

 

I have to tell you, though, my sympathies are with the people who, like me, came to Cruise Critic before their first cruise, were verberly evicerated for asking dress code questions and ran off to buy clothing appropriate to the opinion of cruise critics, only to discover themselves one of only three people so attired on the whole ship.

 

The bald-faced reality is that the dress codes are not enforced on the ship except in extreme cases. In fact, when stopping by the traditional dining room to confirm a reserved transfer from anytime on formal night, the maitre d' tried to seat me at my table in casual wear telling me not to bother going back to my cabing to change (but I did anyway).

 

The attitude I don't like is the traditionalists telling first time cruisers on this board "Oh, no, you'll be turned away in jeans" or, my personal favourite "hey, if you can afford a cruise for you and your three young boys, you can afford a sports coat... or you can eat in the buffet."

 

Hyperbole? I wish. I've seen them both.:(

 

Well said, exactly my thoughts:)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Donna, the reality is that unless a cruise line chooses to enforce it's dress code suggestions, it is allowing people to wear what they want. So, in that case, a cruise vacation is entirely appropriate.

 

Another poster commented that, for them, it wasn't so much what people chose to wear as the attitude of entitlement they disliked.

 

I have to tell you, though, my sympathies are with the people who, like me, came to Cruise Critic before their first cruise, were verberly evicerated for asking dress code questions and ran off to buy clothing appropriate to the opinion of cruise critics, only to discover themselves one of only three people so attired on the whole ship.

 

The bald-faced reality is that the dress codes are not enforced on the ship except in extreme cases. In fact, when stopping by the traditional dining room to confirm a reserved transfer from anytime on formal night, the maitre d' tried to seat me at my table in casual wear telling me not to bother going back to my cabing to change (but I did anyway).

 

The attitude I don't like is the traditionalists telling first time cruisers on this board "Oh, no, you'll be turned away in jeans" or, my personal favourite "hey, if you can afford a cruise for you and your three young boys, you can afford a sports coat... or you can eat in the buffet."

 

Hyperbole? I wish. I've seen them both.:(

 

Well said, exactly my thoughts:)

[lysolqn]

I would like to know when these boards went from Cruise Critic to Cruiser Criticizers. Unbelievable.

 

Quite to the contrary, everyone who has contributed to this thread has taken the high road and maintained a rare level of civility and respect for the opinions of others. Despite differing opinions, no one has gotten angry or abusive, there has been no name-calling and everyone has been polite and respectful of opinions contrary to their own. It's been a rather interesting exchange of ideas handled in a responsible manner - which is exactly what these boards are all about. Congrats to all posters! Sorry you feel differently.

[Ethel5]

I can't believe I just sat and read 8 pages of self-centered crap.

Nobody forced you to

 

I would like to know when these boards went from Cruise Critic to Cruiser Criticizers. Unbelievable..

Everyone has a right to their opinion!

 

The OP was giving his/her opinion -- he/she didn't say they were going to wear cutoffs and tank tops...

He did imply that it was his vacation and he would dress as he wished.

 

So, why don't all of you get over yourselves! It's ridiculous that new cruisers can't come here and ask a question or make an observation without the same holier-than-thou people jumping in and trying to make everyone else feel insufficient.

We are giving our opinions and if it makes you feel "insufficient", then so be it.

 

These boards just don't appeal to a lot of people anymore and thank goodness for cruise line fans where people are human over there and you can ask a question without getting your butt kicked by the cruise police over here.

 

good riddance to cruise critic a/k/a cruiser criticizer!

Oh and I won't be back.

Glad you found a good home. Have a nice day!

[cruzin2paradise]

Ethel5 -- actually the OP said:

 

We're all on vacation! We should be able to relax and wear what we want.

 

After reading all of this, I really think the OP is just trying to understand the rule/guideline, etc. and why it is what it is. She never implied, or I never inferred, that she was going to wear what she wants because it's her vacation.

 

I just think she's trying to grasp why it is such a huge issue for some people. Nothing major.

 

Personally DH and I don't choose to dress up, therefore we don't visit the dining rooms. We prefer to enjoy the casual "dining" available to us and relaxing. But that's us. Because it's our vacation, that's what we're going to do.

 

Happy Cruzin'!

[happyscot]

In Scotland, one wears a dress kilt to formal occasions. One also, of course, wears nothing underneath it. Commando, as the youth of today so coarsely put it. But one does wear a large dagger in one's sock. This is our formal dress, and believe me, on formal occasions in Scotland, 60 - 80% of the guys will turn up exactly that way.

 

(Romantics like to think this dates back to when Highlanders charged naked over the glens hell-bent on swerering Englishmen. Wishful thinking. (Very wishful). Actually it's a highly stylised form of dress invented for George III when he made his famous visit to Edinburgh to signal the English establishment's acceptance of the post-Jacobite Scottish nobility. It bears very little resemblance indeed to truely traditional highland dress - google away).

 

Now does your insistence on formal dress extend to allowing me to enter the sacrosanct dining room with nae knickers on and a big sharp knife in me underwear? Cos that's what we wear.

 

If it's yes, then I'm with the fuddy-duddy's - sincerely. Me and the boss are planning for our first Princess cruise, with full complement of suits, ties and posh dresses, out of respect for you, and out of the fun of doing so. But if you fuddies (by the way, you would not BELIEVE how that translates into Scottish dialect - please don't ask) won't tolerate my aereated privates and weapons of minor destruction, then I'm with the Jeanies, because then otherwise it's just Western cultural imperialism, isn't it.

 

In some societies of course, formal dress requires ladies to be bare-breasted and men to reveal their private parts altogether, perhaps with the addition of various items designed to - shall we say - accentuate their formality. It goes without saying that you will of course also respect and revere these forms of formal attire. I don't for a minute think that you only mean American formal dress, you mean formal dress period of course, requiring as much respect for other cultures' behavioural norms as you're own.

 

Be nice. If you can't be nice, for God's sake be funny.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[PescadoAmarillo]

Actually, this debate, while it is raised at least twice a month, has changed a bit (I would say progressed but others would disagree, I'm sure) over the last two years. It used to be that, if people didn't choose to dress up, some people didn't want them to show their faces outside the buffet and outer decks (i.e. no shows). Now it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the dress code we're discussing is limited to the dining rooms, and that any attire is acceptable in the entertainment venues.

I remember one person saying that he didn't even want to pass anyone in shorts while going to the Captain's cocktail party. I think about that whenever we are in the elevator dressed to the nines at 5:15pm, and someone enters the elevator still wet from the pool. Oh, the horror!!!!! Somehow, we always manage to salvage our evening in spite of it....;)

[Ethel5]

I guess I'm a traditionalist and feel that folks who sign up for a cruise know what's expected before they board. Once you make your final payment, you have agreed to follow those expectations. Now, I also understand that on shorter cruises, the MD's are lax in enforcing the dress code-shame on them. On longer cruises, the MD's are more dilligent in this task and I have seen them turn away improperly dressed people. The bottom line on this is that the two sides will NEVER agree. It will not ruin my cruise if anyone wants to wear shorts, pearls and a tiara for formal nights-just stay out of the dining room.

[RodneyG]

I was on a Cruise last year where formal included full scottish regalia and there were a few scots aboard that wore it to formal nights naked steel, dirk and all , much to the admiration of all. There were a few other folk aboard that wore cultural garb at formal and it was great. (indian , American Indian , African)
I myself although not asian , wore manadrin collared black silk embroidered jackets and got a ton of compliments. Formal isnt just a tux.

[taxmantoo]

This thread has gone on for so long that if this keeps up, by the time we are done...who knows...maybe jeans will have gone out of style and tuxedos will be back in style ;) Anybody interested in starting a new thread on tipping?

[anitam]

I think that the bottom line with all of this is that so many people think
they are special and the rules don't apply to them - that if they don't want to do something they shouldn't have to.

I have noticed in the last few years that the behavior of people on cruises in general has deteriorated. People are pushing on the elevator before those who are on can get out. Cutting in lines at buffets, shows, etc. Saving lounge chairs for people who never come back. Letting children run amok. Not teaching their children proper manners and etiquette, etc.

This is a problem with society as a whole and this is just a place where it shows up and we can all see it.

[spongerob]

[quote name='happyscot']
Now does your insistence on formal dress extend to allowing me to enter the sacrosanct dining room with nae knickers on and a big sharp knife in me underwear? Cos that's what we wear. [/quote]Certainly, you'd be more than welcome, ceud mille failte and all that. Just be sure to keep the knees close together, particularly if being photographed with the Queen. :)

[safety]

If anyone chooses to book a cruise, it is spelled out in the cruise information provided to the passenger,what proper attire is acceptable and standard in each dining area. The passenger when booking accepts these guidlines. Fellow passengers also expect that these guidlines will be followed. For someone to "makeup" their own guidlines is immature. Paying for a cruise does not intitle one to make up the "rules".:)

[Ethel5]

[quote name='safety']If anyone chooses to book a cruise, it is spelled out in the cruise information provided to the passenger,what proper attire is acceptable and standard in each dining area. The passenger when booking accepts these guidlines. Fellow passengers also expect that these guidlines will be followed. For someone to "makeup" their own guidlines is immature. Paying for a cruise does not intitle one to make up the "rules".:)[/QUOTE]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and I tatally agree.

[FuzzyMelton]

[quote name='taxmantoo']This thread has gone on for so long that if this keeps up, by the time we are done...who knows...maybe jeans will have gone out of style and tuxedos will be back in style ;) Anybody interested in starting a new thread on tipping?[/quote]

ROTFLMAO

[FuzzyMelton]

[quote name='happyscot']In Scotland, one wears a dress kilt to formal occasions. One also, of course, wears nothing underneath it. Commando, as the youth of today so coarsely put it. But one does wear a large dagger in one's sock. This is our formal dress, and believe me, on formal occasions in Scotland, 60 - 80% of the guys will turn up exactly that way.

(Romantics like to think this dates back to when Highlanders charged naked over the glens hell-bent on swerering Englishmen. Wishful thinking. (Very wishful). Actually it's a highly stylised form of dress invented for George III when he made his famous visit to Edinburgh to signal the English establishment's acceptance of the post-Jacobite Scottish nobility. It bears very little resemblance indeed to truely traditional highland dress - google away).

Now does your insistence on formal dress extend to allowing me to enter the sacrosanct dining room with nae knickers on and a big sharp knife in me underwear? Cos that's what we wear.

If it's yes, then I'm with the fuddy-duddy's - sincerely. Me and the boss are planning for our first Princess cruise, with full complement of suits, ties and posh dresses, out of respect for you, and out of the fun of doing so. But if you fuddies (by the way, you would not BELIEVE how that translates into Scottish dialect - please don't ask) won't tolerate my aereated privates and weapons of minor destruction, then I'm with the Jeanies, because then otherwise it's just Western cultural imperialism, isn't it.

In some societies of course, formal dress requires ladies to be bare-breasted and men to reveal their private parts altogether, perhaps with the addition of various items designed to - shall we say - accentuate their formality. It goes without saying that you will of course also respect and revere these forms of formal attire. I don't for a minute think that you only mean American formal dress, you mean formal dress period of course, requiring as much respect for other cultures' behavioural norms as you're own.

Be nice. If you can't be nice, for God's sake be funny.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/quote]

Just as long as you're not to happy!!!!

Actually Kilts are the coolest, especially with all the normal garb you wear. There are very few that are decked out quite like a good Scotsman. You are welcome at my table, but as spongerbob stated, please keep your legs together.

[Ethel5]

[quote name='happyscot']In Scotland, one wears a dress kilt to formal occasions. One also, of course, wears nothing underneath it. Commando, as the youth of today so coarsely put it. But one does wear a large dagger in one's sock. This is our formal dress, and believe me, on formal occasions in Scotland, 60 - 80% of the guys will turn up exactly that way.

(Romantics like to think this dates back to when Highlanders charged naked over the glens hell-bent on swerering Englishmen. Wishful thinking. (Very wishful). Actually it's a highly stylised form of dress invented for George III when he made his famous visit to Edinburgh to signal the English establishment's acceptance of the post-Jacobite Scottish nobility. It bears very little resemblance indeed to truely traditional highland dress - google away).

Now does your insistence on formal dress extend to allowing me to enter the sacrosanct dining room with nae knickers on and a big sharp knife in me underwear? Cos that's what we wear.

If it's yes, then I'm with the fuddy-duddy's - sincerely. Me and the boss are planning for our first Princess cruise, with full complement of suits, ties and posh dresses, out of respect for you, and out of the fun of doing so. But if you fuddies (by the way, you would not BELIEVE how that translates into Scottish dialect - please don't ask) won't tolerate my aereated privates and weapons of minor destruction, then I'm with the Jeanies, because then otherwise it's just Western cultural imperialism, isn't it.

In some societies of course, formal dress requires ladies to be bare-breasted and men to reveal their private parts altogether, perhaps with the addition of various items designed to - shall we say - accentuate their formality. It goes without saying that you will of course also respect and revere these forms of formal attire. I don't for a minute think that you only mean American formal dress, you mean formal dress period of course, requiring as much respect for other cultures' behavioural norms as you're own.

Be nice. If you can't be nice, for God's sake be funny.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/QUOTE]

You are most certainly welcomed to wear the Kilt and all that goes with (or without) it. ;)

[SusieQusie]

Boy - read the following quotes paying close attention to the "tone" and attitude" of the posters:

[quote name='Ethel5']If you want to wear whatever you want because you're spending your "very good hard earned money, then why don't you choose another type of vacation that allows that? The expected dress is given to you before you board and by paying your money you are accepting those expectaions. BTW, I also pay "very good hard earned money" and [B]I[/B] expect everyone to be dressed according to the guidelines set.[/quote]

Rest of quotes in [COLOR="Red"]RED:

"If anyone chooses to book a cruise, it is spelled out in the cruise information provided to the passenger,what proper attire is acceptable and standard in each dining area. The passenger when booking accepts these guidlines. Fellow passengers also expect that these guidlines will be followed. For someone to "makeup" their own guidlines is immature. Paying for a cruise does not intitle one to make up the "rules".:)"

" I think that the bottom line with all of this is that so many people think
they are special and the rules don't apply to them - that if they don't want to do something they shouldn't have to.

I have noticed in the last few years that the behavior of people on cruises in general has deteriorated. People are pushing on the elevator before those who are on can get out. Cutting in lines at buffets, shows, etc. Saving lounge chairs for people who never come back. Letting children run amok. Not teaching their children proper manners and etiquette, etc.

This is a problem with society as a whole and this is just a place where it shows up and we can all see it."

" I guess I'm a traditionalist and feel that folks who sign up for a cruise know what's expected before they board. Once you make your final payment, you have agreed to follow those expectations. Now, I also understand that on shorter cruises, the MD's are lax in enforcing the dress code-shame on them. On longer cruises, the MD's are more dilligent in this task and I have seen them turn away improperly dressed people. The bottom line on this is that the two sides will NEVER agree. It will not ruin my cruise if anyone wants to wear shorts, pearls and a tiara for formal nights-just stay out of the dining room."[/COLOR]

As someone new to cruising and these boards, here are my observations -

I'm glad I've read that only a small percentage of cruisers actually post on these boards. If I thought most people on cruises had this type of attitude, I'd be really SCARED to step on-board!

Part of me thinks that everyone posting with the nice, mellow attitude about how other people dress for dinner, should just eat at the buffet to stay away from these closed-minded, holier-than-thou types who can't possibly be ANY FUN to eat with. However, the little "devil" in me WANTS to wear jeans into the dining room just to tick them off - and I don't particularly like jeans!!! (In all honesty I wouldn't wear anything too casual into the dining room because I personally wouldn't feel comfortable if I were too dressed-down. But if someone else wants to: have at it!!! I just hope for their sake, they're at my table and not - heaven forbid - sitting right next to one of the posters above.)

I've said it before and I'll say it again: why must some people be overly concerned with what others do, especially what others wear!!!

[from the desert]

I don't have any information in my deposit packet from my TA and Princess about the "rules" of the ship. Do these come when my final payment is requested and do I have to have them signed and notarized when I send in my final payment?

Just wondering....

[chefim]

Might I direct everyone to the original post, which started with:

[b]"OK, maybe I am going to start a big feud"[/b]

It is amazing to me that not only does everyone read what they want into the rules, suggestions, code, regulations, and policy, but they read into each post just what they want to.

Nobody here suggested that anyone go out and buy a new wardrobe, as a matter of fact many of the posters noted that they do in fact wear suits, but would rather not do so on a cruise. Nobody expects anyone to go out and buy gowns, or buy/rent a tuxedo. What is suggested that people don't decide what is appropriate when the specific policy is spelled out.

Keep in mind that the police don't always go after you when you are speeding, but the time they pull you over and start writing the ticket, how many of you are going to tell the officer that this particular policy is rarely enforced?

The OP did not come with a question, and alluded to the possibility of starting a feud, so I guess "mission accomplished."

Chef

[long_shot45]

The answer to the whole question is for the cruise line to enforce THEIR rules or suggestions.....