Shorts for dinner

[stwr cruiser]

I have been on several cruises but always without children. We are taking our 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son on a 7 day western caribbean cruise with RCL. Will they allow a boy to wear nice khaki dress shorts to dinner? I have purchased several pair of pants but he would get more use out of short. Formal nights will consist of dress pants, shirt and tie.

 

Thanks!

 

Stephanie

[wrp96]

The dress code applies to kids as well. No shorts allowed in the dining rooms at dinner.

[ddolphinmom]

You will find you will get flamed for asking that dreaded question. But for the record my sons 18 and 14 wore very nice khaki's and button up dress shirts to dinner during the casual nights and didn't even get a second look. NO Problem!! How is that any different than women wearing khaki capris?? Don't worry what anyone says, let the little ones wear what they are comfortable in and don't spend all your money on brand new clothes for a cruise if they won't wear them after.

 

Just for the record, I didn't let anyone in my family wear jeans (shorts or long) and they were everywhere in the dining room.

[Onessa]

I agree you probably will get flamed even for asking (it's a sad commentary on the state of the world :) )

 

I always feel it is the "full presentation" that really counts. If a young man is in nice, newish dockers type shorts and a polo or other buttoned/collared shirt; it is preferable to some of the things that people pass off as 'casual' that may fall within the letter of the law but are just not appropriate (we once had a 12YOish at the table next to ours that just scared me! the whole 'goth' look including piercings - none of his clothing was outside the rules - no jeans, no shorts, no tank-type tops, surprisingly no toxic-imprints on his multple layers of black shirts/jackets - but lots of chains and decorative saftey pins).

 

There is also a real double standard - women can wear capris or skorts. My DD (now 11YO) always wears really cute "skirts" to dinner, but they are all really skorts! Very stylish but very comfortable and keeps her legs bare -- I don't suppose your son would be open to kilts? :D

 

Be aware that some matre d's may be sticklers - so be prepared if you choose to go the shorts route.

[vetgirl]

No flaming here!:) The family cruising board is usually a bit more mild mannered!;)

 

I personally, would not dress them in shorts for dinner. Whatever the child's age, pants are just much more appropriate for the dining room in the evening. Of course, this in only my opinion.

 

Have a great cruise!

[stwr cruiser]

Geez! I didn't know I would cause flames to come out of someone's ears. I just don't think it is practical to buy my son so many pairs of pants he will never get use out of. My personal opinion is nothing looks cuter than a little boy in some nice pressed khaki shorts, cute shirt, with a sweater over the shirt. I agree, what is the difference between shorts and khaki capris? Or what about short skirts (not skorts) but short skirts.

 

Thanks Again!

 

Stephanie

[gerif]

Geez! I didn't know I would cause flames to come out of someone's ears. I just don't think it is practical to buy my son so many pairs of pants he will never get use out of. My personal opinion is nothing looks cuter than a little boy in some nice pressed khaki shorts, cute shirt, with a sweater over the shirt. I agree, what is the difference between shorts and khaki capris? Or what about short skirts (not skorts) but short skirts.

 

Why would he need more than two pair? He only needs to wear them for a couple of hours then change before heading off to the kids' club.

[girlfriendtoo]

Geez! I didn't know I would cause flames to come out of someone's ears. I just don't think it is practical to buy my son so many pairs of pants he will never get use out of. My personal opinion is nothing looks cuter than a little boy in some nice pressed khaki shorts, cute shirt, with a sweater over the shirt. I agree, what is the difference between shorts and khaki capris? Or what about short skirts (not skorts) but short skirts.

 

Thanks Again!

 

Stephanie

 

To each his own, my 9 year old at the time (2 years ago) wore pressed khaki shorts and nice dress shirts on all but formal nights on AOS and was fine. We inquired to the head waiter and he gave his approval. :D

 

Formal night we rented tuxes for both my husband and my son. In his opinion, I tortured him only 2 nights rather than 7 :cool: This was practical for us as

1. More room in the suitcase for me

2. saved on buying slacks which he would never wear again and would have outgrew a month later.

We are going this Saturday on Triumph, and he is going to wear slacks to dinner this time, because he is now more in tune with his looks...;)

[trnmba]

My son has worn shorts to dinner before many times but always nice one's with a button down shirt or polo. He has also worn them w/a blazer, which is actually an old fashioned type of dressy look. Many of the kids dressy outfits are now short outfits going back to that type of style and I think they look great. Once he wore a sailor type outfit which was shorts and a dressy sailor type shirt--- he got ton's of compliments from the crew.

 

My daughter however always wears a dress, but we can't get her out of dresses ever, she loves to dress up.

[Wendi&Max]

I bought my son an adorable Eton suit for our cruise last year and he was probably better dressed than most of the people at dinner the night he wore it even though he was in shorts. I think it is perfectly acceptable for a little boy to wear shorts, back in the old days boys didn't wear long pants at all until they were considered to be "men".

[Ripley]

It shows greater respect for your fellow cruisers to have your children follow the dress code to the greatest of your ability. The formal atmosphere is one of the reasons many cruisers choose this type of vacation. If your son can't tolerate long pants, you have the option to dine in the casual dining room/buffet. I know some "big boys" who chafe a little at the concept of dressing for dinner, too, but they seem to get into the spirit of it once they are immersed in that beautiful dining room with all that attentive service.

Have a great trip!

[FPP777]

You will find you will get flamed for asking that dreaded question. But for the record my sons 18 and 14 wore very nice khaki's and button up dress shirts to dinner during the casual nights and didn't even get a second look. NO Problem!! How is that any different than women wearing khaki capris?? Don't worry what anyone says, let the little ones wear what they are comfortable in and don't spend all your money on brand new clothes for a cruise if they won't wear them after.

 

Just for the record, I didn't let anyone in my family wear jeans (shorts or long) and they were everywhere in the dining room.

 

Lets be clear here. Don't worry what anyone says, except for ddolphinmom.

[Zoemakes5]

My two experiences crusing, I found the dining rooms to be absolutely freezing! I even complained about it. For that reason alone, I'd put my kids in pants (or tights for DD).

I'd do whatever you want, though be prepared to deal with having to take him back and change if they are sticklers about the dress code. And, you should also be prepared for a negative reaction from others there, (whether appropriate or not, you'll probably get one.) If that doesn't bother you, let it slide and enjoy yourself. If it does/will bother you or DS, then you might want to rethink.

Personally, one of my favorite of DS's outfits were madras shorts (blue/green) with sweates with some sort of animal with the madras print on it with long socks when they were 5 & 3 for Easter. We got so many compliments on those outfits. I agree, with pp, it's the overall look of formality that should be the deciding factor.

[bmgaritty]

Geez! I didn't know I would cause flames to come out of someone's ears. I just don't think it is practical to buy my son so many pairs of pants he will never get use out of. My personal opinion is nothing looks cuter than a little boy in some nice pressed khaki shorts, cute shirt, with a sweater over the shirt. I agree, what is the difference between shorts and khaki capris? Or what about short skirts (not skorts) but short skirts.

 

Thanks Again!

 

Stephanie

 

Stephanie,

 

You chose to cruise - why not follow the appropriate dress codes? Shorts sets are "cute" but if their sticklers you may have a problem.

 

The dining rooms are pretty cold. Long pants would be appropriate and also practical due to the temp.

 

Have a great cruise!

[WorkingMomNeedsaVacation]

Personally, I don't see why people need to get dressed up for dinner if they choose not to, however, I am a "play-by-the-rules" person, so went out and spent a decent amount of $$ on clothes my kids will never wear again. But, personally, I would love to see a cruise give people the option of dressing as they choose.

 

We've gone to plenty of Caribbean islands and always worn shorts to dinner. We look nice - but we are comfortable. My husband hates cruising for this very reason. We are leaving tomorrow on a cruise he won from work or else we would be headed back to a casual resort in the Caribbean next week!

 

Go ahead... I have my flame resistant suit on.

[Single Cruiser]

Of course you always have the option of a choosing one of the many family-friendly cruise lines who don't have a dress code!!

[lysolqn]

Or you can choose to dine in one of the alternative venues which do not require that you follow the dress code.

[cali-croozer]

I would suggest bringing two pairs of pants for non-formal nights and a couple of polo shirts (or hawaiian type shirts). You can buy "docker" type pants for about $10 at a discount store like Target (especially if you don't think you'll get much use out of them after the cruise). Then you can just mix and match; no need to have a new outfit for each night. My boys each had a pair of blue pants and a pair of tan pants, plus a few print shirts which were fine for non-formal nights. As other posters stated, you son will be changed back into his shorts 5 minutes after dinner!:)

[KimberlyC]

FWIW, I asked a similar Q on another message board. I have a 2 yr old cruising Disney. I want to abide by the rules and didn't intend to allow shorts even on casual nights (buying tux for formal night - so you can tell I prefer more formality) but I found the most adorable sailor suit with captains hat outfit for my son. It's pretty dressy and old fashioned but it has "short pants" and I wanted to know if it was ok for semi-formal night. I posted the catalog pic and overwhelmingly people agreed it was very appropriate given his age. We too are doing a western caribbean. There are 4 casual nights. 2 pairs of pants will be sufficient for my DS since he'll only be wearing them for 2 or 3 hours he can wear each pair (dark colors) twice with different shirts.

[stwr cruiser]

Well in any case. I fail to see in RCI vacation documents where capri's are suitable attire in the dinning room but women manage to get away with wearing those?

 

I was just trying to get away without buying so many pants. Yes he could wear them twice but what 6 year old do you know that doesn't end up wearing his food or wiping his dirty hands on his clothes. So I guess I will buy the pants or have them laundered. BTW I would never dream of dressing him on a formal night in shorts.

 

 

Stephanie

[Onessa]

If you really feel you need to do long pants - buy some of the cool long pants (not the dorky dockers). Then if all else fails, come end of cruise lop them off and do a quicky machine hem on each leg - and walla! SHORTS!

 

Don't know about where you live, but her 'bouts most days you need to wear long pants - does your son wear nothing but blue jeans?

[A&Jfamily]

I agree with the post about the Eton outfits - the one piece jumpers for boys; while the legs are short, they aren't technically shorts and are considered dress clothes for young boys, especially if worn with longer socks and "bucks." That's what I was planning to put my 2 year old in for the formal nights as I consider a tie for someone under 5 a threat to their health and well-being!

[Design Diva]

In my humble opinion, it starts with the Cruiseline. If RCL doesn't enforce the "no shorts" rule then they clearly don't seem to mind shorts in the dining room. If they did, they would kindly ask you to leave or change and come back. BUT THEY DO NOT DO THAT. \

It seems to me, a rule without consequences is no rule at all.

 

It's also obvious, that the cruiselines are making cruising MUCh more casual than in the past.

[mcubed]

Well in any case. I fail to see in RCI vacation documents where capri's are suitable attire in the dinning room but women manage to get away with wearing those?

 

I was just trying to get away without buying so many pants. Yes he could wear them twice but what 6 year old do you know that doesn't end up wearing his food or wiping his dirty hands on his clothes. So I guess I will buy the pants or have them laundered. BTW I would never dream of dressing him on a formal night in shorts.

 

 

Stephanie

 

Stephanie - If you make sure he keeps a napkin in his lap and you pack a Tide To Go pen (I swear by them), you may be OK. They get anything out and don't leave marks or rings. I never travel (or leave the house) without one. They even got red wine out of my white cashmere sweater. Give it a try before you leave to see if it will help your dilemma! Good luck!

[mcubed]

Well in any case. I fail to see in RCI vacation documents where capri's are suitable attire in the dinning room but women manage to get away with wearing those?

 

I was just trying to get away without buying so many pants. Yes he could wear them twice but what 6 year old do you know that doesn't end up wearing his food or wiping his dirty hands on his clothes. So I guess I will buy the pants or have them laundered. BTW I would never dream of dressing him on a formal night in shorts.

 

 

Stephanie

 

Stephanie - If you make sure he keeps a napkin in his lap and you pack a Tide To Go pen (I swear by them), you may be OK. They get anything out and don't leave marks or rings. I never travel (or leave the house) without one. They even got red wine out of my white cashmere sweater. Give it a try before you leave to see if it will help your dilemma! Good luck!