Formal nights and teenage boy attire

[katgilm]

I know there must be lots of posts about formal night and kids but "search" didn't help! So here are my questions... We will be traveling with 4 teenage boys. On formal night, can they wear slacks and collared shirts? Do they need a tie? Or jacket? What about on the other nights in the dining room? Our boys live in long basketball shorts and t-shirts. I know that short and t-shirts aren't allowed but can the younger kids get away with it?

 

Thanks, Kathi

[hdawson]

Just read your Carnival catalogue. Very clear. Children are expected to dress like everyone else. Also in your welcome aboard booklet.

 

Just read the OP again. Do you really want to teach kids to get away with whatever they can and they can pick and choose what rules apply to them?

 

There must be many thousands of threads about what is expected and appropriate in the dining room

[hstrybuf]

You have a good start, but here it is from Carnival's Web site.

 

Is there a dress code for the dining room?

Depending on the length of the cruise, either formal dress or casual resort wear is required in the Dining Room. The dress requirement for children is the same. For those not wanting to dress up, the Lido restaurants are open nightly (with the exception of the last evening of the cruise), and have a casual dress code. Formal Wear: tuxedo (optional); suit and tie; sport coat, tie and slacks; evening gown; cocktail dress; pantsuit Casual Resort Wear: sport shirts and slacks; dresses; skirts; pantsuit NOTE: Shorts, t-shirts and bathing attire are not permitted in the Dining Room during dinner.

[acromom]

I have been to all the formal nights with my kids. Children, specially teenagers are dressed in jackets and suits. My son wore a suit and will be wearing one again when we go this summer. It is a formal dinner. My children have always dressed up no matter what age they were at the time. As to the other nights. Shorts are not allowed in the dining room for dinner. If they prefer wearing that, you can always opt to dine at one of the other locations on the ship. If you prefer the menu in the dining room, do what my kids did. They would dress in slacks and a nice shirt(son) and a dress(daughter) and as soon as dinner was over, they would head to the room and change.:D

[punkin1]

Formal nights are just that. Boys can wear black dress slacks, shirt and tie, if you can't do suit. If you don't want to dress up on fromal nights, you can skip dining room, and have buffet dinner. I have been on several cruise lines, and carnival is only line where you will find diners coming into dining room inappropiately dressed. It takes away from the dressed up diners experience. For myself, it is fun to take time to get all dressed up for 1-2 nights. And special if you have a picture taken of your party all done up.

[katgilm]

Do you really want to teach kids to get away with whatever they can and they can pick and choose what rules apply to them?

 

C'mon folks...We're talking about wearing shorts. I posted the question for help not for snide comments.

 

Thanks acromom for letting me know what the kids wear in the dining room. That is exactly what I needed to know as I had read in the posts that formal night was not as formal as it used to be. The last time we cruised my husband and son both wore tuxedos. I was hoping to do that again because the pictures are priceless. However, now that there are four teenage boys (a group of families are traveling together), we moms are trying to decide what we need to buy/rent for the cruise. As to the non-formal nights, it had actually just dawned on me that the boys probably couldn't wear their shorts (and yes I read no shorts but I have been worrying about formal night and hadn't even thought about non-formal nights until I posted my question). I wanted to check with the expert cruisers--expecially those with teenage boys-- first before I ran out and spent even more money on clothes!!!!

[Payd]

Your boys should plan to wear the same as the adults to the dining room for formal or any other night.

 

On our last cruise we sat across from a mom and dad with their two boys and a girl. I looked forward to seeing them each night - they always dressed to code and looked so good (and had excellent table manners). I was very impressed!

 

You noted your husband and son have worn tuxes before on the cruise - so plan to do it again or at least go for the suit and tie. Just imagine the formal pictures you could get of the four young men...priceless.

 

Payd:)

[geauxgirl]

Last May I took my 17 year old nephew and one of his friends along with myself and my husband. The teenagers brought suits, but ended up not wearing them. On the formal nights they wore dress pants, dress shirts and a tie. They had gotten sunburned and really didnt want to wear a coat, so I didn't push the issue. I nor did they feel out of place in the dining room. On the nights that were not formal, they simply wore kakhi's and a polo shirt or dress jeans(no holes-my rules). They were very comfortable eating in the dining room and today they say that this was one of their favorite parts of their trip. I found that most all of the kids on the cruise their age dressed very similar, so everyone seemed to be on the same page. I hope your children enjoy this cruise and don't miss out on the dining room expierence because of dress code. I've seen way more adults looking out of place because of their outfits, then I've seen teenagers. If you have other questions , I'd be happy to answer them. monrich_4@hotmail.com

 

M. R.

[B&BREIK]

good for you , i noticed in here some people seem to think they are better then others and give the snide remarks when such is not needed.as youseld i have read and reread but as times change so do the way people dress, and if you read alot of people do not wear real formal clothes so i would not buy something they will never wear again, we are also taking a teenage boy and as much as he doesnt want to dress up he knows he will be expected to! So to all you people out there who think that the world will end as you know it if a child wears shorts and if you think him doing so is letting him break the rules then oh my gosh u need to get a life there are worse things in the world.As i sit here and write this i wonder how many agree with this but are just to afraid to voice their opinions.the lady only asked a question and as i sat and read the answer i was amazed at the condecending tone of the first reply!

[katgilm]

good for you , i noticed in here some people seem to think they are better then others and give the snide remarks when such is not needed.as youseld i have read and reread but as times change so do the way people dress, and if you read alot of people do not wear real formal clothes so i would not buy something they will never wear again, we are also taking a teenage boy and as much as he doesnt want to dress up he knows he will be expected to! So to all you people out there who think that the world will end as you know it if a child wears shorts and if you think him doing so is letting him break the rules then oh my gosh u need to get a life there are worse things in the world.As i sit here and write this i wonder how many agree with this but are just to afraid to voice their opinions.the lady only asked a question and as i sat and read the answer i was amazed at the condecending tone of the first reply!

 

Your post made me laugh (in a good way, of course, because you said what I was thinking). Thank you! I too was surprised at the response I received. Apparently I should have worded my question differently!

 

I really was hoping my son could wear his "normal" clothes (i.e, long "basketball" shorts and T-shirts which are actually all very nice and color coordinated) on non-formal night so I didn't have to spend a lot of money buying clothes that he will outgrow before he ever wears again! At this point, I think we'll just bring two pairs of pants and two collared shirts to get through the week since I know he'll only be wearing them for dinner.

 

Thank you very much to all the posters who did help answer my question! I really appreciate it!

[petro772]

good for you , i noticed in here some people seem to think they are better then others and give the snide remarks when such is not needed.as youseld i have read and reread but as times change so do the way people dress, and if you read alot of people do not wear real formal clothes so i would not buy something they will never wear again, we are also taking a teenage boy and as much as he doesnt want to dress up he knows he will be expected to! So to all you people out there who think that the world will end as you know it if a child wears shorts and if you think him doing so is letting him break the rules then oh my gosh u need to get a life there are worse things in the world.As i sit here and write this i wonder how many agree with this but are just to afraid to voice their opinions.the lady only asked a question and as i sat and read the answer i was amazed at the condecending tone of the first reply!

 

There are a wide variety of opinions posted on these boards!

[baseballdad]

Something that works, inexpensively, is to match black Dockers (that they can wear to plenty of other places) with a black or Navy sportscoat, preferably from a good thrift shop. They're teenagers who will change two sizes in a year - why buy a new sportsjacket or suit?

 

The black/black or black/navy combination will look good in the formal photos, and comfortable Dockers might make them less likely to run back and change. My kids liked hanging out with the other teens from CLub O2, all dressed up - they took literally hundreds of digital pics of each other all around the ship. Fodder for MySpace...

[jcanino]

So here are my questions... We will be traveling with 4 teenage boys. On formal night, can they wear slacks and collared shirts? Do they need a tie? Or jacket? What about on the other nights in the dining room? Our boys live in long basketball shorts and t-shirts. I know that short and t-shirts aren't allowed but can the younger kids get away with it?

 

Personally, I feel that a suit should be worn at a minimum on formal night even for teen boys. My son started wearing a tuxedo on formal nights when he was 8 and has worn one for formal night on every cruise since.

[jcanino]

really was hoping my son could wear his "normal" clothes (i.e, long "basketball" shorts and T-shirts which are actually all very nice and color coordinated) on non-formal night so I didn't have to spend a lot of money buying clothes that he will outgrow before he ever wears again!

 

This is going to be one of those snide comment you don't like, but your comment on the color coordinated basketball shorts is just as bad as the people that say that their jeans are designer jeans and they should be allowed to wear them.

[ParrotRob]

This is going to be one of those snide comment you don't like, but your comment on the color coordinated basketball shorts is just as bad as the people that say that their jeans are designer jeans and they should be allowed to wear them.

 

So, jcanino, you mean I can't wear my very nice, brand new, color-coordinated jeans and wifebeater shirt to the dining room? :rolleyes:

 

As an aside, last week on Triumph in the London dining room, the Maitre d' actually did stop people on the first night telling them it was OK on the first night but they would not be allowed to wear the shorts and T-Shirts on any other night. Didn't see any more shorts the rest of the week, although there were plenty of jeans, and a few of the spring breakers managed to get in with the occasional T-shirt as well.

 

As a FUNNY aside, one night one of the drunk spring break girls got up and danced on the table during the dinner performance where one of the waitresses was supposed to be.

[nagster]

My son wears khaki pants (not dockers more dressy), dress shirt and tie. He doesn't own a jacket so I should probably look into that. On the other nights he wears khakis and a polo.

[mrdood]

My son wears khaki pants (not dockers more dressy), dress shirt and tie. He doesn't own a jacket so I should probably look into that. On the other nights he wears khakis and a polo.

 

With khakis and a tie he will be fine, I wear my designer jeans and a jacket and the Maitre'D always give me a thumbs up - or is that the stick it sign:confused: :p :)

[jckvpa0]

If your son wore khaki cargo pants to school those to would be fine for non formal nights. I saw plenty of children,(and adults :rolleyes: ), in jeans on non formal nights. Another suggestion for formal night would be khaki slacks,(which they could use on non formal nights), white shirt, tie & navy blazer. Mind you I wouldn't have my dh wear that look on formal night but love it on casual nights or in the specialty restaurant !

[catlady1971]

I just buy my son a pair of khakis and a button down shirt. He is autistic and has problems with certain items of clothing. Also, I let him wear a nice pair of sneakers, finding shoes for him is really hard and he barely wears dress shoes. We will end up in the dining room one night, mostly for prime rib. Other nights, he'd rather be in the buffet.

 

Oh, on our last cruise, my son did not wear a tie nor jacket. He didn't want one nor did I feel the need to buy one. He had no problem eating in the dining room. They are not a necessity. So to the snide comments and poster making it a necessity for a jacket and tie, it is not.

[Ellanora]

I know this is all very subjective, but my 9 year old wore black dress pants, white long-sleeved dress shirt, black dress shoes and belt, and tie (no coat). He looked superb, and matched with his grandfather, who wore the same thing. My mom and I wore black cocktail dresses, and our group photo looks very nice and formal. When we went to dinner, there were a few who were more dressed up than we were, however, there were MANY who were less dressed up, i.e. church clothes and sun dresses. We felt quite happy and comfortable as we were, and plan to wear the same again next time we cruise.