Formal Nights - a narrow query

[Kane]

I have never been on a HAL ship and am posing a narrow query regarding mens' attire on formal nights. I'm not a troller and don't want this thread to develop into the typical "what I wish it would be" discussion on formal dress ... I just want a few estimates.

 

I have been on cruise liness where >= 90% of men wear tuxes on formal nights. I have also been on cruise lines where <= 10% wear tuxes.

 

The question is: On HAL, what percentage of men wear tuxes on formal nights?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Really depends on the itinerary. Alaskan cruises - less tuxedos. Longer Caribbean cruises - many tuxedos.

[kakalina]

On my last few cruises not more than 10%-15% . Truly, there weren't nearly as many as in the past. One would feel comfortable with either a tux or a dark suit IMO.

[gizmo]

Hi Kane,

 

Your answers are going to vary. You are going to get answers anywhere from "very few" to 70 - 80%.

 

On all my cruises I would say maybe 70% wore a tux. They were 10,12, or 14 day cruises.

[twinkletoes4445]

On our past cruise to the Caribbean (7 day) I'd say about 10% of the men wore a tux. At the last minute, hubby decided to bring along a dark suit and skip the tux. I was worried that he might feel out of place, but this wasn't an issue.

 

We've cruised over New Year's and I'd say abou 80% of the men wore a tux for formal nights.

 

And for our HAL Caribbean cruise, the other nights were much more casual than I thought they'd be. Men were in Docker's and polo-type shirts, and women wore sundresses, slacks/blouses, and I even saw a lot of nice capi sets. We even had one night that was "tropical" and we saw a lot of Hawaiian shirts that night.

[hammybee]

I do not think it possible to generalize formal attire. What might happen on a 7 day cruise is not necessarily going to be the same thing as on a 30 day cruise.

 

And within 7 day cruises, regardless of HAL's intent, the second formal night, tends to be less formal than the first, on many cruises.

 

So the best answer is, it all depends......

[aliaschief]

Just off the Volendam-maybe 30% of us wore Tux's. Previous boards have reported less Tuxedo's on Alaska trips.

[caviargal]

On Noordam last month, about 30% of the men wore tuxes.

 

On Oosterdam in April, it was about the same.

 

On ZUI last March, the percentage was higher.

[dakrewser]

I have never been on a HAL ship and am posing a narrow query regarding mens' attire on formal nights. I'm not a troller and don't want this thread to develop into the typical "what I wish it would be" discussion on formal dress ... I just want a few estimates.

 

I have been on cruise liness where >= 90% of men wear tuxes on formal nights. I have also been on cruise lines where <= 10% wear tuxes.

 

The question is: On HAL, what percentage of men wear tuxes on formal nights?

 

Which ship? Which Area? How many nights?

[sail7seas]

Maasdam for Canada/New England, 7 night cruise, about 65% tuxedos.

 

Volendam, ten night, Caribbean, about 70% tuxedos.

 

Noordam, Caribbean, 11 night cruise out of New York, January, about 65 - 75% tuxedos.

 

Ryndam, 14 night Caribbean, about 70% tuxedos.

 

 

 

[kryos]

Hi Kane,

 

Your answers are going to vary. You are going to get answers anywhere from "very few" to 70 - 80%.

 

On all my cruises I would say maybe 70% wore a tux. They were 10,12, or 14 day cruises.

It's gonna depend greatly upon the cruise too. If you're looking at an extended voyage ... something along the order of 20+ days ... you're gonna get far more tuxes than you would on say a seven to ten-day voyage. Far more ladies will be dressed in gowns on the longer voyages as well.

 

Either way, though, a dark suit is fine for formal night and no one should worry about looking out of place should they choose not to don a tux or a formal gown on those evenings.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[WillieF]

Which ship? Which Area? How many nights?

 

Pertinent questions - and I'd add ' time of year?'

[WillieF]

Which ship? Which Area? How many nights?

 

Pertinent questions - and I'd add 'time of year?'

[mr green]

With just the two levels now, [Formal, and smart casual], there may be a few more tux than before, since there is no need for a sports jacket, and less weight for those flying. I would guess at least 60% tux for my Hawaii Circle. I will have a tux, but I will also wear a blue blazer on formal nights, since I don't have to fly, and I like to change a little, since it is a 19 day cruise.

 

john

[RetiredMustang]

It has gotten smaller as the years go by, and as others have noted shorter cruises or ones to less formal areas tend to see fewer people in tuxes. For what it's worth, here is my totally unscientific guesstimates for recent HAL cruises we've taken:

 

Westerdam, back-to-back seven day Caribbean: 30-40% of the men in tuxes, most of the others in dark suits, some in blazers or sports coats.

 

Maasdam 10 and 11-day Caribbean cruises: Maybe 50-60% tuxes.

 

I wear a tux, mainly because DW enjoys dressing and I always try to complement her dress, but I have never felt that I am the only one in a tux. (Of course, I'm a guy, so it may be that someone dressed in a clown costume came in and I didn't notice...)

 

And, as hammybee said, there were more tuxes on the first formal night than follow-on ones.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Dave

[peaches from georgia]

No matter what % of men wear tux, suits, or jacket w/ tie, no one is going to be turned away on formal night at the dining room door anymore unless they are wearing shorts, and I'm not even sure about that. On our last few cruises we have seen golf shirts and dockers, turtlenecks/sport shirts w/ no tie, and every other type of casual clothes on formal nights and nobody said a thing. And these were 10 and 14 day cruises, not 7.

 

I certainly prefer to see men in tux or suits if formal nights are still going to be held, but if any man prefers not to and wants to dress casually you are not going to have a problem.

[sail7seas]

Anyone have observations re: early dining vs. later dining? Do you think more wear tuxedo at later dining? Or more at early?

 

[Welove2cruise2]

Does HAL rent tuxes to wear on board to formal night? I'd LOVE to get DH into a tux!!! And he'd wear it to, because HE LOVES ME!!!;)

[sail7seas]

Yes,,,,,, you can rent a tuxedo, shoes, shirt.....the whole thing.

You probably can do it on line at the HAL site but if not there is always an enclosure with our documents giving details of how to rent formal clothes. They will be brought to your cabin and be ready for him to wear for formal night.

 

[peaches from georgia]

Does HAL rent tuxes to wear on board to formal night?

All the cruiselines rent through Cruiseline Formals. Go to their website, click on products, and click on Holland America. You will have to have him measured at a local tux rental shop and then order by phone or online. The tux, shirts, and all accessories including shoes if you wish are available with a choice of black tux, white dinner jacket, or both.

 

Everything will be waiting in your cabin when you arrive and your cabin steward will handle everything for you. It works beautifully. Many men who own their own tux still use this rental service so as not to have to pack theirs. The whole system works beautifully and if any alterations are needed that can be handled on the ship.

 

http://www.cruiselineformal.com

[hammybee]

Anyone have observations re: early dining vs. later dining? Do you think more wear tuxedo at later dining? Or more at early?

 

 

Unless one dined at both, how would you know ? :)

 

( Just being silly)

[kwahl1]

Or would that be roughtly 67.5 percent or closer to 68 percent wore them penguin suits. 69% ? :D :D :D

 

Ken

 

Maasdam for Canada/New England, 7 night cruise, about 65% tuxedos.

 

Volendam, ten night, Caribbean, about 70% tuxedos.

 

Noordam, Caribbean, 11 night cruise out of New York, January, about 65 - 75% tuxedos.

 

Ryndam, 14 night Caribbean, about 70% tuxedos.

 

 

 

[advocado]

To be honest... I do wear a tux on formal nights. Period. I wouldn't care if I was the only male passenger who did so. I love the look of my wife dressed to the nines, and me in my tux are her perfect complement. Frankly, I feel like a million bucks when I'm in full battle dress and I believe it's sensed by the crew. After all, a cruise is a SPECIAL occasion. Why not do something that adds to the overall enjoyment? If I really abhored dress-up, I could have simply stayed home and watched travel shows.

[cruznon]

I've also noticed how it varies. I noticed that in Alaska there were fewer tuxedos--probably about 25 %. I do feel that there are more tuxes in later dining times found my observations.

DH wears his tux and I always remind him how great he looks ! ( Avocado, I like your attitude and agree about the special occasion of formal night!):)

[RevNeal]

On the Ryndam this past March, 8-day cruise to Mexican Riviera (originally supposed to be a 10-day cruise) ... late seating saw about 55%-65% in Tuxedos. I don't know about the earlier seating time, but observations around the ship -- and of men in the formal night photos -- would seem to confirm that.

 

On the Noordam for Southern Caribbean out of New York this past Jan, and at late seating (upper level) ... uh ... I think Sails figures are probably right ... somewhere around 70% to maybe as high as 75%. Might have been even higher on the first formal night.

 

On the Zaandam to Hawaii the figure was something like 70% ... maybe closer to 80% on the Black and White Ball night.

 

Last time we did Alaska it was horrible ... about 20% of the men were in Tuxedos.

 

As for these figures ... well ... Christopher is in the clothing design field, and so he pays attention to what people wear. He does crowd sampling by eye. He says he'll do a random count of 50 men, then extrapolate from there. And, he says, his favorite time to do that is at the Captain's Reception, though it also works just walking through the dining room. And ... he's right. One CAN get a good idea of the average by doing that.