Take A Vote...do You Enjoy Dressing Up???

[duke052]

Dressing up eliminates the carnival atmosphere. One time on RCCL kids were wearing head bands and tank tops to dinner. Thats an outfit for McDonalds. Please keep the dress code as it is.

[halos]

[quote name='flagger']I just have a question for all of you who enjoy getting dressed up. Why aren't/don't you dressed up formally every night of the cruise? If you like it so much, the day of the week or the dress code of the evening shouldn't really matter to you.[/QUOTE]

Actually, I did 5 out of 7 nights.....and to duke...I did this on a Carnival cruise. The atmosphere there is not what you may think.

[Blazerboy]

While I enjoy dressing up for formal night, it's also EASIER for packing. I know it's different for women, but for men, the basic tuxedo has only a few variants that are easy to change. So for me, the formal night are both an opportunity to dress up, which I enjoy, and also a SAVINGS in terms of packing- one tux instead of different suits and/or sportcoats for each of three nights-

-and besides, I wear all my blazers during the day!:D

[halos]

Dresses take up less space than most pants/shirts...the problem with packing for me is always the SHOES!! :D
Gotta have a lot of them!!

[tuggers]

Thanks from me, too! I'm afraid the composing going on in my head had to do with 'hot spurs' and resting places among body parts! Thanks to you, I got that image and thought out of my head! So nice when cooler brains prevail!:D

[gkm]

[quote name='tuggers']Thanks from me, too! I'm afraid the composing going on in my head had to do with 'hot spurs' and resting places among body parts! Thanks to you, I got that image and thought out of my head! So nice when cooler brains prevail!:D[/QUOTE]
And Gail, we get to cruise with this charming lady to Hawaii! I'm really looking forward to meeting her!:D

Garry

[tuggers]

Well, no problem picking her (funny I thought it was a man) out in crowd. Just look for the storm cloud overhead! Definitely a glass half empty kinda person!:rolleyes:

[Ma Bell]

Garry,

Thanks...I think you meant me (I hope). I appreciate the kind comments. I'm really looking forward to meeting both of you as well.

[redphoenyx]

[quote name='CGTNORMANDIE']I have always enjoyed the CELEBRITY cruise experience because most pax follow the dress code. The atmosphere onboard always seems more refined when all the pax are dressed up in the evening.

How many of you enjoy this experience and feel that the CELEBRITY dress code should be followed???

Do you feel that dressing up is fun??? Do you think that dressing up improves the atmosphere onboard??? Do you think that dressing up improves the social atmosphere and general deportment of the pax???

If you don't like to dress up...will you now consider using a more casual cruise line on your next cruise??? Or do you want to stay with CELEBRITY???

ROSS[/QUOTE]

Most of the time, I enjoy dressing up. I did dress up almost every night on my celebrity cruise.

If there is a dress code, then yes, it should be followed, but I also realize that not everyone will follow it. Will that ruin my time or upset me. NO. As a matter of fact it gives me a little chuckle!

Do I think that dressing up improves the atmosphere onboard? No. I'm one of these people that couldn't care less what you are wearing. It's how you act in public that sometimes bothers me. A person could be wearing all black and be in a gothic or punk outfit and have purple hair. I wouldn't judge that person any more or less that I would someone in a tux. I just care how you treat me and the others around you/me.

I'm not stuck on one particular cruise line. I'd like to try them all at some point in time. For me it all depends on what I'm looking for on that particular vacation and time.

I think I got all of your questions!:rolleyes:

[seabreezer]

Formal, black-tie attire should be reserved for events such as wedding receptions, fund raising dinner dance type events and other galas such as symphony, ballet, opera opening nights. I think formal attire is going overboard (no pun intended) considering the venue. You would never wear an evening gown to just go out to dinner on land no matter how "fancy" the restaurant. Cocktail and dressy attire should be dressy enough for any ship and cruiseline and should be specified.

I also don't like the packing and luggage issue the formal dress code creates. It's a pain to have to lug extra clothes around just for vacation.

[mamakinrocks]

My husband and I love dressing up and it definitely makes for a wonderful ambience on the ship. This is one of the important variables that draw us to sail with Celebrity. We had our children join us for their first cruise in January. Our daughter donned lovely dresses for formal nights and our son (age 7) wore a tuxedo. These are NOT "dress up" kind of kids, but even they enjoyed it...and their behavior reflected their sense of dress/special occasion. There are plenty of ships that offer the casual atmosphere and that is fine...but lets' keep Celebrity special!

[BB5953]

seabreezer - I agree. The tuxes and gowns in my opinion are a bit much but what others wear is their business and if it makes them a happier passenger then go for it. But for my fiancé and I will be dressed appropriately for formal dinners but certainly not in gowns and tuxes. As I said I couldn't care less what others wear and if someone comes in with jeans on it with make me laugh a little but I think I laugh even more when I see a woman come in wearing a gown from the 80's that looks worn and just ridiculous on them. I think both are equally inappropriate for the "classy" atmosphere some what to achieve by having everyone in formal attire.

[budfred]

My wife and I love to get dressed up for the formal dinners

[heywood]

Having just returned from our first cruise - Galaxy - I loved dressing up. We dined at 9.00 p.m every evening and in wonderful surroundings and I would not have enjoyed it half so much, had I not been dressed appropriately. Those people who used the formal dining room, dressed really well and it looked so good.
On our table, we thought it was very sad thad some tables were often empty - those people do not know what they were missing! The elegance of the surroundings demands a certain dress code I think and we just loved it!

[woodofpine]

Formal nights are a "charade" - well, duh! That's why it's so fun! Formal ware isn't required at the Four Seasons... it isn't functionally necessary at any venue where it survives... How long did it take you to figure out that it was a charade?

As for making you feel cheap... not likely. Let's hope you figure out those feelings that account for all your anger quicker than the formal ware - charade connection!

[seabreezer]

I must say, I agree with some of what Hotspur says and he doesn't sound particularly angry to me. The whole black-tie thing is a bit of an attempt to create an illusion of prosperity, wealth and glamour. But let's face it, entire industries are based on that concept. Some people have a greater need and/or desire for that than others. I also think the atmosphere on Celebrity is a bit contrived and really shouldn't warrant formal attire to just eat in a restaurant that you had an informal dinner in the night before. Most people do want to conform to the dresscode and I will too but I am a little resentful of having to pack and schlep the formal clothing.

[DUCK33]

absolutly enjoy it. and i do wear a suit every night. the only reason i do not wear a tux every night is i am not sure if i will get it back from luandry in time.

[Blazerboy]

I enjoy dressing for dinner as well. The rest of the debate is academic. I won't convince you that dressing up is "better." And you'll never convince me that casual dress is always the way. But I'll still enjoy my cruise, as I hope you will, too.

[woodofpine]

On that logic, you shouldn't dress up for a wedding or a funeral if you went to church or synagogue dressed more casually a few days before. Or you shouldn't dress up for a formal event at a restaurant, museum, or elsewhere because you were in the place wearing jeans the week before.

The lines put on a couple of formal nights because they always have, and the majority like it; the line "suggests", "requests", prints "guidelines" on the attire they would like worn (heaven forbid the passengers should be comparably dressed to the crew a couple nights). Sure it's a charade-masquerade, but it's their charade and their product you've selected for your vacation. Between Oceana, NCL, and many others its not like there aren't opportunities to opt out.

The whole socio-analytic oedipal prolitarian debate over dressing up - the "I don't want to get my hair cut, Dad!" resistence to it - I've just never understood that...

[CelebrityMan]

WoodofPine,

Excellent response, sir/madam, excellent. Does make one wonder, doesn't it...?

I think we'd enjoy having woodofpine as our tablemate anytime.

Cheers!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI GANG!!!

THANKS for your comments so far.

We have had 74 responses plus a lot of other comments so far.

Of the 75 responses we have:

57 who enjoy the formal wear and the dress code.

11 who don't love dressing up but do it to follow the code (or please their wife!!! LOL!!!)

7 who absolutely do not want to dress up.

This means that 76% of you are very much in favor of formal wear and a dress code.

14.66% of you will follow the dress code for various reasons.

9.33% of you do not like dressing up.

This means that 90.66% of you will follow the dress code and less than 10% will make other arrangements.

I am actually stunned that almost 91% of the pax want to follow the dress code. I thought that the negatives would be much higher...judging by the responses on these boards.

No wonder Celebrity has been able to present itself as an upscale cruise experience. A great majority of you (76% or more...) also felt that the social experience was enhanced by dressing up...which also has an impact on behavior and deportment.

I am sure that there will be great rantings about Celebrity and the "upsacale imaging" but the figures can not be disputed...MORE THAN 76% OF YOU FEEL IT IS SO.

When the arguements begin (regarding formal and semi-formal wear) you can honestly say that more than 90% of the respondents on the Celebrity board feel that the dress code is enhancing their cruise experience. These stats are germain to CELEBRITY but I do not think you will find a wide varriance from the 90% figure as the numbers of Celebrity respondents gets bigger...a +or- of 1% perhaps.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO RESPOND AND PLEASE TRY TO STAY ON TOPIC AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR "CHEERFUL" RESPONSES.

ROSS

[janjay]

I have not wanted to enter into this because the dress code discussions are so tedious. However I came on to see if anything new was being said and quite frankly this is the most non-threatening thread on this subject I've seen in a long while. I for one appreciate that.

In answer to the original question: Yep I like to dress up. I don't do beaded gowns but I do dress up. DH wears nice dark suit. And if I may say so looks fabulous.

If X starts enforcing the dress policy in the dining room. Or if they changed it completely, I for one would not quit sailing Celebrity. What I wear to dinner is way way down on the criteria of choosing a cruise.

As a side note: I don't believe I would quote the "stats" of this survey. I truly think most board members avoid this topic. It's usually the same folks argueing the same points.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I do believe the stats on this sample...because the pax who have responded feel strongly either way. It is a sample but...I believe that these numbers will closely reflect a wider sampling. The pax who have responded feel strongly about what they are saying. Even though the numbers of respondents are small...the results reflect the broader spectrum of CELEBRITY cruisers.

One of the main reasons that I took this sample at the present time was because I knew I would get the "true believers" to respond....This works for the "Yes" group as well as the "No" group. You are correct in saying that "a lot of posters are sick of the topic"...that is why we have a good sample.

ROSS

[janjay]

That makes good sense. I hadn't thought of that. At any rate again thanks to all that made this a bearable thread on the topic. When things get personal I get going!

[woodofpine]

Good point - I didn't Really want (well maybe I did a little) to play shrink on Hotspur. There are increasing numbers of people that have never wanted or needed to dress formally. As a Floridian - heck - it's a casual world here... nothing like the dressing I did for work in New York! I'm sure plenty of folks that "have to" dress for work flee from it on vacation.

Celeb does "put on" a more-formal traditional atmosphere, that's their niche. It just seems that if formality REALLY bothers you, or dressing that way does, why go on Celeb? There are plenty of competitive high quality cruise lines that want your business and that have designed their product with the casual cruiser in mind.

Viva la differance (and respect the differance too)!