All for Formal night or not

[WeBeCruisin']

I've been on CC for almost six years now, and the discussion of formal nights is always very heated.

 

I think the OP's poll was quite valid in that every week, hundreds if not thousands of new people come to CC who are honestly curious about the issue. Also, a lot of new CC members and many of us older ones aren't really that proficient in using search functions. :) Another factor is that it's interesting to see a re-polling from time to time to see if there's a trend towards a change in opinions.

 

Most of the people opposed to such polls seem to be those who are against formal night and don't want to see more evidence showing that they are a huge minority. They are also the ones who get the most hateful in their posting and sometimes scream that it's their vacation and they can do anything they want, regardless of what the "rules" are.

 

With all the McDonaldization of America, a lot of people are delighted to be given a chance for a night or two to be in a situation reminiscent of the Golden Age of sailing of the 20s and 30s. They relish the elegance and respect the special quality of formal nights.

 

I admire those who would rather not dress up for formal night, but do anyway. They show a respect for the cruise line's and the passenger's preferences. I commend them.

 

And I respect those who are against formal nights and who go to the Lido deck on formal nights.

 

The problem seems to be the people who are uncouth enough to come to the dining room on formal nights wearing shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, tank tops, spandex, wife-beater shirts, etc. They, to me, might as well have a sign around their neck saying "I am a slob and I have absolutely no class. Pity me". :D

[HereIam]

My family likes the formal nights. We don't get to dress up too much, except for church, and like someone mentioned earlier, even it has gotten more casual. My DH even loves dressing up more than I do.

I guess watching the movies about cruising and seeing the passengers all dressed for dinner makes dressing up on the ship fun. It gives an air of "fantasy" on our vacation. We don't get that in our small town and we look forward to it.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

We always attend formal night and dress for the occasion. I agree with a previous poster that said that even church has become quite casual so I do not mind dressing up for the evening. However,it would be very easy to not have to deal with the formal wear while traveling, but as long as Carnival keeps it, we will continue to participate. If they end it, we will be fine as well.

[Kurbanfan]

I've been on CC for almost six years now' date=' and the discussion of formal nights is always very heated.

 

I think the OP's poll was quite valid in that every week, hundreds if not thousands of new people come to CC who are honestly curious about the issue. Also, a lot of new CC members and many of us older ones aren't really that proficient in using search functions. :) Another factor is that it's interesting to see a re-polling from time to time to see if there's a trend towards a change in opinions.

 

[b']Most of the people opposed to such polls seem to be those who are against formal night and don't want to see more evidence showing that they are a huge minority. They are also the ones who get the most hateful in their posting and sometimes scream that it's their vacation and they can do anything they want, regardless of what the "rules" are.[/b]

 

With all the McDonaldization of America, a lot of people are delighted to be given a chance for a night or two to be in a situation reminiscent of the Golden Age of sailing of the 20s and 30s. They relish the elegance and respect the special quality of formal nights.

 

I admire those who would rather not dress up for formal night, but do anyway. They show a respect for the cruise line's and the passenger's preferences. I commend them.

 

And I respect those who are against formal nights and who go to the Lido deck on formal nights.

 

The problem seems to be the people who are uncouth enough to come to the dining room on formal nights wearing shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, tank tops, spandex, wife-beater shirts, etc. They, to me, might as well have a sign around their neck saying "I am a slob and I have absolutely no class. Pity me". :D

 

I may be wrong but there was only one negative poster and that poster does not want to get rid of formal night. And her post wasn't really negative I think she just came on a little strong.

So now you will post something like this to get the party started or what:confused:

[WeBeCruisin']

[/b]

 

I may be wrong but there was only one negative poster and that poster does not want to get rid of formal night. And her post wasn't really negative I think she just came on a little strong.

So now you will post something like this to get the party started or what:confused:

 

I saw three which I felt were negative, including yours. :) Perhaps I'm including tone and attitude in my inferences, though.

 

My comments were prefaced with a statement indicating that they were based upon my impressions of six years worth of posts, not just this thread specifically. I thought that was rather obvious to anyone reading my post. Apparently I was wrong. :)

 

And I was not trying to "get the party started". I was making some observations based upon my experiences.... and I was stating my opinion. We all still have a right to do that, don't we?:D

[mlapadula]

Formal wear for work, weddings and worship. What's next weekends?

 

FAT CHANCE! Look for me on the Lido during Prom Night on the Pride. I'll be the guy in shorts and flip flops with 7 days of beard growth and a Corona. I'll take my wife to a nice dinner in the city or a weekend at the Ritz if I feel the need to play grown-up.

[Thatmom]

I wear a coat and tie for work each day. Seems like I have a wedding or a fancy dinner every other Saturday. Sunday is dress up for church. Now I have to dress up for vacation too? FAT CHANCE! I thought the point of a cruise was to take a tacky vacation away from it all. I'll go to Paris or stay at the Ritz if I want to play grown-up, but I'm packing shorts and flip-flops and I'm not shaving all week on my cruise. Too bad for my wife who has to look at me, but why should anyone else care?

 

We don't as long as you don't come to the dining room in your shorts and flipflops!!

It's your cruise do what ever you want..as long as you are following the rules that rest of us are following!!

have a great day,

Carla

[Kurbanfan]

I saw three which I felt were negative' date=' including yours. :) Perhaps I'm including tone and attitude in my inferences, though.

 

My comments were prefaced with a statement indicating that they were based upon my impressions of six years worth of posts, not just this thread specifically. I thought that was rather obvious to anyone reading my post. Apparently I was wrong.

 

And I was not trying to "get the party started". I was making some observations based upon my experiences.... and I was stating my opinion. We all still have a right to do that, don't we?:D[/quote']

 

Mine was negative? Sorry if you didn't see this:)

I believe the OP started the thread because of her concern about the recent surveys that Carnival has been taking. Not to start thread about who wants to dress or not for formal night. She wants to know if we feel Carnival should keep formal nights.;)

Maybe I'm wrong but just adding comments about how uncouth and classless some are......oh I don't know might just throw fuel on the fire:rolleyes:

But you are right these are all nothing but opinions:)

 

Oops too late I see the party started......

[WeBeCruisin']

Maybe I'm wrong but just adding comments about how uncouth and classless some are.........

 

If the flip-flop fits, wear it. :D

[Yvonne]

Have not received a phone call from Carnival, but I certainly wouldn't mind if they did away with formal nights. We could leave the extra shoes, suit, ties, shirts, dark socks, dresses, pantyhose and high heels at home!! :)

 

The only reason we take those clothes and dress up on formal night is so we can go to the dining room. With the rotten attitude of some who look down their noses at others not dressed to the nines, I wouldn't want to go to the dining room dressed in casual clothes on "formal" night and I don't want to be banned to the buffet.

 

On formal nights I wish they could make one of the dining rooms "casual" and one "formal" so EVERYONE would be happy and we ALL could still enjoy the dining room food.

[sandy toes]

I would have to change my cruise line to a different one if a formal night did not occur. I enjoy the "playing dress up" and look forward to my purchases and the fun of being a "Princess" for the evening.

[Sandi149]

Have not received a phone call from Carnival, but I certainly wouldn't mind if they did away with formal nights. We could leave the extra shoes, suit, ties, shirts, dark socks, dresses, pantyhose and high heels at home!! :)

 

The only reason we take those clothes and dress up on formal night is so we can go to the dining room. With the rotten attitude of some who look down their noses at others not dressed to the nines, I wouldn't want to go to the dining room dressed in casual clothes on "formal" night and I don't want to be banned to the buffet.

 

On formal nights I wish they could make one of the dining rooms "casual" and one "formal" so EVERYONE would be happy and we ALL could still enjoy the dining room food.

 

Not all of the ships have two dining rooms so that wouldn't be possible.

[terri910]

I imagine we would think about switching cruiselines, also, if Carnival did away with their formal nights.

 

We happen to enjoy getting dressed up -- it is part of the whole experience of a "special" evening or event.

 

We do not "play" grown-up, we are grown up. We dress up when we go out to a nice restaurant in our area. We dress up when we are invited to a wedding or an anniversary celebration. We dress up for Mass.

 

For us, if the Dining Room became nothing more than the Lido Deck with waiters, our cruise would be considerably less "special."

[Kurbanfan]

If the flip-flop fits' date=' wear it. :D[/quote']

 

 

Nice!

You don't get it do you:confused:

[fireofficer5]

I agree T-910.

[Kurbanfan]

Not all of the ships have two dining rooms so that wouldn't be possible.

 

I believe the only ones left with one dining room is the holiday and celebration. And those 2 ships won't be around much longer.

[WeBeCruisin']

Not all of the ships have two dining rooms so that wouldn't be possible.

 

I'm not sure what Carnival's set-up is, since I've only been on them once and I honored the dress code on formal nights, but on my last trip on Celebrity, it seems like they had a section of the Lido area which they converted to a casual dining room each night. The menu was very similar to the large dining room's and there were menus, and waiters to bring the food to your table, just like in the dining room. I think they asked for the patrons to call in a few hours in advance for reservations and it seems like there was a token (maybe $2) service fee involved.

 

On the Brilliance of the Seas, the evening buffet food was very similar to what they served in the dining room. I remember one night, I was on my way to the sushi bar and saw that the Lido buffet was serving osso buco. I didn't want to miss that, so I had several "appetizers" of it before I went up to the dining room, where they were also serving osso buco. It was the best I've ever had!

 

One of the problems for the ships which have two similar-sized dining rooms is that the informal one would be under-utilized and the formal one would be over-crowded, based upon figures provided by polls such as the one which started this thread.

 

I think Celebrity's approach is very practical.... they know by the number of reservations how many people to expect each night and then they can reserve a corresponding number of seats in the casual dining area they create each night. It seemed to work very well, leaving everyone happy.

[Sandi149]

I believe the only ones left with one dining room is the holiday and celebration. And those 2 ships won't be around much longer.

 

All spirit class ships have only one dining room. Well they have an upper and a lower level but still just one room.

[Kurbanfan]

All spirit class ships have only one dining room. Well they have an upper and a lower level but still just one room.

 

Your right! I was trying to remember when we were on the Spirit.

[halos]

Allen is right about Celebrity. This section has a fabulous menu..you can have your beef tenderloin while wearing your capris if you wish. There is a tiny surcharge of a couple dollars and you are waited on by 'waiters in training'. When they get good enough in this section, they are then promoted to the regular dining rooms.

We never used this area because we like to dress up, but the people we spoke to who did, LOVED it. I thought doing training this way was a fabulous concept.

[WeBeCruisin']

Nice!

You don't get it do you:confused:

 

Kurban.... there are some good points being made on this thread, and I'm not going to play your little game. Sorry.:(

[Kurbanfan]

Kurban.... there are some good points being made on this thread' date=' and I'm not going to play your little game. Sorry.:([/quote']

 

Why yes there is. That's why I'm here.

 

But don't think you can throw insults and then turn it around:rolleyes:

[WeBeCruisin']

Why yes there is. That's why I'm here.

 

But don't think you can throw insults and then turn it around:rolleyes:

 

As I said, I'm not going to let you get this thread pulled by responding to your little games, so give it a rest. <yawn>

[Kurbanfan]

Have not received a phone call from Carnival, but I certainly wouldn't mind if they did away with formal nights. We could leave the extra shoes, suit, ties, shirts, dark socks, dresses, pantyhose and high heels at home!! :)

 

The only reason we take those clothes and dress up on formal night is so we can go to the dining room. With the rotten attitude of some who look down their noses at others not dressed to the nines, I wouldn't want to go to the dining room dressed in casual clothes on "formal" night and I don't want to be banned to the buffet.

 

On formal nights I wish they could make one of the dining rooms "casual" and one "formal" so EVERYONE would be happy and we ALL could still enjoy the dining room food.

 

 

We received two surveys. And so did our son. From the surveys it looks like they are trying to get a feel what people want. Not so much what they don't want. It really sounds to me like they are thinking about maybe keeping the formal but maybe adding anytime or a casual dining room.

That's kinda what we got out of it.

[mamaskittles]

Allen is right about Celebrity. This section has a fabulous menu..you can have your beef tenderloin while wearing your capris if you wish. There is a tiny surcharge of a couple dollars and you are waited on by 'waiters in training'. When they get good enough in this section, they are then promoted to the regular dining rooms.

We never used this area because we like to dress up, but the people we spoke to who did, LOVED it. I thought doing training this way was a fabulous concept.

This seems like a wonderful idea. I haven't been on Celebrity in 6 years or so and we went to the dining room every night so I don't remember this option (if it even existed then). I am sure if Carnival or any other line implemented something like this many of no one can tell me what to wear people would be happy. It sure sounds like an easy fix to a both sides have merit argument.