what to wear and when?

[sannibop]

Hi Folks, I came across this page by accident, I was trying to find out as much information as possible on my forthcoming cruise.

 

It will be the first time my husband and I will be on a cruise, the Oceana in April, I am confused about what to wear and when, we opted for freedom dining, but is that a different restaurant from the other 2, and on the formal and informal nights do we still dress the same as other restaurants, its putting me off a bit as I am getting confused about what to do, also I booked a cabin with balcany was that the right choice.

 

thanks for any advise.

[daiB]

Hi Folks, I came across this page by accident, I was trying to find out as much information as possible on my forthcoming cruise.

 

It will be the first time my husband and I will be on a cruise, the Oceana in April, I am confused about what to wear and when, we opted for freedom dining, but is that a different restaurant from the other 2, and on the formal and informal nights do we still dress the same as other restaurants, its putting me off a bit as I am getting confused about what to do, also I booked a cabin with balcany was that the right choice.

 

thanks for any advise.

 

Hi Sannibop,

 

Worry not, you will not be outcasts, freedom dining takes place in one of the 2 main dining rooms. The dress code for the night is the same all over the ship.

 

You have chosen well with the balcony cabin as it is wonderful to sit out when you are in warm places.

 

You will have a wonderful time on Oceana but a word of warning 'cruising is addictive'. One is never enough.

 

Have a great cruise

 

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

 

Dai

[jeanlyon]

Hey, you're going on holiday, you shouldn't be worrying about anything. Formal means dinner jacket & bow tie (normally) for the men, although some men still wear ordinary jacket and tie. Ladies wear long or short dress. Informal means ordinary jacket and tie for the men, ladies can wear a dress or trouser suit etc. Casual means casual. Have a great time.

[old git]

as Dia said one is never enough,hope you've got a good bank manager!

 

HAPPY CRUISING

[sannibop]

Thank you very much for your replies, I understand the dining more now, and feel relaxed and comfortable about it and also feel a tad excited.

sannibop

[LibraLass41]

And, don't forget NOW is the best time to buy your formal clothes for a cruise, it will all be 50-75% off the original price as all the shops are clearing their pre-christmas stock - don't forget to buy your shawls, sparkly shoes and little handbags now as well. The shawl i am wearing in the piccie on here was reduced form £35 to a tenner I seem to remember in Wallis one year - so go shopping now!!! - DO NOT leave it till a month or two before the cruise, as their will be no choice atall just before our summer . Try Debenhams, Wallis , Next etc etc and go after boxing day - you will save £'sss (if you are in England??? there is nothing atall on your profile, perhaps you could add a little bit?)

 

Here is the link to my cruise albums if you want to have a look at what people are wearing

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/AuroraPartyCruiseSueV

 

if you want to email chat; email me anytime on libralass41@aol.com

 

 

Sue

[K8T]

Hi there

 

Don't worry, you won't be expected to go over the top! and the dress code only applies to evenings and you are told what it is in the little newspaper you receive each evening for the next night.

 

We have found that formal is usually black tie for men, although probably 40% will wear a suit and tie and anything from a little black dress to even off shoulder taffeta style dresses are worn. I personally would suggest something not too flashy, but dressed up with posh shoes and a shawl. It does get quite chilly on board, even if the weather outside is hot, as the air con. is very efficient.

 

Informal is smart skirt or summer dress or dressy trousers my other half will wear smart trousers like chinos and a blazer, or jacket, but not always a tie, depending on the weather outside. Casual is just that, but most people don't wear shorts or anything like in the evening.

 

During the day, wear whatever you like. You will be told how many formal nights etc. there are before you go, so you can plan. There are laundrys on board which are free, but not efficient, so your other half can wash out his dress shirt, or send it to laundry. take some washing tablets with you in your case, you also have a little line accross your bath or shower, and the air vent makes it very efficient to dry in there, useful for underwear and socks!!!!

 

Dry cleaning is much cheaper on board than at home, I usually take a couple of dresses that may need cleaning and get them done, I think they cost around £4.00 each and come back beautifully pressed, I also get them done before I come home again! and his dinner suit! Their washing service is expensive as they charge per item.

 

To be honest, we have seen everything worn over the years, from a full ball gown, to a man in his vest in the dining room! Not a pleasant sight! :eek:

 

Have a lovely time, you will really enjoy it. It is not a bit overwhelming when you are on board!

 

Kate

[LibraLass41]

Hiya Kate

 

The '40 % in a suit on a formal night'....is that in the Caribbean?? I would say much less than that, esp from Southampton, I only saw about 10 men in a suit on our sitting of 500 /1000 at the Captains welcome aboard pre-dinner party on a formal night . the rest of men in black tux. You can buy a tux jacket and trousers from £40/£50 the same as a designer tshirt, and seeing he will wear it 4 times a cruise, I reckon its well worth buying - and after all, this WILL BE the first cruise of many won't it!!! The sales are on now, the best time for formal wear in the year is this week for everyone, I just bought this morning a lovely pair of beige satin evening shoes with diamonte straps reduced from £29.99 to £14.99.

 

Sue

[annieuk]

I agree with Sue. On the cruises I have been on in the Caribbean I would say at least 90% of men wear dinner jackets, possibly more. On the one cruise I have been on from Southampton I think I saw about 4 men at second sitting not wearing dinner jackets. I overheard one man say, "I didn't think so many men would wear DJs." This is not to say that a dark suit is not perfectly acceptable.

 

Have a great time, I'm sure you will.

 

Annie:)

[timetravellers]

What excellent advice on this forum. We're going on our first cruise -Ventura in June.

So I took your advice and shopped in the sales this morning for some 'posh frocks'!

But how many will I need? I may have to take some back.....!!

[LibraLass41]

How many nights is the cruise?

 

If its 14n you will have 4 FORMAL nights (long dress or cocktail dress or smart black trou and sparkly /formal type top) A lot of ladies will take 4 different dresses.

 

Then there will be 4 or so semi-formal nights which are not long dresses but still quite formal, -cocktail of smart dresses , skirts - i have a black soft velvet one, and ones black satin with fine netting over - still pretty posh -lol

the rest of the nights are 'smart casual' which are still 'the type of clothes you would wear at a restaurant' so lots of excuses to buy .

 

Did you buy handbags and shoes and a wrap?

 

Sue

[timetravellers]

Hi Sue

 

Thanks for that. I bought 2 formal dresses and one semi formal and I have a semi formal one already. The cruise is just 7 nights but we have another to go on in July which is 3 nights on the QE2 so I will be able to use some of them again. Mind you, they are pretty classic so they will last for the next few years should we get the cruising bug.

 

I didn't get round to accessories but I have a pair of shoes already. Will need a wrap and possibly a handbag.

 

Soooooooo excited!!!

 

Any ideas where we can get a size 17.5" dress shirt which is not made like a tent? My other half has a large neck but a normal size body and every shirt he has tried on swamps him! The last resort will be to buy one and take it to a dressmaker to be altered.

 

Looked at your photos. Looks fantastic. We're getting very impatient.

 

Happy New Year

 

Gail

[aggietd]

Hi,

 

Just read all the good coments about the dress code, but I would like to add one thing that has been mentioned already. I think your first cruise should carry a serious goverment warning such as 'this cruise will endanger your bank balance as once you start to cruise you cannot stop from wanting more!!!, a bit like that one chocolate ladies!!

 

Loved LibraLass41's comment on the sales, from our 1st cruise 12 years ago I have bought something seriously reduced every year and as most formal clothes don't date it is great, I have built up quite a collection and you dont mind having clothes that you don't wear to often when you have not paid a fortune for them.The same happened with my hubby's tux and dress trousers, 75% off 10 years ago and still going strong, he has more that had his moneys worth from it, even although he moaned at the time 'I will never get the value of this' of course as his wife it is my duty to remind him of this every year!!

 

We are of on Ventura in Oct and this will be our 1st P&O, I am so so excited.

 

New Year wishes to all cruise addicts.

 

Nancy

[LibraLass41]

Hi Nancy and Gail

Yep. its bloomin addictive..... I bought a world wall map in a book shop sale last week for my study, am going to put it up and put a little black mark against all the countries/ports I have visited since started cruising.

 

Today, got a long dress in Phase 8... its bloomin posh gals, £180 reduced to £90, that was more than I usually pay, but it looked good on and I 'had to' have it!! Also got a purple cocktail dress with a siiver diamonte clasp on front in Wallis from £45 - £30, so thats another 2 dresses for the cruise wardrobe!! I am on a 16nighter mind u in 4 months time, and I believe we have 5 formal nights. My son left home in November, within a week I decorated his room out in 'duck egg blue' with beech flooring, and comondeared his wardrobes as a 'cruise wardrobe'. He was a bit miffed at the speed I did it!!;)

 

All good fun, the anticipation is 'nearly' as good as the cruise

 

 

Sue:D

[Pontius Navigator]

Will a cruise REALLY damage your bank balance?

 

While you can pay Porsche or house prices for a cruise good value for money works out around £100 per person per day with drinks/tips/excursions on top.

 

Now we just came back from a recce to Lanzarote (so we won't need any excursions ashore there). We flew 'cheap' on air miles - £82, took a cheap B&B €597, car hire €171 and spent €40 on diesel and about €385 for trips and food. We also paid £52 car parking and £27 for a late night( early morning) hotel. The total worked out at £77 pp per day.

 

If we had had to pay the full cost of the flights then we would have paid even more. As we were self-drive our drinks bill was lower than if we had been in a resort.

 

The cruise offers a total experience with tasters at each port of call. A static holiday loses 2 days travelling but gives you far more time to explore.

 

Our next cruise is to the Canaries and there is more than enough time at night to island hop. The cruise ship leaves port at 6pm each evening so you also 'lose' 5 hours or more shore time.

[daiB]

Will a cruise REALLY damage your bank balance?

 

While you can pay Porsche or house prices for a cruise good value for money works out around £100 per person per day with drinks/tips/excursions on top.

 

 

 

Hi PN

 

Now if you posted this on other parts of this site for our American cousins, they would have fits, at the thought of paying that much for a cruise.

 

I have read how they would not cruise at anything over $100 a day which as we know is only £50.00. :eek: Are we being done!!!!:eek:

 

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

[Pontius Navigator]

Dai, I thought about the cost difference.

 

We were on a US cruise ship last year. What we paid and what they paid was not a 100 miles apart. A major difference is that 'all' British cruise passengers come from one place ( a simplification) whereas the US passengers can travel from a continent away even for a home based departure.

 

So that a pan-American price may be quoted at one rate from Seattle to Florida they will quote ex-travel costs. This of course is the same effect for us and a Southampton based cruise.

 

For a cruise departing Florida OTOH we will almost invariably have air fares factored in.

 

We received, and no doubt you did too, newspaper supplements offering fantastic 'quay-side' prices for South American cruises. Once the air fares and taxes were added the price shifts remarkably.

[Pontius Navigator]

Dai, I thought about the cost difference.

 

We were on a US cruise ship last year. What we paid and what they paid was not a 100 miles apart. A major difference is that 'all' British cruise passengers come from one place ( a simplification) whereas the US passengers can travel from a continent away even for a home based departure.

 

So that a pan-American price may be quoted at one rate from Seattle to Florida they will quote ex-travel costs. This of course is the same effect for us and a Southampton based cruise.

 

For a cruise departing Florida OTOH we will almost invariably have air fares factored in.

 

We received, and no doubt you did too, newspaper supplements offering fantastic 'quay-side' prices for South American cruises. Once the air fares and taxes were added the price shifts remarkably.

[xmaslisa]

Hi Nancy and Gail

Yep. its bloomin addictive..... I bought a world wall map in a book shop sale last week for my study, am going to put it up and put a little black mark against all the countries/ports I have visited since started cruising.

 

Today, got a long dress in Phase 8... its bloomin posh gals, £180 reduced to £90, that was more than I usually pay, but it looked good on and I 'had to' have it!! Also got a purple cocktail dress with a siiver diamonte clasp on front in Wallis from £45 - £30, so thats another 2 dresses for the cruise wardrobe!! I am on a 16nighter mind u in 4 months time, and I believe we have 5 formal nights. My son left home in November, within a week I decorated his room out in 'duck egg blue' with beech flooring, and comondeared his wardrobes as a 'cruise wardrobe'. He was a bit miffed at the speed I did it!

 

All good fun, the anticipation is 'nearly' as good as the cruise

 

 

Sue:D

 

 

 

Hi Sue

I did the map thing just befor xmas and bought the little map pins!!! aaarrggghhh it really is bad!

cant wait til November really long fab cruise AND a wedding!!!

 

Lisa x