Demographics and the "Requested Dress Code"

[dkjretired]

[quote name='NICKTHEGREEK']My wife, myself and her son recently cruised on the Celebrity Century, and were surprised at how many passengers simply ignored any "dress code". On the first night dinner in the main dining room, we three sat a table with five family members (grandpa and grandma, mom and her teen-age son and daughter), and my stepson leaned over to me and said "I thought I couldn't wear shorts to dinner?" as he pointed out that the teen-age son and daughter of this family at our table were wearing shorts and T-shirts. We then took a look around the main DR and saw many people, adults included, wearing shorts and t-shirts. This was supposed to be forbidden in the evening in the main DR.

Formal night? I wore a dark suit, but lots of men wore cordoroy jackets and khakis - on a formal night. A few gentlemen wore tuxedos, and they were indeed "older", perhaps in their 60s or 70s.

And the staff in the dining room say nothing, perhaps not wanting to jeopordize their tips at the end of the cruise?

If you want to avoid feeling uncomfortable about the alleged dress code, try the new casual restaurant on many Celebrity ships. My suite's butler told me that the food is actually fresher in the casual restaurant (a reservation is actually needed for dinner at the casual restaurant), because they do not pre-cook any dishes like they do in the main DR. So, dishes are not cooked until ordered. We ate in the casual restaurant on the Century two separate nights, and we enjoyed it more than the main DR. And my stepson especially enjoyed not having to dress up at all in the casual restaurant.[/QUOTE]

On the first night they usually don't push the rules because they know everyone has not received their luggage. The other nights it appears Celebrity is not following their own rules, either enforce them or get rid of them...

[Ma Bell]

[quote name='Sky Sweet']There are a few posts that seem to equate being a slob with casual clothing, but they are two completely different things.

I've seen passengers who look like slobs in formal attire, and others who look very classy in causal clothes.[/quote]

That is true but considering the interpretation of formal and informal I can just imagine what many people consider casual. Personally, I wouldn't go out to empty the trash or mow the lawn wearing what a lot of people wear to dinner nowadays.:eek: If it's difficult to explain what formal is, how are we going to explain the difference between casual and "casual". You know the excuse will be that "they said we could wear casual clothing."

I saw a couple of guys on a cruise about two years ago who came to the showroom wearing gym shorts and holey t-shirts and then proceeded to put their feet up on the seats in front of them.

[beauxdammit]

If holding to a standard and being disappointed when others do not do the same makes me a "snob", then so be it. Those who exhibit the juvenile behavior of seeing what they can get away with do not engender any respect from those who have matured past their teenage years. I do not speak to those who do not want to join the traditional cruisers, and therefore eat in their staterooms or the casual dining areas, but to those who come to the formal dining rooms in t-shirts or shorts to see if anyone will challenge them. I do not know what my reaction would be if this occurred at my table, but I am sure I would have problems with it. I think my BW would ask to be seated at a different table and I would be happy to go along with it.

Have at it, all you rebellious sorts, I can take it.

[CatServants]

[quote name='beauxdammit']I think my [B]BW [/B]would ask to be seated at a different table and I would be happy to go along with it.

Have at it, all you rebellious sorts, I can take it.[/quote]


Not having a go at you, beaux, just hoping you'll help out a novice. What's a "BW"? Is it 'beautiful wife'? If it is, I'm going to have to have a serious talk with my Randy! Why can't he be romantic? Oh well, he looks romantic in a tux!;)

Happy cruising!

Denise

[beauxdammit]

Yes, Catservants, BW is "beautiful wife" and on formal night, she is VBW.

[usha]

[COLOR=magenta]On formal nights, my handsome husband refers to me as: DDGW (drop-dead gorgeous wife).:D Try that one on her; she'll like it plenty.[/COLOR]

[Shipyard Cruiser]

[quote name='beauxdammit']If holding to a standard and being disappointed when others do not do the same makes me a "snob", then so be it. Those who exhibit the juvenile behavior of seeing what they can get away with do not engender any respect from those who have matured past their teenage years. I do not speak to those who do not want to join the traditional cruisers, and therefore eat in their staterooms or the casual dining areas, but to those who come to the formal dining rooms in t-shirts or shorts to see if anyone will challenge them. I do not know what my reaction would be if this occurred at my table, but I am sure I would have problems with it. I think my BW would ask to be seated at a different table and I would be happy to go along with it.

Have at it, all you rebellious sorts, I can take it.[/quote]

The question that never gets answered.

How many people have anyone seen in T-shirts and shorts on formal night?

I have seen none but I have not cruised on Celebrity yet?

[Sky Sweet]

[quote name='Ma Bell']That is true but considering the interpretation of formal and informal I can just imagine what many people consider casual. Personally, I wouldn't go out to empty the trash or mow the lawn wearing what a lot of people wear to dinner nowadays.:eek: If it's difficult to explain what formal is, how are we going to explain the difference between casual and "casual". You know the excuse will be that "they said we could wear casual clothing."

I saw a couple of guys on a cruise about two years ago who came to the showroom wearing gym shorts and holey t-shirts and then proceeded to put their feet up on the seats in front of them.[/quote]

I think if either "smart casual" or "country club casual" was used, people would know that it does not mean jeans, shorts, t shirts, or worn out clothes that took a detour on the way to the garbage can. After all, it works well on the upscale cruise lines that do it now.

[caviargal]

[quote name='Shipyard Cruiser']The question that never gets answered.

How many people have anyone seen in T-shirts and shorts on formal night?

I have seen none but I have not cruised on Celebrity yet?[/quote]

I have and that includes on Celebrity.:(

[Coco Creek]

[quote name='Shipyard Cruiser']The question that never gets answered.

How many people have anyone seen in T-shirts and shorts on formal night?

I have seen none but I have not cruised on Celebrity yet?[/quote]

Now I will admit my database is scarce having been on a single cruise on the Millennium, but in two formal nights I did not see a single gentleman who did not conform to the dress code. I did see a whole lot of suits (myself included) and relatively few tuxes, but they did meet the dark suit part of the code.

Perhaps non-conformants where ushered away at the door or maybe I am blind, but simply did not see the problem.

[dkjretired]

[quote name='Shipyard Cruiser']The question that never gets answered.

How many people have anyone seen in T-shirts and shorts on formal night?

I have seen none but I have not cruised on Celebrity yet?[/QUOTE]

I have on a couple of occasions but those were people who did not get their luggage for the entire cruise, one was across the hall from me. I have seen on a number of occasions, people dressed like that turned away but from recent cruisers that appears not to be the case anymore.

[TRadle]

[quote name='Coco Creek']Now I will admit my database is scarce having been on a single cruise on the Millennium, but in two formal nights I did not see a single gentleman who did not conform to the dress code. I did see a whole lot of suits (myself included) and relatively few tuxes, but they did meet the dark suit part of the code.

Perhaps non-conformants where ushered away at the door or maybe I am blind, but simply did not see the problem.[/quote]

On our first Celebrity cruise one young man wore a t-shirt on formal night. He, unlike all of us here on CC, was unaware of the dress code. Not everyone reads the suggested attire. My DH could care less what he wears on the cruise and never reads anything about them. He'll ask me a couple days before we leave which cruise line, where are we flying, and if I have him packed. We are not all obsessed with the details. I know, it is hard to believe. :eek:

I would never in a million years ask to be seated at a different table because of the attire of one of my tablemates. :rolleyes:

[ECCruise]

To quote Bill, [I]Much Ado About Nothing[/I]

[Shipyard Cruiser]

[quote name='Sky Sweet']I think if either "smart casual" or "country club casual" was used, people would know that it does not mean jeans, shorts, t shirts, or worn out clothes that took a detour on the way to the garbage can. After all, it works well on the upscale cruise lines that do it now.[/quote]

What is "country club casual" ?

I don't golf so I know nothing of country clubs.

[Sky Sweet]

[quote name='Shipyard Cruiser']What is "country club casual" ?

I don't golf so I know nothing of country clubs.[/quote]

Hi Shipyard Cruiser :)

"Country Club Casual" is a term that was originally used to describe how people dressed for dinner at a country club, but subsequently used by many other venues, including some cruise lines.

It is essentially the same thing as "smart casual" which usually means a sport's jacket or a nice sweater for a man and a dress, skirt, or nice pants outfit for a woman.

[FinelyCruising]

Think blue stripped shirt, sweater tied around the neck, khaki slacks, and some tasseled mocs for men. :)

[beauxdammit]

cariergal, I have not seen shorts, I admit, but have seen jeans and t-shirts...and on one ship, Millenium, a table with four couples with one jacket, a rather ratty looking corduroy, among them which they passed around for the entire meal. In addition, the two kids that were with them were allowed to run unchecked around all the nearby tables raising pure havoc. There is no question in my mind that they knew what they were doing and the crew did nothing to stop it.

I will grant that there can be situations where folks don't have the appropriate attire, (lost luggage, poor coaching by their TA, etc), but when there is no extenuating cause, then taking a stand seems to be an appropriate reaction, especially since it seems that the cruise line is unwilling to enforce their own standards. One should not be afraid of possibly hurting the feelings of someone who in their own right had no regard for the feelings of others.

[caviargal]

[quote name='beauxdammit']cariergal, I have not seen shorts, I admit, but have seen jeans and t-shirts...and on one ship, Millenium, a table with four couples with one jacket, a rather ratty looking corduroy, among them which they passed around for the entire meal. In addition, the two kids that were with them were allowed to run unchecked around all the nearby tables raising pure havoc. There is no question in my mind that they knew what they were doing and the crew did nothing to stop it.

I will grant that there can be situations where folks don't have the appropriate attire, (lost luggage, poor coaching by their TA, etc), but when there is no extenuating cause, then taking a stand seems to be an appropriate reaction, especially since it seems that the cruise line is unwilling to enforce their own standards. One should not be afraid of possibly hurting the feelings of someone who in their own right had no regard for the feelings of others.[/quote]

I found it interesting that when we were on Century, the large table seated next to us disregarded the dress code every evening. They were in shorts, ball caps and tennis shoes and this was the same each evening. They were two families and the kids were allowed to run around the dining room section getting in the way of the waitstaff and disrupting the experience of those around them.

I have said before that casual dress breeds casual behavior and this experience as well as that on other lines that have let their dress codes go to the dogs has proven this is true, IMO and IME.

[FinelyCruising]

One bad table spoils the whole bunch...

[cruise kitty]

[quote name='NICKTHEGREEK']My wife, myself and her son recently cruised on the Celebrity Century, and were surprised at how many passengers simply ignored any "dress code". On the first night dinner in the main dining room, we three sat a table with five family members (grandpa and grandma, mom and her teen-age son and daughter), and my stepson leaned over to me and said "I thought I couldn't wear shorts to dinner?" as he pointed out that the teen-age son and daughter of this family at our table were wearing shorts and T-shirts. We then took a look around the main DR and saw many people, adults included, wearing shorts and t-shirts. This was supposed to be forbidden in the evening in the main DR.

Formal night? I wore a dark suit, but lots of men wore cordoroy jackets and khakis - on a formal night. A few gentlemen wore tuxedos, and they were indeed "older", perhaps in their 60s or 70s.

And the staff in the dining room say nothing, perhaps not wanting to jeopordize their tips at the end of the cruise?

If you want to avoid feeling uncomfortable about the alleged dress code, try the new casual restaurant on many Celebrity ships. My suite's butler told me that the food is actually fresher in the casual restaurant (a reservation is actually needed for dinner at the casual restaurant), because they do not pre-cook any dishes like they do in the main DR. So, dishes are not cooked until ordered. We ate in the casual restaurant on the Century two separate nights, and we enjoyed it more than the main DR. And my stepson especially enjoyed not having to dress up at all in the casual restaurant.[/QUOTE]

On the first night of our first cruise we did not receive our luggage until 11:00 at night, i was in a skirt and blouse, but dh was wearing shorts, they told it was fine for the first night, but we did feel bad, now I bring a pair of chinos in my husbands carry on just in case

[FinelyCruising]

cruise kitty nice of you to share and shed some light on the realities of cruising that turn into some pretty harsh assumptions by others....

[SusieV]

[quote name='FinelyCruising']cruise kitty nice of you to share and shed some light on the realities of cruising that turn into some pretty harsh assumptions by others....[/quote]

I don't think anyone has criticized people's attire on the first night; we all understand that luggage may be delayed.

But deliberately flouting the posted REQUIRED dress code is awfully rude, regardless of anything else.

[FinelyCruising]

[quote name='SusieV']I don't think anyone has criticized people's attire on the first night; we all understand that luggage may be delayed.
[/QUOTE]

Based on your writing, my read is that you are speaking for the entire X board community with the qualifier "we all undertand that luggage may be delayed".

That there is consensus that it's OK to wear shorts the 1st night, this group has moved ahead faster than I have been able to keep up with!

[Waterlily777]

[quote]Don't even get me started on the way people dress to fly:eek: [B]DH and I dress in business attire to travel.[/[/B]quote]

Why?

[FinelyCruising]

For all but one cruise we have flown into port. There have been occasional times I have seen couples very well dressed for flight, and while I wait I am thinking...I wonder if they are flying first class.

And the answer has been yes.