Change in Dining Attire?

[teresapink]

I think I missed something a long time ago.....has RCI done away with "smart casual" in the dining room? I've heard there are only formal and casual nights now!

 

Thanks for any info!

 

Teresa

[cb at sea]

On 7 nights and shorter, there are no "smart casual" nights. On the longer cruises, they still have 1 or 2 per trip!

[PantherFan]

It is formal the 1st formal night for sure, 2nd formal night doesn't seem so formal (more women opting for short cocktail dresses)

 

Casual is really lax these days :mad: I hoping RCL will someday enforce their own suggestions

 

I am not saying not to follow the dress code suggestions, just reporting on what I have seen lately. I hope that helps:)

[hcat]

on our 8 day it was still listed but pretty much done away with by the guests--DH will not be bringing a sports jacket anymore as he was just about the only one!

[Rala]

There are still a few reports of "smart casual", but they seem to be a dying breed on a lot of RCCL cruises. I really don't think people knew what to wear that was any different from casual. I'll give you an example. A few years ago my DH forgot his sport jacket which was his interpretation of smart casual. He would wear it with a dress shirt and slacks (no tie). He went to the guest relations desk to ask if it were possible to rent a jacket for smart casual night. At the time he was dressed in a polo/golf shirt and khakis. The person behind the desk said, " You don't need a jacket, sir. What you have on now would be fine for smart casual."

[teresapink]

Oh...it's too bad. Seems like RCI has just caved in to the people that want to wear shorts and sneakers in the dining room!

T

[shaggyofwv]

Personally I think that you should be able to wear just about whatever you feel like wearing to the dining rooms, I mean you ARE on vacation... I can understand having dress codes for the specialty restaurants, though.

 

I dress in a suit for the formal nights (because my wife makes me) and I wear a button up shirt and a tie on casual nights.. But I think that as long as you don't wear shorts and muscle shirts then your dress is ok by me.

[pmfan]

I didn't realize that they did away with smart casual.:confused:

[robtulipe]

The last several cruises we have been on which were a 12 night Med. and 14 night Alaska didn't have smart casual dining nights.

[teresapink]

Personally I think that you should be able to wear just about whatever you feel like wearing to the dining rooms, I mean you ARE on vacation... I can understand having dress codes for the specialty restaurants, though.

 

I dress in a suit for the formal nights (because my wife makes me) and I wear a button up shirt and a tie on casual nights.. But I think that as long as you don't wear shorts and muscle shirts then your dress is ok by me.

 

 

I certainly agree with you...as long as we are all presentable for public viewing...

But, I have seen people in BATHING SUITS and FLIPFLOPS (males) with stretched out tee shirts in the dining room....there are more casual dining options on the ship..including room service.

[gedam]

Oh...it's too bad. Seems like RCI has just caved in to the people that want to wear shorts and sneakers in the dining room!

T

I agree it is a shame that standards are dropping. When we on the Voyager of the Seas, we made an effort to be smart appropriate to the given nights, as did all the friends we had the pleasure of meeting.;) :D

[teresapink]

I'm sticking with my smart casual...I'll pretend nothing has changed!

 

Denial is a good thing!

 

T

[teresapink]

What about Chops and Portofino? Jackets still required for men?

T

[cruisenfever]

On our September Ultimate Alaska 14 day Member's Cruise on Radiance we had 3 smart casual nights as listed in the Daily Compass. Most dressed casually........some men wore sport coats............but most were in slacks and polo or button down shirts. Very few ties.

 

I really believe it depends on the ship and the itinerary as well as number of days.

[BarbJ52]

What about Chops and Portofino? Jackets still required for men?

T

 

They request smart casual. On JOS last week, we were told by Portofino's manager that jackets are not required.

[teresapink]

I agree it is a shame that standards are dropping. When we on the Voyager of the Seas, we made an effort to be smart appropriate to the given nights, as did all the friends we had the pleasure of meeting.;) :D

 

 

Anne-

There you are!!!!!

Yes, we were all sooo well dressed on that cruise! Good looking group, we were.

Do you remember that beautiful neck collar you had? It was the envy of all fashion that week!

 

T

[cruisnpat]

I didn't know that they no longer did smart casusl. Thats OK with me. Don't mind dressing up for 2/3 nights but every night. I usually go back to our room right after dinner on the formal night and change clothes anyway.

[RetireeWannabee]

Smart Casual was always a goofy term but I'm not sure I can come up with a better one. It would help, tho, and then call the Windjammer "Come as you are!" so there's more of a HINT HINT.

[tbear2762]

How about formal meaning evening dress for ladies and tux for gentlemen. Semi-formal the old wording meaning dress or pant suit for ladies and sportsjacket for the gentlemen. Casual would be sundresses or slacks and tops for the ladies and golf/polo shirts for the gentlemen. Afterall if you went to a restuarant at home that had linen tableclothes, a full placesetting of dinnerware, and the level of service that you receive in the main dining room you would not be allowed in without the appropriate attire. The fact that some people cannot afford clothing that they would never wear again is the reason that you can have dinner in the Windjammer. The dining room is not a cafeteria or buffet therefore you should give it, the service staff and the other guest the respect that they all deserve. We as Americans have forgotten what respect is. One of the reason that I liked to cruise is the opportunity to get dressed up. I mean I can go anywhere on land for vacation a dress in my normal attire. I hope I haven't offended anyone but just think if the 3rd class passangers on the Titanic had showed up in the dining room inappropiately dressed.

[luvscruising2007]

Our 11 night Panama cruise aboard Brilliance had 2 formal nights and no smart casual.

[crusn2gethr]

On 7 nights and shorter, there are no "smart casual" nights. On the longer cruises, they still have 1 or 2 per trip!

 

We just received our travel docs for LOS in April. According to our travel docs for a seven night cruise, there are 2 formal nights, 1 smart casual night and 4 casual nights.

 

Our docs even have this regarding dress:

 

"Casual: sundresses or slacks and blouses for women; polo shirts and trousers for men.

 

Smart Casual: dresses or pantsuits for women; jackets for men.

 

Formal: cocktail dresses for women; suits and ties or tuxedos for men."

 

Seems very understandable to me. If pax choose not to follow the dress code for the dining rooms, then they should respect the people that do and excuse themselves to eat at the Windjammer or elsewhere and not ruin it for the pax who do follow the rules.

[aloha of the seas]

I find it amazing how getting dressed for dinner has become such a big topic of discussion on this website. When I first started cruising I looked forward to formal dinners. My wife always said I looked great in a tux and I liked it better than a suit which I wore every day. But the idea of sitting down each night to a formal dinner and getting dressed up in some fashion made me feel good about myself. It was not a chore, it was a joy and part of the experience. Everyone is definitely entitled to their views and those who dress casually all the time are basically changing the policies or rules on their own. Those who prefer to dress up can still dress up; nobody is stopping them. What is happening, is that the total experience of dining with people dressed like you will not be there. So it all comes back to the discussion of 2 cruise lines again. RCCL and RCCL Classic. "Classic" would be a little more traditional and yes you have to dress for dinner while RCCL would be more liberal and when it comes to dinner "anything goes".

[Shipyard Cruiser]

I didn't realize that they did away with smart casual.:confused:

 

I think a lot of people had no idea what smart casual was.

 

Keep it simple.

 

If you really love to drees up try Celebrity. They seem to have 4 or 5 dress codes that no one seems to really understand.

[Shipyard Cruiser]

I find it amazing how getting dressed for dinner has become such a big topic of discussion on this website. When I first started cruising I looked forward to formal dinners. My wife always said I looked great in a tux and I liked it better than a suit which I wore every day. But the idea of sitting down each night to a formal dinner and getting dressed up in some fashion made me feel good about myself. It was not a chore, it was a joy and part of the experience. Everyone is definitely entitled to their views and those who dress casually all the time are basically changing the policies or rules on their own. Those who prefer to dress up can still dress up; nobody is stopping them. What is happening, is that the total experience of dining with people dressed like you will not be there. So it all comes back to the discussion of 2 cruise lines again. RCCL and RCCL Classic. "Classic" would be a little more traditional and yes you have to dress for dinner while RCCL would be more liberal and when it comes to dinner "anything goes".

 

They do.

 

It's called Celebrity.

[hollyanna]

On our 12 night Explorer cruise next week, it is listing as 3 formal, 3 smart casual and the rest casual:) Hollyanna