QM2 dress question..no flaming please!

[Charles4515]

No that's called selfish in my book. I strongly hope that Cunard will keep to their tradition regarding standards of dress. After all when standards start to slip, who knows where they end.:o

 

Standards change. Just because you don't like change does not mean standards are slipping. It just means times change and fashion changes.

[Charles4515]

Come to think of it, the standards are already lower on the mini with "elegant casual" but I guess merely having to put a jacket on for dinner is too "uncomfortable" for some. If they do away with formal night or make it all optional, just imagine how much more "booze cruisy" it would become!

 

Two of the evenings on my upcoming westbound crossing are listed as Elegant Casual. Elegant Casual does require a jacket, just not a tie with the jacket.

[vjmatty]

Thank you keelhauled for the great advice. It's truly appreciated!

 

I can barely contain my excitement!

 

If it makes you feel better here is what I am choosing from:

 

 

 

 

This one I am ordering in blue instead of orange:

 

 

 

[vjmatty]

And a couple more:

 

 

I am looking at this one in burgundy:

 

 

Does any of this help? :)

[vjmatty]

I'm with you on this one. There are other ships that cross the ocean that have much lower standards of dress. Cunard isn't broken and it doesn't need fixing and even Carnival has recognized this. Really no sense in debating the issue--I don't think we will see an appreciable change in a very long time except on the shorter cruises where regular Cunard travelers are few and far apart.

 

I agree... there are plenty of mainline cruise companies that offer a more relaxed dress code for those who don't wish to maintain traditional formal attire. Leave Cunard as it is, the remaining opportunity for those of us who enjoy formal night in all of its traditional glory. Does American casual culture have to invade into everything?

[vjmatty]

Standards change. Just because you don't like change does not mean standards are slipping. It just means times change and fashion changes.

 

This is not a fashion change... a fashion change is going from one style to another, such as big hair into a pixie cut, or bell-bottoms into bootlegs. Going to a more casual attire is a lowering of standards and changes the experience on a crossing.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not a member of the fashion police and I don't look down on those who dress differently than I do. However when the experience takes on a whole new dressed-down atmosphere it becomes something less. Just like this tacky trend in law enforcement to wear ballcaps instead of stetsons or 8-corner hats... in fact the loss of hats in general other than ballcaps worn backwards, or the new look among my fellow members of the bar who don't even wear coordinating business attire in the courtroom, we are becoming a society that takes less pride in its appearance. That may be fine walking city streets or eating at McDonalds, but leave the Queens to their elegance. Please.

[Charles4515]

This is not a fashion change... a fashion change is going from one style to another, such as big hair into a pixie cut, or bell-bottoms into bootlegs. Going to a more casual attire is a lowering of standards and changes the experience on a crossing.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not a member of the fashion police and I don't look down on those who dress differently than I do. However when the experience takes on a whole new dressed-down atmosphere it becomes something less. Just like this tacky trend in law enforcement to wear ballcaps instead of stetsons or 8-corner hats... in fact the loss of hats in general other than ballcaps worn backwards, or the new look among my fellow members of the bar who don't even wear coordinating business attire in the courtroom, we are becoming a society that takes less pride in its appearance. That may be fine walking city streets or eating at McDonalds, but leave the Queens to their elegance. Please.

 

I don't see why law enforcement wearing ball caps is tacky. They are more practical than the other kind of hats for that function.

 

I agree with you about the crossing. Not because casual is a lowering of standards. The crossing on Cunard is a throwback. I use that instead of the term theme as I did before since some were offended. There is no reason to do it on Cunard unless you want to experience a crossing in a historical sense. The era of ocean liners being the means of transportation across the pond are long gone. Jet planes are the current means of transportation across the Atlantic. You take Cunard for the history, not transportation. I am flying over to take the QM2 back. I think dressing up is part of that history and should be maintained. I would not quibble over wing collar or pre-tied tie, since those are in the spirit of dressing up. Even a suit as opposed to a tux, although I still don't get why one would wear a suit when it is just as easy to wear and pack a tux as a suit.

[milleruszk]

If you want to eat dinner in your draws and T-shirt, hop a freighter. They have a very relaxed dress code. ;)

[Got2goaway]

Thank you vjmatty for the pictures. The visuals help immensely. I can now begin my shopping mission with confidence.

 

Your insight is greatly appreciated.

[kaisatsu]

I've noticed that several folks have said that it's best to consult the Cunard guidelines. I fully admit I have not scoured every inch of their website...but is that information on there?

I did scour. It was hard to find and not at all where I expected it: http://www.cunard.com/uploads/cunardvoyageguide.pdf (Page 15)

 

 

I have another facet to add to this discussion. While my husband will be bringing an appropriate suit for the formal nights on our North Sea QE2 cruise, we like to mix things up a bit. Having lived in a lot of different places, we have a variety of ethnic formal wear. While the Cunard code specifies only a tuxedo or dark suit, white tie also includes national dress as shown in the Miss Manners illustration.

 

Does this mean that my husband's formal Indian kurti or black silk Mao suit would be acceptable on formal evenings? I'm well aware that staring will result simply by breaking the norm, but as long as it's within dress code, I don't mind challenging people to broaden their world view! ;)

[LadyPink]

Reading all of this conflicting advice is worrying me.

 

My attire is taken care of (i have bought 6 floor length ball gowns for formal nights). I am now worrying about my husband to be.

 

We have purchased tailor made tuxedo for him. It is black with satin lapels, single breast. We have also bought him winged collar box pleat shirts and satin stripe ones too. Also he has the standard collar shirts that he will wear with his black suit on semi formal nights.

 

He has self tie silk bow ties but also a red and a white one that is pre tied (the fastener is hidden behind the bow tie itself, so showing no metalwork).

 

Is this correct?

[yorky]

Reading all of this conflicting advice is worrying me.

 

My attire is taken care of (i have bought 6 floor length ball gowns for formal nights). I am now worrying about my husband to be.

 

We have purchased tailor made tuxedo for him. It is black with satin lapels, single breast. We have also bought him winged collar box pleat shirts and satin stripe ones too. Also he has the standard collar shirts that he will wear with his black suit on semi formal nights.

 

He has self tie silk bow ties but also a red and a white one that is pre tied (the fastener is hidden behind the bow tie itself, so showing no metalwork).

 

Is this correct?

 

Please don't let it worry you. We are on our honeymoon on the QM2 in 10 days and according to this thread should not be wearing wing collar shirts with a pre-tied black tie. At the end of the day you are following the Cunard guidlines and 95% of people on board will be wearing the same type of thing. The points mentioned on this thread are probably correct and a throwback to tradition.

 

However in this day and age the vast majority of cruisers would not know this and in my view if you are wearing a smart black tux or suit and tie you are fine and again following the cunard guidlines which is also important.

 

Just have a great honeymoon as we intend to do.

 

Mark

[Toffeegirl68]

Reading all of this conflicting advice is worrying me.

 

Worry-ye not.

 

Is this correct?

 

He will look fantastic!

 

My hubby has some winged collared shirts to go with his DJ / Tux.....

 

He will also, on one night at least, wear the waistcoat that he wore at our wedding - so that later in the evening when he 'struts his stuff', he can lose his jacket and look as lovely as the day I married him!:D

 

Jo

 

(....and remember, table manners are just as important as what you wear to the table!)

[Benzowner]

Does this mean that my husband's formal Indian kurti or black silk Mao suit would be acceptable on formal evenings? I'm well aware that staring will result simply by breaking the norm, but as long as it's within dress code, I don't mind challenging people to broaden their world view! ;)

 

There are many Scots who will wearing their formal attire, so do not worry about your husband. I am sure many many people will be interested to see a different cultures formal attire.