qm2 11/26/04 dressing for dinner

[cruise junky joan]

My husband and I are on this cruise. We have never cruised Cunard before and am looking for some first hand knowledge on how we should be dressing for dinner on non-formal nights. What are the majority of the men and women wearing in the Britania Dining Room on non-formal nights? Thanks Joan

[stewieL]

Joan,

 

We have never cruised the QM2 or Cunard before, but I would think it depends on what you plan to be doing before or after dinner. We will likely be going to the Queens Room for dancing after dinner, so I will likely wear a suit or at least a sport coat, and my wife will likely wear something fun to dance in; sometimes cocktail dress, sometimes pants.

 

I think that Cunard's tradition is to dress better than most other situations....not Carnival or Disney type. I guess if you like elegance, there is an opportunity to do that here, and not be alone!. If you like more informal, and by this I mean slacks and open shirt with no jacket for guys, try alternative dining....I will venture a guess that even though it's the Caribbean, you will find people more "dressy" for dinner.

 

Stewart

[cruise junky joan]

Thanks for the response. I am inclined to agree with you and bring a wardrobe that is much more dressy than what I may have worn on previous cruises for dinner. It would be nice to hear from someone who has actually been there and can tell us for sure what people have been wearing. We are also dealing with a "holiday" cruise. At least for me I consider anything after Thanksgiving to be the beginning of the holiday season and tend to dress a little more festive no matter where I am going. Joan

[avalon1025]

On our crossing it was not unusual to see gentlemen in Jackets on non formal nights. Its a very elegant ship.

[wulicny]

CruiseJunkyJoan,

 

We are on that cruise as well, and we couldn't be looking more forward to it!

 

If I remember from something I saw, I believe we will have 4 formal evenings, 4 informal evenings, and 2 casual evenings.

 

The casual evenings, I assume, will be the first and last nights. I expect to wear dress khakis and button-down, short-sleeved camp/hawaiian shirts.

 

For the informal evenings, I am bringing two suits and two sport jackets/dress pants, along with four ties.

 

For the formal evenings, it will be tuxedos. I am having an internal debate over whether to rent or bring my own (simply from the luggage stuffing standpoint). If I bring my own, I will have to have the black jacket let out a bit, and I will buy a new white dinner jacket. If I rent, I will rent a black and white jacket combination. I'll probably also pick up a few new cummerbund/bowtie combos.

 

Bon Voyage, and we'll see you in Manhattan!

 

Bill

[imacruizer]

I looked at the Cunard website to see where the March cruises from New York were going and how many nights. I think you will be going to the Caribbean for 8 nights. Is that correct? We were on a 10 night cruise last March in the Caribbean. First, it was a great cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Would go again without hesitation. The QM2 is a very formal cruise. On formal nights at least 90 percent of the men wore tux. On semiformal nights most men wore sports coats, dress pants, and ties. I believe the dress code says that ties are not required and there were men without ties. On casual nights, men wore casual slacks, and shirts with collars. Many men wore sports coat with their casual shirt. On semi formal nights, the women wore a mix of short cocktail type dresses and very dressy pants outfits. On casual nights there were sundresses and pants outfits. The dress during the day is very casual since it is the Caribbean. It was very similiar to what we had seen on other cruiselines in the Caribbean. If you have other questions, I will be happy to try to answer. Happy cruising. You will have a great time.

[cruise junky joan]

How nice to hear from a fellow Marylander who will be making the drive to N.Y. for this cruise. I will pass along to my husband your wardrobe suggestions. My husband, Jay, didn't loose the weight needed to fit into his tuxedo so I am thinking of going to the internet to get him one in a larger size. Unfortunately there is no way his old one will fit now. I thought we only had 3 formal nights. I haven't gotten any documentation yet to confirm this but I thought that is what I had seen in the brochure. Let me know if you get something definite before I do. What is your wife planning on taking to wear for dinner? I had planned on something not quite "cocktail" for the informal nights and something dressier for the formal nights. The casual nights I had planned on a sweater and slacks for leaving New York and maybe a shirt and blazer for the last night. Hope to hear from you soon. Joan

[imacruizer]

Just reread the thread and realized you are cruising in November NOT March. I think I got two threads confused. Sorry! However, you are going Caribbean, so the advice is still the same. We had three formal nights on our 10 night cruise and would think you will also have three formal nights. Enjoy the cruise!

[wulicny]

Joan,

 

I don't know everything my wife is bringing, but I do know she just bought two new evening gowns. She also picked up a few cocktail dresses. How she will integrate the new clothes with her existing wardrobe is unknown at this point. (I try to stay out of the way when it comes to her wardrobe ;))

[stewieL]

Bill and Joan,

 

Well, I shared this with my wife, Marilyn, who says the issue isn't just the dresses...it's the shoes!!!! Bill, you and I are out of this conversation. Joan, I think Marilyn will likely spend more time fretting over which shoes to bring..and of course a bag.

 

I think "elegant" is the buzzword here. How you "dress up" a suit or a dress is important to not feel really awkward. I will bring my tux and I have a "black on black 3 piece suit that dresses up really nice and I bought it so I wouln't have to have a second tux right now. From everything I have read, this is the kind of cruise made for folks who love to dress but don't get many occasions to do so....So let's all have some fun.

 

Contrary to popular belief, we do own dressy clothes here in Southern California.

 

Stewart

[Blazerboy]

Haven't sailed on the QM2 (yet, I hope!) but was on the QE2 last year, and agree that it is more formal- four formal nights out of six on the crossing, and the majority of men wore tuxes.But I wanted to add, in case anyone is fortunate enough to be in one of the grill restaurants, that even on casual nights, they required a coat and tie for dinner. Since, on our trip those were only the first and last nights, it meant having a jacket and tie ready for the first night, and held out of our luggage on the last. The maitre d' in the Britannia Grill (equivalent to Princess Grill on the QM2) would not let people in with out a tie unless their luggage was lost. It may be that they've relaxed some on the QM2, but I would ask the line specifically to avoid any hassle.

 

Have fun!

[Marti]

Hi there, I'll be on the same cruise...it should be so very exciting....and yes I am dressing formal every evening. Even bringing my small evening hats. Enjoy every chance to dress in todays casual world. Driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to pack everything. :) How about you? Would love to catch up aboard the Queen...Marti J

[stewieL]

Marti,

 

Glad to see there are others who enjoy taking advantage of the chance to get decked out. Actually, the way I look at it, you can't err on the side of overdressing. We plan to dress every night, since dancing in the Queens' Room is on the agenda for us nightly...and I can always take off the tie and get down at the disco after the Queen's Room closes.

 

My wife has an array of really fancy "cocktail" dresses, but only one real full length gown. I will forward this to her, but would appreciate any input from other women regarding the need for more than 1 or 2 full length gowns.

 

Stewart

[wulicny]

I actually just purchased a pirate costume for Halloween and the Pirates Ball! I am really looking forward to some relaxation and fun and dressing up and everything else.

 

Bill

[stewieL]

Bill,

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one. Just bought a "Beast" costume (Beauty and the Beast), so I guess we can wear our costumes to the cocktail party, right? Probably would empty the pub, huh?

 

Looking forward to Nov 26th.

 

Stewart

[juneann]

On our July 5th crossing I was surprised to see that on non-formal and casual nights people were more dressed up than I had expected. Non-formal night attire seemed quite formal to me. We did not know that one of the non-formal nights was in fact called formal optional. We wore formal attire for 3 nights out of 6. I hope this is helpful. We had a wonderful time on this most elegant ship.

[micropooz]

We are on the Nov. 16 cruise which is identical to the one you are on. Earlier this year, I inquired (I believe it was on this board) about what nights were formal, etc. I wrote it down and here is what I have in chronological order:

 

Casual, Formal, Formal, Informal, Casual, Informal, Casual, Informal, Formal, Casual.

 

If anyone has more recent news concerning this, PLEASE post!

 

Malinda/micropooz

 

_/7_/7_/7__

\::::::::::::/ Which Cunard oceanliner/s had/has/have three funnels? ~~~~~~~~ How many were actually functional?

[dennisg]

;) THE QE2 WAS SO ELEGANT THAT REGARDLESS OF DRESS CODE SUGGESTION THE ELEGANCE AND THE AMBIANCE SET THE PACE SO THAT YOU ACTUALLY WERE EXCITED ABOUT GETTING "DRESSED FOR DINNER" IT WAS FANTASTIC AND FOR US THIRTY SOMETHING FOLKS, WE NEED TO DO THIS MORE OFTEN AS NOTHING EVER BEATS CLASS.. I AM GLAD TO HEAR THE QM2 IS JUST AS ELEGANT AS MOST LINES ARE MISSING THIS ALL TOGETHER AND IT IS TERRIFIC TO HEAR THAT CLASS IS IN AS WE HAVE LOST IT ON MANY OF THE LINES..;)

[geoffUK]

Don't know if this applies to all cruises, but on our recent New England / Canada cruise one of the formal nights was a Black and White ball and some of the ladies were disapointed that they hadn't taken anything appropriate, so be prepared and take that 'little black number'. We found that most people tended to dress up more than on other cruises we had been on, even on casual nights. Lets face it, cruising is on of the few times you get the chance to really dress up, so lets make the most of it!

[mark_and_debbie]

As a rule of thumb from our cruise, "Sea-days" were "formal nights" (you had 'time' to dress for dinner), while port days were casual, with a couple of "informal" nights thrown in. Men: you will definitely look out of place on this ship on formal nights if you do not wear a tuxedo. On "informal" nights, dress as you would for a good restaurant in town (shirt and tie and e.g., sports-jacket, slacks). 'Casual nights' mean smart-casual - collared shirt or polo shirt, no tie, slacks, jacket only if you wish. Just don't wear jeans (yes, we did see a few). For women of course it is much more complicated: 6:00-6:10pm outfit 1; 6:10pm-6:15 pm outfit 2; 6:15pm-6:28pm outfit 3; 6:28pm-6:30pm outfit 1 again and run to dinner. ;)

[BorderLady]

On a QM2 crossing this summer, I noticed nearly everyone complied with the suggested dress for each evening. There were variations, of course. A Sunday church dress for some ladies or glittery short cocktail dresses for others were seen on Informal evenings, but the men could always be counted on to wear a jacket and tie of some sort. Formal nights brought out long gowns for nearly all the ladies and probably more than half the men wore tuxes, the rest in conservative business suits. I only saw one joker in a ghastly plaid sport coat. Casual nights found men in open collar shirts and the gals in resort-type outfits.

 

Thinking back on it, the word that always comes to mind is that the people dressed "appropriately". After the crossing, I never gave anyone's clothing a second thought until the subject came up on these message boards.

 

Having not been on a QM2 Caribbean cruise, I can't hazard a guess. Reading this board has led me to believe dress (in all categories) is more casual.

[atticus]

Can't agree more about the 6.00-6.10 outfit, 6.15-6.30 outfit, etc.!

 

Very formal ship. Most of the women I met on board wore the long evening dresses (lots of column dresses with beading/sequins). Even during the day most of the passengers were very well turned out.

 

Personally I love it. From someone in clinical research who wears jeans and sweaters every day this is a much needed return to elegance.

 

If you want pictures of what some of the other passengers were wearing - send me your email address and I will send on a link to photos.

[carnivaljunkie]

Two questions for those of you who have been on previous cruises. I have a tail coat in addition to my regular Tux coat. Did you see any men in tails?

 

My wife also has a tux. She does not want to bring it on this cruise. Did you see any women in tuxes?

 

Dean 11-16-04 QM2

[Jeanne S]

Tails are not worn on modern day Cunard Ships nor have I personally witnessed a lady in a tux. Also, White Tie is not worn.

 

Perhaps you have a very nice cumberbund that will distinguish you and add some flair?

 

Hope this was helpful.

[carnivaljunkie]

Thanks, I guess I'll be traditional. I have several different vests shirts and ties. How about a black tux shirt and button cover? Dean