Forcing "casual"?

[Richard in Panama]

SandyR5 made an interesting comment on the Celebrity board which is perhaps relevant to HAL as well . . .

 

Hi everyone - I really LOVE getting dressed up for formal nights, but the airlines have put a damper on that. :mad: You're allowed only 1 piece of checked baggage "free". You can't pack for a 2 week cruise, with 3 formal nights, in just one suitcase. :confused: OK, we'll pay for the third bag, but I feel as if we're getting nickel and dimed again and again. I think it would be really "user friendly" if the cruise lines would do away with formal nights and just have "smart casual" in the evening like Azamara/Oceania etc. Makes packing much easier in this day and age. I see Celebrity changed the smoking policy so why not the dress policy? Any of you agree or am I in the minority? :cool:

 

I remember the long beaded gowns my wife used to take on cruises: she looked fantastic, but one gown could take up half of the luggage allowance today . . . bulky and heavy. Maybe the airlines are forcing an end to the traditional "formal" nights . . . as well as society in general being more "casual."

 

Last year on Celebrity the cruise line booked me on an Intra-EU flight without warning me I could only take one bag . . . and the second bag costs me $210 US for Rome to Barcelona! That cured me of 2 bags . . . and now I make do with a dark suit.

 

Thoughts?

 

Regards, Richard

[dakrewser]

We've been around and around on this one, Richard. THe consensus was that those who are looking to avoid formalwear will use this as an excuse, those who aren't will pay the price. After all, the $25/bag is less than a bottle of wine, right?

[O2B@C]

And there's always the option for men to rent a tux, and for ladies to bring formal outfits that don't take up quite so much suitcase space. Bring one long black silk skirt; one pair elegant black evening pants; and two or three fancy tops in different colors - mix and match, and voila, you have enough evening wear for several formal nights.

[atudorquene]

where I had to cart along a lot of materials, I NEVER travelled with more than two carryons - that was when they allowed two carryons. Then I went down to one carryon - and now having a laptop for work ended that. I used to limit my travel wardrobe to Banana Republic travel clothing - before they were bought out and became bouge. They had classic and well made travel clothing that could be washed in a sink and dried out overnight. I got along on two pairs of pants, three shirts, one hiking skirt, one pair of dress casual shoes, the hiking boots I wore, and a nice long black dress for formal. Mix and match, those were the days. Now I am looking at two check ons and two carryons - one each for my hubs and I. Goodness, I do miss the old days, and not having to wait for the baggage to be unloaded :D

[RuthC]

Anyone who can't pack for a 2-week cruise in one suitcase just isn't trying; I've done it for five. :rolleyes: And that's to cooler climates where I needed sweatshirts and a wind-breaker.

I will admit that I've recently replaced the heavy beaded tops with more lightweight fabrics, but saying that dressing for formal nights is difficult with the baggage restrictions is a red herring. After all, you still have to wear something at night.

Having my dress a little longer adds ounces to the baggage weight, and takes up very few cubic centimeters of extra room. :)

Men should be begging for more formal nights. Then they would have to take only one tux/suit and a few shirts. That's even fewer clothes than different smart casual every night! :D

[CruiserBruce]

RuthC- I agree 100%. We just got back from a 19 day cruise, with 1 checked suitcase per person, and 1 carry on, as well as a small knapsack or daypack. The two checked bags wieghted 27 and 36 lbs, and weren't really tightly packed. I admit I went a little light on colder weather clothes, and had to buy a sweat shirt.

 

I bring a tux, with 3 tie/cummerbund combos. We had 5 formal nights. DW brought 5 paperbacks! We arrived the night before, and squeezed two 12 packs of Diet Coke and a bottle of champagne into our carry on, which now made things pretty full all around.

 

We were sailing from FLL to SEA, so 14 days of hot weather -lots of shorts- and 5 days of cool to pretty cold weather, and I needed the sweatshirt. DW had everything she needed.

 

A long cruise in cold weather might be a little tougher.

[Boytjie]

And there's always the option for men to rent a tux, and for ladies to bring formal outfits that don't take up quite so much suitcase space.

 

I believe the ladies too can rent formal wear.

[RevNeal]

Anyone who can't pack for a 2-week cruise in one suitcase just isn't trying; I've done it for five. :rolleyes: And that's to cooler climates where I needed sweatshirts and a wind-breaker.

I will admit that I've recently replaced the heavy beaded tops with more lightweight fabrics, but saying that dressing for formal nights is difficult with the baggage restrictions is a red herring. After all, you still have to wear something at night.

Having my dress a little longer adds ounces to the baggage weight, and takes up very few cubic centimeters of extra room. :)

Men should be begging for more formal nights. Then they would have to take only one tux/suit and a few shirts. That's even fewer clothes than different smart casual every night! :D

 

Ruth, I'm one of those men who begs for more formal nights, and enjoy dressing up more on Smart Casual Nights, because it DOES reduce the amount I need to bring. On a 20-day cruise with 5 formal nights I still needed to bring Smart Casual evening clothing for 15 nights. Now, I didn't bring 15 different shirts ... I brought 7 different shirt and re-wore them twice. Still, if there had been 10 formal nights and 10 Smart Casual Nights I could have brought a least 2-fewer Smart Casual Night outfits and I wouldn't have needed any extra formal night gear for it.

 

That being said, please keep in mind that men's Formal Night gear takes more space and is heavier than the average woman's formal night gear. Men wear more on any given formal night (underclothing and socks, Tuxedo -- slacks and jacket -- Tux shirt, Tie, cummerbund and/or vest, cufflinks, heavy black dress shoes. There is a great deal of material in this formal outfit, and to pack it without wrinkling it beyond recognition it has to be properly protected ... one just can't pile it in and keep on piling. One DOES run out of room and/or the weight goes too far over the maximum. Thankfully, one doesn't need two complete versions of this ... one can have significant variety with vests, cummerbunds, and tie outfits. However, this all takes room and weight.

 

I can pack for 7-days with one up-right rolling suitcase. I could probably do it for 10-days. I've tried to do it for 15 and 20 days and, on both occasions, I failed. And, it was the need to properly hang (in dry cleaner bags) my tuxedo and dress shirt(s) was what did it. With fewer Smart Casual Nights on a 14+ day cruise to have to plan for I would probably be able to do it. It doesn't help that I'm a larger guy. Smaller guys don't have as broad of shoulders and their clothing doesn't require as much in he way of material and, hence, doesn't weigh as much.

[sail7seas]

It is worth it to us to pay the $25 extra fee to check a third bag and have with us the clothing we want. DH wants his tuxedo or dinner jacket and tuxedo pants (or both) and I want my formal dresses/outfits, silk shoes and/or sandals and handbags. It is part of our enjoyment of our cruises. If we were to dress other than formal on those nights, we would not be comfortable or fully enjoy the festivity of the evening.

 

I realize some do not agree and that is fine.

 

 

[RevNeal]

It is worth it to us to pay the $25 extra fee to check a third bag and have with us the clothing we want. DH wants his tuxedo or dinner jacket and tuxedo pants (or both) and I want my formal dresses/outfits, silk shoes and/or sandals and handbags. It is part of our enjoyment of our cruises. If we were to dress other than formal on those nights, we would not be comfortable or fully enjoy the festivity of the evening.

 

I realize some do not agree and that is fine.

 

I'm the same way ... $25 is worth it to me in order to have what I need/want on the cruise. But, if I can select and pack well-enough to make the trip with only one bag, I'm going to do that. :) For 26 days in Europe (23 aboard ship, 3 on land) I don't see how I can manage with just 1 checked bag.

[sail7seas]

I know you're a great packer, Greg, but all those days in one bag ??? That would be Impressive. :D You risk going over the 50 pound limit and it is less costly to take the second bag than to pay for overweight.

 

I think overweight is at least $50 but extra bag is $20 or $25 depending upon airline.

 

[iflyrc5]

I too would like to pack a little lighter but Size 13 "E" shoes take up alot of space. I normally wear my running shoes when boarding and traveling but then you have the formal nights and a pair of beach shoes at a minimum. Bigger people have larger clothes which take up a little more space. If you want to take your own snorkel equipment and charger for the cameras that also takes space.

[RevNeal]

I know you're a great packer, Greg, but all those days in one bag ??? That would be Impressive. :D You risk going over the 50 pound limit and it is less costly to take the second bag than to pay for overweight.

 

I think overweight is at least $50 but extra bag is $20 or $25 depending upon airline.

 

I know ... that's why I'm going to take two bags. :) Besides: (1) it's an international flight, and those flights don't have the extra charge (at least, not on American Airlines), and (2) I'm an AA Gold Member, and the charge for the extra bag on domestic flights doesn't apply to us.

[Sundagger]

SandyR5: "I think it would be really "user friendly" if the cruise lines would do away with formal nights and just have "smart casual" in the evening like Azamara/Oceania etc"

 

 

Lots of choices for those who want casual - Azamara, Oceania, Windstar, NCL, Carnival. I'm not exactly thrilled to dress formally, but I do enjoy the atmosphere it provides a couple of nights a week. I'll stick with HAL and pay the minor fee of $25/flight to be able to pack what I want.

[pilotdane]

I vote that HAL goes all or nothing. I don't mind packing my tux & shoes, but they do take up a fair bit of valuable suitcase space. I would be happy to bring it if I could wear it every night and get some real use out the tux & suitcase space; or kill the formal nights all together so I don't have to lug the tux for just 2 or 3 nights.

[Philip217]

Easy solution:

Fly Business or First Class and pack as much as you like.

[sail7seas]

Not all domestic flights have first class or business.

 

We always flew first class but stopped. There is no real first class service in domestic travel anymore IMO

[numbersix]

Banana Republic travel clothing - before they were bought out and became bouge. :D

 

Quene:

 

"Bouge"...I like it!!;)

 

I see you sail ...soon. Have a great cruise!!!

 

Kevin

[mamaofami]

As someone who doesn't like to send my clothes to the ship's laundry(I never put anything into the dryer) I must say that packing for formal nights is not my problem. It's for daytime wear )on a vista that doesn't have a laundry facility) that I find it hard to get everything into one suitcase, especially for warm weather climates. Someone share a packing list, please.

[Golfette]

I have a long black extra-full taffeta skirt. It is exquisite - but packing it would probably take several ;) suitcases.

 

The $25 for the extra suitcase wouldn't deter me a bit if I wanted to dress formally. Fortunately, HAL makes it easier to dress up these days and we take advantage of it. I keep my "special" clothes to wear at functions that are important to me.

 

While it's easy for a man to rent a tux on board, I can't imagine any woman who cares how she looks renting the outfits HAL provides.

[ldog]

I've decided that the extra charge for a 2nd bag is a good motivation for me to lose weight. If I drop a couple of sizes I'll be able to fit in more clothes.:D

 

Seriously, we spend thousands of dollars for a cruise $25 for a suitcase is just another cost that we have to absorb like fuel surcharges.

[RevNeal]

I've decided that the extra charge for a 2nd bag is a good motivation for me to lose weight. If I drop a couple of sizes I'll be able to fit in more clothes.:D

 

Seriously, we spend thousands of dollars for a cruise $25 for a suitcase is just another cost that we have to absorb like fuel surcharges.

 

Jan ... Jan ... your first line IS serious! And, I'm taking it to heart (again). However, there's not much I can do about being 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and big feet. :)

[peterv]

I like how everyone keeps mentioning the $25 fee for the extra bag. As far as I can see it is actually $50, that is, unless you are not planning on bringing it back home with you? :D

 

Cheers,

Peter

[kryos]

And there's always the option for men to rent a tux, and for ladies to bring formal outfits that don't take up quite so much suitcase space. Bring one long black silk skirt; one pair elegant black evening pants; and two or three fancy tops in different colors - mix and match, and voila, you have enough evening wear for several formal nights.

If you're gonna rent, you'd be better off paying for the extra checked bag.

 

You can say anything you'd like ... that people are using this as an "excuse" to avoid formal nights, but the fact of the matter is that society itself is changing and frankly, yes, I have a real "problem" with paying for an additional checked bag for most cruises. Oh, I'll pay it for my upcoming Statendam cruise this September, but even with two bags on that cruise, I won't have any room for anything even resembling a formal outfit. That "cruise" ... actually two cruises ... will span 45 days!

 

Face it ... formal is going by the wayside ... or at least mandatory formal is. I still say, though, there can be plenty of room onboard for everybody. Simply designate a certain area of the dining room as formal every night, and anyone can make reservations there ... no extra charge, and with the same menu choices as everyone else. The cruise line can make a big thing out of it ... the "elegant" dining room ... maybe even designate a different lounge each night as the formal lounge as well ... only people that get in are those nicely attired.

 

This way everyone gets what they want -- the people who like to pull out all of their finery, and those who want to tell the airlines to shove it.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Boytjie]

I still say, though, there can be plenty of room onboard for everybody. Simply designate a certain area of the dining room as formal every night, and anyone can make reservations there ... no extra charge, and with the same menu choices as everyone else. The cruise line can make a big thing out of it ... the "elegant" dining room ... maybe even designate a different lounge each night as the formal lounge as well ... only people that get in are those nicely attired.

 

This way everyone gets what they want -- the people who like to pull out all of their finery, and those who want to tell the airlines to shove it.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

That is until 'casual' people complain that they cannot get into the formal dining location or formal lounge and because they paid good moneyfor their cruise they will do as they please... :D