Making due with less clothing: is it possible to dress up without a suit?

[Sailfish]

Making due with less clothing: is it possible to dress up on formal night and NOT wear a suit?

I have a cruise aboard the Elation and Glory coming up this summer. We are driving down to San Diego and doing a five night cruise to Mexico in June, but flying on Delta to Orlando and over to Port Canaveral in late July to board the Glory. We are planning on scuba diving in the Western Caribbean ports of call (while on the Glory), so we intend to take our own dive gear. Well, that poses a significant challenge in how to pack, so I thought I would ask how cruise line passengers are making due with less, especially on formal nights thanks to airline baggage restrictions?

 

Carnival tends to be more laid back, but in the past, passengers still had a tendancy to dress up on Formal Night - guys mostly in suits anyway. Well, since we are looking to save on checked baggage, I was wondering if you could give me your impressions of formal night attire. I won't change my choice of outfits, as my little black cocktail dress doesn't take up much room. But my husband's suit does, therefore, I was wondering if a shirt and tie was good enough on formal night?

 

I am already having to cut back on the number of shoes, purses, and outfits I plan to take with me to make room for our dive gear, but not having to pack larger items like a suit, would free up more space for other things like dive gear and souvenirs.

 

Anyway, I am looking for feedback and observations - not advice on how to dress. We have always dressed up, but issues with packing are forcing me to re-evaluate what is necessary and I am beginning to think that it might be smarter for my husband to leave his suit at home! What do you think?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Suzi

[chandom]

Per Carnival: http://carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Dress_Attire.aspx

 

Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. We also suggest a sport coat. Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too! Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats.

[LHP]

Carnival does seem to be going the way of Oceania. (Country Club Casual on Casual nights and Smart Casual on what used to be formal night)

 

As long as you show up in Polo and Khakis on Casual night and a shirt/tie and dress pants on formal night...I don't think you will have any problems.

[zqvol]

You're going to pay to check the dive bag no matter what so you might as well pay for another suitcase if you want him in a suit. Of course, with the new suggested guidelines there is no need for him to have a suit or even a sport coat, but that is between you and him. In fact he can wear khakis and a polo shirt every night if he wants.

[imlulu]

My dh is wearing dockers, dress shirt, and tie. On casual nights he will probably wear shorts and a polo/golf shirt.

 

Im loving the new policy!

[Sailfish]

Thanks for the feedback. As we travel with warm water dive gear (including a soft back BCD), with the exception of our fins, we carry everything else on in our carry-ons. If we can get by with only one checked bag each, that's what we'll do.

 

Well, then if the guys can wear dockers and a nice shirt on formal night, that's what we'll plan to do. Too bad about there not being a real formal night any more with Carnival. But for us anyway, it may be more practical.

[firefly333]

Lots wear a nice shirt and dockers, maybe throw in a tie if you want to dress up. No one at my table had on a coat, not even a sports coat.

[queeni]

We were on Freedom last month and there were many men with no jacket on for formal nights. The girl at the table next to ours actually had sweat shorts on and a t-shirt with beach flip flops on our second formal night. It didn't bother me but I couldn't help but notice. We enjoy dressing up for formal nights, but the packing of shoes and jackets when the airlines are coming up with more luggage restrictions makes the relaxed dress code what most people want.

 

From what I've seen you should be fine in almost any attire.

[Muumuu]

What I am having hubby do is wear his jacket onto the plane. Saves room in the luggage.

[Sailfish]

Because we do not cruise with Carnival too often, I was sort of at a loss as to what to take; I had heard the dress code changed, but I didn't realize to what extent.

 

I am actually fine with a more casual formal night. On Princess, passengers do dress well on formal nights, but it tends to be more low key than it used to be. Most women wear cocktail dresses instead of floor length formals and suits for the guys instead of tuxes tends to be the norm. Passengers on Princess tend to keep it simple compared to our past cruises on Carnival. But I guess that's all changed. On Princess, though, you seldom see guys in shorts at night in the dining room. I like the Palm Beach resort casual feel of Princess anyway - I am guessing that's where Carnival's dress code must be heading also. Seems a bit more appropriate for the Caribbean anyway!!

 

Thanks!

[sixgun8]

One of the formal nights I wore a western shirt(collarless), slacks and a western vest. I thought I looked pretty darn good. It definately stood out better than just the shirt and tie. and it was more comfortable than the sports coat.

[VentureMan_2000]

You can always cut back on underwear...

 

And we all know that underwear is good for 4 or 5 days...

 

 

As a refresher...

 

Day 1: Wear underwear as usual.

 

Day 2: Take off underwear and turn them around backward, and pull them back on.

 

Day 3: Take off underwear, turn them inside out, and pull them back on.

 

Day 4: Take off underwear and turn them around backward again, and pull them back on.

 

Day 5: Take off underwear... Sniff... and if bearable... pull them back on.

[bmacri]

I don't know if all Carnival ships have rental programs but I know when we were on the Spirit, 2 men at our table had rented jackets/shoes for the cruise.

They do take up a lot of room and this does make sense if you must have a jacket.

[corinnv]

Thanks for the feedback. As we travel with warm water dive gear (including a soft back BCD), with the exception of our fins, we carry everything else on in our carry-ons. If we can get by with only one checked bag each, that's what we'll do.

 

Well, then if the guys can wear dockers and a nice shirt on formal night, that's what we'll plan to do. Too bad about there not being a real formal night any more with Carnival. But for us anyway, it may be more practical.

I feel your pain, DH always packs a huge dive bag. This is the first time we are going away and he won't be diving!

[spikeyboy]

Don't know how much carry on's you have, but I carried on a big roll on and a suit travel bag. It was a pain for an hour or so, but was much better than checking my suit.

[allgeeteredup]

It is obviously easier not to dress up on Carnival now that they lowered the standards for dinner. Personally, I will be packing the extra clothes for dinner as I believe dinner in a 5 star restaurant deserves the dress and formal gown on formal night. I don't care what they are calling it now.

[allgeeteredup]

Hey, the way Carnival is lowering their standards now-a-day's, you can probably get one of those tuxedo t-shirts and be just fine..... NOT!!!! Take the jacket. Would you go to dinner in town to a five star restaurant without a jacket? I think not. You might go, but you won't get inside. :) Etiquette and respect should be the rule of the day, I don't care how relaxed the "rules" have become. Shame on Carnival.

[dmdiver]

I know it would be okay just to wear shirt, slacks & tie. It just comes down to whether your hubby is comfortable doing that. I honestly could care less what people wear in the dining room as long as it's not swimwear or stuff that flab hangs out of. Of course, once they sit down you don't see much anyway!

 

I feel your pain on the dive gear. We have always cruised with the kids, so we don't dive when we cruise. I think when we went to Sandals we just used their equipment so we wouldn't have to lug everything. I know there's the germ factor, but we haven't died yet & that was 4 years ago. Well, we took our mask/snorkle, as we both had a hard time finding a good fit. It just always was a hassle to rinse wetsuits & find a good place to hang them out in a hotel room. I did miss having my own fins, though.

[allgeeteredup]

You can always cut back on underwear...

 

And we all know that underwear is good for 4 or 5 days...

 

 

As a refresher...

 

Day 1: Wear underwear as usual.

 

Day 2: Take off underwear and turn them around backward, and pull them back on.

 

Day 3: Take off underwear, turn them inside out, and pull them back on.

 

Day 4: Take off underwear and turn them around backward again, and pull them back on.

 

Day 5: Take off underwear... Sniff... and if bearable... pull them back on.

You need to make sure you keep posting your cruises so those of us who won't be rewearing our underwear can make sure we don't have to sit next to you in dinner. Everyone will be looking around and no one wanting to ask that question..... what's that smell?

[EJ'S MOM-MOM]

On our last cruise my 25 yr.old grandson wore a pair of dress black pants & a dress black shirt on formal night. Very "GQ" looking & later in one of the bars someone asked me who the good looking young man I was talking to was. I of course as his grandmother thinks he is handsome but coming from someone else just made me beam !!! ;)

[Eric in TX]

One pair of shoes and pants for both nights, and a different shirt/tie for each night and he'll be fine.

 

The last cruise I took on the Conquest there was everything from suits to shirts and ties to golf shirts on formal night. I did a shirt and tie with no jacket and felt like I was right in the middle of the curve.

 

A friend had a jacket, and he ended up taking it off as soon as we sat down on both nights anyway.

 

Eric

[Sailfish]

Hi there!

 

I am the OP. We had a discussion about this last night, and made the decision to not pack my husband's suit. We are still debating over taking his raw silk jacket.

 

On our Carnival cruise last year, we too noticed people in the dining room dressed all sorts of ways, quite a few men still had on jackets but the majority did not and a lot of the ladies wore cocktail dresses, but I saw more casual sun dresses than little black dresses. What struck me as odd was the inconsistency in dress. The dress code at the time was still formal, so we dressed up as did everyone in our group. I can't say we felt out of place, but all the guys in our group did comment how they didn't have to wear a suit afterall!

 

With the new airline baggage fees, it's likely people are going to have to rethink the way they pack. I do not object to a more casual approach, which for us anyway, makes more sense. But it does bother me a little to observe so much inconsistency in the way people dress on Carnival ships (as opposed to ther cruise lines) in the dining room on formal nights.

 

It sort makes me wonder why Carnival doesn't simply get rid of formal nights in the dining room and set a dress code for the alternative restaurant instead. The atmosphere in what is called the formal dining has never been formal, in my opinion. But the alternative restaurants are very elegant and a lot more formal.

 

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. This helps a lot!

 

Suzi

[scuabacruiser]

I was wondering if a shirt and tie was good enough on formal night?

 

I am already having to cut back on the number of shoes, purses, and outfits I plan to take with me to make room for our dive gear, but not having to pack larger items like a suit, would free up more space for other things like dive gear and souvenirs.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Suzi

I feel your pain, but we usually drive down so we don't have the airline problems, just the extra dive bags. What your are taking to wear will be just fine. Its what makes you comfortable. We still prefer to dress up but that is just us. We went on the Western Glory Oct 07 and dove 3 ports. Which ones are you'al looking at?

[CwuzCwazy]

First of all DO NOT listen to the OPINIONS of folks on here as to what you should wear. Go to the Carnival website, read the new dress code and decide for yourself. It's much more relaxed than it used to be and much more in tune with the times.

 

Quite frankly, after 20 Cruises I'm tired of dressing in my Tux twice during a cruise. I have more "Formal" portraits than I will ever need, so I am looking forward to wearing dress slacks, and a nice dress shirt to dinner on "Elegant" nights on our upcoming cruise on the Valor.

[zqvol]

It is obviously easier not to dress up on Carnival now that they lowered the standards for dinner. Personally, I will be packing the extra clothes for dinner as I believe dinner in a 5 star restaurant deserves the dress and formal gown on formal night. I don't care what they are calling it now.

 

Where do you find a five star restaurant on any mass market cruise line. I have never found one more than three stars. If you think dining on a mass market line is five star you have never had five star.