Dinner Attire Questions

[JessiMommy]

I'm a first time cruiser who is a little confused about the dress code in the dining room. I'm reading a few books that mention 3 different categories of dress. Formal, Informal and Casual. I know what to wear for each category however from reading these boards it seems that maybe Carnival only has 2 categories. Formal & Casual. Can someone clear this up for me. We're trying to decide what all we will need. TIA! (We are on the Victory for 7 nights.)

[judyjbest]

Your assessment is pretty accurate. On formal nights, you'll see everything from formal gowns and tuxes to nice pantsuits and sportcoats. Every other night, you'll see everything in the dining room except swimming suits and very few shorts. On non-formal nights, my dress is still dressy casual, because I like dressing up a little every evening, but my husband will be in his black jeans and polo.

[julpet01]

We'll be on our first cruise, too. I thought men had to have a jacket on the non formal nights in the dining room. If not---DH will be in his black jeans and polo also!

[hstrybuf]

Now how to put this tactfully? Jeans in the dining room are considered inappropriate by many people who cruise and post on these forums. ;)

 

My DH took his suit for both formal nights and slacks with nice shirts for the other nights. I have gowns or fancy slacks outfits for formal with nicer slacks or capri outfits for the other nights.

[Laurab23]

Many people who don't read these boards wear jeans on casual nights so don't be scared off by what people here have to say about jeans. They are a small minority of the total people who cruise on a ship.Don't flame me for speaking the truth!!!

Laura

[kkelle17]

I have to agree with HSTRYBUF wearing jeans in the dining room is widely deemed innapropriate. I have seen people wear Jeans without a problem, but I would not reccomend it. Jeans definitely stand out in the dining room. They do offer casual dining on the LIDO levels where jeans are very acceptable.

[MrPete]

Ever find yourself not sure how to dress, and then underdress, and feel awkward?

 

The ones underdressed and overdressed seem to stand out. One is positive, one is negative. You figure the rest out.

[judyjbest]

I'm going to depart this thread before it gets ugly with just one more observation. As you can see from my signature, we're about to go on our seventh cruise, and my husband has worn his black jeans with nice shoes (not tennis shoes) on every non-formal night on every cruise. And, many others do, too. Fortunately for us, we knew nothing of these BBs on our first cruise, so we found on our own that he could be comfortable with no one making an issue, as were many others.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I like to dress up a little on the non formal nights. DH wears nice slacks and top. If we feel like we really want to be super casual we will head up to lido for dinner.

 

Cheryl:)

[julpet01]

My DH won't mind wearing suit on formal night; but will be glad he doesn't have to wear a jacket each night...just something nice. Who knows, he may get so caught up in it, he might want to dress up for dinner all nights!

[pnjkeith]

Wear your jeans if you want. You paid for the cruise,not the others on this board. Dress up on the 2 formal nites though. Jeans always get this board going.

[kkelle17]

I completely agree, if you want to wear your jeans, wear them...no one is going to stop you. It is a matter of personal choice...however you may feel underdressed and uncomfortable. If you are the type of person who won't be bothered by being on the underdressed side...then go for it :)

[MrPete]

If you are the type of person who won't be bothered by being on the underdressed side...then go for it :)

But please realise we will be speaking about you and pointing!

[MrPete]

You paid for the cruise,not the others on this board.

What other liberties should they take being they paid for their trip?

[hstrybuf]

Good question, MrPete. Kids in the hot tubs, babies in the pool, cutting in line, hogging chairs. All the usual topics. Drunks puking all over the ship, loud and obnoxious neighbors and tablemates. Open air pot smoking. We all paid for our cruise, well most of us did, so let's all do what we want! Chaos could be fun! Wonder how many of us would be put off at the first port? :rolleyes:

 

Okay, so we're talking about jeans in the dining room. We've all seen them. My opinion just happens to be different than some others as to whether or not they are appropriate for the venue. Wear what you want. I'll be eating my dinner.

[Kerrilah]

Hi! Here's my two cents! My boyfriend and I are 29 and getting ready for my third and his second cruise. With as much as we work and as expensive as everything is, we dont often get a chance to get dressed up for dinner so on formal nights, he will wear his tux (we wanna get our money's worth from it) and I will wear a fancy dress (maybe even one of those non-reuseable bridesmaid dresses I have) and on the other nights I will wear dressy casual dresses and he will wear slacks and a button down without a jacket or tie.

We dont mind how other people dress and would have no problem wearing jeans and a nice shirt to a regular dinner, but for us its just more fun to get dressed up nice. But we are also of the opinion that nothing bothers us on a cruise, we're just happy to be there with each other!

[JessiMommy]

Ok I'm the OP of this thread & had no idea what I asked would turn into a conversation about jeans... :confused: since my original question has not really been answered I'll pose it a different way. If we wear the appropriate dark suit/tie and gown/cocktail dress for the 2 formal nights is it assumed that all other nights we can wear things such as slacks/blouse or pants suit etc for me, slacks dress shirt or polo for DH? Is there just those 2 categories of dress? I want to make sure we bring the appropriate clothes.

[MrPete]

Ok I'm the OP of this thread & had no idea what I asked would turn into a conversation about jeans...

You've heard about the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?

 

On this board, any conversation about dress is the Six Degrees of Jeans.

 

There are also other versions:

 

Six Degrees of Toddlers

Six Degrees of Hot Tubs

Six Degrees of Bringing Alcohol on Board

 

The list is endless.

[dtchem1]

But to actually answer your question. Yes, there are only two suggested levels of dress in the dining room: formal and not formal, which is what you would like not-formal to be (as long as it's not jeans). Most people are in what would be considered business casual on up; nice pants and polo shirt or button down shirt for guys and nice cocktail dress, pant suit, etc for women.

Jackets and ties are not required, but some people do wear them.

[cruzzza]

To the OP: When I read your question, my thoughts were YES, there are 3 versions of dress on Carnival. Formal for "Formal Nights", Informal for dining room attire on non-formal nights, and Casual for days and those who don't want to eat in the dining room. I dress in all 3 manners on my cruises. Hmmmmm, I guess the answer to your question depends on who you ask!!!

[MERVYN BREMMER]

Ok I'm the OP of this thread & had no idea what I asked would turn into a conversation about jeans... :confused: since my original question has not really been answered I'll pose it a different way. If we wear the appropriate dark suit/tie and gown/cocktail dress for the 2 formal nights is it assumed that all other nights we can wear things such as slacks/blouse or pants suit etc for me, slacks dress shirt or polo for DH? Is there just those 2 categories of dress? I want to make sure we bring the appropriate clothes.

In a word yes!!!!!

[celbercrz333]

Jessi,

I don't think I need to tell you what to wear for the formal nights. You can chose to do a casual dining room night and not even go into the main dining room. We did this for our 3 night/4 day cruise recently. The casual dining room is for wearing shorts, although I went in my bathing suit back to the deli for a sandwich. I brought that back to the pool area, which was on the same level of Fascination. I felt a little strange being in my bathing suit in the casual dining area, but if the deli and pizza area was near the pool, I wouldn't have had to go back there. Besides having a casual dining room, that ship had a poolside hamburger & hot dog buffet. In the main dining room for most nights you will wear pants and tops. No need to be more dressed up for that unless it's formal night. And I've heard if it's formal night and you want to have your hair done or anything special, make sure you plan way ahead of time. These services get filled up fast. There are packing lists online that I found that helped me last year with our first cruise. So many people on these boards give so much good advice. Write it all down and decide what you want to take as you pack.

-Joanne

[montana20024]

What seating are you in the dining room...if you are later, just casually walk by when the first seating is going in and check out what people are wearing, or if you are the early, check out the night before...I would not let me husband wear jeans in the dining room, but again that is my opinion, and as for the others, everyone has opinions...there are people who agree and those who don't..each to themselves..

[JessiMommy]

Ok thanks all, I think I got it now. Two categories for the dining room. Formal and dressy casual.... Jeans were never in the running for us! :) This will help me plan. Thanks again!

[hstrybuf]

Candi, you have it! :) You should have no problems with what you are planning to wear. BTW, they usually request that if you're in line at the indoor food stations, like Windjammer, that you wear a cover up over your bathing suit. ;) Have fun!

 

If you want to read something really funny, check out this thread. The third page gets really good! :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=87958