Future of Formal Nights

[momofmeg]

The wording of the ad did not indicate that. BTW, it came from cruisecritic so for those of you who are on CC's e-mail list, I am sure you received it too.

 

$2200 per person for a 14 nigth cruise for a balcony plus air (air from NY) I thought was great.

 

Philip I would still like to hear your thoughts since you work for NCL.

 

I was just goiong to add- I already know that NCL has an optionial one formal night on a 7 day cruise but this ad said NO FORMAL NIGHTS.

 

Philip why haven't you answered? I have seen where you answered on another thread so I know you have been on the boards. I still want to know if this is NCL's new policy or is it only for Europe?

[momofmeg]

We recently took our first NCL cruise. NCL has two "Dress Up or Not" nights. We dressed the first night and not the second. We ate at the mexician restaurant the second dress up or not night and we still dressed nice in dress slacks and a dressy blouse, my daughter and I.

 

What I noticed is that is what others did also. I saw no shorts on either formal/"Dress up or not" night. It seems because NCL offers a choice that most dress better, even if they do not do the formal thing.

 

On my last Carnival (almost 5 years ago) and RCI ( 3 years ago) cruises, there was a high percentage, 15% or 20%, who did not particpate, and it seemed those who didn't would dress as bummy as they could. Even my last HAL cruise,(April) many dressed down after dinner into shorts, and not nice short sets, but sloppy cut offs and gym shorts.

 

I was surprised that NCL actually had people, on this cruise at least, who dressed nicer. Now this was Thanksgviing, and large families were on ship, so perhaps that was why.

 

Now I was on the Pearl. The Pearl had two main, no pay extra, dinningrooms. The Summer Palace,no jeans allowed, and the Indigo, jeans were allowed. To me it was very obvious which dinningroom jenas were allowed by the decor. The summer Palace had these crystal chandliers and marble look columns, and pretty paintings, very traditonial in it's decor, sort've reminded me of Louis 14 with a nod to Versailles, it looked nicer. The decor of the Indigo though was Comtempory and dark jewel tones.

[the_dylaness]

I was surprised how hard it was for us to find a tux shirt for DH (we just bought his tux a couple weeks ago but didn't like any of the cheap-feeling shirts they had to offer at Men's Wearhouse.)

 

-Two separate Macy's? Nope.

-MW had the cheap ones.

-S&K, same problem.

-a privately owned men's clothier could ORDER one but did not have but a couple in stock.

-JoS A Bank does not make formal shirts in his size (17.5 32/33) and suggested I purchase a "big and tall" 18 33 :eek: I don't think a big drapey collar is the way to go...

 

Finally I purchased a Ralph Lauren shirt (wing collar, no pleats, 17.5 32/33 100% cotton- VERY HARD TO FIND!) from some random online tuxedo store I'd never heard of. It arrived today and looks nice but SHEESH!

 

I also hope formal nights don't go away--- DH always wears a suit but now is upgrading to the tux, and I am looking for some longer, more formal gowns (having difficulty with this, unfortunately.)

[momofmeg]

I was surprised how hard it was for us to find a tux shirt for DH (we just bought his tux a couple weeks ago but didn't like any of the cheap-feeling shirts they had to offer at Men's Wearhouse.)

 

-Two separate Macy's? Nope.

-MW had the cheap ones.

-S&K, same problem.

-a privately owned men's clothier could ORDER one but did not have but a couple in stock.

-JoS A Bank does not make formal shirts in his size (17.5 32/33) and suggested I purchase a "big and tall" 18 33 :eek: I don't think a big drapey collar is the way to go...

 

Finally I purchased a Ralph Lauren shirt (wing collar, no pleats, 17.5 32/33 100% cotton- VERY HARD TO FIND!) from some random online tuxedo store I'd never heard of. It arrived today and looks nice but SHEESH!

 

I also hope formal nights don't go away--- DH always wears a suit but now is upgrading to the tux, and I am looking for some longer, more formal gowns (having difficulty with this, unfortunately.)

 

JC Penneys has a few right now-they carry in the store around Christmas and prom times-they come with cumberbund, cufflinks/button covers and tie for $29.99. the price was not bad- the problem was- no 16 and a half-hubby's size. The cashertold me though, that JC Penney.com has them all the time in all sizes.

[Host Star]

I just returned from Navigator of the Seas a 4 nite cruise.. formal nite was an abundance of gowns, tux and men's suits.. so it is not dead yet..personally I had been thinking of not taking anything 'dressy' as it was only a quick get away 4 niter and I'm glad I packed a 'just in case' dressy outfit as we were invited to the captain's table on formal nite and the invitation stated "formal".. with a note that men should be in a tux or suit and tie...

[winewanderer]

My hubby is a big tall. I ordered him 3 tuxedo shirts last year from JC Penney on-line. He's an 18/38

 

They are good for the price. If he needs more I would go this way again. Actually I buy most of his clothes on JC Penney's website as our local store only has limited selection.

 

They often have great sales and sometimes free shipping.

[shamu718]

Before our last cruise, I bought DH and my two DS tuxes from an online store. Could have purchased some here from our local formal shop, but it was much cheaper to purchase online. This was the first cruise since I was a kid and I remembered eveyone dressing up for formal nights, so I wanted to do the same for our cruise.

 

My boys (3 and 6 at the time) loved their tuxes and their "shiny shoes"! So much in fact, that when my oldest DS and I went to a mother/son dinner & dance sponsored by our local Rec & Park, he insisted that we dress formally, so out came the tux and one of my formal dresses. Of course we were the only ones dressed up formally (I actually saw some moms in sweats and tees!), but he loves it. In fact, both of them will automatically put on a suit coat and tie if we have anyone coming over for dinner without me asking. They just love dressing up and looking "sharp" as my youngest says.

 

So we are one family who will still bring the tuxes along for formal night!

[vulcan500]

Here in Montana, "formal" generally means your newest, darkest Levi's. :) Love "formal nights". I can't begin to imagine the looks we would receive if we "dressed" to go out to dinner! :O