What do you think of dressing up every night?

Just curious...I've been on several cruises and I like to dress up each night,not just on formal night. A friend here at home, told me that this is rude. Do you think so? I just like to dress up and never thought that other people would be embarrassed or whatever? Is it okay to dress up regardless if the "dress code" for the evening is informal or casual?
Thanks in advance.

[pamda]

Miz ...

So long as you don't wear sequins on casual night, LIVE IT UP !!!

Thanks! That's kind of what I thought! Thank you!

[Donna]

Hi Suz,
Agree with Pam, go ahead if thats what you like to do, go for it! We usually hear just the opposite here, people that don't want to dress up on formal nite.

It depends on how dressed up you get...if you dress like to are going to a formal wedding and everyone else is casual, you may feel out of place.

I,personally, would wear good looking outfits (pantsuits, dresses, whatever), but summery and pretty, not dressy.

That is my thought for the day!

Thank you to everyone who responded. I guess my question was really: Is it rude, according to American standards, to dress up when everyone else is casual? You all answered it well and I apologize for not being clear. Thanks!

[Mermaid]

Pamda said it best.

Women are fortunate I think when it comes to the "oh, what I am going to wear" question. At least we have choices. Sigh, if only those credit card bills would get lost in the mail! What I mean is, take one black dress. Long or short. Depending on what you wore with it, or didn't wear, it can be perfectly politically correct for formal, informal, and casual night.

Shh, don't tell my husband that I said I could get by with only one dress!

And Miz, it wouldn't bother me if you dressed up while I didn't. In fact, it doesn't really bother me the other way around either.

[Helena]

I'm still pretty lost, and don't know what to wear on formal nights.
We've been on a couple of cruises, and I don't feel dressed on those nights.
I live in Northern Ontario, and don't quite know what a "gown" is. How formal is "formal"?
Please help! We're on the Volendam in January.

Helena, whatever people tell you, you don't need a gown. What you need is something dressy. The fabric should be dressy. It could be a cocktail suit, cocktail pantsuit, cocktail dress. If you don't have anything and you want to buy something, go to a store that sells this kind of clothing. You would get a lot more wear out of "cocktail" wear than an actual gown. Hope this helps

[marvholly]

I remember when there was no choice. Women wore cocktail dresses and men jackets and ties every nite except port days.

Generally, for formal nite I wear an dress that I would wear/have worn to a nice sit down dinner wedding reception in a fine resturant or good hotel. The rest of the time I wear a skirt or pants with a dressy (silk or print, no glitter) top. On real casual nites (port days) I may wear khakis and a red silk blouse.

[Chyna]

For me, I too like to dress up every night, but I agree with Pamda, sequinis only on formal nights. There are some great white "frillly" blouses out now and those basic black pants that look very dressy and would work well even on the most formal nights.

[norm]

Helena,

The standards and practices do vary considerably from one line to another, so the best advice that anybody can give is to read the guidelines in the documentation that you receive from the cruise line and follow them.

That said, the following guidelines generally apply within social etiquette.

Formal

>> For gentlemen: A tuxedo or dinner jacket outfit. As a concession to the reality that most men do not own such an outfit, most cruise lines also admit a dark -- and I do mean DARK -- business suit.

>> For ladies: A formal cocktail dress, a full length dress, an evening gown, or possibly a woman's tuxedo.

Semiformal

>> For gentlemen: A business suit or a sport coat, dress slacks, and tie.

>> For ladies: A cocktail dress, a fancy blouse and skirt, or a woman's business suit.

Casual

>> For gentlemen: A shirt with collar (no t-shirt), slacks (no jeans or shorts). A sport coat is optional, but usually worn without a necktie.

>> For ladies: A cocktail dress, a blouse with either a skirt or slacks, or a pant suit.

Note that all of the above should be worn with dress shoes or, for women, dress sandals.

Have a great cruise!

Norm.

[Nanatravel]

I love to get dressed up everynight but to different degrees. Its like going out on a date again after 30+ years of marriage. Although, I have seen a lady with a hot pink sequined tank top with spandex slacks, this was a Smart Casual evening on a Carnival ship. I am sure she would have looked fine in any outfit! Some of my smart casual attire has a gold or silver thread running through it, one white outfit is sheer with fancy embrodiery on the top and bottom (I have both a skirt & pants to go with this top), other outfits are light nylon tropical prints whether pants suits, skirt outfits or wrap dresses. My formal attire is either a long black skirt/pallazzo pants with formal velvet or squin tops and I have a new black background gown or short silver lace dress with a full length coat to match. Of course the proper color & style (for me) sandals complete the outfits. My DH loves to buy me new fancy cruise wear especially for holiday or special occasions. He likes dressing up too.
Bon Voyage

[pamda]

On a recent cruise, we met a wonderful couple. He was a military officer and WOW did he look smashing in mess dress. Never mind he was also 6'4" and a hunk. His wife was absolutely gorgeous.

It was their first cruise. She took "gown" seriously, as in military ball type of gown. That bright red strapless dress, complete with a small train effect, stopped traffic. BUT she was quite uncomfortable as she felt she was overdressed.

If you troll over to the feature articles area, I think there's one about dressing

OK. So I wrote it.

[Kathie]

Since my daily outfits are jean/shorts and t-shirts/sweatshirts, I feel "dressed up" in "church clothes" which on the ship is considered smart casual. I love formal nights because I hardly ever get the chance to be even dressier. During the day I can still wear my usual shorts and shirts.

Dress up if you want, the trick is packing all those clothes in managable luggage.