"Depending on the length of the cruise, either formal dress or casual resort wear is required in the Dining Room. The dress requirement for children is the same. For those not wanting to dress up, the Lido restaurants are open nightly (with the exception of the last evening of the cruise), and have a casual dress code.
Cruise Casual Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), dress shorts (long), collared sport shirts; Ladies - Casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, Capri pants, dress shorts, jeans (no cut-offs). Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Casual dinner for ladies and gentlemen: gym shorts, basketball shorts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, cut-off jeans, and sleeveless shirts for men.
Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. 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."
That was taken off the Carnival website.
Which line are you going on? We can post from those too...
I love dressing up, cruising is one of the only times I do it. One of my formal dress is a floor length dress that is sparkly, and the other is a beautiful coral colored just below the knee cocktail dress. I typically wear other types of dresses on non-formal nights, that range from semi dressy to casual dresses.
You can wear pretty much anything as long as you look nice. You'll see a wide variety of dress, on formal and nonformal nights.
Thanks very much, Carnival-Glory-it's a 7 day east. car. cruise, with 2 formal nights. Didn't want to appear over dressed yet not dressy enough. Can't wait, sounds like alot of fun from what everyone's posting.
Thanks very much, Carnival-Glory-it's a 7 day east. car. cruise, with 2 formal nights. Didn't want to appear over dressed yet not dressy enough. Can't wait, sounds like alot of fun from what everyone's posting.
Yes, you will hvae fun. That is a great ship. And, Carnival is more relaxed about formal nights than some other cruise lines. I usually take a pair of elegant black slacks and two fancy tops. Don't worry about being over or under dressed. You will see a wide range.
Have fun!
Marty
your advice is about carnival; not true of more sophisticated lines like hal or celebrity. re-think this advice. on hal, jeans are not allowed.
Are you talking to me? To rethink my advice??
Reread. I posted "this was taken off the Carnival website." And I asked what line she was sailing and that we could modify it. Read carefully before posting.
just a little tip- the Captains Gala Welcome Aboard Dinner is usually the dressier of the two formal nights. If you have one outfit that you feel is a bit dressier than the other, wear it that night
First time cruiser-How formal are the formal nights? Long gowns or dressy dresses like cocktail?
The short answer is that it varies radically from cruise line to cruise line and, to some extent, with the length of the cruise. On Celebrity, nearly all of the passengers really do conform to the "modified formal" standard of dress that the line suggests for the "formal" evenings. IOW, nearly all of the ladies wear either full length dresses or formal cocktail dresses and nearly all of the gentlemen really do wear either "black tie" (tuxedo or dinner jacket outfit) or a dark -- and I do mean DARK, but not necessarily black -- business suit. Norwegian Cruise Line, when I last checked, was advertising "formal optional" evenings meaning that formal attire could be worn but was neither "expected" nor required. Most of the rest of the cruise lines are somewhere in between. Thus the best advice is to follow the guidance in your precruise documentation package. If you do that, you won't be embarrassed or feel out of place.
Formal nights I would recommend at least slacks, shirt, tie, and a tropical weight sportcoat. If you really want to impress you should buy or rent a tux(about the same price either way......I tend to shop on eBay or greattux.com for used rental packages for sale). If you opt to rent a tux, buy your cufflinks, tux socks, shirt studs, and a self tie bow tie(with a bit of practice you can get this down) at minimum so you don't look tacky(rental studs and cufflinks look awful, as does a pretied bowtie). A cheap pair of suspenders/braces helps you get just the right fit. Either way you go, think of how you would dress for a job interview at a corporation or a gala event and you can't go wrong. If you don't want the tie and coat, you might be able to get by with just slacks, a button up shirt, and a pair of dress shoes. On formal nights, you should never go overly casual, lest you meet with the ire of your tablemates.
Brad,
Norm's advice was right on the money. It varies significantly from one cruise line to another. On some, true formal wear is in order, on others, it doesn't matter. NCL can be a polo shirt for their formal optional nights.
Marty
thanks for all the replies, I think it'll be fun to get all dressed up for special occasions like this, nice break from the every day wear! Can't wait, we sail in April.
thanks for all the replies, I think it'll be fun to get all dressed up for special occasions like this, nice break from the every day wear! Can't wait, we sail in April.
me too. as i said, i absolutely love dressing up on cruises
you'll have a blast~ i'll bet you are justohsoexcited!!!!
formal nights
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