Three distinct dress codes?

[Jeff Voegtlin]

Hello,

I have just booked on my first cruise. We'll be going June of 2007 on the Ancient Mysteries cruise (Athens to Rome) -- 14 days on the ms Prinsendam. I'm wondering if there is any way to know ahead of time how many casual, informal, and formal evenings there will be on this cruise. Does anybody here know? Or do you know who at HAL I should direct this question toward?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff Voegtlin

[big apple]

Am sure you can call holland direct with this question and i will comment on the normal for a 14 day cruise.Formal nights 3,informal3,and casual8.Sometimes they will cut informal to two depending on how many ports you are visiting.At any rate you will have an excellent cruise and my friends like this ship the best in the Holland fleet.

[Paul Motter]

I know the answer as I used to work aboard HAL ships:

Formal = tux or dark suit with tie.
Informal = slacks and blazer - tie recommended. A colorful patterned shirt with blazer will also work.
casual = polo-style shirt (with collar) and slacks

No shorts or blue jeans after dark at any time.

For women... just try to dress appropriately to what your guy is wearing. There are no specific rules except what I wrote above - jeans & tee-shirts not acceptable at night.

[Mike M]

On my last 14 day cruise we had:

3 Formal nights:
4 Informal nights
7 Casual nights.

What Paul wrote is the acceptable dress code for the different evenings. I did find that percentage of tuxedos were definitely less than the number of dark suits. Probably 40% tuxedos and 60% suits. I was at the late seating.

You can also send out garments for cleaning and rewear a dress or suit for an informal or formal evening. It will save on packing and will probably not be noticed.

Take care,
Mike