CruiseALot Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 I know formal night is a very tired subject. My apologies for adding to the tiredness :) We're experienced cruisers, but haven't been on Royal in many years. IMO, different cruise regions have different formal night expectations. For example, the Caribbean Sea, Australia, and New Zealand are more relaxed. How about Europe, are they into that tux / suit thing? There will be a range of dress, I'm sure. I'd like to be in the middle of the pack. Women can pack very efficiently for formal, pretty can roll that dress compactly. Men- not so much. Tuxes / suits take up a lot of room in the luggage. Just to clarify, I am not suggesting ratty t-shirts and flip flops in the MDR. But because of the long flight and luggage limitations coming from the US, I'm aiming for long sleeve button down with tie and dress slacks. Will this suffice for Baltic on the Serenade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 And to piggyback this...Mediterranean/Greece in the middle of summer on vision? There is no way I’m making my husband pack a sport coat for a 16 day trip... jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 Last time I was in the Med on a cruise was 2012, so it's been a minute However, I didn't find that there was any less of a range of style choices as I had seen on other trips. Maybe a few more ladies in sequins, but there were still a significant number of people in "smart casual" even on formal night. IMO, you should just do you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayley_bopp Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, CruiseALot said: I know formal night is a very tired subject. My apologies for adding to the tiredness We're experienced cruisers, but haven't been on Royal in many years. IMO, different cruise regions have different formal night expectations. For example, the Caribbean Sea, Australia, and New Zealand are more relaxed. How about Europe, are they into that tux / suit thing? There will be a range of dress, I'm sure. I'd like to be in the middle of the pack. Women can pack very efficiently for formal, pretty can roll that dress compactly. Men- not so much. Tuxes / suits take up a lot of room in the luggage. Just to clarify, I am not suggesting ratty t-shirts and flip flops in the MDR. But because of the long flight and luggage limitations coming from the US, I'm aiming for long sleeve button down with tie and dress slacks. Will this suffice for Baltic on the Serenade? 52 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: And to piggyback this...Mediterranean/Greece in the middle of summer on vision? There is no way I’m making my husband pack a sport coat for a 16 day trip... jane I've done 2x Med cruises on RC and long sleeve shirt with tie and smart trousers will be fine. I've not done Baltic with RC but done Scandinavia with Princess which I'd imagine is a similar demographic. I'd think what you're planning on will be fine@CruiseALot mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L454S Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 Am on the Serenade now in Europe. Baltic coming in a couple days. Both "formal" nights so far were fine with button up shirt and nice slacks. Saw several with pull over collars and slacks without issue. mom2mybugs and Traveler 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 In all my Med Ang greeck cruise I took a sport jacket with me, few dress shirts/pants and a tie just in case (although I did not used it) , my spouse took several dress Never felt I was under or over dressed. I think there was a mix like in any other cruise. If you are flying, save some space for things you want to take back with you ( gifts , souvenirs, wine , food etc) mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tira04 Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, L454S said: Am on the Serenade now in Europe. Baltic coming in a couple days. Both "formal" nights so far were fine with button up shirt and nice slacks. Saw several with pull over collars and slacks without issue. Oohhh. I'm sailing on the Serenade in the Baltic's in July. Any chance you could upload the cruise compass? I'm trying to work out my time dining reservations but am not sure what time the evening shows tend to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L454S Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 Can try from home after return(May 19). Internet too slow to do on sailing. Just pulling into Belgium now just after 9AM this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 It's my understating from those that have cruised RCCL from Europe, a majority of the passengers are American. I think this would change the dynamic as far as the "dressing up" goes. A little more informal? I'm interested as we will be headed to Greece from Venice on Serenade in Oct 2020. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tira04 Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 14 hours ago, L454S said: Can try from home after return(May 19). Internet too slow to do on sailing. Just pulling into Belgium now just after 9AM this morning. Great! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseALot Posted July 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 Back from the Serenade. I can confirm that a long sleeve buttoned shirt, with or without a tie, was quite acceptable on formal night. I wore a tie and buttoned long sleeve. I looked high and low for tuxedos. I did find one- but it was a display tux by the shops, haha. I didn't see anyone wear tuxes on the 1st formal night. On the 2nd, I did see one in the MDR, and another one in the Windjammer. Maybe it was the same gentleman? I went to Anytime dining, if that makes any difference. Thanks to everyone for their tips and advice. Exactly accurate! As mentioned previously, we haven't sailed on RCCI in years. But we were quite pleased with what we saw and experienced. We have another RCCI cruise confirmed already. KristiZ, Tira04 and mom2mybugs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 43 minutes ago, CruiseALot said: Back from the Serenade. I can confirm that a long sleeve buttoned shirt, with or without a tie, was quite acceptable on formal night. I wore a tie and buttoned long sleeve. I looked high and low for tuxedos. I did find one- but it was a display tux by the shops, haha. I didn't see anyone wear tuxes on the 1st formal night. On the 2nd, I did see one in the MDR, and another one in the Windjammer. Maybe it was the same gentleman? I went to Anytime dining, if that makes any difference. Thanks to everyone for their tips and advice. Exactly accurate! As mentioned previously, we haven't sailed on RCCI in years. But we were quite pleased with what we saw and experienced. We have another RCCI cruise confirmed already. Glad you had a great trip! Thanks for the update... We leave in a month for our vision European cruise and dh very much would like to about bringing a sport coat. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 On 5/8/2019 at 11:09 PM, CruiseALot said: I know formal night is a very tired subject. My apologies for adding to the tiredness We're experienced cruisers, but haven't been on Royal in many years. IMO, different cruise regions have different formal night expectations. For example, the Caribbean Sea, Australia, and New Zealand are more relaxed. How about Europe, are they into that tux / suit thing? There will be a range of dress, I'm sure. I'd like to be in the middle of the pack. Women can pack very efficiently for formal, pretty can roll that dress compactly. Men- not so much. Tuxes / suits take up a lot of room in the luggage. Just to clarify, I am not suggesting ratty t-shirts and flip flops in the MDR. But because of the long flight and luggage limitations coming from the US, I'm aiming for long sleeve button down with tie and dress slacks. Will this suffice for Baltic on the Serenade? Yes, it will suffice, but my tip for traveling to Europe to cruise is for the gentleman to wear a sport coat on the flight, along with slacks and dress shoes. Why? I get better treatment when I wear "work" clothes rather than a track suit, and I've had delayed luggage often enough to plan ahead. This came in handy for our NZ cruise when the airline did lose our luggage. At least I had a sport coat and dress shoes for the first formal night.... When I pack a suit or sport coat, I make sure to hang in the bathroom when I shower so that the steam helps the wrinkles subside. Remember, it's not about what you can get away with on your vacation, it's about who you want to be, how respectful you are of others on their vacation, and how willing you are to comply with established protocol guidelines. One day RCI may change their dress guidelines for dining and the Diamond Lounge, but they aren't there yet. If you watch Rick Steves' videos, he dresses casually but generally wears long pants, even when "on excursion", to look less like a tourist and more like a local. I haven't packed my tux in two or three years, and that was for James Bond night in the Casino... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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