Formal nights?

[Jeff Barber]

My fiancée and I are booked on the 9day Hawaii to Vancouver cruise leaving May 2. I am assuming that there will be 2 dress up nights. My question is whether or not i have to wear a suit or if dress shirt and slacks is enough? Thanks!

[Xaa]

Dress shirt and slacks is plenty.  You can go all out or not go hard at all.  You'll be fine.

[ChessE4]

No suit required.  Yes for slacks and a collared shirt. I wear a sport coat and tie but you don't need to.  The bottom line is that you choose what to wear, although shorts, flip flops, swimsuits, etc. should be avoided.  There are lots of threads on this topic.

[barjpoe]

On the other hand I've formal military dress and formal attire of national dress, ie - kilts, saris, and others.

[tjcruisers]

Better question is how does your fiancée want you to dress? If they're going all out, follow their lead

[CruisingSteve]

I used to wear a tuxedo 10 years ago because half the people in the dining room also had tuxedos on. But now the number of tuxedos on formal night, I can count on one hand. Now, I just wear a dress shirt and slacks and fit in with everyone else. 

[jeffmw]

These answers are a bit misleading (no offense to those who provided them.) 

While there are "Dress Your Best" nights, there is absolutely no requirement to dress formally on any night of a cruise. 

Whenever this comes up here, there are always people who suggest formal nights are mandatory. I think this is either because people don't know that formal nights aren't mandatory, or they like to imply that they are because a lot of people are oddly protective of the old-school cruising vibe and want everyone to play dress-up.

I won't wear a t-shirt to the Main Dining Room, but I also do not wear pants. To the MDR, I wear a golf shirt and nice shorts. On top of not wanting to dress up during my beach vacation, staterooms are small and it costs a lot of money now to check larger, heavier bags on flights, so I don't want to bring a bunch of extra formal clothing. 

To summarize, while you should be respectful of the dining room and not dress like a slob, there is NO dress code for "Dress Your Best" nights. 

[amanalo217]

It seems to be more about dressing up for pictures rather than formal dining in MDR

[Xaa]

28 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

These answers are a bit misleading (no offense to those who provided them.) 

While there are "Dress Your Best" nights, there is absolutely no requirement to dress formally on any night of a cruise. 

Whenever this comes up here, there are always people who suggest formal nights are mandatory. I think this is either because people don't know that formal nights aren't mandatory, or they like to imply that they are because a lot of people are oddly protective of the old-school cruising vibe and want everyone to play dress-up.

I won't wear a t-shirt to the Main Dining Room, but I also do not wear pants. To the MDR, I wear a golf shirt and nice shorts. On top of not wanting to dress up during my beach vacation, staterooms are small and it costs a lot of money now to check larger, heavier bags on flights, so I don't want to bring a bunch of extra formal clothing. 

To summarize, while you should be respectful of the dining room and not dress like a slob, there is NO dress code for "Dress Your Best" nights. 

There is a dress code, but it's vague and not enforced. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/generic-onboard-dress-code

Your shorts are "...welcomed for breakfast and lunch.."

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad nobody gives you guff over your shorts, but they have a printed code.

The vagueness is on purpose to allow each of us to decide to participate in or not participate in any of the nights.  On your primary point that nobody needs to dress formally, we agree.  On the tiny, nitpicky point about whether there is a dress code, we do not.

[jeffmw]

20 minutes ago, Xaa said:

There is a dress code, but it's vague and not enforced. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/generic-onboard-dress-code

Your shorts are "...welcomed for breakfast and lunch.."

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad nobody gives you guff over your shorts, but they have a printed code.

The vagueness is on purpose to allow each of us to decide to participate in or not participate in any of the nights.  On your primary point that nobody needs to dress formally, we agree.  On the tiny, nitpicky point about whether there is a dress code, we do not.

I agree for the most part. However, the link you sent with the dress code specifically says, "suggested attire." Which clearly denotes an option and not a mandate. 

There is a printed dress code but it's clearly noted as suggested. 

[Xaa]

You've swayed me with facts @jeffmw .  We are now of one mind on this.

[Atlantix2000]

44 minutes ago, Xaa said:

You've swayed me with facts @jeffmw.  We are now of one mind on this.

Someone changed someone's mind on the internet?!?  Now I really HAVE seen everything!

[CanHardlyWait]

7 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Someone changed someone's mind on the internet?!?  Now I really HAVE seen everything!

Funny yes, but if for real and done in a kind friendly manner. That's progress.

[FSUFAN]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:42 PM, amanalo217 said:

It seems to be more about dressing up for pictures rather than formal dining in MDR

Back in the day, on formal night, we dressed up for the pictures.  I wore suit, Mrs Fan in a long gown like dress. My daughter in a dress and the boys in sports coat and tie.  Then we would get tons of pictures and select a few that we like.  But it was a chance to get some nice family photos.

Now it is sports coat, collared golf shirt for me. Mrs Fan wears a dress (not gown). Don't do pictures anymore and the kids are grown.

Last sailing, on formal night, the table next to us had a woman in a frumpy sweatshirt and the guy was in a long sleave t-shirt.  It was like they didn't even try.  Maybe they didn't know about formal night or were new to cruising. 

[smokeybandit]

Just off jewel. Most people in khakis or jeans with a button down shirt.  Then half of the rest in either direction 

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, FSUFAN said:

Maybe they didn't know about formal night

Maybe they were just slobs with no sense of decorum.  IMO that kind of clothing isn’t appropriate in the MDR on ANY night.

[PRMLVM]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:40 PM, jeffmw said:

 On top of not wanting to dress up during my beach vacation, staterooms are small and it costs a lot of money now to check larger, heavier bags on flights, so I don't want to bring a bunch of extra formal clothing. 

To summarize, while you should be respectful of the dining room and not dress like a slob, there is NO dress code for "Dress Your Best" nights. 

We always wear long pants (whether dark jeans or slacks/trousers) and a collared or polo shirt/blouse.  On his last trip, our traveling companion wanted to wear a suit for two formal nights.  By the time he packed the suit, shirts, and extra shoes (size 15s) his usual luggage was now overweight and/or he had to use two suitcases.  Clearly, his luggage for seven days is already toeing the line for weight limits (two changes/day, even if he re-wears shorts/pants he wants fresh shirts....it's HOT!).   But adding formal wear does become burdensome on a flight.   We save the suits and dresses for formal occasions closer to home....but we still go above t-shirt/shorts.   

I had asked about formal dressing on here, because we wanted to make sure we were appropriate for things like the Chef's Table.  We got, and followed, the same general consensus above.   We've been to two of those dinners and....trust me, we were extremely appropriate (no suits needed, based on attendance both times).  But everyone still looked great! VACATION great.

 

[Xaa]

Times used to be that you could rent a tux and it would be on the ship for you.  You'd go pick it up and deliver it back at the end of the cruise.  That solved the extra luggage piece for me including the shoes.  Standard tux and a White Dinner Jacket and there were 2 formal nights.