Cruise Attire

[1400PennAve]

Originally Posted by idfnl

Be prepared for the worst food of your life.

Clothes, hawaiian shirts were on almost everyone except for the D & G crowd w/ their overweight, tight as clothes, hi heel wearing hos.

Bringing nice stuff is a waste of time... everyone is dressed so beyond **** its stunning.

You go on Disney Cruises...lol

 

[JLibourel]

Are there any cruise lines that rigidly insist on a black-tie dress code for formal nights? My stepson went on a short cruise down the coast of Mexico a couple of weeks ago. I asked him about this. He said he doubted if 1% of the men were in black tie for the formal nights. I think this was a Carnival Cruise. Definitely low-budget.

Perhaps I should phrase my question differently: Are there any cruise lines on which I would feel like a yokel and third-rater if I wore a midnight blue suit in lieu of a proper black-tie ensemble?

 

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Perhaps I should phrase my question differently: Are there any cruise lines on which I would feel like a yokel and third-rater if I wore a midnight blue suit in lieu of a proper black-tie ensemble?

Won't this depend on the class your riding in? Some of the short haul cruises in the med seem to come in widely different classes. I'm guessing the 1st class guests paying something like 10X the rest and getting service to match are going to dress for dinner.

 

[centrix]

tourist clothes if you wish to blend in

 

[illeagle]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I also like Totino's frozen party pizzas (the ones with the paper thin crust, sugary sweet tomato sauce, and little diced pepperoni cubes). More than most real pizza.

I used to eat those when I was a kid...loved those things...pizza rolls too

 

[JohnGalt]

Originally Posted by cwh812

It is progressively better, the nicer the cruise line and on certain nights. If you are accustomed to eating out in any big city you are going to think the food is horrible. I would say slightly above coach airline food, but not much.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I can imagine it. But am I wrong for actually getting excited about coach airline food? Love the stuff.

Who flies coach? Ugh.

 

[JohnGalt]

Originally Posted by youngscientist

Air plane food, even in first class (although I have to admit it is years since I have flown first class) is horrendous, the only point in it's favour is at least you only have to eat it at high altitude where your sense of taste isn't as sensitive.

I beg to differ in the case of international F on, for example, Singapore Air. OTOH you have, e.g., United where you have to make up for the sub-par food by drinking a lot of sub-par alcohol.

 

[lasbar]

I do like the mini-cans we buy on-board for a fortune...
Where do they get them? Margin stretcher i believe...
The same for cakes...

 

[Big A]

Originally Posted by cwh812

I've had good and bad. On a recent trip to Europe going there it was horrible, but coming back it was decent. This thread has digressed, but has anyone else noticed that the food you get when leaving the US if worse than the food coming back? I've generally noticed this trend on my last couple of trips to Europe.

The food on Aer Lingus from NYC to Dublin is way better than the food from Dublin to NYC. Then again, the Irish aren't known for food . . . .

 

[pandamonium]

Panama hat.

Also take a camera so you can catch the cruise liner dumping waste in Caribbean waters.

 

[rjacobs]

A copy of David Foster Wallace's essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again"

 

[wetnose]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Are there any cruise lines that rigidly insist on a black-tie dress code for formal nights? My stepson went on a short cruise down the coast of Mexico a couple of weeks ago. I asked him about this. He said he doubted if 1% of the men were in black tie for the formal nights. I think this was a Carnival Cruise. Definitely low-budget. Perhaps I should phrase my question differently: Are there any cruise lines on which I would feel like a yokel and third-rater if I wore a midnight blue suit in lieu of a proper black-tie ensemble?
The cruise ship called The World... http://www.aboardtheworld.com/ If you have to ask about the price, then you don't want to know....

 

[dclloyd]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Are there any cruise lines that rigidly insist on a black-tie dress code for formal nights? My stepson went on a short cruise down the coast of Mexico a couple of weeks ago. I asked him about this. He said he doubted if 1% of the men were in black tie for the formal nights. I think this was a Carnival Cruise. Definitely low-budget. Perhaps I should phrase my question differently: Are there any cruise lines on which I would feel like a yokel and third-rater if I wore a midnight blue suit in lieu of a proper black-tie ensemble?
Cunard if you're looking for a larger ship, something like Silversea if you want a more yacht like experience. Crystal or Regent if you want something in the middle. All of these are of course at the upper end of the price scale. For the more mass-market lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess) you'll find the interpretation of 'dressing up' varies significantly. On some of these you'll have specialty restaurants where you'd expect there'd be a higher level of dress but sadly it's not usually the case. Drives me nuts to be sitting in the French Bistro on NCL which is a 3-4 hour fine dining experience and have someone at the table next to us in jeans and a polo.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I took a Princess cruise around the end of last year. All I needed for the day was a bathing suit/tank top or similar variation thereof, including the shore excursions.

It was a 7 day cruise with 2 formal nights (I wouldn't have booked a trip that had fewer). For the first one I wore a full-on rig, including detachable wing collar, stiff bib shirt and vest. For the second one I wore an ivory dinner jacket, turndown collar and cummerbund. Opera pumps both nights. We ate in the "nice" (meaning had to pay a cover) restaurants those nights. The other nights I wore nice trousers, shirt, and tassled loafers and we ate in the free restaurants.

I would say that somewhere between 25% and 40% of the men wore formal wear on the formal nights, and of those most were 40 years or older.

As others have noted, a Disney cruise is going to be loose in terms of dress codes, as are the majority of lines these days. I would suggest packing whatever you think you would be most comfortable wearing and not worry too much otherwise. That fact that you care enough to ask the question in this forum suggests that you'll look better than most of the other passengers.

Our ship was the Sapphire. We ate at the buffet only for breakfast and I found the food there and at the restuarants to be just fine. I've had better and certainly had much worse.

 

[shallysingh]

In Cruise is there any formal dress code??