Dress Down Options for Longer Alaska Cruise

A colleague of mine from school and his wife (no children) have been
asking me about possibles for an Alaskan cruise either this summer or
next. Bob is our computer consultant (not a regular member of the
faculty) and does not have to abide by the dress code that the rest of
us do. He does not like to dress up AT ALL! I have even see him wear
his Homer Simpson (in undies) T-Shirt to the faculty Christmas
luncheon! With this in mind, I recommended NCL for its freestyle ways
where you do not have to dress up unless you want to. I know Bob
would like it. NCL offers three ships this summer, the Star, the Sun
and the Pearl. Of the three, we have recommended the Pearl (newest
and largest, being a Jewel class vessel like the Gem) or the Star
(Dawn class, so larger than the smaller--and older-- Sun). BUT, all
three ships do 6 or 7 day round trip cruises out of Vancouver or
Seattle, and none include Sitka as a port of call. I initially
recommended that Bob and his wife would enjoy a two week trip, like we
did on the Summit back in 2002--one week sailing north and one week
sailing south--with extra stops beyond just Ketchikan, Juneau and
Skagway---especially to include Sitka, and College Fjord or Glacier
Bay, which (for us) were the among the absolute highlights of the
whole experience. Flying back and forth to NYC is a long way to go for
just a one week cruise! My question is:

Are there other cruise lines which have more than just an optional
dress down evening on formal nights (where Bob would not have to
bother with so much as a jacket and tie at all), AND which do longer
itineraries that would sail farther north?

Given Bob's dress choice, I know we can eliminate Celebrity and HAL
altogether. What about RCI and Princess? Would they fill the bill for
a passenger who will not want to bring as much as a jacket and tie for
dining, much less a tux??

Many thanks for any and all responses!

Peg
www.pegndereksnorkeling.com

"Scientists's say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea every now and then."

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
...

A colleague of mine from school and his wife (no children) have been
asking me about possibles for an Alaskan cruise either this summer or
next. Bob is our computer consultant (not a regular member of the
faculty) and does not have to abide by the dress code that the rest of
us do. He does not like to dress up AT ALL! I have even see him wear
his Homer Simpson (in undies) T-Shirt to the faculty Christmas
luncheon! With this in mind, I recommended NCL for its freestyle ways
where you do not have to dress up unless you want to. I know Bob
would like it. NCL offers three ships this summer, the Star, the Sun
and the Pearl. Of the three, we have recommended the Pearl (newest
and largest, being a Jewel class vessel like the Gem) or the Star
(Dawn class, so larger than the smaller--and older-- Sun). BUT, all
three ships do 6 or 7 day round trip cruises out of Vancouver or
Seattle, and none include Sitka as a port of call. I initially
recommended that Bob and his wife would enjoy a two week trip, like we
did on the Summit back in 2002--one week sailing north and one week
sailing south--with extra stops beyond just Ketchikan, Juneau and
Skagway---especially to include Sitka, and College Fjord or Glacier
Bay, which (for us) were the among the absolute highlights of the
whole experience. Flying back and forth to NYC is a long way to go for
just a one week cruise! My question is:

Are there other cruise lines which have more than just an optional
dress down evening on formal nights (where Bob would not have to
bother with so much as a jacket and tie at all), AND which do longer
itineraries that would sail farther north?

Given Bob's dress choice, I know we can eliminate Celebrity and HAL
altogether. What about RCI and Princess? Would they fill the bill for
a passenger who will not want to bring as much as a jacket and tie for
dining, much less a tux??

Many thanks for any and all responses!

Peg

Hi Peg... hope all's well.

RCI has the buffet dining room open all evenings with only casual dress
required.

He could do the dining room on casual nights, and on the dress up nights hit
the buffet.

In fact, to be honest, he could really do the same on Celebrity.

--Tom

Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:

Are there other cruise lines which have more than just an optional
dress down evening on formal nights (where Bob would not have to
bother with so much as a jacket and tie at all), AND which do longer
itineraries that would sail farther north?

Any chance he would be interested in going on the Alaska Marine
Highway Ferry system? It hits far more ports than the cruise lines,
and is less formal.

I don't know that it would cost any less, and the food probably
wouldn't be as good, but if he wants to go to obscure places, it's a
choice. It's on my list of things to try, someday.

And there's Cruise West - their Grand Voyager cruise goes farther
north, past Nome to the Artic Circle -
http://www.cruisewest.com/destinations/alaska/grand_voyages_bering_sea.aspx.
I don't know how formal they are.

Thanks for the reply, Tom. I should have specified that both Bob and
his wife, Barbara, like good food. I am trying to find them a cruise
with good dining options where he could still "dress down", avoiding
the buffet, which is less desirable on any ship at all!! On NCL, he
can even go to Cagney's or any of the other fancy restaurants on
"formal" night in a casual shirt!! A little extra money for better
food is not a problem for him. But, we need a longer itinerary (I
hope)!! I am sure that Bob would feel exceptionally out of place on
Celebrity--just not his style!!

Things are good at school--classes going well, the yearbook is almost
finished (doing it digitally this year, so that really saves on time,
effort and energy, although the learning curve was steep for me) and
the department running smoothly. Things on the home front are not as
good--my mother has refused further medical treatment for her
depression and is slowly going down hill. At age 91, it is hard to
predict what will happen and how we can help her at this point.
Derek's Dad has been battling cancer--a new chemo "cocktail" seems to
be helping him now, but it may be too late. Derek and I are doing fine
and enjoying the kitties and some down time when we are home. Work is
crazy for Derek too, and we are both looking forward to two weeks on
the Spirit this summer, not to mention the Gem for a week next
Christmas!! We seem to "live" for vacations at this point!! VBG

Bestest,

Peg


Hi Peg... hope all's well.

RCI has the buffet dining room open all evenings with only casual dress
required.

He could do the dining room on casual nights, and on the dress up nights hit
the buffet.

In fact, to be honest, he could really do the same on Celebrity.

--Tom

What about something TOTALLY different. How about a Norwegian Coastal
sailing? They could go to the top of the Arctic Circle.

--Tom

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
...

A colleague of mine from school and his wife (no children) have been
asking me about possibles for an Alaskan cruise either this summer or
next. Bob is our computer consultant (not a regular member of the
faculty) and does not have to abide by the dress code that the rest of
us do. He does not like to dress up AT ALL! I have even see him wear
his Homer Simpson (in undies) T-Shirt to the faculty Christmas
luncheon! With this in mind, I recommended NCL for its freestyle ways
where you do not have to dress up unless you want to. I know Bob
would like it. NCL offers three ships this summer, the Star, the Sun
and the Pearl. Of the three, we have recommended the Pearl (newest
and largest, being a Jewel class vessel like the Gem) or the Star
(Dawn class, so larger than the smaller--and older-- Sun). BUT, all
three ships do 6 or 7 day round trip cruises out of Vancouver or
Seattle, and none include Sitka as a port of call. I initially
recommended that Bob and his wife would enjoy a two week trip, like we
did on the Summit back in 2002--one week sailing north and one week
sailing south--with extra stops beyond just Ketchikan, Juneau and
Skagway---especially to include Sitka, and College Fjord or Glacier
Bay, which (for us) were the among the absolute highlights of the
whole experience. Flying back and forth to NYC is a long way to go for
just a one week cruise! My question is:

Are there other cruise lines which have more than just an optional
dress down evening on formal nights (where Bob would not have to
bother with so much as a jacket and tie at all), AND which do longer
itineraries that would sail farther north?

Given Bob's dress choice, I know we can eliminate Celebrity and HAL
altogether. What about RCI and Princess? Would they fill the bill for
a passenger who will not want to bring as much as a jacket and tie for
dining, much less a tux??

Many thanks for any and all responses!

Peg
www.pegndereksnorkeling.com

"Scientists's say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea every now and then."

On Feb 29, 6:53*pm, "Tom K" wrote:
What about something TOTALLY different. *How about a Norwegian Coastal
sailing? *They could go to the top of the Arctic Circle.

I did this many years ago. It's casual and the food is terrific.

Karen

"Tom K" wrote:

What about something TOTALLY different. How about a Norwegian Coastal
sailing? They could go to the top of the Arctic Circle.

And the NCL Jade is doing a one-time trip from Southampton to Norway,
covering many of the same ports as Hurtigruten (what Norwegian Coastal
is going by these days). That's in June, and possibly less expensive
than Hurtigruten (if cost is an issue).

I wish NCL would add that trip to their regular schedule.



--Tom

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
.. .

A colleague of mine from school and his wife (no children) have been
asking me about possibles for an Alaskan cruise either this summer or
next. Bob is our computer consultant (not a regular member of the
faculty) and does not have to abide by the dress code that the rest of
us do. He does not like to dress up AT ALL! I have even see him wear
his Homer Simpson (in undies) T-Shirt to the faculty Christmas
luncheon! With this in mind, I recommended NCL for its freestyle ways
where you do not have to dress up unless you want to. I know Bob
would like it. NCL offers three ships this summer, the Star, the Sun
and the Pearl. Of the three, we have recommended the Pearl (newest
and largest, being a Jewel class vessel like the Gem) or the Star
(Dawn class, so larger than the smaller--and older-- Sun). BUT, all
three ships do 6 or 7 day round trip cruises out of Vancouver or
Seattle, and none include Sitka as a port of call. I initially
recommended that Bob and his wife would enjoy a two week trip, like we
did on the Summit back in 2002--one week sailing north and one week
sailing south--with extra stops beyond just Ketchikan, Juneau and
Skagway---especially to include Sitka, and College Fjord or Glacier
Bay, which (for us) were the among the absolute highlights of the
whole experience. Flying back and forth to NYC is a long way to go for
just a one week cruise! My question is:

Are there other cruise lines which have more than just an optional
dress down evening on formal nights (where Bob would not have to
bother with so much as a jacket and tie at all), AND which do longer
itineraries that would sail farther north?

Given Bob's dress choice, I know we can eliminate Celebrity and HAL
altogether. What about RCI and Princess? Would they fill the bill for
a passenger who will not want to bring as much as a jacket and tie for
dining, much less a tux??

Many thanks for any and all responses!

Peg
www.pegndereksnorkeling.com

"Scientists's say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea every now and then."

Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
A colleague of mine from school and his wife (no children) have been
asking me about possibles for an Alaskan cruise either this summer or
next. Bob is our computer consultant (not a regular member of the
faculty) and does not have to abide by the dress code that the rest of
us do. He does not like to dress up AT ALL! I have even see him wear
his Homer Simpson (in undies) T-Shirt to the faculty Christmas
luncheon!
SNIP
Peg
www.pegndereksnorkeling.com

"Scientists's say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to
the sea every now and then."

Dear Peg,
In all honesty, I think your friend could "get
by" on any regular, mass market cruise line except
perhaps the Ultra-Upscale lines. A clean shirt
with a collar and pants wouldn't get him thrown
out of the dining room, especially if he spoke
($$) with the M'D and asked for an "out of the
way" table. If this type outfit would be too high
class for him, I suggest he consider waiting a
decade or two for the dress standards to drop even
lower.
While I am personally not a fan of "formal
nights" with Penguin Suits and the like, I do
recognize that there is a lower bound of
acceptable dress.
A Homer Simpson shirt to a faculty reception is
a sure way to make sure one is remembered; perhaps
not in the way one would desire to be remembered
when salary adjustments and consulting contracts
are reviewed.
Even on the Far North cruises a certain basic
level of cleanliness and "appropriateness" are
expected. It should be noted that even the most
dress adverse "computer consultants" can reach an
acceptable level of dress with the help of a
dedicated trainer.(LOL)
Of course, if money is no object, he could just
charter one of the many "yachts with crew" and he
could dress or not as he likes the entire time. He
could also choose the menus to be served.
Cheers,
John in LALALand (Home of Some "Real Grubbies")

On Feb 29, 6:24*pm, Peg Caldwell-Ott wrote:
Thanks for the reply, Tom. *I should have specified that both Bob and
his wife, Barbara, like good food. *I am trying to find them a cruise
with good dining options where he could still "dress down", avoiding
the buffet, which is less desirable on any ship at all!! *On NCL, he

Buffets are unappetizing, period.

Karen

Karen wrote:

Buffets are unappetizing, period.

Karen

That's how I feel too, lol....why go on the cruise just to eat in the
buffet! Heck no!

Jeff