Formal Night Wear

In article , Cathy Kearns
wrote:

1) I doubt there will be formal nights on cruise ships that request tuxes in
15 years, 2) If you fall for cruising it is quite an accomplishment to
cruise frequently and end up the same size.

1) There have been formal nights the last 15 years.

2) He could be like me. I wear the same size now as when I started
cruising ten years ago, 19 cruises later.

--
Charles

Makes me wonder if there are those who care not to dress up at all and
take there dinners exclusively at the buffet?

Which makes me wonder if they are courteous enough to advise the dining
room that they do not require their table assignment?

Which further makes me wonder if you are a no-show for your table
assignment for x number of nights if the maitre d' will assign it to
someone else?

Cheers,
Daniel
(in a wondering mood)
.................................................. .......

Formal Night Wear

Group: rec.travel.cruises Date: Sat, Aug 27, 2005, 9:14am From:
(Bill)

Here is HAL's policy from their web site.
On festive formal evenings, women usually wear cocktail dresses or gowns
and men usually wear business suits or tuxedos. There are approximately
two formal nights per week.

(Gentlemen: Although business suits or tuxedos are suggested attire for
formal evenings, they are certainly not required. You are welcome to
wear a jacket and tie on formal nights.)
Bill
http://shipboard.net

"Poncho Liner" wrote in message
. ..

I doubt I can get into the only suit I own and I don't want to go out
and buy another one just
for the cruise to wear on one or two nights and possibly a funeral or
two when I get back.

So, I need to know what is currently acceptable wear for formal nights.
I was thinking along
the lines of slacks, a nice shirt and tie with a sport coat. I could
just rent a Tux but I hear they
are rather expensive to rent aboard ship.

Your recommendation(s) would surely be appreciated as always. And this
topic has probably been beaten to death several times, so I'll just get
in the long line of rehash topic posters.

Jean,

When I started cruising at the end of the '60s I owned one and it lasted
until the early '80s when I lost a considerable amount of weight and had it
altered. Sadly, when I regained the weight the tux couldn't be let out, so
in 1990 I bought another which is still good to go today.

To the person who dresses every day for work the idea of dressing for dinner
on a cruise ship may not be special, but to the person like me, who hasn't
worn a pair of dress shoes since last November, part of the fun of cruising
is the option to "dress up".

Our upcoming cruise has three formal nights and I'll probably wear my tux to
the first and last and my suit to the one in the middle because I own one of
them as well.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"Jean O'Boyle" wrote in message
m...

"Eddie" wrote in message
...
I can't believe anyone would take offense at a dark sport jacket AND
tie on a formal night. Better than wasting money buying a suit he
doesn't need or wasting money renting a tux that could be used to pay
for an excursion.


That's not what I said in my post...I mentioned nothing about anyone
taking
offense..He also said he might have use for it on other occasions..so why
not be covered in case any of those occasions unexpectedly arise. Funerals
are not planned! Not knowing how many cruises are ahead for him..who
knows..there may be many! My husband started with a black suit on our
first
couple of cruises and then he bought a tux..and here we are 31 cruises
later...good investment!

--Jean

Charles,

There have been formal nights throughout the 36 years that I have been
cruising.

Although my weight fluctuates, the tux I bought in 1990 still fits.

And laugh though people may, while I own a bunch of cummerbunds and fancy
colored bow ties, the one I still prefer is my trusty black "clip on".
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Cathy Kearns
wrote:

1) I doubt there will be formal nights on cruise ships that request
tuxes in
15 years, 2) If you fall for cruising it is quite an accomplishment to
cruise frequently and end up the same size.

1) There have been formal nights the last 15 years.

2) He could be like me. I wear the same size now as when I started
cruising ten years ago, 19 cruises later.

--
Charles

One of the truly annoying things is on formal night when you are dressed to
the "nines" heading for dinner and the first seating pax are already in cut
off jeans and t-shirts.

One reason my former TA became my former TA was that her husband, who
actually looked good in a tux, would bolt his dinner so he could run back to
his cabin and change his clothes. That he didn't want to wear his tux for
the whole evening was fine, but he could have had a little respect for the
rest of our table.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"How B" wrote in message
news

Many people here on RTC will tell you to rent the tux. I doubt you'll
think kindly of them when you see a few others wearing sport coats on
formal night. Especially when (as on my last Carnival cruise) all the
guys seem to run back to their staterooms immediately after dinner to
change out of their rented tuxedos and into Hawaiian shirts.

For those who would find fault with your mode of dress, consider this:
the essence of good manners is making others feel at ease.

How B

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Cathy Kearns
wrote:

1) I doubt there will be formal nights on cruise ships that request
tuxes in
15 years, 2) If you fall for cruising it is quite an accomplishment to
cruise frequently and end up the same size.

1) There have been formal nights the last 15 years.

You started cruising 10 years ago. Now, looking at your first few cruises,
and looking at your last few, have the percentage of tuxes on formal night
stayed the same? In my very limited experience I've seen the percentage of
tuxes go down, and I've only been cruising for 5 years. And five years ago
I couldn't find a mainstream line that didn't have a formal night, now there
is at least one. I think I see a trend, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

2) He could be like me. I wear the same size now as when I started
cruising ten years ago, 19 cruises later.

Good for you!!!!


--
Charles

"Dick Goldhaber" wrote:

One of the truly annoying things is on formal night when you are dressed to
the "nines" heading for dinner and the first seating pax are already in cut
off jeans and t-shirts.

There's a pretty big difference between a nice blazer and slacks with
a white shirt and tie and cut-off jeans and t-shirts. Cut offs and
t-shirts were not mention. Why bring it up. This is a complete red
herring.

My husband is in the same boat as this guy. He bought a very nice
dark suit many years ago (probably in the 60s), and just recently
(since his heart attack) has gained weight around his waist so that
the pants don't fit anymore. It's a great deal cheaper to buy a nice
set of slacks to go with his navy blazer (which does still fit) than
it would be to go and buy any type of suit.

And I don't think the funeral argument holds water either. The only
time we go to funerals really is in the summer (because in the winter
we are always somewhere else). I've looked at the pictures from the
last funeral we went to which was in June, and all the guys except the
ones that worked for the funeral home had on a shirt, a tie and
slacks. The women had dark dresses. Even weddings aren't that formal
anymore.

The only thing he really needs to wear a coat and tie for these days
is for flying first class on a pass when 'business attire' is
required.


One reason my former TA became my former TA was that her husband, who
actually looked good in a tux, would bolt his dinner so he could run back to
his cabin and change his clothes. That he didn't want to wear his tux for
the whole evening was fine, but he could have had a little respect for the
rest of our table.

He demonstrated respect by wearing something he didn't like wearing.
You were demonstrating a lack of appreciation for his effort by
complaining about his effort.

grandma Rosalie

In article , Cathy Kearns
wrote:

You started cruising 10 years ago. Now, looking at your first few cruises,
and looking at your last few, have the percentage of tuxes on formal night
stayed the same? In my very limited experience I've seen the percentage of
tuxes go down, and I've only been cruising for 5 years. And five years ago
I couldn't find a mainstream line that didn't have a formal night, now there
is at least one. I think I see a trend, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

The percentage of tuxes averages about the same. It was a minority in
tuxes ten years ago with the majority wearing dark suits. And there
were the same discussions ten years ago about the percentage of tuxes,
dark suits and sports coats on formal evenings. The big change over the
ten years has been the decline and elimination of informal evenings. It
may be that the addition of casual dining options has kept the
prercentage about the same in the main dining room. So the trend might
be towards more options rather than the elimination of formal nights.

Personally I don't care. I can live with formal nights and I can live
without formal nights. I do think if there are formal nights they
should be respected. I did not care much for NCL which has it the other
way around, there formal is the option, and I sure did not bring my
tux, but the dress had nothing to do with my opinion of NCL. I don't
think NCL would have been any better if there were formal evenings and
I don't think it was any worse without them.

--
Charles

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and candor.

This is our second cruise in 10 years. The last cruise was on the Norwegian
Dreamward (Dream) from NYC to Bermuda, a great cruise (well it was my
first). I served a career in the Army, not the Navy and the only other
ships
I've been on were U.S. Naval troop ships (Gaffney and Darby) transiting
the Pacific and the Atlantic. I swore I would never pay to sail on a ship
again (smile).

BUT, now I'm addicted and now that I'm fully retired, we plan to cruise at
least
once a year in addition to doing other things.

I have a real nice suit that I know doesn't fit me anymore. My wife said
she was going
to give it to Goodwill but I told her to hang on to it as I'll be losing
weight as I get older.
I'm 63 now and at 225, I'm a pretty good sized man (beer gut).

Therefore we have decided to purchase a nice sport coat that will go with
several slacks
I have. One that will go with both blue and brown, and a couple of nice
dress shirts and
ties. That should do it. I don't plan on spending the whole evening
dressed up when limbo
is going on. Therefore it will be a one time deal unless they have more
than one formal
night. We are sailing on the Carnival Victory the 11th of September.
Keeping fingers crossed
the 'hurrycanes' keep their distance.

I DO love cruising and no, I'm not buying a Tux. As we get older, so do our
friends. I've had
five pass in the last two years but didn't attend any services as it was
long distance. Remember, the older we get, so do our friends and family and
the death rate starts to pick up a bit. Dressing up for a funeral is a sign
of respect, but not expected in these days.

Thanks to everyone, even the suggestion to visit Victoria's Secret, but I'm
not that kind of guy.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
"Dick Goldhaber" wrote:

One of the truly annoying things is on formal night when you are dressed
to
the "nines" heading for dinner and the first seating pax are already in
cut
off jeans and t-shirts.

There's a pretty big difference between a nice blazer and slacks with
a white shirt and tie and cut-off jeans and t-shirts. Cut offs and
t-shirts were not mention. Why bring it up. This is a complete red
herring.

My husband is in the same boat as this guy. He bought a very nice
dark suit many years ago (probably in the 60s), and just recently
(since his heart attack) has gained weight around his waist so that
the pants don't fit anymore. It's a great deal cheaper to buy a nice
set of slacks to go with his navy blazer (which does still fit) than
it would be to go and buy any type of suit.

And I don't think the funeral argument holds water either. The only
time we go to funerals really is in the summer (because in the winter
we are always somewhere else). I've looked at the pictures from the
last funeral we went to which was in June, and all the guys except the
ones that worked for the funeral home had on a shirt, a tie and
slacks. The women had dark dresses. Even weddings aren't that formal
anymore.

The only thing he really needs to wear a coat and tie for these days
is for flying first class on a pass when 'business attire' is
required.


One reason my former TA became my former TA was that her husband, who
actually looked good in a tux, would bolt his dinner so he could run back
to
his cabin and change his clothes. That he didn't want to wear his tux for
the whole evening was fine, but he could have had a little respect for the
rest of our table.

He demonstrated respect by wearing something he didn't like wearing.
You were demonstrating a lack of appreciation for his effort by
complaining about his effort.

grandma Rosalie

"Poncho Liner" wrote in message
t...
I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and candor.

This is our second cruise in 10 years. The last cruise was on the
Norwegian
Dreamward (Dream) from NYC to Bermuda, a great cruise (well it was my
first). I served a career in the Army,

One more question, do you still have your dress blues or whites? If you do,
they really look sharp on formal nights...I wish that my husband still fit
in his!

--Jean