Next month I am going on my first cruise - a business junket for my SO and just a short one (leaves Friday - returns Monday) and I have NO IDEA what to pack. This is a Royal Carribean cruise from Florida to Nassau. The info I received says:
The first night:
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Welcome Cocktail Reception
8:30 pm -10:00 pm – Dinner
The second night:
7:30 pm-8:30 pm – Cocktail Networking Reception
8:30 pm – 10:00 pm – Dinner (Attire - Formal Night: suits/ties or tuxedo, cocktail dresses)
How dressy is this? Tuxedo?!?!? Is this like The Love Boat dressy, or like going to a wedding? Should I be all spangly, or is just a simple LBD okay? If I’m wearing a cocktail dress the second night, how dressy is the first night? I don’t want to be under- or over-dressed, and I don’t want to spend a fortune on fancy dresses if I can avoid it. My SO is not bringing a tux, just a suit.
And what about daytime, can I just wear shorts and a tee with sandals, or do I have to get all dolled up for that, too? Can some of you with cruise experience enlighten me?
I have been on a Celebrity cruise ship where casual attire was not allowed in public areas on the ship past 5:00 pm (this pissed me right the fuck off but that’s neither here nor there). Something like khakis and a nice blouse, or a sundress, might be OK during the day, and the LBD would be good for the first night. For the formal night I would agree with the ‘dress like you’re going to a wedding’ description.
For men a good suit is fine on formal nights - I’ve seen very few tuxedos, and I suspect they are mentioned to try to get a feeling of the glory days of old. I think dressing as if you are going to a (nice) wedding is a good guide.
I’d say the LBD is fine for the first one. For the second, I’d go somewhat more glitzy. You don’t need a straight-up floor-length evening gown (especially with hubby wearing a suit instead of a tux), but a LBD might not be quite enough unless it’s got some spangle to it or you accessorize well. I’d say something like this.
Ay-yi-yi, I had no idea this was so complicated! I just thought I’d hang out and read a book by the pool all day, have a quiet casual dinner at night and go to bed. You know, relax! No makeup for four days! Now I come to find there are excursions, activities, etc.
So I don’t have to get a gown for the second night, maybe a New Year’s Eve-type dress? And something a little less so the first night. Thanks for the help!
My experience on Carnival was that they wanted you to get a kick out of being all dressed up, in that “glory days of old” groove. They’d even rent you a tux (or, I presume, a gown) if you wanted to go whole hog. However, a noticeable number of passengers – who are paying big bucks to be there, let’s not forget – did not get into it, dressed very casually, and did not suffer any consequences that I was aware of. So if it’s like this, the LBD will be suitable for both nights, probably any decent dress or skirt & blouse would do for the first night, and it’s just a matter of what you feel comfortable with.
My husband brought his tuxedo on both of the cruises that we’ve been on. I have worn dressy cocktail dresses to the formal nights and been fine. The other nights you can wear what you’d normally wear to a nice restaurant. During the day you can wear whatever you want.
You don’t have to eat dinner in the Dining Room if you don’t want to get all dressed up on Formal night. You can have dinner at the buffet if you prefer to keep it casual.
Bring the LBD. Wear it the first night. Bring a pretty belt with sparkly things on it, or a large sparkly necklace and dangly earring set or a shimmery scarf or a really hot pair of red stiletto shoes. Wear the LBD, put your hair up and accessorize for the second night.
If you have a fun accessories, no one you care about* will notice it’s the same LBD.
**Someone *may notice, but she’s a bitch, anyhow.
You dress on cruises for dinner and the show (before or after dinner). Meaning you wear dinner clothes for about three hours.
Also bring a swimsuit (more than one) and being a “business junket” a respectable coverup to wear over the swimsuit. Bring flip flops
Bring something in the “cruise wear” category for excursions (think Tommy Bahama) and hanging around on the boat. Capris. Longish shorts. Khakis. Dressier shirts - i.e. silk or rayon tank tops or tshirts - not cotton tshirts that have your favorite bands concert dates on the back - or shirts with collars. Shoes for walking in to go with it.
Cruises don’t tend to be terribly casual. Many don’t allow jeans in their dining rooms. I have a khaki skirt that does great on a cruise ship because I can wear it to dinner, wear it around the ship, wear it in place of shorts on an excursion.
While this is great advice for the non-business junket cruise, if its your husband’s business junket, skipping dinner might be a CLM. Generally, the people paying for these things want to see everyone “bond” - or at least make the attempt.
OP, also make sure you bring a small pool bag you don’t mind stolen (worst case scenario). Here’s why: during the day when you’re poolside, you wanna go right after breakfast (or before, if you sleep in) to get a good chair poolside. You want to claim it with your bag; a towel can be tossed aside, a bag must be picked up and moved which people won’t/don’t do.
There are tons of chairs, but the primo ones get taken quickly. As soon as you board I would scope out all the pools to figure out which you want to be nearby. Pick a spot in the sun or shade, your preference.
I watch the chairs. If things are unattended during my stay and it appears that people have left, I assume they have forgotten their possessions and turn them in to lost and found. I really wouldn’t want anyone to loose their stuff…
Oh, and don’t forget the rechargeable 2-way radios. :smack:
Someone way back when must have had great free communication through these and listed it in a magazine article. After that, the idea spread like bed-bugs. Now every family seems to bring something…from a pair of walkie-talkies to a full base-station with a 12-volt car battery mounted
on Grandma’s back. The last time we went on a cruise, I got suckered into bringing a set of two-way radios along too. They were totally useless as each channel had more chatter than channel 19 at a truck-stop with each family claiming their own personal frequency.
Of course, if I ever really got bored, I knew I could transmit a squelch on channel 2 and hear the Smith Family Reunion check in:
Beep
“I’m at the soda bar.”
“I’m poolside.”
“I’m at the casino.”
“I’m at Teenyboppers”
“I’m shopping at the gift shop.”
“I’m in the room.”
“Who buzzed?”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
If it wasn’t for the business networking aspects, you can wear pretty much whatever you please on a cruise as long as it’s not vulgar or offensive.
Generally, T-shirts, jeans and shorts are not allowed in the main dining room for dinner, but might be acceptable at lunch.
Otherwise, there are probably three buffets on the Lido deck, plus og-knows how many other cafes, pizza counters, burger shops and room service where the dress code probably doesn’t go much beyond “no wet swimsuits.”
We took a cruise two years ago, and on formal night, we strolled out in our Dickensian tuxedos with toppers. (Think 1850’s formal, as opposed to modern prom rentals.) For the rest of the trip, shorts and T-shirts were the thing during the day, and at night, pretty much anything that wasn’t jeans was enough for the dining room.
