I am going on a Disney cruise in May with the extended phungi family (for the in-laws 60th birthday, their treat) and we were going over some itinerary stuff. We were told that dinner requires “cruise casual” clothing (no shorts or t-shirts, which was what i was planning on wearing the entire week) as well as one semi-formal night (sports-jacket) and one formal night (suit or tux).
My initial comment to the wife and in-laws was “why do you want to dress me up like little lord font-le’roy, it’s not like we are high society folsks stepping out onto Her Majesty’s Ship in the 1920’s” but I appear to be in the minority.
So, in anticipation of me having to schlep all my kids stuff on and off a plane and onto a cruise ship, alogn with my own clothes and stuff which now will include at least one sports jacket and one suit, I ask:
why, OH WHY, do the cruise powers that be require people on a cruise to have some formal evening affair?
You said it yourself. You are in the minority. For reasons that I will never be able to fully understand, people enjoy that kind of shit. I happen to enjoy being comfortable.
Mostly, I guess, because many people think dressing up for dinner is both appropriate and fun. **Dangerosa **and I have been on a 4-night Disney cruise (no formal night, but long pants and jackets at dinner) and are planning a 7-night cruise in 2006 (with formal night). My son (who will be 8) and I are looking forward to renting tuxedos for the occasion, and the ladies (D and our daughter, who will be 7) are shopping for matching evening gowns.
Remember, every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
On preview: if formal clothing is uncomfortable, find better-fitting formalwear. Seriously, dressing up should not mean feeling like you are wearing a straightjacket.
I’ve never done the cruise thing but once at a very expensive resort (Grand Lido Negril ~$800/night), they had a formal night. Well I didn’t bring a suit and gasp they let me eat anyway.
I wear shorts every chance I get, including 30 degree weather in the snow, so I definitely appreciate those who would rather be comfortable.
However, since I work at a law firm and often have to dress up, I agree with Brainiac4 that being formal doesn’t necessarily equate with being uncomfortable. If you’re going to have to shop for formal wear, don’t grab the first thing you see. Make sure it fits well and doesn’t overheat you.
Additionally, I have done a 4-night cruise that had a formal night, and although I probably could have done without the rigamarole of borrowing/buying various portions of tux parts, seeing everyone (including the folks in my party) all decked out was pretty fun. Keep in mind that the fact that you’re dressed formally does not mean you have to act snooty or anything. We had a really, really great time on formal night, and also got what I think is one the best pictures ever of my wife and I together out of it.
You’ll be back in your shorts in no time. Enjoy being a penguin for a little bit.
And I’m with **Asimovian **-- enjoy the time in the dress-up outfit as a fun change from the swimsuit and towel you will be wearing most of the rest of the time. If you’re concerned about total amount of luggage, toss out anything that isn’t:
your swimsuit
your other swimsuit
something you will wear to dinner
I spent the majority of my waking time in swimtrunks and a camp shirt. I recommend it highly.
My recollection from the one cruise I’ve been on is that while they discourage being underdressed for Formal Night, they wouldn’t actually refuse to seat you. You may get by with slacks and sport jacket. How well this would go over with the rest of your family is another matter.
Some people like dressing up. I love it. I love pretty dresses and the like. I’m always buying them from thrift stores. But I almost never get to wear them. Frankly, I jump on any chance I have to go formal.
There is also this idea that a cruise is a kind of classy thing. This is a little diluted nowdays, but back in the heyday of cruises is was a good chance to pretend to be a littl richer than you actually may be. Formal nights are a nod to the days when people of a certain class were expected to dress formally for every dinner . It allows people to pretend for a bit that they belong to that kind of world, without the pain of actually have to do that.
The cruises I’ve been on had formal night associated with the Captain’s cocktail party, so you get two for the price of one. I think they do it to recall the good old days when cruises were formal a lot of the time. We get to dress like slobs so often that it is fine with me to dress well once in a while.
I think it is one of the things that makes a cruise more than a hotel that rocks back and forth.
Since you have to dress up anyway… On formal night there will be photographers set up all over the place who will take portraits of you / your family / etc. You pay for the pictures only if you like them after seeing them the next day. I have a really great one of my son.
