"Cruise Casual" at Dinner

[cutedisneygirly]

I know dinner is cruise casual and have read that people wear jeans at dinner and shorts. We are used to cruising Princess where dinner is business casual (nicer clothes, but not formal).

What do the majority of people tend to wear on regular dinner nights (not formal, dress up, etc.)? I know hubby would be perfectly fine with wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, but we also don't want to feel out of place.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know dinner is cruise casual and have read that people wear jeans at dinner and shorts. We are used to cruising Princess where dinner is business casual (nicer clothes, but not formal).

What do the majority of people tend to wear on regular dinner nights (not formal, dress up, etc.)? I know hubby would be perfectly fine with wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, but we also don't want to feel out of place.

At dinner, in the Main Dining Rooms, you'll see all manner of dress. From shorts to full on formal wear. Even on formal nights.

The "dress code" on DCL is only "no swimwear or tank tops at dinner".

 

[VFL]

Collared shirts and shorts on regular nights. Button downs and long pants (not jeans) on semi formal and formal nights. You would think I asked my 10 year son to stick a hot poker in his eye

 

[lorimay]

My husband does jeans and a polo on cruise casual nights.
I will wear capris or slacks.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I know dinner is cruise casual and have read that people wear jeans at dinner and shorts. We are used to cruising Princess where dinner is business casual (nicer clothes, but not formal).

What do the majority of people tend to wear on regular dinner nights (not formal, dress up, etc.)? I know hubby would be perfectly fine with wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, but we also don't want to feel out of place.

Princess isn't all that dressy either. I saw a guy in a flannel shirt, jeans, and suspenders on formal night.

As for DCL, it's your vacation and you can wear what you want, as long as it's not a swimming suit, tank top, or your birthday suit.

 

[Gbj2b]

DH wears Shorts, Jeans, a Polo etc. I usually stick to a maxi dress or a nice top and pants. Just make sure you aren't wearing swimwear and you will be fine in the MDR! Palo and Remy are a different story though.

 

[Shanti]

I know dinner is cruise casual and have read that people wear jeans at dinner and shorts. We are used to cruising Princess where dinner is business casual (nicer clothes, but not formal).

What do the majority of people tend to wear on regular dinner nights (not formal, dress up, etc.)? I know hubby would be perfectly fine with wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, but we also don't want to feel out of place.

Most people I see at MDRs on DCL wear cruise casual: a sundress, casual skirt, slacks, short slacks or nice jeans with a smart top for ladies, and slacks, short slacks or nice jeans with a Polo top for men.

You'll see a smaller number of people more dressed up, and an even smaller number of people who look like they just walked in off the beach. But most wear cruise casual.

 

[KashasMom]

I knew there was a shift in dressing on Disney when I saw a guy wearing pajama bottoms (loungers) in the dining room a few cruises ago. As long as you're not wearing a bathing suit, wear what you're comfortable wearing. You won't be out of place.

 

[Geomom]

We've done the Alaska and a Northern Europe cruise with DCL. We just wore shorts or jeans and t-shirts most of the cruise casual nights--and didn't feel out of place. We did change into slightly nicer shirts some nights. We did wear dresses for formal/semi-formal night and DH had slacks/sport coat on.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

On DCL, shorts and tshirts are the main items you'll see. A few people (generally cruisers who cruise on other lines or "old school" cruisers) will be more smart casual. Really, the dining rooms on the ship end up looking no different for the most part than the parks.

 

[BCV23]

Wow, that has not been our experience at all. I rarely see tee shirts. I agree with Shanti. Perhaps it depends on the cruise. We've never cruised on the Dream. Almost all of our cruises have been 7 night cruises. Perhaps the shorter cruises are different.

 

[MomOTwins]

We go on the Dream and it is all over the place. We usually wear a nice knee-length dress for me, and button downs and khahki shorts for DH and the boys, and then long pants and a long dress on semi-formal night. I will say that on semi-formal night, a LOT of people dressed up in evening gowns and suits/tuxes on our last cruise which I wasn't expecting, so maybe I will plan on something nicer next time.

 

[Numtini]

We wore jeans and a nicer sort of shirt, usually not a tee shirt but it was a SWDAS cruise and lots of people were wearing SW tees including my partner.

 

[kiford]

I'm usually in either lightweight linen or knit pants or sometimes a dressy pair of khakis and a nice shirt. Occasionally a sun dress. DH usually has on nice khakis and a polo or short sleeved linen/cotton shirt.

 

[southerngirl528]

Most people I see at MDRs on DCL wear cruise casual: a sundress, casual skirt, slacks, short slacks or nice jeans with a smart top for ladies, and slacks, short slacks or nice jeans with a Polo top for men.

You'll see a smaller number of people more dressed up, and an even smaller number of people who look like they just walked in off the beach. But most wear cruise casual.

Agree with this!

On DCL, shorts and tshirts are the main items you'll see. A few people (generally cruisers who cruise on other lines or "old school" cruisers) will be more smart casual.

On DCL, shorts and tshirts are the main items you'll see. A few people (generally cruisers who cruise on other lines or "old school" cruisers) will be more smart casual. Really, the dining rooms on the ship end up looking no different for the most part than the parks.

I must respectfully say that in my 10 Dcl cruises, most 7 night and some 14 night cruises, this has NOT been my observation. What I have seen is what Shanti posted and I quoted above. I find that the "theme park" wear is a much rarer presence in the MDR's.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

On my SWDAS cruise, it varied. Port days, people were very casual that night. Formal night, people stepped it up. Star Wars night had a lot of t-shirts.

 

[EvilQueenLairen]

On DCL, shorts and tshirts are the main items you'll see. A few people (generally cruisers who cruise on other lines or "old school" cruisers) will be more smart casual. Really, the dining rooms on the ship end up looking no different for the most part than the parks.

Yep, this has been my experience on our last 3 Dream cruises. The first cruise, I did sundresses and DH did jeans and button-downs... but after seeing other guys wearing jeans and t-shirts, he rebelled (very happily) and wore jeans and t-shirts for the other 2 cruises. I still stick with my sundresses, but I will admit to wearing shorts and a t-shirt one night although I did not feel out of place at all.

 

[eva2015]

We try to "match" our attire to the venue. If we went to a restaurant at home with real table linens, professional wait staff and multi-course dinner we would dress up. So on cruise casual nights on DCL, we dress nicely. MH usually wears linen blend slacks with a polo shirt. My girls and I wear sun dresses.

 

[southerngirl528]

Yep, this has been my experience on our last 3 Dream cruises.

I think because there are a lot of first time cruisers on the Dream, it can be a little different than the other 3 ships that do longer itineraries. I have found the whole vibe a bit more hurried on the 2 Dream cruises I have sailed. I know my first 2 cruises were 4 night cruises to see if we liked cruising. My take on that is similar to a good portion of WDW guests.... they are trying to do everything in an amount of time that makes the "everything" goal impossible. Even if someone is doing a "one and done" trip, whether on land or on sea, I always hope they read up, come to disboards and learn, and then prioritize, allowing time to just relax a bit.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We’re cruise casual folks in the traditional sense. I usually wear khakis and a polo shirt (even sometimes a Polo(TM) shirt, but I do have a few DCL polos that I pack for cruises) and DW wears capris, slacks, or a skirt with a casual top or polo. We reserve jeans and shorts for places where the weather demands, so I did wear jeans on board our Alaska cruise and usually wear shorts during the daytime when cruising in warmer parts of the world, but we always change for dinner. We do full formal on formal nights and usually for Palo dinner and I manage a sport coat for semiformal night (no tie unless we are having pictures taken). I even wear the sport coat for Palo brunch. As eva2015 noted above, we like to dress for the MDRs as we would for any other restaurant with tablecloths, etc. We do much the same when dining in what Disney calls signature restaurants at WDW.