Dinner Attire

[Megsmachine]

We are going on our first Disney cruise in a few weeks. On the Fantasy. What is dinner attire? I thought we would be ok with somewhat casual wear except no tank tops, flip flops etc. But a family member who has been on many Disney cruises says you need to dress up. Like my teenage sons need to wear khakis. What Dinner attire should we be wearing? Thanks

 

[bbn1122]

When we took our first DCL 8 years ago it was a 7 Night, my sons were 16, 12 and 10. We had a formal night, semi formal and cruise casual, plus pirate night.
From what read on DIS Boards and DCL website, they dressed appropriately.

Formal night-Dress shirt, ties and khakis. Semi formal-collared button down, no tie with khakis. Cruise casual-collared shirts (golf shirt) and khakis or dressy shorts.

Since then, they have only gone on 3 night with cruise casual, but they always wear a collared shirt, khakis or dress shorts to dinner. They all attended private school where they had to wear shirts and ties to high school, so they have dressier clothes. And they are used to wearing nicer clothing. Plus, they all like to look nice when going out to dinner etc. So, no problem dressing up a bit for dinner on the ship.

I have noticed over the years and on shorter cruises people tend to be a little too casual. Tee shirts and shorts to dinner. Now you don’t have to go all out, but a golf shirt and neat shorts should be the minimum for men and young men for dinner on the ships.

My DH wears a suit everyday, so he would prefer not to have wear one vacation. But he all wears a collared shirt and khakis. And when the occasion calls for a tie and jacket, no problem.

Ladies dress is easier, sun dress, nice slacks or skirt and blouse. To dressier on formal night.

You will hear from others. If your son is very young, then nice shorts with a collared short can be acceptable. But a pair of khakis is a great thing to have.
Good luck.

 

[squirk]

We are going on our first Disney cruise in a few weeks. On the Fantasy. What is dinner attire? I thought we would be ok with somewhat casual wear except no tank tops, flip flops etc. But a family member who has been on many Disney cruises says you need to dress up. Like my teenage sons need to wear khakis. What Dinner attire should we be wearing? Thanks

I have been on many Disney cruises, too. Your family member is wrong. You don’t need to dress up, not even on Formal Night.

Wear what you want, subject to DCL’s rules. It’s your vacation, and your money is just as green as anyone else’s.

 

[MelSpees]

You will see the full range of attire at dinner. Some wear t-shirts and shorts, others dress up. I think you should do what is comfortable for you as long as it's not messy or grungy. We hit somewhere in the middle toward the casual side. Collared/ nicer shirt and nicer shorts/capris/pants.

 

[MomOTwins]

You definitely won't be alone wearing casual on most nights -- you see all sorts on "cruise casual" nights (I even saw one family in swimsuits and coverups, but I think that is really pushing it). For the most part, people were dressed pretty nicely, though again, there were enough casual folks you would not be out of place. On the Dream, on semi-formal night, I would say probably about 3 in 4 families did dress up considerably, though (probably about half were wearing long pants, button down or nice collared shirt, a little over a third were in suits or tuxes, and maybe 10-15% were casual). And on the Fantasy you will have both a semi-formal night and an even more formal "formal night." So I say bring two nicer outfits and let them wear what they want the rest of the time.

I say ask yourself, would I feel more comfortable feeling overdressed or underdressed? I know I'd rather be overdressed so it is no brainer for me to dress up a bit, but I totally understand that a lot of people feel uncomfortable being dressed up when others are more casual. So decide based on what would make you happy.

 

[cadien]

On our recent 5-night cruise, most people were in t-shirts most nights. Adults as well as kids/teens. Jeans or shorts. Your teens would not stand out at all dressed that way.

Many cruisers think it's a bonus when they see young people dressed up, but it is the exception.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Like all the PP, it's up to you and your family. My DH and I enjoy dressing up just a little for formal night (collar shirt, bolo, and slacks for him and a LBD for me). This is only because there are very few occasions here in NM to dress up (weddings, funerals, etc.). So this is our own splurge. Other nights we just dress comfortably but nice. Actually I have the same cruise wardrobe for the past 8 years ready to go in the closet and suitcase. Dang that sounds pretty boring now !!!!! Need to change it up for the next cruise in May.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

On our 10 Night Med cruise; I wore shorts; either a t-shirt or polo shirt and sandals to dinner on most nights. I did somewhat dress up for formal night wearing dress pants; a nice white button down shirt and dress shoes. Otherwise I went casual; which for me; equals comfortable. I'm not big on dressing up; so I only do so reluctantly and if I have no choice.

There people who dressed up every night and others who went casual every night. My suggestion is wear what makes you feel comfortable.

Psy

 

[DCLDVC1]

We are going on our first Disney cruise in a few weeks. On the Fantasy. What is dinner attire? I thought we would be ok with somewhat casual wear except no tank tops, flip flops etc. But a family member who has been on many Disney cruises says you need to dress up. Like my teenage sons need to wear khakis. What Dinner attire should we be wearing? Thanks

Flip flops are fine for the main dining rooms.

 

[Shanti]

Most people wear cruise casual at dinner, except for formal night, when more people dress up a bit more.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We just dressed up a little each night...nothing fancy or over the top but something more than everyday stuff...like I wore capris or mini skirts and a blouse with nice / comfortable sandals and simple jewelry and my husband and some wore kackis polo shirts ....

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Is there a listing, somewhere, that says how many nights of each (formal, semi-formal, casual) there will be prior to the cruise? (if not a listing night by night)

Our family enjoys following the dinner attire "recommendations," so we'd like to know what to pack!

We're on a unique 8 day sailing on the Fantasy, so I can't look at previous navigators.

 

[MomOTwins]

In the cruise booklet they send you in the mail, it will break down the dress code for each night. I expect for your eight night it will be 1 pirate night, 1 formal, 1 semi-formal, and the rest cruise casual

 

[AFrayedKnot]

Is there a listing, somewhere, that says how many nights of each (formal, semi-formal, casual) there will be prior to the cruise? (if not a listing night by night)

Our family enjoys following the dinner attire "recommendations," so we'd like to know what to pack!

We're on a unique 8 day sailing on the Fantasy, so I can't look at previous navigators.

We called Customer Service center and they had the list - restaurant rotation and the formal/semi formal night/pirate night

 

[disneylove69]

I wear Jean's and a shirt.

 

[hubbard53]

proper dinner attire is whatever you're comfortable in - preferably not a swim suit

 

[remlap]

We would normally wear khakis and a button up shirt for formal night. The khakis did double duty as Palo used to require them. 2019 will be my first 7 night since Palo lowered its dress code. Will see if they still make the packing list. As many others have said, dress how you feel comfortable. As most of the time a cruise requires a flight and luggage, jackets and ties are not in the cards. Disney's published dress code for the main dining rooms is "No Swim Suits or Tank Tops."

Not DCL, but we did a 7 night eastern on Princess and went to dinner the first night in Jeans and a button up shirt, and were politely told that jeans were only allowed in the dining room on the first and last nights. We would need to step up our game the following night or eat at the buffet. lol

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are going on our first Disney cruise in a few weeks. On the Fantasy. What is dinner attire? I thought we would be ok with somewhat casual wear except no tank tops, flip flops etc. But a family member who has been on many Disney cruises says you need to dress up. Like my teenage sons need to wear khakis. What Dinner attire should we be wearing? Thanks

While there is a "suggested dress" for each night (cruise casual/formal/pirate/halloween/semi-formal) the only "dress code" DCL has is "no swimwear or tank tops for dinner".

That being said, you'll find all manner of dress from full on formal to shorts and t-shirts any given night.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

DW & I like to get dressed up and treat every night as date night ; so that's tux and gown on formal night, suit and LBD on semi and I wear sport coat/tie on the rest of the nights while she wears a nice dress. Kids...they're teenagers. Enough said there! This is what *we* like to do, go for what you're comfortable with wearing.

 

[asunutgirl]

My family likes to dress up. We enjoy having our photos taken when we are dressed nicely. My girls and I (17 and 21) usually wear a nice cocktail dress and hubby wears a jacket on formal and semi formal nights. The rest of the nights we are less dressed up but we never wear shorts to the dining rooms. We find it to be part of the fun!