Formal Nights?

WDW4TheGirls

WDW4TheGirls
Joined
Mar 4, 2007
Havent sailed RCI yet but looking at booking either Allure of Freedom of the Seas for February. Are Formal Nights "formal" in every dining room? Or are there restaurants where we wouldn't have to get so dressed up? Thanks!
 
In theory formal nights would have everyone in the MDR and specialty restaurants all dressed up to eat, with the buffet and Sorrento's being a safe harbour for those wearing Hawaiin shirts, shorts and flip flops.

In practice I haven't seen this heavily enforced, but to be fair the "least formal" dress I've seen on these nights has been a polo shirt and jeans.
 
Im going on the Majesty of the Seas Cruise (Bahamas) on November and for what I know there is at least 1 formal night in cruises from 3 to 5 nights. The dresscode is formal attire, a dress for women and suit for men or tuxedo. The information booklet that is sent to you when you book your cruise states that there is another restaurant that do not require formal attire, just casual but Im not sure if its the same for the Allure of Freedom. It really depends on the ship and number of nights you are sailing I guess.

This is the information I was given:

Casual: Sundresses, trousers and blouses for women. Polo shirts and trousers for men.
Smart Casual: Dresses or trouser suits for women. Jacket and shirt for men.
Formal: Cocktail dresses for women. Suits and ties or tuxedos for men.

3-5 nights: 2-4 casual evenings, 1 formal evening
6-9 nights: 3-6 casual evenings, 1 smart casual evening, 2 formal evenings
10-12 nights: 5-7 casual evenings, 3 smart casual evenings, 2 formal evenings
13-15 nights: 6-8 casual evenings, 4 smart casual evenings, 3 formal evenings

I hope this helps a bit.

Have a nice trip on February!
 
The buffets and public areas of course do not require formal attire, but all of the Main Dining Rooms are formal on the specified evenings. You don't need to go absolutely crazy formal as long as you follow the basic guidelines. Usually these nights coincide with the Captain's Dinner / lobster night /free champagne while you have your portrait taken on the lightup staircase etc.

At first I complained to my wife about getting dressed up on vacation, but it actually makes it a bit more fun I think. I will say that the participation rate is very high, but don't feel like you have to do it if you don't want. It's your vacation! I always enjoyed the dichotomy of an elevator with half of the occupants in tux's and the other half in Margaritaville tshirts. Everyone is having fun their own way.
 


I'm not one that likes to dress up, so all I brought was a dress shirt, slacks and tie, no jacket. I'd say on formal night I was dressed somewhere at least average. There were a few tuxes, very few I'd say and many didn't bother with a tie at all. The Cruise Compass that you get every day onboard lists formal attire as a "dress suggestion" and I think states no shorts, bathing attire, etc. Other than that, I think you could feel comfortable wearing just about anything.
 
On formal nights, the specialty restaurants typically still list "smart casual" as their suggested dress. In fact, we tend to book specialty restaurants on formal nights because we don't want to feel "obligated" to dress up. We wear khaki pants and a polo or similar shirt, and fit right in.

Formal nights are getting less and less formal. Not many people wear tuxedos and cocktail dresses. Some people do, in fact, wear jeans on formal nights and staff don't bat an eye. You'll find most people making an effort to look nice, but it seems many men don't want to go through the effort of packing and wearing a full suit. If we dress up, I wear what I'd wear to a wedding.
 

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