Zero Enforcement of Dress Code @ Palo

[CarolynU]

Some would say the definition you use as formal attire is rooted in a white European definition. Whereas other cultures have a totally different dress for ceremony and high function events. That is one reason someone might say racism is involved. In other words who determined what is dressed up and appropriate. Did they consult with those from another culture or just dictate what it is or how it should be defined. That's how racism enters the discussion.
You asked. Don't attack the messenger.

Well Victoria and Albert’s at The Grand Floridian in Florida has a very explicit dress code stated on its website. So Disney is promoting racism then?
As I said when the White House has dinners and balls do they consult with everyone invited to check what everyone feels is appropriate?
Or do they just dictate what the expected dress code is?
Plus if people from different cultures wore their formal attire it would probably look glorious, but we aren’t talking about that.
We are talking about Palo, once upon a time describing itself as an upscale experience and wanting people to look smart. So as far as I can remember it was roughly no T-shirts no jeans and shoes and jackets for men.
Then it eased up and in doing so the last time for dinner not brunch that I was there smart jeans became dirty baggy ones which showed far more than I wanted to see when they stood up and the jeans fell down and shirts became t shirts footwear became sneakers and the guys were wearing pirate hats as it was pirate night.
The ladies were wearing similar except the jeans were ripped short shorts!
I still see no connection with having a dress standard which everyone can adhere to eg long pants shirts or blouses dresses and shoes and racism !

 

[Karin1984]

Well Victoria and Albert’s at The Grand Floridian in Florida has a very explicit dress code stated on its website. So Disney is promoting racism then?

Well, the dresscode at V&A is this:
Guests are expected to dress accordingly in semi-formal/formal attire that respects the restaurant’s elegant and opulent aesthetic.
If we look at the British Empire during the time of Queen Victoria, it did include a lot of cultures, so they all respect the aesthetics?

 

[CarolynU]

Well, the dresscode at V&A is this:
Guests are expected to dress accordingly in semi-formal/formal attire that respects the restaurant’s elegant and opulent aesthetic.
If we look at the British Empire during the time of Queen Victoria, it did include a lot of cultures, so they all respect the aesthetics?

Well according to a poster here times now dictate that a dress code like this is racist and cannot be requested so it should be abolished everywhere perhaps the whole concept of Victoria and Albert’s should be abolished too. Time to switch it out. The silly thing is in both Palo and V&A when I dined there I wore a nice dress and a pair of shoes. Is that honestly so hard to do?

 

[CarolynU]

So for a couple:-
One shirt, one pair of long pants, one dress,Two pairs of shoes and you are Palo ready! Not really onerous.
If you want to gown up you can in you want to suit up you can. If you want to jewel up you can. If you want to Rolex up you can. That’s where it’s up to you.
I cannot fathom why this is too great an expectation or is racist.

 

[Sakura1017]

Easier to pack if it’s semi formal. More room for souvenirs too. My dad had to change once because of shorts. It was kinda embarrassing and we told him to do it beforehand but he wouldn’t listen. He was mad about changing so it kinda ruined the experience. So I’m glad if it’s semi formal since he doesn’t wear formal stuff

 

[DCLMP]

For a lot of us that don't live on that coast the cruise was just part of the vacation. If we are coming from a snow covered state some of that is the gear we had to wear to safely get to the airport. If we like to dress up, and go to the gym, now we are at 3 outfits a day. It happens fastI

We did two European cruises last Summer over 2 1\2 weeks abroad each time. We had a carryon and one small checked bag for the two of us. A total of three small bags. There is laundry onboard. Some people are just excessive packers. If you travel a lot you learn to scale it back. It's just so much easier to get around without all the luggage.

I work out everyday and sometimes more. I buy the quick dry gym clothes. Hang them up and wear them multiple times before laundering.

I haven't logged in a few days and I seem to have annoyed the people that bring a lot luggage. All I said was it shocks me how much people bring. Too each their own. You are the one that has to lug it around not me.

 

[meremac]

Every time a similar thread comes up (and it happens a lot), I always think the same thing: what someone wears (or doesn't wear) is between them and the restaurant. It's not my business. While I personally always adhere to a restaurant's dress code, I don't care if the person next to me is wearing pajamas or a tuxedo or an armadillo costume...I'll just be over here enjoying my dinner and focusing on spending time with the people I came with.

 

[dez1978]

I teach Gen Z - I remember reading this when it came out, looking around my classrooms, and having my mind blown when I realized that NONE of them were wearing sandals (when it was hot out). . It is so bizarre to me.

Gen Alpha is the same and it's so weird to me. My oldest is 12 and won't wear sandals even to the pool. Crocs and socks all the way. I don't get it. but whatever.

 

[leannak]

It’s laziness. People are too lazy to figure out and pack and carry nicer clothing. Dining room staff are too lazy to enforce the rules. Everyone wants to do what’s easy, no matter how it affects others.

Maybe if they enforced the rules it would be easier to get a reservation at Palo and Remy!

 

[meremac]

How we dress affects how we act (schools requiring uniforms have known that for decades). How you act affects my upscale, extra pay, dining experience.

We enjoy going out to eat and we've been to many upscale award-winning restaurants over the years: some trendy, some more old-school, some with dress codes, some without, some with such a casual vibe that even the staff wears jeans and t-shirts. And I will tell you that I have seen just as many (if not more) "well-dressed" people behave obnoxiously in these places.

 

[Karin1984]

It’s laziness. People are too lazy to figure out and pack and carry nicer clothing. Dining room staff are too lazy to enforce the rules. Everyone wants to do what’s easy, no matter how it affects others.

Maybe if they enforced the rules it would be easier to get a reservation at Palo and Remy!

Not liking to wear formal clothes on a vacation is not laziness. Some people prefer to travel light, and/or have extra space in their suitcases for souvenirs.

Someone wearing shorts to Palo is not affecting others. And if it does affect you... well, let's not get into that.

If they enforced the rules, less people would go to Palo, true. But in the long run that could also result in downsizing Palo, and probably increasing prices.

 

[AquaDame]

Not liking to wear formal clothes on a vacation is not laziness. Some people prefer to travel light, and/or have extra space in their suitcases for souvenirs.

I fall in to the 'do I really have to buy fancy clothes for a couple hours every other year on a cruise' demographic, personally.

I mean, I went ahead and did, but boy was I mad I only got 4-5 wears out of my very nice dress I paid a lot for when my waistline finally went thicker than the stitching would allow.

 

[leannak]

Not liking to wear formal clothes on a vacation is not laziness. Some people prefer to travel light, and/or have extra space in their suitcases for souvenirs.

Someone wearing shorts to Palo is not affecting others. And if it does affect you... well, let's not get into that.

If they enforced the rules, less people would go to Palo, true. But in the long run that could also result in downsizing Palo, and probably increasing prices.

Of course not wanting to dress up on vacation is not laziness. I meant that as a society we’ve gotten lazier with how we dress.

This particular restaurant asks that we dress nicely. It must be for a reason. When we went on on a beach cruise and packed lightly, we just didn’t go to that restaurant. We had a great, casual vacation!

If I had a wedding and wanted it to be a classy event, I would be bummed if people showed up in shorts, tshirts and flip flops, saying they wanted to pack light.

 

[Karin1984]

If I had a wedding and wanted it to be a classy event, I would be bummed if people showed up in shorts, tshirts and flip flops, saying they wanted to pack light.

Not the same as a restaurant on a cruiseship. The wedding is the destination, Palo is not the destination.

 

[imbelle]

We compromise in the battle of dress clothes/vs suitcase space by packing solid color items that can pull double duty as both passable dinner outfits and excursion outfits: skort, zip off khakis, polo shirt, foldable flats, and a few pieces of jewelry to dress it up. Not the fanciest of dinner outfits but enough that we don't get a second glance in the adults only restaurants.

 

[Travel60]

I pack one solid skirt. Add a nicer top and necklace/scarf and it goes to Palo. Add a colorful T-shirt and it goes walking on a beach or on an excursion. A nicer sundress could do the same. Additional suitcase not required.

In 2022, as part of a "Covid-revenge catch-up tour," I spent 42 days in Europe from hot, hot Rome and Greece to Danube river cruise, to chilly Norway and Iceland. One medium suitcase, one day bag. My long black skirt saw at least 5-6 formal dinners in palaces, fancy restaurants and on the ships.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Ah, nothing like a good old fashioned dress code thread! To me it's just common courtesy and manners to adhere to whatever dress code the restaurant is asking for. Sometimes I want to stay in shorts and tshirts the whole cruise, nothing wrong with it. I will just skip Palo on that cruise

Are the CMs going to be super strict about it? Unlikely, they want to avoid arguing with guests if they can. It would be up to the guests to cooperate voluntarily. It's unfair to expect the CMs to be the clothing police, IMO.

I also don't buy the notion that what you wear only affects you. Nobody can tell me the atmosphere and "vibe" of a restaurant isn't different with a little bit of a dress code. No the food doesn't taste different, and nobody's meal is "ruined" blah blah. It's an intangible thing, just like it wouldn't be as nice to dine in a room with blank walls and plain wooden tables even though the food and service would be the same.

 

[meremac]

I think there are some nuances in play here. To those who are saying that it's only polite to adhere to a restaurant's dress code, I agree. If a restaurant that I want to go to has a dress code, I will always adhere to it. However, whether or not someone else adheres to the dress code is not my business. That is between that person and the restaurant. If the restaurant chooses not to enforce their dress code on another patron, that has absolutely zero impact on my enjoyment of my own meal. I do not care what other people are wearing for many reasons, not the least of which is that I barely notice because I am focused on my own meal and the people that I came with.

To those who are saying that a dress code elevates the overall vibe of the restaurant, I respectfully disagree. Many of the most creative and memorable dining experiences I've had have been at up-and-coming fine dining establishments that explicitly have no dress code (even waitstaff is encouraged to dress comfortably). This is the way things are trending.

 

[BamaGuy44]

To those who are saying that a dress code elevates the overall vibe of the restaurant, I respectfully disagree. Many of the most creative and memorable dining experiences I've had have been at up-and-coming fine dining establishments that explicitly have no dress code (even waitstaff is encouraged to dress comfortably). This is the way things are trending.

Nobody is saying you can't have a great meal or experience without a dress code. Some of the most fun, delicious meals I've ever had were at Pineapple Willy's in Panama City Beach, sitting at a wooden picnic table, outdoors, on a deck over the beach. The servers wear flip flops and half the diners are in swimwear. That's the vibe of the place and I love it.

In other venues a dress code absolutely enhances the atmosphere. But I'm certainly not mad at anyone who doesn't follow it, or expect the staff to bar entrance to someone because there's no collar on his shirt or whatever.

 

[meremac]

Nobody is saying you can't have a great meal or experience without a dress code. Some of the most fun, delicious meals I've ever had were at Pineapple Willy's in Panama City Beach, sitting at a wooden picnic table, outdoors, on a deck over the beach. The servers wear flip flops and half the diners are in swimwear. That's the vibe of the place and I love it.

In other venues a dress code absolutely enhances the atmosphere. But I'm certainly not mad at anyone who doesn't follow it, or expect the staff to bar entrance to someone because there's no collar on his shirt or whatever.

I'm not talking about Pineapple Willy's though. I'm talking about award-winning fine dining establishments. Things are trending more casual overall, and I think that the notion of a dress code being an integral part of a venue's experience is becoming more and more an idea of the past. In a few years, this entire conversation may very well be a moot point.