Carnival Cruise wear--suggestions?

Question

Have you been on a Carnival cruise? I know you are suppose to dress up for the dining room dinners. But how dressed up is that? I know there is a Carnival cruise FAQ, but I found it a bit vague. I am trying to get opinions from people who have cruised lately...

How about "normal" wear for the rest of the cruise? And what about the buffet "casual" dinners? Is it a bit of a fashion show on the boat? I am trying to decide what to pack. Any other tips would be great!

Btw, we are in our early 30's and aren't normally very dressy...so I would prefer to not overpack and have to run the gamute.

Also, have you ever been turned away from the dining room or any other part of the boat for not being dressed up enough?

Thanks so much for your experiences!

Answer 1

I've been on carnival a few times and am going again next month.  Casual wear is perfectly fine for most everything.  There is one formal dress up night in the diningroom but even then people aren't super dressed up.  The rest of the time you can wear whatever you want.  Most people run around in shorts, flip flops swimwear.  I only take one formal dress and the rest is casual.  Have fun!

Answer 2

Casual Wear

This is exactly what it implies—clothing to be comfortable in. Your plans for the day will dictate what you should wear. For warm weather cruises you'll typically need swimwear, a cover-up, and sandals for pool and beach. Time spent ashore touring and shopping calls for shorts topped with tee shirts or polo-style shirts and comfy walking shoes. Conservative is a rule to live by and mix-and-match will save room in your suitcase. If you plan to purchase souvenir tee shirts, make them a part of your cruise wardrobe and pack fewer tops.  

Evening casual does not mean shorts. For men it's Dockers-type slacks and nice polo or sport shirts. Ladies' outfits will be sporty dresses, skirts and tops, or pants outfits. By sticking to two colors and a few accessories, you can mix up tops and bottoms for a different look every night.

The first and last nights onboard are always casual for obvious reasons—you may not have your luggage before dinner that first night and you've already packed for home on the last night. A word about jeans... personally, I hate them but many people consider them casual wear. Some cruise lines discourage them in the dining room. Use your own judgment and keep in mind, denim is hot—you might want to wear a lighter fabric.

Informal

This one's a little trickier—it only applies to evening and can mean different things, depending on the cruise line. Informal for women is a dressier dress or pants outfit and for men it always includes a sport coat. Often, but not always, it also means a tie for him. Check your documents carefully.

Formal

Formal night is a fantasy time for women and torture for men... from the sounds of male complaints, that is. This is your night to shine and you'll see ladies in everything from simple cocktail dresses to elaborate glittering gowns. Tuxedoes (either all black or with white dinner jacket) or dark suits are required for gentlemen.

Answer 3

Carnival is supposedly changing their dress code.  Check their website for what they suggest as "proper" dress.

Carnival is pretty lax on "enforcement" of the dress code.  For dinner, as long as you're not wearing shorts/T-shirt, you probably won't be turned away, even on formal night.  If you want to dress up, women can wear dressy short or long dress or dressy black pants with sparkly top or some such.  So you could take one pair of black pants or long skirt and two tops and be set for the formal nights.  A man could get by with a jacket and tie [maybe not even a tie].

You also can always eat in the "bistro" in the Lido for less-dressy dining.

If you're interested, you could go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" and read some of the postings in the Carnival Cruise Line board or the "Cruise Fashions" section.

Answer 4

My husband and I went on a cruise to the southern Caribbean on the Carnival Destiny.  I enjoyed the cruise, but I felt that it was a bit of a fashion show.  I knew the dining room dinners were formal and I took a simple black spaghetti strap dress for that and my husband wore a suit and tie, but we both felt it was a little too stuffy for our taste.  We ended up eating at the buffet most of the time.  I took shorts, capri pants & tanks as far as casual wear goes, but I wasn't prepared for how dressed up everyone was just walking around the ship at night after dinner.  I did feel a little out of place sometimes in the evenings because it seemed to me there was some sort of fashion show going on as we would walk down the prominade deck to a bar or to gamble.  So, FYI--Take a pair of nice jeans and a couple of dressy tops and heels too.

Answer 5

i just went on a carnival cruise in march.

as far as everyday boat wear, just about anything goes...

for the formal dinners, most people wore sundresses nothing fancy. i saw people in the dining room wearing jeans even. however i wouldn't recommend that because they looked out of place.

The captains cocktail(the more formal night) everyone was dressed up but still not crazy formal. high heels and a short but nice dress was generally what girls wore, and nice pants and button up shirt for the guys, i don't think i saw any of them wearing nice suits.

really besides in the formal dining room everyone was very casual.

Answer 6

personally i didn't even read that stuff before I cruised lol, I did hear from a family member before I went that depending on how long your cruise is that there is 1 night that you get really snazzy and it's called the "Captain's Ball" other than that I wore my casual summer dresses to dinner, or jeans with a cute top, but around the ship i wore my bathing suit with short shorts, or a skirt.  it's my vacation, so noone can tell me how to dress when I paid my money for it.  You might want to bring a pair of jeans and a cardigan sweater it's cold on the boat in the hallways or dining areas.  This goes for both Royal Carribean and Carnival