What type of clothes for a formal dinner on a cruise ship is required for a guy and a girl?

Question

How fancy in clothes must you have on to attend a formal dinner?

Answer 1

A formal dinner usually requires a white dinner jacket, black trousers, and bow tie for the man and a formal gown for the lady.

Depending on the cruise ship, the man can probably get by with a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie. However, the lady should still have a dinner gown.

Answer 2

suit for the guy and dress for the girl.. it's pretty formal

Answer 3

suit for the guy and dressy dress for the girl.

cruiseclues.com

(has a great series of packing lists)

Answer 4

we went on carnival and all we had to wear was

guys- slacks - dressy shirt with a tie- nice shoes.

girls- nice dress top and long skirt or a nice dress- cute shoes.

Answer 5

It depends on which line you are asking about.  Here are some of the dress codes from a few selected cruise lines ...

From Carnival ...

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Dining_...

Is there a dress code for the dining room?

Depending on the length of the cruise, either formal dress or casual resort wear is required in the Dining Room. The dress requirement for children is the same. For those not wanting to dress up, the Lido restaurants are open nightly (with the exception of the last evening of the cruise), and have a casual dress code. Formal Wear: tuxedo (optional); suit and tie; sport coat, tie and slacks; evening gown; cocktail dress; pantsuit Casual Resort Wear: sport shirts and slacks; dresses; skirts; pantsuit NOTE: Shorts, t-shirts and bathing attire are not permitted in the Dining Room during dinner.

From Disney ...

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en...

What should I wear to dinner?

Dining Dress requirements vary by venue or theme night on your cruise. In general, most meals are "Cruise Casual" -- no shorts, swimwear or tank tops. Most cruises also have special theme nights with additional attire requirements. Here's a breakdown of these events by cruise itinerary.

On 3-night cruises:

    * First night: cruise casual — no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

    * Second night: pirate or tropical deck party

    * Final night: "dress-up night" — jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women

On 4-night cruises:

    * First night: cruise casual — no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

    * One pirate or tropical night (deck party)

    * One "dress-up night" — jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women

    * Final night: cruise casual — no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

On 7-night cruises:

    * First night: cruise casual — no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

    * Three additional "cruise casual" nights — no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

    * One pirate or tropical night (deck party)

    * One formal and one semi-formal night — formal wear for men: tuxedo or suit; for women: gown or dress; semi-formal wear for men: suit/jacket; for women: dress or pantsuit.

Dress for dinner at Palo on all cruises:

    * Men: dress shirt or jacket

    * Women: dress or pantsuit

From Holland America Line ...

http://www.hollandamerica.com/guests/cat...

Clothing and Dress Code

The right clothing can make a big difference in the enjoyment of your cruise. First and foremost, dress for comfort. Daily life aboard ship and in ports of call is relaxed and casual. Warmer climates call for clothing made of lightweight, breathable fabrics. For cooler climates, we suggest casual clothes that can be layered easily and possibly a raincoat and waterproof hat or umbrella and gloves. Certain shore excursions may require particular attention to clothing. For example, certain churches, or other places of worship, may not allow tank tops or short pants. Bring a swimsuit as all of our ships have pools and whirlpools. You may wish to bring more than one outfit for the water. We ask that you wear shoes and a cover-up over a bathing suit when walking through the interior of the ship. If you would like to jog on the sports deck or work out in the fitness center, bring workout gear. Footwear should include comfortable walking shoes for visits ashore and sandals or rubber-soled shoes for strolling on deck.

Each night a daily program will be delivered to your stateroom announcing the suggested dress for the following evening.

Evening dress falls into two distinct categories; Formal or Smart Casual. Smart Casual can be defined as slacks and sports shirt or sweater for men and skirt or trousers and sweater or blouse for women. T-shirts, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the restaurants or public areas during the evening hours. On festive Formal evenings, ladies usually wear a cocktail dress or gown and gentlemen usually wear a suit and tie or tuxedo. There are approximately two formal nights per week.

Formalwear for ladies and gentlemen can be pre-ordered for your use during your cruise by calling Cruiseline Formalwear at 800-551-5091. Your formalwear will be in your stateroom when you board.

Norwegian is very casual.  The formal nights are optional.

From Princess ...

http://www.princess.com/answer/bring.htm...

ONBOARD ATTIRE

Princess makes it easy to know what to pack and what to wear when you're dining onboard. There are two designations for dress codes: Smart Casual and Formal.

Smart Casual Evenings:

Passengers dress as they would for a fine restaurant at home.

   • Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for ladies

   • Pants and open-neck shirts for men

In the dining room, items such as cutoff T-shirts, shorts, halter tops, and jeans are not permitted; shoes must be worn at all times.

Formal Evenings:

   • Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies

   • Tuxedo, slacks with dinner jackets, or suits for men

From Royal Caribbean ...

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersu...

Q:   What are the dress codes onboard?

A:   There are three distinct types of evenings onboard: casual, smart casual and formal. Suggested guidelines for these nights are:

Casual: Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women

Smart Casual: Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women

Formal: Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women

From Celebrity ...

http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyo...

What are the onboard dress codes?

Subject: Dress Codes

You will need three types of clothing on your Celebrity cruise: casual shipboard attire or day wear, conservative port wear and eveningwear.

Daywear includes slacks or pants, blouses or shirts, knit tops or polo shirts. Bring a pair of sneakers or rubber-soled shoes for deck sports and a swimsuit cover-up for cool areas on the ship.

Port wear for women includes a casual dress, skirt and blouse, or pants outfit; for men, casual pants or walking shorts, and polo-type shirts. Comfortable walking shoes are a must.

Also, remember to bring extra bathing suits, as well as sun block, sun visors and other types of sun protection.

A gentleman's choice for casual nights includes a sport shirt and slacks, while women will be comfortable in a pants suit, skirt and blouse, or casual dress.

On informal nights, men are requested to wear a jacket, shirt and slacks, No jeans,  while women may want to wear a suit or dress.

For the formal nights, including the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party, dinner on the second night, and the Captain's Farewell Dinner held the next-to-last night of the cruise; both men and women may prefer more dressy attire, such as an evening gown for women and a tuxedo or dress suit for men.

Celebrity Cruises has implemented a casual dining service on its ships. Casual dining is offered most nights on every cruise, depending upon the itinerary, and is served in the Palm Springs Grill and pool area on the Mercury and at the Oasis Grill and pool area on the Galaxy. On the Century casual dining is available in the Sky Bar. On our newest ships, casual dining is offered at the Seaside Grill and pool on the Constellation, the Oceanview Grill and pool area on the Infinity, the Ocean Grill on the Millennium and the Waterfall Grill on the Summit.

Answer 6

Yes, it is pretty formal. My DH is in the military so he wore his dress uniform. All the other guys there were in suits. Some guys wore just nice slacks with a button up shirt. All the girls were in fancy dresses and heels...but not prom dresses or anything. Have fun!!!

ETA: I was on the Royal Caribbean which is one of the mid-priced cruise lines.

Answer 7

Tuxes and dark suits are appropriate for me. Women were cocktail clothes and occasionally long formal gowns depending on the ship.

Answer 8

Depending on the cruise line, some are more formal than others and they tend to be the pricey cruise lines, the required formal wear is a suit for the men and an evening gown for the women. Similar to what you would were to a wedding or prom. Some people will go all out with a Tux and formal wear but that is not required.

Answer 9

Suit and tie, or sport coat and tie for the guy.  Cocktail dress, or long gown for the girl.  Very fancy (formal) dress suit/slacks would also be acceptable.

Answer 10

Most of the time for guys, they can wear a suit and tie. or a tux. The women can get away with a nice dress. Usually shorts and tee-shirts are not permitted in the formal dinning.

Answer 11

As nice as the best man & bride's maid would wear to a fancy wedding.

Answer 12

First of all the formal dinner nights on cruise ships are REQUESTED  but not REQUIRED.  So you dress the way you want to with one guideline, but nothing less than sports casual like you do for dinner in the main dining room every other night.  You will not be denied access to the dining room if you do not dress formal, or denied access to the Captain's cocktail party, if the ship has one, if you are dressed simply sports casual.

On formal nights most people do dress up.  And dress up for men can be a suit of just about any color, or a tux.  For women its usually a dress, long gown style or short party dress style of just about any color.  

Now if you are going on one of the top cruise lines like Crystal, Seaborn and Windstar the dress code is different EVERY night.  So a dinner jacket may be required of men every night and a dressy dress may be required of women every night because all dinner meals are more formal.  And if you do not wear a tux or gown on these ships/lines on formal night you may seem out of place.

And then on formal nights you will have plenty of people walking around in casual clothes because (1) they had the first dinner seating and went and changed clothes, OR (2)  they have the second dinner seating and have not dressed for dinner yet.

But my advice is do dress up as fancy as you want because the ships  really have great places for portrait style pictures.  More advice, take your own photos on the ship on formal night because the cruise line (whichever you go on) will charge you about $20 to $25 per photo (8" x10").

Answer 13

A suit for the guy and an evening gown for the girl