MUTINY – DRESSING DOWN FOR DINNER!!!

The thought of this fills me with dismay and according to the daily Mail I am not on my own. There is a mutiny from fellow passengers arguably upset the fact cruise lines are allowing passengers to turn up in the main dining room in shorts, flip flops and baseball caps. I have to be honest with you dressing for dinner is something I am quite passionate about and when asked if customers on board should adhere to the dress code, my answer is always the same, absolutely and no exceptions!!!.

My other pet hate when it comes to dining at dinner is the use of mobile phones. Whether you are on a table for two or a table for ten the though of someone either texting or speaking during dinner I find is bad manners, unless an emergency surely any calls or texts can wait until after dinner.

The former image of cruising which bear’s a resemblance of fine dining in the mid 1920’s with the use of silver service and passengers dressed in tuxedo’s and long ball gowns with diamonds and pearls seems to have long gone but has it gone too far. We know that many cruise lines have relaxed their dress codes, and surprisingly Cunard , renowned for their strict formal dress code, is one of them.

So is their anyone to blame for the lack of adhering to the dress code, should customers on board be turned away if not suitably dressed when going to dinner? Will research have been done on booking a cruise to see what the dress codes are ?

Many of my customers do ask about dress codes and not everyone prefers to dress up onboard and its not a problem, most cruise lines cater for everyone. There are many other areas to eat on board where casual dress is accepted. I was on the Carnival Sunshine last year and as I like to dress for dinner I wore a backless blue dress with lots of diamante as I had booked a speciality restaurant for dinner. Well you can imagine how I felt when I stepped out of my cabin feeling a million dollars only to walk into the elevator seeing many fellow customers in Hawaiian shirts and shorts, apparently I was in the minority as only a handful of people were dressed up. Feeling a bit out of place I went back upstairs to my cabin and changed to what I call a day dress , where I felt I fitted in perfectly. As an agent I am aware Carnival don’t have a formal dress code to match P&O but even so to be surrounded by shirts and shorts at 8pm at night for dinner did to me seem a bit extreme.

Here is a link to our Forum members who also join in the debate regarding the Daily Mail’s article regarding adhering to the dress code at sea

Scruffs at Sea

For the majority of cruisers, dressing up and fine dining is part of the whole experience and I hope this is set to continue. my advice to anyone thin king of a cruise is do your research before you go and make sure you choose the right ship for you. I have added a link below which offers the dress codes for each cruise line.

Dress Codes for each Cruise Line

What do you think, do you like to dress up or are you more likely to eat in the buffet restaurant and wear casual attire. I look forward to your comments.

Cheers Holly xx