Every Cruise is a fashion show, and formal night is your runway!

Walking through my home town of Chichester last week it was lovely to see all the ladies (and not forgetting the men) all dressed up for a day out at the races at the Glorious Goodwood Festival.

Many of them looked like they had put a lot of time and effort into their outfits making sure their shoes, handbags and other accessories matched their dresses (whilst the men all looking smart in their suits were probably hoping to win back the cost of the outfit at the races). Others went looking like mutton dressed as lamb, or that they had got dressed in the dark.

For majority of women on a Cruise, dressing for formal nights is the same as dressing for the races – great care is taken in selecting the formal dresses, making sure they have packed the matching shoes and handbags, and then some go as far as trying to colour co-ordinate the partners shirts/ties/cuff links  to match the outfit.

If sailing from Southampton then you can take as much as you can store in your cabin so even better if you can’t make up your mind.

 Majority of cruisers see formal night as part of cruising – getting dressed to meet the Captain, going round the endless number of photographers who all want to take your picture (with majority of the photos either left on the racks because they are just awful or too expensive), and love seeing everyone make the effort for dinner. I have been on a cruise where parents had even made an effort with an infant and dressed him in a little tuxedo.

For me I am one of the majority who enjoy formal nights and often look at those who obviously don’t as they are sitting in the bar or heading to the buffet restaurant in their jeans and hoodies and often wonder if they feel out of place?? I have still yet to try the informal cruise options such a NCL and wonder if it will be something for me??

Has anyone tried both? I would love to hear your opinions and which did you prefer??

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