Dressing for dinner...

[luv]

We are kicking around the idea of a cruise and I've started reading.

The dinner dress code has kind of stopped me in my tracks. I don't want to eat in the frou-frou restaurants - I don't like frou-frou food. But I would very much like to eat in the regular restaurants, especially the one that changes from black & white to colors (Animator's Palate?)

I will be spending my days in bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts and polos. That's as dressed up as I want to be on vacation.

Would I seriously have to pack different clothes just to go eat?

If you must be dressed differently in these restaurants (which would suck, because I really do want to do that), is there somewhere else to sit and eat?

I have to figure this out before going any further with the planning.

 

[ChuckElias]

Do you have to pack extra clothes for dinner? No. There is a dress code, but it's not enforced in the rotational restaurants. You'll see people in t-shirts and kids in bathing suits.

Having said that, you will probably actually want to dress a little nicer (pants and a shirt) in the nicest of the rotational restaurants (Triton's/Lumiere's/Royal Palace). You may feel a little out of place in a bathing suit there. And honestly, it's not that big a deal to pack one extra pair of pants or a collared shirt.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Disney doesn't enforce their dress code in any of the regular restaurants. Chuck is right, you'll see people in all manners of dress. On casual cruise nights my husband is usually in a polo shirt and khakis and that's pretty standard.

If you look at the FAQ thread on this forum the dress code is spelled out pretty well.

There are tons of options for dinner. The buffet is always open at dinner, room service, as well as several quick service type options up on the pool deck which serve pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit, paninis, salads, wraps, ice cream, etc.

Don't let a dress code stop you, there are tons of options!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I feel ya. I'm no fan of dressing up. It does add a bit of a special-factor when you go to dinner & the majority of folks are dressed a step above theme park attire. A simple sundress with sandals or polo with khakis isn't so horrible. My guys all eat carefully so they can re-wear their khakis with a different shirt on the next night(s) for dinner.

 

[wm49rs]

Even for the "formal" night, where yes people were in suits, I saw plenty of shorts and casual clothing. I wouldn't worry about it too much.....

 

[DVCOwner]

I know Disney does not enforce the dress code for dinner like many other cruise ships do, but I think that most people do honor it. I wish Disney would enforce it more and if one does not want to dress for dinner, than use one of the other options (such as the buffet) for dinner that night. Maybe Disney could make the dress code optional at one seating and enforce it at the other. Will not kill someone to wear a coat and tie to dinner once or twice on thier cruise.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I know Disney does not enforce the dress code for dinner like many other cruise ships do, but I think that most people do honor it. I wish Disney would enforce it more and if one does not want to dress for dinner, than use one of the other options (such as the buffet) for dinner that night. Maybe Disney could make the dress code optional at one seating and enforce it at the other. Will not kill someone to wear a coat and tie to dinner once or twice on thier cruise.

I was thinking about this, too. I tend to be a solution oriented girl. My thoughts were maybe intersperse cruise themes. You could do a whole cruise of traditional dress-up theming with gala type events and the like for those that enjoy the dress-up cruising. You could even theme different evenings during that cruise towards that with a Princess Ball formal, a Golden Age throwback night, etc. Then there could also be another entire cruise of laid-back, oober casual-ness with themed evenings like Tacky Tourist, Goin' Coastal, etc. It wouldn't take a whole ton of work to play all these things up and it gives people who would enjoy lots of dressing or super-casual options. I know the to-dress or not-to-dress can be a hot topic on other fan sites. I know for me personally, I would never want to diminish someone else's cruise experience so I follow the recommended dress to the best of my ability (which really does take a lot of thought, effort, and expense for me since we don't dress up in our everyday lives...and it's quite an uncomfortable thing, really). I understand how my lack of consideration can effect those around me. Seriously. We made such a to-do about dressing nicely for our anniversary dinner last year at the Yachtsman and it really did sorta take a touch of the special-factor out of the event when fellow diners appeared in their tees & flip flops fresh from the parks. But still, I don't like it. I'm not comfortable with it. It's always a race to get back to our room to get back into our comfy clothes. Especially when I'm staring down formal night next May it's a crazy amount of money to consider buying suits or tuxes for my 3 guys...and dressy dress shoes...to wear for 2 or 3 hours. Especially with the teen boys, if I purchase stuff they outgrow it so fast. The hubby I can accept easier since (hopefully) he's done growing. LOL!

 

[Phonedave]

I know Disney does not enforce the dress code for dinner like many other cruise ships do, but I think that most people do honor it. I wish Disney would enforce it more and if one does not want to dress for dinner, than use one of the other options (such as the buffet) for dinner that night. Maybe Disney could make the dress code optional at one seating and enforce it at the other. Will not kill someone to wear a coat and tie to dinner once or twice on thier cruise.

I have to agree with you. There is something about caring enough to dress decently for dinner, and DCL is waaaay down on the list of how formal they can be. Kakhis, a button down shirt and a sport coat - it's not that hard to do. One one of our cruises, we had table mates. On the semi-formal night my girls were in sundresses and I was in kakhis, a sport coat, and tie. Our table mates were in shorts and print T-shirts. They were clearly uncomfortable. We didn't say anything of course, but you could see them looking around. The majority of the dining room was dressed better than they were. How hard would it have been ot throw on a pair of slacks and a polo?

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

But still, I don't like it. I'm not comfortable with it. It's always a race to get back to our room to get back into our comfy clothes. Especially when I'm staring down formal night next May it's a crazy amount of money to consider buying suits or tuxes for my 3 guys...and dressy dress shoes...to wear for 2 or 3 hours. Especially with the teen boys, if I purchase stuff they outgrow it so fast. The hubby I can accept easier since (hopefully) he's done growing. LOL!

As you know, on a ship it is a lot easier to get back to the room to change than it is in the parks.

For your kids, go to a tux rental place and see if you can buy a used tux for them. They change styles very often and will sometimes sell their old stock. You can get one for $150 or so.

Also, you don't need patent leather shoes for a tux. Yes it is classic, but what else are you going to wear them with. Get a good pair of black dress shoes and shine them well. They look just fine, and can be worn with a lot of other outfits.


-dave

 

[steviej]

yes, there is a formal night which I always wear a suit for, otherwise every night, I'm in shorts and a t shirt. Enjoy!

 

[MarkTwain]

Do you have to pack extra clothes for dinner? No. There is a dress code, but it's not enforced in the rotational restaurants. You'll see people in t-shirts and kids in bathing suits.

Having said that, you will probably actually want to dress a little nicer (pants and a shirt) in the nicest of the rotational restaurants (Triton's/Lumiere's/Royal Palace). You may feel a little out of place in a bathing suit there. And honestly, it's not that big a deal to pack one extra pair of pants or a collared shirt.

I think this is pretty spot on. Although they do have a dress code, they seldom enforce it. That said, there are certain instances where I wouldn't feel comfortable in a swimsuit. It'd be perfectly okay on some of the more casual restaurants (Parrot Cay on the classic ships, Animator's Palate on the newer ones), but at the nicer restaurants in the casual rotation, I might consider a little bit nicer (Triton's/Lumiere's/Royal Palace). I think a nice pair of shorts and a polo would be sufficient for any of these.

 

[luv]

Oh, my gosh. I wouldn't wear a bathing suit to anything but a pool bar!

I also wouldn't feel uncmfortable in shorts even if everyone else showed up in White Tie. I wouldn't care if they were all naked, either...except it would lead to yelling and fights. What other people wear or don't wear doesn't bother me in the least.

I saw someone say this can be a hot topic. I didn't intend to do that. I guess people really DO ask questions that seem troll-like without meaning to do it. Sorry.

I'm kind of jazzed about the cruise thing. It's my first. And the restaurant that changes colors is something I'm looking forward to. I hope it's the first day or two, since there is a good chance that the cruise I take will be the one that sinks and I'd like to get that in first.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh, my gosh. I wouldn't wear a bathing suit to anything but a pool bar!

I also wouldn't feel uncmfortable in shorts even if everyone else showed up in White Tie. I wouldn't care if they were all naked, either...except it would lead to yelling and fights. What other people wear or don't wear doesn't bother me in the least.

I saw someone say this can be a hot topic. I didn't intend to do that. I guess people really DO ask questions that seem troll-like without meaning to do it. Sorry.

I'm kind of jazzed about the cruise thing. It's my first. And the restaurant that changes colors is something I'm looking forward to. I hope it's the first day or two, since there is a good chance that the cruise I take will be the one that sinks and I'd like to get that in first.

Thanks, everyone!

I'm the one who said that about it being a hot topic but that's on other forums where a lot of the members are pretty high-strung. I think the WDWMagic high-strung crowd hangs out in the News & Rumors. We're pretty laid back 'round these parts. You have nothing to apologize for whatsoever. I didn't mean to make you feel bad so there ya go: I'm the one who's sorry. K? Now let's hug and continue our discussion. ((hugs))

This really is a good subject to discuss. I know before our first cruise I was totally up in the air about what to bring to wear. Now I have the jist of Pirate Night, cruise casual, and dress-up. In May we'll be doing formal & semi-formal. Yikes! I'm sure I'll stress plenty over what to bring for those. I like Dave's suggestion on the tuxes for the boys. My brother who will also be on the same cruise has a formal shop as one of his clients. They told him the same thing. I also saw tuxes and suits on Overstock.com. They have them for a hundred or two but then you gotta get shirts, ties, belts, and shoes. I'm afraid I'll still be out a small fortune on all that stuff. Oh well. We'll figure something out. LOL! Maybe the boys will just get nice suits that are a size too big from Santa this year.

We try to get all the dressier clothes into our Swiss Gear garment bag. Then our other duffels or suitcases are just our regular clothes. If the whole family is cruising number of bags isn't such a big deal since we will typically make the long road trip in the car. No checked or overweight bags to worry with.

 

[Phonedave]

I'm the one who said that about it being a hot topic but that's on other forums where a lot of the members are pretty high-strung. I think the WDWMagic high-strung crowd hangs out in the News & Rumors. We're pretty laid back 'round these parts. You have nothing to apologize for whatsoever. I didn't mean to make you feel bad so there ya go: I'm the one who's sorry. K? Now let's hug and continue our discussion. ((hugs))

This really is a good subject to discuss. I know before our first cruise I was totally up in the air about what to bring to wear. Now I have the jist of Pirate Night, cruise casual, and dress-up. In May we'll be doing formal & semi-formal. Yikes! I'm sure I'll stress plenty over what to bring for those. I like Dave's suggestion on the tuxes for the boys. My brother who will also be on the same cruise has a formal shop as one of his clients. They told him the same thing. I also saw tuxes and suits on Overstock.com. They have them for a hundred or two but then you gotta get shirts, ties, belts, and shoes. I'm afraid I'll still be out a small fortune on all that stuff. Oh well. We'll figure something out. LOL! Maybe the boys will just get nice suits that are a size too big from Santa this year.

We try to get all the dressier clothes into our Swiss Gear garment bag. Then our other duffels or suitcases are just our regular clothes. If the whole family is cruising number of bags isn't such a big deal since we will typically make the long road trip in the car. No checked or overweight bags to worry with.

You can have all your formal stuff pressed on the cruise. I think it is $8 - $10 for a mens jacket. I would do that because I did not feel like bringing a garment bag for just one jacket. I would stuff it in the suitcase, and as soon as we got on board send it to be pressed. If course with your whole clan aboard, those prices start to add up.

PS. Tuxedo pants dot't have belts - there's a savings for you

-dave

 

[sweetpee_1993]

You can have all your formal stuff pressed on the cruise. I think it is $8 - $10 for a mens jacket. I would do that because I did not feel like bringing a garment bag for just one jacket. I would stuff it in the suitcase, and as soon as we got on board send it to be pressed. If course with your whole clan aboard, those prices start to add up.

PS. Tuxedo pants dot't have belts - there's a savings for you

-dave

Oh yay! And I can get black shoes like you said then shine em good. I think we may opt for suits that can be flexible over formal/semi-formal. You're right, the pressing costs do add up. We send everything out for pressing. I will do laundry on vacation but ironing? No way! I had my fill when I wore uniforms. Pressing, shoe shining, brass polishing..not happening. Lol!

 

[Phonedave]

Oh yay! And I can get black shoes like you said then shine em good. I think we may opt for suits that can be flexible over formal/semi-formal. You're right, the pressing costs do add up. We send everything out for pressing. I will do laundry on vacation but ironing? No way! I had my fill when I wore uniforms. Pressing, shoe shining, brass polishing..not happening. Lol!

So many tuxedos are looking more and more like suits now, that you may have hit on a good solution. Gone are the days of black tux, pleated front shirt, and black bow tie and cumberbund. Now long ties are in, vests are in, and so are all sorts of colors (I just wore an apple red long tie and vest with my black tux last weekend - and I don't own patent leather shoes either ).

You could get your sons a dark suit, a decent white shirt (no button down collars - If you wore uniforms, I am sure you have brass collar stays somewhere around the house) and then let them pick some lower priced vests and ties to spice it up. However, suit pants do need belts


-dave

 

[joanna71985]

I guess I should probably start figuring out what to wear for my cruise (as I know there will be a formal night).

 

[Tiggerish]

I think the WDWMagic high-strung crowd hangs out in the News & Rumors.

OMG, that's so funny, and quite true!!! Made me LOL.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

OMG, that's so funny, and quite true!!! Made me LOL.

LOL! I say it with love. I read over there from time to time & occasionally post but I tread softly. I know the wolves are always ready to pounce. HeeHee!