We are on a spring break cruise on the Navigator next week.... never cruised before but I was just wondering, does everyone stay in their formal wear after dinner? We have kids with us (teen, preteen) as I am sure the rest of the ship will as well... I didn't know if everyone stays dressed for the night or changes back to comfy clothes for other activities. Thanks!

You will see both people staying in the formal wear and people changing back to casual clothes.

Do what feels best to you. Its your vacation and you won't be in a minority with doing either. In fact since there are 2 dinning times, you will see the late seating diners in casual wear while the early/main seating people are already dressed up.... then you get the other way around for the late seating times. So if you change back into casual clothes you won't be noticed as out of place.

Some do and some don't. Remember that many passengers skip the dining room on formal night and eat at the buffet (some do this every night), so you'll always have some passengers wandering around at 10pm in shorts and t-shirts.

I've done both and not felt out-of-place.

Thanks Jim... no doubt the guys will want to get out of their clothes the second they can, I just didn't want to feel strange walking around in shorts while the rest of the ship wasn't...

Your Welcome-

You won't be out of place. I have done both depending on my mood. If you are doing a 7 night cruise, there will be two formal nights. The first tends to be more formal than the second,(with the captain's gala etc...) so I might stay in my formal wear until after the show. But then I typically hit the casino and will change before I go - unless I am feeling James Bondish...

I have to tell you guys, I asked this question on the Cruise Critic Boards "How many people actually do formal night because my son and husband are really not into dressing up on this vacation"... and the responses I got were appalling and sarcastic... "go eat in the buffet" "Don't dumb down the cruise", "It will give you a chance to wear all that expensive jewelry your hubby got you over the years"... you get the idea... I finally stopped reading the all the fighting "I" provoked... LOL!!! These are the same people who refer to children on cruises as "larvae" among other things. What nasty people over there....

Thanks for your honesty and non-judgmental answers... LOL!!!!

Your welcome again.

Like I said before, its your vacation. Dress as you want to but understand that the cruise line does have its "rules" on dress in the dinning rooms. But there isn't a rule that says you HAVE to wear formal wear on formal night. You will also see people in the dinning room in the standard "casual dinning" attire. So you have that option if they really don't want to dress up. But, realize that its a great opportunity to take a family picture. We always take one of us since we are already all dressed up... how often does that happen without you arranging a photo session?

And like Dave said, the buffet is a viable option too. But I don't like to miss out on the meals in the dinning room.. I can buffet dine anywhere.
Hope you have fun!

Well, we all have our reasons… mine is to hear my wife tell me I look handsome.

Sonny

I don't think my hubby's feet hit the ground on the way back to the cabin after formal dinner. I keep on my dress, it's such a treat for me to dress nicely.

Hi we did our first princess cruise last year and straight after the meal my husband went straight back to our cabin and got changed the people we got friendly with all their husbands went off to get changed as well so it seems as though its a man thing to get changed while the majority of the women seem to like the chance to dress up hope this helps enjoy the cruise

Julie

what about the photos?
I mean with all the photo oportunities you will have during formal night remeber to take a few before going back to your room...
I enjoy the formal night but before changing into a less formal, clothes remember on formal night they give the best meals and a great oportunity to look nice on photos...

Hi BHSE, and a belated welcome to cruise-chat.com!

As others have mentioned, some passengers remain dressed up all evening while others change into more casual attire after dinner. Different cruise lines may have different policies, though. For example, Celebrity suggests that passengers remain in the stated evening's attire for the entire evening in most of the public areas. Royal Caribbean indicates that the dress suggestion is for the dining room only. Of course, on Royal Caribbean, you are free to choose which way you want to go.

As for us, I usually stay in my formal attire after dinner as it means less to pack. I have on many occasions, however, slipped on a pair of more comfortable shoes (sometimes even tennis shoes!).

A typical formal evening for us is to head from early dining straight to the show lounge to get seats. I save my wife's seat & she heads back to the room to change & returns so I can do likewise. It's obvious (even on casual evenings) that people like to be comfortable to watch the show. Some even like to dress in shorts but we've found the show rooms to be to cool. If you feel comfortable in a long dress then don't change but if you do, no one will even notice or care.