If formal nights are causing you to be anxious then you can relax. There is nothing that says you have to participate. The captain isn’t going to order you keel hauled for not bringing a blazer or a cocktail dress, not even if you mistakenly show up to the dining room on a formal night in a t-shirt. You may be asked to leave if your attire is not evening appropriate, but you can still get dinner at the buffet or one of the other restaurants aboard.
Cruises are about fun, and formal nights are about showing off how good you look in a suit.
What is a Formal Night?
Formal nights are a throwback to the golden age of transatlantic sailing when the first-class passengers would have an exquisite formal meal in tuxedos and evening gowns. These days requirements are looser with a jacket and tie being the most formal requirement, and the cruise lines being somewhat reluctant to enforce dress codes. Depending on the ship you might not actually be able to tell if a formal night is happening.
If you want to wander into a formal night in jeans, you may not even hear anything about it from the crew. Your fellow passengers, on the other hand, might be quite upset with you. It’s really your fellow passengers chance to dress sharply, and to impress. They are in fact more likely to say something to you than most ships’ crew are. There are photographs they’ll want to be taken, and nothing quite ruins the magic of tuxes and gowns when you’re showing the people back home your cruise photos like someone in shorts and a t-shirt in the background.
Formal nights take place in the dining rooms and other public areas of the ship. The other dining venues aboard have atmospheres and their own dress codes, and they may be more strictly enforced than the one in the dining rooms are. Each cruise line has its own expectations for a formal night as well, and we’ve gathered them together into a convenient list.
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Formal Nights “Dress Code”
For the Ladies
A formal night is going to consist of a cocktail dress, blouse and slacks, or something equivalent to what you would wear to a fancy restaurant. Depending on the cruise line, you may be fine with something like a sun dress (Carnival), on others, you may be missing out on the best dining on the ship if you didn’t think to pack more formal attire (Disney and Palo and Remy).
For the Gentlemen
Your dress code is far simpler. While you do have the option of a tuxedo, and many of the cruise lines have these available for rental, you’ll be fine with a dark suit jacket, and a tie that matches even on the most formal cruise lines.
Carnival Formal Nights
Formal nights on Carnival are defined by the line as cruise elegant. For women, this means casual dresses, casual skirts or pants with blouses. Capri pants are acceptable. For the men, a sports coat is optional, but slacks or khaki pants with a collared shirt is a must. If you wish to go more formal with suits and ties it isn’t a problem, but it isn’t required either.
Royal Caribbean Formal Nights
Royal Caribbean is slightly more formal than Carnival. Suits and ties for men, and dresses and pantsuits for the ladies are expected on formal nights. The line also has what is referred to as smart casual nights, which roughly correlates to what is expected on a Carnival formal night. Polo shirts for the men, and sundress or Capri pants and blouses for the women.
Disney Formal Nights
Disney is the only line requiring tuxes and suits for men, and gowns and dresses for women on formal nights. There is also a semi-formal night which entails suits and jackets for men, and dresses and pantsuits for women. The “dress up” evening is what the jackets optional choice on a Disney Cruise is called. Most Disney cruises also involve one or more theme nights like tropical and pirate nights where a loud shirt or eye patches will fit in. The line’s two specialty restaurant Palo and Remy are always semi-formal to formal.
Norwegian Cruise Lines Doesn’t Believe in Formal Nights
Norwegian Cruise Lines believes in freestyle cruising, and it doesn’t have formal nights per se. You’re pretty much fine in all public areas of the ship in polo shirts and jeans in decent shape if you’re a man, and Capri pants and blouse, or sundresses for women. There are some upscale dining venues on Norwegian ships that so require a bit more, but this pretty much stops at wearing a collared shirt for men, and women. Effectively the only real restriction is that you can’t wear swimwear inside, and even that restriction is only that you have to have some sort of a cover-up.
Dining In
Formal night is a fun part of cruising. It’s just one that first-time cruisers might be startled by. It doesn’t really show up in advertising, but even if you haven’t planned for it. It isn’t really something that can or should stop you from enjoying your cruise. There are options for getting formal attire onboard the ship, and if it isn’t for you, there are casual options. Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer buffet will serve you whether you’re wearing shorts or a suit. Room service is available on most every cruise line even when the buffet is closed.
Cruises are mostly about having fun, and formal nights are in that spirit. They’re for people who want to commemorate their cruise with a night of class and elegance, and we highly recommend them. If it isn’t your style, or what you think of as cruising, then it isn’t something you need to worry about.
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