When Dressing Up Becomes a Formal Decision

Among the two most controversial words at sea are “formal night.” And since most cruises include one or more nights where formal attire is requested, passengers--and especially first-time cruisers--worry far too much about whether a tuxedo is necessary.

“Our passengers look forward to dressing up and consider it an important part of their cruise experience,” says Mimi Weisband, spokeswoman for Royal Cruise Line.

The male hosts, who travel as dance partners for female passengers aboard the line’s Crown Odyssey and Golden Odyssey, are expected to wear tuxedos or dinner jackets on all formal evenings, she added.

Holland America’s Windstar Cruises, on the other hand, specifies “casual elegance” as its dress code. “Wear what you think is appropriate and attractive, much as you would to a relaxed but elegant resort,” says Holland America spokesman Rich Skinner.

Some men who enjoy dressing up take along tuxedos or dinner jackets for formal evenings, while others opt for dark suits or navy blazers with ties. If a man is adamantly opposed to wearing a tie, even on formal nights, he can usually get by with an ascot or white turtleneck, so long as he wears a jacket.

Tuxedos aren’t really necessary, according to Cruise Lines International Assn.’s free booklet, “Cruising: Answering Your Questions”: “If you have one and like to wear it, bring it along! But don’t go out and buy one for the trip. Even on the most formal of ships, a dark suit and tie are just fine.”

In the Caribbean and Mexico, according to Miami-based cruise specialists and travel agents Joyce Landry and Jo Kling, fewer than half the men on most ships wear a tuxedo.

On an around-the-world cruise, especially aboard Cunard’s classic QE2, “You should see the women in their jewels and gowns,” says cruise director John Butt. “It’s quite different from the Caribbean cruises, which are more casual, with tuxedo optional.”

Transatlantic crossings, on the other hand, says Butt, “are a mixed bag. We have a lot of business people traveling with us, as well as vacationers on the way home from a European holiday, so you’ll see a mix of tuxedos and business suits.”

Expedition vessels--those small ships from Society Expeditions, Special Expeditions and Salen-Lindblad that sail to the Antarctic, the Amazon and other exotic and offbeat destinations--expect their passengers to wear practical, comfortable outdoor clothing and require very little in the way of dressing up for dinner.

Men, however, might want to bring along a jacket and tie for the captain’s dinner.

Here’s a quick rundown on what men can wear on formal nights. Women have it easier, since they can get by with almost anything glamorous.

--Where tuxedos are in the majority:

Crystal Cruises, Cunard’s QE2, Sagafjord and Vistafjord, Oceanic Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Cruise Line, Royal Viking Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, Sea Goddess and Sun Line Cruises.

--Where tuxedos and suits rank about even:

Carnival Cruise Lines, Chandris Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Ocean Cruise Lines, Paquet French Cruises, Pearl Cruises, Regency Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

--Where tuxedos are rarely seen, but a jacket and tie are advisable on formal nights:

Admiral Cruises, American Hawaii Cruises, Chandris Fantasy Cruises, Commodore Cruises, Clipper Cruise Line, Crown Cruise Line, Cunard Countess and Cunard Princess, Delta Queen Steamboat Co., Dolphin Cruise Line, Epirotiki Lines, Ivaran Lines, Premier Cruise Lines, Renaissance Cruises, Salen Lindblad Cruising and World Explorer Cruises.

--Where tuxedos or a tie and jacket are not essential:

American Canadian Caribbean Line, Club Med Cruises, Society Expeditions, Special Expeditions, Windstar Sail Cruises and Windjammer Barefoot Cruises.

And contrary to what first-time cruisers think, there’s no such thing as a “cruise wardrobe”--that’s mostly an invention of advertising people who design the ads for clothing and department stores that look to unload a lot of navy blue blazers and white pants or skirts. Generally, passengers who wander around in such outfits get mistaken for the cruise staff.

People on cruise ships wear the same things as people on land--jogging clothes or shorts and T-shirts during the day, and the same dressy sportswear you’d wear to a dinner party or a nice restaurant in the evening.

Chances are, you have all the clothes right now that you would need for an average seven-day cruise.

Remember, too, that you don’t need to carry three complete changes of clothes for each day of the cruise. You can always wear garments more than once. All ships have laundry service, and some have dry cleaning and free self-service laundromats as well.

On deck or on shore in most ports of call, except in the most sophisticated cities, you can wear your sneakers or jogging shoes, slacks or a skirt and sport shirt, plus a windbreaker if it’s cool. Bathing suits, short shorts and halter tops or tank tops are inappropriate, except at the beach.

On most ships, you can help yourself to the deck buffet or grilled hot dogs and hamburgers in your wet bathing suit.

However, if you want to go inside to a self-service cafe, pop a cover-up or T-shirt over your swimsuit. If you want to lunch in the dining room, change to dry clothing. Some cruise lines request that no shorts be worn in the dining room for breakfast or lunch; all dining rooms ban them in the evenings.

For teatime, bingo, lectures, movies and such, you’ll want to be comfortable and covered, because the air conditioning can be very chilly on some ships.

On an average seven- to 10-day cruise, you’ll encounter two dressy evenings, two or three sort-of-dressy evenings and two or three casual evenings.

“Casual” evenings aboard most ships mean slacks or skirts for women, long trousers and sport shirts or polo shirts with collars for men. Shorts, cutoffs, tank tops and jeans are generally frowned upon.

“Informal” is often confused with “casual,” but is traditionally used to mean pantsuits or dresses for women, sport jackets and tie for men. These days, more and more ships, especially on short cruises, accept jackets without ties.

Many ships also have masquerade nights or special costume evenings, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to comply with any of this if you’d rather not. Except on Costa Cruises’ Italian toga nights, when a lot of people dress up in their bedsheets, few passengers actually follow the suggested costume code; most just applaud those with the courage to do it.

The longer a cruise, the dressier it is, with the exception of expedition sailings. Conversely, the shorter the sailing, the less wardrobe demands it makes.

If you are invited to dine at the captain’s table, you should dress up one notch if the evening’s prescribed code is “casual.” Men should never appear at the captain’s table without a jacket.

To get a copy of the CLIA booklet “Cruising: Answers to Your Questions,” write to 500 Fifth Ave., Suite 1407, New York 10110.