just came off the RC cruise from B-more to bermuda

I was hell bent on not bringing a jacket. but SWMBO instisted. since it was the last big trip with her parents and sister. MIl and FIl are getting older wanted one last trip with no flying.

formal night- saw a kid wearing a bathing suit and crocks in the dinning room, father wearing a button down short sleeved shirt with shorts and flip flops and another wearing blue jeans and t-shirt. on non formal nights it did not get any better...

I wish the cruise lines would just ditch the fucking dress code, or actually start enforcing it... No reason the floor managers in the dinning room can't tell people "sorry you need to be wearing XYZ to eat here". the problem is the floor managers don't want to risk the passenger complaining about them. they don't want a black mark on their service record.

Oh, hopefully your food will be better. the dinning room food the RC Grandeaur of the seas was mediocre at best. comparable to what i could get at a ruby tuesday's and the buffet food was less than what i woudl expect at a golden corral. breakfast int he dinning room took 30 minutes for a fried egg...

while the individual staff members were great and aimed to please. the whole trip just fell short

this was my 7th cruise, first time with RC. Holland america and celebrity are my "goto" lines...

Anonymous wrote:RC 4 times. You can wear your beach casual clothes if you are in the Caribbean-- they mean don't wear your clothes from Salvation Army. men: shorts, polo. Women: shorts, dress. kids; school clothes. Or whatever. But they do have formal night so bring something for that. It is still on the casual side of formal, tho.

I've also been on RC 4 times. In general, they discourage shorts (for adults), jeans and tee shirts. As a rule, RC does not enforce the rules and will not bar you from the dining room, but it is strongly encouraged to follow the dinner dress rules. The only time I have seen someone asked to leave is when some came in on formal night wearing beach/pool gear.

Smart attire: no shorts, jeans, tee shirts.
Suggestions for men: khakis/dockers, polo/Aloha/dress shirts or casual suit or sport coat, no tie.
Suggestions for women: slacks/skirt/sundress, non tee-shirt top
Footwear: No crocs, no flip flops, dressier sandals will work (essentially no pool/beach wear)
Kids: about anything will go except no pool wear, but school clothes is a pretty good suggestion

For a specialty dinner: men khakis, women casual dressy. Kids: casual dressy. If you are doing excursions you have to have sporty clothes for that.

RC 4 times. You can wear your beach casual clothes if you are in the Caribbean-- they mean don't wear your clothes from Salvation Army. men: shorts, polo. Women: shorts, dress. kids; school clothes. Or whatever. But they do have formal night so bring something for that. It is still on the casual side of formal, tho.

The formal dinner night for us on RC was a dressy dress for me and a suit for my dh. But this was 10 years ago. Most were dressed like us.

RC is a little better than the other similarly priced lines - Princess, Norwegian, there's a mother that slips my mind. I think the differences comes from the fact that it is sit down - not the cattle lines of the other ships.

Khaki's, nicer jeans with a shirt tucked in for guys is fine
Sundress, skirt/pants with shirt for women is fine
I wouldn't worry about the kids. Our experience was that a lot of people did the shipping off the kids thing for dinner. My preteen daughter wore a cute romper with sandals most nights and that was fine (or dressy shorts with a top- she won't wear skirts/dresses). The boys wore khaki shorts with a button down or polo and I felt like they were appropriately dressed.

I wore a casual dress or cropped tops/with a tank mostly.

Anonymous wrote:Most people on your cruise will be fat Americans. If you aren't overweight then you'll most likely look better than they do no matter what you wear. Cruises are depressing.

LOL yes agree well, except for the depressing part. I don't find them to be depressing. I mostly feel uplifted because I feel like a supermodel the whole time because I'm not overweight.

Put some random fabric over your bod and you'll be fine. It ain't Cunard out there anymore.

I wore a nice dress but DH did not wear a jacket. You will see everything but many people do dress for the formal night. I would not worry about nice clothes for your child unless you want photos.

Most people on your cruise will be fat Americans. If you aren't overweight then you'll most likely look better than they do no matter what you wear. Cruises are depressing.

Anonymous wrote:What does this dress code mean for men, women, and children (under 5)?

We are cruising for the first time and I am not sure what constitutes as "smart attire" for certain night's dining and entertainment requirements.

No crocs.

Golf shirts and khakis? Cute summery dresses maybe?
Things are pretty casual on a cruise ship these days. There is typically no requirement for entertainment venues in my recollection.

What does this dress code mean for men, women, and children (under 5)?

We are cruising for the first time and I am not sure what constitutes as "smart attire" for certain night's dining and entertainment requirements.