Thread: WardrobeéTemp

My husband and I are going on our first cruise. It will be in January to the Caribbean. After the cruise we're going to go on a very outdoorsy trip to Costa Rica. We want to minimize our packing. Can my husband wear a coat and tie with nice kahki pants and his white, high quality walking shoes on formal night? I have a long black dress with accessories, but he refuses to pack extra shoes. Light packing is important for the overall trip. Will he be turned away at the dining room?

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'm new.

Originally Posted by Lexie

My husband and I are going on our first cruise. It will be in January to the Caribbean. After the cruise we're going to go on a very outdoorsy trip to Costa Rica. We want to minimize our packing. Can my husband wear a coat and tie with nice kahki pants and his white, high quality walking shoes on formal night? I have a long black dress with accessories, but he refuses to pack extra shoes. Light packing is important for the overall trip. Will he be turned away at the dining room?

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'm new.

to CLF! I hope you stop by our introduction section to get your official welcome:

http://www.cruiselinefans.com/introduce-yourself/

It may help us to know which cruiseline you're going on. Some of them are a bit more strict about the formal night wear, while others are less so.

Another option to consider for formal night is the buffet. Many passengers, especially with current airline weight limits, are passing up going formal to save on luggage.

Originally Posted by Lexie

My husband and I are going on our first cruise. It will be in January to the Caribbean. After the cruise we're going to go on a very outdoorsy trip to Costa Rica. We want to minimize our packing. Can my husband wear a coat and tie with nice kahki pants and his white, high quality walking shoes on formal night? I have a long black dress with accessories, but he refuses to pack extra shoes. Light packing is important for the overall trip. Will he be turned away at the dining room?

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'm new.

Hey Lexie Welcome to our friendly cruise community!

I have asked our HAL Guide to take a look at your question and share her wisdom about all things HAL. She should have an answer for you tomorrow.

Your trip sounds exciting! I know you will have a wonderful time.

Originally Posted by Lexie

My husband and I are going on our first cruise. It will be in January to the Caribbean. After the cruise we're going to go on a very outdoorsy trip to Costa Rica. We want to minimize our packing. Can my husband wear a coat and tie with nice kahki pants and his white, high quality walking shoes on formal night? I have a long black dress with accessories, but he refuses to pack extra shoes. Light packing is important for the overall trip. Will he be turned away at the dining room?

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'm new.

Hello Lexie -- Welcome to CLF!!

On formal nights, HAL expects men to wear either pants, shirt, tie and jacket---or suit --- or tuxedo.

He really should pack an extra pair of shoes -- just in case something happens to the one pair.

Now -- if you don't feel like getting all dressed up -- there is the Lido where you can get dinner -- buffet style -- open from 5:30 - 8 on most ships. The menu is the same as that in the dining room.

OR

You can order dinner to your cabin. You need to order between 5:15 - 5:45 OR 8 - 8:30 PM -- and again you can order anything you want from the regular dinner menu AND select the time you want to eat in your cabin.

That's right- it's only the airline weight limits you need to worry about. We have taken as many as 28 bags on a cruise ship before. (Special case that I won't go into... suffice it to say, only four were our clithes.)

You can make blouses do double duty, too. Macy's sells (or did - I haven't been there in a while) short sleeved blouses in a no wrinkle fabric that you can dress up for dinner one (sasual) night with a pair of slacks or a skirt. Then, pair the same blouse with shorts the next day. It's not a big deal, since you will be wearing the blouse for only 2 or 3 hours in the evening. (Unless you dance til dawn) So, it should still be fresh enough the next day.

Swim suits - if you are a sun or water person, you'll wear these a LOT during the day, with a cover-up. They're light to pack. Take one more than you think you'll need. They tend to dry slowly in the cabin bathroom and putting on a damp suit is miserable. (If you have a blacony cabin, that problem is pretty much solved, though)

Try to minimize the number of pairs of shoes you pack. They can be really heavy. Take ONE pair to go with all your dressy outfits. I also take two pairs of sandals (one that I don't mind getting wet) and one pair of walking shoes. That's four pair and is plenty for me.

I want to go to formal night. My husband will have the pants, shirt, jacket, and tie. It's just the shoes that he refuses to pack. He has been on many, many trips with one pair of shoes without a problem. He went to The Four Seasons in NYC with these clothes without a problem. Is HAL more conservative than that?