Cruises and food/ dress codes etc

[Pinkfrocks]

We are looking at cruises - P&O for example- but have been put off by the dress code and formality that seems part and parcel- that's just not us at all. But the bonuses of a cruise appeal- no air travel, hopping off at a new place straight from the ship etc, no driving.

What's the deal with meals? P&O does say they also offer casual dining options so is it possible to choose that 7 nights out of 7, or 6 out of 7?

There is no way I'd want to wear a ball gown because I'd never wear it again and TBH the whole regimented approach just sticks in my throat- seems a bit like up market Butlins.

Can anyone reassure me?

ps Should add that I am not a scruff- will happily wear a short, smart 'day dress' but don't like having to 'dress to order' .
Also- not sure about the seemingly enforced sharing of tables- we like to get away from people on holidays as much as possible ( we've always gone self catering to remote parts of UK or staying in small hotels.)

Not sure about P&O, but we went on Royal Caribbean last year and it was possible to avoid formal nights by going to the buffet instead, however as 99% of the ship was dressed up you stuck out a bit for the rest of the evening. Ballgowns and black tie definitely not obligatory, cocktail dress and lounge suit/tie was widely worn. Think P&o might be a bit more formal but it's only a couple of nights. It's my least favourite aspect of cruising.

Oh and you didn't have to share a table, you could choose. We dined just the 4 of us the whole time.

Thanks. will keep researching. A dress is fine but DH wears business dress daily so he says he's b....gered if he's going to dress up on hols in a suit.

Its probably not the best holiday for you then , as you feel a bit confined .
We did a Celebrity cruise , and loved it , but you don't have space for your self
We had a table for 4 ( DH , me 2 DC ) but we may as well have shared with the table next door .
Which was fine for us ( 2 nice American ladies , interesting to chat with )
About the dress code , everyone dressed up , I don't mean dinner jackets and bow ties , but men wore suits on formal nights , smart jeans on casual nights with polo shirts ( for example )
But if DH wants a shorts and T shirt holiday ( and why not ? Sounds good ) a cruise probably won't work

DH and I went on an 11 night P&O cruise and there were two formal nights. I'm not into ball gowns and just wore a knee length black linen dress. Not all the men were in dinner jackets. If you really don't want to participate, you could just eat in one of the other restaurants for those nights - there are always alternatives.

I think there are some rules about wandering around the ship half naked, men not wearing vests in the restaurants, etc, but they are not THAT onerous. I think some cruise companies are more formal than others, so you could pick one that's a bit less formal (P&O is a bit British middle England).

Sharing a table was one of the highlights of the cruise - some really great people. If you don't want that, I think you can have your own table.

Don't let these things put you off - they are minor compared to all the bonuses you mention like not having to fly, the opportunity to visit loads of different countries, etc.

Yes, the good points far outweighed the minor inconveniences of a couple of formal evenings. There was a no beachwear after 6pm any night rule, apart from round the pool.

Yes , the good ( no flying , lots of places to visit , lovely sea views etc )
Far outweigh the having to get a bit dressed up for a few hours some nights

You can ear in the buffet area if you don't want to eat in the formal restaurants. There is plenty of choice of foods.

They do ask that on formal nights adults make effort to keep to the dress code but it didn't seem to be strictly enforced when we were onboard.

We went to the buffet area in the evenings a few times at the beginning of our cruise, as it was more relaxed for the DCs, who wanted to eat quickly and get out, then wished we had stuck to the main restaurant more as we were a bit fed up with the sight of the buffet by the end of the cruise, having breakfast and lunch in there too. I must admit, although it was nice to have a break from meal planning and cooking, I was desperate for home-cooked food from about day 10 onwards (this was the first holiday I'd ever had that wasn't self-catered). Food was very good though.

The other issue is that I have health issue so am restricted-gluten, dairy and other things 'free' - but plain fish/meat/ salads are fine so buffet would work well.

We aren't 'scruffs' and DH is very happy to wear smart chinos and a nice shirt and I am happy to wear a smart knee length dress. I actually dislike seeing acres of wobbly bare flesh on display so don't have a problem with being decently dressed in the evening, but we do prefer to eat by ourselves I think.

I know that the food is an important part of cruising so in some ways we'd not be getting the best value for money, but I'd be happy enough with the other positives of it- I think!

We have grown up DCs so one option is the 'adults only' cruise options.

There is a huge amount of variety on P & O - although I think there would probably be a couple of nights where a tie was expected. But smart dress covers everything most of the time.

I think tables for 2 are in short supply though.

If you let them know your dietary needs in advance they will cater for them in the main dining rooms too.

My sister has a but allergy - each evening at the end if the meal she was given the next nights menu to select what she wanted so they could make sure it was safely prepared for her.

We're off on our first cruise soon, and I've been wondering about this stuff. I am absolutely not a dressy person (in jeans 95% of the time, can't even remember the last time I wore a dress or skirt apart from a funeral back in February) and my DCs are equally not into dressing up.

Are we going to be really missing out if we skip the formal dinners? Are children even allowed in to them? DCs are 15 and 11.

We had a 3 year old, 4 year old and 5 year old who came with us to the formal dinners every night and loved it. For us it was a great part of the holiday

We've only ever been on Cunard which is arguably the most formal of the lines and yes, the vast majority do dress up on formal nights. However, there is more than enough provision if you don't fancy that and there are plenty of people in casual dress of an evening and places to eat.

You can usually ask for a table for 2 if you pay enough of a premium but generally, if you like to get away from people then maybe it's not the holiday for you as although these ships are massive, you do tend to run into people and start to recognise them :)

And yes, our last trip we had children of 18 months, 5, 5, 8 and 11 and they were more than welcome at formal evenings although they generally preferred to go back to kids club and watch films, except the little one! The children all love cruising.

My friend went with this company. They had to fly to Barcelona and spent a night there before starting the cruise. They really enjoyed it and chose it because casual clothes could be worn night and day.

We went NCL & there was no forced dressing up (we like it so did - but the people next to us were in shorts/vests at dinner)

Plus I mentioned in passing I was dairy free & then everytime I picked up something from the buffet which had dairy in a waiter/steward tapped me on the shoulder & (depending upon their English), either shook their heads or said no, or no, dairy (or no, cow once!) so they took it very seriously

We had a table for 4 on RCI (2 adults, 2 DCs 8 and 10), there were quite a few tables with just couples on around us (you sit in the same place more or less every night). I would say that it is possible to get away from other people, obviously they are around you a lot of the time and you do start recognising faces a bit, but we didn't really get talking to anyone in particular, passed the time of day with various people but never got as far as knowing anyone's name or anything. We just spent our time doing our own thing. There were quite a few areas of the ship that were fairly quiet (bars, deck areas etc).

Children were encouraged to participate in the formal nights, under 12s didn't have to follow the dress code. None of us are dressers-up, we only went to one of the formal nights in the main dining room and got changed again as soon as we'd eaten. We did feel a bit underdressed in the bars and theatre for the rest of the evening though. For me the main problem is footwear, I find smart shoes and sandals cripplingly uncomfortable and you clock up a fair few miles wandering around the big ships. So it was out of the dining room and back into Birkies for me.

If you don't want to talk to people and don't like two evenings where you dress up, I am not sure a cruise is for you. P and O offer open dining so you can eat where and when you want and not everyone dresses up. Norwegian might be more suitable for you as they definitely dress down on some ships. I think the majority of people on cruises like a bit of formal dressing but ball dresses is a bit over the top.

The strange thing is we usually do make friends on holiday, we normally camp and are best buddies with all the neighbouring campers by the end of the week. It would have been different if we'd shared a table in the dining room as we would have been with the same people regularly. We really enjoyed it though and are doing another one this summer despite disliking the dressing up. Haven't decided about table sharing yet.

I suppose for some people a cruise is more about the food and the entertainment, whereas for us it's more about travelling in a different way and seeing a few places without driving.

Am I being dim here- looked at Norwegian and they only seem to start from scandi countries- is that me being stupid?

We want to go from Southampton.

Anyone know anything about the new P&O ship the Britannia that is due to start from 2015? Booking is underway now and mini suites sold out- not that we'd want one but just looked at their website.

If you have gone P&O is there a ship you'd recommend?

Oh- and how do you avoid norovirus :)

I've done three P&O cruises.

I've been on Oceana ( my favourite) which is quite relaxed but does cater more for family groups.

Ventura - I found it to be a bit too much of a party ship for my liking but it does have a few different different restaurants which you pay a small subsidy for if you want to avoid the main dining room or buffet. On that cruise we paid the subsidy most nights as I wasn't keen on the table we had been given in the dining room and the food in the Marco Pierre White restaurant was fantastic.

Arcadia - adults only ship and I found it a bit old fashioned and oppressive. We had a suite on that one so we chilled out in that most of the time.

I liked the dressing up side of it but on formal nights I just wore a little black dress.DH wore a dinner jacket but lots of men were just in normal suits. On smart casual nights I just wore a summery dress or skirt and smart top.

We are not into the "Butlins style" entertainment so most nights ,after dinner , we would sit on deck and drink cocktails while watching the sunset and if we were lucky , whales and dolphins.

I'd splurge on a balcony cabin if you want some time away for your fellow passengers.

Definitely more about the sightseeing and lack of flying/driving for us (also we live near Southampton, so it really is easy). We did go to the theatre several times and joined some quiz nights, but didn't do any daytime activities or use the spa, casino etc.

Probably a good idea to look at the Cruise Critic Forum, there is everything you could possibly want to know and a lot of very experienced posters. Also if you google Southampton Cruises there are plenty of sites that will let you filter by departing port.