Saturday Mail

[Stephen]

Bottom of page 3.........here here

[Stephen]

Link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... inner.html

[Not so ancient mariner]

I can't say it surprises me, and most of the subsequent correspondence seems to support the enforcement of advertised dress codes. Really it's a no brainer: If you don't like the dress codes on P&O, Cunard or whoever, then take your custom elsewhere.

If you like formal evenings, don't go with Easy Cruise or similar.

[Stephen]

I can't say it surprises me, and most of the subsequent correspondence seems to support the enforcement of advertised dress codes. Really it's a no brainer: If you don't like the dress codes on P&O, Cunard or whoever, then take your custom elsewhere.

If you like formal evenings, don't go with Easy Cruise or similar.

I completely agree. The trouble is, until cruise companies have the balls to enforce it articles like this will keep appearing.
I've seen people turned away from the planet bar on Ventura (I think I've got that right) because they hadn't adheard to the dress code of the evening, and that was by a young slip of a thing waitress, and there weren't any issues with the passengers who simply about turned and walked away.

[Quizzical Bob]

Oh no, not dress codes again. We've been round this circuit many times before. The old argument that 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide. Dress codes are archaic, pretentious and so redolent of the petite bourgeoisie.

[Kenmo1]

Oh no, not dress codes again. We've been round this circuit many times before. The old argument that 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide. Dress codes are archaic, pretentious and so redolent of the petite bourgeoisie.

I like dress codes and standards so I will continue to be pretentious with great pleasure. Most people on Ventura recently had a very good standard of dress even on the 17 casual nights and the ones who didn't stood out like sore thumbs.

[Quizzical Bob]

Oh no, not dress codes again. We've been round this circuit many times before. The old argument that 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide. Dress codes are archaic, pretentious and so redolent of the petite bourgeoisie.

I like dress codes and standards so I will continue to be pretentious with great pleasure. Most people on Ventura recently had a very good standard of dress even on the 17 casual mights and the ones who didn't stood out like sore thumbs.

Whatever floats your boat.

If only everyone could wear what they thought suitable the world would be a happier place.

All in my humble opinion, of course

[Not so ancient mariner]

I disagree with your comment 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide.


It's called market targeting, and if whatever you are insisting on is sufficiently popular, it can actually increase custom.

Pandering to those of the opinion "I am going to do/wear whatever I like, and b***er the rest of you" is a road to anarchy. I am not saying the cruise lines should all have formal dress codes: - Just that they should publish in advance their code (whatever it is) - as with other rules (smoking, attendance at emergency drills etc) that apply on board ship - and then enforce them.

[davecttr]

Oh no, not dress codes again. We've been round this circuit many times before. The old argument that 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide. Dress codes are archaic, pretentious and so redolent of the petite bourgeoisie.

Well said sir!

[colwill]

Oh no, not dress codes again. We've been round this circuit many times before. The old argument that 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide. Dress codes are archaic, pretentious and so redolent of the petite bourgeoisie.

Well said sir!

And hear hear from here!

[davecttr]

I disagree with your comment 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide.


It's called market targeting, and if whatever you are insisting on is sufficiently popular, it can actually increase custom.

Pandering to those of the opinion "I am going to do/wear whatever I like, and b***er the rest of you" is a road to anarchy. I am not saying the cruise lines should all have formal dress codes: - Just that they should publish in advance their code (whatever it is) - as with other rules (smoking, attendance at emergency drills etc) that apply on board ship - and then enforce them.

I have never seen the code for the evening not enforced on P&O, with the result that on 'jacket required' nights you see some very ancient and dodgy articles of clothing. Dress codes do give opportunities for those with 'Hyacinth' tendencies to bore everyone else. i was once told that wearing a bow tie that was not a self tie was a big no no with the implication that the said tie would be closely examined and the fact that it was clip on announced to the assembled masses, who would then have multiple strokes and coronaries and even worse go purple and start spluttering! I would then be forcibly ejected from the dining room if not the ship.

I pointed out that i have trigger fingers on both hands and tying a bow tie is difficult and can be very painful. That shut her up.

[Quizzical Bob]

I have never seen the code for the evening not enforced on P&O, with the result that on 'jacket required' nights you see some very ancient and dodgy articles of clothing. Dress codes do give opportunities for those with 'Hyacinth' tendencies to bore everyone else. i was once told that wearing a bow tie that was not a self tie was a big no no with the implication that the said tie would be closely examined and the fact that it was clip on announced to the assembled masses, who would then have multiple strokes and coronaries and even worse go purple and start spluttering! I would then be forcibly ejected from the dining room if not the ship.

I pointed out that i have trigger fingers on both hands and tying a bow tie is difficult and can be very painful. That shut her up.

A self-tie tie! Mocky shop of horrors! I believe that HM the Queen can spot a selftie at a 100 paces but I'm sure in your case she would make an exception

[Silver_Shiney]

I disagree with your comment 'if you don't like it, go elsewhere' is commercial suicide.


It's called market targeting, and if whatever you are insisting on is sufficiently popular, it can actually increase custom.

Pandering to those of the opinion "I am going to do/wear whatever I like, and b***er the rest of you" is a road to anarchy. I am not saying the cruise lines should all have formal dress codes: - Just that they should publish in advance their code (whatever it is) - as with other rules (smoking, attendance at emergency drills etc) that apply on board ship - and then enforce them.

Absolutely correct.

[Frank Manning]

Its Princess Anne who can spot the pre tied bow ties, not HMQ. I bought several self tie ones just in case she comes to see me. They do give one a certain sense of 'je ne sais ce que', when worn in the company of those plebs wearing football shirts outside jeans.

Come on guys, this dress code post must be worth more pages than this! I have been looking forward to a good old cruise community fisticuffs.

[gravy1955]

If there is a ship dress code then my wife and I always try to adhere to it because we knew the rules when we booked. However, having said that I do wish they would cut back on the number of formal nights.A couple of times on a two week cruise is enjoyable and in my opinion sufficient; any more than that starts to become rather tiresome. Obviously, coming to the MDR in string vest , shorts and flip flops would be unacceptable but as long as you are clean and respectably attired in casual clothes I see no problem.All this fuss and bother about having to wear a jacket/tie begins to gets me down which is not what I want on a holiday

[barney]

"Come on guys, this dress code post must be worth more pages than this! I have been looking forward to a good old cruise community fisticuffs. "

OK here goes !!!!!

I personally like the dress codes, as does Mrs Barney.

If the mode of expected dress is clearly stated to the potential customers in advance of booking, then I don't see any problem in the company enforcing it.

So, in a nutshell, if we wish to dress casually throughout your holiday, book your holiday with a ship that encourages that I.E Norwegian cruise line.
If you decide to holiday with a company that has a dress code, you should really adhere to it.

At the end of the day, it's only for a few hours in the evening.

"Obviously, coming to the MDR in string vest , shorts and flip flops would be unacceptable"
That is where it will end up.
I have actually seen a man, on the Oceana, on a formal night, sitting in the theatre in a Liverpool football shirt.
I mean, a Liverpool shirt? Now, a nice tidy blue and white Gillingham shirt, maybe ok .
But a Liverpool shirt

[Dark Knight]

this sad and tired topic is regurgitated time and again
same with smoking , kids on cruises, snobs etc
as tired and as clichéd ,as those sad old farts that rant on about Butlins at sea, falling standard and it isn't like it used to be


B O R I N G

[Quizzical Bob]

If there is a ship dress code then my wife and I always try to adhere to it because we knew the rules when we booked. However, having said that I do wish they would cut back on the number of formal nights.A couple of times on a two week cruise is enjoyable and in my opinion sufficient; any more than that starts to become rather tiresome. Obviously, coming to the MDR in string vest , shorts and flip flops would be unacceptable but as long as you are clean and respectably attired in casual clothes I see no problem.All this fuss and bother about having to wear a jacket/tie begins to gets me down which is not what I want on a holiday

This sums up my views perfectly.

[colwill]

And mine. If I ever harboured any desire for playing at dressing up, it was well and truly squashed after two weeks on QE2, when just about every wretched night was formal. Utterly tedious and, dare I say it, largely appealing to attention seekers.

Having said that, we adhere to the code. However, to those saying "try another line", there is rather more to Cunard, in particular, than the dress code.

[jay-ell71]

Once again this vexed topic.

OK. So gentlemen do not want to put on a bow tie and black jacket, and ladies do not want to be seen in glamorous frocks and uncomfortable shoes. I get that. So.... What do gentlemen want to wear in a restaurant where the tables are laid with white tablecloths and napery, a selection of cutlery perfectly placed, sparkling glasses and comfortable chairs.... ... Where the waiters take your order, pour your wine and treat you with charm and respect? This is a serious question. It is never clear to me what is acceptable to the majority of people who do not want to adhere to a "dress code" in a restaurant on a cruise ship.
???????

[barney]

I think that most would say 'smart casual' Jay but then that comes down to definition.

We very recently stayed in a nice hotel in Malaga and the evening dress code was Smart Casual, no shorts in the evening.
Obviously some people thought that didn't apply to them and chanced their arm.

There was the odd arguement with the Maitre d about this but he stood his ground.

My point is, doing away with a dress code is the slippery slope to Thompson Cruises.

As I've said, horses for courses, but for us, it's ok as it is.

[Manoverboard]

... So.... What do gentlemen want to wear in a restaurant where the tables are laid with white tablecloths and napery, a selection of cutlery perfectly placed, sparkling glasses and comfortable chairs.... ... Where the waiters take your order, pour your wine and treat you with charm and respect? This is a serious question. It is never clear to me what is acceptable to the majority of people who do not want to adhere to a "dress code" in a restaurant on a cruise ship.
???????

One of the ' nicest / poshest ' up-scale Hotels / Restaurants we have been to was the very elegant Prince of Wales in Niagara on the Lake, P&O are on a par with McDonalds as a comparison.

They want your money not the name of your tailor or your jeweller, if you can afford it you are welcome but there is a standard of dress that is desirable yet never compulsory. They also enjoy a tipping culture at around 20% !!!

We wore elegant casual as did everybody else on three different evenings, I had on a smart lightweight pastel coloured jacket plus a coloured long sleeved shirt and a black pair of trousers and shoes ... but no tie. Everybody was at ease and nobody was trying to out dress anybody else.

Perfick

[Quizzical Bob]

Once again this vexed topic.

OK. So gentlemen do not want to put on a bow tie and black jacket, and ladies do not want to be seen in glamorous frocks and uncomfortable shoes. I get that. So.... What do gentlemen want to wear in a restaurant where the tables are laid with white tablecloths and napery, a selection of cutlery perfectly placed, sparkling glasses and comfortable chairs.... ... Where the waiters take your order, pour your wine and treat you with charm and respect? This is a serious question. It is never clear to me what is acceptable to the majority of people who do not want to adhere to a "dress code" in a restaurant on a cruise ship.
???????

I have eaten in many restaurants all over the world, some with 3 Michelin stars, every one of which was of a far higher standard than P&O could ever hope to achieve and none of them has ever demanded that I wear special clothing in order to participate. The rest of the world has moved on a long time ago and left us far behind. As some bemused French passengers observed on our first cruise "C'est Incroyable, d'une autre siècle".

'Tablecloths, cutlery, glasses and chairs'! How wonderfully modern, makes a change from wooden bowls and sawdust on the floor, I suppose. Whatever next? (Please read this with your tongue in your cheek

[Mervyn and Trish]

Let's just not forget when bandying about words like "commercial suicide" that this article says 70% want formal. That seems a reasonable enough sized market to target.

Commercial suicide is selling a product and then not delivering it. So selling a cruise with formal nights and then allowing people who, to put it bluntly, booked the wrong cruise, to hijack it is lunacy.

Yes I might be archaic. I may be a ten bob millionaire. But if I book a cruise which promises to meet those archaic and snobbish aspirations I want it to deliver, not pander to the minority (yes, 30% is a minority) who disagree.

I faithfully promise in return not to pack my dinner jacket if I book a cruise marketed as casual.

[Dark Knight]

there is a lot of talk of TBM's and social climbing etc
how does squeezing a fat old bloke into a £50 Matalan dinner suit equate to social climbing or Mr and Mrs Bucket?
perhaps it is not the dress code per se, more the imagined status some people think it confers on them by the wearing of said cheap suit?
whilst the smart casual approach does not confer anything other than you can be comfortable and relaxed

a mystery for the ages but then there is nowt as queer as folk



apart from a platypus, who I believe don't dress to impress