Do you get dressed up for formal night on a cruise? There's a good chance a lot of other passengers like to do it as well.
A Royal Caribbean cruise has a different dress code for each evening of the cruise that recommends what to wear to the Main Dining Room.
With more people trying a cruise these days, views on dress codes seem to be changing.
However, a recent poll of cruise fans indicate at least half still like the idea.
A poll in the Royal Caribbean Dining Facebook group with 1,000 respondents shows 51% of the people said they always get dressed up for formal night on a cruise.
Another 20% said they "occasionally" do, and 11% chose "rarely".
Just 18% of the people that participated in the survey said they never get dressed up for formal night.
The results of this very unscientific poll shows most cruise fans participate in formal night, despite anecdotal trends to the contrary.
"I'm not dressing up. It’s vacation"
There were strong opinions on both sides of the debate whether or not to get dressed up on a cruise.
Alex Swary wrote, "Unless it’s a funeral or a job interview, I’m not dressing up. It’s vacation."
Ro Carson argued formal night adds a flair to the vacation, "Fun to get dressed up and look around and see everyone else the same."
Rather than participate, Dru Filiberto skips the Main Dining Room on formal night, "We don't get dressed up for formal nights anymore, so we don't go to formal nights anymore. We'll eat somewhere else that night rather than go in casual clothes."
Mary Beth Ritchie shared getting dressed up doesn't have to be black tie, "I usually wear black jeans or leggings with a sparkly top."
"Love getting dressed up. It's like we are on a date," wrote Arlene Patterson.
Marina Patey added, "I live in scrubs on the daily so I treat myself to girly clothes!! It adds something special to my vacation."
How formal night got started on a cruise
Cruise lines evolved from ocean liners, and one of the many concepts they carried over were dress codes.
Dressing up for dinner is a way to passengers to take photos and enjoy an evening of elegance.
Billy Hirsch from CruiseHabit says formal night grew out of the classic cruise days, but remains popular, "Travel on passenger ships is now primarily recreational, the snob-appeal in cruise-line marketing combined with the tendency of tradition to live long at sea has meant that more formal dress has remained popular with many guests - though most seem content to don a bathing suit rather than a tuxedo when by the pool."
I think pop culture influenced what vacationers expect on a cruise ship. On The Love Boat TV series, dressing up for dinner was part of the fun portrayed. It conveyed how wearing fancy clothes with dinner was not only part of the experience, but a tradition that comes with a cruise vacation.
A lot has changed since the early days of cruising, and much of it has moved to keep up with changing consumer tastes.
Royal Caribbean doesn't even call it formal night on short sailings anymore. "Dress Your Best" is now the standard on sailings less than 7 nights, but is effectively the same concept without the stuffy name.
Other lines have gone further than that. Norwegian Cruise Line famously made the change by introducing Freestyle Dining.
Celebrity Cruises replaced formal nights with Evening Chic nights, where the dress code is dressier than smart casual but less so than a traditional formal night.
All dress codes are optional
It's important to note that the dress codes really are more recommendations than actual requirements.
Royal Caribbean's website describes all of its dress codes as "suggested attire", and in my experience, you'd really have to show up in a bathing suit to be turned away.
The formal night dress code only applies to the Main Dining Room for dinner. There's no dress code for walking around the ship, and all other restaurants have their own dress code.
Even on formal night, the dress code at specialty restaurants supersedes the Main Dining Room.
The bottom line is you shouldn't feel obligated to wear a suit or gown to dinner. You certainly can, but keep in mind it's discretionary.
What you should wear on formal night
The advice I give anyone who wants to know what to pack for their cruise in terms of formal night is to dress something nicer than you might wear on any other night.
First and foremost, don't worry too much about it. There's no fashion police on the ship, and since the dress code are suggestions, you have a lot of latitude in what you can wear.
That being said, one thing The Love Boat got right is dressing up is fun, and for a lot of families, formal night is the perfect excuse for something different and a way to get great photos.
There are so few opportunities in life to get dressed up as adults when it's not for a funeral or a wedding. And both of those situations are all about someone else.
In addition to dressing nicer, Royal Caribbean also provides photo opportunities around the ship.
There's no obligation to stop and take a photo, but you could get a professional photo taken of you and your family with various backdrops.
You'll find the photographers near the Main Dining Room, and public areas such as the Royal Promenade, Centrum, or Central Park.
There's no cost to take a photo, but if you want to buy a print or digital download, then you'd order one.
I've seen a lot of guests that get dressed up for dinner change into something more casual as soon as dinner and photos are complete, so there's no obligation to stay dressed up all night.
