What to wear on your Royal Caribbean cruise is a source of controversy among fans and a never-ending source of debate. Nonetheless, dinner time on a Royal Caribbean cruise comes with suggested dress attire and for first-time cruisers, what you should and should not wear can be confusing.

The good news is cruising these days is a far cry from the "old days" in the last century when it was ball gowns and tuxedos with tails and top hats.

Royal Caribbean is pretty open about what you can wear throughout the cruise but at dinner time, there are still a few elements of formality left to consider. And for those who don't want to dress up beyond t-shirts and shorts, Royal Caribbean has options for you as well.

Casual

The casual dress code is defined by Royal Caribbean as, "Sport shirts and slacks for men, sundresses or pants for women." 

This basically means its clothing that is a step up from what you might wear around the ship during the day. Often during the day, guests will wear shorts, t-shirts, and other pool-friendly clothing. The casual dress code means it should be nicer than that, with the suggestions we see above.

In our experience, we see men wearing long pants with polo shirts with khakis or "nice jeans" (no holes) and a collared shirt. 

For women, we often spot sundresses or just a nice blouse. The best way I can describe it is what you would probably wear to visit your grandmother on a holiday.

Casual night dress code is the most common dress code you will find on your cruise and it's the easiest to pack for.

Also, Royal Caribbean states, "Please keep swimwear to the pool deck. Shorts are welcome for breakfast and lunch. Bare feet are not allowed at any venue. Tank tops are not permitted."

Smart Casual

The smart casual dress code is the next step up from casual. Royal Caribbean defines it as, "Jackets and ties for men, dresses or pantsuits for women."

For men, you can swap out the polo shirts for collared shirts and add a jacket with a tie. 

Royal Caribbean states, "Jackets, sports coats, and blazers are snazzy and welcome."

For women, this can be dresses, skirts, blouses, and pantsuits.

Smart casual clothing is the sort of clothing you might wear on a religious holiday to a place of worship. 

Formal Nights

The formal night dress code is the most stringent in terms of formality (hence the name) and Royal Caribbean defines formal clothing as, "Suits and ties or tuxedos for men, cocktail dresses for women."

Formal night clothing is what you would probably wear to a traditional wedding and should be a step up from any other night's clothing. You may see some men wearing tuxedos, but a vast majority of men on Royal Caribbean cruises these days opt for a two or three-piece suit.

For women, it's an opportunity to dress up as much as possible, with evening gowns, cocktail dresses, and lots of accessories. 

Read more: Royal Caribbean formal night: What to wear

How often formal nights are offered depends on the length of your cruise and the itinerary. This also differs from ship to ship. Generally, it follows this pattern:

• 3-5 nights: 1 formal night
• 6-7 nights: 2 formal nights
• 8-10 nights: 2 formal nights
• 11-14 nights: 3 formal nights
• 15+ nights: 3 or 4 formal nights

Chef's Table enforces a formal dress code policy.

What about kids?

Children are expected to follow the evening's dress code just as closely as adults. There may be a little more leeway in terms of the degree of formality for children's clothing, but at the same time, children are expected to be dressed up more than what they would wear during the daytime. 

For boys, polo shirts and nice pants will suffice for most evenings and girls can wear dresses, skirts, and sweaters.

Specialty Restaurants

The specialty restaurants onboard have their own dress code each evening, which supersedes what the main dining room dress code may be. Of course, you can always overdress for these restaurants by wearing more formal attire, but that's up to you.

A trick some veteran cruisers will try is booking specialty restaurants on formal nights of their cruise with the rationale that if you have to dress up anyway for the specialty restaurant, then you may as well do it on a formal night and "kill two birds with one stone."

What are the theme nights?

On a typical Royal Caribbean cruise, you will find in the Cruise Compass there is a certain dress code in the Main Dining Room every night. Here are some examples of theme nights you will see:

• Casual: Jeans, polo shirts, golf or Bermuda shorts, t-shirts, blouses
• Dress To Impress/Dress Your Best/Formal: Suits, sports coats, cocktail dresses, gowns
• Caribbean/Tropical: Tropical prints, pastel colors, linen shirts, Bermuda shorts, sundresses
• White Night: Casual attire, but white!
• 70s/80s Night: Bell-bottom jeans, polyester suits, wide lapel shirts, maxi dresses, mini skirts, knee-high boots, platform shoes
• Country: Flannel tops, jeans, cowboy boots, cowboy hats

What if I do not want to get dressed up?

The fact is you do not have to dress up at all for dinner on your cruise. 

Royal Caribbean gives you the option of dining in your stateroom (room service is complimentary), at the Windjammer buffet, or at another casual restaurant onboard like Sorrento's or Playmakers.

In either case, you can wear anything other than swimsuits (with shoes) to dinner and it will be perfectly acceptable.

Read more: What to wear on a cruise that works for all dress codes

Is the dress code enforced?

Officially Royal Caribbean states they will enforce the dress code every night, however, the reality is the staff cannot screen everyone and what they are wearing.

There are plenty of cruisers out there that will tell you about people they have seen at a restaurant wearing shorts or a tank top. Moreover, people may cite what others are wearing isn't formal enough for the suggested dress code of the evening. Inevitably, it's a decision the Royal Caribbean staff will make depending on the situation.

The dress codes offer suggestions but they are starting points for what to wear. Because Royal Caribbean does not explicitly list everything that you may not wear, there's room for interpretation by passengers. Nearly every description of dress codes for Royal Caribbean cruises mentions passengers should not wear shorts, but you will likely see someone on your cruise wearing shorts in the restaurants.

Welcome to this week's post round up and there was a lot of news and happenings this week in the world of Royal Caribbean.  

In addition to the news this week, we showcased 33 beautiful Royal Caribbean photos worthy of drooling all over your keyboard as well as a list of all the fun onboard outdoor activities on Royal Caribbean ships.

Were you able to catch up with it all?  If not, let's dive into what happened this week for a look back.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean's second quarter financials were released and the company did really well.
• The cruise industry is preparing for new air pollution laws set to go into effect in North America and Royal Caribbean's approach involves something called scrubbers.
• Royal Caribbean was summoned to Congress and pledges to provide lots more onboard crime data.
• Royal Caribbean's plan to redevelop Cape Liberty to make room for Quantum of the Seas was approved by the port.
• We know a little more about the fire on Grandeur of the Seas.
• Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain attributes a strong financial quarter to increased revenue and efficiency. 

Join us for the first ever Royal Caribbean Blog Cruise!

We're so excited to announce the first ever group cruise for readers and staff of RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com aboard Quantum of the Seas!  This is an exclusive group where we are inviting you, our readers, to join us on one of the first Quantum of the Seas sailings on an 8-night cruise to the Caribbean.

This Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise is all about enjoying this brand new ship with other fans who are big fans of Royal Caribbean.  Don't miss this opportunity to check out the brand new cruise ship as well as be a part of exclusive events for those that book with our group!

For more details on booking the cruise, the itinerary and prices, check out the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise page and if you have any questions, email me!

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Seatrade Insider has a look at how the China-Japan territorial dispute has affected Royal Caribbean's bottom line.

Cruize Cast has a brand new podcast episode out discussing cruising to Italy.

USA Today has a photo tour of a former Royal Caribbean ship, the Song of America.

The New York Times has a great look at travel bloggers and how they pay for their trips.

As we reported earlier this week, Royal Caribbean got the official go-ahead to build a new cruise terminal at Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey and today we've got more details as to what the facility will entail.

The $70 million terminal will be paid for by Royal Caribbean and includes a 36,000-square-foot check-in terminal, a 60,000-square-foot luggage area, a parking deck, additional parking and berth improvements. Construction will begin this summer and should be completed by October 2014.  Quantum of the Seas is scheduled to have its first cruise out of Cape Liberty in November 2014.

As part of the agreement allowing construction of the cruise terminal, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the marine terminal facility in Bayonne, agreed to extend Royal Caribbean’s operating agreement for the terminal for an additional five years through 2043.

Passenger volume at the Cape Liberty port have been increasing steadily over the past three years, from 393,000 in 2010 to 476,000 in 2012. Once the new cruise terminal is complete, officials expect the passenger volume to increase to about 600,000.

During Royal Caribbean's second quarter financial results conference call, Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain credited an increase in revenue in part due to its newer ships being more efficient and generating revenue at a faster pace.

According to Fain, cruise ships built since 2006 are generating 25% more revenue per berth than their older sister ships.  Moreover, operating costs for older ships are more than 20% higher per berth.

To that point, Fain pointed out that Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas are the most efficient ships in the fleet, with 25% lower fuel consumption per berth than the rest of the fleet.  Fain expects Quantum of the Seas to follow the Oasis-class path by doing even better, and should set a new standard.

Fain also mentioned an emerging technology that Royal Caribbean has been testing with sister-brand Celebrity Cruises that use bubbles to lessen hull friction in the water.  Tiny bubbles stick to the bottom of the ship's hull so the ship literally is sailing on a cushion of air.  The technology is working so well that Fain expects to roll it out to other ships in the fleet, "in due course".

The exact cause of the fire on Grandeur of the Seas that occured in late May 2013 is still unknown but during yesterday's congressional hearing into cruise ship safety, we got some more details.  

In his testimony, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio spoke to why the fire became as large as it was.  Admiral Servidio said a deluge system vale, which is a piece of firefighting equipment, was inaccesible because of the fire's location. In addition, an open deck hatch allowed the fire to spread.

Servidio also mentioned that the Coast Guard will be investigating the entire class of Vision-class ships that Grandeur of the Seas is part of, to seek more information.  This includes Legend of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, and Vision of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean met with representatives from Haiti's Tourism Ministry to discuss the operation of the cruise line's private destination of Labadee.

In a statement from the ministry, the meeting was focused on access to the resort area, increased integration of the villagers of Labadee in tourist activities and the general development of the region.

Haiti’s Tourism Ministry said a monitoring committee will be created to coordinate policy measure that will aim to increase local development in Labadee, along with improving access to the site.

That committee is set to become operational in mid-August.

Currently about 300 Haitians work at Labadee.

Royal Caribbean reported a second-quarter net income of $24.7 million, or $0.11 per share, which is better than a net loss of $3.7 million last year during the same time.  

Royal Caribbean noted that its earnings during the quarter include an impact of $0.05 per share related to the Grandeur fire and a non-cash charge of $0.07 per share accounting correction related to the company's affinity credit card program.

For the full year outlook, Royal Caribbean's outlook remains essentially unchanged from the previous update in May.  The impact of the Grandeur of the Seas fire and the strengthening of the US dollar have already been accounted for.

Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain was happy about the results, "It is rewarding to see things coming together. While the operating environment has been frustrating, our bookings trajectory is looking good and I'm thrilled to see our cost initiatives beginning to pay off. Exploiting this positive momentum will help us take our returns and our profitability to the next level."

Total revenues increased to $1.88 billion, from $1.82 billion last year. Analysts expected revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter.  In addition, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit of $0.09 per share for the quarter, which Royal Caribbean came out ahead of. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have approved a proposal by Royal Caribbean to redevelop the Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The Board of Commissioners approved the plan earlier tonight at a meeting.  The purpose of the proposal is to allow the port to handle Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, which will arrive in November 2014.

Port Authority Director Bill Baroni commented on the decision, "This new lease extension will bring to Bayonne one of the most modern cruise terminals in the country. Royal Caribbean is going to invest $50 million in the new terminal and two parking facilities for people going out of Bayonne."

Baroni believes Quantum of the Seas will also give Bayonne's economy a boost.

"This new terminal will help create jobs in construction and will have a long term economic benefits on our region.  When a ship like this calls a port that ship brings about $1 million a trip to the city in local economic activity. Once completed, the terminal is expected to bring in 600,000 people every year." 

Baroni did say that Royal Caribbean's proposal still needs to have its finances approved by the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority and once that happens, construction will begin in a few months.  The project should be completed by 2014 right before the new cruise ship arrives.

Royal Caribbean will fund the project in conjunction with the city of Bayonne, which would issue $70 million in bonds. 

Once completed, the new terminal will see passenger volume rise by 25 percent to 600,000 per year, according to Baroni.

Speaking at a hearing today on cruise safety by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Washington, Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein promised Royal Caribbean will voluntarily publish more data about crimes on their cruises.

Royal Caribbean is one of three of the largest cruise ship operators appearing before the committee today after U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced legislation yesterday that would require disclosure of the crime data and make the Department of Transportation responsible for consumer protection on cruises.

“We are proud of this initiative and believe that it addresses many of the concerns raised with the limited public reporting required,” by current law, Goldstein said in prepared remarks.

Goldstein said Royal Caribbean will begin posting the expanded data for all of its cruise divisions starting August 1, 2013 and the information will date back to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Royal Caribbean has proposed a plan to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to allow the cruise line to make significant changes to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey that would be needed for the arrival of Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas, which is Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship and about to start construction, will be home ported in Bayonne.  The changes Royal Caribbean is proposing are aimed at accommodating the brand new ship, which arrives in late 2014.

The Port Authority's board of commissioners will vote on the plan later today.

Port Commerce director Richard Larrabee says the agency would lose about $1 million a year in rent at the cruise port. But he says that will be more than offset by increased passenger and parking revenue tied to the new ship.