Change to Dress Codes

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Kenmo1
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Change to Dress Codes

#1

Post by Kenmo1 »

If you look at the bottom right hand corner of page 178 in the new brochure from PO, it looks like only 2 dress codes will apply across the fleet from early next year - effective from X604 20/03/16, R602 26/04/16 and J602 05/05/16 so Arcadia, Aurora and Oriana will have just Black Tie and Evening Casual in line with the other PO ships.

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towny44
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#2

Post by towny44 »

Seems sensible to fall in line with most other competition cruise lines; of course this does not prevent anyone from wearing a jacket on casual evenings if they want to.
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Dancing Queen
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#3

Post by Dancing Queen »

Very true John it won't prevent anyone dressing as they wish to but unfortunately not everyone interprets 'casual' in the same way.

It may sound sensible to fall in line with other cruiselines but what about those of us that don't want it, maybe time to bring back a couple of ships for 'people who don't do cruises' then everyone can make their own choices.
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#4

Post by Kenmo1 »

towny44 wrote:
Seems sensible to fall in line with most other competition cruise lines; of course this does not prevent anyone from wearing a jacket on casual evenings if they want to.
Having looked at our half packed suitcases, I am wondering if we will be able to squeeze hubby's jacket in as there is still a lot of more important stuff to be packed (my dresses, of course as a girl has to have a choice). We might be eating in the buffet on the smart jacket nights.

Maureen


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Change to Dress Codes

#5

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Dancing Queen wrote:
Very true John it won't prevent anyone dressing as they wish to but unfortunately not everyone interprets 'casual' in the same way.

It may sound sensible to fall in line with other cruiselines but what about those of us that don't want it, maybe time to bring back a couple of ships for 'people who don't do cruises' then everyone can make their own choices.
There's nothing to stop you wearing a jacket and tie every night, should you so wish, so I don't understand what you mean by 'don't want it'. Do you mean 'those of us who wish to impose our ideas on others'?

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Dancing Queen
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#6

Post by Dancing Queen »

I don't wish to impose my ideas on anyone Quiz B just as I'm sure you don't ;) I will always dress to please me regardless of what anyone else does BUT there are obviously people who don't enjoy dressing up which is why I said it's maybe time to have a couple of ships for 'people who don't do cruises' ;)

I have always embraced cruising, I never went on Ocean Village because I just happened to be one of those people who 'DID DO CRUISES' sorry and we will have to agree to disagree on this one but a 14 night cruise with 10 casual nights isn't my idea of a cruise hence the reason I will not be returning to P&O in the foreseeable future, each to their own though and I'm sure we will all enjoy what we do and what suits us.
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Change to Dress Codes

#7

Post by Quizzical Bob »

I fail to see the connection between clothing and cruises.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#8

Post by Kenmo1 »

Quizzical Bob wrote:
I fail to see the connection between clothing and cruises.
I'm with DQ on this subject. The dressing up is one of the things we enjoy about cruising. We don't have a huge social life so the only time we get to dress up is on a cruise. We obviously choose a cruise because we want to visit the ports but we tend to stick with the cruise lines where we can dress up otherwise we would spend our lives in jeans and t-shirts. So to us, yes, there is a connection between clothing and cruising and luckily there are enough different cruise lines to suit every taste.

Maureen


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Change to Dress Codes

#9

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Kenmo1 wrote:
Quizzical Bob wrote:
I fail to see the connection between clothing and cruises.
I'm with DQ on this subject. The dressing up is one of the things we enjoy about cruising. We don't have a huge social life so the only time we get to dress up is on a cruise. We obviously choose a cruise because we want to visit the ports but we tend to stick with the cruise lines where we can dress up otherwise we would spend our lives in jeans and t-shirts. So to us, yes, there is a connection between clothing and cruising and luckily there are enough different cruise lines to suit every taste.

Maureen
But this is where I'm confused. You can dress up as much as you like on any cruise so there are no cruise lines where you can't dress up.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#10

Post by oldbluefox »

Kenmo1 wrote:
luckily there are enough different cruise lines to suit every taste.

Maureen
So why do those who don't like dressing up for dinner go on cruises which have a more formal dress code, and then moan about it? I expect I would get short shrift if I went on NCL or Ocean Village, for example, and then complained there were no formal nights. :think:

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#11

Post by Kenmo1 »

QB - I accept that you can dress up or down on any cruise line but I wouldn't want to stand out like a sore thumb by being either overdressed or underdressed - perhaps that is my problem but I prefer to blend in.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#12

Post by Dancing Queen »

Well Bob you were the one that said you didn't understand what I meant by 'don't want it' so to clarify what I don't want is the Ocean Village type of cruising, I along with many others pay a huge amount of money to enjoy a certain ambience which does not include the shorts/t-shirt and flip flop brigade .. apologies if that upsets you but I have been on such cruises and yes it does alter the whole atmosphere :o

I also said 'unfortunately not everyone interprets casual in the same way' ( as stated above ) I have no problem with anyone wearing smart casual I happen to have some very nice casual wear as does my husband and as no doubt you do, what I don't find acceptable is a female wearing leggings and a rugby shirt ( yes perfectly true she was sat at my table !! ) sorry if that offends you and I'm quite aware that everyone has the choice to dress as they please it just isn't my idea of 'acceptable'
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#13

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

On Britannia they only have the two dress codes. On the Maiden, there were four black tie nights, as there have been for a 14 night cruise on the ships with the three tier code, and adherence was high. The connection between cruising and dressing for dinner, QB, goes back to their history where everyone dressed for dinner every night and they choose to continue the tradition, on a lesser scale, which I and many others enjoy. It is part of what makes P&O what it is. There is of course no such tradition on the other Johnny-come-lately cruise lines which offer a more casual style for those who prefer it.

I don't mourn the passing of the middle dress code, which I always found confusing, and am happy with the simpler code, but was happy to wear a jacket on smart casual nights, as and when it suited me. Generally on the Britannia Maiden smart casual was also interpreted well, with only a very few people wearing their gardening clothes! But the day P&O drop the posh nights is the day I'll take myself elsewhere, though I don't see it being any day soon.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#14

Post by Manoverboard »

oldbluefox wrote:
Kenmo1 wrote:
luckily there are enough different cruise lines to suit every taste.

Maureen
So why do those who don't like dressing up for dinner go on cruises which have a more formal dress code, and then moan about it? I expect I would get short shrift if I went on NCL or Ocean Village, for example, and then complained there were no formal nights. :think:
We don't mind dressing up at all, quite enjoy it if truth be told, but are reluctant to do so for a Spag Bol evening meal or just for the sake of it ... regardless of the Cruise Line.

As always ... itineraries are for us the driving force rather than dress codes.

:wave:
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#15

Post by Dark Knight »

2 dress codes makes more sense than having a 3rd which is not one thing or the other
Everyone booking a cruise knows what dress code is expected, so why moan about it?
if you don't want to dress up then either pick a casual cruise line with no dress code or eat in the buffet and accept the prevailing dress code and the venue restrictions that go with it
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#16

Post by barr0ld »

To throw my four penn'orth in (inflation strikes again), I normally wear jeans and tee shirts unless I'm at work.

But I like to dress up occasionally, and formal nights are a big part of cruising for me. If others don't want to dress up, that's fine, but as P&O have a dress code for formal nights, I think it should be enforced, at least in the MDRs.

One formal night was spoiled for me by a guy at our table who was wearing a black shirt, lace tie, black trousers, and cowboy boots! His wife was clearly embarrassed, as she kept apologising, whilst he just countered with "nobody's going to tell me what I can and can't wear when I'm paying.

As far as I'm concerned, somebody should have done exactly that; the maître should have refused him entry to the restaurant.

That said, I won't bemoan the passing of "jacket required" nights, even if it means I'll never wear the sports jacket that I bought for Aurora. I only ever wear it on board.
Last edited by barr0ld on 29 Mar 2015, 18:22, edited 1 time in total.


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Change to Dress Codes

#17

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Dancing Queen wrote:
Well Bob you were the one that said you didn't understand what I meant by 'don't want it' so to clarify what I don't want is the Ocean Village type of cruising, I along with many others pay a huge amount of money to enjoy a certain ambience which does not include the shorts/t-shirt and flip flop brigade .. apologies if that upsets you but I have been on such cruises and yes it does alter the whole atmosphere :o

I also said 'unfortunately not everyone interprets casual in the same way' ( as stated above ) I have no problem with anyone wearing smart casual I happen to have some very nice casual wear as does my husband and as no doubt you do, what I don't find acceptable is a female wearing leggings and a rugby shirt ( yes perfectly true she was sat at my table !! ) sorry if that offends you and I'm quite aware that everyone has the choice to dress as they please it just isn't my idea of 'acceptable'
DQ, thanks for clarifying your viewpoint. I have to say that after a year of cruising on 8 different P&O ships I have never come across the shorts/T-shirt/flip-flops that you describe. Like you, I would not expect to see a branded sports shirt for an evening meal but I would not be bothered by it.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#18

Post by lioness »

Hee hee, my husband wouldn't be seen dead without a jacket, so he will wear one, albeit without a tie on casual nights. I think it's a shame. I rather enjoyed the "informal nights" wearing a nice dress and other half in a blazer. But so be it.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#19

Post by Gill W »

Hoorah, it's about time the jacket required nights have been abolished.

Much better to let the chaps wear a jacket if they feel like it, rather than have it as a requirement, especially on longer cruises.

We had a 24 night cruise on Azura when she had the three codes, and there were about 10-11 jacket required nights, which was a lot of evenings.
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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#20

Post by david63 »

The "semi formal" dress code became diluted when it morphed into "jacket required" - which was/is neither one thing nor the other. To me the jacket required code is little different than smart casual.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#21

Post by Onelife »

In my experience whenever dress codes are relaxed/ left open to interpretation it inevitably leads to falling standards. Perhaps the tide has changed but for me formal and smart-casual evenings are an essential part of my cruise experience. If for any reason l can't enjoy this tradition l will jack cruising in and spend more time at my tin can in Wales.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#22

Post by Dennis The Menace »

I'm personally a little disappointed but, as others have said, we can still chose to wear semi-formal/jacket and tie etc when we want to and we will do exactly that.

But I think the main concern of the traditionalists (for want of a better phrase) is that the more casual the specified dress code is - and the more often it applies - then the more often/likely it will descend to the level DQ describes above ( as we also witnessed on Ventura).

Shame - I thought splitting the fleet equally (ish) so that some ships had the more casual 2 dress code system, and the rest having the more traditional 3 dress code system, worked well and kept everyone happy.

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#23

Post by Dennis The Menace »

Onelife wrote:
In my experience whenever dress codes are relaxed/ left open to interpretation it inevitably leads to falling standards. Perhaps the tide has changed but for me formal and smart-casual evenings are an essential part of my cruise experience. If for any reason l can't enjoy this tradition l will jack cruising in and spend more time at my tin can in Wales.
Sorry Keefy, your post wasn't there when I started typing and we seem to have made the same point :roll: Great minds etc :lol:

D

P.s. I thought your tin can floated off down the Bristol Channel a good few floods back :shock: ;)

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#24

Post by Onelife »

Dennis The Menace wrote:
Onelife wrote:
In my experience whenever dress codes are relaxed/ left open to interpretation it inevitably leads to falling standards. Perhaps the tide has changed but for me formal and smart-casual evenings are an essential part of my cruise experience. If for any reason l can't enjoy this tradition l will jack cruising in and spend more time at my tin can in Wales.
Sorry Keefy, your post wasn't there when I started typing and we seem to have made the same point :roll: Great minds etc

D

P.s. I thought your tin can floated off down the Bristol Channel a good few floods back :shock: ;)

Hi Menace

The way its been blowing today it may well be sited in Aberdovey by tomorrow....l'll let you know when l get back :)

Regards

Keith :wave:

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Re: Change to Dress Codes

#25

Post by Ginny-T »

I've never really understond the 'middle' dress code. I know exactly where I am with formal, and I interpret smart casual as more smart than casual, but 'jacket required' says precisely what is required of the men, but what about us girlies?

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