I know that there is no formal night on this cruise and the number of informal nights is up for debate. Our forms show 8 nights of dress.

All of this really doesn't matter, and my question is this...Should we take our formal clothes anyway. Or, is a nice blue jacket +/- tie enough or do I need my suit? Decisions, decisions.

I really do not mind the dressing up part (in fact enjoy it), but am trying to minimize the luggage.

Anthony

Sportscoat is perfectly fine. Since ties don't take much space, I would take a couple and decide at the time whether you feel more comfortable with or without tie.

Thanks for the advice Marc.

Anthony

I've seen plenty of people wear blazers and sportscoats at informal nights and look just fine (even though informal is technically an actual suit).

Is that right, Lawrence? I thought "informal" was technically sports jacket with a tie, or a suit. Nobody seems to care, in any case.

Informal is just a step below formal normally. People aren't sure because informal and casual often mean the same thing. Formal would be black tie/tux required and informal would mean suit and tie. Casual is sport coat. With dress codes all mixed up no one really pays much attention - even on ship.

According to Rad, informal is jacket without tie if desired.

McKeever, I thought the same thing too. Formal-tux or dark suit, Informal-jacket with or without tie and Casual is no jacket required.

In my book Informal simply means a JACKET of some kind and no tie required. Ken always wears a silk tee under a jacket.

Formal does not require a tux for men either. I would guess it's about 60% tuxes and 40% dark suits on a typical 1 or 2 week cruise. Either is fine.

Radisson does say coat without tie is suitable as informal. However, wasn't the tuxedo developed as "informal" attire? Wasn't it designed to be more comforable that "tails?"

edited to add:

Here is what I found on history of tuxedo:

This is technically correct. One of the tragedies of casual wear in business is that dress codes are now all muddled up in general. I think I'm in the extreme minority, but I would prefer that the cruiselines go back to more formal and proper informal nights. The ambiance on formal nights is just so nice. Well, I guess I like formal nights because all of the women look so great in formal attire!

I think you would be just fine in your blue suit and tie....in fact maybe even a tad over dressed which is fine too. I always say you can never be over dressed and if you are comfortable then so be it. I found on our Bermuda cruise that there was a blurring of lines between the in-formal and country club casual nights. There didn't really seem to be much difference with most of the pax. I even saw some people dressed in a manner that I would consider under dressed....like they were in Tahiti. Some nights my better half wore a dark suit with tie and others just his sport jacket.
Rad does Bermuda well! We really had a great time.

Originally posted by Lawrence:
Just as long as you bring an extra shirt in case your Father forgets his again!

Lawrence, while I agree with you, we are riding against the tide, at least on several Radisson destinations. Even the mega lines still have formal nights on cruises where RSSC does not.

I am going to Bermuda (land trip) next month, and expected very traditional dress codes for dinner, but this is what our hotel policy is since April, 2004:

(copied from the website)
Smart Casual 7 Nights per Week
One of the things people love about Bermuda is its air of gentility - it is so civilized. But even civilized individuals on holiday enjoy leaving formality and the business world behind.

Here at The Reefs, our guests enjoy nice sports clothes (let's hear it for Bermuda shorts) during the day and a dressier attire in the evenings. While jackets and ties for men have been traditional for certain nights in our dining room, by popular demand we are now moving to "Smart Casual" 7 days a week for dining. Dress slacks and a collared shirt will allow you to maintain decorum and feel perfectly at ease. But do be sure to pack a jacket and tie if you plan to participate in our Dine Around program.

Lawrence, you also have my vote--from the other side of the gender line. I've never seen a man who did not look fabulous in a tuxedo. Formal nights are worthwhile for me just for the view. :)

Thanks to all for the help.


Anthony