I can probably find this info out some other way, but it's so much easier to just ask all you knowledgeable people here. :)

Our cruise is 11 nights. Does that mean there will be three formal nights? Is there any way for me to know which nights will be formal? Mom and I are trying to figure out exactly what to pack. There are a couple nights we'll be in port late, and we're considering having dinner off the ship (Monte Carlo & Portofino). If either of those nights are formal, then we'll only have to bring two formal dresses.

If we do end up going to three formal nights, my Mom was wondering if it would look bad to wear the same dress for the first and third night, since she really only has two very nice dresses, and doesn't want to go buy a third. Whaddaya think?

(Meanwhile, I've got enough dresses, the problem is I can't squeeze into a couple of them right now! I'm dieting and running like crazy, but can't seem to drop this last ten...GRRRR!)

LeeAnne

Lee, I have only been on one 11 night cruise, but for the life of me can't remember whether it was 2 or 3 formal nights. I do not think formal night will be when you are in a port late, however. Those are usually casual nights.

On my last 12 night there were two formal nights. Generally the second night out is formal (Captain's Welcome).

LeeAnne,

For the formal nights, I generally wear one night all black separates then you can mix and match the accessories for other nights to be informal. And no one really cares if you wear something twice. We all get the logistics of a cruise and having limited space to bring things.

One friend of mine can do a week cruise with all carry on. Her evening wardrobe is literally one black outfit and one extra jacket and sweater. The outfit drips dry and she takes enough jewerly and scarves to make changes. No one knows.

Don't overdress. You are on vacation. You can wear the same clothes more than once. Probably no-one will even notice since each will be so involved with how THEY look.

Generally, the second night is formal, as is the second to the last night. If your cruise is port intensive, that's probably all the formal nights. If you have sea days in the middle of the cruise, you will probably have an additional formal night on one of those sea days.

Bill

Hi LeeAnne,

Your travel documents and your first day's "Passages" will list which nights are formal, informal and casual. Do be warned that they are likely to change once onboard. I'd say you will have 2 formal nights. Don't sweat it. Take what you are most comfortable wearing. I have found the Med cruises more casual and informal then formal.

Thanks! I'll be happier with only two formal nights -- trying to cart three nice dresses all over Europe just sounds like too much of a pain. ;)

I was wondering one thing tho...although very dressy, my dresses are all cocktail length, and I was thinking about going out to pick up a full-length dress. Do you see many women in full-length gowns on RSSC Med cruises? If not, I'll just go with what I have. But I think it would be fun to go REALLY glam. I know my mom is bringing one full-length.

As I recall, last summer, it was various lengths for women's dresses at formal nights. I had been the "mother of the groom" the year before and had a nice ankle length outfit that took up very little room in the suitcase. I wore it for both formal nights on our back to back Med cruise and got compliments both times. I had no problem with repeating it at all! Who cares? I, for one, never remember what anyone wore! Chances are, you may not be with the same group everytime anyway. Buy what you will feel great in and have a ball.
Maggie

LeeAnne, I was also a "mother of the groom",like Maggie and brought that full length dress on MINT, and I would say yes, there are a lot of long dresses (I will not call them gowns, as for people my age, that conjures up thoughts of pouffy dresses, as in "ball gowns") But there were a lot of long, lightweight dresses that looked wonderful, and weighed very little for luggage purposes. Like Maggie, I don't remember what anyone wears either. I just don't think women should have angst over this dress thing on cruises. I have often said that the passengers who choose Radisson already know how to dress. If you do it on the "lower side" of fancy, you are going to be right in line with the rest of your cruisemates.

LeAnne: I agree with Olivia and I would not bring 3 different dresses - 2 fine - no one will remember - Joanna

Wow, what a helpful topic. Anybody have any idea how many formal nights on a 26 night cruise (SPIN on the navigator)?

As I don't own anything 'formal', I'm hoping black crepe slacks and a change of tops for my Navigator cruise in September will suffice. I'll have to eat in my cabin if not!

Thanks everyone. I'm not feeling any stress over it, other than worrying whether or not I'll be able to FIT in my dresses! :D But I don't have too many opportunities to wear a long dress, so since it sounds like it won't look too over-the-top to wear one, I think I'll go have a little fun shopping. Nothing like you'd see at the Oscars, mind you! Just something light, lovely and long. My mom has a long black skirt that she's wearing with a sequin top, so we'll wear those to the Captain's Welcome dinner.

This is THE ultimate port-intensive cruise, with not a single sea day in 11 days! So I'll assume only two formal nights.

It's starting to seem like a reality...

LeeAnne: My most favorte cruise was my first and it was port intensive for 14 days - loved it loved it - Joanna

LeeAnne, if you like to dress up and look glamorous, then do it. This cruise gives you a great excuse! I, too, have a MOG dress which I like very much and had no problem wearing twice on my last cruise. I just love the way it makes me feel!

Liz, our last cruise was for 21 days and we had 3 formal nights.

Lee, black crepe pants will be perfectly fine!

This is so immaterial. My wife has one formal dress and 'dresses up' on formal nights. I wear the same dark blazer with either a white formal dress shirt or a white turtleneck with white pants. We dress to please ourselves not others. And no one cares what conservative clothing one wears as it looks 'formal' (as opposed to T shirts and jeans)!
A cruise is a holiday. loosen up !!

For me, part of the excitement is wearing fun, beautiful clothes that I might not get to wear all that much hanging around home, LOL. I agree with Neviboy that no one should worry (within basic bounds of propriety---i.e. avoiding jeans and t-shirts on formal nights, LOL)....a cruise should be for escaping from worry!! I sense that some of the cruise lines are rather "stuffy" and that there might be some pressure to reflect a certain level of wardrobe aplomb....but I don't sense that RSSC is that way.

I personally have an "Elle Woods" (Legally Blonde) streak in me (wish I looked like her, LOL),and LOVE buying and wearing clothes. So, it's fun to shop for clothes for the cruise. I did buy a couple of formal outfits but nothing extravagant. I would hope that on-board friendships and social connections are NOT based on the clothes people wear or the labels inside them.......

Agreed -- it's certainly not an important aspect of your cruise experience. And I've seen some pretty funky ideas of what constitutes formal attire on other lines I've cruised! :eek: People do tend to get rather passionate about this topic, especially on CC -- I always crack up over the "dress code" threads on the other cruiseline boards. Those (and the booze-smuggling) threads elicit some of the most vehement opinions! I personally fall into the category of not caring what others wear...but I do want to fit in myself.

Anyway, I too love the fun of getting all dressed up. I just wasn't sure what the ambiance is on an RSSC formal night (i.e. people were MUCH more stuffy and formal on our Celebrity cruise than on RCI). I'm glad to hear that it tends to be a bit looser, but that some people do go all-out. I'm going to go check out some long dresses at the mall and see if anything strikes my fancy. Where else will I get to wear a dress like that? :)

Of course the WC formal nights may be different - I heard all sorts of stories about extra racks etc put in cabins to hold all the clothes brought - but I saw women in Bob Mackie type gowns, some elderly ladies looked like prom queens and one wore a tiara and some outfits looked like purse and shoes had been dyed to match (I think the last time I did that I was 15 and in a wedding) there I was in my Chico black slacks and my fantastic beaded Chinese jacket from the Shanghai market - cost $10 - I got tons of compliments and questions about where I had purchased it - Joanna

LeeAnne,

There is a store in the Valley called Dressed Up! It's in Tarzana. You will not find a better place for formal/semi formal wear. It's similar to going to the Garment District and the best prices on the nicest things. I got my Stepmother of The Bride and Stepmother of The Groom dresses there and a few other formal things that are incredible. You can spend $100 or $1000 there.

Thanks Kathy! I would have looked there, but now it turns out I don't need it...I just found the perfect dress! I'm not usually one to make a purchase until I've checked out all the options, and I expected to visit a number of stores over at least several days before I made a selection. But at the first store I stopped in, Cache at the Thousand Oaks Mall, they had a sale rack of lovely long dresses, and I was just flipping through them. Most of them were either ugly or had problems (missing beading, pulls in the fabric), but then THIS DRESS caught my eye. Perfect color, stunning style, perfect shape for my body...it seemed too good to be true. It was the only one, and surely it couldn't be in my size...but it was! So I tried it on, and I just knew. It's the most stunning dress I've ever bought. And the price...yeesh...I can't imagine why, but it was marked down so many times and then put on a 1/2-off rack, so it was literally down 85% from its original price. I could NEVER have afforded it otherwise. I feel so lucky! This has got to portend good things for this cruise.
:chicken:

Whoo-hoo, LeeAnne. Nothing beats wearing a knockout dress that you bought with a low-down price!

Isn't it great that there 's enough choice on Radisson that on formal night you can either be low key or glam? No one is judging you by your clothes anyway. So, enjoy your new dress. Be sure to take a picture and post it here!

Yes, that's a great store, LeeAnne and close to home with 85% off. Love those bargains.

Wow, Leeann, isn't that wonderful when the PERFECT dress is just waiting there for you???? I don't like to shop "under pressure" (guaranteed not to find what I need/want, LOL), so, when I first started even THINKING about going on a cruise, I happened to see 2 really pretty and elegant dresses for a formal night, and I bought them for the cruise (deep down, I knew I was going.....)also thinking that if I didn't go on the cruise, I'd FIND occasions to wear them to, LOL.

Leeann,

Congrats on find the perfect dress!! How often does that happen? I love clothes too and look to a cruise or other events as a chance to get to wear some nicer things. However, I will be wearing separates for our formal night on the Baltics. I bought a black chiffon long skirt and will wear a glittery top with a back shawl. I wish my body would fit easily into a dress. NOT!

Enjoy your new dress!! Please post your photos after your cruise so we can all see how lovely you look!

Ginny--your outfit sounds really pretty, too!!! Is the top black also? I LOVE glittery things!! Guess we can all show up in a photo gallery of formal wear---how fun!!

Hey, Leeann--what does your dress look like???

Well, I don't know much about fashion so I probably don't know the correct terms to use, but I'll try! It's a deep red satin with an overlay of black tulle, which makes it look like a deeper burgundy color. The top is spaghetti straps with v-neck bust, tight to the waist, then it spreads out and has lots of fabric so it drapes beautifully all the way to the floor. It has a third layer underneath, a thin satin lining with about an 12-inch tulle ruffle at the bottom so that it blouses out at the bottom a bit. The black tulle overdress has strips of gold beading along the edge of the bustline and also circling just under it, and the same gold beading in the shape of flowers with long, curved stems adorn the tulle over the entire dress (not too much, though). The back is open but criss-crossed several times with a tie that you then tie at the bottom of the opening, so you can cinch it as tight as you need it.

I hope that describes it well enough! I'll be sure to post a pic when I get back. We should ALL post our formal-night pics. :)

Not sure if that describes it well, but that's the best I can do!

Leeann, you did a GREAT job describing it, LOL. How fun!!!!! It sounds utterly gorgeous and stunning. I agree, we should have a topic started for pix of our formal-wear (either pre or post cruise). Your dress sounds gorgeous. No WONDER it just jumped out at you. Wow. :app:

This topic only concerns our ladies,apparently.
Men can only wear tuxedos ('or a reasonable facsimile thereof')Perhaps I will set a trend of white turtle necks. I will find out soon. Leaving on Thurs. for Silver Shadow.

One minor word of warning about the number of formal nights on a given Radisson cruise. Nevil, you will remember this, because you were there!

On our April '04 Panama Canal cruise on the Voyager, 14 days, all the docs said two formal nights. But onboard, we found that a third formal night had been scheduled. The reception desk personnel said only that this was a matter subject to change at the Captain's descretion. So apparently the info in the docs isn't set in concrete.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

I have this feeling that on our 12/27/05 to 01/10/06 Voyager cruise we probably will end up with THREE formal nights. One first week, Two New years Eve, Three second week.
What do you think??

Jim, that was how it was for our Canal cruise over New Years. I think we originally thought four but ended up with three.

Well, if they add on a third formal night, I'll just have to wear my spectacular new dress twice! :app:

I believe the general formula is that 11 nights is 1 formal and 2 informals. 12 or more is 2-3 depending on the number of days at sea.

LOL, Leeann, way to go!!! :ch:

Now that you've described that dress, I'm DYING to see it.

On the occasion of the third formal night, I'll probably be calling room service.

Me too Pam I get over load with formal nights..2 is fine 3 is pushing it with me - Joanna