Dressing for a Disney Cruise

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Kristen K.'s picture
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Dressing for a Disney Cruise

I think one thing that scares some people away from cruising is the perceived dress code, especially for dinner. I know in our discussions about the Signature Dining dress Codes that many people really just want to be super casual when they're on vacation. Historically cruise lines expected a much higher standard of their guests, but today things are more relaxed. The Disney Cruise Line actually offers a great break down on their website that let's guests know what they should pack.

mickey Has the dress code kept you from cruising?

DCL's Dining Dress requirements vary by venue or theme night on your cruise. In general, most meals are "Cruise Casual""no shorts, swimwear or tank tops. Most cruises also have special theme nights with additional attire requirements. Here's a breakdown of these events by cruise itinerary.

On 3-night cruises:

  • One cruise casual night"no shorts, swimwear or tank tops
  • One pirate or tropical night (deck party)
  • One "dress-up night""jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women

On 4-night cruises:

  • First night: cruise casual"no shorts, swimwear or tank tops
  • One pirate or tropical night (deck party)
  • One "dress-up night""jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women
  • Final night: cruise casual"no shorts, swimwear or tank tops

On 7-night cruises:

  • First night: cruise casual"no shorts, swimwear or tank tops
  • Three additional "cruise casual" nights"no shorts, swimwear or tank tops
  • One pirate or tropical night (deck party)
  • One formal and one semi-formal night"formal wear for men: tuxedo or suit; for women: gown or dress; semi-formal wear for men: suit/jacket; for women: dress or pantsuit.

Dress code at Palo on all cruises:

  • Men: dress pants and shirt or jacket
  • Women: dress or pantsuit
  • Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, flip-flops or tennis shoes

Dress code at Remy on all cruises:

  • A tuxedo or jacket (sports or suit jacket) is required with dress pants for men. Ties are optional.
  • A cocktail dress, pant suit or skirt/blouse is required for women.
  • Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, flip-flops or tennis shoes.

For cruises that request formalwear attire, Guests can pre-order tailored formalwear rentals and have it delivered directly to their staterooms upon arrival. To learn more, visit Cruiseline Formalwear.

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Mase's picture
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Wow... I dont own some of these outfits they are wanting... guess that why I dont go on cruises... lol

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I would love a chance to get all fancy like!

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Dress codes are the prime reason we don't do cruises. Hubby has to wear a shirt and tie every day for work, so when we're on vacation, it has to be casual - shorts, t-shirts, and if he really wants to dress up, a polo shirt. If a vacation requires more than that, he just won't go!

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Mase wrote:
Wow... I dont own some of these outfits they are wanting... guess that why I dont go on cruises... lol

J is with you there Mase. I don't even know if he has dress pants. I guess we could buy those but I would never get him into a tux. Cruise or not.

Finngirl-Dress codes are the prime reason we don't do cruises. Hubby has to wear a shirt and tie every day for work, so when we're on vacation, it has to be casual - shorts, t-shirts, and if he really wants to dress up, a polo shirt. If a vacation requires more than that, he just won't go!

I am not even sure J owns a tie. Man we sound like hicks the more I go on. lol In all fairness he wears a uniform all day. Sometimes it is all day, 7 days a week for weeks at a time when he is on cruise. He isn't a tie kind of guy, but if I really wanted to go on a cruisehe would wear a tie for me for a couple of hours.

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Mase's picture
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I would be down in going... but last I remember... a suit and tie isnt on the cheap list for us guys. I would figure its easier for women to dress to the code than the guys? Or am I wrong? Im probably wrong.... which is normal... because im a guy.... confused

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angels444 wrote:

I am not even sure J owns a tie. Man we sound like hicks the more I go on. lol In all fairness he wears a uniform all day. Sometimes it is all day, 7 days a week for weeks at a time when he is on cruise. He isn't a tie kind of guy, but if I really wanted to go on a cruisehe would wear a tie for me for a couple of hours.

Hubby is a pharmacist, so the dress shirt and tie are part of his "uniform" too (plus the white jacket). He's not really a tie kind of guy either, but will wear one if I ask very, very nicely! laugh

Mase - it sometimes isn't any easier for the women to figure out what to wear either. Especially if you're a jeans and sweatshirt kind of girl (ME!).

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finngirl wrote:
angels444 wrote:

I am not even sure J owns a tie. Man we sound like hicks the more I go on. lol In all fairness he wears a uniform all day. Sometimes it is all day, 7 days a week for weeks at a time when he is on cruise. He isn't a tie kind of guy, but if I really wanted to go on a cruisehe would wear a tie for me for a couple of hours.

Hubby is a pharmacist, so the dress shirt and tie are part of his "uniform" too (plus the white jacket). He's not really a tie kind of guy either, but will wear one if I ask very, very nicely! laugh

Mase - it sometimes isn't any easier for the women to figure out what to wear either. Especially if you're a jeans and sweatshirt kind of girl (ME!).

I can wear dresses with the best of them.I only wear dresses at Christmas parties now.Last time we were in Disney I worn slacks and they weren't even dress slacks. I just don't wear heels anymore, so I don't wear all the pretty dresses like I use to.

I really really want to go on a cruise but I am afraid my motion sickness will keep me from enjoying it ,so clothes are a moot point. I can be on the coach and J will bounce his leg and I will feel nauseous. No cruises for me. sad

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I wonder if combat boots are on the list of accessible items? That's what I usually wear with my dresses.

Jeff would be fine with all this, he has more ties and suspenders in his sock draw than socks.

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There were adults wearing shorts and jeans at dinner. The dress code isn't heavily enforced. I'm planning on wearing a kilt for formal night and I'm not packing any formal dresses. I also thought about taking my class A uniform for the semi formal night. I love pirate night and always dress up for that Smile
Don't let the suggested dress code keep you from cruising. It's a lot of fun muchlove

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It is a fear/turn off for us. I spent so many years wearing a suit and tie, that I just have no interest anymore. I haven't owned a suit in over 10 years now. I rarely even wear khakis anymore at the office - jeans all the way!

I just have no desire to dress up on vacation!

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The only time we "dressed up" during our Disney cruise was a slacks with a Hawaiian shirt. That was for dinner at the Animator's palette. Other than that it was shorts and t-shirts.

Note that if you don't want to even dress up, you can always have you meal elsewhere. There is no reason to avoid a Disney cruise simply because you don't care to dress up.

For our next cruise, we will be dining at Palo, so we will have slacks and dress shirts. That is the extent that I will do, nothing more.

Zz.

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We just got back and we did dress up on the optional formal night. My DH did wear a button down shirt and a tie with dress slacks, but really the dress code wasn't a hug deal. The biggest deal for us was Palo. But he wore the same thing for that with black shoes (not even dress shoes). But the dress code is why we didn't choose to eat at Remy.

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Mase wrote:
I would be down in going... but last I remember... a suit and tie isnt on the cheap list for us guys. I would figure its easier for women to dress to the code than the guys? Or am I wrong? Im probably wrong.... which is normal... because im a guy.... confused

No, suits aren't cheap, even at a "discount" place like Men's Wearhouse thay can be expensive. I bought a suit for my son last year and it was $150, but he's a regular size. My husband is built "portly" which means his waist is bigger around then his shoulders, so we weren't able to buy the discount priced suits for him. I think with the coast/pants/shirt/tie it was $750, but it was a "Buy One Get One Free" type of deal. That's just for basic suit too, nothing spectacular. Still, it was a lot of money to lay out for us.

We only did the 3 day Disney cruise, so people were a lot more casual, however we were eating at Palo and Remy so we needed to dress the part.

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In my defense I wear a Uniform and abide by a dress code 24/7 normally so when I am on vacation rules are for the birds unless they come from peg lol. But if she wanted to go and wanted me to dress up I would for her heck you should see her in a dress wow!

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Hazegry wrote:
In my defense I wear a Uniform and abide by a dress code 24/7 normally so when I am on vacation rules are for the birds unless they come from peg lol. But if she wanted to go and wanted me to dress up I would for her heck you should see her in a dress wow!

awesome

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We just returned from a 4 night on The Dream and I wore Khakis and a short sleeve button down for each evening meal. Dress up night was optional, meaning if you wanted to wear a tie you could but I chose not to. I did see several people wearing jeans in animator's palate, but I personally wouldn't do that.

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angels444 wrote:
finngirl wrote:
angels444 wrote:

I really really want to go on a cruise but I am afraid my motion sickness will keep me from enjoying it ,so clothes are a moot point. I can be on the coach and J will bounce his leg and I will feel nauseous. No cruises for me. sad

Don't write off cruising! I haven't been on a Disney cruise (YET!) ;c) so I can't speak for them, but a couple years ago I went on Royal Caribbean's new boat; one of two new ships that are the largest cruise ships afloat in the world. We sailed for a week and I felt 2 waves the whole time. And they weren't big rolling motions either. They didn't even make ya sway! In fact, unless you are looking out a window or walking on deck you wouldn't even know you were on a boat! Actually i prefer the smaller ships because of this. lol. It didn't feel like being on a ship to me! But it was loads of fun! My son who gets motion sick has been on a couple large ships and did just fine. Get some Dramamine for just in cases, and order some sea bands that you can put on your wrists that work pressure points and you'll be just fine! Cruising is awesome!!! XD

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Once again, like my last post on this post, I haven't sailed Disney before, but for those who don't own a suit, I know when we sailed Royal Caribbean, we had my son measured at a tux shop in town then sent the measurements to the boat through our travel agent and they had a tux delivered to our stateroom for the formal nights.
You don't need to do this though if you are totally against dressing up. That is just for formal nights in the dining rooms! There are so many eating options on cruise ships that are free and included that you don't need to ever set foot in the formal dining venue if you don't want to. Trust me, you won't go hungry on a cruise ship! In fact, plan on hitting the gym when you get back to lose the weight you gain.....
I personally love the formal nights! My hubby dresses up in his Army Dress Blues and he looks HOT! Gotta love a man in uniform!!! awesome

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Sy wore trousers the first night and we were sat at a table next to a guy in a tank top and denim shorts with trainers...

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RobynPrincess wrote:
sat at a table next to a guy in a tank top and denim shorts with trainers...

yuck

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I wouldn't avoid Disney Cruises due to packing! It's surprisingly easy to fill the requirements as jeans and a T-shirt will work for pretty much every night.

Went on the Disney Dream in September and I packed to Kristen's/Disney's dress code (YAY KRISTEN!). Hubby wore polo t-shirts or short sleeved button up plaid shirts with jeans or khakis and sandals.
I often wore a summer dress and brought a cardigan (considering how cool it was in the dining rooms) and wore sandals as well. I also wore jeans one night with a cute top.

I noticed even with our casual attire there were many people dressed more casually than we were. Many people wore shorts and regular T-shirts. The dress code wasn't enforced and I didn't see anyone turned away for their attire.

Robin - Sorry to hear about tanktop man! It's a bit disappointing when you put in extra effort to look nice and your tablemates dress extremely casually sad This is a good example of how even though Disney lists a dress code, it is not strictly followed.

It was great going on a casual cruise and I will definitely be going again!!

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At least for guys if they do want to dress up, they can get away with 1 suit, with a couple of ties. A good excuse for for new Disney ties. mickey

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J.P. wrote:
Went on the Disney Dream in September and I packed to Kristen's/Disney's dress code (YAY KRISTEN!).

So glad that it worked for you!

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Yeah coming from Canada and going to wdw first I won't be bring a suit jacket

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