Shorts at dinner? Disney loosens dress code. Do you prefer formal or casual?

Jason · August 19, 2013

Even as smoking rules get tighter on Disney cruise ships, the dress code is getting looser.

A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson tells USA TODAY the company has begun allowing shorts in the main dining rooms of its four ships — something that has been banned since the line's start-up in 1998.

Disney's website still lists a prohibition on shorts in dining rooms but that is no longer correct and soon will be changing, the spokeswoman says.

The looser dress code applies to the three main restaurants on each Disney ship where the majority of passengers dine in the evening.

Shorts will still be forbidden at Palo, the small extra-charge, adults-only Italian restaurant found on all four Disney ships. Also remaining shorts-free is Remy, the upscale French restaurant on Disney's two newest ships, the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream. View the two ships' eateries, more in our photo tour.

Dress pants, shirts and jackets are required for men at Remy; jackets are optional at Palo. Women are expected to wear a cocktail dress, pantsuit or skirt/blouse at Remy; a dress or pantsuit is required at Palo.

For in-depth cruise planning information, videos and more, don't miss USA TODAY's new ExperienceCruise site.

By Gene Sloan, USA Today

For more cruise news & articles go to http://www.cruisecrazies.com/index.html

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jacketwatch · August 20, 2013

I like smart casual. Formal is OK too but I prefer the relaxed feeling I get dressed smart casual. I would like to see dress codes followed a little better. If you say its formal then be sure that men at least have a jacket on. It seems dress codes have really slipped over the years. Sign of the times maybe?

Mach · August 20, 2013

I like smart casual. Formal is OK too but I prefer the relaxed feeling I get dressed smart casual. I would like to see dress codes followed a little better. If you say its formal then be sure that men at least have a jacket on. It seems dress codes have really slipped over the years. Sign of the times maybe?

Spot on... absolutely dead nuts accurate. I agree with everything you said.

Despite dress codes becoming more relaxed I would not wear shorts to the main dining room. Having said that, I really don't care a great deal how others in the dining room dress but I do prefer to have those sitting near me dress better than min standard.

Also, I'm a big fan of traditional dining. I enjoy knowing who I'm going to be sharing my table with and who my wait staff will be every night. For me... and my wife... it's an important part of the cruise experience.

Sarge6870 · August 20, 2013

My feeling is if you wish to wear shorts to your meal, go to the buffet. I remember one night on the Carnival Dream when I went to the dining room with a T-shirt on (not sloppy, just no collar and it was the T-shirt I had bought of the ship onboard) and long pants. The staff stopped me at the entrance to the dining room and informed me that a collard shirt was required in the dining room. They offered me a jacket to wear but I opted to return to my cabin and dress appropriately. I returned to the dining room and was seated without issue. At the table next to us was a family with 3 young kids. All of the kids were wearing shorts and T-shirts and one even had a tank top on. When I say "kids", I am talking in their low teens. Old enough to be dressed as I was required to be I thought. When I was leaving, I asked the Maitre'd about how it was OK for them to be dressed that way but not me. He stated " their just kids". I hadn't been aware their was a double-standard due to age!!!

crazy4disney · August 20, 2013

I think the level of "casual-ness" to which we have sunk is appalling. For reference, I am in my 40's -- not young, not old. But I think class is timeless anyway.

I see sooooo many posts on other cruise boards where the parents keep asking, "Is it ok if my son wears shorts to dinner?" or "My daughter doesn't like skirts, can she wear jeans or shorts to dinner?"

Wow. Okay, A.) You're the parent. Try being one. B.) Perhaps a cruise is the perfect chance to introduce your child to the concept of dressing-appropriate-to-the-situation?

DS & I have been cruising since he was 5, and it would have never, ever occurred to me to put him in shorts for dinner. It was no more difficult to have him pull on a pair of khaki's. For formal nights, even when he was little, it was always a suit - jacket and all. He quickly grew to like the attention he got being dressed up, and the pictures are absolutely priceless.

By the tween years he was in a tux. He wasn't always so keen to dress up at that age, but then one fornal night some cute girl told him he looked like James Bond -- And I have never heard a word of complaint about dressing up since then. He's 18 now, and understands that you don't wear the same thing to a very nice dining room on a cruise ship that you do to McDonald's. Shorts and flip flops do not go well with white tablecloths and a waiter placing the napkin in your lap.

But the kid romping around the dining room in shorts and a tank top today grows up to be the slob in shorts and a wife-beater at the table next to you. Does it ruin my cruise? Heck no. Does it affect me and my dining experience? Absolutely. I very much notice what people are wearing around me, because it stands out - in a bad way - when someone is dressed completely incongruently with the setting. It hurts my eyes.

And it makes me wonder, how much further down can we sink? Will people soon be wearing bathing suits to dinner, or shorts to a funeral, or cut-offs to a wedding?

Bottom line, you can't buy class.

/rant off

-gina-

Jan115 · August 20, 2013

I agree with many of the comments here.

Regardless of the dress code, I just wish people would read it and abide by it. The endless questions about what to wear in the dining room can be answered perfectly by following the dress code. If it says "no jeans", then, no, you can't wear jeans. If it says "no ripped jeans", then, no, you can't wear your favorite pair with the knee holes. The problem arises when the cruise line doesn't enforce the rule. Someone comes to the dining room in the evening wearing a t-shirt and shorts, the dining room lets them sit, and then other people want to know why they can't do the same. Exceptions shouldn't be made, even for teens. If the family doesn't want to dress according to code, there are plenty of other options besides the dining room.

I agree with the anything-goes dress code in this country, especially with young people. Parents, please teach your kids from a young age - and set an example - of what and what not to wear out to dinner. And don't get me started on baseball caps in the dining room. My brothers were taught very early on - remove your hat. We were goofing on a grown guy in the dining room on the Grand Princess two weeks ago wearing his baseball cap. Not a good example for kids and teens.

I don't consider myself a prude. I love my sweats and torn jeans - and my caps. But I also like good manners. :-)

DebbieandJerry · August 20, 2013

Very well stated everyone. I agree. I think a shorts allowed at dinner is a dis-respect to the aspect of cruising. Sure, it's Disney and it's catering to families. BUT .. how short is short and how skimpy is skimpy.

Another reason not to cruise Disney

Mach · August 20, 2013

What a pleasure to see that you folks lean toward the traditional side. When I started cruising a suit was standard attire for gents at dinner and a tux for formal nights. We've never had to worry about the ladies... they always know how to dress and generally are the guiding light for the guys to make sure we don't mix plaid and polka dots or some such silliness...

crazy4disney · August 20, 2013

Another reason not to cruise Disney

*faints dead away* :ohmy:

jacketwatch · August 21, 2013

In all fairness Disney has consistently ranked at or near the top per passenger reviews for ships of their size. I have seen this in several travel mags I subscribe to. However I wonder how it would look on formal night in the MDR (my understanding is shorts will be allowed there on formal nights) for someone in a tux seated with someone else wearing cargo shorts. Weird I think.