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

[crazy4disney]

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.

I would hope the person in cargo shorts would regret his decision. That just makes me want to dress up even more!

-gina-

[jacketwatch]

Its my understanding that formal nights on Disney aren't really that formal at all so allowing shorts is not that much of a stretch as it seems. Has that been your experience.

[crazy4disney]

Its my understanding that formal nights on Disney aren't really that formal at all so allowing shorts is not that much of a stretch as it seems. Has that been your experience.

In all honesty, the formal nights on Disney have always seemed about the same as formal nights on the other lines I've sailed -- a mixed bag. I guess maybe more folks on Disney were dressing up begrudgingly, and were then whining to DCL about it. The one main difference between DCL and the others is that DCL has rotational dining, and if you're in Parrot Cay for dinner that night you might feel a tad more overdressed. But I have always requested the dining rotation that put us in Lumiere's on formal night, and formal wear fits right into that very elegant setting.

One thing I do love is seeing all the little girls dressed up in their Princess finery for formal night on Disney. Just adorable!

-gina-

[DebbieandJerry]

Seeing the little ones dressed up is adorable! Definitely puts a smile on your face. I truly understand the marketing behind why shorts ... Disney caters to families. But to me, wearing shorts at dinner takes away from the austere and mistique of being on a cruise. A cruise should be a special event.

[Shari2]

I'm not a fan of wearing shorts to dinner either. We have always enjoyed dressing for dinner as part of the fun of the cruise. I can see changing the very formal nights to dressy now because of the extra charges on the airlines for luggage, but would still like to see people dressing well at the dinner table. Today there are so many other places to eat on a ship if you don't want to dress up a bit. Even 24 hr. room service on most ships. On our past Celebrity cruises...two of which were 15-day cruises, we had three formal nights...I enjoyed it back then, but today I would not bring along the gowns, and extra purses, and shoes and all...too much to carry, and pay extra for...at least that's what my DH says...LOL I usually just bring a couple of pairs of dressy, silky like, black pants and a couple of sparkly, or fancy tops. Still looks nice, and I don't need another suitcase to carry it all. As I get older, and having back problems, I do enjoy the casual nights at dinner, but still always try to dress nicely...just more relaxed.