Whether celebrating a special occasion or simply looking for an elegant evening at sea, Carnival's Elegant Night is a noteworthy event that offers guests a taste of sophistication during their cruise vacation.
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The first Cruise Elegant evening is scheduled for the 3rd or 4th day of the cruise; the second Cruise Elegant evening is scheduled for the 4th or 5th day prior to the end of the cruise, schedules permitting.
If you want to attend a “cruise elegant” evening, bring a fancier, more formal outfit. Men can wear suits or dress slacks with a sport coat and dress shirt. For women, cocktail dresses, pantsuits or elegant skirts and blouses are appropriate. Some guests like to go all out with a tuxedo or ball gown.
The best source for this information is the Compass (daily cruise newspaper) which will post the suggested dress along with the weather forecast so check it each day of your cruise. Not always. We've had formal nights on port nights too. But, in general, first formal night is almost always night 2.
Some cruise lines, like Windstar, have also done away with formal dress codes, as do specialty sailings like the combination passenger/freight Aranui Cruises in Tahiti. Viking Ocean Cruises also eschews formal nights, but requests no jeans at dinner.
Carnival cruise dress codeCarnival is one line where casual is the name of the game. Passengers will be just fine in jeans, T-shirts, tank tops, shorts and bathing suits for their days on board or ashore. At night, nice jeans and nice tops are perfect for eating in the main dining rooms.
Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, gym shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats.
Ship size and capacity: Carnival operates some of the largest cruise ships in the world, which allows them to accommodate a larger number of passengers. The higher passenger capacity spreads operational costs over more people, leading to potential cost savings.
Most cruise lines permit wearing clean, nice jeans in the main dining room and specialty restaurant on “casual” and “smart casual” evenings. On cruise lines where there is a formal night, jeans are not permitted in the main dining room. However, you can always eat in the casual restaurants and the buffet.
Carnival only serves lobster on one formal night on cruises of six nights or more. It used to be unlimited on those nights, but now each lobster tail after the first two will cost $5, per the new policy. Planning a cruise?
Cunard Cruises have a reputation for being the most formal cruise line in the world. People often don't book a cruise with this company because they think you have to dress formally every night.
Dressy shoesIt's a good idea to bring just one pair of dress shoes that can go with your outfits for formal nights. I like to bring a pair of gold strappy dress shoes, as they look fabulous with every color of dress (black, white, navy ect).