How to Enjoy a Cruise Formal Night

For many cruise passengers, the formal night of their voyage is one of elegance and beauty as well as rich gourmet dining and multiple photographs. Knowing how to enjoy a cruise formal night guarantees that passengers look their best for the evening’s festivities and will have stunning photographs to capture the memories of this part of their cruise vacation.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Formal or semi-formal attire
• Appropriate coordinating jewelry
• Comfortable dress shoes
• Camera

1. Ask when the formal night of the voyage is when you first make your cruise reservations. On most mainstream cruise lines, formal night is the second night of the cruise, but longer voyages may have more than one formal night.
2. Plan appropriate attire for your cruise formal night, keeping in mind the difficulties of transporting delicate gowns or elaborate outfits in luggage.
3. Begin dressing for dinner at least 1 hour early on formal night. Arrange hair styles, makeup, jewelry and other accessories accordingly.
4. Leave your cruise ship cabin early on formal night to take advantage of the different photo stations set up in public areas of the ship. Most ships will offer at least four or five different photo backgrounds and settings, including black-and-white photos or sepia-toned images, and some ships may offer up to a dozen options. Photos will be available both before and after dinner.
5. Use your camera to take photos at different locations if permitted, or ask other passengers to take snapshots of you in non-restricted locations.
6. Proceed to the dining room on time for your dinner seating. If you choose not to eat in the main dining room, feel free to enjoy other dining options on board.
7. Revisit any photo locations that were too crowded before dinner to get those last few pictures.
8. Return to your cabin to change into more comfortable, resort casual clothes before seeing the evening lounge show if desired, or continue wearing formal clothes throughout the evening.

Tips & Warnings

• Formal attire is not required to enjoy a cruise formal night, but passengers must be dressed appropriately if they wish to eat in the main dining room that evening. Pictures may be taken regardless of what passengers choose to wear.
• The formal night dinner menu is often the most elaborate of the voyage and may include lobster, prime rib or other delicious entrees. Part of enjoying a cruise formal night is indulging in the decadent menu, so be sure not to miss it.
• The type of required formal attire varies widely on different ships. Sports jackets and ties may be required for men, while suits, cocktail dresses or formal gowns are suitable for women. Tuxedos are not unheard of on formal nights, and larger ships may have rental tuxedos available.
• There is no cost or obligation to take professional photos during formal night. Feel free to visit as many photo stations as desired.
• Photo locations can be very crowded on formal night. Be prepared to take photos early or wait in lengthy lines, particularly if the location offers several poses.
• Choose proper footwear for formal night that not only looks good with your attire but can also provide steady footing and traction on potentially slippery or unstable surfaces, depending on the current weather.
• Wind speeds can be high on deck if the ship is in motion, which can destroy a carefully planned hair style. Keep to indoor passageways if possible.