What to wear on a Cunard Cruise
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- čas přidán 24. 06. 2024
- One of the things we get asked most about a Cunard Cruise, is what should we wear. Is it very formal, can we wear shorts and many similar questions. Why? Because there is this pre-conception that cruising on Cunard means you are in formal attire all the time, but is that true? We also take a look at how it compares to a P&O and Virgin in terms of dress code.
Cunard Cruises and the Queen Elizabeth are probably the line you most associate with formality, fine dining and dressing for dinner but what is life like on board, surely it can't be formal 24 hours a day.
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Thanks, Linzi & Mark
Chapters
00:00 Intro to What to wear on a Cunard Cruise
00:52 What to wear during the day or by the pool on Cunard
03:35 Cunard on a Non-Formal Night
05:20 Formal Nights on Cunard, is it all Black tie?
06:28 How does Cunard Dress code compare to other cruise lines?
08:25 Final Thoughts on what to wear on a Cunard Cruise
If you would like to see other Cunard Videos please check out our Queen Elizabeth Playlist
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For clarification, Cunard have always allowed more casual dress in the evenings in certain areas, i.e. the buffet restaurant, the pub, the Garden Lounge/Winter Garden, the Disco and on deck. The dress code was recently relaxed to collared shirt and trousers for men on non-Gala evenings in the MDR and bars (jacket and tie optional) although, as you say, quite a lot of men still wear jackets. Gala night for gentlemen is tux/eveing suit or dark suit with tie. However, for us, the opportunity to wear those smart clothes which tend to live in the wardrobe for most of the year is the best reason to travel Cunard.
Completely agree Wendy, dressing up on Cunard in an evening was an absolutely essential part of the cruise and really made it different to other cruise lines. It's great to be dressed down and relaxed in the day and making that bit more effort in an evening.
Linzi and Mark
This really helped! Thanks
You are very welcome Gavin. Thanks for watching and for getting in touch too. Linzi and Mark
Love your videos.
Thank you so much Teresa ❤️
Excellent video. You answered all our questions about what to wear in the evening. I don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe. Thanks so much.
Thank you, we are glad it was helpful, you never want to buy a whole new wardrobe if you don't have to! Have an amazing cruise when you go on it. Linzi & Mark
My 2 friends are taking their first Cunard cruise in a few weeks, and I'm SO interested in all of these videos. Interesting to hear that dress code during the day is pretty much the same as other cruise lines - I wouldn't have expected that.
The fact it's a non-enforced guideline for evening wear was also a surprise - I've always pictured Cunard being so much stricter!
We were equally surprised Fraser as to just how similar it is to other cruise lines in reality. We had, as the video said, absolutely expected it to be much more formal, and that was something that had put us off trying them for years
Sure the formal nights see a much higher percentage getting dressed up that some other cruise lines, but still a decent amount going to the buffet in dark jeans and polo shirts.
But during the day, from a dress code perspective you really would notice any difference to Celebrity, Princess or even Royal Caribbean
Have a lovely day,, Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured For at least the last 20 odd years (since QM2 came on the scene), if you haven't wanted to participate in dressing up in the evenings, the buffet areas have been the refuge...the safe haven, for those that just want a dinner bite to eat, without having to don penguin suits or gowns. I don't know though, it might have also been this way aboard QE2, at the buffet (called the Lido). It's been a while so I don't quite remember now. Nevertheless, it's a kind of flexibility I've always appreciated.
Helpful 😊
Thank you Anna
I'm so glad that I discovered your channel. I love your videos and your commentary makes me smile.😁I've just booked my first ever voyage with Cunard and will be setting sail on the QV next week. I don't know if I'm very brave or just foolish🤣 Anyway, I have definitely picked up some helpful tips and hints from your videos. You also answered my concerns when it comes to what to wear. The theme will be Black and White for the Gala night, so this video was very helpful. Do you have a video that covers what is included and what isn't? Also thinking about certain activities and classes that may not be included. Thanks again:)
Hi Alison. Thank you so much for such a lovely comment and you will have an amazing time on QV.
We don’t have any specific videos on what is and isn’t included in a cruise (apart from our inclusive food ones) but you’ve given us a great idea for a new video to become part of our regular cruise videos and we will bring it in from our next cruise in Feb where we will cover what is and isn’t included. Thank you for such a great idea.
In Cunard most activities are included and quite a few classes too. The ones that cost extra tend to involve food or drink, such as mixology or cooking classes. There are a couple of fitness ones that are chargeable too but they make it clear they are.
Let us know how the cruise goes when you get back.
Linzi and Mark
In the picture I saw your dress and It was beautiful ❤️
Your dresses are absolutely beautiful ❤️
Thank you so much Heather❤️
I don't think we will being doing Cunard any time soon ( not because of the dress code - its just a little way down our wish list ) but we love an excuse to get dressed up on our posh gear.
There is so few opportunities when we are not on holiday so we take the chance whenever we can - its always nice to be out and for it to feel special.
We completely agree Stuart & Karen. You can't dress up (and not be stared at) like that and go to the local restaurant, and it does make it feel like more of an occasion than just a meal being "fancy" on the ship, even if it is just for a few hours. We think you would love Cunard, maybe put the new Queen Anne on the list, as likely to have a few more modern features too. Hope you are both well. Linzi & Mark
Reality-I was just off of the Elizabeth, for the Alaska part of the cruise, passengers dressed fairly casual, however, between Vancouver and San Francisco, the after dinner dress was definitely upscale, all of the men were in jackets or dark suits, the women in dinner attire. Have fun!
Bring your finery! Gala nights are exciting to watch and participate in. Don’t cheat yourself by not enjoying the events! Yes, luggage is a problem, but, what the heck, time is short.
We completely agree; have fun! And on the Gala evening you do see a higher percentage of people dressed up on Cunard than on other cruise lines, and, as we said in the video, it is nice. It's fun! Not stuffy or too formal, in fact we found the 20's night a more "relaxed" formal night, than other cruise lines formal nights. Linzi & Mark
I have seen a guest told to leave the main restaurant on a Cunard cruise because he came without a jacket. I have no problem with this as it’s been a Cunard rule since almost forever. Just read all the information and then make a better judgment. There’s lots of choices when it comes to cruises. When we go on Royal Caribbean ship’s, their formal night is not enforced so you end up with a 50/50 mix of dressed up and casual. Again that’s fine because Royal are more relaxed and want all passengers to enjoy their cruise. So there’s a cruise for everyone, just please get informed before making your decision!
Happy cruising 🚢👍
Garry
Hi Garry, we saw people on the Gala nights trying to access the restaurant without a jacket and were turned away, but they didn't make a big scene or anything, just accepted it, and we assume either went and got a jacket or went up to the buffet. On non Gala nights we saw plenty of people without jackets in the dining room, but in truth the vast majority still had one on, at least when they went in, with open collar shirts. Some wore ties, but the majority didn't. Which we thought was the right mix of dressing smarter for dinner, whilst making it a comfortable experience for those who wanted, or didn't want to dress up more formally.
Completely agree that there is a cruise for everyone, we were just surprised that Cunard turned out to be for us too, as we are normally the less formal of formal (still dress for dinner).
Thanks for watching, and taking time to comment. Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured Hi Linz and Mark, we decided long ago that the Cunard experience was the best cruise for us. My wife and I have to wear uniforms for our respective jobs, so getting dressed for dinner every night is a must for us. We’ll be on Queen Victoria in a few weeks for 10 nights around Northern Europe. Happy cruising.
Garry
I feel there is a place to have a bit more of a formal feel on a cruise, with the reports lately of fights and drunken brawls that seem to be popping up on certain cruise lines, I don't need that when I'm on a cruise. I spoke to the hotel manager about the changes that are taking place and he agreed that this is a problem. His recommendation was rather than the cruise lines trying to control it, that I may want to look for a more high end or reserved cruise line like Oceana.
We think you are right Steve. We've been fortunate enough to not see a physical fight on a ship yet, but the reports of them do seem to have escalated more in the last few years for some reason. People and Cruise lines do need to take responsibility when it happens, and make sure they take full action and ensure people are aware that behaviour like that is not tolerated and issue life time bans. If they can stop this happening in sports stadiums (and we used to have a major issue in the UK with this in the 80's & 90's) then getting people to behave better on a cruise shouldn't be as hard. Having said that, the point of going on a higher end cruise line, would I expect also work, you can't imagine a fight or bad behaviour happening on Oceania or Seven Seas? Linzi & Mark
One of our neighbour's went on their first cruise a few years ago. When they went to the dining room, the husband was asked to remove his baseball cap, I have never seen him without a cap on, he refused and they ate every meal in the buffet. His wife was less than impressed because she wanted the dining room and specialty dining experience. That was the last cruise she brought her husband on.
Cheers,
Steve
😂we can imagine how well that went down with your Neighbours wife! We don't recall ever seeing anyone going into the main dining room, or speciality restaurants with baseball caps (or any other hats for that matter) on. We do know, and have spoken to other people who do not want to dress up, remotely, on a cruise and therefore always eat in the Buffet (or Galley on Virgin we guess), which seems such a shame to miss such great experiences. Linzi & Mark
Oceana was a ship operated by P&O Cruises UK.. I think you are confusing this with Oceania Cruises. I wonder why people get the two confused?
@@keith6400 You're correct, it was Oceania I meant to say. Thank you for catching that.
How is the closet space in a Balcony cabin aboard the Queen Mary 2. I don't mind doing laundry for a longer cruise, but I don't want to wear the same outfits all the time. Thanks.
Although not having been on QM2 ourselves personally we do know plenty who have and we’ve seen balcony cabins too. There is plenty of closet space, that are also tall enough to hang more formal attire easily.
QM2 is designed for longer journeys and they know their passengers generally take more clothes too, so we’d imagine you’ll be fine with plenty of space. QE2 had loads of closet space, but different ship. Linzi and Mark
You should bring your tiara!
If there was a Tiara to bring, it would be :) Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured I own a couple, both from Ali-express, They both look lovely. I just don't wear anything that looks like one of the famous ones.
Ali-express. We will be checking that out VERY shortly 😀 expect to see in future videos. Linzi and Mark
I've watched a video where another party sat at the video maker's table in Britannia restaurant and the staff said they couldn't do anything about it, that sounds awful, did you see that at all? Also, is the upper level of the restaurant for Britannia non-club guests too?
We've seen that video too, it was @traveltouristvideos where someone just sat at their assigned table. No, we never saw anything like that on either of our Cunard cruises.
Both the lower and upper parts of Britannia are for non-club guests, Britannia club has it's own dedicated restaurant.
Thanks so much for watching.
Linzi & Mark
Do you think a smart polo shirt jacket and chinos would be ok for a standard evening?
We’d have thought that would be fine David. We saw people wearing those specific combos on our cruise on standard evenings. Mark wore chinos and a standard shirt (no jacket) multiple times (not smart polo though).
Hope this helps.
@@SuiteNatured that's really helpful, I love dressing up but my husband gets uncomfortable and too hot in a jacket, although necessary for gala night, I know.
Hi I’m in Victoria soon are men ok to wear knitted polo shirts with chinos in the evening?
Hi, if it's a fine knit with a collar then yes you should be fine we saw people on QM2 and QE wearing these in an evening.
So it's still jackets and slacks on informal nights and dark suits and ties/tuxes on formal nights? If so, then things haven't changed since my first Cunard cruise, in the late 90's. You mention that the policy is not being enforced? Throughout the years, (dating back from my days on QE2), jackets and ties were always enforced (on formal nights), though in formal areas such as cocktail bars, and restaurants, during the evenings. In fact, there used to be a sign saying as much, at the entrance to the restaurants. The rest of the time (during the day), "smart casual attire" was acceptable, including jeans. So this has changed some?
Hi Ron, it is still shirts and slacks on informal nights, but they certainly were not enforcing jackets. Most people wore them, but we saw plenty who didn't even in main dining rooms. On formal nights, Jacket and Ties (or as appropriate to the evening) were enforced in Main Dining Room and Speciality Restaurant, but we did see people in bars not in full evening wear, and never noticed signs enforcing it either. There were signs up for the celebration events, but not saying, anything like "no entrance without appropriate formal attire". During the day, pretty much anything went, as long as it was not swim wear. So jeans, shorts, t-shirts, polos and such all were fine.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark