Shorts in Main Dining Rooms (MDR's) - Your Opinions

1. 84

   talfonsoposted 10 years ago

   Recently, Disney Cruise Line revised their MDR dress code. They now allow shorts in the restaurants (well, except for Palo and Remy, the latter of which are onboard the Dream and Fantasy).
   
   There are mixed reactions on the revisions. Some people showed consternation over it, fearing that the passengers have free rein to wear short shorts with writing on the backsides to dinner, sitting besides a man in dress shirt and khakis and a woman in a nice dress.
   
   Some others welcomed it. For instance, little Johnny wants to wear shorts so he can go to the Oceaneer Lab, and as of recently, he can.
   
   For me, I'm still wearing the traditional dresses and slacks. I have been doing this since I took my first cruise on the Carnival Tropicale at age 6 in fall 1995. But I don't really care about what people wear around me in the MDR's. I'll not mind this when I sail on the Dream in a few weeks though I still dress nicely for dinner (except on Pirate Night, when I wear my T-shirt and slacks rolled to just below knees).
   
   
   Me and my late grandmother in "cruise casual" clothing - nice dresses. Carnival Fantasy, Feb. 1996
   
   I understand and acknowledge that people hate the dress code because of fears of everybody looking sloppy for dinner, but I also acknowledge those who are accepting of the code especially as long as the shorts are nice. I'm more into the quality of the food, services and amenities on any cruise than whether or not someone is wearing nice slacks to dinner.
   
   If a cruise line follows DCL's lead in allowing shorts in the MDR's, how would you react? Would you welcome it, loathe it, or not care?

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   1. 91

      MarleneBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't loathe it, but I wouldn't appreciate the new, relaxed dress code. I enjoy dressing up for dinner. I know the cruise lines are trying to attract more people, so they are becoming more relaxed. Some people have just enough money to pay for the cruise and buying fancy clothes to wear for dinner might keep them from being able to go on the cruise.

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      1. 84

         talfonsoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Maybe that's one reason DCL relaxed the dress code. I heard that the Carnie did this prior in some reports. But though I still wear dresses or slacks to dinner, I focus mainly on how good the food tastes as opposed to how people dress.

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         1. 84

            talfonsoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Error - it's NCL, which I'm sailing with next year, who allowed shorts for kids under 12 for dinner in the dining rooms.

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2. 72

   WriterOnTheRoamposted 10 years ago

   I wouldn't particularly care. I think looking sloppy isn't necessarily a problem with shorts per se - it's more about people's choices and their overall look.
   
   If you're sporting swimming pool hair and clothing that was smashed at the bottom of your suitcase for three muggy days out on the ocean, it doesn't matter if you're technically wearing a tuxedo - you still look like a wreck. If the outfit was adorable on you back when you were 16 - but now you're 40 - then it's a wrong choice even if it is an evening gown.
   
   So I think that while dress codes are wonderful suggestions, they're less important than common sense and good grooming in looking "presentable" at the dinner table.

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   1. 84

      talfonsoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Good points. I would suggest to people that if saling a cruise line like the Carnie, which pretty much implemented the allowance of shorts in the MDR's before DCL did, they would wear dress shorts. Think about the uniform or standardized dress codes in schools. That would specify walking (knee-length) bermudas so that modesty and appearance would be respected. But never the less, I care more about food.

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3. 92

   FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

   Doesn't matter to me one way or the other. If I'm in a dining hall, I'm there to look at the food, not what other people are wearing.

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   1. 84

      talfonsoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My thoughts exactly! I too focus more on how good the food tastes in the MDR's than how people look in them!

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