Many British holiday makers are preparing for a winter escape on a cruise to escape the cold and wet weather. While cruises offer a chance to see some amazing parts of the world off the ship, passengers can also look forward to a fantastic array of culinary delights and global cultural experiences during their adventures.
However, P&O Cruises has highlighted a key rule that passengers must remember, or they face being turned away from their dinner plans. The majority of P&O sailings adopt a casual dress approach, yet they do host “Black Tie” evenings, which are an invitation to dazzle in your finest attire – cocktail dresses, tuxedos, ball gowns, suits, or smart jackets with ties, reports The Express.
“Evening Casual” nights also offer the chance to showcase stylish shirts, smart jeans and relaxed wear provided tracksuits remain in the wardrobe.
Nevertheless, one garment is notably prohibited across the board on all venues bar the buffet during Black Tie events – tailored shorts. On more laid-back evenings, just a select few locations will welcome those clad in shorts for their dinner reservations.
Passengers have taken to social media platform with stories of them or people they know being refused entry to these upscale evenings for wearing shorts, despite them being paired with a smart button-down shirt and expensive footwear.
One disgruntled passenger recounted their experience: “My husband got turned away from the main dining room on Celebrity Equinox (about four years ago) for wearing nice shorts with a collared polo shirt,” while highlighting that arguing with staff over dress code issues is frowned upon and seen as bad manners. Dressing improperly is a frequent faux pas aboard cruises.
Grant Harrold, an etiquette expert from Spincasino.com, pointed out that this dressing mishap is among several errors newcomers to cruising might commit. “This is really important,” Grant advised. “It’s making sure you’re dressed in the right outfit in the right area.”
He went on to clarify what’s expected attire-wise: “On a lot of the big ships you will be given notice of formal evenings or casual evenings, so casual evenings can be anything from jeans and T-shirts to smart shirts, jackets and chinos to the formal evenings where it’s going to be black tie or national dress and officers wear their uniforms.”