Stay Classy America....NOT!

[MichaelMouse]

Disney Cruise Line has decided to allow shorts at dinner.....are you kidding me?

This is a new and unusual low coming from such a pricey and classy cruise!

I disagree with DCL's decision on this big time! It's like telling your kids it ok to talk with your mouth full and it's ok to put your elbows on the table!!!

What is wrong with America today???

NO class what so ever.....

People have been wearing shorts regardless but to allow it is just plain Stupid.....where has Americas class went??????

[Tekneek]

Are they forcing everyone to wear shorts, or just saying it is ok for those who want to?

I'm trying to understand why this is upsetting.

[MichaelMouse]

No, their not forcing you to wear shorts but it just takes away from the "Class"!

Would you go eat at a fine dining restaurant with shorts on....NO.

It takes away from the little things that are special....dressing up being one of them in a fine dining room.

You want to eat in shorts, go up to the sun deck and have a burger instead of a lobster.

[BrerGnat]

I was just on a Disney Cruise, before they officially allowed shorts. A lot of people were already wearing shorts, but everyone looked very nice.

The truth is, at least on a 3 night Bahamas cruise, it's a casual atmosphere. It is hot and humid. The dining rooms are also quite warm. If it is acceptable to wear "theme park attire" in WDW Signature Restaurants, I don't see how a cruise is much different. Besides, the actual dining rooms onboard are very casual environments, except maybe for Royal Palace.

I think allowing shorts is a good move. There are plenty of nice shorts out there that can look very dressy paired with a nice shirt. In particular, men and boys can look quite nice in khaki shorts and polo or button down shirts for a fancy dinner. People dress like that all the time in the summer months.

This is one change that I welcome. It was honestly kind of a pain to have to pack pants for my boys and husband on an otherwise "summer clothes" trip. They took up a lot of room and were ONLY worn for dinner each night.

I do like to dress nicely on cruises, and my family will continue to do so regardless of the rules. However, if we cruise in the summer again, I will be happy to not have to bring pants along for my boys and my husband will be glad for the option to wear shorts.

And, finally, just for the record, I don't recall what ANYONE else was wearing in the dining rooms on all three nights of our cruise. I was focused on my family. What the people in the tables around me were wearing, I couldn't care less about.

[DVC2004]

Last time I was on the Cruise (Feb 2012), most people weren't too dressed for dinner. In fact at Palo where I thought it was required to dress a certain way, almost no one was. My husband brought a jacket and we noticed with the few couples around us the men were dressed pretty casually. Jeans, definitely no jacket. I don't know, just like at the WDW Signature restaurants, they seem to have a dress code but don't seem to enforce it. I recall dining at Jiko several years back. When we made the reservation on the phone, the CM stressed the dress code. I made sure my boys had polo style shirts, etc. While dining, a woman came in a full sweat suit. Another man came in wearing cut off jean shorts, works boots that had dried mud and dirt all over and a tye dye t shirt. Nothing was said it appeared. I really don't care how other people dress, it's more the point that Disney makes a point to tell you this "rule" then everyone just does what they want anyway. Just do away with it I guess.

[Tekneek]

Would you go eat at a fine dining restaurant with shorts on....NO.

I might, if the dress code and established custom of the restaurant allows it.

[BrerGnat]

Also, just want to point out that there are a fair number of International travelers on Disney Cruises. Shorts or Capris (even for men) are commonplace in a lot of other countries during summer holidays.

[MichaelMouse]

Being in the park restaurants is one thing, it's another to be in Citricos, Victoria & Alberts, California Grill.

On a 3 night cruise, I would agree is much more lax and acceptable but on a 7 nighter.....I don't agree.

I will wear what I want regardless but I think once you give the guests the ok to wear shorts, they will then start coming in sloppy.

I've already seen this with my own 2 eyes and shorts was never even approved yet.

The other cruise lines have a standard with this, Disney having more class should not lower that standard....in the end DCL is Disney but this is NO Themepark......

[DVC2004]

Being in the park restaurants is one thing, it's another to be in Citricos, Victoria & Alberts, California Grill.

On a 3 night cruise, I would agree is much more lax and acceptable but on a 7 nighter.....I don't agree.

I will wear what I want regardless but I think once you give the guests the ok to wear shorts, they will then start coming in sloppy.

I've already seen this with my own 2 eyes and shorts was never even approved yet.

The other cruise lines have a standard with this, Disney having more class should not lower that standard....in the end DCL is Disney but this is NO Themepark......

Jiko isn't at the theme park, it's in AK Lodge and it's upscale like Cali Grill, Citricos. That is my point- they tell us on the phone this is a signature restaurant, dress code enforced and someone comes wearing a sweat suit, another in dirty work boots and torn jean shorts (a man). Cruise as well. I have no idea why they allow people to come in dressed these ways when they clearly state the rules on the phone, website and in the cuise documents.

[BrerGnat]

I don't know of any other mainstream cruiselines that actually enforce the dress code either. It's not just Disney.

The bottom line is, a rule is no good unless you enforce it. The moment people realize the rule is not enforced, they will break it. The more people break it, the more it becomes the "new rule."

I have always been told "no jeans" in Cruise Line main dining rooms, but have ALWAYS seen people wearing them, dating back to my first cruise on the Norway in 1991.

[MichaelMouse]

I've been on both the Dream & Fantasy and to be quite honest, the people I was surrounded by was pretty much the same....most were dressed, many were not!

I was disappointed with how people on the Fantasy dressed overall. I'm sorry but Disney doesn't always mean you're in a Themepark. The cruise should be a step up, not down.

For formal night, me and my two boys (ages 5 & 2 at the time) had tuxedos on for formal night.

There's something very special about that. And I wouldn't change it for a minute.

Unfortunately, America doesn't cherish the little things anymore....Class being one.

[MichaelMouse]

I agree! Unless you enforce it, which they don't! People will test the boundaries.

I guess I just hate to see such a classy cruise give in to lax rules.

I'm aware that you can be very presentable in shorts and a nice shirt.

The problem is most people will not do that. Most will look sloppy as if they just came from the beach.....I hope not.

It then makes the little population of people that get "decked out" look like the "odd balls"

I hope DCL at least enforces the shorts rule to presentable....

[VWL Mom]

What is wrong with America today???

NO class what so ever.....

I think you answered your own question.

[1DisneyNut]

Disney really doesn't enforce any rules they make so what difference does it make?

[Tekneek]

Maybe they can RFID tag the right clothes and only let people in that are wearing them.

They seem to only be able to implement that kind of solution, rather than simply having humans enforce anything.

[Goofster]

Google people of wal mart and go to the official website right before the cruise and everyone on the cruise will look great!

But, seriously, the standard of American dress has drastically come down over the last 30-50 years. Men rarely wear suits to work anymore, etc. It's becoming a bygone era.

[joanna71985]

I wish DCL hadn't changed the dress code.

[AZ Disney]

IMO...there are many more important issues to be outraged about in this world. What other people wear to dinner is just not one of them for me. Judging individuals on their "classiness" or America at large by what they wear is not nice.
I simply do not understand how you would allow another persons clothing to negatively affect your dinner or vacation. Live and let live.

[MNNHFLTX]

This is why I am not a fan of cruises--I really don't like to "dress up" while on vacation. I do that every day to go to work and when I'm on vacation I just want to relax and not have to worry about such things. And, as Natalie mentioned, all those formal clothes (and shoes) take up a lot of room in your luggage. When I have gone on cruises, I was amazed at the travelers coming on board with gigantic suitcases. Nope, that's not for me.

I do understand the tradition behind Formal Nights on cruises, but couldn't there be a compromise? Maybe the earlier seating be casual dress and the later seating dressier? People (like me) who prefer to dress more casually while on holiday can still appreciate good food and good company. And I'm afraid I must take exception to your statement about "class"--it's not about how you look, it's how you act. There are lots of people who either don't have the money or the inclination to dress up but have plenty of class. And there are lots of people who dress to the nines but have no class at all.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

In Disney other than Victoria and Alberts I can see them being a little relaxed as it is a theme park and a lot of guests don't have time to go back to the room to change before dinner...as long as no bathing suits, bare feet, shirtless or anything like that isn't tolerated.

It wouldn't bother me to be eating at California Grill next to someone in a t-shirt and shorts or t-shirt and jeans as long as they aren't indecent and are clean. For me class isn't about what you're wearing but about how you are acting.