dress code on disney dream for young adults

[LNMom]

I want everyone to be comfortable but dressing well doesn't have to equate with discomfort.

But, baseball hats indoors? I was appalled (and I am young so it's not a generational issue).

my rules of thumb: a white table cloth requires dressier clothes and the waitstaff shouldn't be dressed better than me

I love seeing my family dressed up. We look good and feel good!

 

[YawningDodo]

I also look good and feel good...while wearing my capris, casual top, and sandals in the MDR.

 

[LNMom]

When I dress for dinner it's not in formal attire. My go to a are Ann Taylor's jeggings (machine washable and the black never fades!) And black, wide leg, elastic waist pants with a loose blouse and black wrap. Everything is machine washable and I love capris but I get cold. I rarely wear dresses anymore but will on formal night. Hubby wears khakis and a button down shirts with a sports coat (he gets cold easily).

Of note, I teach at a private, Southern university. The men tend to dress fine for class, but many woman are not. I increasingly see shorts and skirts so short that bottoms are visible, crop tops in class and formal wear that makes women look beyond inappropriate. I am learning from this and teaching my daughter's and son that there are unspoken standards and rules of decorum. We dress nicely for mass every week as practice (no running shorts/shorts/mini skirts or tank tops). Vacations are another opportunity for imparting this lesson.

I had rules for dressing as a child and teen and when I went to college i continued dressing relatively modestly. I was in the popular sorority so it wasn't a matter of dressing nerdy, but my professors engaged me with respect and I am certain I was less of a target when out at parties/bars.

Be yourself on vacation whether that's a princess or 007, and comfortable. But also use vacation as another opportunity to expose kids and teens to those unspoken rules that they will be judged by at some point in their young lives. Presentation of self is a power in many situations.

That was more of a rant, but I feel so strongly about kids practicing these skills.

 

[YawningDodo]

I don't believe the original question was related to whether or not young women in general are showing too much of their bodies -- this thread is in regards to what level of casual versus formal clothing is appropriate on a cruise; the original question was whether shorts of any kind would be appropriate or if only slacks would do, and most of the responses have hewn to that general topic. Whether or not women should be held responsible for making themselves a "target" at parties and bars based on what they wear is a huge can of worms we might not want to open in this thread.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We kicked around the idea of renting our son a tux for formal night (the rental you do on the ship) just because he loves wearing them. Because he feels like a secret agent. But I'm assuming that with Disney there will be no one dressed capital-F formally. Suits and dresses, but not the full-on Cunard.

I would not say no one. On the longer Panama Canal and Transatlantic cruises that we have done, we see a good number of men in tuxedos and women in cocktail or full length dresses. We are with that group, so it may be we notice it more than if we were not dressed so. I also enjoy seeing the number of men in formal kilt outfits. Not my heritage, but an interesting look just the same. Having packed my tux for the cruise, I always wear it a second time when we do the Palo dinner.

Even on the seven night cruises we have done, we’ve seen at least some families dressed formally and having family pictures taken. I say if your son wants to do the secret agent thing, encourage it while you can.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are going on Dream and grandchildren ages 4, 7, 12, and 21 were wondering can they wear dress shorts for dinner or do they need long pants. I know all the adults will not over dress but will wear long pants. Any help will be appreciated.

Shorts and t-shirts are the norm in the MDR's. Dress shorts and long pants will be "fancy". At least that's what we experienced on our Fantasy cruise last month. I wore a sundress and DH and DS10 wore dress shorts and polos each night and we looked "fancy". That's what we're comfortable in, so we stuck to it. Believe it or not, we saw a young girl (about 11 or 12) in swimsuit bottoms in Enchanted Garden. I couldn't believe they allowed it. Not recommending it at all, but it seems they've gotten REALLY lax on dress code.

 

[cadien]

I would not say no one. On the longer Panama Canal and Transatlantic cruises that we have done, we see a good number of men in tuxedos and women in cocktail or full length dresses. We are with that group, so it may be we notice it more than if we were not dressed so. I also enjoy seeing the number of men in formal kilt outfits. Not my heritage, but an interesting look just the same.

Even on the seven night cruises we have done, we’ve seen at least some families dressed formally and having family pictures taken. I say if your son wants to do the secret agent thing, encourage it while you can.

My stepfather always brings his formal kilt on cruises.

This is just a 5-day and it looks like we have missed the ordering deadline for a tux this time, but I'm more likely now to consider it next time.

 

[YawningDodo]

My stepfather always brings his formal kilt on cruises.

This is just a 5-day and it looks like we have missed the ordering deadline for a tux this time, but I'm more likely now to consider it next time.

That's really too bad. Next time, though!

 

[piratepride]

They can absolutely wear dress shorts. My son did this for almost every meal on our 7 night Fantasy cruise last August.

 

[cruiser21]

Exactly. If it makes him happy, let him do it!

Yes and the same goes for wearing shorts.

 

[CarolynU]

My daughter and I took my little baby granddaughter on a seven night DCL cruise with seven nights preceding it in a hotel last year. Baby was 16 months and didn't get a baggage allowance.
Well amazingly in our two checked bags and two carry ons we fitted a mattress for the pack n play, formal long dresses, princess costumes, pirate clothes, smart clothes for every evening dining, and casual swimming things for the day, plus shorts and t's.
We loved getting dressed up and boy did our little one get loads of attention from the characters, crew, cast members and even other passengers. It made her as young as she was feel very special, to the point that we took on a shy toddler and debarked with a confident little girl.
Maybe I'm old fashioned but fast forward to this year in January in Palo with an adult only trip and opposite us was a group wearing frayed dirty jeans, back to front baseball caps, or bandanas, t shirts or baggy sweatshirts and I must admit I did feel that standards are declining more and more.
Did it impact on my meal in any way? Nope my food was my food. Should I have even been concerned at how another table looked? Nope! None of my business. Jeans are accepted now in Palo, so of course the boundaries are being stretched and who can be the jean police? In reality no-one. So back to the OP as far as I can see there is a simple wear whatever you want philosophy, and I doubt you will be challenged anywhere.
Rightly or wrongly my hunch is most people on the Disney cruise line prefer this approach.
Just not me, but as I said I'm old fashioned.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

For what it's worth, and this is just my humble opinion: I've seen just about everything from flip flops and denim cutoffs to dress shirts/ties on all ages in the MDRs. There are plenty of young people (and older people!) in dress shorts, but the MDR's can be chilly so my family abandoned shorts for dinner after our first cruise. My boys like to dress up a bit for dinner, so DH, DS14 and DS11 wear khakis/Dockers with a polo on most nights. In our experience, that or a polo with dress shorts is what the majority of men and boys wear on most nights. Other cruisers' mileage may vary. I pack a coordinating pair of khakis, a polo shirt, + a dress shirt/tie for formal night for each of them (plus pirate gear for the boys since they still like to do the pirate thing). DH takes a pair of dress shoes but the boys just wear their everyday sneakers and they're set for all occasions. It doesn't take much room and they combine and recycle as necessary; they only have them on for an hour or two at a time anyway and it'd be easy enough to wash them or have them cleaned if any unfortunate food accidents occurred... and absolutely nobody is going to notice when they wear the same thing to dinner more than once. Can't speak for most women and girls, but I like to dress up a bit too so I usually wear a casual skirt and flats, or on optional formal nights, a dress. There are always plenty of women/girls in nice shorts and capris.

Really, the dress code is very loose, especially for children. You might be turned away if you showed up in swimwear, but almost anything else goes. I wouldn't recommend clothes that are dirty or especially ragged, but for the most part I've never seen anyone on the extremely casual end of the dress spectrum getting the Hairy Eyeball even though they were in the minority. You're more likely to get negative attention if you're loud/obnoxious or letting your kids run wild. Men in tank tops may be an exception, and I kind of get that... I don't especially want to eat right next to a stranger's gently waving armpit hair either. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[YawningDodo]

For what it's worth, and this is just my humble opinion: I've seen just about everything from flip flops and denim cutoffs to dress shirts/ties on all ages in the MDRs. There are plenty of young people (and older people!) in dress shorts, but the MDR's can be chilly so my family abandoned shorts for dinner after our first cruise. My boys like to dress up a bit for dinner, so DH, DS14 and DS9 wear khakis/Dockers with a polo on most nights. In our experience, that or a polo with dress shorts is what the majority of men and boys wear on most nights. Other cruisers' mileage may vary. I pack a coordinating pair of khakis, a polo shirt, + a dress shirt/tie for formal night for each of them (plus pirate gear for the boys since they still like to do the pirate thing). DH takes a pair of dress shoes but the boys just wear their everyday sneakers and they're set for all occasions. It doesn't take much room and they combine and recycle as necessary; they only have them on for an hour or two at a time anyway and it'd be easy enough to wash them or have them cleaned if any unfortunate food accidents occurred... and absolutely nobody is going to notice when they wear the same thing to dinner more than once. Can't speak for most women and girls, but I like to dress up a bit too so I usually wear a casual skirt and flats, or on optional formal nights, a dress. There are always plenty of women/girls in nice shorts and capris.

Really, the dress code is very loose, especially for children. You might be turned away if you showed up in swimwear, but almost anything else goes. I wouldn't recommend clothes that are dirty or especially ragged, but for the most part I've never seen anyone on the extremely casual end of the dress spectrum getting the Hairy Eyeball even though they were in the minority. You're more likely to get negative attention if you're loud/obnoxious or letting your kids run wild. Men in tank tops may be an exception, and I kind of get that... I don't especially want to eat next right to a stranger's gently waving armpit hair either. Enjoy your cruise!

I was actually a little nervous that someone might notice if I wore the same top twice. I feel like shorts and trousers are easier to reuse as long as they're not so strange-looking that they draw a lot of attention, but the reason I didn't re-wear my one non-t-shirt to dinner was that I felt like there was too much chance someone might notice given that it's the same tablemates and same servers all week. It's silly, because I always re-wear clothing in my normal life as long as it's not stained or smelly, but at home I do the same thing -- I won't wear the same shirt to work twice in one week (even if it actually does get washed in between) just in case someone notices.

Which is probably really silly; I don't pay that much attention to other people's clothing, so I'm sure they don't pay that much attention to mine. But it's what had me wearing a Marvel t-shirt to dinner on the last night instead of changing when I'd exhausted all my other options. I think I'd feel less self conscious about it if I were a man wearing polos or button-ups that all looked pretty similar; the trouble with women's clothing is that each piece is its own thing. The only non-t-shirt tops I own that are similar to one another are tank tops, but then I'd be wearing the same cardigan over them every night. :/

 

[MillauFr]

I increasingly see shorts and skirts so short that bottoms are visible, crop tops in class and formal wear that makes women look beyond inappropriate.

They are just getting used to the type of dress you will see the at the high tech companies here in Seattle. Almost all of the people here working for Amazon, Alphabet (aka Google), and Facebook dress lousy.