How do you "pack light" with these formal and semi formal nights?

[hypnotoad]

Title says it all. Advice and suggestions?

 

[DaddysPrincess]

I always take waaaaay too much.. I just love dressing up lol
But check on Pinterest; there's tons of "7 Day Cruise Outfit", etc pins on there. I always look at them.. and still overpack

 

[Agent 86]

Formal and semi-formal nights are a "suggestion" only. You can wear whatever you like as long as you don't breach Disney's very relaxed dress code for the main dining rooms (e.g. no bathers / swimmers).

Personally, the most "dressed up" we get is jeans and a collared shirt. You will see some people looking very grand in tuxedos and evening gowns, but there will be just as many people (actually, probably more people) in "smart casual" or "casual" clothing.

 

[Shanti]

Look at it this way: the only thing extra you need to pack is one dress or one suit per person. We always wear the same thing to formal & semi formal nights, which are not consecutive. It isn't black tie, so no silk, taffeta, etc. is needed, just a simple dress or suit that can be rolled or folded up. One extra outfit just doesn't take up that much room in a suitcase, assuming each person has his or her own suitcase. A separate pair of shoes might be necessary & take up a bit of room, but if you're already packing light, that shouldn't derail everything when each person has a suitcase.

In the end, I suppose it depends on your definition of packing light. No need to pack everything & the kitchen sink, but I would never want to stuff all of multiple people's clothes into one single suitcase for a 7-night cruise, and don't see the need/benefit of it. There is ample storage space for multiple suitcases under the bed in each stateroom, and anyone who can afford a Disney cruise can also afford a checked bag fee.

 

[squirk]

I “pack light” with the formal and semi-formal clothing by storing them in my closet at home.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Our formal and semi formal wear consists of dress shorts, collared shirts and sundresses. On our cruise in March, we were some of the more dressed up people on our cruise. Don’t sweat it.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Our family does actually dress up some for the semi-formal and formal nights. How often do you get to do that these days.

Our space savings is by a little mixing and matching the cruise casual and limiting shoes. Since the dinner outfits tend to only be worn for a few hours it is easy to double a shirt or pants for different days. For the shoes, wearing sneakers to board and in the bag a pair of thongs and one set of dress shoes that goes with all outfits covers everything.

 

[darnheather]

I don't. My two girls and I love to dress up and never get the occasion at home. We also love costumes. So far I've managed to unpack everything into the closet and shelves and store all suitcases under the bed. Flying Southwest helps since you get two free bags. Previously I've driven so that luggage wasn't an issue.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

I don't pack light. Ha! We are a family of three, and there is adequate storage space in cabins for us all to pack a little heavy. DH and I split the closet and the main drawers; DD's stuff goes in the desk drawers with her dresses in the closet. Stuff we don't use much (heave clothes for traveling, pirate night stuff, etc.) stays in suitcases under the bed.

 

[starvenger]

- Look through youtube to find videos on how to pack a suit in a compact-yet-minimal-wrinkle fashion. This does help free up space in your suitcase for other clothes.
- The old "stuff socks and underwear in men's dress shoes" advice still works
- Bring detergent to wash clothes. DCL has the laundry, of course, but you can wash clothes in the sink if necessary.

 

[Chirple]

We don't own traditional formal dress clothes, but I bought a maxi-length dark green dress from Anthropologie a couple of years ago that 1) folds up small and 2) does not wrinkle. I can dress it up or down depending upon shoes and accessories. My husband will wear nice chinos and a long-sleeved button down shirt with dressy casual shoes. I would like to see him throw on a tie for formal night just to add a little bit extra to his outfit.

In our daily lives we work from home so our normal daily attire is very casual (shorts/t-shirts/sweats). Putting on the clothes I mentioned above is formal for us.

 

[southerngirl528]

I always take waaaaay too much.. I just love dressing up lol
But check on Pinterest; there's tons of "7 Day Cruise Outfit", etc pins on there. I always look at them.. and still overpack

Same here on all counts!

Our family does actually dress up some for the semi-formal and formal nights. How often do you get to do that these days.

THIS. So true today. I LOVE seeing other passengers dressed up.

I can dress it up or down depending upon shoes and accessories.

This is precisely what I was going to say. I am not a "dress" girl, so dressed up for me is a very nice pantsuit, in elegant colors (always black something), and I accessorize with sparkly, dressy jewelry and nice shoes. I do a little extra fluff to my hair (hey, I'm southern so I love big hair! ), and if I do say so myself, I look pretty good! For us girls, it's AMAZING what great accessorizing can do to elevate an outfit. I usually bring a pretty dressy wrap/shawl that helps to "dress up" my outfit, and because they are dressy they are usually semi-sheer so they take virtually NO room once folded and placed into a ziplock for packing.

 

[jrabbit]

I'm a guy and I take a dress shirt and a tie for formal & semi formal nights. For all MDR non formal/semi dinners I wear slacks and dress shoes (and polos).

DW just continues to wear a skirt and dressy tops for dinners - regardless of dinner theme

For Palo dinner - we wear what we would for Formal night. For Palo brunch - it's back to slacks and a polo for me, and skirt and blouse for DW.

We don't bring anything for pirate night except for a POTC tee shirt and Mickey / Goofy pirate ears.

We will not be bringing a Halloween costume for our "Halloween" sailing in mid September! I "liked" the e-mail we received recently re: HOTHS - instructions on what is acceptable costumes and remember: Do NOT bring any prop guns / knives or swords!! (because we will be selling those to you once you get onboard!!)

 

[Travel60]

We think dressing nicer for dinner than at home makes the cruise more special and worth the price. For a 7-night cruise, I typically pack 4-5 dresses.....a couple casual enough that I can also wear them on a non-beach excursion and for final deboarding, one dressy enough for formal night and Palo. It is formal, not "prom", so my dressy dress might be long and flowing dressy sundress type thing (for warm weather cruising) or a simple long dress for cooler weather. Either folds up with no wrinkles. I dress any of them up with wraps/ jewelry. Then I usually bring two pair of pants (capri or long depending on weather) and a selection of tops/sweaters. For cool weather one of those pants might be jeans.... I never bring jeans to warm weather cruises - too hot. I try to plan pants/dresses around one color ....often white or khaki for warm weather, black or navy for cooler. That means I only need one pair of daytime shoes and one pair of dressy shoes. Then swimsuit/ cover-up/flip-flops and some workout gear. All fits in one regular suitcase and a carry-on cosmetic type bag. My hubby used to bring tux but now packs a suit, two dress shirts and ties in a fold-over suit bag which is his carry-on. Everything else goes in his one largish suitcase. He typically wears polo and khakis for regular dinner nights.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We have managed longer (Panama Canal and Transatlantic) cruises with one checked bag each, including a packable fabric dress for DW that hangs out well and my tuxedo with dress shirt. The tux can be sent to the on-board cleaners to be pressed if necessary, but I've never had to do that in practice, just letting it hang out in the bathroom while I shower if it comes out of the suitcase a little wrinkled. My primary concession is that I wear a pair of black loafers with the tux rather than formal shoes, so I don't need to pack another pair of shoes. We wear the dressy outfit for Palo as well as on formal night(s).

 

[bumbershoot]

Packing light isn’t a priority for me on cruises. And I’m at the end of a 9 day stay with friends durin which I’ve loved out of a carryon and “personal item” to use airline words.

But for cruises? Nah

That said, I pack for the “just in case”. My carryon roller bag has my pretty clothes, a pair of comfy nice shoes that coordinate with all dresses, my swimsuits and coverup, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, makeup, hair hoop, and kindle.

Everything else is in a checked bag. If the checked bag doesn’t make it onto the ship, I’ve got my essentials in carryon.

 

[TrishaK]

I'll take a couple dresses; also a skirt or pants with multiple shirts to mix and match. My husband takes one or two pairs of pants and wears them multiple times with polo or dress shirts. I make sure my dress clothes all require the same color shoe (so I either bring brown or black, not both). I'll also bring along a small wristlet so I don't have a lanyard around my neck in my dress clothes.

 

[cruiser21]

A dress doesn’t take up that much room. Are asking about a suit or tux?

 

[NZMUM]

My DH & DS pack a pair of dress trousers, & a polo or shirt. For formal night they add a bowtie. They sometimes wear their shoes on to the plane which saves a lot of space. DD takes a light skirt & nice top, I have a pair of dress pants & nice top. That covers formal night, semi-formal night & Palo brunch if we go. For the rest of the clothes it's just t-shirts & shorts & swimsuits. We don't pack extra of them - firstly because you can wear the same outfit more than one day if you spend most of your time at the adult pool; secondly we do laundry since we are always away from home for at least 3 weeks - I don't have enough clothes to last that long without doing laundry .

 

[remlap]

On a 7 night cruise, I would pack one pair of dockers/slacks and wear on Formal, semi-formal nights and Palo. (and only wear then)

Now with Palo's relaxed dress code, if I was on a 4 night or shorter cruise I would just wear jeans to Palo brunch.

It depends on how many photo ops you want to buy from shutters.