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Evening dress on a Ponant cruise ship
I will be on the Legendary Scottish Isles cruise in May on the Le Dumont-d'Urville.
I have a question for the ladies out there that have been on a Ponant cruise ship before. Does it tend to be dressier in the evenings than on a regular Tauck river cruise or tour. I have always worn a dressy pants ensemble. I have a cocktail dress I can take, but will I get use out of it?
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Sorry … not a lady. But I’ve done a number of Ponant trips. If it is not a ‘full boat’ Tauck charter, you will encounter women who look like they just stepped off the cover of Vogue. So …. what ever you are comfortable wearing is fine. But, don’t be surprised to run into some women at night who are just drop dead stunning. The crew on the Ponant ships often dress better than the Tauck guests.
There is a range of how people dress. From cocktail dresses to business/ elegant casual in the main dining room, to casual in the buffet. I have been on 4 Tauck / Ponant cruises ( Scottish Isles, Croatia, Iceland and Antarctica). Those were my observations and the kinds of clothes I brought.
I have only been on one Ponant cruise with Tauck (Cruising the Great Lakes) and all guests were Tauck guests. To be blunt (but factual), it was as if I was at a beach barbecue every evening...shorts, flip flops, tee shirts. Perhaps it was the itinerary and the fact that it was a USA tour, but it was the first time I saw so many inappropriately dressed people on a Tauck tour.
Kfnknfzk, I agree with you. It doesn’t take much effort at all to present oneself appropriately or halfway appropriately. Those used to be the good old days.
I have just return from a fabulous tour and it was not with Tauck. It was wonderful to not have to take what I call dress up clothes which let’s face it, take up a lot of room in a suitcase and you barely wear them for more than a couple of hours. Our suitcases had plenty of room and it meant we could bring back lots of local food goodies from our European destinations and a few local typical touristy things….I love pottery. The locals and tourists alike, most of them younger, wear very casual and sometimes skimpy clothing at night. Our group ate in good local restaurants off the beaten path and often in private rooms.
The only very scruffy people on our tour were a doctor and his wife, also a health professional. Their hair looked uncared for, anyone woild have been shocked to realize their status, worse, they both were Covid positive within the first couple of days and had been coughing all over us, maskless. Most other people, the most interesting and most well traveled and who I just loved, wore sensible appropriate clothing. You just have to be clean and presentable for me.
I did take what I call dress up clothes on my recent small ship Tauck cruise and was complimented on several nights but boy did I have lots more laundry and ironing to do when I got home.
Welcome home British
We are doing the Scottish Isles cruise in May too. I have been worrying about what to pack to stay warm while exploring. As much as I enjoy dressing for dinner, I don't think I will be able to commit too much space for that, so I am planning to bring a nice black skirt and pants with several nice tops for dinners.
We were on Treasures of the Mediterranean isles on a Ponant ship this past October, All the passengers were with Tauck. I don't recall anyone getting really dressed up for any of the evenings. Just nice comfortable clothing. seemed to be the norm.
Thanks everyone for the tips. I will probably skip taking my dress as that also requires an additional pair of shoes and we all know that the shoes take up valuable room and weight in the suit case.