How to Dress on River Cruise?

MikeA01730

Hi,

We're taking the Blue Danube river cruise starting July 9, and are planning for it now. Unfortunately I'm getting a confused message re what clothes to take.

The video looks all elegant and cruise-shipish. Under the topic "Tauck's Dress Standards on River Cruises" "Tauck Tim" says that men need to wear a coat for the palace in Vienna but otherwise Tauck has "guests that dress more casually". Finally the Tauck trip adviser I called used the term "casual resort wear" (not a term I would typically associate with Tauck), and seemed to suggest that for dinner I needed to wear a collared shirt and long non-jean pants.

I'd prefer neat (not "distressed") jeans with a polo shirt for dinner. During the day trips I'd like to wear a polo shirt with shorts, jeans, or cotton pants depending on the weather and what's planned for the day. I'm happy to wear a jacket and stiff-collared shirt for a few more formal occasions, but would prefer not to take a suit and tie.

I certainly don't want to stand out as the guy who's always under-dressed, so I'll dress up as needed. My problem is that it's not clear what's required.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should plan on?

Thanks,
Mike

lucinjo

Mike - I am also getting a bit confused about the dress requirements for the cruise. I had assumed from the video and Tauck's own description on the web site (see quote below)that the trip would be resort casual, with jacket optional for the special events. Nowhere does the website mention that a jacket and tie is requested for the palace in Vienna, or that dressy jeans were not appropriate for dinner on regular nights on board ship. Only mention of jacket and tie that I see in Tauck's own description is for "dining on your own at an upscale restaurant". I think Tauck may need to update its website and put all the details together on what is expected dress.(On the East Coast we tend to translate "formal" to mean "black tie", but in other parts of USA it may mean sport coat over silk tee and designer jeans or in Hawaii, long pants with best Hawaiian shirt! With current limitations on airline luggage, I need to pack as efficiently as possible.
Quote from website regarding Blue Danube rivercruise: "Your journey is designed with leisure in mind. Dress for comfort and convenience with a wardrobe that is flexible and allows for layering. Casual, cotton clothing is always advisable. A light jacket or sweater for the sun deck is also recommended. Pack comfortable yet sturdy walking shoes that have already been broken-in, as many of the sites visited were built centuries ago and have uneven surfaces, some steep inclines and many steps. For the welcome and farewell receptions, casual resort wear is appropriate; formal wear is never required for dining with your fellow guests at a Tauck provided dinner. When traveling abroad, you may have the opportunity to dine at an upscale restaurant on your own, which may require men to dress in coat and tie, and women in more elegant eveningwear."

Don P

The dinner at the Vienna Palace is actually the home of the Prince who serves as your host. He and every member of his staff is dressed either in a suit or tuxedo. Tauck Tim only a day or so ago raised the question with his highness as to what type of dress would be appropriate. This was more than likely the first time it was officially raised therefore Tauck could not have known nor adjusted their website previously to learning this information. We did this cruise in the middle of May. It was hot; not over-bearingly hot but still hot. There were 46 men in attendance; 45 of them wore dinner jackets, blazers or a suit. Most, if not all wore a shirt and tie including the one gentleman who wore a v-neck sweater. It is interesting to note that many of the women were dressed in eveningwear. Formal wear for men was not and is not required.

The Prince's request was not a mandate but out of respect for his wishes it would be proper to dress as requested. I can only tell you that this is perhaps the highlight of many highlights on the cruise.

lucinjo wrote:

Mike - I am also getting a bit confused about the dress requirements for the cruise. I had assumed from the video and Tauck's own description on the web site (see quote below)that the trip would be resort casual, with jacket optional for the special events. Nowhere does the website mention that a jacket and tie is requested for the palace in Vienna, or that dressy jeans were not appropriate for dinner on regular nights on board ship. Only mention of jacket and tie that I see in Tauck's own description is for "dining on your own at an upscale restaurant". I think Tauck may need to update its website and put all the details together on what is expected dress.(On the East Coast we tend to translate "formal" to mean "black tie", but in other parts of USA it may mean sport coat over silk tee and designer jeans or in Hawaii, long pants with best Hawaiian shirt! With current limitations on airline luggage, I need to pack as efficiently as possible.
Quote from website regarding Blue Danube rivercruise: "Your journey is designed with leisure in mind. Dress for comfort and convenience with a wardrobe that is flexible and allows for layering. Casual, cotton clothing is always advisable. A light jacket or sweater for the sun deck is also recommended. Pack comfortable yet sturdy walking shoes that have already been broken-in, as many of the sites visited were built centuries ago and have uneven surfaces, some steep inclines and many steps. For the welcome and farewell receptions, casual resort wear is appropriate; formal wear is never required for dining with your fellow guests at a Tauck provided dinner. When traveling abroad, you may have the opportunity to dine at an upscale restaurant on your own, which may require men to dress in coat and tie, and women in more elegant eveningwear."

OzJohnno

As I wrote on my own thread on the subject I appreciate all the research that has been done but irrespective of the "request of the Prince" you can't pack what you don't own. We'll see what occurs on the night.

freddie

As has been noted above, this question has been the subject of a very contentious discussion on Cruise Critic, where the primary issue appeared to be the personal sartorial biases of certain posters (e.g. what, in their opinion, was "appropriate") as opposed to what Tauck required/requested of its passengers for the occasion at the palace in Vienna. In my experience on small luxury cruise ship travel (Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, Hapag Lloyd), it is the responsibility of the cruise line to make it clear to its passengers what the dress code is. Ambiguity in that regard is not useful and is merely dodging the question.

I appreciate that Tauck Tim (who, I trust, speaks for Tauck) has attempted to clarify the matter. We will assume that when we receive Tauck's cruise docs, there will be an unambiguous statement to the effect that Tauck requires (or, in the more gentle manner, "requests") that men wear jackets for the concert evening in Vienna, in order than pax have a reasonable notion of what to pack for the trip. Most passengers do not read these forums (fora??) and might not get the message if it not included in the travel docs.

As an aside, I do admit to finding it a bit interesting that "his highness" prefers that men wear jackets to his palace for the evening concerts, when he appears to be quite willing to rent out the various meeting rooms in the palace for almost any sort of meeting, which one could well assume could include sales meetings, motivational speaker events, or Avon/Mary Kay pep squad rallies. Hmm, doubt that he requests jackets for all of those...

As an additional aside, I might respectfully suggest to Don P that in most of the country outside of Florida, the term "dinner jacket" does not refer to a sports jacket or blazer. I certainly trust that Don was not suggesting that many of the men in his party wore white/ivory dinner jackets and the associated formal trousers/ties/shirts/cumberbuns to the Vienna concert. In the various photos and videos of event that I have seen, there were no Tauck passengers in such formal garb. As regards the video on the Tauck website, it is quite intriguing that in the opening shots for the Vienna concert evening, two of the four men shown entering the venue are not wearing (or carrying) jackets of any sort.

Oh well, we'll drag our blazers along, if Tauck so requires/requests, but certainly not because certain other Tauck clients consider such to be necessary because of their particular preferences and feel entitled to impose those preferences upon all other Tauck clients.

Cheers, Fred

MikeA01730

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I think I'll bring a sports coat for the palace and the starting and ending dinners, and I might bring a tie for the palace.

Can anyone comment on what's appropriate for the dining room on the ship? Would I feel comfortable in neat jeans and a polo shirt?

Thanks,
Mike

MSD

Just ended our trip (today). About 80 % of the men wore jackets to the dinner at the palace and less than 50% to the Captain's Dinner. Very few wore ties. Rest of the meals were very casual.

MikeA01730

We just got back. For others who are interested, for the palace dinner ~95% of the men wore jackets and ~80% wore ties. No one wore shorts, and there were a few suits with ties. It was warm but not too uncomfortable.

At the Captain's Dinner there was lots of variation. A few suits, jackets, and ties, lots of long pants, and some shorts.

For regular dinners people mostly wore what they did during the day, i.e lots of shorts and sandals.

The dining room was always cool, so people who get cold easily might want to bring a sweater.

Mike

Don P

Mike,

We had the same experience. Only one man didn't wear a jacket; he wore a nice sweater with a shirt and tie. Being "dressed" for this even somehow made this event seem even more impressive. We also had the same experience on the riverboat. It was a great cruise and a most enjoyable experience.

MikeA01730 wrote:

We just got back. For others who are interested, for the palace dinner ~95% of the men wore jackets and ~80% wore ties. No one wore shorts, and there were a few suits with ties. It was warm but not too uncomfortable.

At the Captain's Dinner there was lots of variation. A few suits, jackets, and ties, lots of long pants, and some shorts.

For regular dinners people mostly wore what they did during the day, i.e lots of shorts and sandals.

The dining room was always cool, so people who get cold easily might want to bring a sweater.

Mike

chatkatinca.

We are on the October 18th cruise. My husband will be bringing a navy sport coat and grey slacks with a tie for the evening in Vienna; Otherwise, slacks and sweaters; No jeans for dinner. He will typically bring two pair of docker style pants for evening plus the grey wool slacks for his jacket. No Suit;

I just bring a few pair of Chico's type outfits for dinner and maybe a skirt.

OzJohnno

We cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest in September last year on M.S. Treasures and as I've written in a number of places the requirement of a jacket for men is entirely optional and was not something high on the list of packing priorities for most who travelled with us. Around 50% of the men wore a jacket to the dinner and concert and soon removed them. The other 50%, of which I was one, wore smart casual clothes and neither group looked out of place. If on a regular basis you like prefer to wear a coat and tie then do so but I can assure you that if you do not then you will not be seen as "strange". The entire cruise is a magnificent experience no matter what you wear to the concert.

Heather White

Hi there

We took this trip last spring; it's a wonderful journey. In terms of dress, most people dressed in smart casual (golf shirts & chinos) - stick to comfortable clothing for the most part. We did dress up for dinner at the castle (guys wore dress shirts, jackets and slacks). Many women wore black dress pants with dressy tops & scarves rather than formal wear. Have a terrific trip!

PS

We just got back from this cruise. They told us no jeans or shorts for dinner. Otherwise we saw about everything except t shirts.

RJS666

I wore a blue blazer, shirt with collar and dark pants for each of the 3 special off-board dinners. Shirt with collar and either jeans or slacks for dinner on-board. A few of the men wore ties, but that was personal choice and not a requirement.
Don't spend too much energy worrying about this. Only the women watched what the other women were wearing. The guys were our usual unobservent selves, and the wait-staff could care less.

desi

will be on sept. 6th 2012 cruise . the above info was helpful thanks