Just switched to the 8/28 Westbound cruise - who else is going? Dress questions?

swandy

Hi, my wife Marilyn and I just signed up for the 8/28 Westbound version of this cruise. We are celebrating our 40 anniversary - had originally planned to go to Israel/Jordan but were getting concerned over what is going on there, so switched to our other choice.
This is our 2nd Riverboat cruise with Tauck (and about our 7th tour with them). From what it looks like there are more "dress up" evenings than other tours - first and last dinners together, Captain's "Welcome Reception & Dinner" and the dinner in Vienna Palace. So the question is how are the ladies (dresses???) and gentlemen (suits/jackets???) packing?
See you all on the boat!!!
Steve & Marilyn

jdurkin

Why in the name of all human civilisation do I keep answering these questions when I know there are some out there in Tauck question land who are just waiting to stick pins in my effigy? Because decent people keep asking decent questions and they deserve a reasonable answer. So here goes.

Hi Steve,

First up, you are in for a wonderful trip! If you read through these forums you will discover that your question will produce a worse, sometimes even angrier response than sticking your unprotected finger into the centre of a bee hive. There are some people (mostly men) who will tell you to wear whatever you want, including all manner of casual, hiking, Walmart attire on the basis that it is your trip and your money. Then there are those, (mostly men) who don't wear jackets because they don't like or own one. Then there are some men who only feel right in a jacket. Then there are their wives who have to design the total travel wardrobe for the couple … and pack and care for it en route.

Can I respectfully suggest that you find your natural fit on the spectrum and plan to dress in a style that suits you while being respectful of your fellow guests, hosts (for the Palace dinner) and mindful that the total concept of European fine dining, while it might be foreign to you in the US is common place in Europe and many other parts of the world. It's a notion built on showing respect for the skills of the chef and the people who are serving you. It has nothing in common with fuelling your body in the shortest possible time.

I find is very odd that I have to say … clean, fresh, clothes … but, there you go. For ladies, trousers, tops, sandals (or similar), rather than hiking boots. That little black dress* that packs well? Some useful accessaries? A bit of extra bling for the special occasions. And a wrap of some sort. It will be very useful. For the men … suits are not required, but if you feel best in a jacket … fine. They used to ask for jacket & tie for the Palace dinner … in fact I have seen Palace staff handing out ties for loan. Perhaps they have given up, poor souls! You don't need a dinner suit or dinner jacket, but it is a very special occasion, however you choose to dress. If you are one of those people who looks fantastic in avant-garde gear because you have the body for it … well, dazzle them! Otherwise, you might consider something more traditional and dare I say it, flattering? The reason you might choose to dress in a sympathetic manner is to show respect. For everything, really. Above all, it really is common sense.

Have a wonderful trip,

Cheers,

Jan. *We girls know that LBD can describe lots of "dressing up" garments!

Now I'll just wait for the hoi polloi to start gnashing their teeth and drooling with mis-quotes.

swandy

Thanks Jan for the thoughtful reply. As I said we have been on several Tauck tours and a riverboat and I realize that everyone does what they feel comfortable with. And the idea of respectful attire for the occassion is not even lost on a New Yorker like me. It just dawned (perhaps surprised is a better word) when I realized that there were many more "dress up" nights because of the palace dinner and the Captain's dinner than I usually plan on. Guess everyone will just have to get used to seeing me in the same jacket for four nights instead of the usual two on a typical Tauck tour.

jdurkin

swandy wrote:

Guess everyone will just have to get used to seeing me in the same jacket for four nights instead of the usual two on a typical Tauck tour.

OMG! The same jacket for four nights! Steve! Egad! What is the world coming to? (Don't answer that. As an Australian, it is too distressing just now.) It's the end of civilisation as we know it. It is, as Sir H U M P H R E Y, would say, the thin edge of the wedge.

Cheers,

Jan

Calaf1

Steve and Marilyn,

I'm also on the 28th Westbound sailing. I've taken 6 or 7 river cruises over the years as I find I enjoy the ease of allowing the ship to move me from place to place. No need to pack and unpack and stand in interminable airport lines. My first river cruise with Tauck was last year on their French Waterways tour, which I found thoroughly enjoyable.

I try to pack as light as possible and didn't intend to take a jacket or tie. But after reading the commentary on these forums, at the last minute I relented and threw in both. I was glad I did. I ended up wearing both jacket and tie three times: our first night dinner at Fouquet's in Paris and the two Captain's dinners aboard ship.

I would estimate that 70% of the men wore a jacket and tie, 20% wore jackets sans tie and 10% were in shirtsleeves. Personally, I was glad I took a jacket and tie along, but I heard or saw no criticism of those without.

This trip appears to be somewhat more formal and I intend to pack both jacket and tie.

See you aboard.

Calaf

swandy

Hi Calaf,
Thanks for your thoughts - and yes, I have sort of resigned myself to packing at least a jacket and have yet to decide on which ties/shirts.
This is also our second Tauck riverboat tour (first was Holland/Belgium) and I know I would have felt out of place on some of the nights without the jacket/tie. And this one seems - because of the palace dinner - even more "formal" than most tours (though on Tauck the first and last nights are always "dress up" nights). Ah well - the sacrifices we make to travel.
Hope to meet you on the boat,
Steve

OzJohnno

I think I'm supposed to vote in the negative here but my holiday is too close to get into another "dress code" conversation. Enjoy whatever you wear.