New Tauck River Cruise attire guidelines

Claudia Sails

At the risk of opening an old (and oft contentious) issue, I noticed today that Tauck has changed the wording on their recommended packing list for river cruises. Specifically:

"During evenings aboard the riverboat, dress is resort casual. Items such as slacks and collared shirts are appropriate for men. For women, slacks, a dress or a skirt and blouse are suitable. For dinner and throughout the evening, guests should refrain from wearing shorts, t-shirts, jeans, sandals, flip-flops or sneakers. Your journey also includes one or two special occasion dinners, where a sport coat and tie for gentlemen and a dress/pantsuit for ladies are suggested. (Your Tauck Director will advise you prior to those evenings.) "

While I applaud the company for attempting to clarify this issue that has gotten so much attention, it leaves a couple of questions. Do capri pants count as shorts or slacks? If you can't wear sandals on a summer cruise, what would most women wear with slacks/skirt/dress in the evening?

jdurkin

This is so funny. I suspect this is just bringing the Tauck "published" code into line with other river cruise suppliers' published codes. It's fairly easy to tell the difference between a pair of well-worn and well-grubbied hiking sandals and dress sandals. Possibly start with the tired and emotional tootsies? ))

British

jdurkin wrote:

This is so funny. I suspect this is just bringing the Tauck "published" code into line with other river cruise suppliers' published codes. It's fairly easy to tell the difference between a pair of well-worn and well-grubbied hiking sandals and dress sandals. Possibly start with the tired and emotional tootsies? ))

Good for Tauck to clarify a little better the dress standards, still not perfect, but why a nice pair of dress sandals or flip flops are not acceptable, is it safety? As for pant suits, that is hysterical, I haven't owned or seen one since the seventies apart from on Hilary Clinton, do woman need to be in business attire, I don't own any business attire?

jdurkin

British wrote:

Good for Tauck to clarify a little better the dress standards, still not perfect, but why a nice pair of dress sandals or flip flops are not acceptable, is it safety? As for pant suits, that is hysterical, I haven't owned or seen one since the seventies apart from on Hilary Clinton, do woman need to be in business attire, I don't own any business attire?

It's all too hysterical! I was going to make a comparison between thongs (plural) and dress sandals then realised that perhaps not too many North Americans were bi-lingual. Thongs, for those of you who don't know, are Australian idiom for flip flops. ) And British! You have to keep up. Seventies vintage fashion is all the rage! Cough, splutter. I've just finished watching a TV series ..."This Old Thing". Who knew! Maybe I can blame all that seventies psychedelic print fabric for my current state of myopia?

I guess if Tauck points out the fashion extremes, they might hope to be able to reach the sensible middle. You would think that the extremes are so ... out there ... that you wouldn't need to actually define them. But some lycra bike shorts I saw last year as daily excursion and dining apparel tell me that you do. It was a blessing that I only had one good eye. The blur made it bearable. (What a joy to get home and have two good eyes again!) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or not.

British

I am glad I was not eating when I read your reply, it would have been very messy. Thanks to Claudia for brightening this horrible winter by starting this thread.

Claudia Sails

Yes, Jan we too occasionally refer to sandals as being 'thongs" and sometimes flip flops don't have a thong. In fact, I think the last night of French Waterways I wore a skirt with a pair of heeled and bejeweled thongs (on my feet).

I get the feeling the Tauck guidelines were written by a man. Certainly I can't think of any men's sandals appropriate for evening wear. The only pair my husband owns (AKA his "walking with Jesus" shoes) I'd never want to see him wear on a cruise.

Concur on the pantsuits British. Funnily enough, on our last cruise we had a lady who looked so much like Hillary we kept trying to sneak pictures so we could tell people she was on the cruise instead of campaigning.

Bike shorts. Arggg. We had a young man who kept showing up for dinner in an orange sweatshirt hoodie. Maybe instead of the blanket sandal prohibition Tauck should add "no athletic apparel" to the list.

Can we have a vote on the capris? I say they are comparable to slacks as long as they're not jeans material, ratty, etc.

Dixie Chick

Of course capris or crop pants count as long pants. They are well below the knee, surely longer than many skirts.
I live in Texas, and crop pants are a welcome addition to our wardrobes on warm to hot summer days. We can and do wear them anywhere---church, nice restaurants, parties, theatre---so why not river cruises? The same thing goes for nice sandals. It just makes sense to me!

British

Dixie Chick wrote:

Of course capris or crop pants count as long pants. They are well below the knee, surely longer than many skirts.
I live in Texas, and crop pants are a welcome addition to our wardrobes on warm to hot summer days. We can and do wear them anywhere---church, nice restaurants, parties, theatre---so why not river cruises? The same thing goes for nice sandals. It just makes sense to me!

Yes, you are right, it makes perfect sense. I never even thought about the fact that men wear sandals too. But I am laughing again and glad that CLAUDIA clarified where she wears her bejeweled attire.

jdurkin

British wrote:

Yes, you are right, it makes perfect sense. I never even thought about the fact that men wear sandals too. But I am laughing again and glad that CLAUDIA clarified where she wears her bejeweled attire.

Haaaaaaaahheeeeeeeehaaaaaaa! Ewwwww. Owww. .....TMI ......;)))))))))))))))))))

Nutmeg

Addressing the evening attire, I always like 'Country Club Casual' - For me that implies a smart pair of pants/capri's and a nice sweater set/ jacket and nice jewelry...... dressy sandals but NO tevas or rubber flipflops.

British

Does that mean that a significant number of Tauck travelers belong to a Country Club? Wow, I don't. This gets even funnier!
I think the favorite comment I saw on River Cruise evening attire was possibly posted by Claudiasails some time ago who said something like, they returned to the the boat from a day of touring, ended up chatting in the bar with other members of the tour group and enjoying their company and realized there was no time to change for dinner because they were having so much fun. I think that is maybe how it might be for me, but then I feel my daytime choice of clothing is sufficiently smart or coordinated to pass for dinner at a pinch, but then I don't wher biker shorts.

AlanS

How about Yoga pants? I've seen them too many places outside the gym!

drjoe11

Hi All: The more I read this, the funnier it gets. To add my 2 cents worth to this, evening attire should be what we would wear if we were going to a friends house to dinner with other guests.

I don't think biker shorts, yoga pants, team shirts, shorts, ( Ms Salis' Jesus walking shoes), etc. would fit the bill. Comfortable neat, casual, seems to be the norm and acceptable. So, On the July 16th trip on the Jewel, if anyone sees me in shorts or other unacceptable dress at dinner, call me out on it, I deserve that.

jdurkin

Could I just make a plea, Dr Joe, for consideration at other meal times, too? Some sights are just too horrific to contemplate before breakfast. Lycra bike shorts on a lithe, fit, youthful body in an athletic setting could, I concede, be considered most beauteous. Sigh-worthy, even. Unfortunately, none of these criteria were met for me. It was more of the jaw-dropping, thank-goodness-only-one-eye's-working sort of experience. Had both my eyes been up to scratch, I think I could well have been scarred for life.

drjoe11

I agree. I do not want to be scarred for the rest of the trip either.

Claudia Sails

The tricky part with "yoga pants" is that there is a blurry line between them and leggings. Leggings, paired with a nice tunic, stylish shoes, etc are a perfectly appropriate outfit even for dinners.

I think the rule of thumb ought to be - if you look like you're on the way to the gym, that's where you should be headed.

But back to the sandals. Can we all agree Tauck needs to rescind this prohibition - at least with regard to women's fashion sandals. I don't mean rubber flip flops, sport sandals like teva's, etc.

jdurkin

This reminds me of a situation in London many years ago. I was in a part of the City of London where there was quite a bit of new construction. I was passing a small, historic pub with two signs on the door to the effect of: "Appropriate dress required.", and "No construction workers. We tried, you didn't." Kind of reflects the spirit of this thing, really ... If you feel more "at home" in your hiking gear, take a hiking holiday. There are some excellent products around. If you wear lycra gym gear everywhere you go at home (and I do see people like this in my suburban, inner-city part of the world) perhaps you would be more comfortable staying in your own nirvana. Different strokes for different folks.

And Claudia? I suspect any set of fashion rules written by a committee other than a fashion committee with be, inevitably, flawed. Stick to your bejewelled thonged sandals and bedazzle your companions.

Claudia Sails

Update

I never got any word from Tauck and don't know if this thread had anything to do with it, but the prohibition against sandals in the evening on river cruises appears to have been removed. The What to Pack info for our next cruise now says,

"For dinner and throughout the evening, guests should refrain from wearing shorts, t-shirts, jeans, flip-flops or sneakers."

Very reasonable guidance. THANK YOU Tauck

bruce powers

I've been laughing for an hour at all of your dress comments. We are on vacation and want to be respectful to all. However, I could care less about what people are wearing. We will have great fun and wonderful memories. I had to wear a suit and tie for my 40 year career. I will never wear a tie again. I'll bring my sport coat and take it off at the dinner table. I will be on the Danube tour west bound on 4/7. I'll wear my Cole Haan shoes and probably my polo socks. I will be looking into your eyes when conversing. Don't worry - no one will turn you away at the bar or dinner for what you wear. I've been to Europe many times. The people are wonderful, so are the Tauck employees. I promise you will not have a care in the world with Tauck. Your friend Bruce

CATSOOS

I understand a dress code but I for one am not going to have multiple dressy outfits for every nights dinner. And as far as shoes I have foot issues that I wear clean new balance black sneakers every day at work so wearing them at dinner may be necessary or I won't be able to walk the next day. I don't plan on wearing shorts, tee shirts to dinner but wearing evening wear or clothes I have to work every day takes away from my vacation. I have been on 10 different Tauck tours and this the first I have been told what to wear other than the welcome and ending dinners.

Claudia Sails

Glad we could amuse you Bruce. You have the right attitude. Unless someone is wearing something so horrible it's literally distracting you from the wonderful meal the ship's crew is serving you - who cares? Maybe it's the glutton in me, but I'm always more interested in what's on the menu than what anyone else is wearing.

Although I do admit the orange hoodie did stand out. Especially since he took a look at the menu, got up and left the dining room. Hard not to notice.

The same advice goes for people who think they need to bring several dressy outfits because otherwise they'll be seen wearing the same thing over and over. Nobody cares.

PS Can certainly understand why you never want to wear a tie again. After a 20+ year military career and twice a year mandatory fitness runs, I swore I'd never run again unless someone was chasing me. Arg.

craigcmarsh

AlanS wrote:

How about Yoga pants? I've seen them too many places outside the gym!

It would be a great idea for yoga in fresh air. Well! i don't want to miss my Dollboxx watermelon bikini. On a cruise without a bikini would be so boring!

rozo123

Just to add to this, I intend to wear black jeans and a nice top SOME times during our cruise. We will be on the young side ,55, but Tauck needs to change with the times if they want people to cruise. Expensive jeans, worn correctly, are entirely appropriate for dinner. "Country club attire" makes me laugh!

Claudia Sails

Jeans are a tricky one since some are nice and when paired with a dressy top/shirt, shoes etc. look fine but others are just too casual especially if paired with the other "discouraged" items.

My personal concern with them is the weight/thickness. On a spring or fall cruise they may be needed for the warmth. If it's hot summer weather I find them too hot to wear and heavy to pack. Actually set up a scale and weighed many of my clothes and shoes. Jeans weighed twice what any other pair of long pants I had.

I'm sure its a problem for people who don't live in anything except jeans.

rozo123

Claudia, is the other, smaller dinning room casual? Can you take food to your cabin from that dinning area? Thanks!

British

Agree with Claudia, traditional weight jeans are too heavy for suitcases. There are plenty of alternatives for pants. I have some that weigh almost nothing and look a bit dressier than a typical jean. I haven't taken a river cruise yet, but I gather from most discussion on the forum that it is much more casual than you are imagining Rozo. When we take the land tours there is always a variety of what people consider as evening attire, so I imagine Tauck publish guidelines for the people who arrive at dinner looking a mess. That doesn't bother me when I see it occur, people are people and that is what is important to me, are they interesting to talk to and do they smell sweet. But others may be judging. You will never see anyone again from the tour, so if you don't care, that is fine. If certain establishments out of Tauck's control have rules, that is maybe different.

Claudia Sails

rozo123 wrote:

Claudia, is the other, smaller dinning room casual? Can you take food to your cabin from that dinning area? Thanks!

Answered on your other thread.

cuttersam

I agree with the poster who commented "what you would wear if you were going to a friends dinner party" I went on a river cruise and some people came to dinner in pajama type, long underwear outfits!

AlanS

Wow, this is a REALLY OLD (7 years) thread!!

Anyone know what ever happened to Jan Durkin?

British

I think she got banned

Claudia Sails

Yes, it is an old thread. They later changed the wording to take out the ban on sandals after this thread came out. I went on a Seine cruise that summer and some woman made a comment about how people were incorrectly claiming sandals weren't allowed. I don't think she believed me when I said that yes they had for a very brief time. I copy pasted Tauck's text in my thread so I knew it was true. Thankfully common sense prevailed and Tauck reversed course.

I think Jan quit over Tauck policy's re Australian guests having to go thru a specific travel agent down under that people weren't happy with. I remember her being fairly unhappy about that and other issues.