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sportcoat / tie required??
Was wondering if either a sportcoat or tie are really a necessity on this trip. No reason to take up valuable suitcase space if it's not really needed.
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I don’t know that they are ever “required.” On my trips some men like to wear a sport coat to the welcome reception or farewell dinner, but often with no tie, and that’s not all that common. Most men wear a nice button down collared shirt and dressier slacks.
All tours have a packing list that will say if a sport coat and tie are optional. When a tour has at least one dinner in a venue with a dress code requiring it then they won't be optional. Your tour it lists them as optional. Depending on the weather for your tour a coat or a vneck sweater are a good idea for warmth. That's how my husband packs.
When my husband and I did this tour last year, my husband brought a sport coat. He and one other man were the only ones wearing a sport coat. Since then we have taken 2 additional Tauck trips and he did not bring a sport coat. It seems that most men wear a nice shirt and slacks. As you said, it takes up valuable suitcase space when you only wear it once.
17 tours tours and I've never brought a sport coat or tie.
Only time it was "necessary" was at the restaurant at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, Egypt. They gave me one at the restaurant, which I promptly removed and hung on the back of my chair after being seated. A quality meal, rather than dress should have been their concern with the mediocre food provided.
I will echo what has been said here. I succumbed to the rather strong dress up opinions by a few on this board and brought a sport jacket on two of our Tauck tours. Totally unnecessary. Both times I was the only one except for the British chap on our last tor who wore his all the time. It looked like he slept in it as well. A bulky item that serves no practical purpose as an article of clothing. Takes up valuable suitcase space for an item you’ll only wear for a few hours at best. I’ll never bring one again.I should have known better as we’ve been to Europe dozens of times, both as independent travelers and on Rick Steves tours. We try to travel with carry on bags only as we have to handle those on trains, etc. Never considered a sport jacket then.
I took this tour a couple of years ago. To answer the OP's question, a sport coat, yes; and tie, no. There were one or two dinners that were very nice and more of an "event" and I would have felt a bit out of place if I had not worn a sport coat. This was true of almost all the men. The tie, however, was only seen a few of them but not out of place for the event.
As always, whatever you are comfortable with should be your guide. I'm reminded of a fellow passenger on a river cruise who always wore a track suit to dinner regardless of where we were. Maybe he had the right idea.