Back in the old days, cruise lines, even the looser, more family-friendly lines, had formal dress codes for dinner.
Men put on suits and women wore dresses. And hats, open-toed shoes for men, and other casual choices were not allowed.
On formal nights, men donned tuxes and women wore their finest outfits. Many ships even had tuxedo-rental shops, so passengers could dress their best without having to pack fancy clothes and deal with not having an iron.
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In recent years, at least on Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) and Carnival Cruise Line's namesake brands, dress codes throughout the day have gotten much looser. That includes dinner in the main dining rooms at both cruise lines.
Technically both Royal Caribbean and Carnival ban shorts and require collared shirts in the main dining rooms for dinner. In reality, enforcing those rules would anger customers who would either have to change or eat somewhere else because they opted for shorts and t-shirts or chose to wear baseball hats (something that's also technically allowed).
Both companies, however, also face pushback from the people who get offended by what other people wear. Those passengers say that meals in the main dining room should be formal affairs, and they get mad when other passengers take a more casual approach.
That extends to meals in the main dining room beyond dinner. Now, Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -) Brand Ambassador John Heald has stepped into another dressing controversy: whether passengers can wear pajamas to breakfast.
Image source: Carnival
Carnival's dress codes are pretty loose
Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean generally take a nonconfrontational approach with passengers. Unless you're wearing swimwear or literally don't have shoes, they're probably not going to say anything or turn you away, even at dinner.
Dress codes for breakfast and lunch are looser. Shorts and t-shirts are allowed and the cruise line does not really dictate proper attire for those meals. That has led passengers to debate what is appropriate.
Heald shared a note from a passenger who was outraged at what was being planned by a large group for their upcoming Christmas cruise.
"There is a large group who will be on the same cruise as me and DH. We are on Celebration 12/24. We are going to have xmas day as a day at sea. The group, they number 180, and are all bragging that they will be wearing PJs to brunch in the MDR. This is not right. This must be stopped," the passenger wrote to Heald.
The passenger implored the brand ambassador to stop this from happening.
"They are not in their living room. Why should we have to see this! John you have to put a stop to this now. Let them know this will be not allowed and that they will be banished from the MDR," the passenger continued.
Heald poked fun at the use of the word "banish," but also seemed perplexed as to how to handle the situation.
"I see both sides of this. It is I think a tradition for some families to wear pyjamas to breakfast on Christmas (not xmas) Day," he wrote. "But is the dining room of the ship a place to carry on that tradition? I know this will most likely open up the dress code as a whole conversation but I hope you can give your thoughts on this. Would you find it offensive?"
Carnival customers' response is overwhelming
Usually, when Heald posts a question about dress codes, he inspires a heated debate. In this case, the vast majority of the more than 4,200 responses seemed to agree.
"I don’t see any problem. It’s Christmas. Let the PJs flow. Why not make it a themed PJ day on the ship," Carol Asmus wrote.
"I wish on was going on this cruise so I could join in. Sounds like a fun Christmas morning," Marilyn Graham Titzer shared.
Some posters even suggested that Carnival should encourage pajamas (at least on Christmas morning).
"A new Christmas idea for Carnival on Christmas morning," Randy Keen wrote.
His response was met with posts that shared that this has happened before.
"it’s not even new - it’s becoming a tradition. The last few Christmas’s more and more were showing up in their winter-themed pj’s. Everybody was very discreet. Slippers are required," Deborah Ritchie Lyon added.
In addition, a lot of posters agreed with Cathryn Steffenhagen.
"I will never understand why people worry about what everyone else is wearing. It makes no difference to me what others wear and it does not offend me in the least. I think it would be fun to see a bunch of people wearing their Christmas PJs to breakfast on Christmas day." she wrote.
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