I was half dreading it and half looking forward to it. Cruise formal nights are typically known as an elegant affair. Fancy food, sparkly dresses, dapper suits….and well behaved kids? But formal night on a Disney Cruise is a little different than formal night on other cruise lines. And it’s actually a great opportunity to teach some kids dining etiquette.
Do Disney Cruises have a dress code for dinner?
In a nutshell: whatever you want it to be. Disney is one of the least strict cruise lines in terms of what you wear on “formal night”. But it largely depends on your cruise itinerary. Here is some guidance to help based on how many nights you are sailing:
3 night cruise
Your cruise will consist of a pirate night, a casual night, and an optional dress up night.
- Pirate night: Wear your best pirate gear (not a requirement but we noticed majority of passengers participating)
- Casual night: Wear what you want – but leave the swimwear and tank tops in the room.
- Optional “dress-up night”: Disney suggests jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women.
4 night cruise
Your cruise will consist of a pirate night, two casual nights, and an optional dress up night.
- Pirate night: Wear your best pirate gear (not a requirement but we noticed majority of passengers participating)
- Casual night: Wear what you want – but leave the swimwear and tank tops in the room.
- Optional “dress-up night”: Disney suggests jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women.
5 night cruise
Your cruise will consist of a pirate night, three casual nights, and an optional dress up night.
- Pirate night: Wear your best pirate gear (not a requirement but we noticed majority of passengers participating)
- Casual night: Wear what you want – but leave the swimwear and tank tops in the room.
- Optional “dress-up night”: Disney suggests jacket for men, dress or pantsuit for women.
7 night cruise
Your cruise will consist of a pirate night, four casual nights, one formal, and one semi-formal night.
- Pirate night: Wear your best pirate gear (not a requirement but we noticed majority of passengers participating)
- Casual night: Wear what you want – but leave the swimwear and tank tops in the room.
- Semi-formal night: Disney suggests dress pants with a jacket for men, and dress or pantsuit for women
- Formal night: There’s no hard rule here, but typically a notch above semi-formal. Men can wear a suit. Women can wear an evening gown.
How strict is the dress code for formal night on a Disney Cruise?
Now that you know the breakdown for your cruise, how tightly will it be enforced? Here’s the good news: it won’t be. Every night of the cruise you’ll see people dressed casual. People dressed to the nines. And everything in between. The great thing about sailing on a Disney Cruise is that the dress codes are merely a suggestion. Aside from the no swimsuit rule, do what makes you feel comfortable and enhances your vacation.
We saw a lot of people participating in pirate night. And Disney will gift you with a rockin’ pirate bandana that you can wear. For our optional dress up night, there were people in casual clothes, in mildly formal clothes, and a few people in fancy pants clothes. Majority wore some kind of slightly fancy clothes, but nothing too extreme. Women mostly wore casual dresses or cocktail dresses. Most men wore a polo shirt or shirt and tie, and pants that weren’t jeans. And kids were all over the place. With a lot of them opting for Disney themed clothes or Disney dress up clothes.
Again – nothing is enforced. These were just the common trends we saw.
Can kids wear costumes on a Disney Cruise?
This is what sets Disney apart from sailing on other cruise lines. Most of what we saw for kids were costumes and Disney gear when it came to dress. It didn’t matter what the dinner theme was for the night. Mickey shirts, Lightning McQueen costumes, princess costumes, Frozen outfits. Whatever you have – it’s your chance to show it off to the world. Our 6 year old was so excited about getting to wear her costumes to dinner, she brought a different one for every night of our 5 night cruise. And that’s what she wore to dinner every night. She saved the fanciest dress for formal night.
Pictures with Disney characters
One of the perks about getting dressed up for formal night on a Disney Cruise is the picture opportunity. On formal nights, or optional dress up nights, Disney characters will be waiting for you in the atrium, dressed in their finest clothes. It’s fun for both kids and adults to get dressed up and take pictures with the Disney characters. Also a great opportunity to snap a nice family photo with Mickey or Minnie.
And this doesn’t apply just to formal nights. The characters will be out and about before dinner so you can get pictures with them every night. It adds to the magic. Kids get excited about dressing in costume for dinner and finding out which characters are there to take pictures with.
Sidenote: costumes are definitely a logistical packing challenge if you’re flying to port. We made it happen. But have a plan for how you’re going to squeeze all those outfits in your bags. Our daughter would have given up underwear before leaving out the princess dresses.
See also: Best Travel Toys for Toddlers on Planes
Participate in formal night without breaking the bank
If you choose to get all decked out for formal night, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are some tips to make it more affordable
- Bring outfits from home. If you already have a princess dress, bring that for formal night. If you kiddo was in a dance recital, use that outfit. If your little one was a ring bearer in a wedding, you have the perfect outfit. We’ve done all of the above.
- Search Amazon for a fun (and low cost) new outfit. Amazon has SO many inexpensive dress up clothes for kids. We got this suit with suspenders for our toddler and he can wear it anytime we need to dress up. Or a unicorn dress that will probably get worn daily after the cruise.
- Wear pajamas. You heard that right. My daughter is in love with these Disney fantasy nightgowns. I’ve seen kids wear them on formal nights, for Halloween, to the grocery store. They feel like pajamas, but don’t look like pajamas so they are very multi-purpose.
- Buy a dress you can use for Halloween, too. Get your money’s worth and find out what your kiddo wants to be for Halloween. Provided it’s not an M&M or an excavator, double up and get something you can use for the cruise and Halloween. We bought this Encanto dress for $13. This Frozen Elsa dress can fit your little one for a few years. And these Kristoff and royal prince costumes are freaking adorable.
Formal Night on your Disney Cruise to teach dining etiquette
I’ve gone through all the “know before you go” details. But I’m most excited to talk about why formal night on a cruise can actually be useful. If you ask either of my kids about going out to eat, they’ll tell you “we’re not restaurant kind of people”. And they’d be 100% correct. We don’t go out to eat that often because honestly, it’s not a relaxing experience for anyone. And I’m always a bit torn on bringing ipads (which we normally end up doing). Whatever works.
How you can use a cruise formal night to your advantage
You aren’t forced into dressing up or having perfectly behaved kids at dinner. But it’s the perfect time to teach kids dining etiquette if you’re anything like us. And it’s also the perfect environment. The dining room is filled with kids just like yours and you don’t have to feel stressed being in a stuffy atmosphere. You’re with families just like yours – which means you have the perfect classroom. Here are some of the strategies we took:
- Let your kids get dressed up so they feel like dining out is a special occasion
- Take a risk and leave the ipads in the room – dining rooms are all themed so you’ll have lots of kid-friendly distractions (they also provide coloring sheets every night)
- Walk them through mealtime etiquette aka how to sit nicely at the table
- Teach them how to engage with waiters and other guests (this is also a good time to practice those please and thank you)
- Learn about the different dining utensils – they provide you with so many different sized silverware during your meal
- Teach them how to choose what they want from a menu and order
- Discuss food groups and choosing menu items from every food group
These are just some ideas we used. You can adjust according to age or areas your kids may need some extra help. But use it as an opportunity to teach them how to properly dine out at a restaurant. You’ll never have a more perfect setting.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
One of the coolest and most unique ways to get in to the formal night experience is the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. You’ll most likely want to make a reservation in advance as they sell out quick. Sometimes they have last minute cancellations. Set up a salon visit for your guy or gal and really get into the formal night theme. It’s a chance for kids to get pampered before their formal night dinner. They do hairstyling, makeup, and nails. And there’s all kinds of packages you can choose from. There are even packages that include a princess dress, knight costume, or captain mickey outfit.
Pro Tip: We saved $100 by bringing our own princess dress. Amazon has all kinds of fancy, affordable options like this Belle dress with accessories or anything from the Little Adventures store. Hide it in your suitcase until it’s time for their makeover and then bring it out as a surprise.
Trying new foods
If your kids are like most kids and they live on mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, cheese burgers, and spaghetti, they’ll be happy to know they can get all these things on their Disney Cruise. Plus a nice Mickey Bar ice cream treat to top it all off. But on formal night, you have an opportunity. The formal night menu has all kinds of different menu items to try – for both kids and adults.
Use this time to encourage your child to try new foods. Our daughter even ordered an appetizer off the adult menu to try. And we got escargot and had both kids try one. Neither were real fond of it, but they still tried it. And our goal was just to get them experimenting with new foods and flavors. So talk to your kids about getting out of their comfort zone and trying something new tonight. Even if it’s just a different appetizer to go with their mac n cheese. Baby steps.
A note on the Disney Cruise waitstaff
All of our expectations were blown away by the dining waitstaff. They clearly know just how to interact with all ranges of kids. We looked around and saw waiters entertaining kids in all kinds of ways. Ours had puzzles for the whole family to figure out while waiting on our food. They learned what the kids liked and automatically brought those appetizers out every night. They did magic tricks. They greeted the kids first every night. They spent time with them when the kids needed an audience for their own magic tricks.
It was so freaking cool. And if you’re deciding between a Disney Cruise and some other cruise line (or if you already have one booked), this is one of the areas where Disney excels. They are Disney after all – they know how to interact with kids. And it only makes the dining experience better.
So if you’re nervous about taking your kids to dinner on the cruise, I’m here to ease your worries. Between the theming and amazing waitstaff, you’ll have plenty of help. You’ll look forward to the experience every night. And your kids may even learn a thing or two.
How are you planning to dress for formal night on your Disney Cruise?
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