As you know, there has been much debate in recent months about the evening dress code on our ships. Establishing and enforcing a dress code that pleases everyone is never an easy task: on the one hand we need to set a benchmark that reflects the luxurious ambiance of our ships, while on the other hand we recognize that our guests are on vacation and want to feel relaxed and comfortable while they sail with us.

Many of our guests are more traditional and thus are used to and very comfortable with a dress code that is more formal. However, modern day realities dictate that we establish a code that is not only in keeping with current fashion, but is also practical in terms of what our guests need to pack, airline baggage restrictions and costs, and so on. Most importantly, the recent poll on Cruise Critic showed that the majority of current guests and those that are considering sailing with us support a slightly less formal dress code – two thirds of those who voted are in favor of an Elegant Casual evening dress code.

So what we have come up with is what we feel a perfectly balanced solution: it addresses the need for a more relaxed dress, while at the same time acknowledging the fact that there are some guests who enjoy dressing more formally.

Effective with the New Year’s Cruises of Seven Seas Voyager, Seven Seas Mariner and Seven Seas Navigator, our new “Elegant Casual” Evening Dress Code is as follows:

Evening Dress Code (after 6 p.m.)
Two types of dress code have been established for evenings in public areas: Elegant Casual, and Formal Optional. The number of Formal Optional nights per cruise is dependent upon the length of the cruise, as follows:

· Cruises of fifteen nights or less will be Elegant Casual for the duration
· Cruises of sixteen nights or more will have two Formal Optional nights

Elegant Casual: Skirt, or slacks (no jeans) with blouse or sweater, pant suit or dress for ladies; slacks (no jeans) and collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional.

Note: Jeans, T-shirts, baseball caps, shorts, sneakers and bathrobes are not considered appropriate in any public area after 6 p.m.

Formal Optional: While guests are welcome to dress each evening as per the Elegant Casual dress code, during Formal Optional evenings, guests may opt for a more formal choice of clothing including gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies; tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suit with tie for gentlemen.

Please note that the shipboard management and staff will be enforcing this dress code to ensure that the elegant yet comfortable ambiance of evenings aboard our luxurious ships is maintained.

I would like to personally thank all those who were engaged in the debate, posted their opinions and vote in the poll. Guest feedback is so important to us and helps us continually improve and evolve the Regent Seven Seas Cruises product.

We look forward to welcoming you on board our ships in the near future!

Kind regards,

Mark S. Conroy,
President, Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Last edited by MarkConroy; October 14th, 2009 at 03:22 PM.