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shorts are not permitted in the MDR on any night. you are not required to dress up but you may be turned away on formal night esp if dressed in shorts. you can always eat in the buffet instead.. or get room service.

Slacks and a button down shirt is sufficient.. tie and jacket optional.

Carnival usually has the same food on the buffet as they do in the main dining room, except for formal night. Go on the Carnival website and you can see what the restaurants are. They generally have the main dining room, buffets, something weird every night like sushi, BBQ, etc, and you can always get pizza, salad and burgers. Then they usually have a "high line" place, like a steakhouse, for which you pay extra. I've never been on a ship that didn't have at least 5 places to eat every night.

You will also miss lobster! You don't have to be THAT formal, just a decent shirt and a tie, no jeans unless they are very dark. I have been on cruises where I didn't eat in the main dining room except for formal nights because I like lobster.

One more thing, the Carnival cruise I took had a special dining thing for $50. You get to see the kitchen, get taster courses from eat line chef, and then a formal sit down dinner with wine included. It was the best $50 meal I ever had, and I eat pretty high on the hog. I strongly recommend it if you are a foodie. They do it twice a week for a 7 days cruise and it's limited to 12 people each time.

Usually on formal night they have a steak and lobster dinner, so it really is better. But if there are two formal nights, you won't be sure which is the great dinner! Men usually wear coats and ties (doesnt have to be a suit) and women wear long dresses. There are lots of other places to eat on the ship, so you wn't go hungry. But if you have a wife and she wants to dress up for pix, then you had best pack a coat and tie!