Ahoy, Sandra!
I'm so happy to hear you'll be taking a Disney Cruise Line vacation with your grandson. You'll be making memories to last a lifetime! I'm sure you're counting down the days until you set sail with Captain Mickey and his crew.
When
packing for a Disney Cruise, it helps to know the dress code for evening meals. In the past, I was a notorious "overpacker" until I learned to only bring what we really needed. I think we could have sailed for a month with all the clothes I used to stuff in our suitcases!
Each evening, guests will dine in one of three Main Dining venues on the ship. With Rotational Dining, you'll rotate through all three restaurants during your sailing, and your servers will rotate with you. It's a wonderful, personalized dining experience! Most nights the dress code is "Cruise Casual", which means no swimwear, tank tops, and I suggest no casual shorts. My daughters and I usually wear cute tops with dressy shorts/capris, and my husband will wear golf shirts and dressy/golf shorts (basically what we would wear out to dinner on a beach vacation). Your grandson would absolutely be able to wear shorts to dinner.
On Dress-Up nights, ladies will dress in everything from sundresses/Sunday dresses to cocktail wear. Men typically wear dress pants and a blazer (no tie). Younger cruisers would be fine to wear shorts, and I would suggest pairing them with a nice button-down or golf shirt. Dress-Up nights are always optional, so you'll see some guests dressed to the nines while others may opt out. My family enjoys getting dressed up and taking advantage of the
Onboard Photography Services. Some of my favorite vacation photos have come from those evenings.
I hope this is helpful with your planning. Have a magical day! - Diane W.