It really comes down to what is enforced at the entrance to the dining room no matter what is posted or on a website before that. I have seen many attire violations in the dining room even on casual nights.
Sure some passenger could complain during the meal that someone isn't dressed correctly but I doubt they would be thrown out after being seated.
Let's not start a topic about baseball hats in the dinning room too....

It is probable you won't need the sea sickness meds. The big ships really don't have much of the movement that can cause it, and it actually is pretty rare. Think positive, but take some comfort in your Plan B.

And you will be really happy not having to deal with the checked bag routine, both getting arriving and departing the ship.

This is the reason behind my question. The websites seem vague and what I'm trying to gauge which cruise lines are the most accommodating, the lines least likely to enforce a strict code at the entrance to the dining room and the ones to cross off the list. I'm certainly not going to wear a baseball cap, shorts, jeans or other slovenly dress but won't be wearing a jacket either. I'd rather not check a bag for a short trip.

But of course that's the way things are in real life: My neighbor likes dogs and I like cats; only one of us will appreciate the town's new Dog Park. My neighbor likes country music and I like rock; only one of us will appreciate the rock band providing entertainment at the July 4 celebration.

The "fancy dress crowd" has trouble dealing with the fact that the cruise lines now let those "who can't be bothered" onto the ship, after decades of cruise ships being exclusionary and specific to the "fancy dress crowd".

Well, with regard to air travel yes, but with regard to cruising - with all due respect to flyertalk - there is more reliable and practical information over on Cruise Critic. The challenge is understanding and keeping in mind what makes the information reliable - specifically that it is practical, i.e., information about how strenuous an excursion is, whether there are enough plugs for all your electronics, and whether you need to make advance arrangements if you're a vegetarian. When the thread isn't an opportunity for the "fancy dress crowd" to try to turn their noses up at those "who can't be bothered"; when the thread isn't an opportunity for bitter people to whine about the replacement of ballroom dancing with discotheques or the replacement of "dignified" music at sail-away with Caribbean steel bands; and when the thread isn't an opportunity for self-promoting over-tippers to argue with self-motivated cheapskates, etc., Cruise Critic is quite helpful.

My understanding is that none of the budget or mainstream cruise lines serving the NA market are significantly more or less likely to enforce a strict code, and as long as you have a collared shirt and slacks I cannot imagine that any of them will give you a second look.

Now, when you get into the premium and luxury lines, like Silver Sea, Regent Seven Seas or Seabourn, that might be different.

Cunard.

That's a fair point. Cruise Critic can be a source of practical information but the subject of this thread would certainly bring out the self-appointed hall monitors. Cruising often seems to appeal more to those with a greater need for organization and rigid social structure and some of them have little tolerance for non-conformity.

Thanks. I wasn't aware Cunard offered Alaska cruises. Cunard only appeals to me for their NY-Southampton transatlantic service and those are more accurately described as voyages as opposed to mass-market holiday cruises.

They don't offer them regularly, but Queen Elizabeth is doing a series of Alaskan cruises during spring/summer 2019.

And yes, the NY-Southampton service is not a cruise, it's a crossing. Just as QM2 is not a cruise ship, it's an ocean liner.

Azamara is "country club casual" (no sports coats required, no formal nights) in all dining areas at night. We enjoyed a 15 night cruise in Asia last year and I know they have some Alaska cruises - we were looking at some, as well as Oceania (also casual) but then found Seabourn at almost the same price as Oceania, so we booked that ;-) We'll go on an 11 night YVR-Seward cruise in Aug/Sept and can't wait. But they DO have "formal" nights where a sports coat at minimum is required in the main dining room. We're totally ok with that.

[as you can tell, we prefer small ships! We did Alaska on Pacific Princess in 2007 - loved the ship, but Princess has formal nights....]

pretty sure silversea did not have formal at all in alaska in 2011, also had makeshift kids club in a large meeting room

https://www.silversea.com/travel-inf...formation.html

No formal night but jacket still required (per website) which OP doesn't want. Heck, Silversea might be one of the few lines that still has a THREE tier dress code (Casual, informal, formal).....

When we were looking for our cruise (coming in June) Silversea and Holland America were the 2 we settled on. And we went with HAL because of their being less formal.

It's not cruise that does that, but rather participating on certain forums on Cruise Critic that does that. :)

Silversea would have been a bit more expensive yes, but we went with a Neptune suite on HAL (aft facing with the wraparound balcony.) So the cost actually wasn't all that big. And there were a few other factors as well like the wraparound balcony on HAL. I thought that might be very nice especially on an Alaska cruise. But since we are renting an RV and driving around where ever we want for the second week, I really didn't want to be carrying around a bunch of dress clothes that I was only going to wear a couple of times on the cruise ship.

After about 25 curies, we skip formal night completely. Less to pack and not at all like it used to be..... Which is sad.....