“Dressy” Flip-Flops Stir Big Reactions in Carnival Dining Rooms

As any fashionista knows, great shoes can be the focal point of an outfit and can make a substantial difference for how you look and feel when dressing to impress. Onboard a cruise ship, footwear ranges from simple flip-flops and sandals to sneakers, aqua shoes, loafers, pumps, wedges, stilettos, and more.

But what footwear is appropriate during dinner service in the Main Dining Room restaurants? One guest is concerned that their shoes might not be appropriate.

“Are ‘dressier’ flip flops allowed in the dining room in the evening? Not flip flops like those $2 rubber things with a flower glued on it. I’m talking $20 flip flops,” the guest asked John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador.

Heald is not exactly renowned for his fashion sense, and even admits confusion over the question.

“I’m not sure how you specify the difference between a flip flop or sandal?” he noted. “That’s because I have the fashion sense of a partially-sighted yak.”

That’s a fair question that really comes down to one’s individual preferences. Different Carnival guests have different personal definitions of what makes a flip-flop versus a sandal.

“If there is a ‘flip flop flapping’ noise when walking, it’s a flip-flop,” explained one guest. “If the sole makes no more noise than a conventional shoe—not a flip-flop.”

Nevertheless, whether you call this footwear a flip-flop or a sandal, does it belong in the Main Dining Room?

Heald opened up the question to his Facebook followers, with more than 1,800 responses in a few hours.

The overwhelming response is that “Yes” fancier flip-flops are certainly allowed, or else most guests are “Not bothered either way” with someone else’s footwear choices.

Read Also: Could Carnival Be Considering Dress Code Changes?

Presumably, no one is walking across dining tables in any footwear, and therefore, what’s on their feet shouldn’t make a difference in dining room service, menu choices, or which dessert to enjoy.

“What others wear does not make my meal taste any different,” one guest noted.

Many commenters note that between the possibility of swollen feet and ankles, blisters from too much shore tour walking, and other foot considerations such as arthritis or surgeries, flip-flops or sandals may be the only comfortable shoes different travelers can wear.

Furthermore, Carnival Cruise Line’s dress code does not make any mention of footwear styles, and only notes that bare feet are not permitted in restaurants. What covers one’s feet is a personal preference.

Footwear is apparently a hot topic this week as this is not the only shoe-related question Heald has taken steps to answer.

Another guest insists that “all your room stewards should be made to wear overshoes when entering our room[s]. They bring germs and dirt from other people’s rooms on their shoes.”

These types of plastic slipcovers go over sneakers or other footwear to ensure there is no dirt or debris tracked into a space. This is something contractors will often wear when working on a house project or visitors might be asked to wear at a luxury open house event.

Heald notes that stateroom attendants will not be required to wear overshoes, but that it isn’t necessary.

Even if cabin attendants were to wear overshoes, it should be noted that if the guest is concerned about dirt and germs spreading contamination on footwear, thousands of guests wear all sorts of footwear (or sometimes no footwear at all) on every deck of every Carnival ship without overshoes.

In May 2025, Heald even addressed the idea of slippers when one guest insisted that all travelers should be provided with free slippers onboard because “nobody wants to walk around cruise ship rooms bare-footed.”

Needless to say, that request was not granted either, though Heald does note that if guests really want slippers, they can ask their cabin attendant who may be able to procure them a pair.