Formal night

Just how formal is the dress on formal night

Just how formal is the dress on formal night

 

Oh my gosh I just asked the same... on one of your other threads, bases5 ! LOL

Edited February 16, 2014 by DENNAS

Dress for ladies...shirt, tie, jacket for men.... I've seen it range from ball gown and tux to everything in between.

Pretty much as formal as you want it to be. I have seen the following:

 

LADIES

 

dressy business or pants suit

cocktail dresses

formal gowns

Amanie originals or the equilivent there of with 50k of diamonds or great knock offs

 

MEN

 

sports coat and open collar

suit and tie

tux

military mess dress (I'm in this crew)

kilts with jacket

Edited February 16, 2014 by Gunner22aa

Just how formal is the dress on formal night

Most passengers respect the request to dress formally. http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/bring.jsp

 

The reality is that almost all gentlemen wear suits or at the least, jackets. Fewer and fewer wear tuxes although you'll still see quite a few. You probably will not be asked to change or go back for a jacket but that depends on the Maitre d'. Women are mostly in dresses or perhaps black pants and a sparkling top.

 

I very rarely see people dressed smart casual in the dining room on formal nights. Even though the specialty restaurants are always smart casual, most dress up a lot more than they would for the dining room.

On our last cruise, I was seated at a table with a gentleman in a suit and tie and another who was waring a suit with an open necked shirt. I was in my tux with a dinner jacket. The last couple arrived . the man was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and dress shoes and his most formal Hawaiian print shirt-obviously no tie or jacket.

 

I mention this because I know he was uncomfortable and they left early.

 

So, if you want to dress down on formal nights you had better be comfortable with standing out in the crowd.

It also depends on the itinerary. I've cruised the Caribbean on three different cruise lines and on those cruises it tends to be less "formal" as in fewer tuxedos, kilts, etc. and more towards tie & blazer. On the TAs and Europe cruises, that tends to be both an older and more formal crowd and you really see the tuxes come out.

 

Next month we're on the Royal and I will bring a jacket and maybe a tie.

We recently cruised on the Royal (2/2) and thought that the folks who dressed formal really outdid themselves this cruise. On our last few Princess cruises, it seemed like formal night was becoming "less" formal, but this time we saw lots of very nice suits/tuxes on men and gowns/sequined dresses on women.

 

Being a Caribbean itinerary we really didn't expect that so I just think it depends on the demographics for a particular cruise and it can always change. I also have no idea if anyone pushed the limit in the dining rooms because we did not dress formal and ate in the buffet both formal nights.

 

Dave

Edited February 17, 2014 by NewPennCruiser

Like other cruise lines, Princess is lots less formal than it once was.

DH still wears his tux on Princess but may not on future Princess cruises and just do a Sports Coat.

 

Like it or not ... things have changed. :o

 

LuLu

~~~~

For males it's supposed to be a dark suit and tie, at a minimum. I wear a kilt with a Prince Charlie jacket, which is basically the equivalent of black tie for Highland formal attire...

I think for a Princess cruise, a dark business suit will suffice nicely. I wouldn't wear a tux unless I was on a Cunard transatlantic crossing, where everybody tends to wear a tux.....

Like other cruise lines, Princess is lots less formal than it once was.

 

DH still wears his tux on Princess but may not on future Princess cruises and just do a Sports Coat.

 

 

 

Like it or not ... things have changed. :o

 

 

 

LuLu

 

~~~~

 

 

Interesting. Is it Princess that is lots less formal, or is it the passengers who for one reason or another, choose to disregard the requested dress code? Here's what's said on the link provided above by Pam:

 

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

 

Looks pretty clear to me. Hard to see how someone can interpret this to mean "as formal as you want it to be."

Just sayin'! Do I feel a lot more comfortable in my Tommy Bahama shirt than my tux? You bet. But I'm still going to wear my tux or a suit if for no other reason than to respect my fellow passengers who make the effort to look their best for a special evening. Just my two cents for what it's worth. DK

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

As formal as you want to make it.

Interesting. Is it Princess that is lots less formal, or is it the passengers who for one reason or another, choose to disregard the requested dress code?

A combination of things. Cruising has changed. With the mega ships and relative affordable vacation, you have a lot more people taking cruises who would never have considered it in the past. They are a variety of ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. As business attire has gotten more casual over the years, cruise formalwear has as well.

 

There is also a change in attitude with more and more feeling that they paid their money and they'll wear what they want. Many of us remember back in the early 90's when gentlemen were required to wear a tie and jacket to dinner. If they didn't, they'd be turned away. Formal nights meant tuxes for men, beaded gowns for women. There were semi-formal nights which were more like today's formal night. With only fixed seating dining, dinners were more formal and more of an experience. Salads were freshly prepared tableside as a separate course as was a pasta. Entertainment was planned around the fixed seating times.

 

Obviously, things have changed, attitudes have changed, even dining and menus have changed. Whereas before, if someone didn't feel like dressing formally for dinner, they went to the buffet. Today, they go to the dining room anyway.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Pam in CA

Well said Pam. Times they are a changing and with the charges now for luggage on flights people are bringing less clothes too, I know I am. My husband still brings a business suit for formal night and does not mind dressing up. I prefer dressy pants suits to a dress, but you will see both.

Great post, Pam. I've joined the shiny black pants/dressy top crowd and on Princess longer cruises haven't felt out of place. There was a time in the 80s I wore long dresses, different outfits every night, shoes, little purses, whole nine yards, those were the days.

 

Now I'm trying to manage my luggage better, one bag, one carry on no matter how long I'm gone. It isn't paying the extra bag fee, more my neck/shoulder issues.

For me I have 2 minds. I love to see the formal dressed passengers but the luggage constraints make it difficult to dress formally. Also, because I might wear a formal gown once a year (when cruising) it is not economically viable to purchase a formal gown. So I " dress up " as much as my wardrobe allows . I haven't been turned away yet but I suppose there is always a first.

 

Terri

Interesting. Is it Princess that is lots less formal, or is it the passengers who for one reason or another, choose to disregard the requested dress code? Here's what's said on the link provided above by Pam:

 

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

 

Looks pretty clear to me. Hard to see how someone can interpret this to mean "as formal as you want it to be."

Just sayin'! Do I feel a lot more comfortable in my Tommy Bahama shirt than my tux? You bet. But I'm still going to wear my tux or a suit if for no other reason than to respect my fellow passengers who make the effort to look their best for a special evening. Just my two cents for what it's worth. DK

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Well said DK, thanks!

Interesting. Is it Princess that is lots less formal, or is it the passengers who for one reason or another, choose to disregard the requested dress code? Here's what's said on the link provided above by Pam:

 

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

 

Looks pretty clear to me. Hard to see how someone can interpret this to mean "as formal as you want it to be."

Just sayin'! Do I feel a lot more comfortable in my Tommy Bahama shirt than my tux? You bet. But I'm still going to wear my tux or a suit if for no other reason than to respect my fellow passengers who make the effort to look their best for a special evening. Just my two cents for what it's worth. DK

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I agree totally!

For me I have 2 minds. I love to see the formal dressed passengers but the luggage constraints make it difficult to dress formally.Terri

While we have no issue dressing for formal night ... As we hope to fly to our 4-12 cruise and only have 17 cu.ft and 100lbs total for baggage are considering a black leather bomber jacket for formal night with shirt and tie as that is what we fly with. Could probably stuff a jacket in somewhere if necessary ...

Thoughs?

Interesting. Is it Princess that is lots less formal, or is it the passengers who for one reason or another, choose to disregard the requested dress code? Here's what's said on the link provided above by Pam:

 

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

 

Looks pretty clear to me. Hard to see how someone can interpret this to mean "as formal as you want it to be."

Just sayin'! Do I feel a lot more comfortable in my Tommy Bahama shirt than my tux? You bet. But I'm still going to wear my tux or a suit if for no other reason than to respect my fellow passengers who make the effort to look their best for a special evening. Just my two cents for what it's worth. DK

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Excellent post!:D

A combination of things. Cruising has changed. With the mega ships and relative affordable vacation, you have a lot more people taking cruises who would never have considered it in the past. They are a variety of ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. As business attire has gotten more casual over the years, cruise formalwear has as well.

 

There is also a change in attitude with more and more feeling that they paid their money and they'll wear what they want. Many of us remember back in the early 90's when gentlemen were required to wear a tie and jacket to dinner. If they didn't, they'd be turned away. Formal nights meant tuxes for men, beaded gowns for women. There were semi-formal nights which were more like today's formal night. With only fixed seating dining, dinners were more formal and more of an experience. Salads were freshly prepared tableside as a separate course as was a pasta. Entertainment was planned around the fixed seating times.

 

Obviously, things have changed, attitudes have changed, even dining and menus have changed. Whereas before, if someone didn't feel like dressing formally for dinner, they went to the buffet. Today, they go to the dining room anyway.

 

I agree Pam. Your post just about says it all.:D

What Pam posted does say it all and is so very true.

 

Like it or not, that's the way things are now.

 

LuLu

~~~~

While we have no issue dressing for formal night ... As we hope to fly to our 4-12 cruise and only have 17 cu.ft and 100lbs total for baggage are considering a black leather bomber jacket for formal night with shirt and tie as that is what we fly with. Could probably stuff a jacket in somewhere if necessary ...

Thoughs?

 

 

No need for the bomber jacket. Shirt and tie are fine with Princess. Just ask any ship staff at the dining room.

We are just off Emerald Princess B2B in the Caribbean. I would say that on the second cruise the passengers were a little younger than the first but on both most of the passengers wore formal attire.