Dress code for teen boys (16 years)

This will be our first time on cruise. We are going to Alaska on island princess. Wondering what my son(16 years) should pack for the formal nights and also for the traditional dining rooms every evening. Would appreciate if you can share their thoughts. Thanks in advance

This will be our first time on cruise. We are going to Alaska on island princess. Wondering what my son(16 years) should pack for the formal nights and also for the traditional dining rooms every evening. Would appreciate if you can share their thoughts. Thanks in advance

My sons were about 16 and 10 when we did Alaska. The dress code is the same for boys as men. They wore kakhis and a polo to dinner ever night for casual evenings. On formal nights they wore gray slacks, dress shirt, tie and a navy blazer (suits at this age are SO impractical!) with slip on dress shoes.

On our next Princess cruise my oldest should still have a tux that fits, my youngest should have just gotten one for school, so DH may be getting a tux and we may be going truly formal! Princess is one of the few lines that still encourages this and I think it is a GREAT life lesson for kids.

This will be our first time on cruise. We are going to Alaska on island princess. Wondering what my son(16 years) should pack for the formal nights and also for the traditional dining rooms every evening. Would appreciate if you can share their thoughts. Thanks in advance

Princess is no where as formal as they once were so unless they choose to bring a suit with them they can get by with just a pair of dress pants & a dress shirt.

Why not ask your son what he wants to wear on formal nights?

You might be pleasantly surprised that he will want to dress up. At his age I was dressing up to impress the girls and get one over on the guys who looked less than cool by not bothering!

My sons were about 16 and 10 when we did Alaska. The dress code is the same for boys as men. They wore kakhis and a polo to dinner ever night for casual evenings. On formal nights they wore gray slacks, dress shirt, tie and a navy blazer (suits at this age are SO impractical!) with slip on dress shoes.

 

On our next Princess cruise my oldest should still have a tux that fits, my youngest should have just gotten one for school, so DH may be getting a tux and we may be going truly formal! Princess is one of the few lines that still encourages this and I think it is a GREAT life lesson for kids.

A very nice example for the young people. There are those that are so self centered to think that, unless they are forcibly stopped, they are free to do whatever they please. I would love to sit down and dine with you and your family.

Suggest Khakis and polo shirt for non formal nights and shirt and tie for formal and blazer if they have it. Most maitre d's will not permit them in the main dining room at dinner if they are wearing shorts.

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My sons were about 16 and 10 when we did Alaska. The dress code is the same for boys as men. They wore kakhis and a polo to dinner ever night for casual evenings. On formal nights they wore gray slacks, dress shirt, tie and a navy blazer (suits at this age are SO impractical!) with slip on dress shoes.

 

On our next Princess cruise my oldest should still have a tux that fits, my youngest should have just gotten one for school, so DH may be getting a tux and we may be going truly formal! Princess is one of the few lines that still encourages this and I think it is a GREAT life lesson for kids.

Suggest Khakis and polo shirt for non formal nights and shirt and tie for formal and blazer if they have it. Most maitre d's will not permit them in the main dining room at dinner if they are wearing shorts.

Great suggestions. :)

A very nice example for the young people. There are those that are so self centered to think that, unless they are forcibly stopped, they are free to do whatever they please. I would love to sit down and dine with you and your family.

Thank you. I was just raised this way. Both DH and I wear suits (or in my case sometimes dresses) every day as it is the appropriate attire for our jobs. And when we go on vacation, I just pack a couple of cocktail dresses and he grabs two shirts, ties and a blazer. This is not rocket science.

EVERYONE who can afford a cruise should have an outfit that complies with even elegant evening....its kakhis and a button down dress shirt or a dress or slacks and a blouse for women. What if you have to go to court? A funeral? A church wedding? Or how about a job interview???? I simply don't understand the "bend the rules because it is my vacation and I want to" mentality or the "do what you want because no one cares and if they do it is none of their business" thought process.

As for my kids have also had the advantage of being in private school. One of the biggest issues I have with public school in America is that many kids DON'T have a dress code or a uniform. People are too concerned with "their right to express themselves." Guess what - they are kids and they have no rights, except those we adults grant them. They can die their hair blue and pierce whatever when they are 18, and until then dress like they want on the weekends. In the meantime, they can learn to respect themselves and society and dress appropriately. For my boys kakhis and a polo (tucked in with a belt -exposed underwear is not a fashion statement), or a sweater is the norm for them (or at least they were til the oldest went to college...he now looks like a drowned rat...who also knew to get a hair cut and dress like high school before he went to his job interview!). They are not allowed to wear sweatshirts, t-shirt, hoodies, sweat pants, PJs, camo, blue jeans or any advertisement beyond the little swoosh or horse. They need dress shirts and ties for game days, dances and other events. So for them, it is just part of life. They aren't always thrilled, but they will comply!;p

So Tailspintom, please, join us any time!

A very nice example for the young people. There are those that are so self centered to think that, unless they are forcibly stopped, they are free to do whatever they please. I would love to sit down and dine with you and your family.

I agree. Our son's dressed up too.

Yes and it's always the same 3. :rolleyes:

Thanks to all of you for your input. Appreciated it very much.

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This will be our first time on cruise. We are going to Alaska on island princess. Wondering what my son(16 years) should pack for the formal nights and also for the traditional dining rooms every evening. Would appreciate if you can share their thoughts. Thanks in advance

From what we saw on the Regal, the boys pretty much wore slacks/sport coat & tie. A tux is certainly not necessary, unless the boys choose to go all out.

Why not ask your son what he wants to wear on formal nights?

 

You might be pleasantly surprised that he will want to dress up. At his age I was dressing up to impress the girls and get one over on the guys who looked less than cool by not bothering!

That's exactly what we saw on the Regal. The kids were surprisingly much better dressed than their parents. I know there's peer pressure, but I've noticed the kids seem to like dressing up more when they go out with their friends.

Even on Formal nights the boys will be fine with long pants and a dress shirt. :)

A teenage boy will look fine in a pair of dockers and a dress shirt. Tie, coat and leather shoes are optional. On non-formal nights jeans and a shirt with collar and athletic shoes will be great particularly in AK where the natives all dress for the outdoors. Our 49th state is hardly formal in any sense of the word.

Interesting thread to read. I am travelling with my 14 & 12 year old sons next year in Europe We live in the UK so our high school dress code is very strict, meaning they have to wear shirts, ties, trousers and blazers every day anyway. Luckily both boys love being smart so will want to go the whole hog if they can. As a family we are all looking forwards to the formal evenings, even my usually casual husband!

With my teen we do dress pants & polo or other shirt with a collar on regular nights & dress shirt, tie & dress pants on formal night.

Interesting thread to read. I am travelling with my 14 & 12 year old sons next year in Europe We live in the UK so our high school dress code is very strict, meaning they have to wear shirts, ties, trousers and blazers every day anyway. Luckily both boys love being smart so will want to go the whole hog if they can. As a family we are all looking forwards to the formal evenings, even my usually casual husband!

Being from the UK explains a lot.

I'd say they should bring their suits & ties.

My teenaged son was horrified at the idea of having to dress up for dinner when we spent three weeks on cruises last July - but this became a favorite part of the experience for him and he really enjoyed dressing up in his suit.

We got him a dark blue suit with a couple of different shirts and ties and a pair of khaki pants that he could wear with the suit jacket. This gave him a range of different options.

I was also glad that we had done this when he had to attend the funeral of a close family member at very short notice. :(