Sapphire Princess from Southampton dress code

Hi all, we are sailing from Southampton in September and wonder what the norm is for formal nights. We are used to P & O and Cunard where ladies normally wear long dresses and men dinner suits (tux if you are from over the pond) Watching the Cruise on telly which follows a Princess ship, formal seems to be a bit less formal that I expected, more casual. What do people normally wear if sailing from Southampton please?

Also what about other nights, are cocktail dresses normally worn, I don’t want to be over dressed. Do they have theme nights onboard i.e. black & white or tropical etc and if so how do you know what will be on your cruise ( I tried the FAQs but couldn’t find anything) ?

Based on Sapphire Princess out of Southampton in May, all men wore tux, suits, jackets in the MDR on formal night. A few ladies wore long dresses, most wore cocktail dresses or nice top and black trousers.

We are from the UK and have previously done 2 Princess cruises from Southampton but on different ships. We found the British Isles cruise on Royal Princess had mainly American passengers and the dress on formal night was not anything like what you have been used to on P&O or Cunard. Some passengers were nicely dressed but there were very few dinner suits or long dresses and a lot of passengers dressed casually. On casual nights most of the passengers dressed very casual.

In contrast the second cruise to the Fjords on Caribbean Princess had a lot more passengers from the UK and the dress was completely different and much more formal. On casual nights the dress was still smarter but not cocktail dresses like on Cunard. Im sorry I cant remember about themed nights.

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You will definitely see a higher percentage of folks following the suggested formal night dress code on a Southhampton/Dover sailing as compared to a Caribbean or Alaska itinerary. I say this from experience. In general, this is true throughout Europe. Not everyone dresses, but European passengers are more likely to comply.

This is not a judgement statement, just an observation.

The type of attire people wear on Princess Cruises varies considerably. This depends where the sailing starts/finishes and the itinerary Alaska and Caribbean/Hawaii and the passenger mix which results. Have significant numbers of passengers flown to embark with restricted luggage weights? This will depend a lot on whether it is considered worthwhile to fly transatlantic to go where you are sailing, Canaries less attractive in comparison to the architectural and historical treasures of Europe.

My experience is that round trip from Southampton you will have similar to P&O passengers dressed appropriately following the official guidelines on formal nights. Less so around the Mediterranean.

Regards John

Hi all, we are sailing from Southampton in September and wonder what the norm is for formal nights. We are used to P & O and Cunard where ladies normally wear long dresses and men dinner suits (tux if you are from over the pond) Watching the Cruise on telly which follows a Princess ship, formal seems to be a bit less formal that I expected, more casual. What do people normally wear if sailing from Southampton please?

Also what about other nights, are cocktail dresses normally worn, I don’t want to be over dressed. Do they have theme nights onboard i.e. black & white or tropical etc and if so how do you know what will be on your cruise ( I tried the FAQs but couldn’t find anything) ?

The Princess website under the Top Ten FAQ's, #4 gives the dress code for both formal and casual nights. https://www.princess.com/come-back-new/top-ten-faq/index.html

The theme nights on Princess do not require any particular dress for passengers. I have seen some wear costumes on Halloween night.

We have sailed from Southampton twice and will do so again in late 2019. I keep it very simple and take a long black Travelers dress from Chicos for formal nights and change it's look with bling and pashminas. On smart casual nights it can be anything from jeans and nice sweater to a casual dress. Husband wears black pants, white or gray shirt, and a tie; he no longer takes a suit and has never worn a tux. We leave on Halloween night so I need to remember to bring something for fun.

scroll down the main page and you will see numerous threads about the Princess dress "code"

Yes but if you read my question it was specifically about sailing from the UK as British passengers seem to dress up more. Thank you to all those who did answer my question, much appreciated.

I can never understand why when a new cruiser to a particular line asks a question, and this applies to Facebook probably more so, that certain people don’t answer the question but try to be clever.

On the Sapphire out of Southampton May 5-12/18 dining room staff were turning away men without a suit jacket on.

However, others were loaned a jacket to carry in and place on chair so they could eat in MDR on formal night.

Others got in with flip flops on; men with casual shirts, no ties.

I found more people dressed up following the dress code on this sailing then any other cruises I've taken on Princess.

Don't get this restricted luggage excuse when flying. We've flown and sailed from all over the world, and always easily managed to take a Tux and posh frocks for the wife.

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Yes but if you read my question it was specifically about sailing from the UK as British passengers seem to dress up more. Thank you to all those who did answer my question, much appreciated.

 

I can never understand why when a new cruiser to a particular line asks a question, and this applies to Facebook probably more so, that certain people don’t answer the question but try to be clever.

I would take full formal attire so as to be prepared for any occasion.

You can't take to much.

My husband and I love to dress for dinner and no matter which cruise line or embarkation port we always pack hubby's tux and a couple of long dresses for me.

I have noticed that when sailing from the UK be it Princess, RCCL or P&O formal night is always a good turn out dress code wise. It has to do with the higher numbers of Brits on board...….

This year we are on the Sapphire and the Tux is already cleaned ready to be packed. We will take it next year to the Canaries and the year after that to the Caribbean (fly cruise).

So my advise if you want to dress up then do so and don't think or worry about anyone else's views or choices.

Enjoy the experience on Princess, we sailed on the Ventura last year and couldn't wait to get back on a Princess ship this year...….

We sailed on Sapphire in May and found the dress code very well adhered too mainly because with it being round trip from Southampton majority of the ship was full of UK cruisers so you will find the dress code be more likely to be what you would get on a P&O cruise.

On the Sapphire out of Southampton May 5-12/18 dining room staff were turning away men without a suit jacket on.

However, others were loaned a jacket to carry in and place on chair so they could eat in MDR on formal night.

Others got in with flip flops on; men with casual shirts, no ties.

 

I found more people dressed up following the dress code on this sailing then any other cruises I've taken on Princess.

I'm always confounded with the inconsistency. Thanks for the info about jackets and the MDR.

And for those who decide not to pack formal clothing for their cruise (for whatever reason), there are a number of alternate dining options available on formal nights.

Don't get this restricted luggage excuse when flying. We've flown and sailed from all over the world, and always easily managed to take a Tux and posh frocks for the wife.

 

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Agree !

No excuse.

Princess needs to re word the dress codes fleet wide, from SUGGESTED to MANDATORY and strictly enforce it !!!!

Don't get this restricted luggage excuse when flying. We've flown and sailed from all over the world, and always easily managed to take a Tux and posh frocks for the wife.

 

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And I will 3rd that. No matter where we sail from the tux and frocks go with us, as for us it's all part of the cruise experience.

We have no problem being apart of a crowd or in a minority.

Jules

Having just done b2b cruises from Southampton in May, can definitely say that at least 750th /80% of passengers adhered to the recommended dress code on most nights. In fact a lot of the ladies and sometimes the gents, dressed smartly for dinner each night. I did hear many comments from officers and staff " we always find the dress code changes she. we sail from U.K. Possibly as mentioned, the majority of passengersget are from U.K.

However, saying that, the dress code is not mandatory, and many passengers looked fine in smart casual every night. Just our findings having sailed predominately ex Southampton for last 4 years.

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And for those who decide not to pack formal clothing for their cruise (for whatever reason), there are a number of alternate dining options available on formal nights.

There sure is....hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and don't forget the Specialty restaurants

or just dress casually within reason for the DR & you'll be fine. :)

Princess needs to re word the dress codes fleet wide, from SUGGESTED to MANDATORY and strictly enforce it !!!!

That is not going to happen anytime soon. Time to be realistic. If they had wanted to do that it would have already been done.

Having just done b2b cruises from Southampton in May, can definitely say that at least 750th /80% of passengers adhered to the recommended dress code on most nights. In fact a lot of the ladies and sometimes the gents, dressed smartly for dinner each night. I did hear many comments from officers and staff " we always find the dress code changes she. we sail from U.K. Possibly as mentioned, the majority of passengersget are from U.K.

 

However, saying that, the dress code is not mandatory, and many passengers looked fine in smart casual every night. Just our findings having sailed predominately ex Southampton for last 4 years.

 

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I'm always confounded with the inconsistency. Thanks for the info about jackets and the MDR.

Yes but if you read my question it was specifically about sailing from the UK as British passengers seem to dress up more. Thank you to all those who did answer my question, much appreciated.

 

I can never understand why when a new cruiser to a particular line asks a question, and this applies to Facebook probably more so, that certain people don’t answer the question but try to be clever.

Does this help?

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Does this help?

Enjoy your cruise. :)

As long as you insist on posting that Patter which no one on any of the Princess ships really follow to any great degree, lets include the web site instructions about how to dress on formal nights which is more realistic.

"For more formal settings, men should bring a suit and a nice pair of shoes (or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks), while women may want to bring an evening dress or a skirt with a good blouse."

As long as you insist on posting that Patter which no one on any of the Princess ships really follow to any great degree, lets include the web site instructions about how to dress on formal nights which is more realistic.

"For more formal settings, men should bring a suit and a nice pair of shoes (or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks), while women may want to bring an evening dress or a skirt with a good blouse."

I only post what is printed in the Patter. I didn’t make it up.

As long as you insist on quoting the website verbatim, please post the direct link. I couldn’t find that. BTW, What are “nice” shoes? :)

Enjoy your cruise.

King