What do men Actually wear on Formal Night - 2011 poll

[bookworm1]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=darkorchid]With six formal nights coming up over the next year and several black tie affairs on the agenda, i just got a new tux and enjoy the thought of getting dressed up:D[/COLOR][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#9932cc][/COLOR][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#9932cc]Michael[/COLOR][/FONT][/B]

[Sqweetie]

My husband and I went on our first cruise together (it was my second cruise) this past December. He wore a tux (that I rented from Cruiseline Formal) for 2 reasons - 1. packing a suit would take up too much room and 2. it's actually me that hates dressing up! I hate heels and pantyhose! So I figured if I was going to get all dolled up, he was too. He didn't mind a bit and he looked so handsome. We actually saw quite a few men in tuxes. My very first cruise was with my best friend to Alaska and there weren't many tuxes at all, I don't know if Alaska tends to be a more "informal" destination?

[monakayk]

[COLOR=Purple]DH wears: dark suit, dress shirt, tie.[/COLOR]

[UpcountryTravelers]

Saw lots and lots of tuxes, dinner jackets and other formalish attire on the Grand 14 day Southern Caribbean in January. That was good to see. I really decry the demise of people wanting to look good on special occasions.

[Times Prince]

[quote name='PescadoAmarillo']We saw a lot more tuxes on our Emerald cruises in early December than we did on the same cruises in January/February. Noticably more. I don't know why it would be that different-the passenger demographics appeared to be about the same- but seeing that has stopped me from making further predictions about the future of tuxes on Princess. I think they will always a popular choice on the longer, more exotic cruises. And I think Brits tend to dress up more than Americans or Canadians, so if a cruise is heavily British, that will play a roll also.

DH wears one, and I generally wear a long dress. In fact, he shows no sign of stopping, so I think I will spring for a new formal dress or two this year.;)[/quote]Go for it, girl! :D

We were on an Iberian Interlude cruise out of Southampton and on the first casual night all the Brits dressed better than I've ever seen on formal nights on other cruises. I felt badly underdressed for the evening.

[quote name='chipmaster']Interest results, IMHO those most likely to post or participate here are likely skewed to the formal / elegant side:D

But so far the results look about right but like all polls the error bars are large and here even larger as its not a natural sampling of the cruise population![/quote]I respectfully disagree about skewing, especially when viewing other posts on the subject. Having done a similar poll in the past, I found that many more people actually respond to the poll than would post on a thread about what to wear, as it is anonymous, and easy to respond. The number of responses brings the data into a valid range.

Far more likely is the fact that Cruise Critic members like cruising (no big surprise here) and have cruised in the past. But that is what the frequent questions from new cruisers are all about - all those "what should we wear on formal night" questions we see posted. The answer then is simplified by a lot of us essentially saying "I can't answer for you, but here is what I wear". And this poll shows the volume and percentage of those answers. Isn't isn't the purpose of Cruise Critic for experienced cruisers to share accurate answers?

[quote name='LARGIN'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=black]Agree, but using the poll approximately 85% dress according to the published guidelines however 15% do not. On the Ruby with 1500 male passengers (little less than half of 3080 passengers on board), this means that you will potentially see 225 men not formally dressed on formal nights. I wonder how many of these will be eating in the MDR's? [/COLOR][/FONT][/quote]And currently over 1/3 of those people not to guidelines have responded they don't eat in the MDR (first question, and totally acceptable), making it about 70 men wandering about the ship in casual wear. Those same people, plus those who dine later and haven't changed yet are really obvious when walking through the Captain's Welcome Aboard party in the atrium, leading to some interesting observations.

As I've said analyzing statistics at my place of employment, "even a small percentage of a very large number is a big number."

[scanner55]

are formal nights also in the specialty restaurants, or just MDR?

[kands6191]

My DH and teenage DS always wear a tux. They really enjoy it too. Some have commented that they aren't out to impress anyone. To us, it's an opportunity to dress up and do something we don't normally get to do in our day-to-day lives.

[monakayk]

[quote name='scanner55']are formal nights also in the specialty restaurants, or just MDR?[/quote]

[COLOR=Purple]Some folks dress formally to dine in the specialty restaurants on formal nights, however many pax eat there to avoid dressing formally on the 2 formal nights.[/COLOR]

[MGAfhc]

[quote name='LARGIN'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=black]Agree, but using the poll approximately 85% dress according to the published guidelines however 15% do not. On the Ruby with 1500 male passengers (little less than half of 3080 passengers on board), this means that you will potentially see 225 men not formally dressed on formal nights. I wonder how many of these will be eating in the MDR's? [/COLOR][/FONT][/quote]

A sports jacket & tie (my category) does not conform to the 'published guidelines'. The poll does not differentiate between 'Dark Suit' as requested by the 'published guidelines' and any other suit. My guess is that probably half the suits seen in the Princess dining rooms don't meet those sacred guidelines and certainly are not what anyone would call 'formally dressed'.

[HollyK]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][I]The considerable majority of responders to this poll dress formally, either in a tux or a suit and tie. I responded with suit + tie as I really don't think himself is going to fit his tux any longer without major alterations. Otherwise he'd be wearing it. (Yes HP1 - he [B]would [/B]be wearing it! :) )[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][I]If we're going to alter anything, at this point in life, we'll be altering a suit. At our age point:), that will be the wisest and most judicious expenditure of $$'s, however sad that may be. [/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][I]I don't know about others but, most anyone I know (or have ever known) do not wear hot pink, bright yellow or lime green suits. A suit in the very common colors of navy, charcoal gray, light gray or black (or tones thereof) are most common. I believe they will all be well accepted in any dining venue onboard. JMHO
And I DEFinitely dress for formals. Love it. It's one of my few shots at it in my 'elder years'. It makes me tingly again!! A very good thing for DH. :-) [/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Putterdude]

[SIZE=4]I wouldn't think of taking a cruise without my tux or white dinner jacket, formal nights to us are a huge part of the tradition of cruising. What I garner from the poll is that despite the fact that certain posters try to down play how gentlemen dress for formal nights...much as I have observed, the vast majority of gentlemen do observe the dress code ....long live formal nights.:)[/SIZE]

[Times Prince]

[quote name='scanner55']are formal nights also in the specialty restaurants, or just MDR?[/quote]That is the subject of many other threads. The popular opinion is that specialty restaurants allow casual dress on formal nights, although there are exceptions, based on the ship and Maitre'D. The Princess Cruise Answer Book has gone silent on this, suggesting "Princess specialty restaurants offer a memorable dining experience in an intimate and upscale atmosphere". What exactly "upscale atmosphere" is on formal nights is not specified, but may be ominous for those passengers who prefer casual dressed dining - however seeing as the specialty restaurants are revenue generating and also have been a haven on formal nights, one could expect that allowing casual dress will continue.

[quote name='HollyK'][I][SIZE=3][FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=navy]And I DEFinitely dress for formals. Love it. It's one of my few shots at it in my 'elder years'. It makes me tingly again!! A very good thing for DH. :-) [/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE][/I]

[/quote]... and THIS may be the strongest reason, unstated by most, for why we like to participate in formal night ;). 'tis a very good thing...

[Times Prince]

It's been 3-4 days since the last vote was cast, so I thought some interim results would be good. The last poll was June 2009 here are the comparisons:
[LIST]
[*]Responses: 2009: 587, [B]2011: 459[/B] (so far)
[*][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Wearing Princess Formal Night recommendations: [/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]2009: 76.5% [B]2011: 72.8%[/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[*][COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=black]Wear a sport coat/slacks with a tie to the MDR[/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]:[/COLOR] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]2009: 8.9% [B]2011: 12.8%[/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[*][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Don’t follow dress recommendations in MDR:[/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]2009: 8.5% [B]2011: 7.8%[/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[*][COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=black]Choose to dress casual and do not eat in the main dining room on formal nights[/COLOR][/FONT]
[/COLOR][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]2009: 6.1% [B]2011: 6.5%[/B][/SIZE][/FONT]
[/LIST]So it looks like there is a small shift to more casual sport coat and tie, and there is also a slight shift in casual dressers to either more formal sport coat and tie, or to the alternate dining venues.

We're still looking at about 95% of men in the main dining room who dress with coat and tie.

[apollobeach]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue]Let's begin by telling all of you that are going to make us a target of snide; rude comments - hold those nasty comments to yourselves.........now.......we're on a Hawaii cruise this month, and plan on dressing on formal night "formally" - according to Hawaiian formal, which is a silk tropical shirt; dress slacks and shoes.......and by the way, we betcha our silk shirts cost more than a lot of the "nasties" shirts - and ties.

We were told on a Princess cruise we would not be allowed in the dining room without a shirt and tie. We wore our shirts; ties; and suits - HOWEVER - we had the "pleasure":mad: of having a couple not two tables over be seated; he was in torn/faded jeans - and, our ties had more material than her dress. Oh yeah, this was on formal night.

We don't judge others and how they dress. Maybe a lot of folks should do the same, and enjoy the cruise, rather than being unhappy and throwing criticism at others. There are so many other more important things to worry about.

John/Rick
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]:p

[1 HappyCruiser]

[quote name='apollobeach'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][COLOR=Blue]

[COLOR=Red]We were told on a Princess cruise we would not be allowed in the dining room without a shirt and tie. [/COLOR] We wore our shirts; ties; and suits - HOWEVER - we had the "pleasure":mad: of having a couple not two tables over be seated; he was in torn/faded jeans - and, our ties had more material than her dress. Oh yeah, this was on formal night.

[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]You must have been seated in the formal section. [/FONT]:p

[Woobstr112G]

For me, it's always a tux in the MDR.....:):):)

Bob

[Shogun]

Hi All

The Crew have no choice but to wear black tie etc, on formal night

is it so much trouble for us to dress up as well, its not like we have to do

it every night, and if it is such an issue there are cruise lines out there

with no formal nights.


yours Shogun

[1 HappyCruiser]

[quote name='Shogun']Hi All

[COLOR=Red][B]The Crew have no choice but to wear black tie etc, on formal night[/B]
[/COLOR]
is it so much trouble for us to dress up as well, its not like we have to do

it every night, and if it is such an issue there are cruise lines out there

with no formal nights.


yours Shogun[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Since their employment requires it they don't have much choice in doing so and I'll bet they don't dress in a tux on their vacation. [/FONT];)

[ONT-CA]

[quote name='1 HappyCruiser'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Since their employment requires it they don't have much choice in doing so and I'll bet they don't dress in a tux on their vacation. [/FONT];)[/quote]

Methinks the laddie doth protest too much

[junglejane]

I voted for "suit" just because that's what my DH has worn on our last two cruises. He sometimes rents a tux and sometimes takes his black suit (if luggage is not an issue). But let's be realistic, this poll is a sampling of people on CC who care about the dress code, so it is inherently skewed toward the traditionalists. On our recent Sapphire cruise, I definitely saw men showing up in all sorts of non-formal attire. It seemed like any kind of long sleeves and long pants (e.g., velour track suits) were enough to get you into the MDR.

On our upcoming European cruise, DH may opt for (gasp) sport coat and tie. :eek:

[Coracii]

[quote name='SkinnyDennis']I always wonder about forum polls, aren't they really showing statistics for those that answered the poll? Surely not everyone who cruises voted.

Just my 2c. :)[/quote]

Even more, the people visiting CC are typically the most die-hard members of the cruising population and are not reflective of those actually onboard the ship. Yes, there are newcomers that may happen along this poll and vote, but for the most part it's going to be the same core group of people that respond in just about every thread. Those happen to also be, for the most part, people that have been cruising for quite a while and are still attached to the traditional policies. While the poll is fun, it's not necessarily accurate (though from my personal observation on the ships it's not that far off). I usually see somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-10% not wearing a jacket of any variety on formal nights. Me, I stick with a long-sleeved dress shirt and dress slacks and have never had the dining room staff question this.

[Coracii]

[quote name='Times Prince']As I've said analyzing statistics at my place of employment, "even a small percentage of a very large number is a big number."[/quote]

The problem with the survey isn't the number of results, it's the targeting of the survey itself. Would you take a survey asking how many people have attended a baseball game during the past year inside the stadium while a game is being played? Here you're asking the question of a specific demographic of the cruising industry with a few outliers being newcomers that wander into the thread. I'd be interested to see how many of the responses in 2009 are from the exact same core group of people here as the responses in 2011. I'd bet it's a very high percentage.

[Times Prince]

[quote name='Coracii']The problem with the survey isn't the number of results, it's the targeting of the survey itself. Would you take a survey asking how many people have attended a baseball game during the past year inside the stadium while a game is being played? Here you're asking the question of a specific demographic of the cruising industry with a few outliers being newcomers that wander into the thread. I'd be interested to see how many of the responses in 2009 are from the exact same core group of people here as the responses in 2011. I'd bet it's a very high percentage.[/quote]There truly is no way to compare the polled people as the poll is anonymous, as it should be, with one vote per person. Of more significance is the number of people (587 in 2009) vs. the small number of those (~30-50?) who normally post on any thread concerning dress recommendations.

As stated before - many questions from newcomers about what they should wear can be best answered by the 500 or so answers from past cruisers of

[B]"I can't tell you what to wear but here is what I wear."[/B]

[Times Prince]

[quote name='Coracii'] I'd be interested to see how many of the responses in 2009 are from the exact same core group of people here as the responses in 2011. I'd bet it's a very high percentage.[/quote]The poll is anonymous, but the people posting in each thread can be found by clicking on the number of posts for the thread.

Being somewhat curious I found

2009 - [B]85[/B] people posted either stating what they wore or expressing opinions on the poll
2011 - [B]53 [/B]people posted (so far)

Of those who posted regarding the poll there are a total of eight (8) people, including myself, who have posted a comment on Both polls. They are:
chipmaster, Coracii, LARGIN (big surprise here :rolleyes:), Putterdude, rcacace, Tak8, Woobstr112G, and myself, Times Prince. This is your "core group" who also mostly will post on any thread regarding what to wear on formal night.

That makes a grand total of 112 people besides those 8 in common who have posted uniquely on the two polls. THANK YOU one and all for sharing your opinions !

So, are we seeing the same people? Nope.

[Putterdude]

[SIZE=4]WOW, you have done a lot of work on this....good on you.:)[/SIZE]