no formal night on 4nt cruise

[LLD]

Booked a 4 night getaway cruise from Fort Lauderdale for this month..was told by Princess there are no formal nights on cruises less than 5 nights...

 

can anyone tell me if they have gone on a 4 night cruise and there actually was a formal night?? thanks

[partybarbie]

In the past, Princess did have a formal night on the short cruises. This policy was changed about two years ago. Sometimes Princess will do a "dress to impress" night on their shorter cruises. It's not a formal night, just a little dressier than "smart casual".

[Thrak]

We did a 4 night coastal in February and there was no formal night.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...Sometimes Princess will do a "dress to impress" night on their shorter cruises. It's not a formal night, just a little dressier than "smart casual".

 

That is what we had on the Ruby last September. It wasn't announced prior to sailing that I am aware of, though. My cruise docs indicated "smart casual" for all four nights. I think they do DTI mainly as a way to boost photo sales on short cruises, which tend to be more casual otherwise.

[partybarbie]

That is what we had on the Ruby last September. It wasn't announced prior to sailing that I am aware of, though. My cruise docs indicated "smart casual" for all four nights. I think they do DTI mainly as a way to boost photo sales on short cruises, which tend to be more casual otherwise.

 

I think so too. We had a DTI night on a 3-day cruise last September. It wasn't announced prior to the cruise, but it was held on our sea day.

[shredie]

I think they do DTI mainly as a way to boost photo sales on short cruises, which tend to be more casual otherwise.

 

I think you are absolutely right about that.

[centralcalicruzer]

I have done two of the shorter cruises in the past two years, and although there was no stated formal night, people did dress up more on the sea day (night). The first was over Thanksgiving weekend and the sea day was actually Thanksgiving, so I wasn't too surprised to see folks dressed up. The second was a repositioning cruise this past May and I was surprised at how many people dressed up the first sea day. Thankfully we had brought some dressier clothes so I didn't feel out of place.

[LLD]

I'm still bringing my little black dress but... would a gown be too formal since there is no "official" formal night??

 

Been on Princess before and loved the formal evenings on the longer cruises...I'm a little sad that there really isn't a formal night. :(

[OCruisers]

Does it actually bother anyone to not have formal night on a 4-Day cruise?

[rdsqrl]

Does it actually bother anyone to not have formal night on a 4-Day cruise?

Why shouldn't it bother me? I gotta wear something to dinner anyway; might as well be one of my umpteen cocktail dresses. Not sure what the length of the cruise has to do with anything.

[Wishing on a star]

I'm still bringing my little black dress but... would a gown be too formal since there is no "official" formal night??

 

Been on Princess before and loved the formal evenings on the longer cruises...I'm a little sad that there really isn't a formal night. :(

 

Hey, it's a cruise, and there are also the specialty restaurants as well... If you want to go all out with the gown, I wouldn't let anything or anyone change that!

 

Having said that, on the one short cruise that we were on, I did take a very fancy dress. I was one of the very few...

 

I also felt that on our particular cruise, which was also a time where many of the main staff were off-ship on break... The service and the menus were lacking. It has been a while, but I wonder if it is just the way it is that there is a difference between the longer cruises and the shorties.

[Near PDX]

We took a 4 day rt Vancouver in May and it had a stated formal night in our cruise personalizer and actually on board. I asked our head waiter why and he indicated it was not usual at all.

[cruiselvr1]

Does it actually bother anyone to not have formal night on a 4-Day cruise?

It would take less luggage without a formal night, especially on a short cruise, which I would like. I enjoy the formal nights on longer cruises, and I don't mine taking more luggage for those. When we took our first two week cruise, we didn't know much we would need. We took 7 bags, never again.

[Cancun01]

We were on the 4 night Emerald last week. They had a "dress to impress" night. I also had the impression that it was to increase photo purchases. In the documents it had stated 4 casual nights so I think many people were not prepared.

Also of note, the 5 night cruises state "please observe the dress code in the Traditional and Anytime dining venues."Needless to say many, many people were in shorts throughout the evening in the rest of the ship, plus in traditional dining. When you went to Crooners "dressed", many people were in shorts and Margarittaville type t-shirts - both men and women.

[pris993]

Does it actually bother anyone to not have formal night on a 4-Day cruise?

 

Yes, we prefer formal nights... but we can create our own, if necessary!! Just got off the Queen Mary 2, there casual is a jacket with no tie and that is fairly new. My DH wore a tie every night... we enjoy dressing for dinner every night.

Never gets old, we have well over 50 cruises.

[caribill]

My DH wore a tie every night... we enjoy dressing for dinner every night.

Never gets old, we have well over 50 cruises.

 

I am the opposite.

 

I only wear a suit for weddings, funerals and Princess formal evenings.

[romancing_the_sea]

We were told the same thing before our 4-night Ruby cruise in an email from Princess but surprise surprise-there was a formal night called "dress to impress." Don't think we impressed anyone but we weren't alone in our smart casual attire in Sabatinis so it turned out okay.

[geoherb]

Our last 4-night cruise included New Year's Eve. A lot of folks dressed up for it. We did not and did not feel out of place. The previous cruise was only 3 nights. They had a "dress to impress" night on it. A lot of folks did.

[caribill]

We were told the same thing before our 4-night Ruby cruise in an email from Princess but surprise surprise-there was a formal night called "dress to impress." Don't think we impressed anyone but we weren't alone in our smart casual attire in Sabatinis so it turned out okay.

 

"Dress To Impress" does not say it has to be a good impression.