Alaska & Formal Nights

[Britboys]

I am off on a Alaska Inside Passage cruise aboard Coral Princess shortly.  There are two Formal nights.  I have previously heard that very few passengers dress formally (E.G. Office-style Suit/Black Tie suit). Would appreciate hearing of anyone's experience as to how many people (and in particular men) dress for Formal night.

 

Thanks in advance

[Steelers36]

I think on any cruise, the term "very few" is an exaggeration, but there will be a mix.  One poster here who recently was on an Alaska trip reported their waiter advised them a suit or jacket was not necessary the night prior to formal night.

[flamomo]

I have done AK cruises with Princess 3 times, as well as many other Princess cruises, and, and based on my observations, would have to say that the majority of male passengers do wear suits or dress trousers with a sport coat on formal nights. Most also wear ties and dress shirts with them.

Some choose to wear nice pants and a collared shirt, and there are always a few who wear whatever they want. For the most part, Princess staff seems to prefer not to upset passengers by insisting that they dress according to the guidelines.

However, occasionally there will be a maître `d who is stricter who will turn passengers away who are not dressed in what they deem appropriate.

Personally, I don't think that AK cruises are much different than any other itinerary when it comes to dining room attire on formal nights. Many comply and a smaller number won't.

[voljeep]

27 minutes ago, flamomo said:

I have done AK cruises with Princess 3 times, as well as many other Princess cruises, and, and based on my observations, would have to say that the majority of male passengers do wear suits or dress trousers with a sport coat on formal nights. Most also wear ties and dress shirts with them.

Some choose to wear nice pants and a collared shirt, and there are always a few who wear whatever they want. For the most part, Princess staff seems to prefer not to upset passengers by insisting that they dress according to the guidelines.

However, occasionally there will be a maître `d who is stricter who will turn passengers away who are not dressed in what they deem appropriate.

Personally, I don't think that AK cruises are much different than any other itinerary when it comes to dining room attire on formal nights. Many comply and a smaller number won't.

as Alaska is highly skewed to blue and gold cards ... it would seem natural that those passengers don't know any better , dress up per the website guidelines, and get the picture ...

 

after that , ... well, honey ... sorry, not this time

[land lover]

Cruised on Coral last month..few tuxes, mostly sports coats if jackets were worn..and these were mostly people cruising for their first time. For the last few years DH has seldom taken his tux,  black long sleeve shirt and slacks, simply because so few people are wearing them any more. On this cruise he noticed most men wore white long sleeves for formal nights.

 

I don't pay attention anymore. However, on a recent cruise out of Southampton,  DH was odd man out without a Tux at our Anytime dining table for 8. 

 

For Coral's cruise he chose a black shirt and black jeans...With so many people doing land trips why bother with dress clothes....I chose black jeans and a dressy top...The captains party was formal, which surprised me...as this is one reason why DH has stopped bringing TUX, so many Captain's Parties are no longer formal. The most traveled cocktail party dress code on our cruise was Elegantly casual. 

 

Love people dressed formally, but the times are a changin' its so much easier not lugging formal wear around.

 

For our Coral 12 day land/cruise we just took carry-ons and backpacks...so much easier to unpack when you arrive home....

 

Traveling frm the UK lighten your load...but if you love dressing formal go for it....

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by land lover

[land lover]

BTW... did an RT Alaska out of Seattle, last year with adult son...told him not to bother to bring formal wear...this from the Mom who purchased Tuxes for  her sons to travel on cruises when they were younger...I love tuxes, but the cruise industry has been changing for the last 10 years...and with cell phones at the ready , no MD will question what someone wants to wear in the MDR except maybe shorts, but I've seen shorts at night in the middle of cruises more than once.

 

Enjoy...

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by land lover

[Leo37]

Hi Britboys,

 

I'm on board the Coral right now on an Alaska cruise and had first formal night last night. Some people, not many, in full black tie. Some people, not many, in smart jeans and polo shirts. Most somewhere in between.

 

I wore black jeans, white formal / work shirt (no tie, open neck) and a black cardigan and felt very comfortable and dressed about the 'average' level of smartness.

 

Apart from a sign at dining rooms saying no shorts and no baseball caps, all is very relaxed on board.

 

Enjoy!

[hosscow]

We were on the Ruby end of May. Second formal night, table mates next to us were in flip flops, sweat pants, and colored tee shirts. They also got 3 main courses and did not eat the veggies. We laughed. Also saw faded blue jeans and lots of polo shirts.

So at least on the Ruby formal attire was not enforced.

[Ep010835]

Bottom line is Be Comfortable. 

 

I too am part of the black jeans and collared shirt crowd in the MDR. Every night. Including formal nights. NEVER had an issue. 

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, steelers36 said:

I think on any cruise, the term "very few" is an exaggeration, but there will be a mix.  One poster here who recently was on an Alaska trip reported their waiter advised them a suit or jacket was not necessary the night prior to formal night.

I also read the same comment and this has been our experience for many years no matter where the ship has sailed.

The days of true formal clothing is long gone & it seems as though just about any casual dress will suffice on a formal evening.

[Thrak]

All Princess cruises - no matter the destination or itinerary - have the same guidelines which are clearly posted on the web site.

[oskidunker]

But its SO COLD in Alaska. Surely they would prefer youbwear a down parka than a tux. 

[Thrak]

Just now, oskidunker said:

But its SO COLD in Alaska. Surely they would prefer youbwear a down parka than a tux. 

 

Yeah. So cold... Been there 4 times. Wore a tee shirt every visit. Coat in Glacier Bay the first time. Tee shirt in Glacier Bay this time in late May.

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

All Princess cruises - no matter the destination or itinerary - have the same guidelines which are clearly posted on the web site.

 

Finally, someone using nearly the correct verbiage. 

 

Dress CODE?  No, no Never!!!

Dress Guidelines = Dress Suggestions

 

Those very same suggestions are also posted outside the MDR. At least on the ships we’ve sailed. Haven’t been on all of them, yet. 

[Potstech]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

All Princess cruises - no matter the destination or itinerary - have the same guidelines which are clearly posted on the web site.

And all Princess cruises - no matter the destination or itinerary - have no standard enforcement of their guidelines even though they are clearly posted on the web site.

[Britboys]

Well that opened a can of worms didn't it 😁.  Thank you to all those who have replied helpfully with their actual experiences aboard Princess in Alaska.  As a result of this, I will probably take nice trousers and a jacket but not bother with Black Tie.  I am actually an old-fashioned type of cruiser and when sailing P&O ex UK always take Black Tie and wear it.  I never wear jeans of any sort in the evening on a cruise - to me, they are for walking around the shopping mall or going to football (that's soccer of course to those of you on the other side of the pond 😄).

 

Once again, thanks for the help - its appreciated.

[cattman]

On our Royal cruise in May you could count those with coats and ties on one hand - and most of those wore Merrell's. 

 

In a region where half the passengers are doing a land/sea package, who wants to carry a suit or tux for two nights out of twelve? A pair of nice travel pants and a collared shirt is fine, or throw a tie in your bag too.

Edited July 9, 2019 by cattman

[Cece2015]

Just returned from our Alaska cruise on Royal, best cruise ever. Weather was quite warm. Formal dinner dress, there were passengers dressed in tux and gowns, passengers in suits and dresses, passengers in slacks and shirts. The fashion police were not on our cruise and everyone had a great cruise. Enjoy your cruise 

[doverboy]

Ate at the Crab Shack on formal night. Wasn't crowded, did not feel like I missed anything. Had a fantastic meal

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, cattman said:

On our Royal cruise in May you could count those with coats and ties on one hand - and most of those wore Merrell's. 

 

In a region where half the passengers are doing a land/sea package, who wants to carry a suit or tux for two nights out of twelve? A pair of nice travel pants and a collared shirt is fine, or throw a tie in your bag too.

no inconvenience here no worse than packing a folding chair or case of wine.

[Britboys]

Thanks for the added contributions everyone.  I'm someone who verges more toward the formal than the casual, so have packed a jacket & couple of ties for the two formal nights.  I sail more on P&O UK than any other line and they are more formal, so I'm used to it.  Being a Brit, I have no idea what "Merrel's" is/are 😄.  Case is packed and ready for the long journey from London to Fairbanks via Seattle 😮.

[Potstech]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:06 PM, c-boy said:

no inconvenience here no worse than packing a folding chair or case of wine.

Neither of which many people bring with them. what is not convenient is an inconvenience for others.  Carrying items for about 5 hours of use on a 11+ day trip is not something many want to do.

[ian441672]

Just packing for my 10 day RT from SFO on Monday, struggling to fit it all in!  As far as formal, I used to wear full DJ but noticed around 3-4 years ago that less and less were wearing it, and I always found it cumbersome, though I still like to look smart for the formal nights. This time I am just packing a regular (work) suit, white shirt and tie. I think it will fit right in.

[geoherb]

I was on back-to-back cruises on the Island last month. I didn't bother with taking a jacket. I'm the one who mentioned in my live thread that my waiters told those of us at my table that we would be welcomed as long as we made an effort. I felt perfectly comfortable in a dress shirt with a tie. One man wore his dress military uniform. One man wore a sports coat and dress shirt without a tie. At nearby tables, I saw men in everything from tuxedos to polo shirts. I'd estimate 75 percent wore a jacket, a tie, or both.

[cattman]

7 hours ago, Britboys said:

Thanks for the added contributions everyone.  I'm someone who verges more toward the formal than the casual, so have packed a jacket & couple of ties for the two formal nights.  I sail more on P&O UK than any other line and they are more formal, so I'm used to it.  Being a Brit, I have no idea what "Merrel's" is/are 😄.  Case is packed and ready for the long journey from London to Fairbanks via Seattle 😮.

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