Formal nights

[bemardc]

How many formal nights on a 10 day cruise?

What percentage of people dress formal?

 

[Lucky TGO]

10 minutes ago, bemardc said:

How many formal nights on a 10 day cruise?

What percentage of people dress formal?

 

Bemardc,

I hope this helps you. All I like to say about dressing formal is I always do.

Now can someone get me some popcorn with butter. 😁

Tony

 

 

 

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to know what to pack and what to wear when you’re dining onboard. See below for an example of formal night schedules based on the length of your cruise.

Length of Cruise	Number of Formal Evenings
1 - 4 Days	0
5 - 6 Days	1
7 - 13 Days	2
14 - 20 Days	3
21 - 28 Days	4
29+ Days	5 Minimum

 

Princess offers formal wear rental on all cruises – this can be arranged prior to embarkation.

[Steelers36]

30 minutes ago, bemardc said:

What percentage of people dress formal?

There is no single answer.  It depends on itinerary and ship.  If you can be more specific, you might get an approximate idea.  There are no real statistics - just what people observe generally walking around ship or in their area of DR (and there are three of those usually, and multiple sittings, so most people rarely see the whole picture - me included).  If you look up older threads (including one newish one), there are LOTS of opinions on this.  And same thing for smart casual nights. 

 

ETA - It also depends on where you are going to eat.  People observed walking around outside DR may or may not be eating in the DR (the Lido buffet <casual or smart casual always> and Specialty restaurants <smart casual always> are optional for formal wear on formal nights).  The request for formal dress on Princess is for the MDR's only.  Some lines may request formal wear for the entire evening all over the ship and other lines no longer request formal wear, but is always optional if you like.

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by steelers36

[caribill]

27 minutes ago, bemardc said:

 

What percentage of people dress formal?

 

 

If you define formal for men as being a tux, usually less than 10%.

 

The great majority of men will wear either a suit for have a sport jacket.

[brisalta]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If you define formal for men as being a tux, usually less than 10%.

 

The great majority of men will wear either a suit for have a sport jacket.

 

Princess defines formal wear for formal nights as follows:

 

Formal
When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women
• Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Princess defines formal wear for formal nights as follows:

 

Formal
When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women
• Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

But very few adhere to the dress code and on our recent cruise on Crown Princess on Formal nights in MDR there were many men not wearing suits, jackets, no ties and many polo shirts and even t shirts and of course there was the obligatory number of men who went to dinner wearing their baseball caps which I think are permanently attached to their heads. Very poor in my opinion and dont understand why Princess state the dress code on their website, in their brochures and even on brass plaques outside every MDR restaurant then basically dont care what you wear.

[christinelee]

It is a request from your host - Princess Cruises - that you dress formally for the two or three nights that your cruise has assigned to it. Why would you not? We always like to accommodate our hosts.

Did you get enough popcorn to share,Tony?

[MissP22]

While it's impossible to believe any quoted percentages since they're only estimates from individual cruisers the fact does remain that there are many people who dress up & still thoses don't follow the so-called dress codes that Princess suggests. 

Even Princess gives written leeway for those that don't wish to dress up for those formal nights in the DR. 

If I were you I'd bring something that suffices for formal (just a skirt & nice blouse will work) & make a determination as how you feel once on the ship. You'll discover that there's a great variation in how people interpret their suggestions. 

[jasbo49]

20 minutes ago, christinelee said:

It is a request from your host - Princess Cruises - that you dress formally for the two or three nights that your cruise has assigned to it. Why would you not? We always like to accommodate our hosts.

Did you get enough popcorn to share,Tony?

 

Just to be clear, "our host" has asked that we dress formally only if we plan to eat in the main dining room.

 

I always get a kick out of this "our host has requested" business. (No offense, christinelee, just an observation.) Our host has requested that we observe the progressive boarding schedule on embarkation day too, and no one seems to have any interest in honoring that request.

 

BTW, if you define formal as coat and tie or better, I'd say maybe 50 percent of men are dressed formally. I think people who say the vast majority are dressed up are mostly just looking around the dining room.

 

Jim

[voljeep]

just another biased thread on what to wear ... hopefully this one too will be deleted as ab-so-lute-ly nothing new will come out of this ... only the same ole tired answers by the same posters with their same agendas as to what they want to see on THEIR cruise ... sorry

[Colo Cruiser]

6 minutes ago, jasbo49 said:

 

Just to be clear, "our host" has asked that we dress formally only if we plan to eat in the main dining room.

 

I always get a kick out of this "our host has requested" business. (No offense, christinelee, just an observation.) Our host has requested that we observe the progressive boarding schedule on embarkation day too, and no one seems to have any interest in honoring that request.

 

BTW, if you define formal as coat and tie or better, I'd say maybe 50 percent of men are dressed formally. I think people who say the vast majority are dressed up are mostly just looking around the dining room.

 

Jim

I agree..........

[MissP22]

7 hours ago, jasbo49 said:

Just to be clear, "our host" has asked that we dress formally only if we plan to eat in the main dining room.

And thankfully our host (as you put it) doesn't demand that we all follow the request. They even spell out what you can choose to wear should you not care to follow the crowd. 

[SiliconCruiser]

It would seem that these days, "business attire" is acceptable for formal nights.  Of course these days, formal business attire may not even include a tie.  Add to that, variances to the rule, like in Hawaii where Aloha shirts are considered formal business attire.  And it really seems to depend on the host/hostess at the door of the particular dining room.  And it should be noted that in some countries, a dark suit with a bow time is considered formal wear (they do not wear tuxedos). 

On our last cruise (Baltic), I left my tux at home (for the first time) and just packed a blazer.  I still felt a little overdressed, wearing a tie.  I think I may leave the tie in the cabin, or just not bring one on the next cruise.  I was refused entry on one of the non-formal nights because I was wearing shorts, but again it seem to depend upon who was at the door.

[keithm]

9 hours ago, voljeep said:

just another biased thread on what to wear ... hopefully this one too will be deleted as ab-so-lute-ly nothing new will come out of this ... only the same ole tired answers by the same posters with their same agendas as to what they want to see on THEIR cruise ... sorry

Yup & yours is one of the oldest!

[keithm]

19 hours ago, bemardc said:

How many formal nights on a 10 day cruise?

What percentage of people dress formal?

 

About 3 formal nights. We only wore tuxes on Cunard. On Oceania, we wore sport coats & no ties. We'll bring a few ties & perhaps a vest or 2 on our Hawaiian trip. 

[geoherb]

I left my sportscoat at home this summer and plan to do so again next week. I'll wear a dress shirt with a neck tie on formal nights. I remember that combo being acceptable enough to get into the dining room on formal nights for over 15 years. 

[brisalta]

21 hours ago, bemardc said:

How many formal nights on a 10 day cruise?

What percentage of people dress formal?

 

 

Two formal nights on a 10 day cruise.

[CarChick]

I have found that, no matter what the itinerary, the British gentlemen pull out the tuxedos on formal night.  Maybe it's a James Bond thing.  But I just love it.  They look great!  I may try to cram 2 different evening gowns in my suitcase for my 7 day Caribbean on the Regal this November, but I'm one of those crazy people who loves to get dressed up.  Like Red Carpet dressed up.  Cruises are one of my few opportunties to do so, as my normal life just isn't that glamorous. Lol

Edited September 17, 2019 by CarChick

[Lucky TGO]

1 hour ago, CarChick said:

I have found that, no matter what the itinerary, the British gentlemen pull out the tuxedos on formal night.  Maybe it's a James Bond thing.  But I just love it.  They look great!  I may try to cram 2 different evening gowns in my suitcase for my 7 day Caribbean on the Regal this November, but I'm one of those crazy people who loves to get dressed up.  Like Red Carpet dressed up.  Cruises are one of my few opportunties to do so, as my normal life just isn't that glamorous. Lol

Hi CarChick,

Check out this lovely lady. She didn’t have on a gown (Tux) and she look great in my opinion. The next formal night she had on a blue gown.  She was stunning looking. I didn’t have my camera. I wish I did..  

Tony

[NCbmwmom]

I am torn with making my husband drag his suit jacket all the way to London, or just going with long sleeves and a tie. I’ll be wearing dresses of course, but they don’t take up nearly the luggage space as a suit jacket. 

[c-boy]

it doesn't take up that much space.  or To order your formal wear, please visit cruiselineformal. com, call 800.551.5091 or 305.252.8572. For questions, email: custservice@cruiselineformal.com.

[brisalta]

29 minutes ago, c-boy said:

it doesn't take up that much space.  or To order your formal wear, please visit cruiselineformal. com, call 800.551.5091 or 305.252.8572. For questions, email: custservice@cruiselineformal.com.

 

I concur with c-boy. A suit does not take up much space in a suit case. The art of folding and  packing seems to be a lost skill. A suit case with a suit sleeve makes packing easy. Keep the suit on its hanger if possible. (I know that carry on luggage for aircraft transport has been downsized a ridiculous amount in the past few years).

I would not advise the method described in https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/revisiting-the-organization-man/  for packing a jacket or coat even though the instructions may be amusing.

Edited September 17, 2019 by brisalta

[Steelers36]

Yahbut, you cannot just get a jacket and then will it go with rest of clothing.  Easiest way to take a jacket is to wear it on the plane.  Airports and planes can be cool.  Also good for getting into airport at home if it is cold weather season.  No need to order a whole "get up" if it is just about a jacket.  We have folded one nicely in a carry-on after arriving in FLL.  Have even had one de-wrinkled on board.  Think I may take a jacket for Nov cruise.  Just in/out of FLL/PE.  You don't have to have a jacket.  Ties are easy to pack and LS shirt and tie is fine enough for any occasion on board.  I am taking a tie for sure.  One tie can cover two formal dinners, NP.

Edited September 17, 2019 by steelers36

[CarChick]

My formal dresses (plus shoes) take up a ton of space, but that's my fault for loving mermaid style gowns that are poofy at the bottom.

 

Lucky TGO - I love that lady's tux!  Very sharp.

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by CarChick

[brisalta]

Just now, CarChick said:

My formal dresses (plus shoes) take up a ton of space, but that's my fault for loving mermaid style gowns. Lol

If they are mermaid style gowns why do you have shoes? 😉