Tux Rentals

[CintiCruzer]

Has anyone heard if Princess hired another company to handle Tuxedo rentals?? We sail in about a month and I don't want to pack a suit or sportcoat... I loved just renting a tux for the two formal nights.. Or have the formal nights just become THAT casual??

 

[grouchomarx]

On our cruise last week most people were very dressed up on formal nights. Not so many tuxes (there were some) but ladies in very dressy dresses and guys in jackets and ties. We did not participate due to the lack of rental availability and just did specialty dining those nights.  As far as I know Princess has not organized another company for this service.

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, CintiCruzer said:

Has anyone heard if Princess hired another company to handle Tuxedo rentals?? We sail in about a month and I don't want to pack a suit or sportcoat... I loved just renting a tux for the two formal nights.. Or have the formal nights just become THAT casual??

 

well my Bengals luvin' friend we're currently outta luck with the ship formal wear rental gig. Put your sport coat in first additional clothing on top, the suit case shell aids in preventing wrinkles

 

[Colo Cruiser]

The company is out of business and no replacement.

[exbiologist]

I bought my own, and yeah I’m traveling with it and plan to wear in Mexico cruise this week.  They are cheap when you buy used, usually less than a rental costs.  And I don’t mind checking a bag or three when going on vacation.  I get it and have long trips just on a carry on, but spending $50 on a suitcase is meaningless for a $2200 cruise plus other expenses 

[Colo Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, exbiologist said:

I bought my own, and yeah I’m traveling with it and plan to wear in Mexico cruise this week.  They are cheap when you buy used, usually less than a rental costs.  And I don’t mind checking a bag or three when going on vacation.  I get it and have long trips just on a carry on, but spending $50 on a suitcase is meaningless for a $2200 cruise plus other expenses 

Boom

[jondfk]

2 hours ago, CintiCruzer said:

Has anyone heard if Princess hired another company to handle Tuxedo rentals?? We sail in about a month and I don't want to pack a suit or sportcoat... I loved just renting a tux for the two formal nights.. Or have the formal nights just become THAT casual??

 

 

I rented with them a few times with quite varied results, still it was a nice option for those who wanted the ease of arriving at the cabin with this little detail dealt with.

 

I doubt however there's a business case for this sort of service any longer.  Society, and cruise vacations are trending very strongly in a less formal direction.  Many lines have done away with formal nights altogether and those that still have them, Princess included, don't for the most part press their expectations.  As a business, there's a lot of inventory involved, a fair amount of maintenance (assuming you think, and I hoped, that they do clean and repair each cycle), and an every decreasing pool of folks who feel the need to purchase your services.  I very much doubt anyone will be rushing to buy the business out of bankruptcy.

 

 

[satxdiver]

It is getting harder and harder to see men dressed in tux and with the recent removal of being able to rent the tux it may getting even less observed.  One recent trend I have been noticing is men in suits sans ties.  Personally I have never worn a tie on any cruise and over the past several years have not worn a coat of any kind (sport/suit).  I have noticed that CCL, NCL, RCI, X and HAL no longer have formal night.  They all have a dressier night with many different names.  CCL calls it elegant night for instance but one certainly can wear a tux without any problems.   I imagine the tux rental had become more of a burden than a service and with the company going under, Princess did not feel it was a problem.  

[fredflint]

I purchased a tux a few year ago  ( well almost 20) for an Alaskan cruise it was right about 120.00 with all the extras and I think even 2 shirts.  Purchased it from a Tux rental company, on cruises that I take we never dress up.  But feel free to do what you want, a tux will pack better than a sports jacket in my opinion.

[memoak]

I have changed from tux to nice shirt , slacks and sports coat for formal nights.  Much more comfortable 

[CintiCruzer]

thanks for all the input... guess I will toss in a sport coat... cant wait 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i

[Steelers36]

FWIW, I was surprised at the number of folks dressing up more formally (not tuxes) on our Nov Caribbean trip (Crown).  We had not sailed a Caribbean itinerary in four years and I had expected more of a change based on many reports here for that sector.    

[bugsy43]

Honestly, only do it if you have room as we haven’t packed one on our last 3 cruises and by no means were we considered underdressed and not once did we get a strange look or comment. Just have fun. 

[c-boy]

 

3 hours ago, CintiCruzer said:

thanks for all the input... guess I will toss in a sport coat... cant wait 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i

wonderful

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by c-boy

[c-boy]

13 hours ago, steelers36 said:

FWIW, I was surprised at the number of folks dressing up more formally (not tuxes) on our Nov Caribbean trip (Crown).  We had not sailed a Caribbean itinerary in four years and I had expected more of a change based on many reports here for that sector.    

well  if it's on the internet it's gotta be true .... 😄

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, c-boy said:

well  if it's on the internet it's gotta be true .... 😄

Yes, well two people look at the DR and one sees 90% tuxes and the other sees 90% smart casual.

[Colo Cruiser]

10 minutes ago, c-boy said:

well  if it's on the internet it's gotta be true .... 😄

Or....if one keeps repeating it over and over again it becomes CC lore.

[c-boy]

COLO my first wife used to do that.

[CintiCruzer]

I agree, the past few cruises, I have noticed quite a change in the dress... cannot quote the exact stats like "satxdiver" has in his previous response...  My DW and I do like the excuse to dress fancy.. for us, it is one of the different aspects of cruising... I really liked renting because is was convenient and I did NOT have to pack and extra suitcase for the added suit - it is not the economics its the convenience... 

Really the extra suitcase is not too much of a hassle on these trips - i really don't have to handle them too much... we'll just pack another... 

Just dropped my daughter off at the airport yesterday - they had FIVE suitcases... I guess my two is not that bad after all!!!

[jeromep]

I have so many mixed feelings about formal nights.  While I've tried my best to participate on all my past cruises, it meant packing a rented tux, which is really bulky, or packing some of my work clothes, which consists of a shirt, tie, and a jacket, which is bulky, but less so.  I never had the opportunity to use Cruise Line Formal, but it was offered on a couple of past cruises, and I wasn't all that excited about the tux selection, and that is why I never used them.  I also wondered how well they would be able to fit me with nothing more than measurements from my local tux shop.  I know for a fact that the last two weddings I've had to rent tuxes for the tux seller had to get alternate items from the warehouse because the pants or jacket or whatever they shipped to them weren't quite right once I put them on.  Would a tux found on a cruise have that kind of flexibility to replace pieces which didn't fit right.

 

Either way, I think that the formal night is going to move predictably toward a suggestion vs. a requirement.  I've been predicting that for the past 10 years and I think it is only becoming a reality right now.

 

I have a cruise coming up and will pack my more formal wear and we'll see how many others do the same.

[c-boy]

you will be in good company

[Bruin Steve]

The old company used to provide this service for EVERY cruise line--same company.  The business model required them to have a complete stock of virtually every possible size tux on every ship since they took advance orders as well as last minute rentals onboard...and since there were always errors in sizing that needed to be corrected onboard, they had a representative/tailor onboard each ship as well...But this model worked because of VOLUME...Every ship, every cruise line...and EVERY passenger needing formal wear--with so many either not owning their own tux or not wanting to pack it, wrinkle it, damage it...

 

But...over the years, the demand has gone WAY down...NCL got rid of formal nights, Oceania came into existence replacing the old Renaissance and decided not to have formal nights, Azamara was formed and "followed suit" with Oceania, Celebrity dropped its formal nights.  And, with the cruise lines, like Princess, that retained formal nights, people just started dressing less and less formal.  Many ignore it altogether...others. like me, have gone to packing quasi-formal attire that's more wrinkle resistant and less in need of maintenance and takes up less space in the luggage (I used to pack my own tux, then rented with the tighter airline luggage requirements...now I just pack black Dockers, a dress shirt and a black polyester sports coat...and I look more formal than most on most of my cruises).

 

It's probably only a matter of time before more cruise lines drop the formal night idea--or, at least, make it completely optional.'

 

No formal night requirement really doesn't keep those who want to dress up from doing just that.  But, OTOH, it makes operating a business that needs to stock lots of ships with lots of formal attire as well as to maintain a staff completely unprofitable.  So, with the one company going out of business, it's a fairly safe bet that no one else would be foolhardy enough to rush in and take their place. It would be like, if 10 years ago, when Blockbuster Video filed for bankruptcy, someone would have rushed in and said "Here's an opportunity...I'm going to open up a large nationwide chain of video rental stores with a large stock of every possible movie in VHS form available for daily rentals to people willing to drive to the store and rent them and drive back to drop them off!"

 

Like video rentals, the cruise line tux rental business is now obsolete.  The requisite demand is gone, never to return.  Times have changed...

[jeromep]

On 1/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, Bruin Steve said:

The old company used to provide this service for EVERY cruise line--same company.  The business model required them to have a complete stock of virtually every possible size tux on every ship since they took advance orders as well as last minute rentals onboard...and since there were always errors in sizing that needed to be corrected onboard, they had a representative/tailor onboard each ship as well...But this model worked because of VOLUME...Every ship, every cruise line...and EVERY passenger needing formal wear--with so many either not owning their own tux or not wanting to pack it, wrinkle it, damage it...

 

But...over the years, the demand has gone WAY down...NCL got rid of formal nights, Oceania came into existence replacing the old Renaissance and decided not to have formal nights, Azamara was formed and "followed suit" with Oceania, Celebrity dropped its formal nights.  And, with the cruise lines, like Princess, that retained formal nights, people just started dressing less and less formal.  Many ignore it altogether...others. like me, have gone to packing quasi-formal attire that's more wrinkle resistant and less in need of maintenance and takes up less space in the luggage (I used to pack my own tux, then rented with the tighter airline luggage requirements...now I just pack black Dockers, a dress shirt and a black polyester sports coat...and I look more formal than most on most of my cruises).

 

It's probably only a matter of time before more cruise lines drop the formal night idea--or, at least, make it completely optional.'

 

No formal night requirement really doesn't keep those who want to dress up from doing just that.  But, OTOH, it makes operating a business that needs to stock lots of ships with lots of formal attire as well as to maintain a staff completely unprofitable.  So, with the one company going out of business, it's a fairly safe bet that no one else would be foolhardy enough to rush in and take their place. It would be like, if 10 years ago, when Blockbuster Video filed for bankruptcy, someone would have rushed in and said "Here's an opportunity...I'm going to open up a large nationwide chain of video rental stores with a large stock of every possible movie in VHS form available for daily rentals to people willing to drive to the store and rent them and drive back to drop them off!"

 

Like video rentals, the cruise line tux rental business is now obsolete.  The requisite demand is gone, never to return.  Times have changed...

@Bruin Steve, you totally hit this one on the head.  Renting formal wear on board a ship is a dead business model.  As an aside, I think that the online formal wear rental business has some future.  Think of sites like Rent the Runway and The Black Tux.  For the past 3 or 4 formal events we have gone to, excluding cruises, my wife has rented her evening wear from Rent the Runway.  It is both economical and she rents stunning pieces that we couldn't afford to buy, and it doesn't make sense to buy.

 

Every year I see tux sales at various retailers and online sellers which are very reasonable, often less expensive than the purchase of a nice suit, if you are looking for sales.  But, yes, the trend of cruise line sanctioned formal nights is on the way out.  I wonder why some lines keep it and others have let it go?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, jeromep said:

I wonder why some lines keep it and others have let it go?

Probably because they still feel they can attract clientele.  IDK what a line like Cunard does these days, but as others have pointed out, Princess seems to want to hang onto the policy, but not literally enforce it, perhaps to keep everyone happy to enjoy the evening as they wish and meanwhile the staff carry on making it more of a special event than other nights.  The other aspect is they can keep up a certain published standard, while hopefully discouraging or eliminating shorts, t-shirts, running shoes and flip-flops. 

 

[getaway101]

On 1/5/2020 at 3:34 PM, Steelers36 said:

Probably because they still feel they can attract clientele.  IDK what a line like Cunard does these days, but as others have pointed out, Princess seems to want to hang onto the policy, but not literally enforce it, perhaps to keep everyone happy to enjoy the evening as they wish and meanwhile the staff carry on making it more of a special event than other nights.  The other aspect is they can keep up a certain published standard, while hopefully discouraging or eliminating shorts, t-shirts, running shoes and flip-flops. 

 

Cunard still has it and on a 7 day cruise you could have as many as 4 or 5 formal nights.

 

IMO the cruise lines never enforced formal night.  People just wore what they wanted because "they paid for their cruise and they will do and go where they want".

It's a shame that we are becoming a society of slobs....so to speak.  The last cruise we were on was RCL and yes they had formal nights BUT when someone shows up in jeans and a t-shirt with a baseball cap on, I think that something should've been said.  Even on a regular night a hat on at the table is just plain rude......again.....IMO