Kids dinner dress

[Laurafam]

First time cruiser, not sure if this is the right place to ask. What is the most casual dress my 12 year old can wear to dinners? He likes to dress very casually and getting him to dress up for dinner is going to be difficult.

[1025cruise]

I would check out the dress code on Princess's web site. There is no differentiation between adults and kids.

[szubieta]

The itinerary does have a lot to do with the MDR dress code even though the Princess website states the same thing for all itineraries.  Search the board to get a feel.  You will see people wearing a lot of things in the MDR that other people feel should only be seen in the buffet.  I personally don't care what anyone else is wearing since it doesn't change how the food tastes and I won't let it ruin my vacation.

That said, I'd make a plan prior to the sailing.  Explain to him the dress code and that this is like going to a nice resort.  On our last cruise, our son was 13 and a big tee-shirt wearer at that time. He opted out of the MDR on formal night.  I bought him a nice pair of black jeans, nice black tennies and 3 nicer shirts that he picked out.  He actually choose to wear them to school after that cruise.  I didn't feel I needed to push him to wear dressier clothes, that age can be tough and touchy. 

 

FYI - On the first night, they know your luggage may not be at your room yet.  He should be fine in his travel clothes like most of us.  

 

HTH!  Good Luck and enjoy your first cruise!

[satxdiver]

A 12 y/o on regular nights can wear what the most of the men wear, pair of jeans/dockers and a shirt with collar like sport shirt short or long sleeves.  Athletic shoes are very adequate.  He could even wear a tshirt as long as it is not too obnoxious.  For formal nights a pair of dockers and a dress shirt with the same athletic shoes will suffice.  They really do not seem to look at what the youngest generation wears.  Only items they react to are shorts.  This is not too far from what I wear as a senior citizen on every night.  

[memoak]

Just make sure to have him wear long pants and a decent shirt.  All will be fine

[Laurafam]

Thank you. This gives me a good idea what to pack. And what to buy since he barely owns anything besides t-shirts and athletic shorts. I have talked to him to prepare him for dressing up a bit.

[Coral]

Obviously kids have a semi-pass on dress code.

 

If you can get him into jeans and a polo for casual nights and maybe some dockers and a polo or dress shirt for formal nights - he will be fine.

 

I would stay away from shorts and if you can and printed t-shirts. Though on casual night, he can probably wear a printed t-shirt.

 

I think most are happy if kids behave and at age 12, he should be fine there.

[Pam in CA]

57 minutes ago, Laurafam said:

Thank you. This gives me a good idea what to pack. And what to buy since he barely owns anything besides t-shirts and athletic shorts. I have talked to him to prepare him for dressing up a bit.

No shorts unless he’s a toddler. 
 

The kids he meets on the ship will be in long pants. He can wear jeans if he wants as long as they’re not torn/ripped.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Laurafam said:

Thank you. This gives me a good idea what to pack. And what to buy since he barely owns anything besides t-shirts and athletic shorts. I have talked to him to prepare him for dressing up a bit.

Not looking to be anything close to preachy, but most of the ideas here are quite practical (except post #2 sorry to say).  Probably not a bad time to encourage the young man that sometimes clothing other than athletic wear is a good idea.  Good luck.

Edited January 2, 2020 by steelers36

[bugsy43]

Agree with most of what’s been said in that he will be fine with long pants and polo style or button down shirt and you won’t even get a 2nd glance.
 

But, and I’m just speaking in general here that by 12yrs old, they should be able to understand and respect rules and procedures regardless of whether they may like them or not. I’d wear my sweats to work but it’s against company policy and they don’t really care if I like the policy or not. 

 

The example it sets moving forward is that rules and procedures can be disregarded if they are inconvenient or the person doesn’t “like” them and sadly that isn’t how the world works as we would be otherwise living in chaos. In this case it’s a silly dress code but I’m just trying to speak in general. 

 

I didn’t post this to sound like Im being judgy and want nothing more than for your first cruise experience to be fantastic and you chose a great cruise line.

 

But I do expect that there will be some who disagree with my opinion and will let it be known with flames but it’s just my observation  as someone that has cruised many times both with and without children.

 

Again I hope you all have a great cruise. 

 

 

[brisalta]

On the cruises I have been on the children in the main dining room were all nicely dressed.  I noticed that on formal nights the boys were actually dressed in suits and the girls in nice dresses.

 

I suspect if you took your boy shopping for clothes in a store where they actually had knowledgeable sales staff that gave service he would enjoy the process of selecting and fitting clothes.  He would enjoy wearing them as he actually took part in selecting them and they actually fit.

[MissP22]

On formal night stick with a collared shirt or Polo and on casual nights even a T shirt will work providing it's not one with a crazy print on it.

A pair of black jeans would be OK for any night.

ie.  They tend to overlook most T shirts unless it attracts attention.

[Laurafam]

During the day on ship, t-shirts and shorts are acceptable for him, right? It's a Caribbean cruise.

[MissP22]

13 minutes ago, Laurafam said:

During the day on ship, t-shirts and shorts are acceptable for him, right? It's a Caribbean cruise.

Of course he can. He can probably even get away with shorts at dinner on some ships like the Crown Princess. 

[Colo Cruiser]

56 minutes ago, Laurafam said:

During the day on ship, t-shirts and shorts are acceptable for him, right? It's a Caribbean cruise.

Yes.

 

Not saying this about your son.

 

My boys had a blast on our cruises and we would rent tuxes for all of us.

They got so many compliments and loved the attention. 

At 8 and 10 they looked like little Ventriloquist Dummies.  😁😁😁

[Rick&Jeannie]

Absolutely!

[Essiesmom]

Try to find pants that are lighter weight than jeans.  Jeans can be too warm in the Caribbean.  What does he wear to school?  Around here the schools all have a dress code and and the khaki/navy/black pants required would be fine in the MDR.  EM

[Schonert]

17 hours ago, Laurafam said:

First time cruiser, not sure if this is the right place to ask. What is the most casual dress my 12 year old can wear to dinners? He likes to dress very casually and getting him to dress up for dinner is going to be difficult.

Everyone is supposed to dress for dinner, it can be pants and a polo shirt.  
My son does not like to dress up, but I got him a tux for some events, and he loved how he looked in photos,  especially when Girls were attracted to that look.

 

in reality they will not say anything, even if it drives the rest of the diners crazy.  

 

One trip we were on the family were in tshirts, and flip flops every dinner, on the formal night they “dressed up” they put on running shoes.  It really got my Mom upset.

[TupeloHoney]

We've cruised many times with the kids. My son has been used to wearing a uniform to school, so dinner wasn't too difficult for him though he'd much rather be in his joggers!  But look for boys' pants with elastic waist.  That's how we survived elementary school.  Something like this:

https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=492879002&cid=6187&pcid=6187&vid=1&grid=pds_40_74_1&cpos=40&cexp=1426&cid=CategoryIDs%3D6187&cvar=10464&ctype=Listing&cpid=res20010208668169922506515#pdp-page-content

And polo shirts.  Black pants like the above and a shirt and tie will suffice for formal night.

[Laurafam]

25 minutes ago, Schonert said:

in reality they will not say anything, even if it drives the rest of the diners crazy.  

 

One trip we were on the family were in tshirts, and flip flops every dinner, on the formal night they “dressed up” they put on running shoes.  It really got my Mom upset.

This is what I'm hoping to avoid. If he (or I) dressed much more casually than others it would make me uncomfortable. 

[Laurafam]

25 minutes ago, TupeloHoney said:

We've cruised many times with the kids. My son has been used to wearing a uniform to school, so dinner wasn't too difficult for him though he'd much rather be in his joggers!  But look for boys' pants with elastic waist.  That's how we survived elementary school.  Something like this:

https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=492879002&cid=6187&pcid=6187&vid=1&grid=pds_40_74_1&cpos=40&cexp=1426&cid=CategoryIDs%3D6187&cvar=10464&ctype=Listing&cpid=res20010208668169922506515#pdp-page-content

And polo shirts.  Black pants like the above and a shirt and tie will suffice for formal night.

Thank you for the link. My son dislikes jeans but doesn't have enough pants like this. His school doesn't have a dress code unfortunately. Kids dress very casually.

[Alaskanb]

3 hours ago, Laurafam said:

Thank you for the link. My son dislikes jeans but doesn't have enough pants like this. His school doesn't have a dress code unfortunately. Kids dress very casually.

https://www.amazon.com/Nautica-School-Uniform-Sensory-Friendly-French/dp/B07QJ2R8N1/ref=sr_1_50?crid=1RPB0BEHJ59PJ&dchild=1&keywords=boys+elastic+waist+pants&qid=1577995996&sprefix=Boys+elastic%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-50

Some companies now make pants that are sensory-friendly. These would look fine with a polo shirt

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Alaskanb

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Laurafam said:

This is what I'm hoping to avoid. If he (or I) dressed much more casually than others it would make me uncomfortable. 

Honestly - I wouldn't worry about it. Most people give a pass to kids.

[Schonert]

One place I have gone for “dress clothes” is a resale shop, or something like the Salvation Army.  That is where we got my son’s tux.  So if it is not worn much you are not out a lot of money.  
 

Other things he may like is colourful shirts, but wash them beforehand so they soften up.
 

I thank you for being concerned and trying to get him to follow the dress code for dinner.  I really appreciate it.  

[MissP22]

On 1/2/2020 at 12:30 AM, brisalta said:

On the cruises I have been on the children in the main dining room were all nicely dressed.  I noticed that on formal nights the boys were actually dressed in suits and the girls in nice dresses.

 

I suspect if you took your boy shopping for clothes in a store where they actually had knowledgeable sales staff that gave service he would enjoy the process of selecting and fitting clothes.  He would enjoy wearing them as he actually took part in selecting them and they actually fit.

And don't forget that Princess also states "For more formal settings, men should bring a suit and a nice pair of shoes (or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks), while women may want to bring an evening dress or a skirt with a good blouse.