MDR dress for men on Caribbean cruises

[c-boy]

I have a thing or two I feel I can teach this whipper snapper generation 

 

[nocl]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It sounds like you're inferring that with having more people manning the doors they'll be no one charging the doorway to gain entrance. 😄

Yes, some ships do have a enforce more stringent dress code but it's still a relaxed one compared to what their web site will have you believe.

It all depends on what the Maître D' demands of his staff and from my experience it's been more relaxed as the years go by. 

Oh it is certainly more relaxed. They do say that most are recommendations, but they still do enforce some things.

 

Not so much rush the door, as much that under the old system with fixed dining, one could walk in without anyone even noticing. Under the new system not so much.

[nocl]

4 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

I've never understood why Princess doesn't resolve all this sturm and drang over formal wear. The solution is simple and obvious.

 

There are three MDRs. Give one or two of them over to strict formal wear requirements and leave the other as casual wear. Adjust the ratio according to demand.

 

Voila, everybody happy.

 

Why force the tastes and preferences of one group onto another group when it's not necessary?

There is no issue with formal wear on formal nights. All a man needs is a shirt with a collar. Not much different that casual night.

 

The things that will be enforced will apply during casual night as well such as swim suites in the dining room, shorts, etc.  

Edited December 13, 2021 by nocl

[cruzsnooze]

There's a dress code? Oh Yeah, you must be dressed!

Edited December 13, 2021 by cruzsnooze

[nocl]

My comment to the OP is to wear what they want. If they are turned away then they know they have crossed the line.

 

Just in case they should bring atleast one set of clothes that they know will be acceptable.

 

On a cruise prior to Covid one of our table mates showed up the first night wearing shorts. Complaining that they had told him that he could enter that night, but could not any of the other nights wearing shorts. His problem was that they were doing a multi-month trip around the south Pacific and all he had was shorts. That was his first and only night in the dining room. 

 

The views here really do not matter, it is up to what is enforced on board the ship. Try it but be ready if they do not allow it.

[mtnesterz]

On 12/11/2021 at 5:35 PM, poindexter said:

I’ve read on a couple of threads that men were able to wear nice shorts, collared shirts, loafer type shoes when dining in the MDR. Thanks for sharing your observations, rather than opinions….

You ask us for observations. You've sailed Carnival, Norwegian and Princess. So, you know that each line has it's own personality. Princess came to be known as The Love Boat.  Dressing for dinner has always been a part of romance and romance is part of what defines Princess. Another observation is from your title. Threads are seemingly always about how men dress, but not women. How you put those two observations together is up to you.

On a Princess Caribbean cruise, fewer men wore formal attire as compared to a TA segment of a world cruise, where a suprisingly high number wore tuxes. But observably all wore at least a sportcoat and tie on the TA. Understand the word Princess uses for attire is, "recommendation." 

Whichever cruise line you choose, I'd encourage you to go with their program. It will maximize your enjoyment of the vacation they're offering you. That and only that, is my opinion.

Edited December 13, 2021 by mtnesterz

[MissP22]

23 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Threads are seemingly always about how men dress, but not women.

That's simply because the women can get by with practically anything. The same outfit that would OK on a casual evening can be turned into a formal one just by adding a scarf and no one will turn their heads. 😉

[ONT-CA]

3 hours ago, taxmantoo said:

I read the post's title and immediately thought ...

 

MDR dress for men on Caribbean cruises ???

 

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

My comment to the OP is to wear what they want. If they are turned away then they know they have crossed the line.

 

Just in case they should bring at least one set of clothes that they know will be acceptable.

 

On a cruise prior to Covid one of our table mates showed up the first night wearing shorts. Complaining that they had told him that he could enter that night, but could not any of the other nights wearing shorts. His problem was that they were doing a multi-month trip around the south Pacific and all he had was shorts. That was his first and only night in the dining room. 

 

The views here really do not matter, it is up to what is enforced on board the ship. Try it but be ready if they do not allow it.

If one is bringing that one set of clothes, may as well wear them.  I like to have somethings more upscale when traveling, but I don't need/want the suit and tie.

 

The fellow in the South Pacific ought to have brought along at least one pair of long pants.  Must be quite tolerant of air conditioning.  Personally, I dress in long pants for dinner and show each night and then switch to shorts if going to play Poker in the Casino.

[Steelers36]

29 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

That's simply because the women can get by with practically anything. The same outfit that would OK on a casual evening can be turned into a formal one just by adding a scarf and no one will turn their heads. 😉

Or some bling.

[Steelers36]

59 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

You ask us for observations. You've sailed Carnival, Norwegian and Princess. So, you know that each line has it's own personality. Princess came to be known as The Love Boat.  Dressing for dinner has always been a part of romance and romance is part of what defines Princess. Another observation is from your title. Threads are seemingly always about how men dress, but not women. How you put those two observations together is up to you.

On a Princess Caribbean cruise, fewer men wore formal attire as compared to a TA segment of a world cruise, where a suprisingly high number wore tuxes. But observably all wore at least a sportcoat and tie on the TA. Understand the word Princess uses for attire is, "recommendation." 

Whichever cruise line you choose, I'd encourage you to go with their program. It will maximize your enjoyment of the vacation they're offering you. That and only that, is my opinion.

I do think there is a difference of mindset when someone is going on a WC versus a typical 7- or 10-night cruise to Caribbean.  Many more opportunities to wear the duds on a WC than a couple of nights in Caribbean where people are going to relax and have some fun.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, nocl said:

Oh it is certainly more relaxed. They do say that most are recommendations, but they still do enforce some things.

 

Not so much rush the door, as much that under the old system with fixed dining, one could walk in without anyone even noticing. Under the new system not so much.

Well yes and no.  We regularly had arranged Early TD assignment in Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR and just walked to table.  Some folks are still doing Same Table for the full cruise and I expect are also just heading to their table each night.

[nocl]

30 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If one is bringing that one set of clothes, may as well wear them.  I like to have somethings more upscale when traveling, but I don't need/want the suit and tie.

 

The fellow in the South Pacific ought to have brought along at least one pair of long pants.  Must be quite tolerant of air conditioning.  Personally, I dress in long pants for dinner and show each night and then switch to shorts if going to play Poker in the Casino.

They were sending two of their suitcases to their next destination (which in that case was Sydney). His long pants was in that one.  They were coming from the Philippines and did not think they would need them in Singapore or on the cruise.

[nocl]

28 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Well yes and no.  We regularly had arranged Early TD assignment in Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR and just walked to table.  Some folks are still doing Same Table for the full cruise and I expect are also just heading to their table each night.

There was no early traditional dining.  Only reservations which could be at the same time, same table each night (as ours were).

 

We were in the same dining room on Majestic. Each night they stopped people at the door.  Checked the reservation with Medallion, ask us if we knew where our table was, and then we could walk in. 

Nobody allowed  in without their reservation getting checked.

[DrSea]

On 12/11/2021 at 8:55 PM, Thrak said:

The first and last nights are a bit different because luggage might not have arrived (first night) or most things have been packed and picked up by crew (last night).  I have never seen shorts in MDR other than at breakfast or lunch. You are sure to get folks replying here that you can wear whatever you like and anybody who doesn't like it can just go to heck. I'll make this post and then likely leave things alone to go sideways like dress code threads always do.

 

The Princess "rules" regarding dress are identical whether you are cruising the Caribbean, cruising above the Arctic Circle, etc. You can find the "rules" on the Princess web site. You will find this sign posted outside the dining room:

 

 

This sign was posted outside the MDR on Coral Princess the last time we sailed on that ship. This was a Mexico and Panama Canal cruise.

 

I sailed princess during thanksgiving a few weeks ago. I didn't realize I had to wear a blazer. I ended up wearing a black sweater and they let me in no problems. But I saw many people wearing golfing polo shirts on formal night. 

[Bgwest]

Sitting in Club Class right this minute on the CB.  

A man in shorts just walked by our table after finishing his dinner. 

[tip]

3 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Sitting in Club Class right this minute on the CB.  

A man in shorts just walked by our table after finishing his dinner. 

And the sun will still come up tomorrow morning!

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, DrSea said:

I sailed princess during thanksgiving a few weeks ago. I didn't realize I had to wear a blazer. I ended up wearing a black sweater and they let me in no problems. But I saw many people wearing golfing polo shirts on formal night. 

It's been that way for many years now (maybe 10 or more) but you'll still have people quoting their posted regulations which have been skirted around with success. 

Princess dislikes having to confront people & tends to look the other way except for the most flagrant violators.  (i.e.- shorts on a formal evening.)

[DrSea]

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I am guessing they want to scan everyone so they know if people have shown up for their res and, if not, they can re-assign the table to someone else.  Less of an issue perhaps if ship is well-below capacity, but an important element of the DMW process going forward.  

 

 

It's not as slick as one would think. I forgot my medallion and they wouldn't give me my window seat. I sat across the room looking at my empty seat and eating. 

 

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

It's been that way for many years now (maybe 10 or more) but you'll still have people quoting their posted regulations which have been skirted around with success. 

Princess dislikes having to confront people & tends to look the other way except for the most flagrant violators.  (i.e.- shorts on a formal evening.)

Interesting. Even with my sweater, I still felt over dressed on my formal night. 

[Bgwest]

13 hours ago, tip said:

And the sun will still come up tomorrow morning!

Agreed!

 

And a side note to say that we weren’t annoyed, shocked or offended in the least by the sight of someone wearing shorts in the MDR for dinner. Our evening’s enjoyment wasn’t impacted in the least. 
 

The OLD GUARD curmudgeon wasn’t seated with us. ( And never is.)😃

[Justaguy33]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:28 AM, nocl said:

My comment to the OP is to wear what they want. If they are turned away then they know they have crossed the line.

 

Just in case they should bring atleast one set of clothes that they know will be acceptable.

 

On a cruise prior to Covid one of our table mates showed up the first night wearing shorts. Complaining that they had told him that he could enter that night, but could not any of the other nights wearing shorts. His problem was that they were doing a multi-month trip around the south Pacific and all he had was shorts. That was his first and only night in the dining room. 

 

The views here really do not matter, it is up to what is enforced on board the ship. Try it but be ready if they do not allow it.

This is really why we started cruising more with Princess.  Royal Caribbean was becoming a slob show in the MDR.  I was always impressed with how most passengers on Princess tried to have a decent appearance and not wearing inappropriate shirts, etc.  Not trying to be a snob, but I like a little formality and to not feel like I am eating in a dive bar.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Granted I have not been on  Princess ship since Dec 2019 before Covid but the last few years prior to that, I saw shorts in both the MDR and speciality dining rooms many times on our Caribbean sailings on quite a few ships.  That included the Sky Princess.

I have never seen anyone turned away.

 

I would pack thinking that the dress codes are in place but I’m sure shorts are still around.

[MadMouser]

I'm usually kilted for formal nights, but decided to have some fun on the Christmas cruise we're about to do. This is what I'll be wearing. And if they don't like it, there's room service and the buffet. Because my wife's dress is equally off the wall and it made her happy for me to join in the fun instead of putting her on guard duty fending off the ladies who try for a quick grope.

 

https://www.opposuits.com/christmas-suit-santaboss.html

[geoherb]

I was on the Caribbean Princess last week. I did not see any men in shorts in the dining room at night. On formal nights, I'd guess about 10% of the men wore tuxedos, 30% wore suits, 30% wore sport coats and long pants, 25% wore long pants with dress shirts, and 5% wore long pants with casual shirts. 

[Bgwest]

5 hours ago, geoherb said:

I was on the Caribbean Princess last week. I did not see any men in shorts in the dining room at night. On formal nights, I'd guess about 10% of the men wore tuxedos, 30% wore suits, 30% wore sport coats and long pants, 25% wore long pants with dress shirts, and 5% wore long pants with casual shirts. 

We’ve seen only one man in shorts in the MDR thus far on this sailing.