How formal is 'Formal' on Princess

[cruisegamedev]

We have just booked our first Princess cruise and only now realized there are formal nights on it having been on an NLC cruise before we have never experienced anything like this. 

 

We are 100% not a dress-up type of people, the further we would go is maybe a shirt and trousers. Is that going to look out of place or be turned away and are all of the restaurants formal at the same time or can we just avoid the given restaurant? 

 

[MissP22]

Princess is nothing like it was a few short years ago. On formal nights just about any style of dress will be acceptable. You'll see everything from tuxes and gowns to people in jeans and T shirts. 

Some even will wear shorts.

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, cruisegamedev said:

We have just booked our first Princess cruise and only now realized there are formal nights on it having been on an NCL cruise before we have never experienced anything like this. 

 

We are 100% not a dress-up type of people, the further we would go is maybe a shirt and trousers. Is that going to look out of place or be turned away and are all of the restaurants formal at the same time or can we just avoid the given restaurant? 

 

Go as you go and you will be fine.  Just a note to the extent it matters - if you are departing Southampton, generally speaking, more folks do wear a suit on the formal nights than from other ports.

 

All MDR's have the same dress recommendations.  And it is only for dinner - there is no dress requirement for the ship in general on the formal or dress-to-impress nights.  Also, Specialty Dining has been Smart Casual since the beginning.  But some folks also dress up to go there if they feel like making it a special event.  

 

Princess has a flexible approach even though they have not updated it in writing.  Just don't go to dinner in shorts and t-shirts or gym type clothing and you won't be at any risk of being turned away.

[Paula_MacFan]

29 minutes ago, cruisegamedev said:

We have just booked our first Princess cruise and only now realized there are formal nights on it having been on an NLC cruise before we have never experienced anything like this. 

 

We are 100% not a dress-up type of people, the further we would go is maybe a shirt and trousers. Is that going to look out of place or be turned away and are all of the restaurants formal at the same time or can we just avoid the given restaurant? 

 

 

Formal dress is only required ('suggested' per the Princess website) at the main dining room and you are free to move about the ship in other venues in casual wear.  If you don't want to dress up there are other food options such as the buffet, casual dining depending on your ship, and specialty dining.  

 

We've gone on cruises and not taken any formal wear at all, and other times we do dress up once or twice.  For cruises where we didn't take formal wear we simply eat in the buffet or book specialty dining.  Don't let it stop you from cruising on Princess 🙂  

Edited January 5 by Paula_MacFan

[2MellowCruisers]

I see you are from Scotland and I don’t know where you are sailing from.  I can only speak to my experience out of US ports.

 

We are the same and are not dress-up people.  Years ago we would avoid the MDR on formal nights and then felt that we were missing out so we both decided to buy suits just so we could do formal nights.  Well, then the suit, for me anyway, started to be too small.  Too many cruises, I guess!  I stressed again about doing formal nights and just started to wear nice clothes but still felt worried about it.  Now I am over all the stressing about it and worrying what others in the dining room think about us.  I have to tell myself we are on vacation for goodness sakes!  For the regular casual nights, we wear nice jeans and short sleeve button down shirts.  For formal nights, we wear some nice slacks and a long sleeve button down shirt.  We wear the same clothes for specialty dining.  I don’t believe they will deny you entry into the dining room unless you are wearing something truly inappropriate. 

 

This is our experience and will not tell others how we think they should dress.  I will just offer advice from my own experience, please don’t stress about it and enjoy your cruise!

[candy4040]

Formal wear is not required in the MDR.  You can choose to dress up or not.  Very few people wear shorts and I have seen them denied admittance, but I have also seen them allowed in.  If you want to dress up that's up to you.  My husband generally wears a nice pair of pants and a collared shirt.  I rarely wear a dress. I usually wear pants or capris with a nice blouse. . It makes for a much lighter suitcase.  

Edited January 5 by candy4040

[john watson]

34 minutes ago, cruisegamedev said:

 

 

We are 100% not a dress-up type of people, the further we would go is maybe a shirt and trousers. 

 

 Have you thought about a shirt and kilt?

 

Regards John

[c-boy]

You will see variations on "formal night"  but try not to let that influence your holiday.  Shirt and trousers is fine. 

         

 

 

 

         

 

 

    

Edited January 5 by c-boy

[eagletwo]

On our last cruise on the Sky Princess, November 25th, we saw men wearing shorts in the MDR every night. Formal night was no different. Did it ruin our cruise? Nope, we just enjoyed our meal. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

 

That horse was beaten to death in this thread:

[Teechur]

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

[mtnesterz]

20 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

That horse was beaten to death in this thread:

From post #88 in your linked thread, looks like @PrincessLuver was correct, less than 19 days.

[bladerunner6]

11 hours ago, Teechur said:

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

I think that is a fabulous idea.  It might be impractical to implement but I would love it.

[john watson]

11 hours ago, Teechur said:

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

 

This was never a problem years ago when ships sailed with two or more classes.

 

Regards John

[Outerdog]

11 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

From post #88 in your linked thread, looks like @PrincessLuver was correct, less than 19 days.

 

No doubt things have changed dramatically on board in those 19 days so, best to start a new thread.

 

[cruisegamedev]

Thank you, everyone, Makes me feel a lot less nervous about it! 

[villageidit]

On 1/4/2024 at 6:32 PM, john watson said:

 Have you thought about a shirt and kilt?

 

Regards John

Saw several on my 11/27 cruise out of Sydney. 

[satxdiver]

On 1/4/2024 at 7:16 PM, Teechur said:

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

With the way that "formal" is going it might be a fairly empty MDR.  In mass marketed cruise ships the trend is for more informal dress.  We are seeing the same trend in our daily lives.  Princess and all the other mass marketed cruise lines are seeing this trend and many have already relaxed their standards.  Personally I wear pants (e.g. khakis) and a short sleeved guayabera shirt and have been for 10 years or so.  I am starting to see shorts worn in the MDR on formal nights. Since the pandemic I never eat in the buffet but rather always in the MDR.

[PrincessLuver]

On 1/4/2024 at 5:16 PM, Teechur said:

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

 

Nobody is stoping you from dressing up.  Maybe we can have one section of the pool area for those who look good in a bathing suit and then another section for those who do not?  Sometimes it just spoils our enjoyment of the pool on what people wear there.

Edited January 7 by PrincessLuver

[john watson]

2 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

 Sometimes it just spoils our enjoyment of the pool on what people wear there.

 

I think it's good of people about the pool to wear something.

 

Regards John

 

 

[MTAK]

On 1/4/2024 at 6:16 PM, Teechur said:

I've often wondered why Princess doesn't designate one dining room for all of the people who like to dress up?

Apparently that will be happening on the new Sun Princess - 3 different levels of formality for MDR dining.

[mtnesterz]

2 hours ago, MTAK said:

...3 different levels of formality for MDR dining.

Do you remember where you read/heard about this?

[MTAK]

20 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Do you remember where you read/heard about this?

It was in one of the Adam Savage episodes when he was getting a tour of the MDR section of the ship.

 

In this episode starting at 45:50. The whole dining room discussion starts at 40:00.

 

 

Edited January 7 by MTAK
added video information

[LynnSD]

Our cruise a few months ago was on Discovery,  and I was surprised at how many people were in tuxes and long dresses for formal night.  The photographers were doing a booming business too.   It was fun people watching. 
We no longer do that, I wear a sparkly top, and husband a button down shirt, sometimes with sport coat. 
No reason to be too judgy; there are so many options for dining now. 

[DHP1]

On our last cruise to Australia and New Zealand, I didn't fell like getting dress up and went to the buffet for dinner because I would feel somewhat out of place (uncomfortable) with the others that are dress up. It was our first time at the buffet for dinner and I was impress in the food they had.  After dinner we sat at the pool and had our evening drink before bedtime.

Edited January 7 by DHP1