Formal night dining

[morriscats]

Leanrunnerboy - I was with you until the "trailer trash type" comment. What exactly does that mean? My 3 sisters and I were brought up in a "mobile home" because that is all my parents could afford. We were always well dress and respectful when we went out. When you use words like that I begin to wonder who the disrespectful one is??

[LARGIN]

Interesting definition on Wikipedia..

 

Trailer trash (or trailer park trash) is a derogatory North American English term for people of low socio-economic standing. The term originates from the belief that those of low standing within society often reside in trailers or mobile homes, especially in trailer parks. Because trailers often provide housing at a lower cost than conventional foundation-built houses, and some trailers have few amenities, there is a popular cultural conception that those who live in trailer parks are usually only those who are too poor to afford anything else. Although trailer parks have a high density compared to other rural or suburban housing, they are usually created on large tracts of undeveloped land in rural or suburban areas.

[jla418]

When I look at where Princess is today compared to 10 years ago, I see a lot of issues with lower quality - much of that is a result of Princess becoming more focused on the mass market instead of the premium market it focused on in the mid-90s. Perhaps a response to the business climate, but becoming more casual has left Princess without a lot of the things that used to make it a unique cruising experience.

 

I find this interesting, because, I feel that it really applies to almost all of the cruise lines today. Look at the comments about many different lines and ships, and people complain about the lower quality of food, entertainment, and overall experience. The cruise lines to day have more ships and larger ships than they had in the past. Lets face it, when trying to cook for, or entertain 3100 passengers, you are going to have a much more difficult time providing a unique, high quality meal, or experience than if you are cooking/entertaining far fewer as in the smaller ships of days gone buy. Let's face it, Princess, or any other line for that matter, that has many ships, with many many berths must try to appeal to as large an audience as possible in order to fill all those berths. The more ships, the more berths, the more mass market the line - any line - must be. If Princess, or Carnival, or HAL, or RCL, or NCL, or Costa, or Cunard, or MSC cannot fill their ships, they cannot make money, and will cease to exist.

 

From the Cruise Answer page:

 

Etiquette

Everyone at Princess is committed to ensuring you have a great time on your cruise. So, to preserve a relaxed and friendly atmosphere onboard, we ask that you observe a few guidelines.

• 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. For details regarding this, please see the section entitled: ONBOARD ATTIRE.

\

 

Here is the beauty of the way Princess is approaching this whole situation. If, on formal night, you choose to dine in the TRADITIONAL DINING or ANYTIME DINING VENUES, you should respect the dress codes and adhere to the suggested formal attire. If you do not want to dress formally, Princess offers OTHER OPTIONS for dining on formal nights, including the buffets, SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS, Ultimate Balcony Dining, and room service. I understand that some feel that the food in the "other" dining options is not up the the same standards as the food in the "Dining Room." Well the food in the Specialty Restaurants is probably a step or two above the food in the "Dining Rooms" because it is made to order for you, when you order it, as opposed to being cooked in mass for the thousands. I know some will say, but there is an extra charge - true, but you get what you pay for. The point is that everyone has options.

 

And the even final, bigger point is that we can all go on Princess, and all have an experience that meets our personal needs, and therefore all have a GREAT vacation TOGETHER!

 

If someone loves Princess, but doesn't love to dress up, why would anyone here tell them to cruise another line?

[aebalc]

We should all remember the most important thing about formal night is....

Damn I look good!

[bdjam]

I find this interesting, because, I feel that it really applies to almost all of the cruise lines today. Look at the comments about many different lines and ships, and people complain about the lower quality of food, entertainment, and overall experience. The cruise lines to day have more ships and larger ships than they had in the past. Lets face it, when trying to cook for, or entertain 3100 passengers, you are going to have a much more difficult time providing a unique, high quality meal, or experience than if you are cooking/entertaining far fewer as in the smaller ships of days gone buy. Let's face it, Princess, or any other line for that matter, that has many ships, with many many berths must try to appeal to as large an audience as possible in order to fill all those berths. The more ships, the more berths, the more mass market the line - any line - must be. If Princess, or Carnival, or HAL, or RCL, or NCL, or Costa, or Cunard, or MSC cannot fill their ships, they cannot make money, and will cease to exist.

Which is why my post said that this is a result of Princess focusing on the mass market instead of the premium market they did 15 years ago. You hit the nail right on the head - Princess has to try to attract as many different tastes as possible to fill their ships. This is Princess' short coming - and the reason for these kinds of discussions. Princess goes for the whole spectrum and comes up short satsifying anyone.

And the even final, bigger point is that we can all go on Princess, and all have an experience that meets our personal needs, and therefore all have a GREAT vacation TOGETHER!

 

If someone loves Princess, but doesn't love to dress up, why would anyone here tell them to cruise another line?

I'm all in support of those who love Princess, don't like to dress up and take advantage of the casual alternatives (although I would hardly dress down on a formal night for a specialty restaurant - but that's common sense). The issue in this discussion is about those who think this...

I can always hope for a change but in the mean time I'll continue to do my own thing.

...and encroach on the formal nights others attempt to enjoy. They want their cake and they want to eat it too. Whereas they feel they have the right to customize their cruise experience as they wish, they don't extend that same right to others on board. If everyone played by the guidelines, all would be well.

If you want to stay casual on formal night..fine..stick to the buffet & for crying out loud show some respect to your fellow guests...and when going to the show..at least put on some trousers (gents)..

Thank you.

[atdahop]

Lee,

 

Are you saying that you can go to Sabittinis on formal night and dress up but not formal wear. I mean husband in nice slacks and nice shirt, something you would wear out on a Saturday night? But do not need a jacket and tie.

[rcacace]

I find this interesting, because, I feel that it really applies to almost all of the cruise lines today. Look at the comments about many different lines and ships, and people complain about the lower quality of food, entertainment, and overall experience. The cruise lines to day have more ships and larger ships than they had in the past. Lets face it, when trying to cook for, or entertain 3100 passengers, you are going to have a much more difficult time providing a unique, high quality meal, or experience than if you are cooking/entertaining far fewer as in the smaller ships of days gone buy. Let's face it, Princess, or any other line for that matter, that has many ships, with many many berths must try to appeal to as large an audience as possible in order to fill all those berths. The more ships, the more berths, the more mass market the line - any line - must be. If Princess, or Carnival, or HAL, or RCL, or NCL, or Costa, or Cunard, or MSC cannot fill their ships, they cannot make money, and will cease to exist.

 

 

 

Here is the beauty of the way Princess is approaching this whole situation. If, on formal night, you choose to dine in the TRADITIONAL DINING or ANYTIME DINING VENUES, you should respect the dress codes and adhere to the suggested formal attire. If you do not want to dress formally, Princess offers OTHER OPTIONS for dining on formal nights, including the buffets, SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS, Ultimate Balcony Dining, and room service. I understand that some feel that the food in the "other" dining options is not up the the same standards as the food in the "Dining Room." Well the food in the Specialty Restaurants is probably a step or two above the food in the "Dining Rooms" because it is made to order for you, when you order it, as opposed to being cooked in mass for the thousands. I know some will say, but there is an extra charge - true, but you get what you pay for. The point is that everyone has options.

 

And the even final, bigger point is that we can all go on Princess, and all have an experience that meets our personal needs, and therefore all have a GREAT vacation TOGETHER!

 

If someone loves Princess, but doesn't love to dress up, why would anyone here tell them to cruise another line?

 

If I'm understanding it correctly, even the "speciality restaurants" would like you have you dress in the same fashion as in the other restaurants. Not that I would spend the extra money to attend one since I've already paid for a perfectly good meal in the regular dr but once again I'll say that there are NO other dining options available that offer the same selection & quality as in the dr. I've seen big improvements in the buffet food (evenings) in the past few years & perhaps it will someday be a good as in the dr. In the mean time we'll have to just adjust to each others dress mode & don't let it bother you if someone doesn't live up your expectations.

[janotay]

Dear OP,

 

You have just experienced the onslaught that always accompanies a dress question. Sorry you had to go through all of that. I have found regardless of which cruise board you are asking this question the same passionate folks come out to "educate" you instead of just answer your simple question. No you don't have to were formal attire in all the eating venues. There. The ones that don't suggest formal wear will be listed on the Princess Site or you can find out with a call to your TA.

 

To the rest of you "Been there, Heard that" there were no new arguments nor responses. Although there were some that were more rude this time around.

[Clutterlady]

If I'm understanding it correctly, even the "speciality restaurants" would like you have you dress in the same fashion as in the other restaurants. Not that I would spend the extra money to attend one since I've already paid for a perfectly good meal in the regular dr but once again I'll say that there are NO other dining options available that offer the same selection & quality as in the dr. I've seen big improvements in the buffet food (evenings) in the past few years & perhaps it will someday be a good as in the dr. In the mean time we'll have to just adjust to each others dress mode & don't let it bother you if someone doesn't live up your expectations.

 

Seems as though you now can dress in resort casual on formal night in the speciality restaurants:)

[Clutterlady]

Lee,

 

Are you saying that you can go to Sabittinis on formal night and dress up but not formal wear. I mean husband in nice slacks and nice shirt, something you would wear out on a Saturday night? But do not need a jacket and tie.

 

Correct:)

[rcacace]

Correct:)

Now as soon as they let me eat there without the extra charge, we'll all be happy.

[hubofhockey]

Seems as though you now can dress in resort casual on formal night in the speciality restaurants:)

 

Is it smart casual or resort casual? I find it to be ironic that lesser attire is required for the more upscale dining venues. I looked at my itinerary and my daughter's birthday falls on what is the logical first formal evening and we will definitely be at the Crown Grille. I guess I'll lug the suit and tie for the second formal evening. The kids will probably get a kick out of it.

 

I don't mind the extra charges for specialty restaurants. My biggest regret in cruising is not having been to them more often.

[Pam in CA]

Not that I would spend the extra money to attend one since I've already paid for a perfectly good meal in the regular dr...

The fallacy of this remark is that you paid for food at ANY of the dining options; that's the principle of Personal Choice dining, i.e., you have several options for your dining, depending on how you want to dress.

[IndyCruiseGrrl74]

My husband and I are just about to go on our first cruise. One thing we are not sure about is when it is a "formal night" for dining, is this throughout every restaurant on the ship or just one particular one?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

My husband went with a nice dark suit in lieu of a tux and I went with cocktail length semi-formal dresses not full length formals gowns. In the dining rooms on the non-formal nights I dressed as if I would for a very nice dinner out.......skirts, nice tops, simple but nice dresses. I understand that some people don't like to get dressed up, however I say go for it, you hardly get the chance to get dressed up in formal or semi-formal wear in today's casual society unless your going to a ball which is rare! I also use this as an excuse to support the retail economy:D

 

Enjoy your cruise! We leave for Alaska in just over a week!

[rcacace]

The fallacy of this remark is that you paid for food at ANY of the dining options; that's the principle of Personal Choice dining, i.e., you have several options for your dining, depending on how you want to dress.

 

I view it as I've already paid for my food in the regular dr (traditional or pc) & I've got to pay extra to dine in the speciality restaurants. No one is paying extra for food in the speciality dr's unless you eat there. The food my be excellent but doesn't warrant the extra charge in my book. Of course some may view it as a great deal but I obviously don't. I value the meal in the regular dr as somewhere around 35-45 dollars per person bringing the cost of the speciality to around 50-70 per person. (not including wine). I don't spend that much on my meals no matter where I eat.

Another thing that makes me laugh is that if I choose to eat at the speciality reataurant which costs me an additional $25 per person that Princess will wave the "formal rule" & let me dress in my more casual mode.

That's a good one.

Perhaps they can start charging a cover charge for people dressed casually on formal nights & make some money in the process.

[hubofhockey]

I view it as I've already paid for my food in the regular dr (traditional or pc) & I've got to pay extra to dine in the speciality restaurants. No one is paying extra for food in the speciality dr's unless you eat there. The food my be excellent but doesn't warrant the extra charge in my book. Of course some may view it as a great deal but I obviously don't. I value the meal in the regular dr as somewhere around 35-45 dollars per person bringing the cost of the speciality to around 50-70 per person. (not including wine). I don't spend that much on my meals no matter where I eat.

 

You can look at it that way or looking at it as the difference between eating banquet food prepared for thousands or better food (prime cuts of beef and live lobster vs the frozen kind in the dining rooms) prepared to order in a fine restaurant. If you value the banquet meals at $45, I think that's pretty high and I do believe there is a $25 value difference at minimum between the two experiences.

[nina26best]

I think that a cruise is supposed to make everyone feel comfortable. While it is a formal night, in the same aspect its silly to think that every single person would like to dress to the max, just to go eat in the same restaurant that they did the night before. While the above poster may have been correct based on what they have seen I think princess calls this the ''suggested attire''!? I dont know how much of a requirement it is? Honestly, the fact that they would turn people away for not dressing formally enough on formal night is ridiculous. While I dont think they should be in swim wear or beach clothes, I think if you find what makes you comfortable (if you decide not to dress formally) but will be more dressy than a 'smart casual' look you should be fine.

 

I agree 100% that this should be an individual decision, however, I did want to relate what happened to us one formal night on the Island Princess on our way to Hawaii.

 

Having sailed on over 8 Princess ships, we were pretty surprised to be turned away because my husband didn't have a jacket on. He was dressed with a $100 Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirt (purchased onboard) with slacks and looked great. We had been to a lounge show and he decided not to change into his tux or his sport coat. The Maitre'd, who had been extremely friendly all week, was sorry but adamant... he must put on a jacket. We went to our stateroom, he slipped his sport coat over his Hawaiian shirt, and the problem was solved.

 

We were kind of shocked because on other Princess ships we had watched while people with tuxes sat next to other passengers in (and I'm not kidding here!) sleeveless tee shirts and raggedy jean shorts!!! Therefore, we always assumed no one would really be turned away. However, it appears each ship calls it differently.

 

For myself, I feel that if you want to dress up... go ahead. If you don't want to wear a jacket .... you should be allowed in anyway. Your dime. However, the sleeveless tees and ragged edged jean shorts were pushing it. :eek: :)

[rcacace]

I agree 100% that this should be an individual decision, however, I did want to relate what happened to us one formal night on the Island Princess on our way to Hawaii.

 

Having sailed on over 8 Princess ships, we were pretty surprised to be turned away because my husband didn't have a jacket on. He was dressed with a $100 Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirt (purchased onboard) with slacks and looked great. We had been to a lounge show and he decided not to change into his tux or his sport coat. The Maitre'd, who had been extremely friendly all week, was sorry but adamant... he must put on a jacket. We went to our stateroom, he slipped his sport coat over his Hawaiian shirt, and the problem was solved.

 

We were kind of shocked because on other Princess ships we had watched while people with tuxes sat next to other passengers in (and I'm not kidding here!) sleeveless tee shirts and raggedy jean shorts!!! Therefore, we always assumed no one would really be turned away. However, it appears each ship calls it differently.

 

For myself, I feel that if you want to dress up... go ahead. If you don't want to wear a jacket .... you should be allowed in anyway. Your dime. However, the sleeveless tees and ragged edged jean shorts were pushing it. :eek: :)

 

So the key factor is the jacket - Interesting that they never say a word when I remove mine & hang it over the back of the chair.

[bdjam]

Perhaps they can start charging a cover charge for people dressed casually on formal nights & make some money in the process.

That's a good idea.

 

I once suggested that a formal version of a cruise cost a little more and come complete with additional amenities. The passenger would pay an extra amount per day, but they would be assured formal evenings and dinners on board and enhanced amenities around those evenings. Passengers who wanted a totally casual cruise would not have to pay the additional per diem, but they would also not be allowed to partake in the formal evenings. The number of posts suggesting that I was elitist from those who wanted the enhanced amenities without the option to pay for them or dress for them was overwhelming. Face it - people want to take part in a more sophisticated cruise experience, but they don't want to put out any effort for it.

So the key factor is the jacket - Interesting that they never say a word when I remove mine & hang it over the back of the chair.

Now we're getting a playground-ish aren't we? If a cruise line I was sailing caused me this much angst and required this much game playing, I'd use my money elsewhere.

[Cruise Junky]

I have entered the twilight zone...could have sworn this was the Princess Board, but it's certainly sounding like the Celebrity Board :rolleyes:

[caribill]

So the key factor is the jacket - Interesting that they never say a word when I remove mine & hang it over the back of the chair.

 

In my former working life, I always dressed smart casual unless I needed to deal with customers.

 

However, when visiting corporate HQ (it was a large company) a tie and jacket were the standard dress for males.

 

However, one could take the jacket off and hang it over the back of a chair.

 

I soon discovered that I could visit HQ without wearing a jacket. Everyone just assumed I had worn one and had left it on the back of a chair.

[Cynthia48]

Thanks everyone for their advice. We are travelling from Scotland to Whittier for an Alaskan cruise. My husband did wonder about taking his kilt outfit but as there are too many accessories to pack, I wonder if a pair of tartan trousers, white shirt and tartan tie would be okay for a formal night or perhaps maybe just a business suit.

 

We are looking forward to our first cruise and find all the advice here very useful.

 

Thanks.

Hi,

We have friends who have worn their kilts on formal nights. I am sure tartan trews would be just as accepting. Add a little cultural flavour to the night.

there is a group of scottish dancers going on an Alaskan cruise in Sept . They are all planning to wear their kilts on formal nights.

 

Enjoy your cruise

Cynthia48

[Putterdude]

Hi,

We have friends who have worn their kilts on formal nights. I am sure tartan trews would be just as accepting. Add a little cultural flavour to the night.

there is a group of scottish dancers going on an Alaskan cruise in Sept . They are all planning to wear their kilts on formal nights.

 

And why not? I wouldn't want to try to tell someone from the Seaforth Highlanders or the Canadian Scottish Regiment that they couldn't wear their kilt to a formal dinner.;)

[Host CJSKIDS]

I agree 100% that this should be an individual decision, however, I did want to relate what happened to us one formal night on the Island Princess on our way to Hawaii.

 

Having sailed on over 8 Princess ships, we were pretty surprised to be turned away because my husband didn't have a jacket on. He was dressed with a $100 Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirt (purchased onboard) with slacks and looked great. We had been to a lounge show and he decided not to change into his tux or his sport coat. The Maitre'd, who had been extremely friendly all week, was sorry but adamant... he must put on a jacket. We went to our stateroom, he slipped his sport coat over his Hawaiian shirt, and the problem was solved.

 

We were kind of shocked because on other Princess ships we had watched while people with tuxes sat next to other passengers in (and I'm not kidding here!) sleeveless tee shirts and raggedy jean shorts!!! Therefore, we always assumed no one would really be turned away. However, it appears each ship calls it differently.

 

For myself, I feel that if you want to dress up... go ahead. If you don't want to wear a jacket .... you should be allowed in anyway. Your dime. However, the sleeveless tees and ragged edged jean shorts were pushing it. :eek: :)

 

I completely agree that it seems to depend on the ship and itinerary. On all of my cruises out of San Juan (3 on the Crown and 1 on the Golden) we saw people with jeans and tee shirts eating on formal nights, even shorts in the Crown Gill on formal night. On our Golden sailing in Europe it was much more formal, tuxes and gowns all over the place.

[SnorkelMoose]

This thread sounds like a soap opera. If you have any questions about attire, why not try calling Princess? Perhaps they can clarify what "formal dress" means.

 

This is why I stick to the buffet...no drama! :)