'Dress to Impress' New dress corde?

Recently on Royal Princess, they had 2 formal nights and the rest smart casual, except for one night labelled in Princess Patters as... 'Dress to Impress.' Our Head Waiter said they were trying this out, could take the place of formal nights in future. BTW, dress codes were not enforced in the MDR on Sapphire and Royal which we were on in the past month or two. Princess have given up.;)

Anyone recently come across this 'Dress to Impress on other Princess ships?

That will make a LOT of people happy.

And then ...

That will make a LOT of people happy.

And then ...

Not me!!! :mad:

Tony

Princess has had "dress to impress" nights instead of formal evenings on short cruises.

From one web site in 2016

In smaller/shorter Princess Cruise journeys they have ‘Dress to Impress’ nights, where they require more of smart casual outfits (think slacks/pants with open-neck shirts for men, dresses or dressy pants and blouses for ladies), especially in the dining and recreation areas.

Princess has had "dress to impress" nights instead of formal evenings on short cruises.

 

From one web site in 2016

In smaller/shorter Princess Cruise journeys they have ‘Dress to Impress’ nights, where they require more of smart casual outfits (think slacks/pants with open-neck shirts for men, dresses or dressy pants and blouses for ladies), especially in the dining and recreation areas.

However it won't be long until someone says "my jeans and NASCAR T-Shirt are impressive".

Recently on Royal Princess, they had 2 formal nights and the rest smart casual, except for one night labelled in Princess Patters as... 'Dress to Impress.' Our Head Waiter said they were trying this out, could take the place of formal nights in future. BTW, dress codes were not enforced in the MDR on Sapphire and Royal which we were on in the past month or two. Princess have given up.;)

 

Anyone recently come across this 'Dress to Impress on other Princess ships?

Sounds very similar to ‘Chic Nights’ on Celebrity.

Sounds very similar to ‘Chic Nights’ on Celebrity.

Or "elegant" night on Carnival

Recently on Royal Princess, they had 2 formal nights and the rest smart casual, except for one night labelled in Princess Patters as... 'Dress to Impress.' Our Head Waiter said they were trying this out, could take the place of formal nights in future. BTW, dress codes were not enforced in the MDR on Sapphire and Royal which we were on in the past month or two. Princess have given up.;)

 

Anyone recently come across this 'Dress to Impress on other Princess ships?

It nice to hear that they're at least trying to keep up with the other cruise lines.

Even if they do replace one of the formal nights with Dress to Impress it shouldn't deter anyone from dressing a formal as they please and satisfies everyone's desires.

The only time I've ever seen it was on a 4 day cruise where hardly anyone paid much attention to it.

Who are you "Dressing to Impress?" The Maitre'd? Fellow passengers? Yourself? Should always be yourself and be comfortable with yourself.

Just my opinion, but one formal night would probably be enough for a 7 day cruise for most people these days.

Just my opinion, but one formal night would probably be enough for a 7 day cruise for most people these days.

And given luggage constraints when flying, I welcome any opportunity to reduce packing something that I’d wear once during a cruise. I think more and more people are trying to pack items which can be worn more than once and accessorized for a different look. More “country club casual” than “dress to impress”.

Nothing in this prevents anyone from dressing as they would like. Want to wear a tux or evening gown then do it. Do not then don't. I have no one to impress except for DW and myself.

Recently on Royal Princess, they had 2 formal nights and the rest smart casual, except for one night labelled in Princess Patters as... 'Dress to Impress.' Our Head Waiter said they were trying this out, could take the place of formal nights in future. BTW, dress codes were not enforced in the MDR on Sapphire and Royal which we were on in the past month or two. Princess have given up.;)

 

Anyone recently come across this 'Dress to Impress on other Princess ships?

In fall of 2013, when Princess started 3/4 day cruises on the west coast...they eliminated formal night and this term was/is used.

When we started to cruse in the early 90s the dining rooms were filled with dressed to the nines on formal nights . However ,over time & changes in social behavior & economic reasons people have trended toward more relaxed style clothing

We have adapted easily . Now I only bring a sport jacket . for our Hawaii cruse I have my white on white Hawaii shirt & Hawaii beads around my neck for what is the formal nights .It is unlikely that I will even pack my sport jacket .Times do change :D

Just my opinion, but one formal night would probably be enough for a 7 day cruise for most people these days.

Would tend to agree with you on this...although we enjoy dressing up for formal nights..we usually do a 10 day cruise so 2 nights out of 10 is good...1 night out of 7 sounds good...and perhaps that would be a compromise for those who do not like to dress up while still maintaining a true formal night for those that do.

If they go down to 1 night...then I would not bother to bring any formal wear. For DH, it has been Tux or black long sleeve button down, no tie...nothing in the middle.

Since most of the captains parties are becoming more smart casual, I see not reason to bring formal wear.

And 10 years ago we purchased tuxes for the 4 males in our family as this Mom loves guys in Tux...but times change....

From the OP's post it sounds like Princess is finally looking at joining their competitors and backing off the "formal night" attire which as we all know is more and more ignored. There are those on here who want it enforced like the old days but pax are voting with their feet on the issue and Princess is finally taking notice. When you get to the bottom line it is all about money and Princess must stay competitive not only in fares charged but other rules like dress codes as well. I for one will not shed any tears when the current dress code is brought more into line with the other cruise lines they compete with.

As a relatively new cruiser, I’m sad to see formal nights going by the wayside...I loved seeing everyone all dressed and fancy, and figuring out what we would wear

From the OP's post it sounds like Princess is finally looking at joining their competitors and backing off the "formal night" attire which as we all know is more and more ignored. There are those on here who want it enforced like the old days but pax are voting with their feet on the issue and Princess is finally taking notice. When you get to the bottom line it is all about money and Princess must stay competitive not only in fares charged but other rules like dress codes as well. I for one will not shed any tears when the current dress code is brought more into line with the other cruise lines they compete with.

I’m with you.

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I saw the same term, “Dress to Impress”, used on our last cruise with RCI. It was on a 6 night cruise which normally wouldn’t have a formal night, but still had a night for all the photographers to flog their wares. The menu was a cut above, and it was really more of a formal night without the formal. A lot of people did make extra effort, but there were very few tuxes. Sports jackets and business suits were not rare, though.

I think formal nights were doomed when airlines started charging for baggage. We examine the dress code for whichever line we are sailing on and make certain we can dress accordingly, but I no longer take the tux if a sports jacket is permitted. Taking an extra bag now means paying for it.

In some ways, I’m sad to see them change. There are plenty of lines where one never has to bother, but the numbers of people dressing up always made it feel a little more special. There was a nice energy to all the entertainment that is just not there on more casual nights.

As a relatively new cruiser, I’m sad to see formal nights going by the wayside...I loved seeing everyone all dressed and fancy, and figuring out what we would wear

I doubt if they'll ever do away with them entirely (at least in name only) since it is a big money maker for the cruise line.

There's nothing to say you can't continue to dress formally no matter what the night is called.

Many others will still dress up also.

Hope it goes fleetwide!

Less and less people are now not dressing formally on formal nights anyway.

Who are you "Dressing to Impress?" The Maitre'd? Fellow passengers? Yourself? Should always be yourself and be comfortable with yourself.

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We saw the "dress to impress" nights on our four short Princess cruises (3- and 4-night ones). The only time I saw a lot of folks really dressing to impress was on a shorty New Year's Eve cruise.

In my original post I forgot to mention that I saw no difference in dress standards on 'dress to impress night.' Standard much the same as smart casual night, shirt and pants for men was the norm.:halo: