Enforcement of Dress Code

[1 HappyCruiser]

I just spoke to two Princess representatives. The dress code is a "suggestion." Both representatives told me they do not enforce the dress code.

 

Not to say it wasn't what they told you but if you talked to two more reps you might get completely different answers. ;) I really think they'll tell you exactly what you want to hear & adjust their response accordingly so as not to offend anyone & scare off business either way.

[lifino]

When we were on the Sapphire last month we noticed a man going into the dining room on formal night in a tux and flop flops! So what do you think? Does that meet the dress requirements or not?

[vandalayceo]

For what it's worth-

 

On Grand Princess, out of Southampton on June 5 for 2 weeks Med. cruise. Have followed ongoing discussions re dress code on cruise critic for 4 or 5 years so paid very close attention on first formal night to try to quantify dress situation. Was very surprised as to how many dressed up. In main dining room estimate 60-70% in tuxedo's. Another 10% or so in suits.

No more than 10% hillbillies.

Much better proportion than same ship 2 months ago in Carib.

Age distribution quite broad. Many seniors, but also quite a few families with young children, and the children were also very nicely dressed.

Haven't heard exact statistics of breakdown of nationalities on board but very high propportion of British, and understand only 22 Americans out of over 2500.

Not a ball cap in sight.

Draw your own conclusions.

Will report on next formal night.

[1 HappyCruiser]

When we were on the Sapphire last month we noticed a man going into the dining room on formal night in a tux and flop flops! So what do you think? Does that meet the dress requirements or not?

 

Absolutely OK since they are shoes, aren't they. How do you know if he didn't have something wrong with his foot & had to wear something loose fitting?

For what it's worth-

 

On Grand Princess, out of Southampton on June 5 for 2 weeks Med. cruise. Have followed ongoing discussions re dress code on cruise critic for 4 or 5 years so paid very close attention on first formal night to try to quantify dress situation. Was very surprised as to how many dressed up. In main dining room estimate 60-70% in tuxedo's. Another 10% or so in suits.

No more than 10% hillbillies.

Much better proportion than same ship 2 months ago in Carib.

Age distribution quite broad. Many seniors, but also quite a few families with young children, and the children were also very nicely dressed.

Haven't heard exact statistics of breakdown of nationalities on board but very high propportion of British, and understand only 22 Americans out of over 2500.

Not a ball cap in sight.

Draw your own conclusions.

Will report on next formal night.

 

It's the British way. Proper of course. They must be in horror of all the undressed Americans in their dining room without formal attire. :eek:

[basil's mom]

Not to say it wasn't what they told you but if you talked to two more reps you might get completely different answers. ;) I really think they'll tell you exactly what you want to hear & adjust their response accordingly so as not to offend anyone & scare off business either way.

 

I spoke to a supervisor and she knew she was not giving me the answer I wanted. According to her, the captain of the ship is the one who determines whether the staff will enforce the "suggested dress" or not.

[ShelbysMom]

You hit the nail on the head. I can't find any pertinent information ANYWHERE on the Princess site. You have to hunt all over to get any information, and never did see a dress policy. Their site is sorely lacking.

 

Sometimes navigating around their site can be confusing, so I like to use the search function. Through the search, I can find things that I know I've read, but can't seem to find when I'm hunting around.

 

Typing in "dress code" in the search box on the front page of the Princess site brings up quite a few links to where on the site they provide this information.

[lifino]

Absolutely OK since they are shoes, aren't they. How do you know if he didn't have something wrong with his foot & had to wear something loose fitting?

 

 

I don't know but he was pretty young maybe mid 20's and didn't seem to be having any problem walking but to each his own I just thought it was amusing. I personally don't care what people dress like and probably would never have even noticed if I hadn't read so many of these threads on here.

[WeBeGone]

The dress code infringement that bothers me more than what someone wears in the dining room is the wearing of bathing suits in the buffet. Makes me lose my appetite. :mad:

[Colo Cruiser]

I spoke to a supervisor and she knew she was not giving me the answer I wanted. According to her' date=' the captain of the ship is the one who determines whether the staff will enforce the "suggested dress" or not.[/quote']

 

 

Yes blame it on the Captain!! Thats a first. :rolleyes:

[WeBeGone]

Actually it's the maitre d' that decides who can wear what. Some are more leinent than others. Generoso always enforces the dress guidelines as does all of his staff.

[caribill]

Below is a picture of the Emerald Princess cruise director on a formal night. Not sure if he was allowed into the dining room.

[CALMOM]

When we were on the Sapphire last month we noticed a man going into the dining room on formal night in a tux and flop flops! So what do you think? Does that meet the dress requirements or not?

 

Now that's a new one for me :rolleyes:. I can't imagine seeing a classy Tux and then spotting his dirty, torn up toe nails, bare feet in flip flops. It never ceases to amaze me, just how classless people can be:eek:. Maybe it's a new fade:eek:

[oskidunker]

What do you think? Someone who likes the concept of a set dining time might be more likely to want to dress up? Perhaps some who had Traditional Dining can comment on this. We have early traditional on a 14 day grand Carib in October.When I say early, I mean 6pm , not the new 5:30.I bet there might be more casual at the 5:30.A hunch that people with kids and super seniors may not care and they are the one who would likely tgake the 5:30 Dining.

 

GO BEARS! Take the Rosebow. U$C is toast!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Actually it's the maitre d' that decides who can wear what. Some are more leinent than others. Generoso always enforces the dress guidelines as does all of his staff.

dup

[1 HappyCruiser]

Actually it's the maitre d' that decides who can wear what. Some are more leinent than others. Generoso always enforces the dress guidelines as does all of his staff.

If you think so but I found him to be quite lenient about the matter & his crew didn't care if the guys had a jacket or not. If that's being strict then I'm all for his attitude. Maybe banning shorts & T shirts on formal nights means he's strict. :D:D

[Hunwolf]

I can certainly understand the folks being a bit shocked at the gentleman wearing flip flops on formal night.

 

Which begs the question:

 

When did "flip flops" become standard formal attire for the ladies? Just because they may have a little fake sliver of silver on them doesn't mean they are anything more than beach attire flip flops. ;)

 

In all honesty though...this seems like a bit of a silly argument.

[MojitoMadness]

I can certainly understand the folks being a bit shocked at the gentleman wearing flip flops on formal night.

 

Which begs the question:

 

When did "flip flops" become standard formal attire for the ladies? Just because they may have a little fake sliver of silver on them doesn't mean they are anything more than beach attire flip flops. ;)

 

In all honesty though...this seems like a bit of a silly argument.

 

yes but without these silly arguments CC would be a tiny site of only 4 or 5 topics! :eek: :D

[redtogo]

Just came back from the Sea Princess to Alaska. On the second formal night (lobster was the meal), a lady and man were ahead of us in line, he was dressed in blue jeans! Yes, I know. I purposely watched to see if they turned him away and they didn't:eek:

[Toto2Kansas]

Not sure if anyone realizes this, but not adhering to the dress code is nothing new whatsoever. In 1993 we sailed to Alaska. On formal night a man at our table showed up in blue jeans and a flannel shirt buttoned up to the neck (I remember, he was a lawyer by profession). He was not turned away, and none of the staff said a word to him. At the time we kind of giggled as we left dinner but there was no buffet for dinner, no specialty restaurants to choose from, it was the dining room or nothing, and I think most everyone dressed per the suggested dress. I probably wouldn't have even noticed, but he was sitting right next to me and it was hard not to. Funny, but I still remember that evening..........after all these years.

Ever since 1993 I have noticed it become more and more widespread where many, (especially men), do not dress formally for the dining room that evening. I probably notice the men more, as women can get away with almost anything on formal night. ;)

 

So for those that think this is something new and just a sign of the times, those are some very long 'times' to last 17 years. ;)

[SailNC]

During the Caribbean Collection Cruise at the end of March 2010 on the Grand Princess, one of our party showed up in Bermuda Shorts at one of the Anytime Dining Rooms. He was discreetly told that they required slacks on men and he had to return to his cabin to change. We have done quite a few cruises on Princess and have not seen the dress code at dinner violated, but then, we weren't really looking and paid more attention to others at the table and the food!:D

 

-Sue and Sandy-

[Richie2pies]

Some people must think they're the fashion police. Who cares what others wear? People need to find a life.

[Cruisin' Chick]

If first-timers don't know about the dress code (or any other nifty rules/regulations/customs onbaord), Princess only has themselves to blame: maybe if they sent out an actual paper Cruise Answer Book anymore, new cruisers would be more aware. Seriously, a first-timer probably doesn't even realize there's a Cruise Answer Book, much less think to look it up and read it online. But if they had it in their hand and were only flipping the pages, seeing photos of people in tuxes might pique their curiosity enough to actually discover some of these things. Based on some newby questions here lately, some travel agents certainly can't be counted upon to provide assistance.

 

And, OP, flip-flops are actually allowed (not really appropriate on formal night but certainly on other nights). Whether men should ever wear them is another question: pedicures are not just for ladies, guys!

 

You hit the nail on the head. I can't find any pertinent information ANYWHERE on the Princess site. You have to hunt all over to get any information, and never did see a dress policy. Their site is sorely lacking.

 

 

We have to remember that on every cruise there are those new to Princess and new to cruising. Not everyone knows to check online on either the princess.com site or on cruising boards (I bet many on your next cruise have never heard of Cruise Critic). But it would be nice if Princess would come up with a quick reference guide that summarizes the suggested dress code, the rules (such as no seat saving), tipping info, etc. that many newbies don't have a clue about. A quick description of dining options (I bet many don't realize that you are given either traditional or anytime, and what that means). A little brochure would be nice.

 

Then Princess wouldn't have the excuse of not enforcing what's summarized. And if it's a little brochure, more than likely more people would actually read it (believe it or not, whenever we got one of the brochures sent by Carnival or Princess, we will read it).

[CALMOM]

We have to remember that on every cruise there are those new to Princess and new to cruising. Not everyone knows to check online on either the princess.com site or on cruising boards (I bet many on your next cruise have never heard of Cruise Critic). But it would be nice if Princess would come up with a quick reference guide that summarizes the suggested dress code' date=' the rules (such as no seat saving), tipping info, etc. that many newbies don't have a clue about. A quick description of dining options (I bet many don't realize that you are given either traditional or anytime, and what that means). A little brochure would be nice.

 

Then Princess wouldn't have the excuse of not enforcing what's summarized. And if it's a little brochure, more than likely more people would actually read it (believe it or not, whenever we got one of the brochures sent by Carnival or Princess, we will read it).[/quote']

 

Excellent idea, I so agree. You can't really call it ignorance, if someone is not aware of the rules and etiquette of the ship. Hopefully, Princess will see your posting and follow through with your suggestion.

[BruceMuzz]

So many cruisers continue to make the same mistake about this "dress code" issue.

 

It's NOT a policy.

It's NOT a law.

It's NOT a requirement.

 

It's a SUGGESTION. You normally read in the daily program, "Tonight's suggested dress code".

 

There is a massive difference between SUGGESTING that somebody do something, and REQUIRING them to do it.

 

Not so long ago, before the cruise lines started marketing to those raised by wolves, suggestions were good enough to have most everybody join the program.

 

Today, even requiring passengers to do certain things rarely works. How many threads do you see here about violating the REQUIREMENTS on bringing alcohol onboard.

Strangely, very few people here complain that the cruise lines do not enforce those REQUIREMENTS strongly enough.

 

It is easy enough to say, "Just deny entrance to all the slobs who try to get into the dining room. Let them eat in the buffet."

 

There is just one problem with that idea. There are not nearly enough waiters or cooks on today's ships to handle the increased load in the buffet. And room service can barely handle the load it has already.

On some itineraries, the buffet would be quickly out of food if all the slobs were sent up there. Then the F&B Manager would have to send large numbers of cooks and waiters from the main galley and dining rooms to sort it out.

Your dinner in the dining room would then take many hours to prepare and serve - while you waited.

 

Hire more waiters and cooks, you say.

All the crew cabins are already full. Where would they sleep?

 

There is a very simple solution to this issue.

Triple the price of every cruise, and price out those who cannot or will not behave.

Good hotels and restaurants do it today.

It works very well on Crystal and Seabourn.

It worked very well in the past for all the cruise lines.

Let's do it again.

[CALMOM]

 

There is a very simple solution to this issue.

Triple the price of every cruise, and price out those who cannot or will not behave.

Good hotels and restaurants do it today.

It works very well on Crystal and Seabourn.

It worked very well in the past for all the cruise lines.

Let's do it again.

 

Awesome idea :D Unfortunately, it might not work as even the wealthy don't always behave or follow rules aka "Suggestions". A person's net worth does not determine their intelligence level or their ability to follow proper etiquette.