Formal Dinning evenings - Dress code

[Thameside]

Hello to all of you experienced cruisers. My wife and I are new to this forum and new to cruising. We are booked on Island Princess this October east to west and are very much looking forward to it. I have read many threads on many topics which has been very helpful, thank you.

 

Can you be of help, we are travelling from the UK and whilst bringing a tuxedo with me, or renting, is not a massive problem, I don't feel I want to, if the majority of cruisers don't wear one. I have read that some don't even wear jacket and tie. I understand what Princess Cruises say on the subject but happens in reality. Your comments and observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks Paul

[Pia1913]

Hello to all of you experienced cruisers. My wife and I are new to this forum and new to cruising. We are booked on Island Princess this October east to west and are very much looking forward to it. I have read many threads on many topics which has been very helpful, thank you.

 

Can you be of help, we are travelling from the UK and whilst bringing a tuxedo with me, or renting, is not a massive problem, I don't feel I want to, if the majority of cruisers don't wear one. I have read that some don't even wear jacket and tie. I understand what Princess Cruises say on the subject but happens in reality. Your comments and observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks Paul

 

Very few will be wearing tuxedos; most men will be wearing a suit. And yes, some just a jacket and slacks. Also very few w/o a jacket.

[3LittleBirds]

Very few will be wearing tuxedos; most men will be wearing a suit. And yes, some just a jacket and slacks. Also very few w/o a jacket.

 

Agreed. I am not one for dressing up, but on cruise formal nights I make the exception :rolleyes: I go with the suit and tie. I have found the annoyance of being dressed up is worth it on formal nights - I guess I'm a sucker for tradition. For the rest of my year, my suit only gets used if someone gets married or buried.

[chipmaster]

Oh no another "formal" question :D

 

Majority wear suit or coat/jacket combo

Next largest group would be those in slacks and nice shirt without tie

I'd say those in Tux and or the other extreme "dressy jeans" and shirt were equal on our two princess cruies.

 

Enjoy

 

Hello to all of you experienced cruisers. My wife and I are new to this forum and new to cruising. We are booked on Island Princess this October east to west and are very much looking forward to it. I have read many threads on many topics which has been very helpful, thank you.

 

Can you be of help, we are travelling from the UK and whilst bringing a tuxedo with me, or renting, is not a massive problem, I don't feel I want to, if the majority of cruisers don't wear one. I have read that some don't even wear jacket and tie. I understand what Princess Cruises say on the subject but happens in reality. Your comments and observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks Paul

[CaliMar]

My husband always brings his tuxedo on the cruise and wears it for formal nights. He has different bowties and cummerbunds to change up the look when there are multiple formal nights throughout a voyage. At home it's a totally different story. He does not dress up at all but loves to do it on the formal nights when cruising. Btw, we are in our mid-40's and I can say in my experience it varies by age range, cruise line, etc.

 

I've seen many men in tuxedos... most men in dark suits w/tie... some men in ethnic/regional traditional formal attire (scottish kilts, african dashikis, etc)... rarely no jacket or no tie.

 

The important thing is to be comfortable... yet appropriate. Most people do not want to stand out like a sore thumb (though admittedly some certainly just do not care about that and dance to the beat of their own drummer!).

 

Cheers!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Although I don't like formal dressing on vacation & only wear a long sleeve dress shirt & dress pants (only in the DR) you'll find fewer guys wearing tuxes on the ship than in past years and most guys will have at least a jacket & dress shirt.

[Thameside]

Thank you for your replies so far they are most helpful and will help me decide.

 

Regards Paul

[hansi]

Hello to all of you experienced cruisers. My wife and I are new to this forum and new to cruising. We are booked on Island Princess this October east to west and are very much looking forward to it. I have read many threads on many topics which has been very helpful, thank you.

 

Can you be of help, we are travelling from the UK and whilst bringing a tuxedo with me, or renting, is not a massive problem, I don't feel I want to, if the majority of cruisers don't wear one. I have read that some don't even wear jacket and tie. I understand what Princess Cruises say on the subject but happens in reality. Your comments and observations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks Paul

 

I would take your tux. After all we Brits are sticklers for tradition aren't we? And it's traditional in cruising circles to wear formal dress on formal nights. I hardly ever go to functions at home where formal dress is required so it really does feel good when you dress up on a cruise.

[Pam in CA]

As has been said, you will find some men in tuxes but the vast majority wear dark suits; a few wear sports jackets with dress shirt and tie; very, very few more casually. The Captain, and staff, is in dress uniform and as he is the host of the evening, most people respect that by dressing according to the requested (not required) guidelines.

[Starshine95123]

We've only taken a couple of cruises and most men wore suits, there were only a few wearing tuxes. We'll be on this cruise too. Hubby plans on taking 1 suit and 2-3 different shirts and ties.

 

There's a roll call for this cruise. You can meet some people who will be cruising with you, get advice, and ask questions too. Some are new to cruising and some have done lots of cruising. There are people from the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia. A few private tours are being set up too, come check it out. Sorry, I don't know how to post the link to the roll call but here's how you can find us: go to the top of this page and click on Cruise Critic Message Boards (on left side); scroll down to Roll Calls and choose Princess; click on Island Princess then find the date of your cruise. Hope you come join us soon.

[DesrtDrmr]

My husband always brings his tux. The last cruise we were on had two formal nights. The first night he wore his tux (he KNOWS all men are GORGEOUS in tuxes----I told him :-) The second formal night we dressed fairly casually, and ate in the Horizon Court. The cruise before had three formal nights, and he wore the tux all three nights. If we are dressed formally, we participate in the evening's events, if not, we just hang out away from the shows, etc. Our experience has been that around 1/4 - 1/3 of the men dress in tuxedos, about another third in suits, and the rest in sport coats, dress shirts, golf shirts or even more casually. We have only seen men in shorts refused seating in the dining rooms on a formal night, and some others very casually dressed, not refused, but reminded that it is a formal night.

[cruisin36]

I suggest that you DO NOT make your decision on what you read here, you may be dissapointed. PLEASE read the Princess Answer Book. It clearly describes formal wear and smart casual and then make your decision on that.

Too many posters here have created their own personal dress codes which are not always acceptable by Princess.

[stinesheri]

On our Med sailing this July, I would say that a majority of the men at our Late Traditional seating had on Tuxedos, the rest in dark suits. Only a small number of men were not dressed formally from what I could see either in the dining room, or in the Piazza before dinner. Looking around, many women were in gowns, as opposed to cocktail dresses, but again, few were not dressed formally. As we took gowns and my husband rented a tux, we were very pleased.

[CALMOM]

Our last cruise in July to Alaska, 50% in tuxs and 50% in dark suits. There was only one man in our dining room that wore a polo shirt and he stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

I didn't really care but I felt bad for his wife, as she was telling him that she was embarrassed, he was the only one in the dining rm not properly dressed.

[Times Prince]

We had a poll on this - here is the link and summary of what 551 Cruise Critic people had to say about what Men Actually Wear on formal nights to the Main Dining Room.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1006188

 

It is of interest that Hosts Laura and Andy have posted concerning discussion of dress on formal nights on the same day this poll closed. If you haven't read their post, please see it at this link (no longer active). This includes the Princess dress code of: For formal evenings, men wear tuxedos, dark suits or dinner jackets, and women wear evening gowns, cocktail dresses or elegant pant suits.

 

The poll on what men actually wear on formal nights has closed with the following results. They support the fact that most follow the guidelines, and that exceptions are present.

• Of the 551 total respondants who use the Main Dining Rooms on formal nights, 449 (81.5%) of men dress per the formal dress code.
  
• An additional 52 (9.4%) dress nicely with sport coat and tie in the spirit of the dress code, bringing the total to 90.1% who dress well for the evening.
  
• Only 35 respondants (6.4%) go to the main dining room but do not follow the dress code.
  

Some excellent reasons were shared for the manner in which people dress, including formal dress, military dress, formal kilts, and informal dress for health reasons.

Thanks to all for the good discussion. I really appreciate how many people participated in the poll and discussion without the problems seen on some other threads. That's what Cruise Critic is all about - sharing our experiences for the benefit of the reader.

As I mentioned before - the intent was to answer the question often asked by newcomers about "what should I (or my DH) bring to wear on formal night?" From your response the answer is pretty clear (with exceptions noted), and we have some numbers we can collectively quote in the future.

Thanks again. See you onboard ship.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Our last cruise in July to Alaska, 50% in tuxs and 50% in dark suits. There was only one man in our dining room that wore a polo shirt and he stuck out like a sore thumb.

 

I didn't really care but I felt bad for his wife, as she was telling him that she was embarrassed, he was the only one in the dining rm not properly dressed.

 

You seem to care enough to listen across the room to their conversation. :D:rolleyes:

If someone likes to dress casually on their vacation it's their business and no one else's.

[Thameside]

I would take your tux. After all we Brits are sticklers for tradition aren't we? And it's traditional in cruising circles to wear formal dress on formal nights. I hardly ever go to functions at home where formal dress is required so it really does feel good when you dress up on a cruise.

 

I think you're probably right, I should make the effort.

 

P.

[Thameside]

We've only taken a couple of cruises and most men wore suits, there were only a few wearing tuxes. We'll be on this cruise too. Hubby plans on taking 1 suit and 2-3 different shirts and ties.

 

There's a roll call for this cruise. You can meet some people who will be cruising with you, get advice, and ask questions too. Some are new to cruising and some have done lots of cruising. There are people from the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia. A few private tours are being set up too, come check it out. Sorry, I don't know how to post the link to the roll call but here's how you can find us: go to the top of this page and click on Cruise Critic Message Boards (on left side); scroll down to Roll Calls and choose Princess; click on Island Princess then find the date of your cruise. Hope you come join us soon.

 

Thanks very much for the info with regard to roll call. We are actually on the Ft. L to LA Oct. 21st - Nov. 5th.

 

Regards Paul

[Putterdude]

Depending upon the time of year and the itinerary my experience is that between 25 and 30% of the men will be in tuxes or dinner jackets, 50 to 60% will be in business suits and the rest in blazers or sport jackets.

[HMSDingy]

I suggest that you DO NOT make your decision on what you read here, you may be dissapointed. PLEASE read the Princess Answer Book. It clearly describes formal wear and smart casual and then make your decision on that.

 

Too many posters here have created their own personal dress codes which are not always acceptable by Princess.

 

 

Ditto on that!

 

On all but one of our past 6 cruises, I wore a tux and DW in a cocktail dress. The only crusie I did not wear the tux, i packed a suit. I rented mine as it was far easier than to pack a suit.

[oskidunker]

But may only bring one Tux shirt. am on a 14 day cruise. Probably the longer the Cruise , more in Tux's.Mine fits great and is very comfortable.

[sultan_sfo]

I will give a few "looks". So long as one wears a thick skin along with "however" way they wish to dress it is OK!

 

You seem to care enough to listen across the room to their conversation. :D:rolleyes:

If someone likes to dress casually on their vacation it's their business and no one else's.

[newport dave]

We're from the UK, and have done two Princess cruises. The first on Sea Princess, which about 95% British and about that amount wore TUX. We then did the Coral Princess through the Panama Canal, where 90% were either US or Canadian, about 75% wore Suits or just jacket or tie.

 

So, basically if it's mainly Brits on board then it will be TUX if it's US/Canadian then if won't be as formal and will be Suits. I wore a TUX on both, and got numerous complimentary comments on the Coral about how great I looked.

[lilacbirman]

Just off Sapphire, I saw very few in tuxedo's, the majority in dark suits, a few in sport coat & tie, and only saw two men in shirt and tie. This doesn't mean there weren't more but this is just what I personally saw on both formal nights.

 

I was a bit surprised that so few wore tuxedo's because I had expected at least half of the men to be wearing one.

[CALMOM]

You seem to care enough to listen across the room to their conversation. :D:rolleyes:

If someone likes to dress casually on their vacation it's their business and no one else's.

 

It's a little hard not to hear when they are sitting next to you. Perhaps you have never ate in the dining room and don't understand how close the tables are. Or maybe that was you sitting next to me :D

 

Again, I didn't care and don't care, just stating an observation :rolleyes: