Truth about Anytime Dining, Formal night and coffee

[Square]

I'll be sure to let you know if I'm shunned by the passengers and crew.

My desk chair is now facing the opposite way of you to shame you for your future jacketless-ness. :D

 

Seriously though, you'll be fine. The only time I got a little annoyed with the dress code on formal night was when I was on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Sapphire and the guy from one of the couples we shared a table with had just a T-shirt on. I'm far from the fashion police but that surprised me that he got in. As long as you look nice you'll be fine (besides most of the jackets end up on the backs of chairs as soon as people sit down anyways).

[gunner99]

hello fellow cruisers. when it comes to mdr dress code, my opinion is that a person should consider the other people that are there to enjoy the cruising experience. which is dressing up for formal nights. I don't think it is up to the hostess or head waiter to tell to dress up, we should be respectful enough to manage that on our own. cruise ships are NICE enough to supply a BUFFET for those who wish not dress elegant.

 

as for coffee, i am sure that people who are going through hard times in life that cannot afford to travel, would not complain about little things like coffee,small showers,etc...

 

-my wife is 36 and i am 38 in a couple more cruises with princess we will be ELITE. we still don't have anything to complain about yet. maybe we are the weird ones i don't know.

 

-I lost my sister debbie to skin cancer 3 years ago this may, I could not see myself complain about cruising when i think of how she suffered for 11 years with cancer.

 

-It's time for cruise critic readers to standup and say enough with little worthless complaints,when there are more serious things going on in life.

 

i am just letting off a little steam not looking to hurt anybody's feelings.let's just all have fun, we get to cruise and see the world, we are the luckiest people in the world.

 

Merci

rick et natalie.:)

[Solorca1]

To each their own. I prefer the food that I am paying for (as part of my cruise costs) in the main dining room, so that's where I'll go to eat at night. If the fact that I'm not wearing a sports jacket bothers someone, then they'll just have to suck it up and deal with it like an adult. Honestly, if that is going to ruin someone's experience on the cruise, then they should probably take a step back and appreciate what they have.

 

As with most things in life, things are a lot nicer when you worry about yourself and let others do what makes them happy (as long as they aren't harming others).

[jlesw]

Amen. Spot on. Bless you!

[crusinpeg]

hello fellow cruisers. when it comes to mdr dress code, my opinion is that a person should consider the other people that are there to enjoy the cruising experience. which is dressing up for formal nights. I don't think it is up to the hostess or head waiter to tell to dress up, we should be respectful enough to manage that on our own. cruise ships are NICE enough to supply a BUFFET for those who wish not dress elegant.

 

as for coffee, i am sure that people who are going through hard times in life that cannot afford to travel, would not complain about little things like coffee,small showers,etc...

 

-my wife is 36 and i am 38 in a couple more cruises with princess we will be ELITE. we still don't have anything to complain about yet. maybe we are the weird ones i don't know.

 

-I lost my sister debbie to skin cancer 3 years ago this may, I could not see myself complain about cruising when i think of how she suffered for 11 years with cancer.

 

-It's time for cruise critic readers to standup and say enough with little worthless complaints,when there are more serious things going on in life.

 

i am just letting off a little steam not looking to hurt anybody's feelings.let's just all have fun, we get to cruise and see the world, we are the luckiest people in the world.

 

Merci

rick et natalie.:)

 

Kudos.......very well said.

[Carnivaluver]

As you found out the people who post on CC are the ones who usually stick to any suggested dress code while everyone else on board pretty much do as they please. (and can get away with it very nicely). Just being dressed decently with a dress shirt & pants would be sufficient on most Princess cruises. The days of playing make believe & dressing the part are long gone unless you thrive on it.

 

btw - There no place mentioned anywhere that a tie was ever mentioned for dining on Princess. Where people get the idea that it's a requirement is only in their minds.

 

 

Well stated and where we come from an aloha shirt, slacks and slippers is all you need to meet dress requirements for any restaurant or hotel. Too much is made of the "Suggested Dress" guidelines and my experience is that the majority of diners do not do suit and ties on formal nights and it is not really worth get too excited about. It's a cruise ship not the opera! :D

[AKman2495]

Having never sailed before, I am looking forward to my upcoming cruise into the Twilight zone of perceptions :D

 

I got curios about the "coffee syrup" and did a search. Apparently, it is not coffee syrup. The true name for the product id "liquid coffee concentrate".

 

Here is a website that sells it it hotels, restaurants, hospitals, etc.

 

http://www.cw-usa.com/coffee-alldaygourmet-concentrate-liquid-64oz-bib-box.html

 

It seems that this products is used all over the place as it makes making commercial coffee very easy.

 

I suspect that a lot of people who claim it is awful have enjoyed in in many places because they had no clue they were drinking it.

 

As for Princess' coffee, I will be finding to for myself after an agonizing wait of a few more months.......

[dread_pirate]

Disney serves syrup based coffee in Florida. Almost all the coffee they serve, including resort restaurants, is syrup based. I understand syrup based coffee is a lot more common then we think.

 

Yes - and you should see the arguments that go on about Disney coffee on their discussion boards!! :eek:

 

While I don't prefer the liquid concentrate, I've found it quite drinkable at Disney. I'm waiting to see how I feel about it on Princess! (Yes, I hate Starbucks, in brewed or instant forms - always tastes burnt to me - so don't even go there with me!)

[StillPooh]

IMO, the coffee was fine. What's passing for iced tea, however, is disgusting. If I take another Princess cruise, I will bring my own instant and fix it in my cabin!

[Mom33]

Well stated and where we come from an aloha shirt, slacks and slippers is all you need to meet dress requirements for any restaurant or hotel. Too much is made of the "Suggested Dress" guidelines and my experience is that the majority of diners do not do suit and ties on formal nights and it is not really worth get too excited about. It's a cruise ship not the opera! :D

 

My experience has been just the opposite on Princess. The majority of cruisers dress for the occasion in the dining rooms.

[TorontoTL]

I'll be on the Emerald Princess for a 10 day cruise starting on March 17th, with anytime dining. I have recently lost quite a bit of weight and my jacket no longer fits. Rather than spending a few hundred dollars for something that I only wear on my once a year cruise (or the occasional funeral), I'm just going to wear a shirt and tie, with slacks on formal night.

 

I'll be sure to let you know if I'm shunned by the passengers and crew.

 

I've never been shunned.;)

[1 HappyCruiser]

I've never been shunned.;)

 

Me neither. :p They like to keep their good rating so they never say a word. ;)

[Cruzin-K]

My experiences with the topics at hand were on the Star Princess

 

Anytime dining - if we got to the dining room early, within a half hour of it opening, we could get a table for two fairly quickly. If we showed up later, we got a pager and had to wait about 30 - 40 minutes. The two times we opted to share a large table, dinner took over two hours (45 minutes when it was just the two of us), so waiting for the pager was quicker in the end.

 

Formal nights - most people dressed very nice, although only about half were what I would consider "formal". We did see a few women in sundresses and flip flops in the anytime dining room :eek: as well as a couple men in jeans :rolleyes:

 

Coffee - I don't drink coffee but my Mom does. She's not exactly a coffee connoisseur, but she couldn't stand the coffee in the Horizon Court. She'd stop at the IC and get a cup to go and take it up to the buffet to have with breakfast.

[roe2ship]

I don't drink coffee myself, but I went on a cruise with 9 other people within the last couple years (all on the same cruise). Not one person bought a coffee card and not one person complained about the coffee. My roommate actually said it was a good cup of coffee and she does buy her coffee out a lot. So, it's all up to the person. Fact is, of the 9 people I cruise with all of them were OK with the coffee. Scientific no, but I think most people are OK with it.

And on the flip side....I'll add this:

 

I went on a Princess cruise with 21 family members (14 of us are coffee aficionados) ALL 14 said the coffee was bad. Scientific, no..but I think most people are not OK with it.

[Woobstr112G]

Thank you for your "review." However, it is based on opinion, personal preferences and a one-time experience (with Anytime.) No "facts" that I could see. :(

 

Here are the facts:

 

-- You'll often see or experience waits, sometimes long waits, for Anytime dining. Some people don't, many do.

 

-- On formal nights, the vast majority of passengers dress up, some don't. Some cruises are dressier than others. You're right in that you see few tuxes but most men are in suits and most ladies are all dressed up. On my cruises, very, very few men are in sports coats and a really small number, if any, without jackets.

 

-- The vast majority of passengers think the coffee is OK or just fine. That is a personal taste. You couldn't drag some people into Starbucks if their life depended on it, ditto for Dunkin' Donuts. It's personal taste.

 

What Pam said.....:):):)

 

Bob

[roe2ship]

Having sailed on the Caribbean Princess 4 times I have to say your review is dead on. We never had a wait for AT dining and we dined in the Island dining room anywhere between 6:00 pm and 8:00pm. There always seemed to be a line at the Coral dining room even before they split it between traditional and anytime. I guess it’s because the location is so prominent.

 

When we cruised the CB, the anytime dining rooms were the Palm and Coral. Most times we used the Palm dining room and never experienced any waits...maybe 5-10 minutes the most on formal night. It never seemed to be at full capacity either. One or two times we tried the Coral dining room, many tables were already filled and by the time we left, there were lines also. Sometimes thoughout the week when we would pass by the Coral dining room after dinner, we saw some lines again. I often wondered why the headwaiter or maitre'd would not direct some of the those people into the Palm dining room.

I wonder if there may be a difference in how folks dress between AT & TD?

 

.

I wouldn't think so....I'm one who likes Anytime dining and enjoys formal night. My experiences in the anytime dining rooms are that most people do follow the suggested dress code on formal night.

[true45]

Just off the Grand - coffee was so bad. Bought coffee card. Just on principle Princess should serve brewed coffee at least. I thought people who said it tasted like dishwater were exaggerating -- no.

[rdsqrl]

IMO, the coffee was fine. What's passing for iced tea, however, is disgusting. If I take another Princess cruise, I will bring my own instant and fix it in my cabin!

It is awful. However, no need to bring your own. Simply mix it half-and-half with water. I'm not sure why they use such a high ratio of concentrate to water when they prepare it, but once you water it down, it's actually pretty good.

[doubletree07]

To each their own. I prefer the food that I am paying for (as part of my cruise costs) in the main dining room, so that's where I'll go to eat at night. If the fact that I'm not wearing a sports jacket bothers someone, then they'll just have to suck it up and deal with it like an adult. Honestly, if that is going to ruin someone's experience on the cruise, then they should probably take a step back and appreciate what they have.

 

As with most things in life, things are a lot nicer when you worry about yourself and let others do what makes them happy (as long as they aren't harming others).

 

 

What you said. :) Love it!

[mgcarnut]

We have not cruised Princess yet (our AK cruise/tour starts in 6 months), but I am wondering how many folks that hate Princess syrup coffee also are the ones who like Starbucks. I have always hated Starbucks because to me it tastes burnt and bitter. I look forward to trying Princess coffee, to see if it is really as bad as some people say it is. If it is not bitter and burnt, it probably will be fine with me!

 

Cheers,

mgcarnut

[Ryancoke]

My experience with the coffee is that in the dining room it was good. As good as I've ever had. In the buffett it was the opposite. How could it be THAT different?

[silvercruiser]

At the back of my closet, where I keep my formal cruisewear from 654 days of cruising, I can sure see the difference in what I wear on formal nights. I find that it doesn't bother me so much anymore to have tablemates who look underdressed for Denny's if I'm not quite so glittery as I used to be. The black formal-type slacks are now paired with tops that just give a slight nod to glitz and also take up very little space in the luggage.

When DH wore a tux then I wore the sequins, but on his last cruise two years ago I just packed a sport coat for him. (We live in Florida and he didn't even own a suit anymore.) And that's when I toned it down myself. I'm still often the most dressed up person at the table, but not so much that I feel out of place.

I'll admit that it bothers me to see what some people think is smart casual.

[Stevesan]

Yes, after many years of browsing CC (I only use it during planning my trips and a review after), I have figured out that the "die hards" as I call them, will never back down on certain topics. Many people, like myself, just want an honest answer or opinion, but most of the time feel scolded or ridiculed. I agree with you the formal nights of years ago, are slowly becoming history, I don't care if you are in the Caribbean for one week out of San Juan, or a 17 day Panama Canal (HAL, last year) or a 14 day out of Venice (Celebrity, year before), I have found that the "vast majority" are not wearing tuxedos and gowns. My belief, is that people who cruise, know how to dress nice enough to go to the dining room, the formal night topic, is like beating a dead horse....... SUGGESTED ATTIRE, does not mean MANDATORY, period. I had a wonderful time on my cruise, like I always do, on any cruise line, believe it or not they are all more the same than different. One more thing about the coffee and then I am done, whatever excuse, reason for Princess using coffee syrup, in my opinion, it is a bad cup of coffee, why do people have to bring up Starbuck's and Dunkin Donuts, I don't go to either and was not comparing it to those establisments, but if RCCL can offer brewed, I believe Seattles Best, all over their ships for no charge, maybe Princess should pay attention. One last tidbit, saw a man on the cruise sporting a blue Cruise Critic t-shirt, imagine where I saw him trying to go..............

 

One more time:

 

Formal

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.

• Evening gown, cocktail dress, or elegant pant suit for women
  
• Tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket and slacks for men
  

Your coffee comments are spot point on!!:D

HAL, as well as RCI, serves brewed coffee thoughout the ship. It's Beukenhorst.

• 
  

[TorontoTL]

I like my coffee and I love Starbucks coffee. I have become accustomed to the coffee that Princess has on it's ships in the dining rooms. This syrup based coffee is fine for what it is. I am OK with it, but wouldn't mind if it was a bit better. I do buy the coffee cards to have my cappuccinos and speciality teas. I seldom have the brewed coffee at the IC, because I'm OK with the dining room coffee.