On non formal nights can men wear nice shorts to dining room?

[Griller]

I am going to wear what is required, and go elsewhere on 'formal' nights; but I wish our entire world society could just get over judgementalism based or people's surface features; be that skin color, clothing, or any physical appearance.

 

Just sayin'.

 

Doug

 

Following the train of thought from your statement above I would try wearing shorts to the MDR and if anyone objects to shorts being worn - just take them off there and then.

 

You will have complied with the "No Shorts" rule and your surface features, skin color and physical appearance will then be even more apparent!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Even a pair of old sloppy sweat pants with flip flops is more acceptable than a pair of decent shorts in Princess's eyes. :rolleyes:

[gooch47]

I don't want to encourage anyone to try, but in the interest of honesty, yes, I have seen shorts in the MDR on numerous occasions. It always surprised me.

[tothemall&beyond]

Shorts - NO!!!! Except on first night if your luggage hasn't arrived. Otherwise, NO - it's not appropriate for the MDR setting. OK up in Horizon Court.

 

Nice darkwash jeans and Dockers are fine.

[mrsfuzzmo]

My husband is a shorts wearer, even in WI winters, when he needs to dress up (say a wedding) he will wear nice shorts and a nice shirt. That being said, I can always convince him to put on long pants for dinner on a cruise. I have purchased some nice linen drawstring pants that look smart with a decent shirt. I think he looks sharp. The thing is, he will not wear "dress pants" or a sport coat or jacket for formal nights. You see, he wears a size 6XLTall and that is absolutely not on the racks anywhere. We will not have a jacket custom tailored for wearing once on a cruise, so he will look nice, but not terribly 'formal' on formal nights. I hope no one thinks he's a slob or breaking the 'rules' it's just a clothes fitting dilemma that we have to deal with.

 

In the end, he won't be wearing shorts to dinner.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Shorts - NO!!!! Except on first night if your luggage hasn't arrived. Otherwise, NO - it's not appropriate for the MDR setting. OK up in Horizon Court.

 

Nice darkwash jeans and Dockers are fine.

 

Since people wearing shorts for dinner (I don't) are only seen for a few brief moments walking through the dining room how can it degrade your dinner? What about breakfast & lunch? How does it affect your dining experience then?

[Mark8076]

I saw a few Hillbillies in shorts.

Please spit out your chaw before coming to dinner though.

[scmexico]

I saw a few Hillbillies in shorts.

Please spit out your chaw before coming to dinner though.

 

How did you know they were Hillbillies?

[eandj]

This topic shows up on any cruiseline board that has dress guidelines. Celebrity for one. And I generally try not to get involved as it is a topic that will leave people on both sides just shaking their heads.:D

 

The argument....what you want to wear vs what the venue/ship line asks you to wear. Rather than find another more casual dinner venue onboard or a use a cruiseline without the guidelines, some feel they are "immune" to the basic dress code.

[chloe kitty]

On most of their ships, the answer in no, except on the first night. We were on the Sapphire 2 years ago on a Mexico Riviera cruise, and we saw shorts and frayed jeans being worn. I asked and was told that the policy was to not allow them, however, it is up to the Captain as to whether they have to enforce it, and that Captain did not enforce it.

Since most people look so nice at dinner, why not just wear something nice.

[trish1c]

I believe Bermuda shorts worn properly with knee socks would be allowed. Otherwise no matter how nice they are or how expensive, shorts are generally not allowed.

Will you "get away with it"? Maybe. They question then becomes if you try & can't get away with it how embarrassed will you or your DH feel when denied admission to the MDR? To me, it's not worth finding out. :o

We usually sail NCL & although we complied with the dress code, most of the time we felt underdressed on our last Princess cruise.

[77Network]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark8076

I saw a few Hillbillies in shorts.

Please spit out your chaw before coming to dinner though.

 

 

 

How did you know they were Hillbillies?

 

He recognized them from back home.

[1 HappyCruiser]

39 posts and 38 different answers???? All the OP has to do is read the "answer book". It is clearly spelled out in that publication.

 

What's spelled out in the "answer book" and reality are two completely different things.

[sable1]

Just returned from STAR.

On FORMAL night one 300+ pound man was allowed into MDR wearing his well -worn Tshirt and shorts with his large belly overhanging. I was very surprised they let him in.

It does happen. How much effort does it take on Formal night to wear a pair of pants.

[tiller]

How does the dress code define shorts? I agree that bermuda shorts or anything above the knee is inappropriate for the dining room, but the last cruise I was on (Holland American, Mexican Riviera), I saw plenty of young men/teenagers in long shorts--mid-calf length, typically khaki--and nice polo shirts on non-formal nights. Maybe it's because I'm a native Southern Californian and know people who wear flip-flops and shorts almost year round, but I think that's perfectly fine for men under 25. Then again, I'm not the maitre'd.

 

If you're at least 25 though, wear pants.

[xxxxcruiser]

How does the dress code define shorts? I agree that bermuda shorts or anything above the knee is inappropriate for the dining room, but the last cruise I was on (Holland American, Mexican Riviera), I saw plenty of young men/teenagers in long shorts--mid-calf length, typically khaki--and nice polo shirts on non-formal nights. Maybe it's because I'm a native Southern Californian and know people who wear flip-flops and shorts almost year round, but I think that's perfectly fine for men under 25. Then again, I'm not the maitre'd.

 

If you're at least 25 though, wear pants.

 

This is a Princess board, not a HAL board. The Princess answer book states clearly "No shorts in MDR on any night."

[stoneharborlady]

I really think any fault concerning the dress problems lies with Princess. On our first cruise, formal night, a senior citizen couple was dressed smart casual. He was wearing docker type slacks, and a collared shirt. Very neat and tidy. They were turned away at the door. Not five minutes later a man was admitted to the dining room, wearing denim overalls with a tee shirt underneath. This made absolutely no sense at all, and everyone in view of the door was flabbergasted. They need to stick to their own rules, and make them apply to all, or drop them totally. Then we would have no need for threads that end in an argument.

 

Karen

[bdjam]

I am going to wear what is required, and go elsewhere on 'formal' nights; but I wish our entire world society could just get over judgementalism based or people's surface features; be that skin color, clothing, or any physical appearance.

 

Just sayin'.

 

Doug

As someone who values diversity (see my avatar) I don't think it's judgementalism based on surface features. It's a matter of manners and respect and those who don't include them in their daily interaction with the rest of the world. In a societal situation, I agree that clothing doesn't make the difference. But this is a formal night dining room on a cruise ship. It's hardly judgemental to expect people to dress properly.

[Doug R.]

I think red checked shirts are de rigeur with overalls. I always keep one starched and pressed ready for a cruise.

 

Plaid flannel works too.:D

[xxxxcruiser]

As someone who values diversity (see my avatar) I don't think it's judgementalism based on surface features. It's a matter of manners and respect and those who don't include them in their daily interaction with the rest of the world. In a societal situation, I agree that clothing doesn't make the difference. But this is a formal night dining room on a cruise ship. It's hardly judgemental to expect people to dress properly.

 

Good post Brian! More people should think like that - all it takes is a few moments to read the answer book which some folks don't think exists or have not learned to read yet!

[NewPennCruiser]

I really think any fault concerning the dress problems lies with Princess. On our first cruise, formal night, a senior citizen couple was dressed smart casual. He was wearing docker type slacks, and a collared shirt. Very neat and tidy. They were turned away at the door. Not five minutes later a man was admitted to the dining room, wearing denim overalls with a tee shirt underneath. This made absolutely no sense at all, and everyone in view of the door was flabbergasted. They need to stick to their own rules, and make them apply to all, or drop them totally. Then we would have no need for threads that end in an argument.

 

Karen

 

I agree with your comment completely. We were on the Crown back in February for 2 weeks and we saw many variations of dress (or undress depending on your view) in the dining rooms and we didn't even go on formal nights. We didn't take formal clothes so we dined in the buffet or Crown Grill on those nights and pretty much followed the guidelines. But wow, we saw shorts, ball caps and young men in "Metalica" t-shirts in the dining room on various nights and it was obvious that they were not requiring people to follow the guidelines. If they don't enforce it, then why even post the guidelines. It really makes no sense.

 

One evening, we were at dinner with one of the waiters that we had gotten to know on our trip and it was toward the end of the cruise and a slow night so we had an opportunity to talk some. We asked about what he usually witnessed because we were wondering if our cruise was unusual for the dress we were seeing. It turned out he was very "old school" and wished people approached dinner more formally but he realized times had changed so he should too. But he went on to say that there have been many times that he wanted to ask people to leave because they were so poorly dressed but that it wasn't his place to do that. If they were let in, he was told to serve them.

 

As you find through many of these posts, we all have different experiences and it varies not only ship to ship, but dining room to dining room and well you get the point. I suppose it gives us something to talk about but I don't really worry about it. Until Princess is consistent in how they deal with this, things won't change and dining will just remain what it is.

[LS6Caddy]

Just got off the Grand. They will let you slide with shorts the first night, but will remind you that it is the only night that it is acceptable. Our third casual night, a man was denied entry for wearing shorts and he started shouting at the Maitre' De and then made a claim that the Maitre' De shoved him. So they will stand there ground, I did not stick around long enough to see if they ever let him in, hopefully not. Rules are clearly spelled out. People think that the rules only apply to them when it is convient for them.

[dorisis]

I often wear shorts on the first night. They are longer than normal and are even longer than some of the mini skirts one sees. They look more like a skirt. What's good for the goose should be good for the gander.

 

~Doris~

[crews4fun]

Sorry to say that shorts are NOT allowed in the main dining room, even though, some people have snuck in on occasion wearing them. On our last Princess cruise, an argument erupted with a cruise couple who wore shorts and the dining room staff. However, the couple lost the argument, and, as mad as they were, were sent to eat at the upstairs buffet.

 

Everyone probably has a different opinion of this question, so you might get several different answers, but from what I've read in previous posts on this same subject, most people feel you dress the part as requested by the cruise line for the dining room, and if you want to wear shorts, even nice ones, eat upstairs.

 

On our last cruise a lady(?) joined a man in front of us in line at the dining room dressed in jean short shorts and was allowed to enter and eat in the DR. I questioned the man in charge and was basically told they couldn't do anything about it. We didn't have to eat with her, but seemed like it was a bit much.

[generichandle]

As someone who values diversity (see my avatar) I don't think it's judgementalism based on surface features. It's a matter of manners and respect and those who don't include them in their daily interaction with the rest of the world. In a societal situation, I agree that clothing doesn't make the difference. But this is a formal night dining room on a cruise ship. It's hardly judgemental to expect people to dress properly.

 

I assume you did not read my post carefully. I said I AM going to follow the rules on non-formal nights, AND that I will eat elsewhere on formal nights [owning no clothing appropriate to that situation].

 

I only suggested that in general humans will inevitably grow up beyond these biases. They WILL eventually actually scratch their heads when they read about a human history where such irrelevancies were used to segregate, as a symbol of 'worthiness'.

 

But again, I intend to do what is required by a private company whose services I purchased. I didn't have to buy, afterall. Their home, their rules. And it is still 2012.

 

Doug