Formal Night Attire

[bcsquared]

The Princess website indicates jackets are required for men on formal nights. We have been on 15 cruises but only one on Princess. Our husbands always wear suits for formal nights. However, we have noticed in the past few years many of the men, including those on our Princess cruise in 2012, did not wear jackets (yes, our husbands point that out to us each time!). Sine our upcoming wine country coastal cruise on the Star will include a "land vacation" both before and after, we are trying to minimize our luggage. Are you aware of whether or not the Star strictly requires the coat? We were hoping to get away with just suit pants, shirts and ties. We know there are other dining options, but we enjoy having a regular table and a regular waiter...it is part of the cruise experience for us. Thanks for any input.

[simok99]

It's a suggestion to wear a dinner jacket, not a necessity. I always take a dinner suit but there are always plenty without.

 

 

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[bcsquared]

Thanks, that is what we were hoping. With packing for extremes in weather (Vancouver to LA), this has become a challenge for us, so space is at a premium.

[tngeebee]

You can always eat in the food court on formal night and forget about dressing up. I have seen many do just that.

[Nebr.cruiser]

My husband has gone from wearing a tux to a suit to a blazer on formal night. I often see men with dress shirt and tie--sometimes no tie--on those nights.

 

I know it's more practical, but darn it I love a man in a tux! Besides packing space, for him it's mostly that he can't find a pair of dress shoes that are comfortable.

[p0240]

My husband has always just worn suit pants, shirt and tie, and all has been fine. Quite a few men take their jackets off quite quickly and put them on the chairs, so they are just in shirts too! I think he has felt 'under dressed' but due to packing space, he has forgone the jacket.

 

However, this time we are on Ruby with 5 formal nights, so he will take a suit.

 

I really don't think it matters, as long as they are dressed well.

 

Pat

only 6 sleeps till we board the ruby in Venice - can't wait!!

[Pia1913]

My husband used to wear a tux. Then he downgraded to a black suit. Now his formal attire is black pants, black shirt, white tie. Some of our friends have followed suit. Looks really sharp when you see a bunch of "Men in Black" together.

[bcsquared]

Thanks for the info....the black shirt idea sounds great! As I said, we are aware of the fact that we can eat elsewhere, but we always enjoy our waiter and do not wish to miss it. As far as wearing a tux....not something our guys would do outside of a wedding! Thanks,

[CruisinChris]

I'm going to disagree the other posters on this thread, take it for what you will. 90%+ of the men I have observed on formal night are either in tuxes or suits. I also haven't observed many guys taking off their jackets and running around in shirt sleeves.

[Pam in CA]

I'm going to disagree the other posters on this thread' date=' take it for what you will. 90%+ of the men I have observed on formal night are either in tuxes or suits. I also haven't observed many guys taking off their jackets and running around in shirt sleeves.[/quote']This is my experience as well. I very rarely see any gentlemen without a jacket in the dining room on formal night. This is an observation, not an opinion.

[Happy2cruise]

You can always eat in the food court on formal night and forget about dressing up. I have seen many do just that.

or the Crown Grill which is smart casual on formal nights.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

I'm going to disagree the other posters on this thread' date=' take it for what you will. 90%+ of the men I have observed on formal night are either in tuxes or suits. I also haven't observed many guys taking off their jackets and running around in shirt sleeves.[/quote']

 

Every time we cruise it seems there are fewer tuxes and/or suits. There are now far fewer formal gowns than when we first started cruising in 1999. It seems to us that people are moving away from the more formal and leaning toward semi-formal. IMHO, smart casual will eventually win out completely. After skipping a formal night and being missed, we had a waiter & headwaiter tell my husband not to stay away just because he did not bring a jacket. Long sleeved shirt and tie were fine. That was a few years ago and now we would be able to tell by the number of men not wearing jackets that he does not need one. We were surprisingly 3rd most traveled on an Alaska cruise and declined to go on formal night to receive our gift, even though we were encouraged to do so by the Captain's Circle hostess, who knew we did not bring formal wear.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

This is my experience as well. I very rarely see any gentlemen without a jacket in the dining room on formal night. This is an observation, not an opinion.

 

Sadly, we have not cruised together. I hope we do some day.

 

We do enjoy the dining room occasionally but must admit, on many nights, we now go to the buffet for a quicker meal. On our more recent cruises we are seeing quite a few men without jackets in the dining room on formal night. No percentage estimate, but my guess would be many more than 10%.

[arizonaperson]

The Princess website indicates jackets are required for men on formal nights. We have been on 15 cruises but only one on Princess. Our husbands always wear suits for formal nights. However, we have noticed in the past few years many of the men, including those on our Princess cruise in 2012, did not wear jackets (yes, our husbands point that out to us each time!). Sine our upcoming wine country coastal cruise on the Star will include a "land vacation" both before and after, we are trying to minimize our luggage. Are you aware of whether or not the Star strictly requires the coat? We were hoping to get away with just suit pants, shirts and ties. We know there are other dining options, but we enjoy having a regular table and a regular waiter...it is part of the cruise experience for us. Thanks for any input.

 

I would say be prepared for possibly being turned away at the dining room, it is truly up to the M.D., or head wait staff on the dress code. You may not get turned away, only 1 way to test the "waters", just try it.:D

I am sure men can get in without a suit jacket on formal nights, but you just never know ship to ship or cruise to cruise.

I know we are all trying to pack lighter, but on our upcoming cruise my husband is packing his tux for formal nights(he has it so why not put it to good use). Will he be the minority in his tux, yes probably, but......

[Pia1913]

We travel far too much to be overly concerned about formal attire. You can throw stones at me, but we prefer to be more casual; yes, even on formal nights. So, DH has his black and white attire and I have my black pants with what I consider a semi-dressy top.

 

We have placed in the top three MTP quite a few times and we still look very nice in our photo with the Captain and the Host/Hostess. Even w/o DH wearing a jacket.

 

SeatheWorld: you should have attended to be honored and get your award.

 

Arizonaperson: on which ship's dining room did you see someone turned away?

[Mickeyc5]

I'm comfortable in a suit and space is not a problem since we drive to the port; however, I'll not wear a tie.

[OCruisers]

DH still wears his tux on Princess cruises. (He does not on some other cruise lines.)

I have seen a few men who wear a dress shirt with a tie on Princess in the MDR on formal nights.

Never have seen any who wore a jacket take it off in the MDR ... yes, in a lounge but not in the MDR.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

SeatheWorld: you should have attended to be honored and get your award.

 

Yes Pia - you are right! We realized after the fact that we looked nice enough in our smart casual that we should have accepted the personal invitation. We were after all being assured by the Captain's Circle hostess that we would not be out of place.

[Avalon35]

Just got off the star, (Alaska ) DH brought dark blazer, no tie. Mixed dress in the dining room. Some gowns, mostly everyone just nicely dressed. I did not notice anyone being made to feel out of place. Everyone was mostly interested in their own photo ops. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

We've had three formal nights on our last three cruises (14-15 day sailings), but my hubby will bring one suit (the jacket that he would wear in the past for "promotional" interviews at his workplace, a pair of nice slacks, two dress shirts -- one will get washed in the self-service laundry at some point for another wearing, and three festive ties). Certainly not a "dinner" jacket. And he may or may not drape his jacket on the chair during the meal.

 

Around us was a wide array of tuxes and suits. A kilt or military uniform here and there. One man whose table was near us on the last cruise, didn't wear a jacket on any of the formal nights, but stuck with long sleeve shirts and no tie. I think he was in his 60s or older. So obviously he wasn't sent back to his cabin to get a jacket.

[ChiefBoats]

We have noticed that it will depend on the Maitra'd. Some do not strictly enforce it and some do.

 

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[satxdiver]

I always wear a pair of nice pants, long sleeved button up shirt and shoes to the MDR on formal nights. As for a noose around my neck, I am retired. On all of the four cruise lines I have sailed, no one has ever said a word. I have noticed though (I did not take a poll so cannot provide percentages like some on here) that the number of men wearing tux has definitely decreased and the more casually dressed has increased.

 

Several years ago I noticed a gentleman at another table walk in wearing a sport coat and a long sleeved white tshirt. He promptly removed his coat as many men do and put it on the back of his chair. IMO this makes it a farce of the whole thing.

[Stevesan]

I always wear a pair of nice pants, long sleeved button up shirt and shoes to the MDR on formal nights. As for a noose around my neck, I am retired. On all of the four cruise lines I have sailed, no one has ever said a word. I have noticed though (I did not take a poll so cannot provide percentages like some on here) that the number of men wearing tux has definitely decreased and the more casually dressed has increased.

 

Several years ago I noticed a gentleman at another table walk in wearing a sport coat and a long sleeved white tshirt. He promptly removed his coat as many men do and put it on the back of his chair. IMO this makes it a farce of the whole thing.

 

That's why I leave the coat at home.

[Pia1913]

We have noticed that it will depend on the Maitra'd. Some do not strictly enforce it and some do.

 

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I'm going to ask this question again. When is the last time, and on which ship, did you see a MD turn away a guest for not wearing a jacket?

[san diego sue]

Pia is correct. On my last few cruises (Coastals, Alaska, Mexico) this year, I saw men in just shirts and ties, slacks on formal nights. As long as the shirt is long sleeves, getting into dining room not a problem. On our Alaska cruise(fixed dining room), we saw a guy in shorts and bright shirt and they let him in. That bothered me but not the staff apparently.

My husband has been one of Pia's "Men in Black". My husband loved her idea, Black dress slacks, black dress shirt and white tie. Looks really sharp. I do like him wearing a suit however once in a while since he seldom gets the opportunity at home.