jcw Posted March 2, 2014 #1 Share Posted March 2, 2014 For formal night… Suit or sports jacket and tie? My husband generally wears his tuxedo for formal nights. I don't think I would like that look on my 8 year old, but wanted something complimentary. Semi-formal/casual nights… Collared shirt and khakis or should I pack more formal pants? First time packing for a cruise with kids. Fun times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted March 2, 2014 #2 Share Posted March 2, 2014 The dress code is the same for children as for adults Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted March 2, 2014 #3 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Honestly, for formal nights for kids - I would dress them how you would dress them for a wedding or church. You don't have to buy a suit they will wear once. If you prefer to do a suit or sports jacket with a tie, that is fine also. For casual night, they can wear jeans or khakis and polos. Don't worry too much about this. Edited March 2, 2014 by Coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skoi13 Posted March 2, 2014 #4 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Haven't cruised Princess yet, but have many Disney cruises with kids under our belts. The boys/young men have always worn either tuxes or dark suits (bought cheap on ebay), and the girls/young ladies some sort flower girl-type dress or prom-type gown (again from ebay). Semi-formal night they wore Chinese dresses/ suits (yeah, I know not really semi-formal for the boys) because two of the kids are from China. On other nights, males in long pants and shirts with collars, girls in dresses or skirts. That said, our kids love dressing up-- whether they're on a cruise or not. I tried to put a pic of them dressed up in my signature but it didn't work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendon Posted March 2, 2014 #5 Share Posted March 2, 2014 When my boys were young, they wore kahkis, shirt, tie, blue blazer, and penny loafers. As teens, they wore a dark suit. As adults, an inexpensive tux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel5 Posted March 2, 2014 #6 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I found a great dark suit for my grandson in a resale store. Look around - you can find some treasures.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruznliz Posted March 2, 2014 #7 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I found a great dark suit for my grandson in a resale store. Look around - you can find some treasures.:) I agree! Thrift shops or garage sales are the way to go. If he doesn't want to wear a suit coat, get him a vest, white shirt & tie. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcw Posted March 2, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Thanks everyone! He has a suit and a few blazers. Luckily he doesn't mind dressing up. I just wasn't sure to what degree kids dress up in the evening and I did not want to figure out a tuxedo for him--that just seemed over the top to me. ;) I'm just dreading the packing space for all of the extras. I don't want to complain though. We are so looking forward to taking a cruise together! :) I am counting the days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmd98052 Posted March 2, 2014 #9 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Khakis, plain white shirt and an Angry Birds tie for our 6 and 8 year olds on formal nights - sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 2, 2014 #10 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Khakis, plain white shirt and an Angry Birds tie for our 6 and 8 year olds on formal nights - sorry! Why be sorry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted March 2, 2014 #11 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Khakis, plain white shirt and an Angry Birds tie for our 6 and 8 year olds on formal nights - sorry! I am more curious how many comments they got with the Angry Birds tie :). I think that attire is very appropriate for that age group. Edited March 2, 2014 by Coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfb4cruzing Posted March 2, 2014 #12 Share Posted March 2, 2014 An 8 yr old, looking dapper in a tux, would be impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel5 Posted March 2, 2014 #13 Share Posted March 2, 2014 From cruising with grandkids, I can tell you that they get a lot of positive attention when they are decked out in formal wear or suits etc. While nice pants and a shirt and tie will do just fine, I always like to see kids dressed up.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted March 2, 2014 #14 Share Posted March 2, 2014 The dress code is the same for children as for adults Right on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredie Posted March 2, 2014 #15 Share Posted March 2, 2014 From cruising with grandkids, I can tell you that they get a lot of positive attention when they are decked out in formal wear or suits etc. While nice pants and a shirt and tie will do just fine, I always like to see kids dressed up.:) On one cruise, I saw a baby (about a year old) with a beautiful fancy dress and ruffled socks with her parents who were decked out, daddy in a tux. It was so cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenb Posted March 2, 2014 #16 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) My son has been cruising since age 3 and has always worn a tux on formal night! I've never spent much on them. You can usually get an entire tux (including shirt) for $20 or less if you go for the cheap polyester type. Since we go on an average of 2 cruises a year (i.e. 4-5 formal nights) he gets use out of them! He's 11 now, and loves wearing his tuxes! He looks very cute in them, and is always disappointed when I won't let him wear them to the children's programming after dinner. Her loves New Year's on a cruise ship, since he can wear his tux all night. ;) Edited March 2, 2014 by helenb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted March 3, 2014 #17 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks everyone! He has a suit and a few blazers. Luckily he doesn't mind dressing up. I just wasn't sure to what degree kids dress up in the evening and I did not want to figure out a tuxedo for him--that just seemed over the top to me. ;) I'm just dreading the packing space for all of the extras. I don't want to complain though. We are so looking forward to taking a cruise together! :) I am counting the days... You could maybe rent a tux in his size from Princess if you decided to "do it up" but I don't really know if they have them in his size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted March 3, 2014 #18 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Khakis, plain white shirt and an Angry Birds tie for our 6 and 8 year olds on formal nights - sorry! Reminds me of the ties my hubby bought before a cruise about some nine years ago. A charity (can't remember if it was Red Cross or another one) was selling ties and he bought three very festive ones, including one lauding 9-1-1 services (my hubby works in public safety at a 9-1-1 center so very appropriate, even though he sticks with plainer ties for work). I can certainly see not buying an outfit that a child might not wear again before growing out of it. Certainly Goodwill or another resale store is a good place to look (I've often taken my daughter there when she needed something for a play if it was something she wouldn't normally wear). She went for a while (from about 10 years to 13 without wanting to wear a dress, which was fine on a cruise as she would skip formal nights and just eat in the buffet, but she needed something for music recitals). On our last cruise, she brought some outfits for formal night (she started using her allowance on shopping:rolleyes:). If going on Cunard, then a tux would be a must even for the younger boys. For some cruiselines, it seems like a dress shirt (with or without a tie) and nice slacks are appropriate. For girls, nice outfit. As someone else suggested, think of a nice occasion such as how you would dress them for a wedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skoi13 Posted March 3, 2014 #19 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks everyone! He has a suit and a few blazers. Luckily he doesn't mind dressing up. I just wasn't sure to what degree kids dress up in the evening and I did not want to figure out a tuxedo for him--that just seemed over the top to me. ;) I'm just dreading the packing space for all of the extras. I don't want to complain though. We are so looking forward to taking a cruise together! :) I am counting the days... Sounds great to me. Have a good time. We love cruising. Some kids dress, some don't. Like I said, ours love to dress up. Even the teen boy loves it. Of course when he was little he wore clip on ties with T-shirts everyday for about a year, so he's a little different. :p I am more curious how many comments they got with the Angry Birds tie :). I think that attire is very appropriate for that age group. Angry Birds tie-- our youngest ds would love that. On all of our Disney cruises they wore Disney bow ties we got off ebay. And second Ethel5 for people with kids who don't have dress clothes-- resale/consignment/thrift stores can yield up some beautiful things, especially for kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmd98052 Posted March 3, 2014 #20 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Yes Angry Birds tie was a big hit both with the boys, other guests and the waiters etc! We've got some good use out of it recently on a 41 night HAL and two weeks ago out of Houston! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 3, 2014 #21 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I think its a great choice for a tie. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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