formal night in Alaska

[Gabrielle R.]

A friend of mine asked me how dressed up he had to be on formal night in Alaska. I said a sports coat should be fine. He so feted if a long sleeved shirt & tie would be ok. I said I'd ask my friends on Cruise critic. So, what do you think my friends?

[Katjoy]

My husband chose to do just that on our Alaska Cruise last year. He did not want to bring his sport coat. He wore a long sleeved dress shirt, tie & slacks. Most men wore at least a sport coat as well. However, there were other men dressed like him. There are some that wore tuxedo's & nice suits. I of course wore nice dresses :). I hope this helps.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Katjoy

[Thrak]

A friend of mine asked me how dressed up he had to be on formal night in Alaska. I said a sports coat should be fine. He so feted if a long sleeved shirt & tie would be ok. I said I'd ask my friends on Cruise critic. So, what do you think my friends?

 

You will see everything from tuxedos to a long sleeved shirt with a tie on formal night. Personally, I wear a dark suit. There are those who cruise almost constantly - Pia and Mike for example - and they stopped dressing up big time for formal nights. Long ago Mike dumped the suits and wears a shirt and tie. I don't remember for sure but I believe Pia said he wears black pants, black shirt, and a white necktie (I could be wrong but that seems to be what I remember... It seems to me she said something about a penguin...:D)

 

If your husband doesn't want to "dress up" at all you can always eat in the buffet, on Lido deck, or in a pay-to-eat venue. If you do dress I would "guess" that there will be some folks in tuxedos, a bunch in suits, and some in shirt and tie.

[Thrak]

A friend of mine asked me how dressed up he had to be on formal night in Alaska. I said a sports coat should be fine. He so feted if a long sleeved shirt & tie would be ok. I said I'd ask my friends on Cruise critic. So, what do you think my friends?

 

You will see everything from tuxedos to a long sleeved shirt with a tie on formal night. Personally, I wear a dark suit. There are those who cruise almost constantly - Pia and Mike for example - and they stopped dressing up big time for formal nights. Long ago Mike dumped the suits and wears a shirt and tie. I don't remember for sure but I believe Pia said he wears black pants, black shirt, and a white necktie (I could be wrong but that seems to be what I remember... It seems to me she said something about a penguin...:D) She said he looks pretty sharp in that outfit.

 

If your husband doesn't want to "dress up" at all you can always eat in the buffet, on Lido deck, or in a pay-to-eat venue. If you do dress I would "guess" that there will be some folks in tuxedos, a bunch in suits, and some in shirt and tie.

[partybarbie]

DH wears a dark suit and tie. I wear a cocktail dress. We don't feel over-dressed or undressed, but just right.

[backheidi]

Just off an Alaskan cruise and on 1st formal my husband wore dress shirt, dress slacks, and a tie. 2nd formal he wore dress shirt, dress pants, and no tie. Saw suits, dress shirt pants and tie, pants and dress shirt, and pants and polo shirts. Only person that was refused entry was a guy that had on dingy jogging pants! Others in our group had on suits, and all of us women had on floor length dresses. My husband looked very handsome and in our group pictures, everyone looked great! Relax, be comfortable, and enjoy!

Edited June 30, 2014 by backheidi

[flamomo]

Princess' suggested attire for formal nights is the same no matter what or where the itinerary is. Nearly everyone who has dinner in one of the dining rooms comes up with their own version of what they feel meets Princess' suggestions.

[caribill]

Here is a picture from outside a dining room on an Alaska cruise formal evening. You can see what people are wearing.

 

[Yingus]

Thanks for asking that question. We're leaving in 2 weeks. My brother & husband don't want to wear suits. They prefer to be a little more casual, aka golf shirts. Appreciate the answers. thanks

[Gabrielle R.]

Thanks! My friend will appreciate the input... I will tell him about Pia & Mike too..... I DO like the idea of black on black with a white tie!

 

My friend wears a tie everyday so hates to pack a suit coat....

 

My DH doesn't mid wearing the suit or suit coat- since Alaska can get chilly and we like to go out on the decks afterwards.

 

Glad I asked since I figured others wanted to know too.... ;)

 

Thanks everyone for the input!

Gabrielle

[BrandiGreg]

We've done 24 Princess cruises and 7 to Alaska. I have never seen anyone without at least a dark suit coat (with or without tie) or tux at our table. Sometimes a full dress military uniform or kilts or clearly formal dress for the passenger's culture. Personally, I feel under-dressing for an event that is clearly expected to be formal reflects laziness and a lack of respect for others and their enjoyment of the "formal night" experience. But, until they start enforcing the dress codes, this problem (as I see it) will persist. There are plenty of alternative dining options for everyone. :oJust my opinion.

[PrincessLuver]

A friend of mine asked me how dressed up he had to be on formal night in Alaska. I said a sports coat should be fine. He so feted if a long sleeved shirt & tie would be ok. I said I'd ask my friends on Cruise critic. So, what do you think my friends?

 

We are just off an 11 day Star Princess cruise to Alaska and we cruised with our friends who are first time cruisers. We told the husband that he would probably need slacks, long sleeve dress shirt, tie and dress shoes. Boy, did we hear about it.

 

On the formal nights casual was the norm and there were less then half of the men dressed in suits. The majority seem to wear polo shirts, short sleeve shirts and jeans or "Docker" like pants. We never saw anyone turned away from the MDR.

 

We were really surprised how casual the dress was on formal nights but we had read this is more the norm for Alaska cruises. I hope this helps....:)

[francot]

We've done 24 Princess cruises and 7 to Alaska. I have never seen anyone without at least a dark suit coat (with or without tie) or tux at our table. Sometimes a full dress military uniform or kilts or clearly formal dress for the passenger's culture. Personally, I feel under-dressing for an event that is clearly expected to be formal reflects laziness and a lack of respect for others and their enjoyment of the "formal night" experience. But, until they start enforcing the dress codes, this problem (as I see it) will persist. There are plenty of alternative dining options for everyone. :oJust my opinion.

 

Old school style thinking. My opinion.

[Pam in CA]

Old school style thinking. My opinion.

I guess all of my Princess cruises have been "old school" then because that has been my experience. Granted, it's been years since I've cruised to Alaska but elsewhere, I rarely see any gentleman without at least a jacket and the vast majority were in either tuxes or dark suits. That includes 2-3 week cruises requiring flights. That's my reality and observation. Edited June 30, 2014 by Pam in CA

[shredie]

I guess all of my Princess cruises have been "old school" then because that has been my experience. Granted, it's been years since I've cruised to Alaska but elsewhere, I rarely see any gentleman without at least a jacket and the vast majority were in either tuxes or dark suits. That includes 2-3 week cruises requiring flights. That's my reality and observation.

 

I'm old school, too. :D I have been to Alaska more recently, and I've been there more than once. This is a myth that people are "casual" on Alaskan formal nights. They dress up as much as on any other itinerary. See the picture in this thread posted by caribill. That's typical. The mythology has everyone in plaid flannel shirts, hiking boots and overalls, doing their best "lumberjack." :) It's nonsense.

[francot]

Webster definition of "Old–school"

Typical of an earlier style or form : based on a way of doing things that was common in the past.

 

Back in the day, men wore suits to work, airplanes and church. That is no longer the case. Heck, we even now have casual Fridays. The younger crowd demands change and we older folks (I’m almost 60) don’t have to embrace it, but have to accept it. So, with that said, wear what you want, but if it bothers you what others wear, then who’s problem is it really?

[Thrak]

Please see my avatar. This is from an Alaskan cruise. The way I'm dressed in that picture was the norm for formal nights on that cruise. Very few men were dressed less formally than I am in that photo and there were maybe 10% - 15% in tuxedos.

 

Dang. That picture is pretty small! Here's what I'm wearing:

 

Dark 3-piece suit

Dark dress shirt with tie selected specifically to coordinate with the suit and that shirt (in that photo I believe it is a dark red - I also took along a dark blue dress shirt with coordinating tie)

Black shoes / socks

 

For anybody who thinks that was too much to pack - our severely disabled son went along on this cruise (as well as our Hawaiian cruise). Try packing for THAT! He has a ton of special needs items to take along - including a separate wheelchair for showering and "other" needs - and he isn't really able to schlep his own stuff around.

[Pam in CA]

I guess it's your problem if you're denied entry in the dining room if you show up for formal night in your speedo. I do not care what you wear or where you wear it, but I'm not in charge of Princess dress policies/suggestions.

The bottom line is that the vast majority of passengers respect the cruise line's request for dress. It really doesn't matter where you live. It's respectfully requested. Up to you whether to oblige or not.

 

My BIL had foot problems so he brought black hi-tops to wear on formal nights. My daughter has foot problems so she wears her most comfortable shoes. No one cares.

 

People swear that here in SoCal no one ever gets dressed up and that you can go anywhere dressed casually. That's absolutely not the case. I often go to the theater and concerts and people of all ages are very dressed up with most men in dark suits. Guess "old school" is alive and well.

[PrincessLuver]

I'm old school, too. :D I have been to Alaska more recently, and I've been there more than once. This is a myth that people are "casual" on Alaskan formal nights. They dress up as much as on any other itinerary. See the picture in this thread posted by caribill. That's typical. The mythology has everyone in plaid flannel shirts, hiking boots and overalls, doing their best "lumberjack." :) It's nonsense.

 

Then obviously some people are having different experience then others....it is no myth what we saw on an 11 night Alaska cruise..many people were very casually dressed on 'FORMAL NIGHTS".....people can keep saying that Princess cruisers always dress to the T's on formal night's but it is not always based in fact IMHO....maybe on Cunard that is the norm but not on Princess anymore...if it was then why is there always so much disagreement about this issue.....:cool:

[Pam in CA]

Then obviously some people are having different experience then others....it is no myth what we saw on an 11 night Alaska cruise..many people were very casually dressed on 'FORMAL NIGHTS".....people can keep saying that Princess cruisers always dress to the T's on formal night's but it is not always based in fact IMHO....maybe on Cunard that is the norm but not on Princess anymore...if it was then why is there always so much disagreement about this issue.....:cool:

You are right. You can have two people on the same cruise with very different experiences.

 

However, what we are saying is that "in our experience" which includes a lot of Princess cruises literally all over the world and several recent cruises, people respect the Princess dress request and dress up. No, it's not as formal as the good old days when jackets and ties were required for all men at dinner and all women wore long beaded gowns but it's still quite dressy with many tuxes, mostly dark suits and the rest in jackets.

[shredie]

..people can keep saying that Princess cruisers always dress to the T's on formal night's but it is not always based in fact IMHO...

 

Is there a definition for "dress to the T's"? Does that mean tuxes on every man and sequins on every woman? There is a big range between dressed for a royal ball and dressed to sleep in an alley. No one says you can't dress somewhere less casual than a tux. Plenty of men wear suits (which are not the same thing as tuxedos, BTW.) Some wear slacks and shirts and maybe a tie. These are all "dressier" options than cut-offs and wife-beaters. ;) So maybe you see people dressed nicely, but not according to your definition of "dressed to the T's," and that is your experience. The seriously casual dresser is still the exception. And even with the rumored relaxing of the Princess standards, I still doubt that someone in cut-offs or a speedo would be admitted to the dining room on formal night.