What to wear on formal night in Alaska?

[HockeyMom44]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

[Kamloops50]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

 

That is perfectly fine

Edited March 19, 2016 by Kamloops50

[VTX-AL]

Mukluks and parkas ??? :D

...VTX-Al

[eandj]

I'm taking black crepe pants and nice top. Altho DH would prefer I throw in a dress, I am making more room for daytime layers and 3 dinnertime outfits that I'll rotate. Daytime layers and Jean type casual will be priority. Not packing the bling.:)

[Potstech]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Accordng to some it is "against the regulations" and you should be embarrassed to,do so BUT you will be fine and no one will say a thing to you abut it on the ship. Enjoy yourself.

[floridalover5623]

Most people tend to back off on the true formal wear since packing heavier clothes fills suitcases really fast but what you describe would work out well on any cruise.

[arizonaperson]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Yes, A nice top and pair of black pants is perfectly acceptable for formal night for women. Can always dress it up with some great costume jewelry . That doesn't take up too much room in the suitcase .I really don't see a difference for formal night between ship to ship or itinerary ,they are pretty much all the same as far as the dress code goes .

I have suitcase envy, I wish I could travel with a 24 inch suitcase only .That's almost the size of my carry-on. :D

Julie

Edited March 19, 2016 by arizonaperson

[elliair]

Due to luggage space, I'm not packing fancy clothing. It will be a nice top, black pants and nice jewelry. It's good enough for me as I don't dress for other people. DH will wear a nice shirt and slacks.

[flip side of fifty]

My DH and I are spending 3 + weeks in Alaska (2 weeks with the 15 day Princess tour/cruise) and we are each taking only 1 carry on bag. For any evening wear I will be taking 2 pairs of black pants and 2 black tops that can easily be washed and hung to dry. In addition I will have 1 pair of black ballet type shoes. With this I will change up with a very thin, lightweight kimono type cover, scarves, and jewelry. That's all the room I will have. For me, I don't trust myself with a white top:D

[HockeyMom44]

Thanks everyone!

I was hoping for these answers!

This is just what I wanted to hear!

We are doing a 7 day cruise and then a 6 day land tour.

Didnt want to pack to much.

:D:D

Edited March 19, 2016 by HockeyMom44

[Wishing on a star]

I would think that nice black slacks and a nice shirt would be fine!

And, I would probably dress that up with some jewelry and nice shoes. And that would def. be nice enough.

 

I have been reading a lot of threads and comments, and all seem to indicate that on regular nights, casual dress, is more common. (TOO casual for me, but hey, it is what it is.)

 

It seems that beaded sparkly dresses and nice 'dinner jackets' or tuxes are no longer the norm, at all.

 

I plan to bring a pair of travelers pants that can be dressed up, a simple but trendy black dress, short, but with long sleeves... and a stretchy nice dress, short, but not the cheap/revealing 'bodycon' type.. looks nice. I will probably be over-packing!

 

I do have a long more formal dress, from a previous cruise. It is nice, but not fancy or ornate by any means... Not sure if I will bring that one.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Wishing on a star

[HockeyMom44]

Does anyone know the name and author of the Cruise Companion book that Princess sells/uses on the cruise?

I would like to try tp purchase it now.

I figure it will be good reading on our cross country flight.

[riclop]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Warm clothes.

[lljost]

My DH and I will be on the Crown to Alaska May 6 and we will be bringing our formal clothes. Tux for him and two dresses for me. I don't care where we are cruising to we still bring formal clothes. If we eat in the Dining Room we dress appropriately. Otherwise we eat elsewhere. If people will read Princess recommendations, it is only in the Dining Room they request you dress up, otherwise, wear anything you like.

[shredie]

Warm clothes.

 

The dining room is INSIDE the ship and has heating/air conditioning like any other civilized dining room. The down parka and rain boots won't be necessary for dinner. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[satxdiver]

Hello...

How formal is "formal" night on an Alaskan cruise?

Would a nice top and a pair of black slacks work?

Trying to travel with one 24 inch suitcase.

Thanks for all the help.

 

That will work out well. In AK they dress informally in outdoor type of clothes and it bleeds over to what the pax wear on the ship. Just remember to layer your clothes as it can be warm (70's) to colder (50's?) in AK. I wore my hiking boots in the MDR on all nights as I needed them in AK while off the ship. Good luck on the small suitcase just remember to bring enough to keep warm when off the ship.

[SheriffJoe]

That will work out well. In AK they dress informally in outdoor type of clothes and it bleeds over to what the pax wear on the ship. Just remember to layer your clothes as it can be warm (70's) to colder (50's?) in AK. I wore my hiking boots in the MDR on all nights as I needed them in AK while off the ship. Good luck on the small suitcase just remember to bring enough to keep warm when off the ship.

 

This post makes absolutely no sense, in the Caribbean they only wear shorts and t-shirts but that has no bearing on what a cruise ship pax wears :rolleyes: Will you be wearing your flip flops to the MDR as you will need them off the ship in the Caribbean.....

[ar1950]

That will work out well. In AK they dress informally in outdoor type of clothes and it bleeds over to what the pax wear on the ship. Just remember to layer your clothes as it can be warm (70's) to colder (50's?) in AK. I wore my hiking boots in the MDR on all nights as I needed them in AK while off the ship. Good luck on the small suitcase just remember to bring enough to keep warm when off the ship.

 

We did see a bit less formal type of clothes on the Formal nights on our Alaska cruise this last time. Example, there was one young man who had on a flannel shirt, jeans (clean, no holes) and his athletic hiking shoes. He did wear a tie. He was probably around 25, 6' 5" and 220 or so pounds and apparently not a "suit and tie" type of guy. He was with his mother who was probably in her late 50's. She did dress up a bit. No one seemed to care. I know that we didn't. I thought is was great that he was accompanying his mother on the cruise (we did speak to them at another venue, that is how we knew it was mother and son).

[satxdiver]

This post makes absolutely no sense, in the Caribbean they only wear shorts and t-shirts but that has no bearing on what a cruise ship pax wears :rolleyes: Will you be wearing your flip flops to the MDR as you will need them off the ship in the Caribbean.....

 

I have cruised to AK several times as well as having been to AK on land trips. Part of the point being made was that once off the ship, Alaskans dress informally so pax seem to dress accordingly. Most pax do not bring clothing for on the ship and another set for off the ship. Hence one will see more rugged outdoor clothing worn on the ship as well as off. On my AK cruises what I wear on the ship is the same as what I wear off the ship consisting of specialized rugged outdoor gear. In answer to your question though, yes I sometimes wear my flip flops to the MDR on non-formal nights in the Caribbean. Formal nights I wear my athletic shoes or sometimes Tevas.

[wishfulone]

Did the cruise land tour to Alaska on Coral last year and we were surprised by the number of people who really dressed. We weren't expecting long dresses and tux on such a short cruise. Hubby was thankful for dark jacket and trousers and I wore my always in the suitcase LBD, good heels and nice jewellery.

[flamomo]

It's very simple .... No matter the itinerary, formal nights should all be treated the same.

To me that means making the effort to dress at least a little nicer, such as in what one might wear to a very nice restaurant, as compared to what one wears to the dining room on resort casual nights.

And that should apply to both males and females.

[Potstech]

This post makes absolutely no sense, in the Caribbean they only wear shorts and t-shirts but that has no bearing on what a cruise ship pax wears :rolleyes: Will you be wearing your flip flops to the MDR as you will need them off the ship in the Caribbean.....

 

Wear the sandals that everyone calls flip flops and enjoy your meal.

[floridalover5623]

It's very simple .... No matter the itinerary, formal nights should all be treated the same.

To me that means making the effort to dress at least a little nicer, such as in what one might wear to a very nice restaurant, as compared to what one wears to the dining room on resort casual nights.

And that should apply to both males and females.

 

In theory -yes, but practically when people have to bring along another suitcase just to carry extra clothing to wear on a few nights for a few hours the first thing to go is the formal clothing especially when Princess doesn't enforce the dress code that stringently.

[flip side of fifty]

Does anyone know the name and author of the Cruise Companion book that Princess sells/uses on the cruise?

I would like to try tp purchase it now.

I figure it will be good reading on our cross country flight.

 

HockeyMom

As happens on many of these posts, they go a little sideways. However, I do think you received enough comments to be assured that you will feel comfortable wearing what you planned on in the dining room. I don't show that many cruises in my history, but my husband and I have taken several 3+ week trips where we only brought a carry on, and went from 90 degree weather to a week in snow and back to 90 in one trip. It can be done and is, in my opinion, the only way to go.

 

Now, in regards to the book you asked about, I am not aware of that particular book, but... If you search on the board you will find Princess Patters for each day of the cruise that you could print and read on the plane. On Amazon there is a book that maps out the inside passage "Alaska's Inside Passage: Destination Map by National Geographic" and I have read several posts that said it was very helpful and have recently ordered it myself for our trip. You might also Google the book you mentioned and see what comes up.

[oskidunker]

I could care less what other people wear. I enjoy dressing up,so I do.