Princess Dress Code and Teens

[limoncello07]

Experienced traveller, but first-time cruiser (and first-time CC poster) here, who thanks you in advance for your views on the following:

 

A last minute opportunity has arisen that has allowed me to take a short cruise to Alaska in July, and I have invited my sister and "my" two 14-year old boys -- aka my nephew and his good friend -- to join us. We need to depart from Seattle, and I quickly focused on Princess as having great onboard activities, facilities, and port calls that I know the boys would enjoy. I've done a ton of reading about the ships (Ruby/Crown) and was on the verge of booking yesterday when I started to get some second thoughts about whether this will be a good fit for our group.

 

For purposes of balancing independence and togetherness, I had envisioned that while onboard ship we would allow the boys go to the pool or the teen club as they like throughout the day, but arrange to meet at meal times, or at least at dinner. But it's really hard for me to envision making the boys dress for dinner every night, even into just a polo shirt and khaki slacks, without a lot of grumbling and unhappiness. Yes, I can certainly make them do this as a condition of the trip -- and perhaps even require that they smile while doing so :) -- but doing so seems kind of stifling, and out of step with the relative freedom and whirl of outdoor activities that I thought would make this an appealing vacation for two-high energy boys.

 

So I thought I'd check in the first instance: does the dress code apply as strictly to kids if they are with adults who are dressed appropriately? (I certainly understand they should not be coming to the table in their swim clothes, but could they for instance wear a polo shirt and shorts, vs. slacks?) And does the dress code apply in the buffet areas as well? I know that there are super-casaul options like a pizza bar and poolside grill available, but if those are the only places on the ship where we can regularly eat together without fuss, I'm then questioning what value we are getting out of paying for 4 full passenger fares (as we must do if we want two separate room) and wondering if I should perhaps be looking to see if another another cruise line might be more appropriate for our needs.

 

Again, this will be a first cruise for me, so perhaps I am misunderstanding something. While I normally travel by myself or can appreciate the value of "dressing for dinner" among adults, I was a bit surprised to see this as seemingly the sole option on a summer cruise going to Alaska, a destination that I associate with a much more casual lifestyle. But perhaps I need to re-adjust my expectations about cruising. I appreciate any relevant information or suggestions!

[skynight]

Experienced traveller,

 

Again, this will be a first cruise for me, so perhaps I am misunderstanding something. While I normally travel by myself or can appreciate the value of "dressing for dinner" among adults, I was a bit surprised to see this as seemingly the sole option on a summer cruise going to Alaska, a destination that I associate with a much more casual lifestyle. But perhaps I need to re-adjust my expectations about cruising. I appreciate any relevant information or suggestions!

 

Basically There are two dress codes for the evening in the dining rooms, smart casual and formal. This does apply to teens as well as adults. So what does this really mean? Basically smart casual means long pants, not shorts, and a shirt with a collar, or another nice shirt. Formal for teens can mean anything from jacket & tie, to tie without a jacket to just a nice sport shirt without a tie.

 

Specialty (surcharge) restaurants are smart casual every evening, except the crab shack which is casual.

 

All other dining venues are casual all the time.

[limoncello07]

Thanks very much for the prompt and very informative reply. Apologies, I'm still struggling a bit with cruise vocabulary -- does "dining room" include the Horizon Court buffet as well, or is that one of the casual venues?

 

Thanks again!

[whatcruiseisnext]

Horizon court is a casual venue.

 

I have cruised to Alaska 3 times and Alaska is by far much more casual than any other cruise. That being said shorts are still not allowed in the dining room but Alaska is usually too cool for shorts. Occasionally you may have weather that would allow shorts but normally long pants or jeans prevail. In Alaska you will see both teens and adults in jeans in the dining room.

 

Don't stress about the dress code. Alaska is amazing and would be an outstanding opportunity. The last time we went ( first week in July ) our 16 year old grandson (at the time)as well as our adult children accompanied us. We were concerned about grandson getting bored. We rarely saw him when on the ship as there was so much for him to do with the activities planned for his age group. He lived it and still keeps in touch with some of those he met.

 

Go for it. You won't be sorry. Pack jeans for the boys and don't worry.

[benanjerry]

Hi,

 

When I was in Alaska on Princess, I ate most meals at the buffet because it was quicker - there is so much to do and see! I was very comfortable in jeans and a blouse or sweatshirt depending on the weather, and everyone else was very casual as well.

 

Perhaps you could just make them "dress up" a bit on formal night so you can get a nice family portrait taken and have one fancier dining experience with them.

 

You will love Alaska!

[moki'smommy]

The buffet does not count as a dining room. The "dress code" in the buffet is "casual," which is different from "smart casual." It means that jeans and a t-shirt are fine. Shorts are ok in the buffet. Basically, anything other than swimwear is OK BUT Princess is a bit of an older group than a line like Disney. Go with jeans without holes!

 

If the guys want to eat without changing out of their swimsuits, there are hamburger and pizza outlets on the pool deck.

 

For the dining rooms--a polo shirt or other shirt with a collar and some sort of long pants (jeans are fine) for all except formal nights. On formal nights, at least a collared shirt and tie with pants that are not jeans will be expected. If they don't want to do this, do not eat in the dining room--go to the buffet or specialty dining (for a fee). Order room service. Get pizza from upstairs.

 

I can't imagine why they wouldn't love Alaska. There is so much to do and see! We didn't go till mine was in college...and it is the one cruise she wants to do again.

 

For everyone--layer clothing. Think t-shirt and jeans with a hoodie and carry a waterproof top layer of some sort. My top layer was a water resistant jacket with a flannel lining, which worked fine. But a fully waterproof poncho or whatever would also be great.

[paul929207]

I don't know the plans for these boys when they are grown, but this could be a time to start teaching them there are times when shorts are not appropriate. There are many jobs where they would not last an hour if they arrived in shorts.

[skynight]

Some additional information that could be helpful:

Consider the Soda & More Package, includes unlimited fountain sodas, juices and hot chocolate, $8.05/pp/day. Note juices are available for no charge in buffet and DR during breakfast hours.

Each passenger will receive their own cruise card which they have to keep with them at all times. The cruise card is their identification for getting off and on the ship, their cabin key, and their on board charge card. If you wish to block a youth's on board purchases visit the passenger service desk. Also each passenger, including teens, will be charged $12.95/day hotel charge (the auto-tip). The charge is $13.95/day if you are in a mini suite or a full suite.

Assume the nephew is your sister's son, but for the friend make certain you have all the necessary legal documents from the friend's parents, which allows you to take the friend out of the State and country (you are going to Canada), including medical emergency forms before you board. Also make certain all of you have the proper passports or other WHTI documents with you when boarding.

Edited May 22, 2016 by sknight

[Mommypig]

The Alaskan cruises are a tad more relaxed that most. The cruise director runs around in jeans with a lumber jack shirt and red suspenders. I often wear jeans (nice, no holes or extreme fading or fraying) and a shirt or sweater to the MDR on smart casual night. A plaid button down, flannel shirt, or sweater should be fine. Of course jeans should be pulled up and belted. If formal night is asking too much, the buffet is always an option.

 

I am a 60 year old woman with over 200 days on princess. There will always be people who want to do the full formal thing, and those who are not interested.

[ejatczak]

For an opportunity to go to Alaska I'm sure the boys can put on a pair of pants and a knit shirt for a few hours, they can change right after dinner if they wish. The weather will be chilly anyway! They will have a great time!

[mamkmm2]

I don't want to sound bossy or snarky but take this from a mom of five. Those boys are 14. That's high school. Most high schools are going to dress codes so they should get the concept. And they are old enough to be flexible and understand to get something they may need to "give". Dinner can be a pair of comfortable khakis and a clean button down or polo type thing. It would be a shame for them to miss an opportunity to go experience Alaska because it is assumed they won't conform for a few evening meals. Ask them. If you get major attitude then you know they aren't mature enough for the freedom and adventure you are offering.

[OCruisers]

The Alaskan cruises are a tad more relaxed that most. The cruise director runs around in jeans with a lumber jack shirt and red suspenders. I often wear jeans (nice, no holes or extreme fading or fraying) and a shirt or sweater to the MDR on smart casual night. A plaid button down, flannel shirt, or sweater should be fine. Of course jeans should be pulled up and belted. If formal night is asking too much, the buffet is always an option.

 

I am a 60 year old woman with over 200 days on princess. There will always be people who want to do the full formal thing, and those who are not interested.

 

Per above .... "Your Boys" will be fine! :)

[limoncello07]

Wow, thanks again to everyone for the quick and informative responses -- it gives me a much better sense of the atmosphere on the ship and other considerations regarding having teens onboard. I particularly appreciate the comments about the weather likely making slacks or jeans a more natural choice. Fwiw, I agree as a general matter that it's good to expose kids to more formal situations, including appropriate dress and manners. However, these kids attend a pretty strict school and already get lots of those "lessons" throughout the school year; so the question I'm considering is whether vacation should be a continuation of this or something different.

 

The discussion prompted me to take another look at Norwegian which offers a similar itinerary on the same dates, and think the default casual dining options on that cruise might suit us better as a group. On the other hand, they don't have some of the on-board activities that I think the boys would enjoy. Each itinerary has some pros and cons from my perspective as well, so I may wind up putting it to my nephew as a choice, on the understanding that choosing Princess means no whining about an occasional collared shirt!

 

Thanks again to all for the rapid response!

[1025cruise]

In all honesty, an Alaskan cruise is different than a Caribbean cruise. The cruise is more about the location than the ship. You will not find the pool heavily used, mainly due to weather. Shorts are not the clothes of choice.

 

First, pick the itinerary you want, then figure out which cruise works best for you.

[TracieABD]

We took our son on his first cruise when he was just a tad older than your boys. We had the "dress for dinner" conversation- as we are Traditional Dining people. We thought we would get a lot of push back, but he actually enjoyed dressing for dinner. We even rented him a tux for the formal nights, and I think he would have worn it every night.

 

He is now 23, and on our last cruise (he had his own state room), he came to dinner properly dressed every evening- without prompting.

 

The best part of the whole deal was him asking me what I would be wearing on formal nights so he could make sure his shirt or tie matched my dress- so that we could take nice photos!

[whatcruiseisnext]

Wow, thanks again to everyone for the quick and informative responses -- it gives me a much better sense of the atmosphere on the ship and other considerations regarding having teens onboard. I particularly appreciate the comments about the weather likely making slacks or jeans a more natural choice. Fwiw, I agree as a general matter that it's good to expose kids to more formal situations, including appropriate dress and manners. However, these kids attend a pretty strict school and already get lots of those "lessons" throughout the school year; so the question I'm considering is whether vacation should be a continuation of this or something different.

 

The discussion prompted me to take another look at Norwegian which offers a similar itinerary on the same dates, and think the default casual dining options on that cruise might suit us better as a group. On the other hand, they don't have some of the on-board activities that I think the boys would enjoy. Each itinerary has some pros and cons from my perspective as well, so I may wind up putting it to my nephew as a choice, on the understanding that choosing Princess means no whining about an occasional collared shirt!

 

Thanks again to all for the rapid response!

 

There is no way that Norwegian can compare with Princess for Alaska. Princess is by far the better choice.

[limoncello07]

Thank you again for the most recent comments, which were very helpful. I just spoke with my sister and, similar to some of you, her reaction was that the boys have gotten so used to dressing up at school these that this will not be a big deal to them, and should not be the determining factor in which cruise we take. And we both agreed that the two of us prefer the Princess option. So that matter is settled -- thanks again to everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Now on to the next task of finding appropriate cabins on our date of choice . . . . wish me luck!

[OCruisers]

Great decision!

Good luck with your "cabin search"! :)

 

Princess is known for having the Best Pizza At Sea!

Tell the boys to be sure to get a slice for a snack!

Edited May 22, 2016 by OCruisers

[notentirelynormal]

My grandson is 11. Last year (when he was 10) we kept talking to him about the importance of dressing up as you get older, like when you go to a nice restaurant. "Not going to happen" kept coming out of his mouth until I told him that he was being rude and I didn't appreciate it. Three months later he opened his Christmas gift. A carryon suitcase filled with cruise stuff. He turned to me and said "Well, grandma, I guess I'm going to need a tux!"

 

Oh, you know why he didn't want to wear a nice shirt. It was scratchy. Once we gave him a t-shirt to wear underneath he was fine.

 

Fast forward to the cruise. Second formal night. He asked if he really had to get dressed up? I explained to him that out of respect for all the other people on the ship that followed the rules I think he should too. He agreed. We have amazing pictures of him in his formal wear with and without his sister. It was a great opportunity to teach him that dressing "for the occasion" is very important as he gets older: weddings or funerals as one example. We also told him that after dinner he could change if he wanted. It is, after all, only two hours at the most.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Expect to become an addict to both cruising and CC. Know that no matter what question or big or how small you will get your answer here. Whether it be a cruise ship, general cruising or where do I buy a bottle of wine before I get on the ship type question, we can answer. Someone somewhere knows.

 

Make sure you get lots of pictures.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We did our Alaskan cruise on Princess out of Seattle when our girl was 7 (just a few days after her birthday).

 

As others have said, Princess (and Holland) are the lines best known for their Alaskan cruises, so you've picked a great choice.

 

I don't know where you live, but Seattle tends to be cool and rainy even in the summer and unless you're going to the interior (Fairbanks), you might get the same weather on your cruise. We did get to Seattle during a rare heat wave and some people we ran into on our embarkation day while leaving our hotel and just gotten off of a Holland ship and said they wore shorts the whole week. But again, rare. So layers would be the way to go for day wear on and off the ship. For breakfast and lunch, there's no need to dress up -- just no wet bathing suits (just in case they use the pools, which are uncovered on these ships -- we were on the Sapphire, which does have a covered pool).

 

For dinner, the main dining rooms (you can check out the info on the Princess website for the ship you're going on...if you get traditional dining -- which we love -- the name of the dining room, table , and time of seating is on the cabin key card; if you get anytime dining, look in the first day's newsletter, the Patter, and you see the name of the dining rooms and when dinner is offered).

 

As said, no shorts for dinner in the MDRs, but nice pants and a polo shirt is fine. For formal night, try for slacks and a nice long sleeve shirt (most likely the men won't get turned away...but just in case, pack a tie for each boy...my hubby invested in some fun, festive ties for our cruises, and he brings his sport jacket so a dark suit isn't needed unless the maitre'd is a stickler). My daughter on that cruise and the next two decided to skip eating in the MDR, so when she was younger, we would take her to the Horizon Court or the poolside pizzeria or grill, and then take her to the kids' area.

 

Your ship will also have a place called the International Cafe. Not an enclosed eatery, but a set of display cases down on the Plaza deck, midships (usually). It's open 24/7 and offers plates of items ranging from breakfast pastries, to sandwiches, to soup, to tasty treats. Some people may skip a regular meal and go for the light fare here. You can take the food and go most places (even your cabin) to eat. Mid afternoon, chocolate chip and other cookies to die for.

 

On the last cruise, she actually wanted to eat with us sometimes, and she brought a more dresser wardrobe. She knew one of her fellow 15-year-olds from a previous cruise and they hung out with another girl and three boys. Yep, at that age, the boys want to dress to impress!

 

Make sure the boys go up to the Remix (the teen group) center the first night as that's when the kids meet and form their groups. Often they will just use the place for a meeting place and then go elsewhere on the ship together. It's that age.:rolleyes: But it's a port-intensive cruise so four days will be spent in ports that will be of great interest to the boys and you.

 

One absolute must activity: on the day of the glacier cruising (this will be listed on the itinerary), make sure everyone is up and out on deck for this scenic part of the cruise. There will be a naturalist on board narrating what you're looking at.

 

As at least one person pointed out, make sure the boys have the right documents. If they don't have passports, they need to bring a valid birth certificate (not the hospital issued document, but the one from their county of birth). Maybe bring their student ID from the previous semester, especially if it has a photo.

 

Definitely have their parents (both mom and dad) sign off (and even notarize) a permission for you to bring them on the cruise and take them out of the country as well as permission for medical treatment if necessary (I also recommend they make copies of their health insurance cards to give to you). You might not need these letters, but if asked and you can't produce them, the boys won't be allowed to board the ship.

[limoncello07]

Wowza -- thanks for all the great info as well as all the good wishes from everyone!

[topspot]

Don't forget the binoculars. We saw lots of whales and wildlife while cruising and during the land portion of the cruise. Our DD was 15 at the time of our Alaska cruise. She was definitely out later than we ;)were and enjoyed the activities in Remix, and with the friends she made on the cruise.

[geocruiser]

You might want also to get the boys a book on Alaska. There is much history about the gold rush and Native Alaskan history. I did reading before our cruise to Alaske. It made the towns we visited come alive knowing about the people who lived there.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Klondike-Fever-Life-Death-Great/dp/0786713178/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463956827&sr=1-1&keywords=klondike+fever

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Native-People-Alaska-4th/dp/0936425814/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463957192&sr=1-6&keywords=native+alaskan+history

[sherryf]

I've taken teen boys to Alaska. Show them menus and tell them they can order whatever they want, as much as they want. They will put on long pants and a collared shirt. :D

[satxdiver]

Hopefully you are looking at the cruise that goes to Glacier Bay NP. Not all ships are allowed to enter into the bay as the NP limits how many can fully enter. Princess has the permission to enter fully. I don't know if NCL has permission.

 

People in our 49th state are rugged and dress accordingly meaning jeans, outdoor clothing etc and in layers so that one can adjust to the temperature. Footwear is included in this so it is important to have good footwear that can get wet and provides warmth. I wore my hiking boots which worked out well in Ketchikan (200+ inches of rain each year) where it frequently rains as well as other ports. Glacier Bay which is not to be missed will be very cold and windy - after all we are talking about ICE!

 

A little trivia - Ketchikan is where they were going to build the infamous "bridge to nowhere".