What would you say?

[travelling fools]

What would you say is the percentage of people who still dress-up formal for the main dining rooms on formal night.

Would you prefer princess do just dressy nights instead.[shirt,tie and pants]

No t-shirt,golf shirts or khakis

[SeaYa52]

I personally prefer the formal nights. It's a great part of the cruise experience. My husband rents a tux - rather than drag one along ( much easier). I love the photo ops on formal nights.

:-) Just MHO

Sandy

[cherylandtk]

In the dining rooms 99% + still dress according to the code (formal wear or coat and tie) split almost evenly. I like having the formal attire on two nights. I think if they changed it to just shirt and tie that pretty soon it would also be t-shirts with obnoxious messages and jeans. I can get that at home in any restaurant in town.

[familia_solis]

We go on cruises to get away from all of that!! My husband wears a shirt and tie to work EVERYDAY and just wants to be relaxed on our cruises. We will be going on the Caribbean Princess on 11/26 and choose to dine in the buffet on both formal nights. I dont blame him a bit!

[Moondawgie]

I agree with the dress up people!

 

It is getting more and more informal all the time and I'm not happy with that - cruising used to be an elegant experience ... not any more.

[sashas_mom]

Nice thing is you can do whatever you want. Don't want to go formal, you have the option of the buffet, and they serve the same dinner as the dining room (we did that on our first formal night because we had 3 formal nights and didn't want to bother with all of them). For those who like the formal nights, I say let's leave them in place and have the choice to do it or not.

sasha'smom

[cruiseryyc]

Part of the cruise experience for me are the formal nights. We never get to dress up at home, so I love them.

[Aunu]

People used to get all dressed up to fly in planes to...not anymore. Used to be such a big deal, not anymore...

 

Cruising is an affordable vacation. So there are lots more of us that dont dress up for dinner.

 

We went to the windjammer most of the time. (RCI)

 

Theres NO WAY i could get my husband in a tux!! He was just in his brothers wedding this past weekend and it was not fun listening to him complain about the tux. He did it because that what was called for but... Its not a neccesity on a cruise, there are lots of dining options.

 

we got married on our deck, him in a shirt and tie and me in a linen dress (that i still wear to work). We decided on a wednesday that we were getting married on that saturday... nice, quick, easy... and we played whiffle ball after in the back yard...

[Coolmama_1]

People used to get all dressed up to fly in planes to...not anymore. Used to be such a big deal, not anymore.....

 

Back in the day when you went downtown to shop or go to a Dr., my parents made me wear a dress and my Sunday shoes! :D

[MarsMc888]

I vote for Formal Nights!!! :D

I wish there were more of them!

I wear pants/skirts and a blouse every day to work, and jeans and t-shirts when I'm home. I rarely get a chance to break out my cocktail dresses living in AZ - people wear golf shirts and khakis to even the fanciest restaurants here.

 

Whenever I watch those old movies from the 40s, when ladies were always so put together and beautifully dressed, I think I should've lived back then!

[grandmacolli]

I'm one of those who love the formal nights for all the reasons listed above. Just glad there's a choice for those who prefer otherwise.

 

Diane

[Druke I]

Traditionalist here - I wear a tux (or white dinner jacket) on formal nights, and enjoyed it when Princess also had the semi-formal nights where jackets were worn.

 

That said, we did a cruise on Oceania's Regatta this past August - and their dress code is "elegant or country-club casual" every night, and it sure did simplify the packing for both my wife and I.

 

There is something out there for all of us.

[numbersix]

Count me in as one who loves the "formal" part of cruising...it's one of the last bastions of gentility left! BTW...IMHO "formal" (for men, anyway) means Black or white tie (tuxedo)....a suit and tie is nice, but its not "formal".And it should be that way for kids, too....nothing wrong with teaching them some manners early...it'll hold them in good stead later. And...I know this has been beaten to death on many other threads, on formal nights it should be formal the whole evening...none of this rushing back to the cabin to change into shorts and t's for the evenings' entertainment. A little bit of decorum, please!!

 

Just my two cents.

[spongerob]

Answering the original question...

 

My estimate is that more than 90% dress as requested in the main dining rooms. Interestingly, it always seems that most of the tables are full for the formal nights, whereas there might be many empty seats on other nights.

[cjh]

We love formal night and my kids love having their pictures taken in formal dresses.

[Pam in CA]

What would you say is the percentage of people who still dress-up formal for the main dining rooms on formal night.

I'd say 50% are formal, another 48% are dressed up very nicely, and about 2% don't follow the guidelines.

Would you prefer princess do just dressy nights instead. <shirt,tie and pants> No t-shirt,golf shirts or khakis

I used to bring beaded gowns, etc. but now I bring a long black dress and dress it up with jewelry and shawls, etc. If Princess made it just "dressy," it would soon be "smart casual" because fewer and fewer people would take the time and effort to dress nicely.

[Seal]

I vote on the side of formal nights--I also believe that those who don't enjoy getting dressing in formal clothing are lucky that the ships have other choices for them.

 

Many years ago all cruisers on commercial ships wore formal wear every night.

 

I enjoy this break (formal night) from my every day dining--such as in the kitchen wearing whatever is handy.

 

Nancy:)

[regnig]

We attend little to no formal affairs here on dry land and while dressing up for Princess's Formal nights takes just a tad bit longer than Smart Casual we both enjoy (or at least DH claims he does) it. We live so casually at home it gives us both a chance to draw a quick breath at how good the other one looks all gussied up.

[dan40]

I'm for tuxi on formal nite. Its just about the only time I get to wear my tux.

 

Had to wear 3 piece with tie all my working life. Still wore a tux while cruising, I knew I was on vacation even if I was dressed up. Pleases the wife too.

 

Those who want to make a social statement by not dressing properly, only make the statement, "I'm socialy ignorant." no matter what they think they're saying.

 

Dan

[nancyfancy40]

quote=slsmartin]I personally prefer the formal nights. It's a great part of the cruise experience. My husband rents a tux - rather than drag one along ( much easier). I love the photo ops on formal nights.

:-) Just MHO

Sandy

 

 

Where can you find out about renting a tux. How much is it? Do they have big and tall sizes, to yound teens? Would love not to have to lug both suits and all the garbage for the guys. Could save so much luggage space. I tried to find info on the princess site and can not seem to find it.

 

nancy

[lagrutke]

Here is the link to rent tuxes:

 

http://www.cruiselineformal.com/prod_pcl_m.html

 

My husband bought a tux because we plan to do a lot of cruising:)

 

My 15 year old son is looking forward to getting dressed up in a tux, which we will rent.

 

I think it is a lot of fun to get all dressed up. I think people also behave better when they are dressed nice.

[CaribbeanCruisers]

Dressing up on formal nights are part of the wonderful cruise experience for our family. We meet our family from Philadelphia each year for a cruise and everyone dresses up. The ladies wear gowns and the men rent tuxes from http://www.cruiselineformal.com. Our five year old son also participates for formal nights wearing his own tuxedo. Our cruise next week he'll have both a black tux and an ivory one. What an adorable little guy he is! As a family we really enjoy the formal experience. We have some wonderful pictures of our :D family all dressed up!

[LARGIN]

To answer the OP's question. I say 98% dress in accordance with the guidelines on formal nights..

As for the second question.. I would prefer that formal night dress codes remain the same..

[mr green]

I like to dress up now and again, but I can't do it where I live. I retired to a small city some years ago, and one of the first things that we did was to go to the 'Grand Opening', of a 100 seat restaurant. Two persons wore a jacket and tie to it, myself and the mayor! Never again.:o john

[CroozBlooz]

On our recent cruise on the CB, there were very few tuxes on board. I think this is the trend. While I do bring my tux for formal nights, I think that the current trend is to make everything more casual, and the mass lines are moving in that direction as well. The more formal experience is still available on the upscale lines for those interested.