dress during the day ?

[getting older slowly]

Hi all

We are doing our first cruise 13 nights to new Zealand in 6 days.

Have been looking through the forums and have no problem with dressing for lunch and dinner/ formal nights. But what about walking round the ship during the day, and for breakfast, are trackie ( sweat pants ) and polo top OK ?

Particularly with 6 sea days

We are generally dress very causally at home, but are happy to dress up for our cruise. ( We would not be going to one of the bars in trackie minimum good jeans and polo or shirt )

 

As we are starting to pack just wanted to know, since don't want to pack the kitchen sink.

 

Cheers

[GUT2407]

Hi all

We are doing our first cruise 13 nights to new Zealand in 6 days.

Have been looking through the forums and have no problem with dressing for lunch and dinner/ formal nights. But what about walking round the ship during the day, and for breakfast, are trackie ( sweat pants ) and polo top OK ?

Particularly with 6 sea days

We are generally dress very causally at home, but are happy to dress up for our cruise. ( We would not be going to one of the bars in trackie minimum good jeans and polo or shirt )

 

As we are starting to pack just wanted to know, since don't want to pack the kitchen sink.

 

Cheers

 

Yep.

 

No need to dress for lunch either.

 

Trackies, mmmmm maybe a bit too down market but cargo pants or similar no worries.

[OCruisers]

Very casual by day! Enjoy! :D

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes casual as can be.

[cb at sea]

Whatever you'd wear at home in the same weather is fine!

[jeromep]

Hi all

We are doing our first cruise 13 nights to new Zealand in 6 days.

Have been looking through the forums and have no problem with dressing for lunch and dinner/ formal nights. But what about walking round the ship during the day, and for breakfast, are trackie ( sweat pants ) and polo top OK ?

Particularly with 6 sea days

We are generally dress very causally at home, but are happy to dress up for our cruise. ( We would not be going to one of the bars in trackie minimum good jeans and polo or shirt )

 

As we are starting to pack just wanted to know, since don't want to pack the kitchen sink.

 

Cheers

I have dressed pretty casually for breakfast and lunch in the MDR. If the night is not a formal night, then you will want to put on a nice shirt (polo or button down) and some khakis or dark jeans. If it is a formal night, I strongly recommend a shirt and tie and appropriate slacks, a sport jacket also helps, but beyond that, anything fancier is not necessary. Women can get away with a lot of different clothing combinations on either night.

 

There aren't any dress code police during the day as you meander about the ship and take part in activities or non-activities. I have never had issue with dress code in the MDR during breakfast and lunch, plus one really isn't enforced. Depending on the cruise and who is running the restaurant, you might find that the Matri'd is enforcing the dress code; but it varies. I've seen a lot of different clothing choices in the MDR during formal nights and non-formal nights, but for the most part cruisers respect the evening's "dress code" within reason.

 

As for dress code at bars, well, depending on the time of day and location on ship, that varies greatly, and there really isn't a bar dress code. Again, I've never seen a dress code enforced in the bars.

[getting older slowly]

Thanks Everybody

 

So it is jeans & polo top breakfast and lunch, trackie & t-shirt walking round the ship and maybe breakfast, trousers & shirt for dinner and suit for formal nights. Sounds great, time to pack now, and some extras such as windcheaters and jackets for on shore if bad weather.

Now only 6 sleeps left, not that we are counting.

 

Cheers

[keithm]

Hi all

We are doing our first cruise 13 nights to new Zealand in 6 days.

Have been looking through the forums and have no problem with dressing for lunch and dinner/ formal nights. But what about walking round the ship during the day, and for breakfast, are trackie ( sweat pants ) and polo top OK ?

Particularly with 6 sea days

We are generally dress very causally at home, but are happy to dress up for our cruise. ( We would not be going to one of the bars in trackie minimum good jeans and polo or shirt )

 

As we are starting to pack just wanted to know, since don't want to pack the kitchen sink.

 

Cheers

Breakfast/lunch & walking about the ship during the day is usually very casual. At night smart casual I/E slacks/collared shirt are the norm. Nice shorts are ok most everywhere BUT the main dining rooms at night. Formal is either tux/dark suit or sport coat/blazer with/without tie nice slacks. (more what you would wear to a nice restaurant or going to a show(not movie)

[Lucky TGO]

Very casual by day! Enjoy! :D

 

I agree with you LuLu :)

Tony

[Griller]

Breakfast/lunch & walking about the ship during the day is usually very casual. At night smart casual I/E slacks/collared shirt are the norm. Nice shorts are ok most everywhere BUT the main dining rooms at night. Formal is either tux/dark suit or sport coat/blazer with/without tie nice slacks. (more what you would wear to a nice restaurant or going to a show(not movie)

 

Holy Schnikees I think I must have been on different and downmarket Princess ships to you for my last few cruises, wifebeater shirts and shorts with flipflops were everywhere, yes even in the MDR at night, not so many in the evening though, and the baseball cap advisory at dinner was not being enforced either................... it certainly wasn't the Princess I was accustomed to just a few short years ago.

But then Princess didn't have burgers on the dinner menu in the MDR a few short years ago either, the rot started with Princess management and worked down to the passengers.

I mean, would you want to wear a tux on formal night with burger on the menu?

I certainly would not and now I don't even bring a tux with me. I do wear a suit and tie etc though, its a compromise.

[xyson]

We had the same experience as Griller on Princess last year. It seems like anything goes in the dining room even in formal evenings. We saw basketball jerseys with shorts and adidas sandals. Even baseball caps worn backwards. No dress code enforced in the MDR to speak of.

 

 

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[jeromep]

Holy Schnikees I think I must have been on different and downmarket Princess ships to you for my last few cruises, wifebeater shirts and shorts with flipflops were everywhere, yes even in the MDR at night, not so many in the evening though, and the baseball cap advisory at dinner was not being enforced either................... it certainly wasn't the Princess I was accustomed to just a few short years ago.

But then Princess didn't have burgers on the dinner menu in the MDR a few short years ago either, the rot started with Princess management and worked down to the passengers.

I mean, would you want to wear a tux on formal night with burger on the menu?

I certainly would not and now I don't even bring a tux with me. I do wear a suit and tie etc though, its a compromise.

 

We first cruised in 2011, and I brought a tux for formal night. I kind of wanted to do formal nights right. We were able to drive to the port so the cost of checking luggage on a flight wasn't an issue. Between the tux and our luggage, it was a lot of stuff to lug around, at least until you check the luggage in at the port. But still, it is a lot of stuff to keep track of while traveling.

 

On our next cruise I packed a sport jacket and my normal work wear, shirt, tie and slacks, and wasn't out of place. I'll do the same on my next cruise because renting, packing, and wearing a tux is a lot of hassle. Most of the men on my last cruise were doing the business dress look for formal nights. There were very few tuxes. But, most were still making a good attempt at honoring the spirit of formal night.

 

We had the same experience as Griller on Princess last year. It seems like anything goes in the dining room even in formal evenings. We saw basketball jerseys with shorts and adidas sandals. Even baseball caps worn backwards. No dress code enforced in the MDR to speak of.

 

Princess, and other cruise lines, are kind of in a pickle. They have to keep introducing cruising to new customers to help replace the long time customers who are no longer physically able to travel or who have died. This means a younger demographic, most of which do not wear professional wear daily for work since most workplaces have few dress codes or or none at all. High tech employers like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and others have basically dispensed with dress codes and your typical younger, well paid, employee expects casual dress in the workplace. Your gray collar and blue collar worker might have one nice shirt and a nice pair of pants in their closet, but unless work requires them to dress up, they aren't putting money into clothing they will only wear occasionally.

 

This then translates to what they expect when traveling, especially when they are paying the bill to travel. It is getting harder and harder for Maitre 'ds and dining room staff to police cruise line dress code policies when it means annoying somebody who has paid good money to enjoy themselves. We can all disagree with the lack of dress code enforcement, but at the end of the day, society doesn't dress up anymore for almost anything and certainly not dinner.

 

I was at a wedding last weekend, and about the only people at the ceremony and reception who were dressed up were in the wedding party. It's a sign of the times. We can lament it, deride it, and wish for times of the past, but is it really worth us worrying about it? I'll follow the rules until the rules change. However, I suspect that there is an ongoing discussion inside Princess right now about how long they are going to be able to realistically have formal nights and dining room dress codes, especially when these dress codes are becoming more and more difficult for their service staff to enforce.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Pack a warm layer plus warm hat, gloves and a scarf for the scenic cruising through Fiordland. It can get decidedly chilly there when the ship is in motion, even in our summer.

 

I usually wear linen beach pants around the ship during the day. These feel like wearing trackies but look a bit smarter. Sneaky!;)

[Lucky TGO]

We had the same experience as Griller on Princess last year. It seems like anything goes in the dining room even in formal evenings. We saw basketball jerseys with shorts and adidas sandals. Even baseball caps worn backwards. No dress code enforced in the MDR to speak of.

 

I really don't care what other people are wearing but in 30 cruises with Princess I have never seen in the MDR what you are describing on formal evenings or any other night " Basketball jerseys & Baseball caps on backwards " :eek:

Tony

[h3rjp]

Wear whatever you feel during the day. Unless you are planning on poking a few holes in an old mail bag and wondering around in that, you won't feel out of place.

 

It's your vacation. Respect the dress code in the evening as you're planning to and relax [emoji3]

 

 

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Edited November 28, 2016 by h3rjp

[floridalover5623]

We first cruised in 2011, and I brought a tux for formal night. I kind of wanted to do formal nights right. We were able to drive to the port so the cost of checking luggage on a flight wasn't an issue. Between the tux and our luggage, it was a lot of stuff to lug around, at least until you check the luggage in at the port. But still, it is a lot of stuff to keep track of while traveling.

 

On our next cruise I packed a sport jacket and my normal work wear, shirt, tie and slacks, and wasn't out of place. I'll do the same on my next cruise because renting, packing, and wearing a tux is a lot of hassle. Most of the men on my last cruise were doing the business dress look for formal nights. There were very few tuxes. But, most were still making a good attempt at honoring the spirit of formal night.

 

 

 

Princess, and other cruise lines, are kind of in a pickle. They have to keep introducing cruising to new customers to help replace the long time customers who are no longer physically able to travel or who have died. This means a younger demographic, most of which do not wear professional wear daily for work since most workplaces have few dress codes or or none at all. High tech employers like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and others have basically dispensed with dress codes and your typical younger, well paid, employee expects casual dress in the workplace. Your gray collar and blue collar worker might have one nice shirt and a nice pair of pants in their closet, but unless work requires them to dress up, they aren't putting money into clothing they will only wear occasionally.

 

This then translates to what they expect when traveling, especially when they are paying the bill to travel. It is getting harder and harder for Maitre 'ds and dining room staff to police cruise line dress code policies when it means annoying somebody who has paid good money to enjoy themselves. We can all disagree with the lack of dress code enforcement, but at the end of the day, society doesn't dress up anymore for almost anything and certainly not dinner.

 

I was at a wedding last weekend, and about the only people at the ceremony and reception who were dressed up were in the wedding party. It's a sign of the times. We can lament it, deride it, and wish for times of the past, but is it really worth us worrying about it? I'll follow the rules until the rules change. However, I suspect that there is an ongoing discussion inside Princess right now about how long they are going to be able to realistically have formal nights and dining room dress codes, especially when these dress codes are becoming more and more difficult for their service staff to enforce.

 

You pretty much describe the people dressing on the Royal last month. Most were dressed up but nothing was said to those that didn't care to participate. As Princess is the last of the mass market cruise lines to even have a requested dress code, the enforcement is loosely enforced if at all. Shorts were not seen in the evenings in the DR but on formal nights jeans & hats (cowboy hats) were entering although they did remove them before sitting down. There were at least 2 dozen guys without jackets wearing short sleeve shirts each sitting on formal nights.

 

We had lunch with a couple from the UK and one from Scotland who were both horrified by the lack of any control on formal nights by the staff and when they questioned them about it, the reply was "What can we do? There are so many people not dressing formally we have to respect their wishes also".

 

We enjoy the new relaxed mode of travel & as long as it doesn't degrade to swim suits & flip flops it's fine with us.

[Traderboy]

Is Cunard the only cruise line left who are adhering to traditional standards of dress?

We were on the Arcadia world cruise last year. We packed our dress wear expecting there were to be three levels of dress code. The middle one was 'gentlemen must wear a jacket' at dinner.

Then at the last moment they decided that all the middle dress tier nights would informal.

This meant that requirement for formal wear amounted to a tiny minority of nights.

P & O seemed very much like Princess in terms of dress requirements, even for on a world cruise.

Now we are trying Cunard this time.

 

 

 

 

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[john watson]

I think I am correct in saying you should not go into buffet or other dining areas clad in just a pair of swimming trunks, you need a top, or for ladies a cover up and I believe footwear. Wearing bathrobes about the ship is frowned upon. Not suggesting OP might try do either btw.

 

Regards John

[Potstech]

Despite what others wish there is no need for a suit coat or blazer for formal nights. I just wear a long sleeve dress shirt, tie nice pants for formal nights. If it bothers other people that is not my problem. Princess permits it so I enjoy my evening.

[floridalover5623]

I think I am correct in saying you should not go into buffet or other dining areas clad in just a pair of swimming trunks, you need a top, or for ladies a cover up and I believe footwear. Wearing bathrobes about the ship is frowned upon. Not suggesting OP might try do either btw.

 

Regards John

 

I wore my bathing suit on each & every day at the buffet on our recent trip as did many others- No problem.

Robes are OK I guess as long as you're not going commando. :p

[riclop]

Hi all

We are doing our first cruise 13 nights to new Zealand in 6 days.

Have been looking through the forums and have no problem with dressing for lunch and dinner/ formal nights. But what about walking round the ship during the day, and for breakfast, are trackie ( sweat pants ) and polo top OK ?

Particularly with 6 sea days

We are generally dress very causally at home, but are happy to dress up for our cruise. ( We would not be going to one of the bars in trackie minimum good jeans and polo or shirt )

 

As we are starting to pack just wanted to know, since don't want to pack the kitchen sink.

 

Cheers

 

You can wear whatever you want.

[keithm]

Holy Schnikees I think I must have been on different and downmarket Princess ships to you for my last few cruises, wifebeater shirts and shorts with flipflops were everywhere, yes even in the MDR at night, not so many in the evening though, and the baseball cap advisory at dinner was not being enforced either................... it certainly wasn't the Princess I was accustomed to just a few short years ago.

But then Princess didn't have burgers on the dinner menu in the MDR a few short years ago either, the rot started with Princess management and worked down to the passengers.

I mean, would you want to wear a tux on formal night with burger on the menu?

I certainly would not and now I don't even bring a tux with me. I do wear a suit and tie etc though, its a compromise.

I'm kind of going by the dress codes as specified in the daily patter. We were on the Regal Feb.7-21 last winter. The first week(Super Bowel week)It at times looked like a "trailer trash jamboree". Bathing suits & wife beater "t" shirts & the like. During the day I'm not bothered by it, at night, sorry, I am. No one dressed like that, got into the first seating at night. The other 2 mdr's I can't say. After Feb.14 a whole new crowd was on board & the dress style was more of what I expected. Mostly following the codes & a few who did not. I just will never cruise Princess during Super Bowel week. I did in the Celebrity Eclipse 2 years ago & no one looked that sleazy. Overall I like Princess, but still feel the Eclipse is just a bit more upscale than what Princess offers, but you still should get a nice cruise. We LOVE the staff on Princess, never felt more welcomed than on the Regal.

[keithm]

We had the same experience as Griller on Princess last year. It seems like anything goes in the dining room even in formal evenings. We saw basketball jerseys with shorts and adidas sandals. Even baseball caps worn backwards. No dress code enforced in the MDR to speak of.

 

I really don't care what other people are wearing but in 30 cruises with Princess I have never seen in the MDR what you are describing on formal evenings or any other night " Basketball jerseys & Baseball caps on backwards " :eek:

Tony

I didn't see it on the Regal in the MDR at night, but certainly saw it everywhere else(buffet as well)From Feb.7-14. After the trailer trash left on the 14'th, it was a much better looking crowd. Never saw so many drunks on a ship as during that week.

[keithm]

Is Cunard the only cruise line left who are adhering to traditional standards of dress?

We were on the Arcadia world cruise last year. We packed our dress wear expecting there were to be three levels of dress code. The middle one was 'gentlemen must wear a jacket' at dinner.

Then at the last moment they decided that all the middle dress tier nights would informal.

This meant that requirement for formal wear amounted to a tiny minority of nights.

P & O seemed very much like Princess in terms of dress requirements, even for on a world cruise.

Now we are trying Cunard this time.

 

 

 

 

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Cunard is still holding up pretty well, but the "Onslows" are making some headway there as well. Cunard is STILL our favorite line by far!

[keithm]

I wore my bathing suit on each & every day at the buffet on our recent trip as did many others- No problem.

Robes are OK I guess as long as you're not going commando. :p

So, obviously, you are part of the problem! Your post#16 seems to contradict you! Swim trunks in the buffet? Sorry,but that's disgusting!