Sapphire Princess -May 4, 2019 Cruise - Formal Night Attire

[BuckeyeTraveler]

I heard that the attire for formal nights on the Sapphire Princess, sailing May 4, 2019 to Russia, is black tie required.  Does anyone know if that is correct?

[Grburkart]

Oh boy!!! 

Check out where you heard that from and go from there. 

I’ll only say this... Formal attire and “black tie” are two different things. 

Good luck with your choices and have a great cruise!

 

Glenn

[oskidunker]

Would be a first. Doubtful. Why would they do this???

[dog]

No. But jacket was required for 

men on this ship

[floridalover5623]

8 hours ago, BuckeyeTraveler said:

I heard that the attire for formal nights on the Sapphire Princess, sailing May 4, 2019 to Russia, is black tie required.  Does anyone know if that is correct?

I haven't been on the Sapphire in many years but as the other ships don't require a jacket nor tie, I seriously doubt it.

[fishnchips]

This sailing will be from Southampton ,99% of Brits will be wearing formal wear also known as black tie .

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, fishnchips said:

This sailing will be from Southampton ,99% of Brits will be wearing formal wear also known as black tie .

I concur, different clientele.

[beg3yrs]

Princess' official dress codes do not vary. They are no different based on the specific ship, the itinerary, the season or the demographics of the passengers / clientele. I took a quick look at the description of the cruise to which you refer and there are no special notes regarding a different dress code than what Princess uses fleet-wide.

 

That said, it may be the choice of many passengers to dress in black tie, but it isn't a requirement in any sense of the word.

[aqua2]

We were on the Sapphire last May, sailing out of Southampton; the large majority of the passengers were British, and the formal night attire was dressier than seen on many of our other cruises.  Not "black tie" as we describe it here in the US, but many men in tuxes, many ladies in very fancy dresses.  My husband and our travel partner were fine in slacks/dress shirts/sport coat or business suit. Relax and enjoy your cruise!

[floridalover5623]

54 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

That said, it may be the choice of many passengers to dress in black tie, but it isn't a requirement in any sense of the word.

Very true and it also states that just a dress shirt & dress pants at a minimum are all that's required. 

[c-boy]

57 minutes ago, aqua2 said:

We were on the Sapphire last May, sailing out of Southampton; the large majority of the passengers were British, and the formal night attire was dressier than seen on many of our other cruises.  Not "black tie" as we describe it here in the US, but many men in tuxes, many ladies in very fancy dresses.  My husband and our travel partner were fine in slacks/dress shirts/sport coat or business suit. Relax and enjoy your cruise!

we were on the previous cruise, and noticed the same. A river cruise was next on our adventure and the dining atmosphere was more casual.

[Colo Cruiser]

2 hours ago, aqua2 said:

We were on the Sapphire last May, sailing out of Southampton; the large majority of the passengers were British, and the formal night attire was dressier than seen on many of our other cruises.  Not "black tie" as we describe it here in the US, but many men in tuxes, many ladies in very fancy dresses.  My husband and our travel partner were fine in slacks/dress shirts/sport coat or business suit. Relax and enjoy your cruise!

Same thing we saw.  

[majortom10]

That is the only down side to cruising with Princess especially from Southampton, most Brits classify formal night as tuxedo and black tie and most, but not all, will wear it. Unfortunately it has a different meaning in the US and they dress differently and IMO spoils the atmosphere of the night around the ship.

Edited March 2, 2019 by majortom10

[dapperron]

My wife and I live in a small community. So "Formal Nights" are our opportunity to dress up. I wish they would get rid of the word Formal. I prefer the word dapper, hence my user name. For instance on the formal night I might wear black shoes, gray dress slacks, a black belt, black dress shirt, a gray bow tie, and a cream jacket. Not exactly black tie, but I really feel quite dapper. 

To those who continue insist that black tie is the only way to go, I say, stuff it.

The only person that matters when deciding what to wear on Formal Nght is you. Wear what makes you feel dapper, dare I say.

Ron L

[satxdiver]

We sailed out of Southampton a few years ago for the British Isles cruise and it was not all that formal.  As to how many Brits were aboard, I have no idea but did not feel it was any more formal than I have seen on any of our earlier cruises.  As usual I did not bring a coat or tie and had no problem.  We will be departing from Southampton later this year for the Baltic and Norway cruises so I will have more input.  Sounds like it may be interesting in the MDR on formal night and I do not change my ways silently.  

[majortom10]

11 hours ago, satxdiver said:

We sailed out of Southampton a few years ago for the British Isles cruise and it was not all that formal.  As to how many Brits were aboard, I have no idea but did not feel it was any more formal than I have seen on any of our earlier cruises.  As usual I did not bring a coat or tie and had no problem.  We will be departing from Southampton later this year for the Baltic and Norway cruises so I will have more input.  Sounds like it may be interesting in the MDR on formal night and I do not change my ways silently.  

That is the one exception sailing out of Southampton where the majority of cruisers are from US as it is not a popular cruise for UK cruisers as Med or Baltic cruises. We have done 4 BI cruises and have another booked  for August this year but Med cruises are more British and more formal with many wearing tuxedos and black ties.

[majortom10]

14 hours ago, dapperron said:

My wife and I live in a small community. So "Formal Nights" are our opportunity to dress up. I wish they would get rid of the word Formal. I prefer the word dapper, hence my user name. For instance on the formal night I might wear black shoes, gray dress slacks, a black belt, black dress shirt, a gray bow tie, and a cream jacket. Not exactly black tie, but I really feel quite dapper. 

To those who continue insist that black tie is the only way to go, I say, stuff it.

The only person that matters when deciding what to wear on Formal Nght is you. Wear what makes you feel dapper, dare I say.

Ron L

 

Formal or Black Tie although traditionally is correct even the most formal of cruise lines i.e. Cunard on formal nights it is perfectly acceptable to wear a bow tie of any colour and there would be no eyes raised.

[satxdiver]

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

That is the one exception sailing out of Southampton where the majority of cruisers are from US as it is not a popular cruise for UK cruisers as Med or Baltic cruises. We have done 4 BI cruises and have another booked  for August this year but Med cruises are more British and more formal with many wearing tuxedos and black ties.

 

Perhaps so and I will find out in a few months.  However I do not plan to go silently.   

[jemgee]

We are on this cruise sailing 1st June.

From our cruise personaliser

 

Your itinerary includes 3 formal nights and 11 smart casual nights. Formal nights tend to occur on sea days. However, since exceptions can happen, it's always a good idea to check your Patter for details.

[Geoffa30]

Have done many sailings out of the UK on many lines and all have been dressier than those that set sail from outside of the UK. We actually quite like it.

 

On Princess, wherever the departure port, we have found it’s especially dressy on the evening the Captains Circle Party is held. A lot more black tie.

[USCcruisecrazy]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 2:31 PM, majortom10 said:

That is the only down side to cruising with Princess especially from Southampton, most Brits classify formal night as tuxedo and black tie and most, but not all, will wear it. Unfortunately it has a different meaning in the US and they dress differently and IMO spoils the atmosphere of the night around the ship.

You lost me there!  Are you saying if others dress to the nines that somehow the atmosphere on the ship suffers?  That's absurd.  We always dress that way for Formal nights and when others around the ship are casual, we could care less.  It doesn't downgrade our experience any more than us being dressed up should downgrade someone else's.  Maybe I just misunderstood your meaning.