Alaska Cruise Dining Dress Code

[Shaver John]

7 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Was that on a formal evening and on which Princess ship?

My DH has always worn T shirts on casual evenings on all the Princess ships without problems. 

Yes, it was the second formal night, and like I said had no impact on any of the folks in our party. Actually I must admit I think I was the only one who noticed, and I was the one sitting on the side of the table which pointed to the family. To my great excitement the kids were so good, very well behaved, and seems to really enjoy the event.

[jlp20]

Getting off Ruby Princess R/T Alaska. There simply was no dress code in the dining rooms, formal night or not. Ball caps, T-shirts even jogging suits. Looked like Princess simply didn't care.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, jlp20 said:

Getting off Ruby Princess R/T Alaska. There simply was no dress code in the dining rooms, formal night or not. Ball caps, T-shirts even jogging suits. Looked like Princess simply didn't care.

Not so much as they didn't care but they do understand that people can't pack Alaska types of clothing plus comfortably bring formal clothing also. 

Although people do then to get carried away with being casual. 

[Ep010835]

To each his own. 

Be comfortable. Whatever you perceive that to mean. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I just finished packing for the 14 day north/south voyage of the glaciers on the Island. We left the tuxedo and long gowns at home this time.

 

DH has a dark suit and I have two gorgeous short formal gowns for formal nights. 

For all other nights he has two sports coats/slacks, 5 dress shirts and I have 8 cocktail dresses. It all fit into one rolling garment bag.  Thought about toning it down more, but we treat every night like a date night. Dinner, a show, then dancing all included every night! Love ❤️ it.   The clothes make every night feel special. He looks great, I look great & all of our clothes are comfortable and fit well. I honestly think some people hate dressing up because they’ve never had formal wear that feels as comfortable as regular day wear. Yes it’s possible. Right down to the shoes!  Anyway we are usually not alone in dressing for dinner. For those who come dressed like they’re mowing the yard? Meh.......Life is too short to give them a moments notice or a moments thought. 

 

Since the forecast looks like rain and cold weather we packed parkas and other cold weather gear. Two extra large checked bags. I love cruising.  I shlep a bunch of luggage (who am I kidding? I pay someone to do it lol), unpack once and have exactly what I want for the entire trip. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Steelers36]

18 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I just finished packing for the 14 day north/south voyage of the glaciers on the Island. We left the tuxedo and long gowns at home this time.

 

DH has a dark suit and I have two gorgeous short formal gowns for formal nights. 

For all other nights he has two sports coats/slacks, 5 dress shirts and I have 8 cocktail dresses. It all fit into one rolling garment bag.  Thought about toning it down more, but we treat every night like a date night. Dinner, a show, then dancing all included every night! Love ❤️ it.   The clothes make every night feel special. He looks great, I look great & all of our clothes are comfortable and fit well. I honestly think some people hate dressing up because they’ve never had formal wear that feels as comfortable as regular day wear. Yes it’s possible. Right down to the shoes!  Anyway we are usually not alone in dressing for dinner. For those who come dressed like they’re mowing the yard? Meh.......Life is too short to give them a moments notice or a moments thought. 

 

Since the forecast looks like rain and cold weather we packed parkas and other cold weather gear. Two extra large checked bags. I love cruising.  I shlep a bunch of luggage (who am I kidding? I pay someone to do it lol), unpack once and have exactly what I want for the entire trip. 

Now that's what I like about Princess.  You are well over the top for me (like formal every night), but hey, if that makes a great cruise for you guys, why not?  All this fuss over formal wear threads.  If you want to be more formal, go for it.  If others of us want to be more casual, go for it.  I think it is good that Princess is relaxed on the dress requirements and keeping as recommendations. 

 

That said, I am not for beachwear, shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops, etc for dinner.  So, I do agree with Princess' unacceptable items for dinner.  Doesn't take much to step it up to level of dining out at home.  But, some report here that even those are allowed at times.  (Note that I know first night and last night are exceptions). 

Edited May 5, 2019 by steelers36

[Eaglecw]

In 14 or 15 Alaskan cruises I've seen it all. I don't think Princess wants to enforce or make a scene and try to tell someone they aren't dressed properly to be in the MDR. I have yet to see someone turned away from the MDR on an Alaskan cruise. I think i might push the envelop a little on our next Alaskan cruise. It's always kind of fun.

[Ep010835]

 Only once have I ever seen anyone turned away from the MDR. That was on our most recent Mexico cruise on the Grand. A couple showed up and the man was in shorts. He was asked to change and come back. 

 Can’t remember if it was formal night or not. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

To answer the OP's question; in my experience, Princess Alaska cruises are less formal than other Princess cruises. The written "suggestions" are the same on every ship.

 

"Thank you for not wearing..." isn't the same as "people wearing XYZ will not be seated".

 

I got back from a Panama Canal cruise recently (Coral) and no one in my group was paying attention to which nights were formal and which were not. We had reservations at the MDR and we showed up with no jackets, just a collared shirt and slacks. Several of the men in line were in tuxes, almost all had jackets and ties. I went back to our suites and got my father's sport coat and mine (no tie). One person in our party hadn't even brought a jacket. He was embarrassed, but seated without a bat of an eye by the Maitre d.

 

The last person in our party had overslept and was about 10 minutes late in joining us. He showed up in shorts. He too was seated with no disdain, but I did see a lot of husbands pointing and saying, "see".

 

Some people may not like that "suggestions" aren't enforced, but what someone else is wearing has no impact on the enjoyment of my meal.

[Ep010835]

9 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

Some people may not like that "suggestions" aren't enforced, but what someone else is wearing has no impact on the enjoyment of my meal.

 

Your attitude is refreshing. Well done!

 

And you are exactly right. Suggestions they are and nothing more. 

[c-boy]

6 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I just finished packing for the 14 day north/south voyage of the glaciers on the Island. We left the tuxedo and long gowns at home this time.

 

DH has a dark suit and I have two gorgeous short formal gowns for formal nights. 

For all other nights he has two sports coats/slacks, 5 dress shirts and I have 8 cocktail dresses. It all fit into one rolling garment bag.  Thought about toning it down more, but we treat every night like a date night. Dinner, a show, then dancing all included every night! Love ❤️ it.   The clothes make every night feel special. He looks great, I look great & all of our clothes are comfortable and fit well. I honestly think some people hate dressing up because they’ve never had formal wear that feels as comfortable as regular day wear. Yes it’s possible. Right down to the shoes!  Anyway we are usually not alone in dressing for dinner. For those who come dressed like they’re mowing the yard? Meh.......Life is too short to give them a moments notice or a moments thought. 

 

Since the forecast looks like rain and cold weather we packed parkas and other cold weather gear. Two extra large checked bags. I love cruising.  I shlep a bunch of luggage (who am I kidding? I pay someone to do it lol), unpack once and have exactly what I want for the entire trip. 

wonderful !

[MissP22]

My DH learned years ago that the Princess formal dress code for men had turned into just casual & less casual style on the other nights. 

For women it's been just nice clothing for years on formal evenings which most of us can easily live with.

I suppose that's why Princess hasn't officially relaxed their dress code similar to the other cruise lines.