Formal night ?

[jeromep]

9 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Just my personal opinion. If you are not going to wear a jacket, please, for the sake of fashion and all grocery store clerks, DON'T wear a tie.

Ohh, good idea.  I think I still have my Safeway apron from eons ago, when grocery store clerks wore aprons and ties.  I might still have my name tag; and I bet where I find my name tag I'll find a Safeway issue blue polyester tie and a box cutter.  I'm sure I'll be a hit in the MDR on formal night all dressed up appropriately.  😉

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Just my personal opinion. If you are not going to wear a jacket, please, for the sake of fashion and all grocery store clerks, DON'T wear a tie.

 

Oh no, now wearing a tie is going to ruin someone's evening!  😁

 

I have not packed a tie for a cruise in a long time, so I'm with you on this one.

 

BTW, How do you feel about wearing a jacket without a shirt?     

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

....

 

BTW, How do you feel about wearing a jacket without a shirt?     

It was done in Flashdance ...

 

Not sure with my grand-dad bod it would be looked upon favorably.

Edited November 22, 2022 by beg3yrs

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

In my experience there are still a fair number of folks on Princess who dress formally.  Bring the tux if that is what you like.  Likewise, you will be fine if you wear something less formal.  

 

We love seeing the guys in a tux and a well dressed lady with them. I've never owned a tux but, if I had one, I would likely wear it... or not as I would probably have bought it when I was... umm... slimmer.

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

We all roll our eyes at these dress code threads, but you bring up a very valid reason for them.  I would be comfortable dressing more casually but I've experienced Princess and know what to expect.   For someone new to the line, this is a very helpful thread -- as long as the arguments are avoided. 

 

In my experience there are still a fair number of folks on Princess who dress formally.  Bring the tux if that is what you like.  Likewise, you will be fine if you wear something less formal.  

I've worn my tux on Carnival, I believe that I'll be fine on Princess 😀. There is something that cuts against the grain when a company publishes rules just to impress customers but has no intention of enforcing them. I am used to this on Carnival as well (and NCL, and Royal). (And there is also something that cuts against the grain when a customer agrees to abide by the rules with no intention of following them. Such is the world we live in.)

[555]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

I've worn my tux on Carnival, I believe that I'll be fine on Princess 😀. There is something that cuts against the grain when a company publishes rules just to impress customers but has no intention of enforcing them. I am used to this on Carnival as well (and NCL, and Royal). (And there is also something that cuts against the grain when a customer agrees to abide by the rules with no intention of following them. Such is the world we live in.)

If you're so used to the dress code rules on other cruise lines it shouldn't come as any surprise to see Princess follow suit. 

People on Princess have been bending the rules for years so there is nothing new except that Princess has recently been less active in their enforcement. 

For my money the cruise line is exactly where it should be, to make as many people feel comfortable no matter how they decide to dress.

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

It was done in Flashdance ...

 

Not sure with my grand-dad bod it would be looked upon favorably.

 

Yep. Jennifer Beals could pull it off.  If I tried there would be a mass exit.   

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I've worn my tux on Carnival, I believe that I'll be fine on Princess 😀. There is something that cuts against the grain when a company publishes rules just to impress customers but has no intention of enforcing them. I am used to this on Carnival as well (and NCL, and Royal). (And there is also something that cuts against the grain when a customer agrees to abide by the rules with no intention of following them. Such is the world we live in.)

 

I have never been asked to agree to abide by any dress "recommendation" on any cruise.  I think what a customer must agree to are rules covering what is required or not allowed vs what is recommended.   Kind of like mask required vs mask recommended.  

 

Anyway, compared to Carnival you will find that more folks on Princess are in the spirit of the dressing up.  

 

   

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, 555 said:

If you're so used to the dress code rules on other cruise lines it shouldn't come as any surprise to see Princess follow suit. 

People on Princess have been bending the rules for years so there is nothing new except that Princess has recently been less active in their enforcement. 

For my money the cruise line is exactly where it should be, to make as many people feel comfortable no matter how they decide to dress.

 

Celebrity replaced formal night with chic night.  The recommended dress standard is very casual including designer jeans.   Yet there are still folks decked out with tuxes & gowns on chic night.  They are doing it because they want to.    I guess I'm saying all of this to show that those who want to dress casually and those who want to wear the fancy duds can coexist peacefully.   

[PrincessLuver]

11 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Celebrity replaced formal night with chic night.  The recommended dress standard is very casual including designer jeans.   Yet there are still folks decked out with tuxes & gowns on chic night.  They are doing it because they want to.    I guess I'm saying all of this to show that those who want to dress casually and those who want to wear the fancy duds can coexist peacefully.   

 

Princess on a number of their cruises is starting to use the term "Elegant Night" instead of Formal Night and suggesting more causal dress is acceptable.  We all know that Princess does not enforce its' dress suggestion as many here on CC would lead you to believe and there are no MDR Dragons at the door checking everyone out on what they wear each night and allowing admittance or not to the MDRs..

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Princess on a number of their cruises is starting to use the term "Elegant Night" instead of Formal Night and suggesting more causal dress is acceptable.  We all know that Princess does not enforce its' dress suggestion as many here on CC would lead you to believe and there are no MDR Dragons at the door checking everyone out on what they wear each night and allowing admittance or not to the MDRs..

 

How is a "suggestion" enforced?   

 

I think a problem with these dress code question threads is people respond with what they want as opposed to what is.  Additionally, when a lot of folks talk about formal, they are really mean something a lot less.  Dark pants and a "sparkly" top look nice, but are not really formal.     

 

In general, of Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, & Princess, more folks will be dressed up on Princess.  That is what I observe.   Even with itinerary variations, I think that would still hold true.     

Edited November 22, 2022 by ldubs

[sabreline]

Seriously..."enforcement"?????? People pay a lot to cruise and don't expect the "enforcement police" to be guarding the doors!

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, sabreline said:

Seriously..."enforcement"?????? People pay a lot to cruise and don't expect the "enforcement police" to be guarding the doors!

 

Oh, I think there are a lot of people who do want that exactly.  And it is not limited to dress suggestions.  

[EDDY0827]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I worked in IT and for the final 8 years or so I wore Aloha shirts (mostly Tommy Bahama floral design),  Levis, and Birkenstocks.  😁

Ah, Northstate formal wear!

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, 555 said:

If you're so used to the dress code rules on other cruise lines it shouldn't come as any surprise to see Princess follow suit. 

People on Princess have been bending the rules for years so there is nothing new except that Princess has recently been less active in their enforcement. 

For my money the cruise line is exactly where it should be, to make as many people feel comfortable no matter how they decide to dress.

I would expect them to amend their rules accordingly, but they want to burn the candle at both ends, I guess.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I have never been asked to agree to abide by any dress "recommendation" on any cruise.  I think what a customer must agree to are rules covering what is required or not allowed vs what is recommended.   Kind of like mask required vs mask recommended.  

 

Anyway, compared to Carnival you will find that more folks on Princess are in the spirit of the dressing up.  

 

   

I expect that I will find people more fancified, for sure, but what I quoted above does not sound like a recommendation. Certainly far from the end of the world. 

[555]

30 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I would expect them to amend their rules accordingly, but they want to burn the candle at both ends, I guess.

It seems to be working for them. 

Other than a few people on cruise critic I haven't heard that many complaints. 

[GonzoWCS]

On 11/21/2022 at 9:12 AM, Colorado Coasty said:

Just my personal opinion. If you are not going to wear a jacket, please, for the sake of fashion and all grocery store clerks, DON'T wear a tie.

LMFAO

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 11/21/2022 at 2:43 AM, sparks1093 said:

I have no problem with this, but Princess needs to adjust their policy to match the practice. As a first time cruiser with Princess I would follow their guidance to a T and bring my tux.

 

No where does Princess say in their guidelines a tux is mandatory. They say "dinner jacket" (tux) or "dark suit".

 

I think where the cruise is going matters too. Hawaii and Mexican Riviera cruises tend to be less formal; European cruises, more formal. I've seen men in the main dining room without a jacket (sport coat, blazer, call it what you will) on Formal Nights, but I've never seen shorts allowed in the MDR for dinner.

[Wakepatrol]

We’ve simply given up folks. We wear pajamas to the grocery store, bathrobes to the Lido. We wear socks and slides to a job interview. Just slip into some crocs and a tracksuit and head to the dining room on formal night

Edited November 23, 2022 by Wakepatrol

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I expect that I will find people more fancified, for sure, but what I quoted above does not sound like a recommendation. Certainly far from the end of the world. 

 

In Princess' own words, there are recommendations for evenings and dinners. They do specify what is prohibited in the MDR.  But that aside, I understand someone new would, rightly so,  want to follow those recommendations.  

 

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, 555 said:

It seems to be working for them. 

Other than a few people on cruise critic I haven't heard that many complaints. 

I don't think it's a big enough deal that anyone would complain other than on a forum like this and in reality they would simply be expressing their opinion. The cruise line sets up an expectation in a new customer's mind with their advertising and their stated policies, not only for expected dress (whether it's called a recommendation or not doesn't matter) but in all areas of shipboard life with them. The more they deviate from that expectation onboard the more dissatisfied the customer could be. Someone said above that very few of the formalists would leave the cruise line over it and that is no doubt true, but if someone considering booking for the first time saw the policy and read that it isn't followed it could keep them from booking. That is not my lookout, but I would hope (as a future stockholder in the parent Corp) that they would try to avoid alienating customers in that way. 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

No where does Princess say in their guidelines a tux is mandatory. They say "dinner jacket" (tux) or "dark suit".

 

I think where the cruise is going matters too. Hawaii and Mexican Riviera cruises tend to be less formal; European cruises, more formal. I've seen men in the main dining room without a jacket (sport coat, blazer, call it what you will) on Formal Nights, but I've never seen shorts allowed in the MDR for dinner.

Yes, I know, but since I do own one I would bring it. I certainly wouldn't run out to buy one for a cruise.

[Bobbiegentry]

For goodness sake people, don’t stress. 
Be comfortable. 

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

I don't think it's a big enough deal that anyone would complain other than on a forum like this and in reality they would simply be expressing their opinion. The cruise line sets up an expectation in a new customer's mind with their advertising and their stated policies, not only for expected dress (whether it's called a recommendation or not doesn't matter) but in all areas of shipboard life with them. The more they deviate from that expectation onboard the more dissatisfied the customer could be. Someone said above that very few of the formalists would leave the cruise line over it and that is no doubt true, but if someone considering booking for the first time saw the policy and read that it isn't followed it could keep them from booking. That is not my lookout, but I would hope (as a future stockholder in the parent Corp) that they would try to avoid alienating customers in that way. 

What you say is correct but at the same time I don't think Princess wants to be known as one of the most formal mass market cruise lines out there. 

I believe they're the last holdout that hasn't relaxed their dress code on formal nights. (officially)

Maybe they should rewrite their policy to reflect actuality?

In the mean time we'll be enjoying their new style of requirements.