dress code for men in MDR

[sun&sea]

We are elite, but we have not cruised for the past 2-3 years. Without everyone arguing about the dress code, can you please just tell me if dress shorts are allowed in the MDR for men? I am just referring to a nice button down shirt and dress shorts on regular days, not dress to impress nights. We will be on the Ruby 10 night Panama Canal in late January.

Thank you,

Janet

[Bgwest]

Just now, sun&sea said:

We are elite, but we have not cruised for the past 2-3 years. Without everyone arguing about the dress code, can you please just tell me if dress shorts are allowed in the MDR for men? I am just referring to a nice button down shirt and dress shorts on regular days, not dress to impress nights. We will be on the Ruby 10 night Panama Canal in late January.

Thank you,

Janet

Yes. 

[asctony]

To help you, read the many post on this subject on this forum. Everyone has an opinion.

 

Mine is wear what you want as others do.

 

Princess does not enforce any rules or suggestions. 

 

Happy Cruising! 

[Outerdog]

Dress for the Olive Garden or Red Lobster.

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, sun&sea said:

We are elite, but we have not cruised for the past 2-3 years. Without everyone arguing about the dress code, can you please just tell me if dress shorts are allowed in the MDR for men? I am just referring to a nice button down shirt and dress shorts on regular days, not dress to impress nights. We will be on the Ruby 10 night Panama Canal in late January.

Thank you,

Janet

There has been no change to the stated policy of “no shorts” in the MDR at dinner.  No one can predict whether the policy will be enforced on any ship on any given night. It is often ignored but there are dining room managers who will turn people away

Edited November 24, 2023 by Torfamm

[AZjohn]

2 hours ago, sun&sea said:

Without everyone arguing about the dress code,….

Really… on a new dress code thread about shorts?

[sun&sea]

Okay, so it's not an official policy that shorts are allowed, but some people wear them anyway and it is "allowed" or ignored. I get it.

We have been going to some all-inclusive resorts and the dress code has recently changed. I was just curious. 

Thank you to those that have politely replied.

 

Janet

[MissP22]

I'm still unsure why Princess hasn't changed their written policy about wearing shorts in the DR since they're tolerated even on formal evenings.

[Bollycats]

Recently on the Caribbean Princess I got to dine while watching a man's hairy armpit in a tank top during dinner. He constantly ate with his left arm on the table so it was very visible.When we asked the seating host about dress codes she said there is nothing they can do. This was in the middle of the week not the first or last night where there might be luggage issues.

[Lady Arwen]

45 minutes ago, Bollycats said:

Recently on the Caribbean Princess I got to dine while watching a man's hairy armpit in a tank top during dinner. He constantly ate with his left arm on the table so it was very visible.When we asked the seating host about dress codes she said there is nothing they can do. This was in the middle of the week not the first or last night where there might be luggage issues.

So disgusting. Sorry, your dinner was spoiled by this “gentleman”.  There needs to be a line drawn between casual and beach/bbq in the MDR.  No disrespect intended, but we never see type of dress in Canada or Europe when dining out except at fast food restaurants.  
 

Oh well, the new attitude seems to be anything goes, we don’t care what anyone thinks.  So, my DH and I will continue looking nice and just ignoring the rest.  We won’t let anyone spoil our special time.  
 

Thank you for sharing your recent experience on Caribbean Princess.

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, Bollycats said:

Recently on the Caribbean Princess I got to dine while watching a man's hairy armpit in a tank top during dinner. He constantly ate with his left arm on the table so it was very visible.When we asked the seating host about dress codes she said there is nothing they can do. This was in the middle of the week not the first or last night where there might be luggage issues.

Princess seems to be reluctant to enforce much of anything for fear of receiving less than a 10 on the post cruise evaluation because the "ruined" someone's vacation.  In the absence of enforcement, chaos reigns.  Slovenly dress and behavior in the MDR, chair hogs, mobility devices blocking fire exit corridors, card players taking up tables in the buffet.  It's the new norm for Princess.  

 

The perfect storm of mass marketing to steerage.

 

It's sad to witness.

[Bgwest]

Wondering why those who find certain sights offensive continue looking. 

[MissP22]

31 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

So disgusting. Sorry, your dinner was spoiled by this “gentleman”.  There needs to be a line drawn between casual and beach/bbq in the MDR.  No disrespect intended, but we never see type of dress in Canada or Europe when dining out except at fast food restaurants.  
 

Oh well, the new attitude seems to be anything goes, we don’t care what anyone thinks.  So, my DH and I will continue looking nice and just ignoring the rest.  We won’t let anyone spoil our special time.  
 

Thank you for sharing your recent experience on Caribbean Princess.

Although that example was an extreme case, the problem could have been solved by simply asking for another table. 

[MissP22]

4 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Wondering why those who find certain sights offensive continue looking. 

Or booking. Maybe they should consider a more upscale line, like Cunard. 

[IndyKid]

21 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Or booking. Maybe they should consider a more upscale line, like Cunard. 

Or maybe those who can't be bothered to wear decent clothing to the MDR should consider a more appropriate cruise line.

 

Carnival anyone?

[Lucky TGO]

47 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Princess seems to be reluctant to enforce much of anything for fear of receiving less than a 10 on the post cruise evaluation because the "ruined" someone's vacation.  In the absence of enforcement, chaos reigns.  Slovenly dress and behavior in the MDR, chair hogs, mobility devices blocking fire exit corridors, card players taking up tables in the buffet.  It's the new norm for Princess.  

 

The perfect storm of mass marketing to steerage.

 

It's sad to witness.

Pretty soon you will be able to dress up like these fine looking gentleman at one of the great takeout restaurants in Boston’s old Scollay Square. Only 1 or 2 maybe a little over dressed. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony
 

[IndyKid]

2 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

Pretty soon you will be able to dress up like these fine looking gentleman at one of the great takeout restaurants in Boston’s old Scollay Square. Only 1 or 2 maybe a little over dressed. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony
 

It's got to be a great place to eat, they served Schlitz beer, same as my grandma's tavern!

[billco]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Princess seems to be reluctant to enforce much of anything for fear of receiving less than a 10 on the post cruise evaluation because the "ruined" someone's vacation.  In the absence of enforcement, chaos reigns.  Slovenly dress and behavior in the MDR, chair hogs, mobility devices blocking fire exit corridors, card players taking up tables in the buffet.  It's the new norm for Princess.  

 

The perfect storm of mass marketing to steerage.

 

It's sad to witness.

Oh I don't know. I've been following CC since 2004. It seems "Slovenly dress and behavior in the MDR, chair hogs, mobility devices blocking fire exit corridors, card players taking up tables in the buffet" have always been discussed. Eh, maybe a bit more so since the pandemic ended. 

[karatemom2]

While it’s true that in our experience Princess has relaxed any enforcement of the guidelines, the guidelines have not changed and it is still stated shorts are not acceptable attire in the MDR at dinner. However, it seems unlikely that he will be turned away based on actual experiences shared by many here who have reported that shorts seem to be pretty much overlooked these days.
 

I will note though, he will still be in a very, very tiny minority wearing shorts. In our experience most passengers at least make an effort to comply with the basic guidelines so you just don’t see that many aberrations. I’ve maybe seen two or three men wearing shorts at dinner on any of our recent cruises since things became more relaxed. If he’s cool being an outlier, great! It’s your vacation. My DH likes to blend in and gets uncomfortable if he thinks people are staring or judging. It may elicit a few disapproving looks from fellow passengers, but if that doesn’t bother him you will almost certainly get no objection from the host. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by karatemom2

[MissP22]

43 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Or maybe those who can't be bothered to wear decent clothing to the MDR should consider a more appropriate cruise line.

 

Carnival anyone?

Why lower yourself to Carnival when Princess allows just about anything lately to be comfortable? They finally realized that their customers do not want to be dictated to about what clothing to wear. 

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, billco said:

Oh I don't know. I've been following CC since 2004. It seems "Slovenly dress and behavior in the MDR, chair hogs, mobility devices blocking fire exit corridors, card players taking up tables in the buffet" have always been discussed. Eh, maybe a bit more so since the pandemic ended. 

And other than the more relaxed dress code, nothing has changed. 

[doghog]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Although that example was an extreme case, the problem could have been solved by simply asking for another table. 

Exactly. 

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

I will note though, he will still be in a very, very tiny minority wearing shorts. In our experience most passengers at least make an effort to comply with the basic guidelines so you just don’t see that many aberrations. I’ve maybe seen two or three men wearing shorts at dinner on any of our recent cruises since things became more relaxed.

On our last formal evening I saw 4 guys wearing shorts although there may have been more I missed. I don't believe anyone fainted, and the food still tasted OK to me. 

I wore my denim jacket just to stay warm as the AC was wicked cold.   

[doghog]

I wonder if those that claim they complain to the MDR host (or whatever their title is) about others in the MDR and nothing was done about it and was given an excuse why they don't has voiced their complaints (bad rating) on their Post Cruise Survey (?).

 

I have a hard enough time noticing what my wife is wearing (according to her).  We had someone who was standing behind us in line to the MDR on one of our cruises years ago make an ignorant comment about what we were wearing. I didn't let the busybodies ignorant comment go unnoticed by me and let her know it.  

 

 

 

[MissP22]

26 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Agree with all you've said. But one shouldn't have to upgrade and spend even more hard-earned money just to avoid these idiots. 

 

There's the school of thought that MDR personnel are reluctant to enforce the rules, lest they offend someone and get a poor review. I subscribe to the notion that we should start complaining to management when rules aren't enforced, and not just dress code - I'm talking kids in all-adult areas, chair hogs, deck chair towel game, etc. 

 

The silent majority needs to be less so...

I'm perfectly happy with the way thing are today although there might be a few people bending the rules that offend a few people, it's not enough to get excited about.  

If you really believe it'll help your views on some of the offenders then you should defiantly voice you concerns on the surveys. (although I seriously doubt it)

I wouldn't want to be the crew member who's rating would be jeopardized.