Formal Night without Suit and Formal Shoes.

[Reina del Mar]

Have done quite a few Princess Cruises (Elite).We have always taken formal wear previously.

 

Have just added a cruise to our Fly/ Drive in USA and trying to work out whether we can avoid taking formal wear. Would fit in our luggage allowance easily as we have done it before. (2x 23kg each) But as we get older do not want to lug extra things that would only be worn twice on cruise, out of longer 4 week holiday when we’ll be in and out of hotels every other night.

 

Question is…and I am totally aware of Princess’ suggested dress code…what do men wear in MDR if not hauling suits, blazers or Sports’ coats ???  Would husband get away with black jeans and a shirt with casual shoes ? Or will we be relegated to buffet/ speciality dining on formal nights ?

 

I don’t want to be reprimanded for suggesting such a dreadful thing, but would be pleased to hear from anyone who has used MDR on formal night without dressing formally….will be in Caribbean in July.

 

Thanks for your (helpful) comments.

[wcook]

What exactly are we talking about for casual shoes? Princess specifically has a rule against flip flops. I would ban Crocs-with-socks 🙂

[sandancer]

We were on Enchanted Princess in Nov 22 and we took something dressy but not formal. The Caribbean cruises are always more relaxed so as long your DH doesn’t wear shorts, sandals or raggy jeans he’ll be fine. 

[Mark_K]

Take a couple of dress shirts and a tie that matches.

[Lady Arwen]

You really can wear what you want,  You like dressing up?  Go for it!  You like business casual?  That works, too!  You prefer country club casual, no tie no jacket?  You’re in!  There is no longer a dress code enforced, so as long as you don’t try shorts and flip flops, although some of our members did that too, you will be just fine,

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited May 27 by Lady Arwen

[Reina del Mar]

18 minutes ago, wcook said:

What exactly are we talking about for casual shoes? Princess specifically has a rule against flip flops. I would ban Crocs-with-socks 🙂

Casual Leather shoes. Something like lace up boat shoes..definitely not Crocs !

[555]

26 minutes ago, Reina del Mar said:

Question is…and I am totally aware of Princess’ suggested dress code…what do men wear in MDR if not hauling suits, blazers or Sports’ coats ???  Would husband get away with black jeans and a shirt with casual shoes ? Or will we be relegated to buffet/ speciality dining on formal nights ?

This is exactly how I've been dressing for a number of cruises on formal nights now. It lets me travel without all the extra clothing & still be comfortable on any Princess ship.

It great the Princess has relaxed their dress codes & has been accepted by most people on all their ships.

Enjoy.

[JamieLogical]

12 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

Take a couple of dress shirts and a tie that matches.

 

Tie? On the Enchanted Princess in May I could probably count the number of men in ties on my two hands for both formal nights combined....

[Reina del Mar]

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Tie? On the Enchanted Princess in May I could probably count the number of men in ties on my two hands for both formal nights combined....

Thank you..we will be sailing Enchanted Princess…Husband will be delighted to leave ties at home.

[Torfamm]

3 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Have done quite a few Princess Cruises (Elite).We have always taken formal wear previously.

 

Have just added a cruise to our Fly/ Drive in USA and trying to work out whether we can avoid taking formal wear. Would fit in our luggage allowance easily as we have done it before. (2x 23kg each) But as we get older do not want to lug extra things that would only be worn twice on cruise, out of longer 4 week holiday when we’ll be in and out of hotels every other night.

 

Question is…and I am totally aware of Princess’ suggested dress code…what do men wear in MDR if not hauling suits, blazers or Sports’ coats ???  Would husband get away with black jeans and a shirt with casual shoes ? Or will we be relegated to buffet/ speciality dining on formal nights ?

 

I don’t want to be reprimanded for suggesting such a dreadful thing, but would be pleased to hear from anyone who has used MDR on formal night without dressing formally….will be in Caribbean in July.

 

Thanks for your (helpful) comments.

As long as he meets the minimum standard for smart casual, long pants and a shirt with a collar, he will absolutely be allowed to eat in the MDR on any night.

[Bgwest]

“Minimum standard”. Now that’s funny. 
This seems like an appropriate time to remind, Dress CODE = Dress SUGGESTION. 
 

 

 

Edited May 27 by Bgwest

[Torfamm]

3 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

“Minimum standard”. Now that’s funny. 
This seems like an appropriate time to remind, Dress CODE = Dress SUGGESTION. 
 

 

 

I have seen people turned away for wearing shorts to the MDR quite a few times. No one can predict whether the no shorts or ball caps policy will be enforced on any ship on any given night. If eating in the MDR is important to a passenger, they should plan accordingly

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise

 

Edited May 27 by Torfamm

[Bgwest]

Be comfortable. However you define that. 

[Bgwest]

28 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

 

Yet on every cruise, there they are. 
😃😃😃

[Rick&Jeannie]

45 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

As long as he meets the minimum standard for smart casual, long pants and a shirt with a collar, he will absolutely be allowed to eat in the MDR on any night.

Fully agree!  This is what I do...and no tie!  About the only place I wear a tie these days is to weddings and funerals...and even those are beginning to wane.

[Cruise Raider]

4 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

You really can wear what you want,  You like dressing up?  Go for it!  You like business casual?  That works, too!  You prefer country club casual, no tie no jacket?  You’re in!  There is no longer a dress code enforced, so as long as you don’t try shorts and flip flops, although some of our members did that too, you will be just fine,

 

Enjoy your cruise!

This is such a great realistic explanation.  
While I may get a bit dressed up for one of the formal nights, my SH has now just taken black khakis or even black jeans with black tennis shoes, a button up long sleeved shirt and a tie.  He’s never been banned to the eat in the buffet.  

[memoak]

I no longer own a tie and no longer take a sports coat or suit on cruises. I dress the same for casual and formal dinners. Crew pants , short sleeve shirt with buttons and slip on shoes

[Reina del Mar]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

I no longer own a tie and no longer take a sports coat or suit on cruises. I dress the same for casual and formal dinners. Crew pants , short sleeve shirt with buttons and slip on shoes

Yes ….but do you dine in MDR on Formal Nights ??

Edited May 27 by Reina del Mar

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, Reina del Mar said:

Yes ….but do you dine in MDR on Formal Nights ??

Of course. My days of f hauling around formal clothes is long gone. At first after the restart I brought nicer slacks, long sleeve shirts and a sports coat. Then stopped all that   Many people do not wear ties anymore and very few wear tuxes and ball gowns. Much easier

 

[555]

Actually there is no minimum standard any longer. Shorts, wife beater shirts, crocks, workout clothing are all acceptable even on formal nights. Yes, they do have a dress code on their web site but no one will enforce it.  

I often wondered what it would take to be turned away on any night? 😄

[Reina del Mar]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

Of course. My days of f hauling around formal clothes is long gone. At first after the restart I brought nicer slacks, long sleeve shirts and a sports coat. Then stopped all that   Many people do not wear ties anymore and very few wear tuxes and ball gowns. Much easier

 

Thank you so much..husband will be delighted. We take formal clothes for longer cruises or when it’s a cruise with no moving hotel to hotel. Must admit to not taking much notice of what others wear if I am honest…but don’t want to feel uncomfortable.  Thanks again.

[Reina del Mar]

3 minutes ago, 555 said:

  

I often wondered what it would take to be turned away on any night? 😄

  Interesting.  We have seen someone refused entry to the MDR on Emerald Princess in the Caribbean, post Covid, for wearing shorts. Was quite shocked as they were smart, formal shorts. The man behind him was allowed in…he was wearing tatty, paint-splattered overalls !!! It was a smart casual night..but go figure !!

[Torfamm]

35 minutes ago, 555 said:

Actually there is no minimum standard any longer. Shorts, wife beater shirts, crocks, workout clothing are all acceptable even on formal nights. Yes, they do have a dress code on their web site but no one will enforce it.  

I often wondered what it would take to be turned away on any night? 😄

There are plenty of reports of people being turned away for shorts. It’s not common but there are some dining room managers that enforce the no shorts rule. We had one on the Sky not too long ago. A number of men were frustrated and unhappy about it. Probably because they’d never had a problem wearing shorts to dinner before that cruise.

 

I personally have no real interest in what other people wear but unless you are going to be the one at the door to the MDR making that decision, it’s unfair to promise that shorts will be allowed.

[PR-Texas]

I want to dress up a bit so told DH that he has a choice of sport coat or tie. My guess is he'll go with the sport coat which is fine since I can borrow it if we stroll around the deck after dinner and I get chilly. I'll probably stick a tie in the suitcase for him since it doesn't take up much room but I doubt he'll wear it.  Our cruise is to New Zealand so don't know how "formal" it will be.

Edited May 27 by PR-Texas

[555]

47 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

There are plenty of reports of people being turned away for shorts. It’s not common but there are some dining room managers that enforce the no shorts rule. We had one on the Sky not too long ago. A number of men were frustrated and unhappy about it. Probably because they’d never had a problem wearing shorts to dinner before that cruise.

 

I personally have no real interest in what other people wear but unless you are going to be the one at the door to the MDR making that decision, it’s unfair to promise that shorts will be allowed.

Our last 10 or 12 cruises were mostly on Royal class ships and once on the Ruby, where shorts were tolerated on all those ships. I wore my shorts one time on the Enchanted & it was fine but much to cold for me so I went back to my old blue jeans & T shirt. 

Formal night I switch to my black jeans & Polo which was fine.