Sea Princess: The long, slow death of Formal Night.....

[greatam]

One big reason we will NEVER cruise Princess again. DH is a strictly Levi' and T-shirts guy. But I INSIST-if we are going to cruise and it is formal night, the MINIMUM you have to wear is your suit. I prefer the tuxedo. He has complied and actually found he LIKES it. One of the FEW occasions we have to get dressed up-I own a glorified trucking company and he works at the USA's largest nuclear plant as an engineer (Dockers and polo shirts are the code of the day)

 

After our DISASTROUS experience on Princess (Alaska 2003) he won't do it again. He wore his white dinner jacket and proper tuxedo trousers. I had on a long, formal dress. When you have the Captain speaking to you (DH originally though he was a waiter-who speaks to the Captain unless you are a VIP) "there are few on this cruise who are in the PROPER attire", he feltl like an idiot. DH wouldn't get on another Princess cruise if it was FREE. Sparkly T-shirts with ALASKA do not constitute formal wear. Nor did the "gentleman" in his bathrobe (fancy, fancy with matching pj's) from home that spent the evening in the atrium.

 

He figures if he needs to comply with the dress code and schlepp the luggage, so should everyone else. It has really ruined cruising for us. We take far fewer cruises, they are always 2 weeks or more and they are generally on cruise lines that TRY to comply with the dress codes. No Princess, No NCL, No RCCL, No Carnival.

[sunshine nana]

My DH and I enjoy dressing up. We live in an area where people rarely dress up even in "nice" restaurants, so we look forward to the cruises. I have several packable maxi dresses that don't wrinkle and DH packs one jacket and a couple of ties. We are with each other and we don't care what others wear. We buy at least one formal picture from each cruise, it brings back great memories.

[kkorman]

I think it may depend on the ship and the person at the door. On our recent Emerald Princess cruise, we saw numerous men turned away at the dining room for not having on a jacket.

 

Odd, I was not turned away either formal night on my recent Emerald cruise. I did not bring a jacket with me, nor did I wear a tie.

[Richie2pies]

>>>Everybody would turn up in their jammies and fuzzy slippers

 

 

Why would that bother me. I don't care how you dress. Those who care about other's dress need to get a life. I dress appropriately and could care less about other's fashion or lack of fashion.

[coiran]

Odd, I was not turned away either formal night on my recent Emerald cruise. I did not bring a jacket with me, nor did I wear a tie.

 

Parallel Worlds!!

Ron

[partsman_ba]

I usually just get a tuxedo body-painted on myself the day before I cruise. That way I can go nude to the MDR and still meet the formal wear requirement.

[Kentchikan]

I'm glad you didn't let it ruin your evening.

DW and I loved the old ships and the old ways of sailing. We loved the days when casual meant (for men) a blazer and tie, informal was a dinner jacket or dark suit, and formal was a tux. I used to travel with dinner jacket and tux. But the world has changed and so has cruising. In a way it's more fun. We love the choice of dining times and table sizes. We love being able to eat with new friends. Anyone who's been stuck with the table companions from hell (as we have) would agree. There's a lot more freedom of choice now. We were blown away by the options on NCL last year. And in a world that is increasingly casual cruising inevitable would change.

NCL is supposedly extremely casual yet on our cruise we saw mostly people who were dressed nicely every evening. As nicely as on Celebrity and Princess. We usually dress up (at least a bit) for dinner and the evening but life is too short to let what other people wear ruin my enjoyment. With the possible exception of the "gentleman" who wore overalls and a train cap one entire cruise. On the other hand he probably could have done well in the costume contest.

All that being said, Princess certainly has options for those who don't wish to dress for dinner. But really lime shorts are a bit much Perhaps you should have surreptitiously flung a dessert at the churlish oaf. Wait what am I thinking. Not dessert. Never. A hard roll perhaps.

Still it does give one a chance to practice the smug looks and pitying glances that Miss Manners might use. :D

[Treven]

I've contemplated going into the buffet for breakfast wearing my jammies, satin robe & bunny slippers.

I don't even own a suit; so on my recent Emerald cruise, I simply ate in the Caribe buffet area on the formal nites & was quite happy there. Actually I ate in there most evenings & found the food quite satisfactory. On the second "formal" nite, I even saw some couples "dressed to the nines" in the Caribe buffet.

[Kentchikan]

I usually just get a tuxedo body-painted on myself the day before I cruise. That way I can go nude to the MDR and still meet the formal wear requirement.

 

On NCL they sold Tuxedo T-Shirts (mostly the waiters wore them) but body painting is another alternative. Of course you could have a tux tattooed onto you and be ready for a formal occasion at any time.

[Kentchikan]

I've contemplated going into the buffet for breakfast wearing my jammies, satin robe & bunny slippers.

 

Oh the temptation to sneak up grab breakfast and sneak back down with it to the cabin is great.

[mascara]

I usually just get a tuxedo body-painted on myself the day before I cruise. That way I can go nude to the MDR and still meet the formal wear requirement.

 

Why am I suddenly just not hungry or interested in seeing the allusion to the "MDR" in that sentence????

[hydrodriver831]

We just go and enjoy ourselves, to heck with the slobs in lime green, plaid shorts and a lime green top!!! :mad:

 

Yes!!!:D

[Kentchikan]

I was trying to tie back into the lime green shorts guy, although how that ensemble is redneck escapes me.

 

Sounds more preppy than redneck to me.

[satxdiver]

I usually just get a tuxedo body-painted on myself the day before I cruise. That way I can go nude to the MDR and still meet the formal wear requirement.

 

An excellent idea. I think I will do that next time so the imitation blue bloods will not have to stick up their noses at me when I appear in the MDR on Formal night in my normal dress pants (dockers), long sleeved dress shirt and leather sandals (which is the required dress code).

[caribill]

 

Formal tee-shirt for formal night

[Ethel5]

I have a friend who's a PHD and is also getting his whole body tattooed. He says it's painful. I can't imagine going under the needle since I have to exert all of my self control not to run screaming from the building BEFORE a shot or blood test. :o

 

I also have a friend who's a PHD in Psych-they must all be warped!!!! He has a fingernail collection-I swear it's true. He doesn't want to bite his nails but he likes chewing on them, so when he cuts his nails he saves the clippings in a baggie. I swear on my dead Mother this is true.

[satxdiver]

 

Formal tee-shirt for formal night

 

I am going to find and buy one of these just for formal night. I want to be dressed to the nines or whatever they call it that night. Don't you think I will be very stylish? Do you think my Tevas will clash?

[AAAAmerican]

 

Maam,

 

Welcome back to cruising.

 

A score is quite a spell. How did your spouse enjoy it now?

 

You may want to relate what was then as is now for comparisons.:cool:

 

Yes, the Plus as well minus sides of the equations...

 

 

 

 

 

We just returned from ten days on the Sea Princess. This was the first cruise I'd been on in over 20 years, and the first cruise with my hubby (his first ever cruise.). I had read some of the heated threads here about dining attire.

 

We both made the effort on both formal nights. I wore nice dresses and hubby wore a black suit and bow tie.

 

On the second formal night, a person arrived at the first seating in lime green, plaid shorts and a lime green top. This person was admitted to the dining room.

 

I was surprised. It didn't spoil my evening, but it was a real eye-opener. Why on earth would they let someone in looking like they just spent the day clam-digging? Are they afraid of lawsuits or something?

 

:confused:

[cruisemom42]

The only situation in which I would ever contemplate leaving the privacy of my room in my pajamas and robe would be "ABANDON SHIP!" :eek:

[lkmamom]

The only situation in which I would ever contemplate leaving the privacy of my room in my pajamas and robe would be "ABANDON SHIP!" :eek:

Absolutely, totally agree!!!!!!!

Linda

[Momma Mojito]

I understand that Princesss checks these boards out. Don't you all think that if the guidelines for dressing on formal nights are upheld on some ships and not on others that maybe Princess should be looking into why.

 

As far as the guy in the lime green shorts, I just hope that after a day of claim digging he showered before he came to dinner!!!

[wannagonow123]

We were on the Sea Princess the prior sailing, and they turned some people away on formal night in the traditional dining room for jeans &

T-****s.

[lovey1103]

I was recentlyon the Sapphire and there were slobs in the dining room in sweat pants and jeans with holes. Come on.....there are lots of lake cabins where I come from. You would fit in nicely in your cozy comfies sitting around a camp fire.

[Kentchikan]

 

Formal tee-shirt for formal night

 

NCL sells them aboard but mostly waiters wear them.

[cruisemom42]

NCL sells them aboard but mostly waiters wear them.

 

Thanks for giving me another reason not to cruise with NCL....:cool: