Formal nights on Princess Cruises

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

Choices would include

-Specialty restaurants (extra charge)

-Buffet

-Grill

-Pizza

-International Café

-Room Service

I noticed the OP is fairly new so no snarky comments. Part of their question has been answered in a prior post. On Princess "formal night" is just about anything you want to wear other than jeans and shorts. I have been wearing a short sleeved guayabera shirt for several years now with my dockers on formal night. Women have been wearing plain pants suits that to my male eyes look a lot like dark pajamas with some sparkles added. You certainly are welcome to dress up as much as you want and some do but regardless of what Princess posts, "formal night" is becoming more and more informal. So just dress nicely and enjoy formal night in the MDR.

Formal night dress is for the main DR's only. Specialty restaurants are smart casual all the time. The remainder of the ship is casual all the time. You can review the Princess information in the FAQ's. In practice, most women on formal nights usually wear a nice dress or slack outfit. Some are more dressed up than others. A small percentage, maybe 20%, of men are in tux. the rest of the men are usually in suit & tie or sport jacket and tie. A few men may be in sport jacket with no tie, and also a few with shirt & tie, no jacket. It is possible to enter the DR with just a collared sport shirt, no tie. Long pants are expected for dinner every night. Smart casual usually means long pants with sleeved shirt.

Formal wear is requested only in the dining rooms.

To me, your query about wanting a "proper dinner" and not having to dress has limited answers:

• Specialty Restaurant--"Smart Casual" dress is OK on Formal Nights. So, you will be fine with "resort casual." Crown Grill and SHARE are open every evening. Crab Shack is a "pop up" restaurant that will be open two or three evenings during your cruise. I really don't recall if Crab Shack is ever open on Formal Nights.
  
• Room Service--The standard Room Service menu really does not fall under your category of "proper dinner." However, the Ultimate Balcony Dinner ($100/couple) is a truly excellent dining experience.
  
• Formal dress is not required in the buffet. I'll let you decide if the buffet experience falls under your description of a "proper dinner."
  

The main dining room does not require a formal dress code, however, it is a recommendation. My DH wears a dress shirt with a tie, a pair of black khakis and black dress shoes and has always fit in ... he's never been turned away for not having a jacket or a dark suit. He's actually not ever been the least formally dressed in our experience. I usually wear a nice pair of black pants or skirt and a sparkly or lace top with strappy sandals and also don't feel out of place.

We used to only dress very formally but have seen the dress code relaxed quite a bit over the years and have blended in quite comfortably. I know there are those that still love to dress to the nines and think that is wonderful as well. We still do the same if traveling with friends that are more comfortable in that attire. But, I've also seen the opposite of the spectrum and seen women walk in with jeans and a tank top with rhinestones spelling out something tacky on the front, allowed in to dine in the MDR on formal night. Just end up somewhere in the middle and you will be fine!

And, if you still don't feel as though that is casual enough for you, specialty dining venues never require formal wear and the recommended dress code is smart casual and above. You may still see diners with formal gowns and tuxes but will also see diners wearing jeans and polo shirts. No shorts, flip flops, beach attire allowed at dinner in the MDR or specialty restaurants but looks like you more than understand that restriction.

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

Rather than miss out on some of the better meals served in the DR on formal night you can still attend without having to go to any great lengths to dress up. You'll be pleasantly surprised to find what they'll allow people to wear & still get in.

A pair of dress pants & a dress shirt (Hawaiian or even a polo will suffice without any jacket or tie) for the guys & just about anything for the women will do.

The days of formal on Princess are in name only lately. Dress nicely & you'll have no problems eating in the DR.

Haven't taken a suit in quite a while. I pack a dress shirt (other than white), slacks and tie. We have never had an issue doing formal night. Should there be an issue with someone else, don't really care since it's their problem.

I take a couple of semi-casual shirts - long-sleeve - llbean or Columbia, a pair of black linen pants, and a pair of black echo sandals...never had a problem

that's on formal night...

on other nights it's basically the same type of shirt, but khaki linen pants, and brown echo sandals

deal with it, if that's not up to your 'taste' ...:evilsmile:

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

Your husband will be just fine on Formal Nights in the Main Dining Room with dress pants and a long sleeve shirt with a collar (with or without a tie or jacket).

Formal nights on Princess are no longer close to being as formal as they once were.

Enjoy your cruise! :D

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

You don't have to be formal on any night.

Oh no here we go again let’s get ready to rumble!!! Do I have to NO :) are you sure NO :). So what should I wear :confused:. I don’t know. :eek:.

Tony

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

Very simple: Go to youtube & type in Princess lines "formal nights". You'll see for yourself how pax tend to dress. Generally better than what the "casual" crowd would have you believe, but less than what the "formal" crowd would have you believe. Watch a few & decide for yourself!

Very simple: Go to youtube & type in Princess lines "formal nights". You'll see for yourself how pax tend to dress. Generally better than what the "casual" crowd would have you believe, but less than what the "formal" crowd would have you believe. Watch a few & decide for yourself!

Why bother when 9 posters have already answered the question sufficiently?

Why bother when 9 posters have already answered the question sufficiently?

For some people:

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

Whatever will help the OP

Deleted.

My apologies.

Our experiences have always been on cruise lines that do not have "formal" dining nights; we purposefully opt for lines that have more relaxed dress codes. The most dressed up we want to be could be best described as "resort casual." We have a family reunion coming up on a Mexican Riveria trip on the Ruby Princess. We noted that there are 2 formal nights as part of the itinerary. If we do not want to participate in formal nights, are there other dining options available to us? (A proper dinner; not a cold sandwich and beer...:D). In addition, are men's jackets required in any of the other restaurants? Thank you!

In my 30 something years of cruising I have done everything from tuxedos to shorts and t-shirts (That was on a Windjammer barefoot cruise) for special nights. Last year on the crown we did one formal night and I wore a nice pair of slacks and a nice shirt. Seemed totally acceptable. If you don't want to dress at all you can go to the buffet or the Crown Grill, Sabbatini's, Alfredos, or any of the other food venues that do not push formal night. Even the International Café always has something cooking. Others may not agree but this is YOUR trip. Short of piracy do what you want. Have a great trip.

If you hate dressing up, then just wear a nice dress or dress pants and a nice shirt, maybe a tie. Rather you didn't wear the I'm with Stupid t-shirt between 5pm and 11pm .. but it is your cruise.

However, on the first formal night, looking up at all the fancy dresses and suits in the Piazza standing on the grands stairs before the champagne waterfall was quite amazing.

And if you have something really fancy in the closet, this is the time to bring it out, maybe with some more comfortable shoes. Nothing would really be too fancy. Men in tuxes .. evening gowns ..

I brought casual and nicer wear and often wore the nicer things .. why not ? Laundry facilities are really nice and do have ironing equipment and a nice sink for hand washables.

Formal night on Princess = money grab for photos...if that's your thing, go for it..:cool:

No mandatory photos on my cruise .. no need to spend any money at all other than tips ..

2nd formal night was much more casual than 1st formal night ..

My DH has never been one to worry about others dress but on our Ruby, PC cruise last week...on non formal nights in the Anytime MDR he pointed out at least 10 men who walked by our table on different nights who were wearing shorts....

For 1 formal night he wore his tux and the other a black button down...I was surprised how many were wearing tuxes and dark suits on our sailing for formal night......I still think it depends on PAX mix. Be comfortable and if there is a problem the MD will let you know.

No mandatory photos on my cruise .. no need to spend any money at all other than tips ..

 

2nd formal night was much more casual than 1st formal night ..

The main reason being that those people who brought along their formal clothing found out on the first formal night that Princess allows non-formal clothing to be worn in the DR.

People want to be more relaxed when dining so they just follow the trend of the casual diners.

So he can get his fight going.

I suppose.

I can remember only a few short years ago when you were criticized if you so much as posted not dressing up fully on a formal night.

How things have changed.

Don't stress out about these formal nights. As long as you are not in jeans or looking very summery -- it is all good. Some people do take these formal nights as an opportunity to have their photos taken by the professional photographers. You can always schedule your dinner for the night in the buffet. The buffet of Princess - especially in Royal and Regal has a good spread.

Don't stress out about these formal nights. As long as you are not in jeans or looking very summery -- it is all good. Some people do take these formal nights as an opportunity to have their photos taken by the professional photographers. You can always schedule your dinner for the night in the buffet. The buffet of Princess - especially in Royal and Regal has a good spread.

Oh I do agree that the buffet on the Regal and Royal is great but it's a shame to miss out on the formal meals in the DR for the lack of dressing up just a little to gain entrance. (and it doesn't take all that much ;))

...

I suppose.

I can remember only a few short years ago when you were criticized if you so much as posted not dressing up fully on a formal night.

How things have changed.

I have noticed that the "you will be thrown overboard if you don't wear formal clothes" claims have diminished as has the number onboard wearing tux/formal gowns. Personally I think it is a turn for the better. It is a cruise ship and not a country club for the wealthy.