How dressy are the formal Nights?

[chisoxfan]

HI There

 

My husband and myself went on our first cruise last month on the Grand Princess, he just took a suit.....bad mistake, he felt a little uncomfortable at dinner, def in the minority by far everone was in a tux, so much so that he hired one for the next formal night!

 

I did find things very different on non formal night i.e. some people very casual day wear etc, I was suprised. I love dressing up, so wore a dress every night, tried to wear something extra special for the formal nights. But really it's up to the individual and whatever they feel comfortable with.

 

We are off on the emerald on 18 Oct and hubby's gone and bought a tux now and I've splurged on a Jovani dress.

 

Hope you have a wonderfull trip

 

Ali x

 

I actually had the opposite feeling on our one week Golden (and on recent Celebrity and NCL cruises) where I just felt the tux was over the top. I am bringing a black suit and tie on my cruise this week.

As much as I applaud the old traditions of black tie dress on cruises I am sad to say that I think it is dead or certainly dying. For the tradition to remain a large percentage of people need to comply. I am not going to wear a tux to dinner when the guy next to me has an open shirt with dockers and a sport coat. This is not criticism of how others dress just stating that as formal dressing codes become more relaxed, I am going to follow suit (no pun intended) to some degree.

I usually wear a sportcoat to dinner on 'normal' evenings and even with this feel overdressed.

I am saying this as a guy who has dressed well all his life-I have had business associates joke with me and ask if I wear a jacket when I cut the grass.

I am not giving up on dressing well just accepting the fact that dress behavoir has changed (not for the better IMO).

[Drumbum1977]

After so many, we stopped doing formal all together. Less packing to worry about too!

[redwinegirl]

I was wondering if I could add a question (rather than start another formal thread). I for the record love the full formal night’s, tux for DH and dress for me. However I've only been on the Baltic Cruise with Princess and I fancy doing a Caribbean cruise next year but I'm unsure about a tux for DH due to the heat.

 

In people's experience on a 'hot' cruise do men still wear suits/tuxes?

 

Thank you

[woodofpine]

I have never been on a 5* ship. Just wondering about the formal nights. How formal are they or is ther any differnce from a 3* ships formal night? Thanks for your info.

 

I'm not sure I've been on a 5* ship. But the question really gets to, are you a 3* person or a 5* person. Are your convictions, values, and morals 5* or 3*?

 

Because how you're dressed is more than a reflection on socio-economic class and upbringing, it is the measure of one's soul. Hence the expression, "Clothing Makes the Man". And we all know that women were made from man's rib (hence the popularity of ribs, even though they've very little meat... but I digress).

 

"Clothing makes the Man". Hence, clothing is GOD. Keep that in mind when you come on Cruise Critic and inquire about formal night dress.

 

All you have to do is ask yourself, "How would GOD dress on formal night?"

 

And, when you reflect and glean the answer to that question, then consider "What would GOD order for dessert on formal night?"

 

As 'Nick' said in the "The Big Chill", "I'm not cynical about dessert!"

 

:D;):D

[CruisinChris]

In addition to reading the guidelines and the chatter here I think the best piece of advice is get a copy of a Princess brochure or download one from their website and look at the pictures. They show you through the pictures what daywear looks like, what formal nights look like, what regular nights look like. You could also watch the video on their wesite and garner the same insights.

[dantesab]

My tuxedo would be very upset if I left it home. :)

 

Now thats a classic I love it.

[scmexico]

On a recent Med cruise we sat at a table of 8 in AT dining. We had a couple dressed very formal (gown and tux), a couple with man in dark suit with tie, another couple with man in sportcoat with no tie and a couple with the man with a short sleeve shirt with no jacket. We had a lovely dinner together.

[caribcruisetrvlr]

What I wore on the formal night was a black sport coat with a long sleeve shirt with a tie. That is what I usually wear on formal nights, and it hasn't been a problem.

[Pam in CA]

My brother-in-law has an orange and black tux jacket made for his Princeton class. It's a "real" tux jacket other than it's not completely black, i.e., mostly orange. He's worn it for years (back to the 80s) as his formal night dress, along with tux pants, dress shirt and tie, and no one has ever said anything nor looked askance. On a couple of our recent cruises, he's brought a lightweight madras jacket that he's worn with the pants, dress shirt and tie. Again, no one says anything although some of the looks he gets are along the lines of, "Darn. Wish I'd thought of that."

[janina]

I think people should make an effort to dress nice. How nice...my opinion at least a nice suit for a man with tie and a cocktail dress for the women. I don't feel a man must buy a tux. Some people really really enjoy dressing up and the ships give them this opportunity.:)

[Fabian52]

We are going on the Sun Princess in November and will have two formal nights. My husband will not bring his suit and I am not bothering to bring anything other than nice pants and blouses for dinner. I will go to the formal nights like that. If people don't like it then don't look. Too many things to take already so that will have to do.

[billet]

As far as I have experienced the dress for formal night is formal, long dress/tuxedo. That is how I interpret the Princess guidelines. How the other 3000 onboard choose to dress I have never bothered to notice.

[cruisemom42]

I was wondering if I could add a question (rather than start another formal thread). I for the record love the full formal night’s, tux for DH and dress for me. However I've only been on the Baltic Cruise with Princess and I fancy doing a Caribbean cruise next year but I'm unsure about a tux for DH due to the heat.

 

In people's experience on a 'hot' cruise do men still wear suits/tuxes?

 

Thank you

 

I actually have found Caribbean cruises to be more dressy overall. Especially more so than the Baltics. Perhaps because it is less port intensive, so people aren't too tired to get "gussied up" for the evenings.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We are going on the Sun Princess in November and will have two formal nights. My husband will not bring his suit and I am not bothering to bring anything other than nice pants and blouses for dinner. I will go to the formal nights like that. If people don't like it then don't look. Too many things to take already so that will have to do.

 

It's becoming more of a common appearance lately as people realize the extra cost of packing the formal clothes. No one will every say anything to you if you at least try to look neat & presentable.

[KyRoamer]

I agree that it is costly to pack special clothing for just two or, in our case, three formal nights. However, playing dress-up can add to the romance and we are discussing with friends whether to rent formal attire. What with three uses, a tux with shoes would cost about $35 per use.

 

Of course, for that I can dine in a specialty restaurant and have money left over. My dark sport jacket is looking better and better.

[billet]

I was just reading the Patter from our August trip on the Sapphire. There is a large rectangle in the middle of the front page on each Formal night that says:
[INDENT][B]DINING ROOM DRESS STANDARDS FOR FORMAL NIGHT:[/B]
[/INDENT]Evening gowns, cocktail dresses or trouser suits for ladies.
Tuxedo, slacks with dinner jackets, or suits with a tie for gentlemen.
[B]Passengers who wish to have a casual dinner on formal nights can take advantageof our Casual Dining option in the Horizon Court[/B]

[Times Prince]

[quote name='SuJoy']I have never been on a 5* ship. Just wondering about the formal nights. How formal are they or is ther any differnce from a 3* ships formal night? Thanks for your info.[/quote]Couldn't tell you about the number of stars, but Princess Cruises tend to be formal within the guidelines they publish. I have felt comforable in either a tux or a suit that I wore to my son's wedding. Joanne will wear either a real glitzy long gown, or a crushed velvet set with sparkles.

There was a poll a while back on Cruise Critic titled "What do men actually wear" that showed less than 10% of men in the main dining rooms who don't follow the code, which others have already quoted.

[Cruiseorr]

We just returned from our first Princess cruise on the Island Princess. On the first formal night we ate at the Bayou and were happy to get a table for two. In this venue, almost every diner that night wore formal attire. The meal was fantastic and worth every penny.
The other formal night in the Main Dining, being told there were no tables for two, we were seated at a table for 10 and it turned out we were the only people at that table dressed up in any way. We wore our tux and gown, and everyone else was in daytime resort clothes. Not one man wore a tie or a jacket let alone a tux.
At first, we felt like Gulliver among the Yahoos, but it turned out to be a very pleasant evening as all our companions were very nice people. We had a great time and an excellent meal.
One other night, designated as "casual dressy", we were seated at a table for six. Even though all of us were dressed very nicely, we soon found out that we were seated with the tablemate from your worst nightmare. By the time the appetizers arrived and through the main course, she held us all hostage, regaling us with incoherent disquisitions on her political views at a decibel level loud enough to entertain our entire section. She gestured with her fork and knife, spit food because she couldn't stop talking long enough to chew, and interrupted anyone who tried to have a quiet side conversation, or change the subject. It would be fair to say she made a complete disaster of the entire meal. We left the table early.
Yes, she was well dressed and wore scads of very expensive looking diamond jewelry. Even so, I would rather dine with a nice person in their pool cover up than repeat the experience we had with this person.
I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences with boorish dining companions, and found that their attire was the least of your problems.
But, that being said, we will continue to bring our tux and gown when we cruise since we do enjoy dressing up for the evening.
Hope we have better luck with the draw on our next cruise.

[WinnieinWA]

[quote name='billco']I have seen all sorts of attire on formal night. One can follow the suggested code or one can thumb their nose at it. It kind of depends on whether one minds disapproving glances and whispered comments.[/quote]

The disapproving glances and whispered comments come from those who have nothing else to look at or be concerned about at their own table. I spend my time enjoying my table mates and don't notice what's going on next door but I do agree that sloppy dress minimizes the ambiance.

Personally I don't care a hoot what others think of me but then I follow the dress code out of consideration to my fellow cruisers. If I don't care to dress correctly then I order room service or go to the buffet.