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Opting out of formal night

Ratdoggie

By Ratdoggie,
in Princess Cruises

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shellyc

shellyc

Posted
Posted

We are flying to CPH for the Star Princess Baltics cruise. If the suit does not fit in the large suitcase, I will rent DH a tux. We have two formal nights, and he looks so cute dressed up. Dressing up is fun for us, we don't do it that often.

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cruzzers

cruzzers

Posted
Posted

On our Alaska cruise last summer, we dressed in very nice casual clothes. I wore black slacks, and dressy blouse and DH wore nice dress pants with a shirt under his sweater. He wore the same nice dress slacks to dinner with other more casual shirts that week. We just couldn't fit all the extra suits in. No one needs to miss a formal dinner just because they don't want to pack a suit and tie.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
Posted
On our Alaska cruise last summer, we dressed in very nice casual clothes. I wore black slacks, and dressy blouse and DH wore nice dress pants with a shirt under his sweater. He wore the same nice dress slacks to dinner with other more casual shirts that week. We just couldn't fit all the extra suits in. No one needs to miss a formal dinner just because they don't want to pack a suit and tie.
Gee, I wonder why they call it "formal" night when people dress so casually. What you described is, as you say, "casual" and if you choose not to bring even a jacket, there are other dining options.
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MCC retired

MCC retired

Posted
Posted

Op is asking :

Just curious...are more people opting out of formal night this year?

 

Been cruising for many, many years and must say the trend is to less formal, more comfortable elegant casual .

 

Even many that dress formal for dinner , change afterwards (including myself).

 

The options are there for you to partake or not.

With buffet dinners & speciality resturants , there is no need to dress up to enjoy a great dinner ,and be comfortable, on those formal nights.;)

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
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The last time I cruised HAL they requested you stay formal for the whole evening, even in the casino. Things may have changed, it has been 3 yrs. since I have gone on Holland.
I disembarked from a 10-day cruise on HAL just over a week ago and with three (or was it four?) formal nights, my friend and I decided to opt out of them completely. We either went to the Canaletto (free) restaurant or did room service. As we weren't wandering around the ship other than to go to and from the Canaletto on formal nights, I really don't know if people stayed formal throughout the evening. The people in the Canaletto the two formal nights we went there were either "smart" casual or formal. The only people really casual were in the buffet.

 

On Princess, some people stay dressed up, others change. Very, very few go "smart casual" to the dining room on formal nights and they are the ones with the attitude that they paid for their cruise and to heck with respecting the cruiseline's request to dress appropriately. I know they can get away with it but I question what part of "formal" dress they don't understand.

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1 HappyCruiser

1 HappyCruiser

Posted
Posted
On our Alaska cruise last summer, we dressed in very nice casual clothes. I wore black slacks, and dressy blouse and DH wore nice dress pants with a shirt under his sweater. He wore the same nice dress slacks to dinner with other more casual shirts that week. We just couldn't fit all the extra suits in. No one needs to miss a formal dinner just because they don't want to pack a suit and tie.

 

That's what is so nice about the Princess's formal nights. They're just dressy enough that anyone can get by with decent, but not so formal clothes and it allows people to dress as formally as they like without forcing it on everyone.

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Cruise Junky

Cruise Junky

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I think Celebrity is one of them. Not sure if Princess is one of them, however...

 

Not anymore, they ask for Smart Casual and above in the theatre on formal nights.

 

We've opted out the past few years and don't miss them one bit. I'm just really not into Gowns and Tuxes when on vacation. I don't crash the MDR, we just find alternatives.

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synet165

synet165

Posted
Posted

I have cruised many times and have gone to formal nights in the dining rooms, without wearing an evening gown. Don't even own one.

 

Women: Nice top and skirt or pants.

 

Men: Nice pants & shirt and a jacket if you want, you will probably take the jacket off.

 

Unless you are wearing shorts or beach attire, you will be let in. You paid for it.

 

To each his own. Don't get pressured into anything that doesn't make you comfortable. You paid for the dining room, you're on vacation, no need to avoid anything. I have never understood self service in the buffet, especially while you are on vacation.

 

Enjoy:)

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love to cruz

love to cruz

Posted
Posted

Living in Florida we never dress up so we especially love cruising where we dress up & feel quite the pair. With luggage costs so high hubby now takes his tuxedo pants, tuxedo shirt and a tuxedo vest for each formal night. The coat stays home since it is the heaviest, bulkiest part of dressing up. For me long gowns tend to stay home unless sailing from Florida. A chiffon cocktail dress works nicely with dressy jewelry and dressy shoes.

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kymbakitty

kymbakitty

Posted
Posted

We just returned from a 14 night on the Grand Princess. This was our 10th cruise, but the first cruise that we left the tux and gowns behind!

 

I wasn't sure if we would "miss" the whole formal thing as we have enjoyed it in the past very much.

 

But after 9 cruises, and all the options now available (that were not in the past), we decided to give it a try. Only then would we know if we felt like we "missed" anything. Hubby has a beautiful double-breasted tux and I have too may cruise gowns to count. But we just felt like we've "been there, done that" and since most of our cruises have been 14+ days, we have had multiple formal nights to dress up.

 

I have to say that we both felt the same upon returning. We will never bring formal wear again. Been there done that just hits the nail on the head for us. If you've only cruises two, three, four or even five times, I suspect it may be still real exciting to get dressed up. Or perhaps you really don't or haven't had a chance to get really dressed up in whatever it is that you do at home (opera, ballet, New Year's Eve Gala's, whatever)....it could still be very exciting.

 

We LOVED it and never felt out of place once. The one formal evening where I really wanted lobster, we had scheduled our Balcony Lobster Dinner. And I can't explain why, but I have to tell you that there were very few folks still dressed formally in the shows following dinner. I don't know if the formal folks are not going to the shows or they are simply changing before they head back down to the lounges/theaters, but you simply do not feel out of place at any of the gatherings, even on formal night.

 

New way to cruise for us!!!!!!

 

It was fun.....had a blast, but the nice dockers and collared shirts, skirts and pretty blouses are working just great for us!

 

Dawn

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cruisin36

cruisin36

Posted
Posted
I have cruised many times and have gone to formal nights in the dining rooms, without wearing an evening gown. Don't even own one.

 

Women: Nice top and skirt or pants.

 

Men: Nice pants & shirt and a jacket if you want, you will probably take the jacket off.

 

Unless you are wearing shorts or beach attire, you will be let in. You paid for it.

 

To each his own. Don't get pressured into anything that doesn't make you comfortable. You paid for the dining room, you're on vacation, no need to avoid anything. I have never understood self service in the buffet, especially while you are on vacation.

 

Enjoy:)

 

Do not take it for granted. 28 Princess cruises, most all of the ships and have seen some let in without suit and tie and some let in. It seems it is up to the interpretation of the headwaiter and/or maitre de. Please do not advise people that "you paid for it, wear what you want". They may be dissapointed with your advice.

 

Not meaning to start an argument, I thought the purpose of this forum was to ask questions and nget "factual" answers. If I am wrong then let the moderators call me down.

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tvaud

tvaud

Posted
Posted
Just curious...are more people opting out of formal night this year?

 

We are going on a Princess cruisetour in Alaksa this summer and are thinking about skipping formal nights this trip. The main reason is airline baggage fees and we are already packing for a 12 night trip (although we do plan on doing laundry).

 

We've cruised twice before and enjoyed dressing up on formal nights both times, me more so than hubby. But Hubby doesn't want to miss out on any good dinners in the dining room.

 

Are others having this dilemna? :o

 

We never miss formal nights. It is part of the cruising experience for us, and we love it. When packing to fly to a cruise, I look for light weight fabrics or pieces that will be more versatile and can do double duty. I use shoe clips to dress up my black strappy sandals, so I get more than one use out of them. Last year, I found a strapless black dress that doubles as a skirt. With smart shopping and packing, you can bring your formalwear and not waste a single ounce.;)

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Toto2Kansas

Toto2Kansas

Posted
Posted
Our Feb. cruise had only 1 sea day, the last day of our cruise. Both formal nights were on port days!

 

We have also experienced this in the past, when there is only one sea day on the last day of the cruise. They normally try to schedule the formal nights on those days where you sail from the port earlier than normal.

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Cruise Junky

Cruise Junky

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Posted

To each his own. Don't get pressured into anything that doesn't make you comfortable. You paid for the dining room, you're on vacation, no need to avoid anything.

Enjoy:)

 

Oh, I don't get pressured into anything on vacation except perhaps an extra martini ;) I'd say on a 12 night cruise you might find us in the dining room 4 or 5 times at most. We just prefer to do our own thing. Room Service, Specialty Restaurants, Pizza, whatever we feel like. But out of respect for those that do enjoy formal night, we wouldn't show up in the MDR on formal night dressed casual.

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DeepWaterMariner

DeepWaterMariner

Posted
Posted

We would give up the formal nights without regret. Over the past year or two I've changed from always taking the tux to occasionally dragging it along depending on the cruise line, ship, whether its a holiday or family cruise, and cruise duration. The tux made the trip on our recent Royal Princess cruise because I suspected an older group of passengers who would be traditionally dressed and that proved to be the case. A two week cruise on Royal Caribbean last fall convinced me that I'll never take a tux on an RCL cruise again unless it is a holiday or family cruise. I'm still considering what I'll do for a 13 day Crown repositioning cruise in the fall but I'm leaning toward no tux. The thing we won't do is skip the main dining room on formal nights because those evenings usually have the best menus. Probably in a coat and tie instead of a tux but after all these years that almost feels casual.

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