Dinner attire in Main Dining Room on non-formal nights

[1 HappyCruiser]

We also worried over the dress code for the DR during our first cruise on the Sapphire Princess in June 2010. We went the safe route and followed the Princess guidelines and took nicer clothes (smart casual) for the non-formal nights. Frankly, I was disappointed at what some people wore to the DR - this is a nice restaurant - not the local Chilis or Applebees. My son and I wore khaki-like slacks with collared long sleeve shirts, and my wife and daughter wore nice pants/skirts/blouses - you would not believe the number of people wearing jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers into the DR. If you want to be that casual, go to the buffet every night- it really cheapened the experience for us a little to see how little people thought of the nicer restaurants. We gave Princess that feedback - if they are going to specify a dress code, they should enforce it.

 

Believe it or not jeans & sneakers are acceptable casual clothing in the Princess dining rooms. Lately T shirts have been seen as being acceptable also although they do say a collared shirt should be worn.

Had you been reading CC before your trip and not just the Princess guideline information you would have been more informed of the actual dress situation and perhaps not have been disappointed.

[stbiss]

Believe it or not jeans & sneakers are acceptable casual clothing in the Princess dining rooms. Lately T shirts have been seen as being acceptable also although they do say a collared shirt should be worn.

Had you been reading CC before your trip and not just the Princess guideline information you would have been more informed of the actual dress situation and perhaps not have been disappointed.

 

Even if I had read "the current situation" for the DR on this website, I still would have respected the wishes of the cruise line - just a simple matter of respect - if you want a McDonald's atmosphere, then there are plenty of opportunities on the ship - buffet, grill, and pizzeria. Leave the nicer venues for those who want that experience.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Even if I had read "the current situation" for the DR on this website, I still would have respected the wishes of the cruise line - just a simple matter of respect - if you want a McDonald's atmosphere, then there are plenty of opportunities on the ship - buffet, grill, and pizzeria. Leave the nicer venues for those who want that experience.

 

Although you might not agree with their choice, the people who were wearing the jeans & sneakers were in fact observing the cruise line suggested clothing recommendations in the dining room. Perhaps you were expecting something more formal.

[Woobstr112G]

Even if I had read "the current situation" for the DR on this website, I still would have respected the wishes of the cruise line - just a simple matter of respect - if you want a McDonald's atmosphere, then there are plenty of opportunities on the ship - buffet, grill, and pizzeria. Leave the nicer venues for those who want that experience.

 

Agree.....:):):)

 

Bob

[satxdiver]

Maybe you need to move to a more upscale cruise line instead of a mass marketed one. You would probably be more happy with the dress code. Besides Princess, Carnival owns HAL.

[Cancun01]

Just my opinion but as you have booked in the Traditional dining room - if they were my kids on "smart casual" nights I would strongly encourage them to wear khaukis and nice collared polo type shirt - ralph lauren polo type shorts would probably be ok if they are 13... track pants with stripes down the side would be a bit of a stretch..nice jeans with a collared polo shirt would be better

[Pam in CA]

Besides Princess, Carnival owns HAL.

Just to clarify, Carnival Corporation PLC is a holding company and owns Princess, HAL Cunard, Windstar, Carnival, etc. This is not to be confused with Carnival Cruise lines. The only relationship between Princess and Carnival Cruise Lines is that they are both owned by the same company; they are managed separately with separate corporate offices and management.

[Times Prince]

I too have seen jeans on formal nights. BTW jeans are part of a more formal look here in the west along with a western cut jacket, bolo tie, and western shirt. It is all in what part of the world you were raised.

Cruising out of Galveston Texas we observed a small number of formal jeans wearing men. Their jeans looked like they just came off the rack at a store, with no tearing or fading. These men were entirely consistent throughout the cruise, wearing Stetson hat, jeans and ironed plaid or western long sleeved shirts each night, and often during the day. Formal night attire was as described above, and being consistent with what the men wore all cruise, and as a regional formal outfit was in keeping with the Scotsman who wore kilts, another regional formal wear. I found those men also had exceptionally good Texas/western manners, tipping their hats to the ladies, often with a sincere "Howdy Ma'am"

 

I was proud of them.

 

I am not proud of people who flaunt the dress code.

[PLW0520]

I have a pair of dressy dark navy bermuda length shorts (below the knee) Would these be acceptable with a dressy top on non formal nights? I know for sure they look better than jeans or really casual type capris.

 

Lynn

[Colo Cruiser]

I have a pair of dressy dark navy bermuda length shorts (below the knee) Would these be acceptable with a dressy top on non formal nights? I know for sure they look better than jeans or really casual type capris.

 

Lynn

 

 

Not in the dining room.

[Timeforvaca]

A question - does anyone feel that jeans in the MDR has become more "accepted" by fellow passengers? I remember back 8 or so years ago, it was frowned upon.

My husband, for instance - I know he will dress up on formal night (suit or tux). But when we go out to a nice restaurant at home, he always wears dark wash jeans and a nice button down shirt, and I think that is what he will wear on non-formal nights. I don't think he looks shabby by any means. It's just his style. He's not a khaki kind of guy.;)

 

Just wondering if the dynamic has changed....

 

Kristen

[pg.]

Just my opinion but as you have booked in the Traditional dining room - if they were my kids on "smart casual" nights I would strongly encourage them to wear khaukis and nice collared polo type shirt - ralph lauren polo type shorts would probably be ok if they are 13... track pants with stripes down the side would be a bit of a stretch..nice jeans with a collared polo shirt would be better

 

Oh my,, but what if it is a Walmart polo shirt and not a Ralph Lauren type polo shirt,, LOL

 

Kids can wear clean non ripped jeans to dining room on any night but formal. Period.

Shorts are not ok at dinner, any dinner in dining room, but are fine at buffet.

 

People stress way too much about clothes on this forum,, and frankly at least 95% of ships passengers are NOT on these forums..

[Pam in CA]

I have a pair of dressy dark navy bermuda length shorts (below the knee) Would these be acceptable with a dressy top on non formal nights? I know for sure they look better than jeans or really casual type capris.

No. Shorts are shorts no matter what material they are made of and are not acceptable. Very few women wear capris although they are considered "ok." Most people dress up at least a little bit for dinner.

[Pam in CA]

A question - does anyone feel that jeans in the MDR has become more "accepted" by fellow passengers? I remember back 8 or so years ago, it was frowned upon.

Very few passengers wear jeans even though they can. Most consider going to the dining room(s) the equivalent of going to a really good restaurant.

[spunkie4]

27 cruises ago, I stressed over what to wear. Funny how time changes a person's view of things, but good taste never changes.

 

Both myself and my husband now wear nice, pressed, cargo pants, good shoes (not sneakers), and a nice shirt (collared slipover like Nautica for husband and coordinate tank and dress blouse for me). I feel very comfortable and look acceptable.

 

Formal night depends on whether we drive or fly. Fly - no formal dress. Otherwise, it's tux and formal wear.

 

Don't stress over clothes.

 

Shirley

[bjcanady]

Even if I had read "the current situation" for the DR on this website, I still would have respected the wishes of the cruise line - just a simple matter of respect - if you want a McDonald's atmosphere, then there are plenty of opportunities on the ship - buffet, grill, and pizzeria. Leave the nicer venues for those who want that experience.

 

I for one respect your attitude, you are doing what is expected, not simply what you can get by with and that is a good thing.

[1 HappyCruiser]

I have a pair of dressy dark navy bermuda length shorts (below the knee) Would these be acceptable with a dressy top on non formal nights? I know for sure they look better than jeans or really casual type capris.

 

Lynn

 

Although officially they're not permitted it's almost a guaranty you'll be admitted since they're below the knee. ;)

 

A question - does anyone feel that jeans in the MDR has become more "accepted" by fellow passengers? I remember back 8 or so years ago, it was frowned upon.

My husband, for instance - I know he will dress up on formal night (suit or tux). But when we go out to a nice restaurant at home, he always wears dark wash jeans and a nice button down shirt, and I think that is what he will wear on non-formal nights. I don't think he looks shabby by any means. It's just his style. He's not a khaki kind of guy.;)

 

Just wondering if the dynamic has changed....

 

Kristen

 

Just about any types of jeans are acceptable provided they don't have holes no matter how shabby or worn although the people that do wear them have decent ones. The key thing on Princess seems to be the holes. Sometimes you'll see a dozen or so at dinner & other times only 1 or 2.

[Coracii]

Cruising out of Galveston Texas we observed a small number of formal jeans wearing men. Their jeans looked like they just came off the rack at a store, with no tearing or fading. These men were entirely consistent throughout the cruise, wearing Stetson hat, jeans and ironed plaid or western long sleeved shirts each night, and often during the day. Formal night attire was as described above, and being consistent with what the men wore all cruise, and as a regional formal outfit was in keeping with the Scotsman who wore kilts, another regional formal wear. I found those men also had exceptionally good Texas/western manners, tipping their hats to the ladies, often with a sincere "Howdy Ma'am"

 

I was proud of them.

 

I am not proud of people who flaunt the dress code.

 

Only problem, they were blatently "flaunting the dress code" by wearing jeans on formal night. If you're proud of them for not adhering to the suggestions made by Princess for formal night attire, what's the difference if someone else shows up in dress slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt? Maybe that's considered formalwear in their neck of the woods. It's a bit hypocritical to be proud of one group for not adhering strictly to the dress suggestions made by the cruiseline while admonishing others for doing exactly the same thing, irregardless of how pleasant their manners were.

[ramrax4]

My son went on his first cruise last oct and he was not thrilled with the idea of dressing up. But, I convinced him to try the MDR at least one time and if he didn't like it he could just go to the buffet or order room service instead. Well guess what...he loved the food so much that the clothes thing became a non issue and he was the first one ready every night!

On casual night my dh wears dockers and a short sleeve polo type shirt with casual shoes, I usally wear slacks and a nice blouse with flats. On formal nights he wears a dark suit and tie and I wear a glittery pant suit or a long gown with a wrap!

I also stressed about the clothes on our first cruise but if you use the Princess dress code as a guideline and combine it with the suggestions found here you will be fine.

Have a great cruise!!

[PLW0520]

Thanks everyone for the input. I agree on our last cruise I wore capris for dinner every night except for formal nights as did most other ladies.

 

Lynn

[Putterdude]

I'd be with Pam...certainly I have seen some capris but I wouldn't say they were anywhere near what the majority of women wear. I will have look harder over the next two weeks but I would say that dresses, skirts and smart slacks would be in the majority on casual nights.

[PLW0520]

We will be on the Ruby Princess from Barcelona to Venice and our last cruise was to the Panama Canal. I am sorry that I even asked the question as I should have known better. :mad: I'm really having a hard time packing for this cruise as unlike Pam this will be our first cruise to Europe.

 

Lynn

[Pam in CA]

We will be on the Ruby Princess from Barcelona to Venice and our last cruise was to the Panama Canal. I am sorry that I even asked the question as I should have known better. :mad: I'm really having a hard time packing for this cruise as unlike Pam this will be our first cruise to Europe.

Stick with the recommended dress guidelines. Europeans are far less casual than Americans but that shouldn't deter you. Dress simply and classically, and you can't go wrong. I bring linen pants and tops for the evening; my sister wears crepe pants and tops. Less like you're going to a backyard barbecue and more like going to a nice restaurant. Pack clothing you can mix and match. I never bring anything, tops or pants, that can't be worn with several other pieces of clothing. Hope this helps.

[Sapphire723]

I can't find the exact wordage on the website, but I am almost positive that it is acceptable to wear Bermuda shorts on cruises that include a stop to Bermuda. But, these have to be the traditional (and immaculate) Bermuda shorts. The same rule applies to wearing crisp jeans on cruises that hit Galveston.

 

When the dress code mentions that casual jeans aren't acceptable, I interpret that to mean that jeans with t-shirt/sneakers aren't appropriate. However, a nice pair of well-fitted jeans with a sports coat and dress shoes would be passable on a non-formal night.

 

My general rule has always been if you even have the slightest thought that you might be turned away, it's best to up your game a little. The staff always tries to be polite and not upset the guests, so they usually try to be more lenient to avoid offending anyone. However, just because they didn't kick a guest out, doesn't mean that the guest was appropriately dressed. There are plenty of appropriate and comfortable clothing choices on the market and there are alternative dinner options on the ship, so I would recommend not testing your luck to see what degree of slovenliness it takes to actually get your son dismissed from dinner.

[RickT]

One of my pet peeves about cruise lines (not just Princess) is that they often don't enforce their own dress code. Many of you have mentioned that shorts (and t's) are not allowed in the MDR, however I'm just off the Caribbean Princess and we saw a fair amount of both. Thank god most people were dressed according to the dress code (including some ladies wearing very nice looking capris). We also saw a fair number of people in jeans, some of which I wouldn't wear to work on my truck :eek:

 

And don't get me started on formal night. We saw a few people in khakis and golf shirts.

 

Seriously, if the cruise line can't (or won't) enforce their dress code, why even bother? If you don't want to dress up... go to the buffet.