Am I the only one who'd love to cruise without formal night?

[LARGIN]

If the friend I am going on the Alaskan cruise with doesn't want to do formal, we'll probably just eat in the alternative dining room those nights. :)

 

The only non-formal eating area will be the Horizon Buffet. On Princess, all alternative dining rooms follow the daily dress code, either Formal or Smart Casual. So on formal night, the alternative dining areas will be formal also..

[cactusrose]

We enjoy formal night, but I could do without it. It would really save on the luggage space and weight, especially on our upcomming B2B where there will be five formal nights. :eek: This is going to be a packing challenge.

[Charles4515]

LOL. Your comments are a crack-up!

 

NCL previously hadn't been positively reviewed in prior years, but now that I'm hearing better comments, we'll try them. I plan all the vacations, and my DH won't be aware of the loss of his "formal" nights if I don't let him in on it before we get aboard the ship.

 

I was just on NCL for the first time a week ago. It is a nice cruise line and not dressing up for once was nice too but it is in my opinion a lower quality cruise line than Princess. I will put up with a couple of formal nights over booking NCL for my usual cruising.

[JRoeT]

The only non-formal eating area will be the Horizon Buffet. On Princess, all alternative dining rooms follow the daily dress code, either Formal or Smart Casual. So on formal night, the alternative dining areas will be formal also..

 

1) This is a great thread, on a great board (the Princess board). Everyone has their opinons and respectfully discusses them. Pity the man or woman who poses this subject on the Celebrity board!!!! They would eat your for breakfast.

 

2) Regarding the above quote: While it's true that formal nights require you to dress for the dining room and also alternative rest.'s, I have found that a comfy black skirt and black sweater or long-sleeve T, sometimes with a sparkly scarf or the like, will do fine and no one will give you dirty looks. It's only the "jeans and shorts" people who get nasty stares and sometimes even turned away.

 

TO EACH HER OWN!!! HAVE FUN!!!

[tapper]

Formal night is not a big priority for my husband and me. I usually put on a smart casual outfit and dress it up with some jewelry. I admire all of the formal wear on others. As long as someone is not in jeans or beachwear, eating in the dining room is acceptable.

[karenandgoose]

We love Princess, been on other cruise lines but as far as we are concerned Princess is the best. That said, we would love to DC the formal nights. On our last cruise we packed the formal clothes and only opted for one night in the dining room, the other being the buffet.

That's what I love about Princess, dine when you want, however you want.

It's kinda like the best of both worlds.

Karen

[Murphey]

As stated by others, this is exacly why we don't sail with Princess exclusively. When we want to "kick off" completely: we sail another line. Oceania as previously suggested is great. We found NCL just fine for a "less traditional" cruise experience. River cruises are also a more "casual" cruise experience. Princess is our more "traditional" choice.....Lots of choices out there to keep everyone happy and something for everyone!!!

[iancal]

You have my vote. In fact, on the second formal night on our last cruise we both copped out and ate at the alternative Italian restaurant...food was not that great in the dining room (Sun Princess) anyway. Have stopped taking suits, next cruise I may not even take a jacket. Too much to pack. It a vacation man! The DW is coming around to this opinion as well. SHe does not have to get tarted up to have a good time.

[sunprincess]

I love the formal nights ;)

[TEXASMUNK]

JOHN MAXTONE-GRAHAM;S BOOK..

 

Formal nights.....make the crusie special......The excuse of having to pack the formal attire.....dismissed.

The most popular night for purchasing photos....formal nights.....

It tends to make the cruise special...Liesure wear, or casual wear can be worn ANYWHERE....this is a cruise....make it special

[WCAB]

Love Princess over other cruise lines but do wish with three or four dining options one would be dressy casual. I know others, especially the ones that love formal night suggest the buffet but it always comes across to me as a sort of punishment for not going with the program. If we could leave the formal wear at home, I could do all of our packing in two small suitcases.

 

Carol

[nmarsh]

I don't mind formal nights but could do without them. Like other posters, we do one formal night and opt out of the second night.

[Lynda90]

Which ships are informal? 40); If the friend I am going on the Alaskan cruise with doesn't want to do formal, we'll probably just eat in the alternative dining room those nights. :)

Other than the buffet and room service, the alternative dining rooms have the same dress code as the main dining room.

[Ethel5]

"What I wish is that I could JUST ONCE go on a cruise without having to go through the enire hassle of getting so dressed up...so that they can sell more photos. My opinion."

 

 

You don't have to buy photos. I pretty sure that those cruise lines that don't have formal nights sell just as many photos.

[mr green]

Cruisers who complain about formal night, are akin to those who complain about noise at the airport, after they move in, and want changes to the airport. They know its noisy, just as cruisers understand there are formal nights. Get over it! john

[OCruisers]

This is a great thread, on a great board (the Princess board). Everyone has their opinons and respectfully discusses them.

 

Pity the man or woman who poses this subject on the Celebrity board!!!! They would eat you for breakfast. ....

 

:D TOO FUNNY!!!! Not a good topic for the Celebrity Board!!! :p

 

Gosh! We rather enjoy Formal Nights and feel they are a special part of cruising....

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[rosinryanz]

I like formal nights, but I completely respect those who don't. However, there is always a choice when it comes to cruising, and now several cruises permit casual attire in the evening. If that is your style, a cruise line like RSSC, Oceania, or NCL is for you. If not, pick Princess, Celebrity, or HAL. It's the beauty of freedom of choice and picking the vacation that is right for you.

[Gator83]

I totally agree on cruising without formal night. I would love to see it.

[Colo Cruiser]

...I could do away of the "Dog and Pony Show" of formal Night...after 14 cruises trust me the champagne waterfall still tastes like goat urine!....I wish they would stop serving the cheap stuff!

 

 

And pray tell, how do you know what goat urine tastes like???????????????

[MNYTRPS2GO2]

My husband and I are very informal and would love to be able to leave the dress up rags at home...

[NorcalGuy]

Formal nights are just not something I want to do on vacation. However, I'm glad it is available for those that enjoy it. It's a nice tradition. I don't "crash" it.

 

I just go to the buffet on formal nights. No big deal to me at all. The menu in the buffet is always a little nicer on formal nights. Staff is usually in their formal uniforms. Can't guarantee the lobster or baked Alaska, but just about everything else served in the Dining room is there. Once I had the Beef wellington at the buffet and it was one of the best things I ever ate on Princess. I usually dress pretty nice on the smart casual nights, so by the time the formal nights roll around, I'm ready for a break from the regular Dining room anyway.

 

If I attend the theater after dinner, I make sure I am in smart casual (rather thant shorts, etc) so I don't look drastically out of place.

 

I like to pack very light, so not having to bring suit/tux is a big help.

 

BTW, I know that alternative restaurants are supposed to be formal on formal nights, but on the Coral they are encouraging people to come smart casual if they wish. Someone on the board asked the staff at the Bayou if they could come smart casual and they said by all means. I was curious if I would get the same answer, so I asked. They strongly encouraged us to come if we were in nice smart caual attire, so there might be another option, but do ask rather than just showing up. I'm sure it is because attendance at the alternative restuarants is very low on formal nights (actually, the Bayou and especially Sabatinis looked rather empty most of the cruise).

 

This is what works for me. I wouldn't search for another line just to avoid formal nights... it just isn't necessary.

[legalslave]

I don't mind the formal nights. It's just that sometimes, I don't feel like being formal. I'm glad the option is available to eat in Horizon Court if you're not in the mood for formal that particular day. I do wish they had the lobster and Escargot in the buffet. I'll get dressed up for those no matter what mood I'm in!

 

Diane

[Mrpuck]

I don't mind dressing for formal nights. That's no issue at all. I do mind lugging all the formal wear (tux, shoes, multiple shirts, dresses, more shoes) with me in my luggage when, since 9-11, luggage weight restrictions have become a primary issue for the airlines. And don't even think about going overweight on the European economy airlines. Bring your wallet. Sure, the ship will rent formal wear.....at prices that you can buy it for. The formal night, though a nice thought, has become impractical for persons travelling any distance to an embarcation port. If I'm driving to the port, no problem. I'd just rather use that luggage space for buying souveniers.

[andydee]

informal appeals to me too as long as those who like formal dress can do so . tahiti was great but formal dress just seemed out of place there.

[cruzegirl]

I love formal night.......It's one of the few chances per year that I can get all dressed up to the nines....lol...I would miss it if taken away:rolleyes: ...... I always look forward to buying a cocktail dress or evening gown for the cruise... Hopefully they will keep at least one night formal.........:D