Alaska Princess Cruise - Formal nights

[jomaleo]

Hello, can anyone tell me if Formal nights are more or less formal in Alaska than, say, a Caribbean cruise? We like to go in the Dining room on formal nights, but I heard that it's less formal and I wonder if I should bring Tuxedo and long gown . Thanks.

[huskyguy]

I spent 3 weeks on the Coral Princess, and there were very few tuxes and long gowns on formal nights - 10-15% of the people perhaps. Suits were probably the most common attire for men, but sports jackets or even just a tie were very common.

[karatemom2]

We have been on a number of Princess cruises in Alaska and you won't see many tuxedoes or long gowns. A few, but not many. Most men wear dark suits and women cocktail dresses or dressy pants/blouse combinations. You will also see some more casual sport coats and blazers for men and simple skirt and blouse styles on women. A few men seem to get by with just a shirt and tie, but most men are wearing jackets.

 

Hope this helps!

[Budget Queen]

You don't see "tuxes and gowns" on many cruise ships anyway. Always in the minority. Even sailing Celebrity they weren't many. :)

 

Was on Princess in Feb. and there were still only about 1/3, was on a 15 day, "older" cruise.

[Giantfan13]

Alaska, to say, is very informal. Personally, I gave up schlepping the jacket, tie, dress shoes etc, and DW the nice dressy dress and shoes to match. instead, we opted for just a nice shirt and pants, and DW had on dark pants and a nice top.

Sorry, even myself, a senior, have gotten out of the formal night thing. For us, it is more to have the photographers snap scores of pixs instead of really what made cruising so elegant.

 

I'd be surprised if you saw 10 people wearing tux's and gowns, unless they were looking for a formal portrait.

 

Myself, I am a blue color, flannel shirt type of guy and would rather be comfortable than dressy.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[JimAOk1945]

I wear a dark suit and my wife wears a cocktail dress or dressy pants/blouse combinations.

 

On one cruise we saw a young couple that was really dressed up, he with a tux and her with a strapless floor length gowns. They looked great but few others were dressed up that much.

[betmust]

We were on the Diamond Princess in 2008 going to Alaska. People without ties and some kind of jacket/sports coat were being denied entrance to the dinning room on formal night.

We saw an older gentleman with a very nice shirt and string tie denied. He was very upset because he said that was his tie. That was the only kind he had.

Not sure how Princess is now. I have read that Alaska is less formal and that is true but they were still looking for ties/jackets...

[Giantfan13]

We were on the Diamond Princess in 2008 going to Alaska. People without ties and some kind of jacket/sports coat were being denied entrance to the dinning room on formal night.

We saw an older gentleman with a very nice shirt and string tie denied. He was very upset because he said that was his tie. That was the only kind he had.

Not sure how Princess is now. I have read that Alaska is less formal and that is true but they were still looking for ties/jackets...

 

I'm not denying your experiences, but we sailed Princess in 2005 and we never got dressed up and were never denied entrance into any dining room. We wore presentable clothes, but no jacket and no tie and again, we ate normally every night in the MDR.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[betmust]

I'm not denying your experiences, but we sailed Princess in 2005 and we never got dressed up and were never denied entrance into any dining room. We wore presentable clothes, but no jacket and no tie and again, we ate normally every night in the MDR.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

My husband and son were denied entrance to the main dining room on formal night because they did not have on a tie and jacket. They had on dress pants and a short sleeve dress shirt - no tie and jacket. We were told it was formal night and they were not dressed appropriate. My son was 18 at the time.. As I said this was in 2008.

Edited April 10, 2014 by betmust

[CruisinKiki]

I'm bumping this to the top to see if anyone on Princess recently can confirm. Do we need to bring a suit and gown or ok with cocktail type dress and nice slacks?

[sherryf]

I'm bumping this to the top to see if anyone on Princess recently can confirm. Do we need to bring a suit and gown or ok with cocktail type dress and nice slacks?

 

You will be okay with a cocktail dress, or any nice dress, like you might wear to a wedding. Long gowns are not necessary, but you won't be totally out of place if you wear one. For men, a suit or sports coat and tie are recommended, but we hear a lot of stories of people getting away with much less. I think if you make an effort to dress nicely, they won't deny you entrance to the dining room.

[SparkleBee]

I am just home from the Royal Princess in the Baltic. People definitely were at formal night without a tie. Nice pants and a long-sleeved button down shirt are fine. I wore a fancy dress one night and a non-fancy dress the other. sounds like the AK cruises are even more relaxed.

[cdlu]

I will be taking my long gown for one of the formal nights and a short cocktail dress for the other on the Crown Princess. My husband will wear a jacket/tie; no tux. We like to dress up for the formal nights. We make our way through the ship and take advantage of getting our picture made.