Princess Men's Formal Night Dress Poll

[skyline]

Another option: shirt & tie but no jacket. He has never been challenged on 7, 10, or 14 day cruises. Didn't vote in the poll because this category was missing.

[Mom33]

Why no selection for those wearing a long sleeve shirt and tie as permitted by Princess? When will there be a poll on why women are NOT required to wear clothes set out in the guidelines and why are they never discussed?

 

Women love to dress up!! End of story.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Mom33

[Potstech]

Women love to dress up!! End of story.

 

Wrong story has just begun. Who determined you say it is the end?

[MandE-UK]

Another option: shirt & tie but no jacket. He has never been challenged on 7, 10, or 14 day cruises. Didn't vote in the poll because this category was missing.

Time to call time on this poll! I think it shows that most people follow the guidelines and dress accordingly. Most of us finding it an enjoyable experience and a part of the cruise experience which we would miss if it was taken away or diluted further. If you do not wish to dress for formal nights you can always cruise on an NCL ship!

[Mom33]

Wrong story has just begun. Who determined you say it is the end?

 

When have you ever seen a woman come here and whine about dressing up?

It's always a guy complaining. There is no need for a poll for women.:p

[shredie]

When have you ever seen a woman come here and whine about dressing up?

It's always a guy complaining. There is no need for a poll for women.:p

 

LOL! So true, so true...

 

I want to see the military man in his dress uniform. I love that look. There are far too few of them on cruises, IMO.

[Times Prince]

The poll is intended to provide an answer to "what do most people* wear on Formal nights?", as a point of guidance to newer cruisers.

 

It is not a message to Princess concerning formal nights or what to include in the "suggested dress for the evening" FAQ.

 

* "people" being defined as Cruise Critic members

The option I've chosen on my cruises doesn't fit the choices. I either wear my tuxedo or else I wear a sports coat with tie and dress slacks.

Come back and choose 1. One meets the guidelines and the other is in the spirit of the guidelines. I, too, have worn sportcoat and tie when my Iberian cruise was to be followed by a month in Europe.

 

The survey doesn't apply to me. Depending upon the itinerary and embarkation port (fly or drive) I have worn a tux, suit and tie or sport cost and tie. I have also brought none of the above and ate in the HC or a specialty restaurant. I will continue to do any of those options on future cruises. ...but I choose to wear at least a sport coat and tie.

Option 3 was your best choice then.

 

I have worn casual and eaten in Café Caribe when I opted to go to a movie on deck on Formal night. But most of the time I wear a suit and tie and that is the choice I made in the poll

Another option: shirt & tie but no jacket

OK, I missed that one, but the final rollup will be "Meets guidelines" vs. "Doesn't". I'll try to remember the two of you who have posted so far when rolling up the results.

 

Time to call time on this poll! I think it shows that most people follow the guidelines and dress accordingly. Most of us finding it an enjoyable experience and a part of the cruise experience which we would miss if it was taken away or diluted further.

Call it on the first day? The poll has a 3 week life, allowing enough people to respond to be able to remove the conclusions from the "He said", "I saw..." anecdotal realm that is the usual answer to a new Cruise Critic member asking about what should they bring to wear. We've had a little less than half the respondents compared with the poll 3 years ago. I find it interesting how many will respond to an anonymous poll vs. how many actually post their thoughts on the subject. It is an orders of magnitude difference! Edited April 23, 2014 by Times Prince

[UpcountryTravelers]

If we're cruising from Florida (so that we can drive), I'll take both a tux and formal kilt outfit. Wear one, then the other, depending on mood. If we're flying, I'll probably just take the tux because the kilt and all accessories can get quite heavy.

 

Haven't decided on the Mediterranean cruise this August. What do you see most often on the Med cruises?

[shredie]

According to the dress code women shouldn't wear pants on a Formal night. I'd say we have around a 50% non compliance rate

 

Huh? Where does it say that?

[Cruise Junky]

Huh? Where does it say that?

 

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

 

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

 

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

[Woobstr112G]

To each his own, but I always rent a tux. One of the things I look forward to on a cruise is getting dressed up on formal nights.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Cruiserkenn]

Just in case you did not read what's on the Princess Cruises web site here it is:

 

Formal

"When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests."

 

This says nothing about a ship wide dress code, pre- or post-dinner outside of the MDR.

 

So, if I'm not eating in the MDR, I do not have to dress formal. Period. And that is per Princess Cruises guidelines whether you like it or not.

 

I do not observe Formal Nights. At all. I do not eat in the MDR. At all. And I

 

dress as casual as I please (without being a slob) while walking around the rest of the entire ship. Princess Cruises says I can. And I do. And I will continue to sail Princess Cruises as my cruise line of choice.

 

Have a nice day.

:D

 

Yes, very good, well said. On formal nights, I am often too hot with a coat and tie on. After making it thru dinner, I often have to take off the coat and tie in the showroom venues. I am thankful for the flexibility.

[tartanexile81]

Can't understand why you boys don't like wearing your tuxes. Do you not realise how flattering they are- think James Bond? My friends and I just love to admire all the gorgeous men in their tuxes on formal nights.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

My response has definitely changed over time. My DW and I used to always dress formally to include renting a tux. Several cruises back we decided we just didn't like dressing up. So we just opted out of eating in the MDR on formal nights. However on our last cruise aboard the Crown some friends wanted us to eat in the MDR and our waitress insisted that it would be no problem to come in dress slacks and a short-sleeved shirt. So we did and no one said a thing.

 

One thing I know is that enjoyment of any experience comes from within. If one lets the way another dresses keep them from enjoying the experience then there is probably a deeper issue going on. We will continue to not dress formally and will avoid the MDR. But, if circumstances bring is to the MDR I would hope that no one feels I have the power to ruin their experience.

[wineforhealth]

To each his own, but I always rent a tux. One of the things I look forward to on a cruise is getting dressed up on formal nights.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Can't understand why you boys don't like wearing your tuxes. Do you not realise how flattering they are- think James Bond? My friends and I just love to admire all the gorgeous men in their tuxes on formal nights.

 

I'm with Bob on this, and my thank you for the Tux-appeal my wife agrees with you.

Edited April 23, 2014 by wineforhealth

[MandE-UK]

I have just done a quick check on the poll as it currently stands and it would appear that 220 people dress in either a tux/ suit/ military / ethnic dress and thus follow and probably enjoy the formal night experience. Whilst 91 people wear sports jackets and ties or otherwise dress down or do not attend the MDR on formal nights. I would respectfully suggest this is still quite a portion of people in favour of the status quo!

Edited April 23, 2014 by MandE-UK

[Times Prince]

The poll would be more meaningful if they surveyed everyone on every cruise before sailing and then we went by that consensus.

 

This poll is statistically meaningless. It is only the bias of people who seem to be regular posters on the Princess forum on Cruise Critic. Nothing more and nothing less. :)

Princess Cruises has already determined the concensus of the passenger population, with the result being that Princess Cruises continues to offer Formal nights, even when other lines have done something else.

 

This poll is not statistically meaningless or biased if one assumes, rightly so, that the population polled are people who like cruising (if not they wouldn't be on Cruise Critic, would they?) and have experienced cruising on Princess.

 

After the close of one of the previous polls I took an exhaustive look at Cruise Critic threads dealing with the "recommended dress" subject; finding less than 40 people total who posted comments, many with repeated posts containing the same opinion over and over. :( Compare this with the 528 who responded to the poll at the same time and one can see the base is much broader and is more representative of the norm. The poll results should outweigh the squeaky wheel shouts of a small population.

[dmwnc1959]

The poll results should outweigh the squeaky wheel shouts of a small population.

 

But it will change absolutely nothing.

 

Those who favor tuxedo's will still wear them, those who favor dressing up in a combination of suit/shirt/tie will still do so, and those who do not dress up at all for formal night will still not dress up. Nothing will change. Not even how Princess Cruises enforces the dress code or stipulates what someone should wear.

 

And do those who cruise 7-nights in Alaska, 12-nights in the Mediterranean, 4-nights off of Southern California, or 27-days around the Orient or Africa dress differently? Are European passengers more likely to dress up than Australians, or vise versa? Are passengers more or less likely to dress up in the summer than winter? Port intensive southern Caribbean versus trans-Pacifics? Or are folks more likely to dress up during Holidays Cruises than they are for Spring Break cruises? You poll, sweeping broad in a single question, takes none of these factors into consideration.

 

So, although your poll had good intentions, the statistics and percentages are basically worthless.

 

As I said, nothing will change. Not even the squeaky wheel shouts of a small population.

 

:D

[shredie]

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the Traditional Dining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

 

Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for women

 

Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

You're right. It does say that. I seem to remember different wording from some time past--"elegant pants suit" or something like that. Am I hallucinating? LOL

[PescadoAmarillo]

Count me as a woman who hates dressing up for formal night married to a guy who loves wearing his tux. So I do dress, but half the time last winter I wore slacks (horrors!) with a silk kimono and was still dressier than many.

 

There is only one reason cruise lines still have formal nights and it has nothing to do with what the passengers want or don't want...it's all about photo sales, so much so that formal night was switched from a sea day to a port day to allow time for more photo shopping before the end of the cruise. I don't begrudge them that at all, but would not be playing along if it wasn't for DH.

[Cruiserkenn]

Thanks for stimulating much interesting discussion!

 

After reading all of the comments, I really liked the thoughts of the poster who suggested that we think James Bond:)

 

I also liked the suggestion of thinking elegant Elizabeth Taylor:)

 

Too much fun!

 

Enjoy formal night:). It seems that many do enjoy it:)

[Cruiserkenn]

Count me as a woman who hates dressing up for formal night married to a guy who loves wearing his tux. So I do dress, but half the time last winter I wore slacks (horrors!) with a silk kimono and was still dressier than many.

 

There is only one reason cruise lines still have formal nights and it has nothing to do with what the passengers want or don't want...it's all about photo sales, so much so that formal night was switched from a sea day to a port day to allow time for more photo shopping before the end of the cruise. I don't begrudge them that at all, but would not be playing along if it wasn't for DH.

 

Hey Ms. Yellow Fish - great point about the photos! The ones that get me are the single head shots, in the dining room. I even discussed this with the photo staff once: here's a picture of me... eating. The staff pretty much agreed with me. I guess these pictures must sell, or they wouldn't keep doing this.

 

Ugh. Enjoy anyway... Pictures of eating:)

[swedish weave]

These threads are interesting, and the "rules" are quoted many many times, but in reality the cruise line personnel decide what will and will not be acceptable.

 

Two things are the driving factors in application of the dress codes.

 

Selling photographs and selling cruises.

 

If the photos were eliminated, the dress code would also be changed to attract a wider customer base. As it is now, the code is written but not enforced.

 

Anything else is just "fluff" !!

Edited April 25, 2014 by swedish weave

[Cruise Junky]

You're right. It does say that. I seem to remember different wording from some time past--"elegant pants suit" or something like that. Am I hallucinating? LOL

 

I actually thought pant suite was there too or possibly that was another line. There are so many women that don't meet "the code" me being one of them..I find it amusing that they insist their man needs to be the eye candy in a tux.

[Wehwalt]

I use the buffet in any case. After years as a lawyer, I decline to wear a necktie in my retirement. More like me coming up through the ranks. I would not expect the percentage of formal night participants to be increasing in years to come. Or the percentage of formal nights.

 

The opposite, I would think, over the long term.