Cruise Culture and Princess

[tserface]

That's kind of a huge leap. Just because someone doesn't want to wear a tie and jacket to dinner it doesn't mean they are not going to be dressed nicely and it certainly doesn't mean they are going to break "real" laws by smuggling. It also likely has nothing to do with respect for other passengers. It may be a lack of respect for that particular dress code suggestion.

 

The people that I've seen not formally dressed still looked very presentable.

 

Also, I guess you could say that attempting to force people to pay extra for dinner or eat the less palatable food in the buffet just because you think they should be dressed up shows a kind of lack of regard for them.

 

Why not just dress up if you feel like it and dress reasonably nicely (like all other nights) if you don't feel like it. I still don't get what difference it m makes what someone else is wearing.

 

There should be at least a little element of "do what I want" on vacation.

 

Now, if they want to dedicate Anytime Dining to not being formal so others can get the same quality food, it may be fair to corral the less than dressy types in that area for the night. But, I doubt that would work with scheduling and some people like to go to the same table every evening.

 

I enjoy dressing up for formal nights, but I can fully understand how someone who wears suits and ties all the time in regular life could want a less formal vacation. And, they may still want lobster for dinner.

 

Since there seem to be fewer and fewer people wanting to dress up, here's a suggestion. Maybe they should move formal night to the specialty restaurants and people who want to dress up can pay extra for it. That way they could have a really super experience being dressed up and having the best food available!

 

Tom

 

BINGO!

 

It's the attitude that "I'm going to do what I want" whether it refers to dress, booze smuggling, chair saving, smoking, etc. It shows no regard for fellow passengers or the cruise line. They don't want to cruise NCL or Carnival because they want a better experience, but don't want to allow others to have that better experience due to their own selfishness.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

That's kind of a huge leap. Just because someone doesn't want to wear a tie and jacket to dinner it doesn't mean they are not going to be dressed nicely and it certainly doesn't mean they are going to break "real" laws by smuggling. It also likely has nothing to do with respect for other passengers. It may be a lack of respect for that particular dress code suggestion.

 

The people that I've seen not formally dressed still looked very presentable.

 

Also, I guess you could say that attempting to force people to pay extra for dinner or eat the less palatable food in the buffet just because you think they should be dressed up shows a kind of lack of regard for them.

 

Why not just dress up if you feel like it and dress reasonably nicely (like all other nights) if you don't feel like it. I still don't get what difference it m makes what someone else is wearing.

 

There should be at least a little element of "do what I want" on vacation.

 

Now, if they want to dedicate Anytime Dining to not being formal so others can get the same quality food, it may be fair to corral the less than dressy types in that area for the night. But, I doubt that would work with scheduling and some people like to go to the same table every evening.

 

I enjoy dressing up for formal nights, but I can fully understand how someone who wears suits and ties all the time in regular life could want a less formal vacation. And, they may still want lobster for dinner.

 

Since there seem to be fewer and fewer people wanting to dress up, here's a suggestion. Maybe they should move formal night to the specialty restaurants and people who want to dress up can pay extra for it. That way they could have a really super experience being dressed up and having the best food available!

 

Tom

 

I couldn't have said it better myself although I'm noted for formal dressing although I do wear dress pants & a decent shirt.

[Shogun]

Hi All

OK folks keep saying ships getting less formal, but where are these ships,

I have not seen this, in fact l would say the opposite is true with very high to almost 100% folks dressing up.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[shredie]

Silly comparison. ALL of us paid to use the MDR, only a few pay for a full suite and the perks.

Are you accusing me of being silly? :eek: Just because I don't think the rules apply to me? :eek: I'm on vacation! Me! Me! Me! :p

It also likely has nothing to do with respect for other passengers. It may be a lack of respect for that particular dress code suggestion.

 

Lack of respect for one doesn't mean lack of respect for the other?

 

Also, I guess you could say that attempting to force people to pay extra for dinner or eat the less palatable food in the buffet just because you think they should be dressed up shows a kind of lack of regard for them.

That's an image! Lines of passengers in shorts and tank tops lined up, forced at gunpoint to pony up at Crown Grill because all they are serving in the buffet is brussels sprouts and tofu burritos!

 

There should be at least a little element of "do what I want" on vacation.

Absolutely! I think I'll take up a little bit of smoking so I can share the "do what I want" with my balcony neighbors. :rolleyes:

 

Isn't this thread fun?

[Thrak]

Hi All

OK folks keep saying ships getting less formal, but where are these ships,

I have not seen this, in fact l would say the opposite is true with very high to almost 100% folks dressing up.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Shogun,

 

The problem is that you are "old" and using the "old" math. The "new" math is where the person who wants to wear the wife beater and ball cap counts for 25% and you count for 0.25%. See? Now do you understand? You are probably also confused because you were raised with the concept of "manners" which I don't think is in vogue these days.

 

Of course it may also be because you aren't from the US where we seem to have the "I should be able to do whatever I want and behave in any manner I want because it's my right" attitude. GAH! It makes me crazy. I guess I'm just old as well.

[tserface]

To be fair, I don't think anyone could build a case for someone *not* being dressed up being a health risk to them. Unless, perhaps, they worry about it so much that they cause themselves undue stress and have related problems from that, but even that's a choice.

 

Also, you could almost build a case for when some people dress up they tend to overuse colognes and, well, maybe that does relate to smoking issues in a way... :eek:

 

Tom

 

A

Absolutely! I think I'll take up a little bit of smoking so I can share the "do what I want" with my balcony neighbors. :rolleyes:

 

Isn't this thread fun?

[billco]

I thought this was part of the lure of Norwegian's "Freestyle" cruising. If people really dislike dressing nicely for dinner and actually detest the idea of formal nights I wonder why they cruise Princess rather than simply switching to Norwegian where there is no dress code at all.

For myself there are several reasons:

1. Formal night is only one part of the cruise experience. We have found the overall Princess experience seems to be the best fit for us.

2. With TA discounts, OBCs, FCCs, and Captain Circle benefits I'm reluctant to try other cruise lines. It's a pretty good deal right where I am.

3. We spend most of our time doing our own thing, either together or singly. We don't really pay that much attention to what others are doing or wearing as long as it doesn't directly infringe on our space.

 

Just a few reasons why we aren't going to look at other cruise lines, because of what people do on formal night and what we choose to do. Actually, we did do a transatlantic cruise on the Norwegian Sun a few years ago. We had an excellent time. There were several features I would like to see on Princess. As I recall, there were a few nights where folks had the option of dressing up for dinner. Seemed like there were more two and four chair tables in the MDR. Also, liked the layout of the Promenade Deck. They had a marguerita tasting that still gives me a headache when I think about it. I liked having a couch in the cabin. Seemed like the entertainment was pretty good, too. I would do Norwegian again under the right circumstances. We picked it that time, strictly for price and itinerary was almost half of a similar Princess cruise we were interested in. Not going to happen very often.

Edited September 23, 2014 by billco

[Smokeyham]

Fair enough and there is, on most ships, more than one MDR, so the true test would be to have, on some nights, a Formal MDR and an informal one.

 

This would be an interesting experiment. On some ships, like Sapphire Princess, they have four MDRs, so it would be relatively easy to designate one traditional and one "anytime" MDR as being the formal venues for the evening, and the other two being less formal, but still providing MDR service and menues.

 

On our Alaska cruise it seemed that most people who were in the MDR were dressing "nicely" for formal nights.

[I_r_a]

Hi Geo,

 

>And I'd absolutely not allow one to wear a baseball cap in the dining room.<

 

May I wear my Stetson? :)

 

((I))

[I_r_a]

>Dressing formal is something we do everyday for work.<

 

White tie and tails?

 

((I))

[RocketMan275]

This would be an interesting experiment. On some ships, like Sapphire Princess, they have four MDRs, so it would be relatively easy to designate one traditional and one "anytime" MDR as being the formal venues for the evening, and the other two being less formal, but still providing MDR service and menues.

 

On our Alaska cruise it seemed that most people who were in the MDR were dressing "nicely" for formal nights.

 

I like that idea. It's been suggested several times that one could simply select formal or smart casual dining as well as traditional or any time dining at the time one books their cruise.

 

I'd like to hear from others, particularly those who like to dress up, what they think of that idea.

[suzyed]

Hi All

May be check in should be formal so fashion police can check before issuing cruise card.

 

That said l like formal and if Princess was to go informal l would move to another line

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

We like variety....some cruises are just more casual (NCL to Alaska) and some very dressy (Cunard). We like both, so we change it up from time to time, and enjoy ourselves no matter what!

Our upcoming cruise on Princess is 28 days but only 4 formal nights. We will enjoy the gowns and tuxedos for those 4 nights! ;)

[suzyed]

Hi There

I would recommend anyone to wear a kilt in the Caribbean, so refreshing when you get a gentle breeze,

 

As to weight a kilt has 12 yards of heavy material, add in sporn, jacket etc and its half a case weight by itself.

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Oh but I love a man in a kilt! :D

[suzyed]

I truly hate wearing a tie, when you have a short neck they just suck. They are a torture device invented by the French :)

 

When I first started cruising I never went to formal night but finally on one cruise the dinning staff insisted that I come to dinner anyway. That was my first venture into formal night.

 

I do understand decorum and all, I never would wear jeans or shorts or a shirt without a collar in the dining room, and I always book one of the restaurants for the first formal night but.... I'm not going to wear a tie on vacation and I shouldn't be denied access to the MDR on lobster night because I find wearing ties a form of torture.

 

If this offends you I am sorry, actual I'm not, I'm on vacation :)

 

I see your point! And my DH would whole-heartedly agree! With that said, he still wears his tux if it is expected in the dining room on formal night, but he may leave his top button open or take off the tie once he sees how everyone else is "dressed down". We take it on a case by case basis! ;)

[AKman2495]

Silly comparison. ALL of us paid to use the MDR, only a few pay for a full suite and the perks.

 

Actually, on Princess, you supposedly paid to use the MDR on formal nights by observing the dress code. Unfortunately, Princess chooses not to enforce it. But is is simplistic to say that you deserve to eat in the MDR because you paid for it. You paid for it assuming you would dress formally on those nights.

 

The fax that you choose not to dress on those nights, should, in my opinion, exclude you from access to the MDR. As I said, unfortunately, Princess does not enforce this very well.....

[suzyed]

My first cruise was my two younger brothers and I taking my dad to Alaska on the Coral Princess in 2009. We only ate in the main dining room the last or second to last night. I remember seeing all the people dressed up for formal night; posing, getting pictures taken, etc.

I said to my brother that it seemed sad that these people's lives were so empty that their only joy was in dressing up and looking fancy to get noticed by other people like themselves. My younger brother made the comment that who the hell was I(I cleaned up his original language) to judge these people, and that maybe the middle-aged couple over there bought that specific dress so that they could go back to the cabin and he could cut it off her with an X-acto knife and proceed to have an incredible night of passion, and maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental toward people I knew nothing about. One of many great moments, and lessons, from that cruise.

I don't do formal nights. I don't go to the main dining room those nights either, out of courtesy to and respect for my fellow passengers, and the venue. One day when I look good in a suit or tux, I'll pack it, and show up, and be positively sartorial.

And I'll pack an X-acto knife......

 

Where is the "like" or "love" button!! Great story! :D