Jeans in the Dining Room?

[RocketMan275]

Sigh. I didn't know it was "snobbish" to hope that people present themselves nicely.

 

But, y'know, I suppose it's asking too much to hope that guys forego their cutting-edge Dockers and that ultra-cool Tommy Bahama shirt and make some effort at looking like they haven't just been out mowing the lawn. After all, we all know that a sense of style is just some fiendish metrosexual invention, right?

 

Yes, I do believe it is too much to ask. And, why would you even want to ask them too? How does what they choose to wear affect you in any way?

[Cruisin' Chick]

Sigh. I didn't know it was "snobbish" to hope that people present themselves nicely.

 

But, y'know, I suppose it's asking too much to hope that guys forego their cutting-edge Dockers and that ultra-cool Tommy Bahama shirt and make some effort at looking like they haven't just been out mowing the lawn. After all, we all know that a sense of style is just some fiendish metrosexual invention, right?

 

Just wanted to say I love your little avatar: WWFSMD!

[BDRebel]

Wow, that went south in a hurry :D

To the OP, for a guy, long pants and a button-up or Polo type shirt.

For a gal, slacks / capri and a comparable blouse.

[kendon]

In my opinion if you say jeans are okay in the dining room, the next thing you see is every variation of jeans walking through the door: ripped jeans, dirty jeans, overalls, faded jeans, jeans shorts, patched jeans, "dress" jeans (?), etc...all leading to the degradation of a nice dining experience. It's all left up to the interpretation of the wearer.

 

I prefer no jeans in the MDR myself.

[Cruise Junky]

In my opinion if you say jeans are okay in the dining room, the next thing you see is every variation of jeans walking through the door: ripped jeans, dirty jeans, overalls, faded jeans, jeans shorts, patched jeans, "dress" jeans (?), etc...all leading to the degradation of a nice dining experience. It's all left up to the interpretation of the wearer.

 

I prefer no jeans in the MDR myself.

 

There is no "if" it's reality. They allow jeans. Princess sets the rules on their ships. End of story. If you prefer no jeans, you might want to find a line that doesn't allow them.

[LMaxwell]

Sigh. I didn't know it was "snobbish" to hope that people present themselves nicely.

 

But, y'know, I suppose it's asking too much to hope that guys forego their cutting-edge Dockers and that ultra-cool Tommy Bahama shirt and make some effort at looking like they haven't just been out mowing the lawn. After all, we all know that a sense of style is just some fiendish metrosexual invention, right?

 

I don't wear $50 Dockers and $120 Tommy Bahama shirts to mow the lawn.

 

I wear them on caribbean cruises!

[AKman2495]

I value comfort much more than I do being fashionable.

 

Believe it or not...dressing well and being comfortable are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I almost never wear jeans anymore and I am comfortable in what I wear.

 

I'll admit there was a time when I enjoyed playing dress up. Even owned several suits and a mess blue uniform. Times change and so have I. I'd much rather wear my blue jeans and be comfortable.

 

Of course, I would argue that dressing well is not "playing dress up". That is something kids do to try and look "grown up". I guess these days, kids play dress up everyday-which s probably why the stated dropping their pants-they have to rebel somehow and the always causal set makes that hard for them. Perhaps they will take to waring suits to be different;)

 

DW and I avoid the MDR most of the time especially on formal nights. In fact, we politely decline all invitations (and I do mean all) that require more than smart casual.

 

That's fine with me and I wish you all the best on your cruises.

[MJSailors]

Dressing for the MDR on Princess ships always seems to be a hot topic.

People seem to want to defend their way of dressing to the point of putting down an opposite style that another person may choose.

The question is,why do that?

I think that all passengers on a cruise are trying to have an enjoyable time.

With that in mind,I think that people should not make assumptions about people based on their clothing choice.

People who choose to dress "up" for dinner should not be considered to be " snobs" nor should those who choose a more casual look be considered "slobs".

People will do what they are most familiar with when they consider what to wear for dinner on a cruise ship

That being said, I do think that if there is a dress code that is respected by the dinning room staff,passengers should do their best to follow the guidelines.

My DH and I do like to dress for formal nights.

We select clothes that we would choose to wear to an elegant,evening wedding.

On other nights,DH wears dress pants and a long sleeved shirt or a polo.

I wear pants with a pretty top or a casual dress.

That is what we are familiar with wearing at home and that is what we wear on vacation.

We rarely pack jeans for a cruise- only did so on an Alaskan cruise to wear during the day.

Jeans are heavy to pack in a suitcase and too warm for Caribbean climate -IMHO.

Please do not think we are "snobs " when you see us dressed for dinner in the MDR.

We are just fellow passengers who are enjoying a cruise.

[pjrockman]

We are on a 7 night sail on our first Princess ship. On HAL and RCCL, most people do not wear jeans at dinnertime nor do I. However, on NCL, people tend to be more casual.

 

Please share the usual dress code for Princess on evenings that are considered casual.

 

 

OP, Carol.

 

There will be more than 50,000 people cruising to the Caribbean on Princess in December. You have now heard from about 30 Princess Cruisers on this thread. This is a sample of 0.0006 of the 50,000. Just to put the comments into perspective.

 

DW and I favor formal on formal nights and no jeans on casual nights. In our opinion, the majority of people are dressed this way. Now you have heard from 0.00061 of the 50,000 on Princess to the Caribbean in December.

 

I recommend taking a little of each and get your own feel for Princess. We really enjoy Princess because it has a bit of class.

 

Hope that helps. Paul

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[suzyed]

Not true....For several years now, Princess has been allowing jeans in the MDR for dinner. We have seen it on multiple ships. You won't be turned away except perhaps on formal night.

 

This is direct from Princess website......"Inappropriate dress such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans (with fraying and/or holes), is not permitted in the dining rooms."

 

However.....I've seen those wearing jeans with holes be allowed to enter.

 

Just home from our 28 day sailing and we had a guy in our dining room who regularly showed up in bib overalls....yes, bib overalls! I didn't see him on formal nights, but every other time, that is how he was dressed.

I wore nice capris on most nights and I do believe my DH wore his brand new/ironed and creased jeans to dinner one night.

Edited November 20, 2014 by suzyed

[paiagirl]

We are on a 7 night sail on our first Princess ship. On HAL and RCCL, most people do not wear jeans at dinnertime nor do I. However, on NCL, people tend to be more casual.

 

Please share the usual dress code for Princess on evenings that are considered casual.

 

Someone posted that they were on the GOLDEN PRINCESS this month and we were too. Besides Shorts in the main dining room, Bernini for dinner, we were surprised to see baseball caps and tanks that men wore. A lot of cruisers also wore jeans and flip flops. This was throughout the cruise, not only the first evening.

 

This was completely different from the NCL JADE that we were on last month were cruisers were dressed very nicely for dinner.

[RocketMan275]

In my opinion if you say jeans are okay in the dining room, the next thing you see is every variation of jeans walking through the door: ripped jeans, dirty jeans, overalls, faded jeans, jeans shorts, patched jeans, "dress" jeans (?), etc...all leading to the degradation of a nice dining experience. It's all left up to the interpretation of the wearer.

 

I prefer no jeans in the MDR myself.

 

Suppose someone at another table is wearing jeans. Exactly how does this degrade your fine dining experience? Is the experience so fragile that the mere sight of a man wearing jeans destroy that experience?

[Dreamer333]

OH MY GAWWD!

I can't believe this tiresome debate STILL continues!

 

To answer the OP's question,

 

YES, PRINCESS ALLOWS JEANS IN THE MDR.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Dreamer333

[baggal]

On our Ruby British Isles cruise this past summer, we happened to be seated in an area of the MDR where most of the guests were "of a certain age," (we're in our early 60's). And I believe some of these guests were British. At dinner EVERY night, the men wore jackets and ties (pants and shoes too but I didn't see those!). Their female companions were dressed accordingly. The atmosphere just felt different - refined and elegant. I loved it.

 

So to those who ask, why would someone wearing jeans and a t-shirt affect my dining experience, I answer: maybe not one passenger but being surrounded by a slew of baseball hats, t-shirts and shorts definitely would change the MDR atmosphere (for me!).

 

And finally, there IS a difference between wearing clean, pressed jeans and and shirt and walking to the MDR looking like you just spent the afternoon mowing the lawn and cleaning out the garage.

[RocketMan275]

Believe it or not...dressing well and being comfortable are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I almost never wear jeans anymore and I am comfortable in what I wear.

 

Of course, I would argue that dressing well is not "playing dress up". That is something kids do to try and look "grown up". I guess these days, kids play dress up everyday-which s probably why the stated dropping their pants-they have to rebel somehow and the always causal set makes that hard for them. Perhaps they will take to waring suits to be different;)

 

That's fine with me and I wish you all the best on your cruises.

 

Comfort is personal and I respect your opinion in that regard. That is not my point. I hope you understand that I'm not disrespecting your opinions but only stating my own.

 

My point is this. I believe in respecting those with whom I cruise. It's fine if they want to dress up. It's fine if they don't. I would never dream of insisting that someone should dress to please me. Nor, would I give someone else the power to diminish my experience through their clothing preferences.

 

I know there are those who would say that dressing up for formal night is the way one shows respect for their fellow passengers. I would say that if one truly respects their fellow passengers, one will not try to dictate their preferences.

 

BTW, Wife and I have never attended formal nights. We decline all invitations that require formal wear.

 

Another thing. I find these formal discussions very amusing. Since I've never attended formal nights i do not know this to be true, but I understand that, on some cruise lines, the matre-d will provide a jacket to a man who is not wearing one. Of course, whether this jacket actually fits is somewhat accidental. Therefore, the man only has to carry the jacket to his table where it can be placed over the back of his chair. My question is this, if the presence of a jacket hanging on a chair is a form of acceptable formal wear and it increases the ambiance, why not just hang a jacket over every chair and every night can be formal night?

[JimmyVWine]

I almost never wear jeans anymore and I am comfortable in what I wear.

I've never really understood the whole "jeans debate" on a cruise. They are bulkier and heavier than any other style of pants I own, and I never pack them for travel unless I am headed to my friends's cabin in Vermont. Don't know why people think that they are the be all and end all of casual wear. At my business, we have "Jeans Days" to raise money for United Way and people can pay $5 to wear jeans on certain days, and many people do. Me? I pitch in my $5 but wear what I usually wear. To me, wearing jeans is a downgrade in comfort, not an upgrade. But, oh well.

 

Suppose someone at another table is wearing jeans. Exactly how does this degrade your fine dining experience? Is the experience so fragile that the mere sight of a man wearing jeans destroy that experience?

I think that there are people who fear that the entire Princess experience will change if things get too casual. It's not that your Fettuccine Alfredo will taste any different. But the cruising style overall will suffer. I think many people look at the CCL branding and see Carnival placed at the "party ship/Spring Break" low end; Princess at the "casual elegant" middle; HAL at the "more mature, sedate" middle; and Seabourn at the "elegant luxury" top. When discussions brew over dress codes, there may be an unspoken concern that when the things that separate Carnival from Princess erode away, (such as dress codes), then Princess and Carnival will become indistinguishable. And when you have a chat board comprised of hard corp Princess fans, this becomes a frightening proposition. Personally, I think that if a company has so many distinct brands, there are good reasons to keep them distinct so that people have choices. There should be "shorts and flip-flops" cruise ships and there should be "suits and tuxes" cruise ships, and customers can choose what is best for them. But when a person chooses a "suits and tuxes" cruise ship only to find out that the atmosphere on board is more "shorts and flip-flops", then their expectations aren't met and this leads to disappointment. Not that their meal will be ruined. But that the fantasy world that they bought into didn't materialize. It may seem irrational, but it is real to many.

[Cruise Junky]

Personally, I think that if a company has so many distinct brands, there are good reasons to keep them distinct so that people have choices. There should be "shorts and flip-flops" cruise ships and there should be "suits and tuxes" cruise ships, and customers can choose what is best for them. But when a person chooses a "suits and tuxes" cruise ship only to find out that the atmosphere on board is more "shorts and flip-flops", then their expectations aren't met and this leads to disappointment. Not that their meal will be ruined. But that the fantasy world that they bought into didn't materialize. It may seem irrational, but it is real to many.

 

I absolutely agree with this...but Princess hasn't been that Suits and Tuxes line for a while, that distinction now goes to Cunard & HAL. Princess is smart casual every night in the specialty restaurants, Cunard and HAL are not. Princess has changed and a lot of people are refusing to see that change and are holding on. It won't work. Princess has moved into main stream cruising and has taken it's dress code with it.

[JimmyVWine]

Princess is smart casual every night in the specialty restaurants, Cunard and HAL are not. ... Princess has moved into main stream cruising and has taken it's dress code with it.

Ahhh!! But herein lies the issue. The two sentences quoted above are inherently inconsistent. If Princess is indeed "smart casual" every night, then by definition, it cannot be "main stream cruising". Smart casual sets Princess apart from Carnival, NCL and RCL. At least in theory. While it is correct to say that Princess is not a "suits and tuxes" cruise line (other than on formal nights), I think what many long-time loyalists fear is that the slide from "semi-formal" to "smart casual" hasn't ended the descent, and instead, "smart casual" will soon become "anything goes". Again, my personal opinion only, I am fine with the slip from semi-formal to smart casual. I've done Cunard. (Including two Trans-Atlantics when I was 13 years old and had to wear a coat and tie every evening for dinner). I prefer smart casual. But that is where I would like to draw the line. I would prefer that the demarcation between "smart casual" and "completely casual" remain in place so that people can choose among different styles and environments. Homogenization is great for milk. Not so great for cruise lines.

[Cruise Junky]

Ahhh!! But herein lies the issue. The two sentences quoted above are inherently inconsistent. If Princess is indeed "smart casual" every night, then by definition, it cannot be "main stream cruising". Smart casual sets Princess apart from Carnival, NCL and RCL. At least in theory. While it is correct to say that Princess is not a "suits and tuxes" cruise line (other than on formal nights), I think what many long-time loyalists fear is that the slide from "semi-formal" to "smart casual" hasn't ended the descent, and instead, "smart casual" will soon become "anything goes". Again, my personal opinion only, I am fine with the slip from semi-formal to smart casual. I've done Cunard. (Including two Trans-Atlantics when I was 13 years old and had to wear a coat and tie every evening for dinner). I prefer smart casual. But that is where I would like to draw the line. I would prefer that the demarcation between "smart casual" and "completely casual" remain in place so that people can choose among different styles and environments. Homogenization is great for milk. Not so great for cruise lines.

 

Isn't RCL still Smart Casual? as is Celebrity. I would look at NCL and Carnival as a step below.

[JimmyVWine]

Isn't RCL still Smart Casual? as is Celebrity. I would look at NCL and Carnival as a step below.

 

RCL, (especially with the introduction of Dynamic Dining) can no longer be considered "smart casual", even if they want to say that it is. Celebrity definitely is. But that sort of advances my point. RCI has different styles of cruising same as CCL. Celebrity is different from RCL, and I'd bet that the X loyalists would be just as up in arms over a downgrade of that atmosphere as Princess loyalists are. Celebrity fans should be able to expect a different experience from RCL, and Princess fans should be able to expect a different experience from Carnival. (Not that I am equating Carnival and RCL. They are very, very different.) But the whole "Central Park/Starbuck's/Johnny Rockets" thing that RCL has going on has definitely changed the atmosphere to a more casual feel.

Edited November 20, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[Cruise Junky]

RCL, (especially with the introduction of Dynamic Dining) can no longer be considered "smart casual", even if they want to say that it is. Celebrity definitely is. But that sort of advances my point. RCI has different styles of cruising same as CCL. Celebrity is different from RCL, and I'd bet that the X loyalists would be just as up in arms over a downgrade of that atmosphere as Princess loyalists are. Celebrity fans should be able to expect a different experience from RCL, and Princess fans should be able to expect a different experience from Carnival. (Not that I am equating Carnival and RCL. They are very, very different.) But the whole "Central Park/Starbuck's/Johnny Rockets" thing that RCL has going on has definitely changed the atmosphere to a more casual feel.

 

RCL has dynamic dining on one ship, let's not get carried away just yet. I think we're getting off topic, I already said that CCL lines have different dress codes. Cunard and HAL are now the formal lines. If that's what you're looking for, they would be the cruise lines for you because...gasp...Princess allows Jeans.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Cruise Junky

[golfb4cruzing]

We just got off the Ruby last Saturday. I went to Formal Night without my suit coat and I think there were several people getting physically ill because of my attire. The rest of my cruise was a bit off....

Edited November 20, 2014 by golfb4cruzing

[Dreamer333]

We just got off the Ruby last Saturday. I went to Formal Night without my suit coat and I think there were several people getting physically ill because of my attire. The rest of my cruise was a bit off....

 

Lol :D

[Potstech]

We just got off the Ruby last Saturday. I went to Formal Night without my suit coat and I think there were several people getting physically ill because of my attire. The rest of my cruise was a bit off....

 

I do hope they were aware of where the medical center was at as so they could get their medical problems taken care of. Of course they have hours there also except for emergencies. Would that count as an EMERGENCY?

Edited November 20, 2014 by Potstech

[JimmyVWine]

RCL has dynamic dining on one ship, let's not get carried away just yet.

It will be their wave of the future.

 

I think we're getting off topic, I already said that CCL lines have different dress codes. Cunard and HAL are now the formal lines. If that's what you're looking for, they would be the cruise lines for you because...gasp...Princess allows Jeans.

 

I think you are missing the point. Simply put, Princess is supposed to be more formal (small "f") than Carnival. And for now it is. People fear that Princess is in danger of slipping downward to the point where it is indistinguishable from Carnival and they don't want that. HAL and Cunard do not play into that point whatsoever. (And HAL is no more or less formal, (small "f") than Princess at the moment. Not sure where you got the idea that it was.) Here is the official statement on the topic:

 

The right clothing can make a big difference in the enjoyment of your cruise. First and foremost, dress for comfort. Daily life aboard ship and in ports of call is laid back and casual. Warmer climates call for clothing made of lightweight, breathable fabrics. For cooler climates, we suggest casual clothes that can be layered easily and possibly a raincoat and waterproof hat or umbrella and gloves. Certain shore excursions may require particular attention to clothing. For example, certain churches or other places of worship may not allow tank tops or short pants.

 

Evening dress falls into two distinct categories: Formal or Smart Casual. Smart Casual can be defined as slacks and sports shirts or sweater for men and skirt or trousers and sweater or blouse for women. Printed T-shirts, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the restaurants or public areas during the evening hours.

On festive Formal evenings, ladies wear a cocktail dress or gown and gentlemen wear a suit and tie or tuxedo.

Edited November 20, 2014 by JimmyVWine