Alaska Cruise Formal Niights

[UL98874]

My wife, myself and step daughter will be going on our first alaska cruise on the crown this August out of Seattle. Has anyone been on this cruise and how formal is the dress code. There will be two formal nights.

[wineforhealth]

Welcome to Cruise Critic

[ggprincess2004]

We've done Alaska with Princess a number of times, and are heading back for another wonderful two weeks in Alaska with them in less than a month.

 

Formal night attire, first of all, can raise a furor on these boards. That being said, what we have seen on formal nights in Alaska tends to be just a little less formal than on some of the other itineraries.

 

Men do still wear tuxes, but the vast majority will be wearing suits or sports coats and ties for formal night. Ladies - haven't seen a ball gown in ages, but a long dresses still make appearances, as do cocktail type dresses and nice cocktail slacks with lovely tops.

 

My advice to my two daughters-in-law for formal nights on our upcoming Alaska cruises, as they are in their early twenties, was to bring along something easy to pack - perhaps a "slinky" knit long dress for formal night, or a dress that they simply loved and made them feel like a million bucks. The "boys" will be in suits, not tuxes. DH is debating whether to pack his or not for this trip. It would be the first cruise it was left behind - if it doesn't find it's way into the suitcase. I will be taking one long knit dress, and dressy slacks with beaded/embroidered tops for the formal evenings.

 

Please note, this response is meant to be helpful to the OP, not to inspire a tirade or any flaming over formal night attire.

[JimmyVWine]

Has anyone been on this cruise and how formal is the dress code. There will be two formal nights.

 

Welcome! There are actually two questions embedded in this.

1. What can you wear and still be allowed into the Main Dining Rooms?
   
2. What do most people wear?
   

 

The answer to number one is: almost anything. I have seen men wear new, unfaded jeans with an open collared long sleeve shirt, no tie. That suggests that pretty much any, nice, presentable attire will get one into the MDR.

 

The answer to number two is: the person wearing new, unfaded jeans with an open collared long sleeve shirt, no tie, was in the vast minority. Most men in the MDRs on formal nights will be wearing some sort of jacket, whether that be a sport jacket with no tie; a sport jacket with a tie; a suit; or a tuxedo. And lately, it seems as if the percentages of each is leveling out to about 25% each. If one has concerns about being the "least formal" person in the dining room, then one would want to wear some sort of jacket/tie combo. If one has no concerns about being the least formal person in the room, neither a tie nor a jacket is required to get in.

 

For women, the field is wide open. Pants. Dresses. Gowns. Designer jeans.

Edited April 29, 2015 by JimmyVWine

[Colo Cruiser]

Welcome to CC.

 

The itinerary has no bearing on the Princess dress policy, its standard across the fleet.

I suggest you take a peek at the Princess website FAQ's, its a great place to get some good info. ;)

[shredie]

Oh goody! Another formal wear thread! Somewhere here there is a photo of real people on a formal night on a trip to Alaska. They look like everyone else on any other formal night on any other itinerary.

[eandj]

I agree the guidelines are the same for any ship and any itinerary on Princess. BUT...the guidelines for formal night aren't exactly what you will see. There is no mention of sportcoats in the guidelines. And they are very popular. More so than tuxes as of late. I'd WOULD make sure a tie is a part of the man's outfit.

 

For an Alaskan cruise it does seem that people prefer to carry those heavier pieces/layers of clothing for the day's activities rather than packing tuxes and long dresses. Makes sense. A guy can wear his sportcoat on the plane, to save space.

 

For ladies, a pair of nice black crepey pants and a nice top or jacket or a little black dress can be worn twice. No need to pack different outfits for two nights. ladies tend to wear anything.. from "Sunday best" to cocktail to long to typical mother of bride dresses. Most "discussion" here, as well as on other cruiseline boards, comes from people debating what men show up in. jacket vs no jacket/ tie vs no tie

Edited April 29, 2015 by eandj

[Eaglecw]

We’ve been on a lot of Alaskan cruises. I wear a nice pair of slacks, shirt and tie, I used to wear sports coat but I would end up taking it off at the dinner table so why wear it at all. My wife wears a nice dress. You’ve got to remember you’ll probably never see these people again.

[Miss Pat]

Te best explanation was given by JimmyVWine.

On formal nights on an Alaskan trip many guys will just get by with no jacket and a dress shirt since room can be tight for such an itinerary although most do take a jacket.

My DH only wears his dress shirt & dress pants which seem to suffice quite well on Princess. The gals can dress up any outfit to make due.

On casual evenings almost anything goes except shorts which most people don't take to Alaska anyways. :D

[UL98874]

Sorry to cause such controversy. As Jimmy indicated, I did go to the Princess web page and looked at the dress requirements. But I was trying to get an idea from real people what there impressions were who have actually been on an Alaskan cruise. Especially since I read where Alaska cruises are less formal then some other cruises.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry to cause such controversy. As Jimmy indicated, I did go to the Princess web page and looked at the dress requirements. But I was trying to get an idea from real people what there impressions were who have actually been on an Alaskan cruise. Especially since I read where Alaska cruises are less formal then some other cruises.

 

 

No need to apologize, this is a contentious subject. Everyone has their opinion with some to the point of an agenda. Use your best judgment with all that you read here and on the Princess website. Its not rocket science. :)

[shredie]

Sorry to cause such controversy. As Jimmy indicated, I did go to the Princess web page and looked at the dress requirements. But I was trying to get an idea from real people what there impressions were who have actually been on an Alaskan cruise. Especially since I read where Alaska cruises are less formal then some other cruises.

 

This is a standing argument on this board. Most people will tell you they dress more or less in accordance to the Princess guidelines, but there will be a few (a Very Vocal Minority) who have a beef with Princess for having dress codes in the first place, and have an Agenda to promote (for various reasons, mostly because they are SPECIAL.) Anyway, don't feel badly for asking a perfectly legitimate question (even though the answers you receive apparently have to go through the filter of someone's inflated idea of what is of "value" in an answer.) :rolleyes:

[RickEk]

Here's what I wore on formal night on an Alaska cruise a few years ago. No problem. I was traveling with one female and two male friends. They wore a nice dress, sports coat and tuxedo respectively.

 

Golden Princess - Sea Day - 2012 by RickEk, on Flickr

[gatorguy56]

We have been on three Alaskan cruises on Princess in the last four years. We have found the dress code much more relaxed (much to the hubs pleasure). He wore a dress shirt, slacks and tie and it was fine. The funniest thing we saw on a formal night was on our first Alaskan cruise. There was a table of eight right next to us. On the first formal night there was a "gentleman" there in his very best and brand new overalls with a white button down shirt. We never saw him in the dining room again after that night. :)

[space cowboy]

When we went to Alaska last year, most people who went to dinner in dining rooms were dressed well for the occasion, a few were dressed than perfect but you'll find the same issue at formal occasions back home. During the day many cruisers were dressed in more comfortable clothes as the excursions and the climate demand heavier clothing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Colo Cruiser]

Here's what I wore on formal night on an Alaska cruise a few years ago. No problem. I was traveling with one female and two male friends. They wore a nice dress, sports coat and tuxedo respectively.

 

Golden Princess - Sea Day - 2012 by RickEk, on Flickr

 

 

Looks fine to me.

[PrincessLuver]

My wife, myself and step daughter will be going on our first alaska cruise on the crown this August out of Seattle. Has anyone been on this cruise and how formal is the dress code. There will be two formal nights.

 

We cruise Princess frequently and my experience is that the dress on formal nights on Alaska cruises is much much less formal than other sailings. As a matter of fact we had some friends along who were first time cruisers and informed them of the dress code. On the formal nights there were so many people not dressed to the nine's (basically it appeared anything was OK) "that we still hear about it today." They were not pleased to find out Formal Nights are not a big deal....:)

[Lakesrider]

I have been following along with this topic, as it was a question of mine as well. I am a newbie to cruising and we have the sit down dinner itinerary with two formal nights on our Alaskan Cruise in May. I actually googled pictures of formal nights on a cruise. It was a pretty mixed bag.

I plan to bring a Dark suit and Sport coat/slacks for the second night. We are doing an all day shore excursion and won't be back until about a half hour before dinner. So I figured a sport coat would be quick. We eat at 5:30 on our trip. So while I understand all the things that seem to go with Formal night, I plan to remember one thing. I am on vacation....Plain and simple...I'm not on the cruise to stress about what I am going to wear. I am there to relax and have fun. I hope everyone else is as well.

[mek]

My wife, myself and step daughter will be going on our first alaska cruise on the crown this August out of Seattle. Has anyone been on this cruise and how formal is the dress code. There will be two formal nights.

 

My last Alaskan cruise was on Princess in August/September. Most men wore suits and the ladies wore something dressy. As on any cruise, you will see exceptions, but the majority of people followed the dress code on formal nights.

 

Previous to this, our last Alaskan cruise was on X five years ago and it was much more casual than Princess - many men didn't wear jackets and the ladies wore something nice, but not necessarily evening wear. Go figure!

[gatorguy56]

It just about takes an act of God to get my husband in a tie. The last suit he bought was over 20 years ago for an uncle's funeral. I think he wore it twice. We hit the outlet mall and got him a decent shirt and tie before our first Alaskan cruise (this will be the fourth year in a row he will be in the same attire for formal nights). It will probably be the same one he wears for the next ten years, lol.

[simonmary]

Went last year on the Island. I wore a formal dress. My husband wore his tux.

 

Going again this year. Debating if we want to take formal gear with us, or forgo the MDR on formal nights. But, we will most likely take it, as it is a good excuse to get dressed up (providing I get off my duff within the next 7 days and get the new skirt hemmed).

 

If we don't take the formal things, we won't be in the MDR for those nights. To me, it isn't a matter of what others are doing/wearing. It is a matter of what Princess requests (even if they don't "enforce" it).

[ChiefBoats]

We have sailed Alaska several times. Formal night is the same as any other formal night on Princess. There is a set dress code from Princess on formal night but you will find for men anything from just coat/tie to the full tux. I have worn coat/tie, tux and at times my full military diner dress uniform. The ladies seem to run the full gamut from very nice dress to the full diner gowns.

______________________________________

Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

[birdiebill]

As you can see we have been on several Caribbean cruises and two Alaska cruises. Our personal experience has been pretty much the same on formal nights on all of our Princess cruises. Most men do follow the guidelines and wear either a tux (a small percentage) or (largest percentage) wear either a sport coat or suit with dress shirt and tie. A few wear just a shirt and tie. While we have seen very few men on formal night on either Alaska or the Caribbean who wear slacks and open collared shirts, we have seen some.

 

On our first Alaska cruise I took and wore my tux which I purchased for ballroom dancing when our dance club has formal dances. On the second Alaska cruise I took and wore sport coat, dress shirt, and tie which fit the attire most men had chosen.

 

Just reporting our personal experience.

Edited April 30, 2015 by birdiebill

[5soccer9]

I know there are 100 treads of this and I have just gone through them all. Now I am more confused. Fornal night on an Alaska cruise. I have read that it is less formal than other cruises, I read some still long gowns, tuxs, etc. I have read some just wear slacks and a shirt, women in dress pants. I have always worn a long gown and my hubby a tux on formal night but after going thourgh all the old treads I am not sure. Our last Alaska cruise in 2009 I seem to remember most dressing up. Not sure if things have changed that much in the past 6 years. Will we be overdressed in a long gown and tux? Thank you for any input you can give me.

[runner15km]

You will be in the minority but wear what you like and enjoy your cruise.