"Evening Chick" now on X - will Princess follow?

[Sanibel*Gal]

Should read "Evening Chic":o

 

We are going on our first Celebrity cruise in December and read here on CC that they are changing their "Formal Nite" to "Evening Chic". Guests are encouraged to dress in nice clothes and even designer jeans will be allowed in the dining room. So, is it only a matter of time before Princess and other cruise lines follow??

 

 

Andrea

~~~~~~~~

Edited November 9, 2015 by Sanibel*Gal

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

There is another to look at by keeping formal night Princess could get

 

passengers from Celebrity that still want formal nights.

 

My own view is that ships need to change dress code to suite where they are in the world.

 

Europe, TA etc more formal nights, Caribbean no formal nights.

 

yours Shogun

[CoffeHound]

I think this more about X's desire to attract a younger hipper demographic by trying to emulate the Miami club scene on board. Their entertainment has already moved in the direction of DJ's and uber high volume music and more than a few people who have asked to have the volume turned down or asked for a little more diversity in the types of music have been told that that is how Miami wants it and if you don't like it find another cruise line.

 

I think this is their way of saying "dress like you are going to the club" in the hopes that it will attract the younger crowd who thinks of "formal night" as stuffy. I don't really see this as getting rid of formal night but rather rephrasing it in a manner to make it more appealing to the younger crowd.

 

I don't think it represents much of a change in that those who want to dress up still will and those who want to flaunt the rules and refuse to make any effort will still do so.

[cruzsnooze]

Should read "Evening Chic":o

 

We are going on our first Celebrity cruise in December and read here on CC that they are changing their "Formal Nite" to "Evening Chic". Guests are encouraged to dress in nice clothes and even designer jeans will be allowed in the dining room. So, is it only a matter of time before Princess and other cruise lines follow??

 

 

Andrea

~~~~~~~~

I hope so because I don't care for formals anymore.

[alexspepa]

LOL - i bet if i googled the title of this thread i would get a lot of interesting web sites!:p

[sonomaphil]

Can you reserve "Evening Chicks" before you get on board? :p

[AHS123]

LOL - i bet if i googled the title of this thread i would get a lot of interesting web sites!:p

I did and "Evening Chick" came up as an all-inclusive ;)

[AHS123]

Can you reserve "Evening Chicks" before you get on board? :p

Yes but you have to pay port tax.

[Bruin Steve]

We are going on our first Celebrity cruise in December and read here on CC that they are changing their "Formal Nite" to "Evening Chic". Guests are encouraged to dress in nice clothes and even designer jeans will be allowed in the dining room. So, is it only a matter of time before Princess and other cruise lines follow??

 

I am booked on two upcoming Celebrity cruises--one in the Caribbean in March and one in Europe in July. I have received NO notice about any such change. I have also searched the Celebrity website and, again, absolutely no word of such a change. They still show the chart with number of Formal Nights per number of cruise nights...and there are still all of the references to formal attire.

 

Now, OTOH, we have cruised a few times on Oceania...and their dress code EVERY night is "Country Club Casual"--whatever the heck that means...but no formal nights...and we have really enjoyed that. Azamara does the same thing. We have also been on 3 night Princess cruises--zero formal nights. IMHO, it is quite a pleasure to pack for a cruise and not have to worry about bringing along formal attire...especially in these days when there are airline luggage weight restrictions and Luggage Fees...

 

I know that SOME people like dressing up...but NOTHING in the rules on such lines with no formal nights prevents people from doing that. On Oceania, we always saw several folks (usually older) in dinner jackets and formal wear in the main dining room every night.

 

I do think that, nowadays, the lack of a required formal night is a big selling point...Required formal nights would NOT be a big seller for most people.

[PenguinLife]

The thing that gets me also is all the luggage restriction we find with modern air travel, it just becomes a big hassle to pack formal wear that will only be worn for a few hours.

[hcat]

I think this more about X's desire to attract a younger hipper demographic by trying to emulate the Miami club scene on board. Their entertainment has already moved in the direction of DJ's and uber high volume music and more than a few people who have asked to have the volume turned down or asked for a little more diversity in the types of music have been told that that is how Miami wants it and if you don't like it find another cruise line.

 

I think this is their way of saying "dress like you are going to the club" in the hopes that it will attract the younger crowd who thinks of "formal night" as stuffy. I don't really see this as getting rid of formal night but rather rephrasing it in a manner to make it more appealing to the younger crowd.

 

I don't think it represents much of a change in that those who want to dress up still will and those who want to flaunt the rules and refuse to make any effort will still do so.

 

I think this accurately sums it up...hopefully not misinterpreted to dress like slobs!

[hcat]

I am booked on two upcoming Celebrity cruises--one in the Caribbean in March and one in Europe in July. I have received NO notice about any such change. I have also searched the Celebrity website and, again, absolutely no word of such a change. They still show the chart with number of Formal Nights per number of cruise nights...and there are still all of the references to formal attire.

 

Now, OTOH, we have cruised a few times on Oceania...and their dress code EVERY night is "Country Club Casual"--whatever the heck that means...but no formal nights...and we have really enjoyed that. Azamara does the same thing. We have also been on 3 night Princess cruises--zero formal nights. IMHO, it is quite a pleasure to pack for a cruise and not have to worry about bringing along formal attire...especially in these days when there are airline luggage weight restrictions and Luggage Fees...

 

I know that SOME people like dressing up...but NOTHING in the rules on such lines with no formal nights prevents people from doing that. On Oceania, we always saw several folks (usually older) in dinner jackets and formal wear in the main dining room every night.

 

I do think that, nowadays, the lack of a required formal night is a big selling point...Required formal nights would NOT be a big seller for most people.

 

We sail with Celeb in January and received the formal to chic announcement in an e mail....but among the attachments, there is a list of how many formal nights for each cruise duration....Not exactly "atention to detail" that Celebrity claims to champion!

 

guess the website update will follow...

Edited November 9, 2015 by hcat

[Bruin Steve]

We sail with Celeb in January and received the formal to chic announcement in an e mail....but among the attachments, there is a list of how many formal nights for each cruise duration....Not exactly "atention to detail" that Celebrity claims to champion!

 

guess the website update will follow...

 

I still haven't gotten that official email...

But I now see the article here on Cruise Critic:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6642

 

Frankly, I welcome this...

I guess, with what they are saying, I can now bring something like black slacks and a dress shirt (probably black or black/white)...dressed up a little bit from the standard casual...but I get to avoid packing the full tux regalia with the jacket, bow tie, cummerbund, studs, cufflinks, etc. Really far more comfortable and far less to pack.

 

I will really appreciate it on my July Europe trip--where I'm doing a 13 night cruise with a 4-night pre-cruise and a 6-night post cruise. It will allow me to pack a little less and not worry about wrinkling up a formal jacket schlepping it all over Europe for almost a month. And with my 2 free loads of laundry as an Elite Plus cruiser, I can likely pack all I need into one suitcase!

 

I really wish Princess would do the same for my upcoming 5 night cruise--where they have one silly formal night...

Even though I don't have to fly to this one, it would be nice to be able to just throw 5 days worth of casual clothes into a carry-on...and go...

With the single formal night, I will need to pack a much larger suitcase--just to deal with the jacket, the extra shoes, etc. Sort of a hassle for a short five night getaway...

[Steelers36]

Hi There,

 

There is another to look at by keeping formal night Princess could get

 

passengers from Celebrity that still want formal nights.

 

My own view is that ships need to change dress code to suite where they are in the world.

 

Europe, TA etc more formal nights, Caribbean no formal nights.

 

yours Shogun

 

Agree and add Alaska and Hawaii to Caribbean

[cynbar]

I think the handwriting is on the wall and this is now the way of the world -----everything is more casual these days, I'm amazed by what I see worn in church and nice restaurants here at home. Personally, I'd be glad to see Princess follow Celebrity. We have enjoyed the ambiance of formal nights in the past, but we're over it now. "Evening Chic" would be just fine on our upcoming British Isles cruise, but if Princess keeps formal nights we will comply. I'd be more likely to look at Celebrity, however.

[sonomaphil]

I think the handwriting is on the wall and this is now the way of the world -----everything is more casual these days, I'm amazed by what I see worn in church and nice restaurants here at home. Personally, I'd be glad to see Princess follow Celebrity. We have enjoyed the ambiance of formal nights in the past, but we're over it now. "Evening Chic" would be just fine on our upcoming British Isles cruise, but if Princess keeps formal nights we will comply. I'd be more likely to look at Celebrity, however.

 

Agreed. I know for our cruise this coming week in the Caribbean I'll bring a dark brownish/greyish jacked to go over my polo shirts and khakis that I'll wear to dinner every night, that's about as formal as I'll be.

[OCruisers]

Actually, some on Princess already wear "Evening Chic" on Formal nights in the MDR without a problem.

 

Like it or not, less formal is the way the majority of cruise lines are heading.

 

LuLu

[fishywood]

I don't think Princess has much of a history in following Celebrity's or any other cruise line's lead (other than possibly the less nautical/more resort decor of Royal and Regal) and I don't see it happening with the dress code. Princess still has a core of passengers who will dress formally--or at least cocktail dress/jacket and tie--and I suspect Princess will wait as long as they can in removing the term formal from "formal nights" even though that core will pack their tuxes and gowns anyway. I offer this as my most recent observation last year on Ruby Princess was with over 700 passengers on a B2B fly-cruise package from the UK and participation in formal night was the highest I have seen on a North American cruise this century.

 

I honestly think that wooing the "upscale" passenger by loosening the dress code specifically just for them--as Celebrity has previously done with "Aqua Class" having for several years a separate dining room with no formal nights--is a doomed strategy, but time has not proven so yet. And IMHO Celebrity has opened a bigger can of worms for itself by promising strict enforcement of a minimum of "smart casual" on the Evening Chic nights--something they make no effort to do now on their current smart casual nights, judging from all the worn jeans and T-shirts I saw in the MDR on my one Celebrity cruise.

[cactusrose]

It may take Princess a while to abandon formal night. After all, it's a big chance for them to sell those expensive formal portraits. I really wish they would do away with the whole concept because we are so over formal nights. Judging by the number of people we have actually seen in formal attire on formal nights lately, I don't think we are in the minority. That being said, I wouldn't want to take the experience away from people who enjoy it so we just go to another venue where formal isn't expected.

[sonomaphil]

It may take Princess a while to abandon formal night. After all, it's a big chance for them to sell those expensive formal portraits.

 

Ding! Ding! We have a correct answer!

[fishywood]

Ding! Ding! We have a correct answer!

 

Actually that is so intuitively obvious it should go without saying. Even the essentially dress-codeless lines like NCL still set up for "formal portraits" in the atrium a couple times each cruise.

[Oxo]

What a JOKE!!!! How can this be dressier than Smart Casual? Another term of confusion! LOL

 

Originally Posted by Celebrity Cruises

While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

 

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

•A cocktail dress

•Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

 

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

•Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater

•Optional sport coat or blazer

[caribill]

Maybe on "chic" evenings anyone in a tux or a business suit will be turned away from the dining room.

[Cruise Junky]

I don't think Princess has much of a history in following Celebrity's or any other cruise line's lead (other than possibly the less nautical/more resort decor of Royal and Regal) and I don't see it happening with the dress code. .

 

Well they did follow with including drink packages. I would have agreed with you before HAL dropped their jacket requirement but now I see them all (with the exception of Cunard) ending up that way eventually.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Is a kilt {chic} or would it need to be a leather one.

 

yours Shogun