Formal wear in tropical climates

[riclop]

My husband and I are doing the Ruby Princess 28 day cruise to Hawaii, Tahiti and Samoa. It will be hot and humid, my husband and I are both carrying some extra weight, and I am prone to the dreaded hot flashes of late. The idea of putting on a full suit for my husband, and the "covered up" formal wear I have is repugnant in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity. What is the minimum "formal wear" people use in Hawaii and the Caribbean? Alternatively, will they do as the Grand Princess did and have the Beef Wellington available in the buffet? I don't want to miss three or four formal nights!!

Go dress as you please.

[Lucky TGO]

I think you will be fine!!! The Ruby Princess has air conditioning throughout the ship.

Tony

[Coffeeluvr05]

DH and I loathe hot/humid environments so I feel your pain. The ships are very air conditioned though. As long as you don't step outdoors on your way to dinner you may be able to make it through dinner and then change after. That said, on our Europe cruise formal night appeared less formal than I expected. It was a mix of actual formal dress and the normal MDR attire.

 

I hope you get to enjoy formal night!

[Colo Cruiser]

I think you will be fine!!! The Ruby Princess has air conditioning throughout the ship.

Tony

 

 

I agree Tony.

These threads are a hoot aren't they.

Blah blah blah.......

[Times Prince]

My husband and I are doing the Ruby Princess 28 day cruise to Hawaii, Tahiti and Samoa. It will be hot and humid, my husband and I are both carrying some extra weight, and I am prone to the dreaded hot flashes of late. The idea of putting on a full suit for my husband, and the "covered up" formal wear I have is repugnant in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity. What is the minimum "formal wear" people use in Hawaii and the Caribbean? Alternatively, will they do as the Grand Princess did and have the Beef Wellington available in the buffet? I don't want to miss three or four formal nights!!

WE did the Tahiti - Hawaii cruise and found that formal wear was worn for the most part. I does get very cool in the dining room on every Princess ship we've been on, and the only thing that makes formal uncomfortable for us is if we've had too much sun - and then it doesn't matter what we wear - it will be warm. For that cruise I may have rented a tux. My wife will bring some light options for dress, including a wrap if it is cool. Other than that cruise we will often dine in the buffet on formal nights, even if we dress formally (or not if we've too much sun)

 

As far as the Beef Wellington - every Princess cruise we've been on in the past 10 years has offered Beef Wellington in the buffet area on at least one of the formal nights. They do not offer lobster, which many people like.

[Steelers36]

..................................

As far as the Beef Wellington - every Princess cruise we've been on in the past 10 years has offered Beef Wellington in the buffet area on at least one of the formal nights. They do not offer lobster, which many people like.

 

It's hard enough to get properly cooked lobster out to all the DR tables. It would be difficult to have decent cooked lobster sitting in the buffet. I would think if they tried this, they would need to prepare it on the spot for people. Just thinking it might be a reason .. not sure.

[tip]

Actually, Princess is much less formal than it once was. ;)

 

 

And for many of us who are on vacation and don't feel as though we need to impress anyone, this is not such a bad thing. Yes, there any many men who wear tuxes and suits, but NOT all. Some may wear a sport coat with or without a tie. Some may wear a shirt with a collar with nice pants and shoes. I have not seen tee shirts, shorts, or hats on men in the MDR on so-called formal nights.

[Thrak]

And for many of us who are on vacation and don't feel as though we need to impress anyone, this is not such a bad thing. Yes, there any many men who wear tuxes and suits, but NOT all. Some may wear a sport coat with or without a tie. Some may wear a shirt with a collar with nice pants and shoes. I have not seen tee shirts, shorts, or hats on men in the MDR on so-called formal nights.

 

Personally, I think any guy who wears a hat in MDR (or any restaurant anywhere for that matter whether a steak house or a coffee shop) should be "requested" to remove it and, if they refuse, shown the door. When did people become so rude that they think wearing a hat in a restaurant is OK?

[Kruzin Karen]

Thanks everybody!! You people rock. I've ordered a dress that I'm almost excited about, and the hubby will have some guayabera type shirts, a shirt and tie, and we'll bring a lightweight jacket for him to wear if that seems to be the norm on this cruise. He'll wear it into the dining room and immediately remove it, but we'll bring it! Our goal is to be comfortable without making others uncomfortable...

[GoHuskies!]

As you can see you will not get one consistent answer that is right or even wrong. Again ask the Head Waiter on the first night and follow his guidelines. Ignore all those on here as half will be right and most will be wrong. Have a great cruise which should be clearer after the first day.

The real usefulness of a forum such as this is to see the varied responses and come to your own conclusions. I'd urge you to not ignore the responses--rather, use them to get a feel of how wide the spectrum is and synthesize your own answers to your questions. It isn't that anyone is wrong--it is that everyone is right on this issue.

[FLaxus]

Crossing the Equator aboard Emerald Princess in December enroute to Santiago from LA - can't be much more tropical than that... I was told there will be 3 formal dines during this 17 day cruise.

Could someone tell me which days will these be held based on past experience? Or is this the decision of the reigning Captain?

Am hoping to minimize formal wear... A/C present or not.

[Kamloops50]

Crossing the Equator aboard Emerald Princess in December enroute to Santiago from LA - can't be much more tropical than that... I was told there will be 3 formal dines during this 17 day cruise.

Could someone tell me which days will these be held based on past experience? Or is this the decision of the reigning Captain?

Am hoping to minimize formal wear... A/C present or not.

 

My guess would be

Dec 4

Dec 10,11 or 12

Dec 17 0r 18

Because all are sea days

[oskidunker]

No need to be nasty.

 

 

 

I can't give you the answer you are looking for.

 

Sometimes when you ask a question here on CC you get answers you don't like.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Buck Turgidson]

Personally, I think any guy who wears a hat in MDR (or any restaurant anywhere for that matter whether a steak house or a coffee shop) should be "requested" to remove it and, if they refuse, shown the door. When did people become so rude that they think wearing a hat in a restaurant is OK?

Do they have hat racks or a coat and hat check room in the MDR

[Kwaj girl]

Do they have hat racks or a coat and hat check room in the MDR

 

And the "need" to wear a hat or coat walking inside the ship from the cabin to the restaurant would be...???? :rolleyes:

[Buck Turgidson]

And the "need" to wear a hat or coat walking inside the ship from the cabin to the restaurant would be...???? :rolleyes:

Never mind the need, a simple yes or no will suffice.

[beg3yrs]

Never mind the need, a simple yes or no will suffice.

 

No, they don't have hat and coat racks.

[Thrak]

Do they have hat racks or a coat and hat check room in the MDR

 

No coat check or hat check. Haven't ever noticed a hat or coat rack either.

[Potstech]

No hat or coat check girls either.

[Rigby the Dog]

I agree Tony.

These threads are a hoot aren't they.

Blah blah blah.......

Yawn

[gwenmarie]

I have taken the same type cruise with HAL and took a small personal fan to use in the DR. It's a bit larger than a cell phone and worked wonders for me. I just set it on our table for two, it didn't bother any else but the servers did want it for their use !

[gwenmarie]

I've taken many "tropical" cruises, including my 19-day round-trip to the Panama Canal out of LA last November. Dress was the the same as just about every other cruise: all gentlemen in suits or tuxes; women dressed up. The nights I didn't feel like dressing up, I went to the buffet or specialty restaurant. People were nicely dressed even in the buffet.

 

The ship is nicely air-conditioned and even chilly in the dining room and theater. The outside temperature and humidity have little effect unless you're outdoors.

 

What ship were you on please, and we're to cabins chilly if needed?

[Colo Cruiser]

........

[elfinmagic]

........

 

And you were about to say???????????

[Lucky TGO]

I agree Tony.

These threads are a hoot aren't they.

Blah blah blah.......

 

Keith,

Yes they are. But not as funny as the ones about The Rowboat. By the way the Rowboat has a great air conditioning unit on it. So dressing up on formal nights will be no problem. :D :D.

The Captain of the Rowboat,

Tony