Formal/Dress Casual question?

[CanuckCFAN]

Okay, I have just spent hours and hours pouring over every last bit of information I can get my hands on about the Golden Princess and even though I have scoured through tons of information I am still left with questions:(!

 

Who knew planning for a cruise would be so difficult :eek: !

 

Before I ask the question I will apologize first...

 

I know this topic has been "beaten to death" and for the many posters who faithfully answer the same question over and over again, I apologize :o !

 

I am just asking for clarification...

 

Formal nights...

 

I had no problems convincing my DH a tuxedo is the way to go for our formal evenings. He was quite pumped about the idea and had no issues with dressing up, however, he has just finished reading here and on another board, most cruisers are opting for a "suit" as opposed to a tuxedo these days :cool: .

 

Now he is concerned that he will be one of only a few who will be wearing a tuxedo. DH is not one to stand-out and would prefer to blend in...

 

Do you think the Tuxedo will be "over the top" for formal night?

 

The rest of the nights...

 

Dress Casual/Dress smartly/ Semi Formal, whatever you choose to call the "non-formal" evenings...

 

Would DH get by with a collared, short sleeved dress shirt or should he wear a long sleeve shirt, jacket and tie?

 

Again, Steve is rather a "conformist" and would prefer to go with the majority...

 

Again this will be the Southern Caribbean Golden Princess..

 

Sorry for all these repetitive questions, I promise to keep them coming :D !

 

Thank you!

CCFan

[Lynda90]

I don't know what the ratio is, but you will see both tux and suits worn. I would say that more of the men are wearing suits, but either is appropriate. If he has a tux, this would be the time to get it out of moth balls.

 

On the smart casual nights, nice collared, short sleeve shirts with docker-type pants seem to be the clothes of choice.

[tennisobo]

Tux or suit: Either way he will fit in. Frankly I didn't pay attention to how many men had tuxes on or how many women had long formal gowns. But, the general impression was that we were all looking like we were at a formal dinner. If he's pumped to wear the tux, he absolutely should. My husband wore his and he was comfortable.

[calikak]

Pretty much any collared shirt is fine on casual night--he'll probably feel overdressed if he brings sports coats and ties for casual night. On formal night, you see enough tuxes that your DH shouldn't feel overdressed if he wears a tux. He also won't feel underdressed if he's wearing a nice dark suit.

[Love Cruis'n]

A tux is the way to go on formal nights. No doubt.

It's the same pants, jacket, shirt and tie as a suit, but it's a tux - it's special . DO IT! :cool:

Other than that, yes a collared shirt is fine, no need for a sport coat or a tie.

Enjoy.:)

[CanuckCFAN]

Thanks guys!

 

We both feel much better now :D!

 

I guess I am lucky, I do have a hubby who likes to dress-up and is actually looking forward to it :p .

 

The last time DH wore a tuxedo we were married :D !

 

I really didn't want to have to ask this question again, It just seemed everytime we found a post in which a person asked about suitable cruise attire, the thread would seem to become a battle ground for the "pro" and anti" formal debate :rolleyes: !

 

DH really just wanted to know if what he "planned" on wearing was going to conform with not only the Princess dress attire rules but with what our fellow cruisers would be wearing as well!

 

So I figured I would just be direct and ask the question myself!

 

Thanks again for the replies...

 

CCFan

[MaryPoppinz]

I am probably in the minority in that I prefer men in a suit over a tuxedo, but I don't think he should worry that he will be overdressed or out of place. There will be *many* men in a tux.

 

On casual nights, I am probably also in the minority in that I prefer to see a dress pants and shirt with a jacket. But, there will be *many* men wearing a polo.

 

Really, there is probably no overwhelming "majority" and if he wears a jacket on formal night and a collar on smart casual nights, he will be fine.

 

Enjoy!

[Shelly97060]

On our last cruise there were lots of men in tux and plenty in suits I can't recall the percentages because once DH put on his tux, that was pretty much the last I noticed of anyone else :) Gotta love a man in a tux!

 

For casual evenings polos or shirts with collars are fine. - He will not feel out of place at all.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[anne-1]

Okay, I have just spent hours and hours pouring over every last bit of information I can get my hands on about the Golden Princess and even though I have scoured through tons of information I am still left with questions:(!

 

Who knew planning for a cruise would be so difficult :eek: !

 

Before I ask the question I will apologize first...

 

I know this topic has been "beaten to death" and for the many posters who faithfully answer the same question over and over again, I apologize :o !

 

I am just asking for clarification...

 

Formal nights...

 

I had no problems convincing my DH a tuxedo is the way to go for our formal evenings. He was quite pumped about the idea and had no issues with dressing up, however, he has just finished reading here and on another board, most cruisers are opting for a "suit" as opposed to a tuxedo these days :cool: .

 

Now he is concerned that he will be one of only a few who will be wearing a tuxedo. DH is not one to stand-out and would prefer to blend in...

 

Do you think the Tuxedo will be "over the top" for formal night?

 

The rest of the nights...

 

Dress Casual/Dress smartly/ Semi Formal, whatever you choose to call the "non-formal" evenings...

 

Would DH get by with a collared, short sleeved dress shirt or should he wear a long sleeve shirt, jacket and tie?

 

Again, Steve is rather a "conformist" and would prefer to go with the majority...

 

Again this will be the Southern Caribbean Golden Princess..

 

Sorry for all these repetitive questions, I promise to keep them coming :D !

 

Thank you!

CCFan

 

On our first cruise my husband wore a Tux , it was like going to prom all over again , BUT two nights in a week , we were able to rent a tux for a week, a cruise special , It was the best time of our lives , no one else at our table wore a tux but we felt very comfortable and they loved seeing us so dressed up , one of our table guests was a judge and he always looked forward to the evenings to see how dressed up we were , and I being a hairdresser he was never sure how my hair would be from one day to the next , It was fun , I would do it again , DRESS TO THE MAX do what YOU want and have FUN doing it , Also we still keep in contact with the judge and his wife and another couple at our table , we never met before the cruise and A few years later we met together for a vacation , It was great ,

I think I owe all that to the formal wear to the max ,

" JUST DO IT "

Anne

[CanuckCFAN]

Oh sure MaryPopinz you had to go and "stir the pot" didn't you :rolleyes: ? I am only kidding :D!

 

Really, I think its all about "comfort level"... Steve and I do prefer to "dress up", and is one of the reasons we chose a cruise over a "land vacation" this time. However, as mentioned previously, we kind of booked this cruise without doing the proper research first. Steve and I always thought Princess was a more elegant, refined choice (as opposed to my Carnival experience) and thought we would be more comfortable on Princess...

 

However, doing everything backwards...

 

After we booked our trip we began researching Princess cruises (Golden in particular), and have begun to believe Princess is a LOT more casual then Steve and I first believed :o, this too is okay, as long as we are prepared for it so we can blend in appropriately :D !

 

Anne-1, I just wanted to say that I LOVED your story!

 

Another factor about cruising I love is the chance to meet other people. I am a little leery about "table companions" though. I have heard/read quite a few horror stories and I would hate to have to ask to be moved to a different table.

 

I found some of the best friendships I have made on a cruise ship was during the excursions... I choose to take the shipboard excursions not only are you sharing your excursion with people from your own ship, the mere fact others have booked the same excursions should at least give you one thing in common!

 

I am so looking forward to this trip... Thank you all for your answers they are very appreciated!

 

CCFan

[calikak]

Canuck, we've been lucky so far to have had really interesting tablemates on our cruises so far, but if you have to change, it's not such a huge deal. If you're really that worried about it, you could switch to PC dining, it's not hard to do once you're onboard. Then if you don't like your tablemates, no biggie because they won't be at your table again the next night.

[Katrinamp]

Hello all,

Here is another question for you based on this one. I have the exact opposite problem. We are going on our first ever cruise in April and I have a boyfriend who hates to dress up. His idea of formal is khakis and a dockers shirt (which I will make sure he packs enough of for the regular days). My question is what are our options if we don't want to participate in the formal nights? Do we have to lock ourselves up in our rooms or do we have options?

 

Thanks!

[cynbar]

My husband and our friend both wore their tuxes on the Golden Princess last April, and they fit in really well--- there were a lot of men in tuxes on that sailing, and the atmosphere was elegant. Other night were all "smart casual", the guys wore khakis with a nice polo and they fit in just fine. Princess doesn't have any semi-formal nights, although some lines still do this, and that calls for a sport coat and tie . Also, Katrinamp, you'll see a lot of debate about formal nights on these boards!! Some posters will tell you to wear whatever you want and don't worry about it, but you will probably feel out of place. A sport coat or even a nice short and tie is at least in the spirit of dressing up. But if your boyfriend doesn't even want to do that, you'll probably want to head for the buffet, or spring for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. Room service is an option but I hear that Princess no longer allows you to order dinner off the menu, you're limited to the room service menu which consists of a few salads and sandwiches. PS-- the formal nights are a GREAT chance to have some priceless photos taken of the two of you dressed up!!!

[RDR]

Hello all,

My question is what are our options if we don't want to participate in the formal nights? Do we have to lock ourselves up in our rooms or do we have options?

 

Thanks!

 

If you do not want to participate in the formal nights, Horizon Court is available. There may be other venues like the Pizza restaurant and the stands by the pool that are available, and others on the thread may elaborate on theses venues depending upon the ship you are sailing on. You do not have to "lock" yourselves up in your room, you have options. Enjoy.

[Katrinamp]

If you do not want to participate in the formal nights, Horizon Court is available. There may be other venues like the Pizza restaurant and the stands by the pool that are available, and others on the thread may elaborate on theses venues depending upon the ship you are sailing on. You do not have to "lock" yourselves up in your room, you have options. Enjoy.

 

Ok, good. Glad to hear there are options. We might want to dress up for one (if I can coax him into it!) and sit out the other. Thanks everyone!