Alaska cruise formal night questions for Princess cruises

[Fortun8]

Hello,

We are traveling on a cruise+land tour into Alaska next year. We have booked on the Royal Princess for August. Since our first cruise to Alaska in 1997 was with another cruise line and we haven't cruised with Princess since we discovered Celebrity cruise lines, we have questions. What is the level of formal night cruise wear on Royal Princess in Alaska?

It was pretty casual back in the 1990s and on RCCL.

The men in the group don't want to bring suits or dinner jackets if they don't have to. And the females don't want to do the cocktail dresses but opt for pants and sweaters, if that is an option. It would be fine on Celebrity's evening chic for Caribbean and Mediterranean. But this is Royal Princess and we have only sailed her to the Caribbean where things were not very formal in the winter at all. Please tell me what you think the formal night wear would be in the main dining room or specialty dining rooms. Thank you, Fortun8 ;)

[thinfool]

What you describe will be perfect....especially in Alaska.

 

None of the ladies we travel with wear more than black slacks and a dressy top.

 

Men seem to show up in a collared shirt, with or without a tie...always a few in dark suits or tuxes.

 

Princess is pretty laid back. :cool:

[capriccio]

We just disembarked the Ruby Princess round trip Seattle cruise last Saturday. My DH wore slacks, sport coat (he tends to feel cold in the MDR), collared shirt and tie. Our son wore slacks, collared shirt and tie and our son in law wore slacks, vest, collared shirt and tie. I wore a tea length skirt and sparkly blouse both nights. Our daughter and daughter in law both wore nice dresses. I don't think we saw a single tuxedo or full length gown in our section of the MDR.

[Heidi13]

For a 7-night cruise you can expect 2 formal nights. I believe their guidelines are unchanged since we last sailed with them in 2015, but the standard is not enforced and note the actual standard of dress has declined significantly in the past 10 years.

 

If you check the Princess FAQ it probably still shows tuxedos or dark suits for men and gowns or cocktail dresses for the ladies. However, in reality, if you wear what you suggest, I believe you will be consistent with the majority of other pax.

[jucaha]

We did the land cruise with Princess 2 years ago. For “formal” nights My husband wore docker style pants and golf shirts and I usually just wore a shift style dress(cause that’s what I would wear out to dinner at home,too). Days of suits, tux, and gowns is gone...on Princess at least!

[K32682]

If you check the Princess FAQ it probably still shows tuxedos or dark suits for men and gowns or cocktail dresses for the ladies. However, in reality, if you wear what you suggest, I believe you will be consistent with the majority of other pax.

Princess isn't the only cruise line to propagate an image of glamour and sophistication in its publications when the reality is quite different. The abandonment of pretentious and antiquated requirements like enforced dress codes on formal nights has made cruising more appealing. On our upcoming family cruise to Alaska it will be a pleasure to leave the finery behind and travel carry-on only. If luggage space is limited I'd rather have good rain gear than a monkey suit.