First Princess cruise

[Hillybillies]

My DH and I are in our 60s ,seasoned cruisers, and travelling from the UK.Having never sailed Princess before

We have booked  Crown Princess in the Caribbean I am very excitedly starting packing, my question is compared to say Celebrity 

or Royal how formal are formal nights. To Tux and long dress or not?

 

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

The Hillybillies. Steve and Ann.

[skynight]

Nice dresses are seen. Not very many gowns. Maybe 10/15% of men in tux. Lots in jacket and tie. Some jacket, no tie. Some no jacket, no tie.

Formal is only for the Dining Rooms. Specialty restaurants are smart casual all the time. 

[geoherb]

We had a great time on the Crown's transatlantic cruise this fall. Princess is closer to Celebrity than it is to Royal Caribbean in terms of food and service. There are tons of formal night threads here. Very few men go to the trouble of wearing a tuxedo anymore. I've ditched my sports coat too and will wear just a dress shirt with a tie.

[AF-1]

I just sailed the caribbean in Feb.  I would say for men; 20 percent had a tux or suit.  80% smart casual everyday.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Hillybillies said:

My DH and I are in our 60s ,seasoned cruisers, and travelling from the UK.Having never sailed Princess before

We have booked  Crown Princess in the Caribbean I am very excitedly starting packing, my question is compared to say Celebrity 

or Royal how formal are formal nights. To Tux and long dress or not?

 

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

The Hillybillies. Steve and Ann.

We just sailed on the Crown & on formal nights in the DR there are still many people who choose to dress up but there were also many that didn't. The men were still fine wearing dress pants & a dress shirt or Polo while the women could wear a pair of slacks & fancy top.

They seem to be more lenient on the enforcement of the dress code. Just decent clothing is all that's really required.

[WisCruiser2]

But IF you and DH want to wear a gown and tux, go right ahead, no one would (or should) tell you that you are "overdressed." I also love to see men in a dress kilt 😉

OTOH, as has been said, there will be a range of "formal" styles and if you want to be more comfortable, that's ok, too.

[USCcruisecrazy]

We love the Crown...it's a beautiful ship.  The responses are spot on that there is a wide array of how people dress for the formal nights.  Our group (and it's usually pretty large) always do the Tuxedos and nice dresses on formal nights.  Our next cruise is 7-14 Dec on the Sky.  Since it's in the Christmas season, we will do one smart casual night wearing Christmas ties.  And since it's in the western Caribbean, we will do one night in Hawaiian shirts (yeah, I know, but who ever heard of Caribbean shirts).  Bottom line is wear what you enjoy, at least look presentable, and have FUN!!!

[toescat]

I really depends on the ship and the Maitre Di. 

Formal night over all:

I have seen where 20% of men in a Tux vs suite and tie to the next cruise having 40% men in Tux's.  As for the ladies I have seen full length gowns to a nice dress on Formal night.  I have sailed a lot of Christmas and New Years cruises and I have found that there are more women that are wearing very fancy formal dresses than normal. It is a hit and a miss.

 

Dinning room: I have seen a lot a men turn away from the dinning room on formal night because they did not have a tie and a suite jacket on.   We sailed with a couple who the husband refused to bring his suit and had the attitude I paid for the cruise and they have no right to tell me what I can and can not wear to the dinning room.  My husband had a tux on and I had a cocktail dress on and we were allowed to go in and the other couple were told they could go to the buffet or change into formal night attire.  I sure thought our friends were going to walk the plank that night.  Security was called and I wish I could blame drinking on our friends behavior but he had not had anything to drink.  I have seen people in the dinning room on a formal night in casual clothing too so I think it really depends on who is bossy and who is not.    We have never cruised with our friends again.  

 

Bottom line, do what is comfortable for you, if you don't want to dress up no big deal as there are plenty of options for food and fun.

 

[Hillybillies]

Hi guys

 

Many thanks for your replies, I think we will probably stick to a dark suit and a cocktail dress.

 

Can’t wait for some sunshine 😎

[EDDY0827]

^Perfect!^

[MissP22]

7 minutes ago, toescat said:

Dinning room: I have seen a lot a men turn away from the dinning room on formal night because they did not have a tie and a suite jacket on.   We sailed with a couple who the husband refused to bring his suit and had the attitude I paid for the cruise and they have no right to tell me what I can and can not wear to the dinning room. 

I'm sure it has happened in the past but I've never seen it happen to anyone in the past 15 years on the dozens of Princess ships we've sailed on nor to myself or my DH. We gave up the formal clothing around 2000 & have never been questioned yet.

Wear what makes you feel comfortable. 

[youngster]

We too, have surrendered to the times and no longer pack formal clothing.

 

With travel in the past 18 months on Celebrity, Princess, and RCCL, we are solidly among the majority and no longer give it a second thought.

[USCcruisecrazy]

Just curious youngster...why would you say surrender to the times?  Have you ever felt pushed to not dress up because others are against it?  Just a strange way I guess to state that.  We dress up because we love to and as long as Princess still labels some nights as "Formal" we will continue to do so, even if we are the only ones in the room dressed up.

[toescat]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I'm sure it has happened in the past but I've never seen it happen to anyone in the past 15 years on the dozens of Princess ships we've sailed on nor to myself or my DH. We gave up the formal clothing around 2000 & have never been questioned yet.

Wear what makes you feel comfortable. 

This happened on our August 28 2018 cruise to Alaska on the Grand.  As I stated I have seen many times people in the dinning room on formal night with casual clothes on.  I really think it depends on the guards at the gate (Maitre D), this last cruise on May 6 2019 one gentleman  in front of us had on dress slacks, white shirt and tie and he was told he needed a dinner jacket to enter the dinning room.  The princess staff told him it was written in the Patters each day since he boarded.  I personally don't care as we usually dress up but that is our choice and I don't think my choice should be forced on someone else.  I have been cruising since 1984 and we go on at least one cruise a year and mostly Princess. We only dress up the first formal night and not the second night and we did not have an issue going into the dinning room.  I think last year we had an old guard.

[MissP22]

15 hours ago, toescat said:

This happened on our August 28 2018 cruise to Alaska on the Grand.  As I stated I have seen many times people in the dinning room on formal night with casual clothes on.  I really think it depends on the guards at the gate (Maitre D), this last cruise on May 6 2019 one gentleman  in front of us had on dress slacks, white shirt and tie and he was told he needed a dinner jacket to enter the dinning room.  The princess staff told him it was written in the Patters each day since he boarded.  I personally don't care as we usually dress up but that is our choice and I don't think my choice should be forced on someone else.  I have been cruising since 1984 and we go on at least one cruise a year and mostly Princess. We only dress up the first formal night and not the second night and we did not have an issue going into the dinning room.  I think last year we had an old guard.

That's the first time I've actually heard of anyone being denied from entering in many years since they actually document that jackets are not necessary on their website.

They would have had a heck of a time with explaining that to my DH, especially since he always has a copy of the page with him outlining the fact that they're not necessary. 

[skynight]

16 hours ago, toescat said:

This happened on our August 28 2018 cruise to Alaska on the Grand.  As I stated I have seen many times people in the dinning room on formal night with casual clothes on.  I really think it depends on the guards at the gate (Maitre D), this last cruise on May 6 2019 one gentleman  in front of us had on dress slacks, white shirt and tie and he was told he needed a dinner jacket to enter the dinning room.  The princess staff told him it was written in the Patters each day since he boarded.  I personally don't care as we usually dress up but that is our choice and I don't think my choice should be forced on someone else.  I have been cruising since 1984 and we go on at least one cruise a year and mostly Princess. We only dress up the first formal night and not the second night and we did not have an issue going into the dinning room.  I think last year we had an old guard.

In my 42 Princess cruises I have seen people turned away for wearing shorts but never what you mention. What ship on May 6th?

[Esprit]

Just back off the Allure on a B2B in the Caribbean. We were a party of 11 and had four formal nights. All us guys wore dinner jackets ( I took four different ones) and the girls wore a variety of long, sparkly, cocktail dresses.

I was pleasantly surprised how many made the effort to smarten up.

As I have said many times before I really don't care what others choose to wear. I dress smartly to compliment my wife's attire, as she loves dressing up. The luggage weight limit for flying never bothers me either. In fact I think it's a pretty poor excuse IMHO. The slim fit jackets I took aren't as heavy as the old fashioned black dinner suits I used to wear. 

 

[MissP22]

43 minutes ago, Esprit said:

Just back off the Allure on a B2B in the Caribbean. We were a party of 11 and had four formal nights. All us guys wore dinner jackets ( I took four different ones) and the girls wore a variety of long, sparkly, cocktail dresses.

I was pleasantly surprised how many made the effort to smarten up.

As I have said many times before I really don't care what others choose to wear. I dress smartly to compliment my wife's attire, as she loves dressing up. The luggage weight limit for flying never bothers me either. In fact I think it's a pretty poor excuse IMHO. The slim fit jackets I took aren't as heavy as the old fashioned black dinner suits I used to wear. 

 

Fro many people it's not an excuse but simply a choice.

We could bring a much luggage as we like since we drive most cruises leaving from Florida, but choose not to.

Vacations should be relaxing & if dressing up is a preferred way to relax then enjoy that style. 

[mamkmm2]

23 hours ago, Hillybillies said:

Hi guys

 

Many thanks for your replies, I think we will probably stick to a dark suit and a cocktail dress.

 

Can’t wait for some sunshine 😎

 

Also, Caribbean cruises tend to be more casual than other itineraries.  As someone else mentioned it depends on the staff quite a bit as to what they enforce and what they don't.  It may also depend on how busy the MDRs are.

[TheJurea]

On 11/6/2019 at 9:03 AM, toescat said:

  We sailed with a couple who the husband refused to bring his suit

 

Question, not snarky just curious, was the wife dressed appropriately and did you offer to escort her with you both?

 

 My husband and myself are celebrating our 40ieth wedding anniversary on a cruise thru the Panama Canal, if he chooses not to dress for the dinning room, fine.

If the menu is good, I’ll go without him just fine too.

 

 

 

[toescat]

5 hours ago, TheJurea said:

Question, not snarky just curious, was the wife dressed appropriately and did you offer to escort her with you both?

 

 My husband and myself are celebrating our 40ieth wedding anniversary on a cruise thru the Panama Canal, if he chooses not to dress for the dinning room, fine.

If the menu is good, I’ll go without him just fine too.

 

 

 

Actually my friend B was dressed in a very nice dress.  The problem was her husband had slacks and polo shirt on. The Maitre D did not find that acceptable and it did say formal attire in the dinning room in the patters.  What bother me over the whole incident was two things, one he brought a suite so he could have easily gone to his cabin and grabbed a time and his jacket.  Also that same night while my husband and I were eating we saw other men come in with jeans on and a jacket with no tie and they were allowed in.  I think is was my friends husband who had to make it a big deal and scene that made the Maitre D mad.  

 

[MissP22]

22 minutes ago, toescat said:

Actually my friend B was dressed in a very nice dress.  The problem was her husband had slacks and polo shirt on. The Maitre D did not find that acceptable and it did say formal attire in the dinning room in the patters.  What bother me over the whole incident was two things, one he brought a suite so he could have easily gone to his cabin and grabbed a time and his jacket.  Also that same night while my husband and I were eating we saw other men come in with jeans on and a jacket with no tie and they were allowed in.  I think is was my friends husband who had to make it a big deal and scene that made the Maitre D mad.  

 

You've just described some of the inconsistencies you'll find on Princess from time to time. I can understand why some of the head waiters just look the other way instead of having arguments with some of the guys.

Of course this doesn't apply to the ladies who can wear practically anything & call it formal. 

[jovisoul]

We were on the Crown in October and didn't go to the MDR the first formal night because we didn't feel like dressing up, so we went to the buffet. The next night our waiter asked where we were the night before and when we told him we didn't feel like dressing up, he told us, we didn't have to worry about dressing up for the next formal night.

 

Personally, I don't care what people wear to dinner, it doesn't affect my meal what so ever. So I'm glad they are being more relaxed on formal nights.

[MissP22]

21 minutes ago, jovisoul said:

We were on the Crown in October and didn't go to the MDR the first formal night because we didn't feel like dressing up, so we went to the buffet. The next night our waiter asked where we were the night before and when we told him we didn't feel like dressing up, he told us, we didn't have to worry about dressing up for the next formal night.

 

Personally, I don't care what people wear to dinner, it doesn't affect my meal what so ever. So I'm glad they are being more relaxed on formal nights.

That Crown cruises in Oct were one of the most lenient dressing cruises I've seen in a long time. Dress pants any top for me & polo for my DH in the DR on formal nights. On casual evenings even shorts were fine although the DR was a little chilly for me.