Sky Princess for next year

[beshears]

I have been thinking of several ships of trying to decide on which ship for next year. If you have been on the Sky Princess within this past year, do they still have formal nights, or is that out like another ship I just found out about?  I know many people do not like to dress up, but several of us do.

[canadarocks]

We were onboard the Sky for 14 days this year in the Caribbean. Many people definitely dressed up for Formal Nights. We enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails at Vines and it was lovely to watch them heading to their meals. Quite a few long gowns, suits, and even a few tuxedos. 

[KreinKrunker]

33 minutes ago, beshears said:

 do they still have formal nights,

We were on the Sky for two weeks in March.  I would say close to 50% of the men had at least a jacket on.  Not a lot of tuxes, but quite a few suits.  Much depends on the itinerary.

Edited May 14, 2023 by KreinKrunker

[SCX22]

There’s never 100% participation on formal night.  That shouldn’t be a condition of being a passenger.  Having said that, the Sky Princess out of Southampton with majority British passengers had some of the highest participation in formal nights I’ve seen on post pandemic sailings.  In fact, most of the Brits wore more dressy/formal attire even for non formal evenings.

[Kay S]

Princess will be pretty much standard across the fleet.  You can expect one or more formal nights on any Princess cruise.  (Well, short ones are different.)  You can dress up as much as you want.

[Expat Cruise]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

There’s never 100% participation on formal night.  That shouldn’t be a condition of being a passenger.  

Why not, the dress codes are known long before you cruise. It is a rule put in place by Princess Cruises, like no smoking in the cabins, no entering crew areas, or a hundred other rules. But Princess Cruises seem to lack the backbone to enforce their own rules. A rule is a rule, it should be for everyone to follow. It is not picking the rules guest like and break the ones they don't like. 

 

[SCX22]

16 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

Why not, the dress codes are known long before you cruise. It is a rule put in place by Princess Cruises, like no smoking in the cabins, no entering crew areas, or a hundred other rules. But Princess Cruises seem to lack the backbone to enforce their own rules. A rule is a rule, it should be for everyone to follow. It is not picking the rules guest like and break the ones they don't like. 

 

 

Princess can't afford to turn away passengers from purchasing a cruise if they don't want to participate in formal nights.  It's money.  Maybe Cunard can, but Princess cannot.

 

Princess has White and Gold Piazza Parties where the dress code is supposed to be the colors white and gold, but are passengers really expected to purchase a special outfit for that evening?

 

It's elitist to care what the person next to you is wearing.  As long as they don't produce foul body order or cause a commotion, it shouldn't matter.  Passengers shouldn't be shunned because they don't want to participate in formal night.

[Expat Cruise]

6 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Princess can't afford to turn away passengers from purchasing a cruise if they don't want to participate in formal nights.  It's money.  Maybe Cunard can, but Princess cannot.

 

Princess has White and Gold Piazza Parties where the dress code is supposed to be the colors white and gold, but are passengers really expected to purchase a special outfit for that evening?

 

It's elitist to care what the person next to you is wearing.  As long as they don't produce foul body order or cause a commotion, it shouldn't matter.  Passengers shouldn't be shunned because they don't want to participate in formal night.

That is a two-way street. They're losing long term high sea day passengers, in part because of the downgrading of dress codes.  It does not work if guests can pick and choose the rules they want to break. 

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, Expat Cruise said:

That is a two-way street. They're losing long term high sea day passengers, in part because of the downgrading of dress codes.  It does not work if guests can pick and choose the rules they want to break. 

I agree with you on this. A lot of cruise lines seem to be trying to cater for younger crowds, but really they should try and cater for veteran cruisers who cruise multiple times a year and fill ships in low season. Sadly we do not fall into this category, but I can see that those that do spend a lot more on cruising in a year than we do!

[SCX22]

9 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

That is a two-way street. They're losing long term high sea day passengers, in part because of the downgrading of dress codes.  It does not work if guests can pick and choose the rules they want to break. 

 

1 hour ago, Nicole&Pete said:

I agree with you on this. A lot of cruise lines seem to be trying to cater for younger crowds, but really they should try and cater for veteran cruisers who cruise multiple times a year and fill ships in low season. Sadly we do not fall into this category, but I can see that those that do spend a lot more on cruising in a year than we do!

 

The baby boomer generation that put Princess on the map is beginning to disappear.  Princess has to change its ways, albeit slowly, in order to attract a new demographic if they are to survive.

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, SCX22 said:

 

 

The baby boomer generation that put Princess on the map is beginning to disappear.  Princess has to change its ways, albeit slowly, in order to attract a new demographic if they are to survive.

That’s true but there are still a lot of boomers out there who cruise a lot (I know some that do 6 or more a year). That will change in the coming years though I suppose.

 

Cruise lines could also be a little more helpful in stating exactly how many formal nights there will be for each sailing and if there are any theme nights. So often there’s been a “black and white night” or something and because I didn’t know and I don’t have anything suitable to wear.

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, beshears said:

I have been thinking of several ships of trying to decide on which ship for next year. If you have been on the Sky Princess within this past year, do they still have formal nights, or is that out like another ship I just found out about?  I know many people do not like to dress up, but several of us do.

Yes they still have formal nights. If you are sailing from Southampton then there will  be many that dress up (at least there were last year when we sailed) and people were pretty dressed up on the smart casual nights also.

[beshears]

To those of you who replied to my question, thank you as I was wondering if Princess had done away with formal nights all together, or just on the Sky, but you answered my question here.

[MissP22]

On 5/14/2023 at 1:54 AM, Expat Cruise said:

That is a two-way street. They're losing long term high sea day passengers, in part because of the downgrading of dress codes.  It does not work if guests can pick and choose the rules they want to break. 

Not from what I've seen since the return from Covid vacation. The cutoff numbers for the MT luncheon have been higher than ever and the DR's and ships are packed with cruisers. 

I guess those formalists really don't mind the lack of enforcement after all. They still have a choice on their personal style of dress. 

[Expat Cruise]

4 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Not from what I've seen since the return from Covid vacation. The cutoff numbers for the MT luncheon have been higher than ever and the DR's and ships are packed with cruisers. 

I guess those formalists really don't mind the lack of enforcement after all. They still have a choice on their personal style of dress. 

Some may stay, but many are leaving. Why should any guests be able to pick and choose what rules they will follow, and what rules they will not follow?  If Princess makes rules, they need to follow them. What they represent, they need to provide. If for no other reason than  common courtesy.

[SCX22]

54 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

Some may stay, but many are leaving. Why should any guests be able to pick and choose what rules they will follow, and what rules they will not follow?  If Princess makes rules, they need to follow them. What they represent, they need to provide. If for no other reason than  common courtesy.

 

Princess is trying to reinvent itself.  The company is attempting stray away from the geriatric connotation that is attached to their brand.

 

Not really worth the crew's time and energy getting into a confrontation with passengers over their dress.  It doesn't cause a concern for safety or is it a threat to passengers.  It's not military basic training; passengers are there to have a good time.  Would hate to be the crew member drill sergeant that had to give guests a once over and decide if what they were wearing is formal.  If a guest wasn't conforming to the formal theme, would they not be allowed to leave their cabin for the evening?  On Hawaii cruises many men wear aloha shirts on formal nights in lieu of traditional formal wear, and it's totally accepted because aloha shirts are considered formal in Hawaii. 

 

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Expat Cruise said:

Some may stay, but many are leaving. Why should any guests be able to pick and choose what rules they will follow, and what rules they will not follow?  If Princess makes rules, they need to follow them. What they represent, they need to provide. If for no other reason than  common courtesy.

It obvious that Princess is just allowing what many people have been arguing about for years now. They're catering to both sides of the fence as I see it. 

I seriously doubt if as you say "many are leaving". Where would they go other than Cunard if formal dining meant that much to them. 

All the other mass market cruise lines have relaxed their dress standards, so why not Princess if the want to stay in business. 

 

[Cruise till you drop]

We were on the Sky in January for 7 days and although we saw people dressed up or in jackets, we wore button down shirts with kackies and that was just fine (no one seemed to care or bat an eyebrow)

[mtnesterz]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

...Where would they go other than Cunard if formal dining meant that much to them. 

Well, in L.A. there's the Jonathan Club.( jc.org ) Quite a waitlist though so there is a demand for this.

Two more Princess cruises booked, then I think we'll try Cunard.

[Guest Michael4650]

All Princess ships have formal nights except for sort cruises. I haven’t worn a tux or tie in 10 years and I am a boomer. Slacks and a button down shirt works for me

[MissP22]

4 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Well, in L.A. there's the Jonathan Club.( jc.org ) Quite a waitlist though so there is a demand for this.

Two more Princess cruises booked, then I think we'll try Cunard.

It looks like an alternative for those types of people that prefer that style.

Enjoy Cunard. 

[Kay S]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It looks like an alternative for those types of people that prefer that style.

Enjoy Cunard. 

Even on Princess, no one is going to turn you away if you do decide to dress up.  Just because the standards appear to be relaxed, nothing  prevents anyone going full tux and ball gown if that's what they prefer.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I’m a boomer and I don’t worry about what others choose to wear on formal nights. Dressing up isn’t my thing. There are cruise lines that are much more upscale than Princess that don’t insist on having formal nights. This past September we sailed on Viking Ocean and there were no formal nights. I agree with another poster, where are the formal night aficionados going to go if they leave Princess because the formal night rules aren’t enforced? 

[Hlitner]

The war has been fought, the war is over, and the "we were raised by wolves" folks have won.  Even on lines (like Princess) where there are still formal, dressy, gala, etc. nights, folks will pretty much do as they please (within some loose guidelines).  To the OP I would suggest that if you want to dress to the nines, on Princess formal nights, than do it and be among the few well dressed folks on the ship.  You will look good, a few others will admire what you do, others will think you are out of your mind, and most will not care.  On Princess you will see men wearing backwards baseball caps, wifebeater shirts, ripped shorts, etc.  On formal night they might (emphasis on "might") not be allowed into the MDR.  That is reality.  I am still waiting to see when "robe people" (passengers who wear their bath robes) are allowed in the MDR (they already come into the Lido).  

 

Hank

[Cruise till you drop]

9 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

On Princess you will see men wearing backwards baseball caps, wifebeater shirts, ripped shorts, etc.  On formal night they might (emphasis on "might") not be allowed into the MDR.  That is reality.  I am still waiting to see when "robe people" (passengers who wear their bath robes) are allowed in the MDR (they already come into the Lido).  

 

Hank

Me thinks you are exaggerating for effect.  Never saw any backwards baseball hats or the other garb you mentioned.  People dressed classy in button down shirts but definitely not many tuxes, suits or jackets for sure