Classic California Coast Question

[lion1956]

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

[jmelnick]

Where and when are we talking about?

 

At the specialty restaurants, you'll be fine without a suit/jacket/tie.  They're casual dress.  I usually wear dockers and a polo shirt.

 

Same for dining rooms on regular nights.  On formal nights, dressing up is appropriate.  However, you won't be denied access to the dining room.

[lion1956]

ok thank you

[EDDY0827]

Wear what is comfortable to YOU!

Suit and tie not required.

It is your vacation.

[startedwithamouse]

CA Coast cruises, if you're talking Discovery Princess, tend to be a little dressier that most. The home port is LA, and the demographic is younger and a tad more fashion conscious than let's say, a long cruise with the older crowd.  Four, Five and Seven nights R/T from LA this would apply to. 

[lion1956]

Thanks it's on the Emerald Princess

[Lady Arwen]

32 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

CA Coast cruises, if you're talking Discovery Princess, tend to be a little dressier that most. The home port is LA, and the demographic is younger and a tad more fashion conscious than let's say, a long cruise with the older crowd.  Four, Five and Seven nights R/T from LA this would apply to. 

Actually, it’s the “older crowd” who enjoy dressing up.  It’s the younger folks who like their casual wear such as shorts and baseball caps.  On longer cruises the “older crowd”  get out their tuxes and cocktail dresses.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Lady Arwen

[JGmf]

@lion1956 please report back when you return.  I'm on the June 17 Emerald sailing of same itinerary.  I have the same question..

[lion1956]

I will

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, lion1956 said:

I will

 

You haven't joined our Meet and Greet yet.  Time is running out if you want a printed name tag.  

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2882341-may-20-2023-emerald-princess-california-coastal/page/5/

 

[Thrak]

As always, every Princess cruise has the same dress standards. It doesn't matter if it's the Med, Caribbean, or Alaska.

 

23 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Actually, it’s the “older crowd” who enjoy dressing up.  It’s the younger folks who like their casual wear such as shorts and baseball caps.  On longer cruises the “older crowd”  get out their tuxes and cocktail dresses.

 

Our son and his wife (and six year old daughter) will be sailing with us next April for the Solar Eclipse cruise. I can guarantee you our son will be wearing a suit as his wife is looking forward to an occasion to dress up. It's not just "old people" who like to dress nicely.

[Lady Arwen]

22 minutes ago, Thrak said:

As always, every Princess cruise has the same dress standards. It doesn't matter if it's the Med, Caribbean, or Alaska.

 

 

Our son and his wife (and six year old daughter) will be sailing with us next April for the Solar Eclipse cruise. I can guarantee you our son will be wearing a suit as his wife is looking forward to an occasion to dress up. It's not just "old people" who like to dress nicely.

You are so right!  My grown sons are always dressed well.  If you believe what you read here, everybody wears shorts and baseball caps to dinner because Princess doesn’t care anymore.  Certainly, not my experience.

[LynnSD]

We did this cruise a few weeks ago.  Great variety, but a lot of people were quite dressed up.    And the photographers were very busy, as was the photo studio to purchase.  

[arizonaperson]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, lion1956 said:

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

Unfortunately members on cc thoughts really don’t matter with the dress code/ suggestion for Princess.

The Princess Patter now called Princess Event  listing( aka newsletter) read it ,when onboard,it will tell you the dress for the evening. A lot of Live posters post the Patter ahead of time. You could look for your particular ship.

Probably a dress shirt and dress pants will be fine on formal nights in any of the main dining rooms, but take a suit jacket, just in case.  

If you have booked the specialty restaurant on formal nights then smart casual is fine dress any night there.

Again only the crew in charge in the dining room can tell you otherwise and even then.....

Does not matter the destination. All the same for formal nights.

Topic is a hot one!

Edited May 18, 2023 by arizonaperson

[justafem]

I do this itinerary multiple times per year.  Slacks and shirt are fine for any sit down dinner.  Heck, even nice jeans are acceptable.  

 

Don't sweat the small stuff, just enjoy your cruise. 

[SiliconCruiser]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, lion1956 said:

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

Having just gotten off a couple of those, I did not see a single tuxedo, a few suits, some shirts with ties, and some shorts.  I used to wear a tuxedo, but now I will sometimes bring a tie (not necessarily wear it, but I bring one along.)  I think I need to find a nice pair of black shorts and wear it with my tuxedo vest and an open collar formal shirt with my bow time hung around like you see in the after parties from the Oscars.  Maybe I'll bring the jacket just for effects.  But yes, I am an old person, but I'm not bound by the fashion police that occupy social media.

 

[Shippy]

We live on the West Coast & have taken many of these cruises. You do NOT need a jacket & tie.

But there are always a few who chose to dress up...

[Eleanor Rigby 14]

When I saw the thread title “Classic California Coast Question” and I read that you’re leaving out of LA, I felt for sure the question would be “ What should I order at In-N-Out Burger before boarding the ship?” That’s what I’d be wondering about! 🍔

[Honolulu Blue]

On 5/16/2023 at 3:59 PM, lion1956 said:

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

I was on a Cali Coastal on the Majestic last year with those ports plus Santa Barbara.  California, its residents, and the passengers who joined me were/are generally very casual.  Some of the passengers were quite advanced in age (which can make them dress more formally), and I'm sure some places on land have fancier dress requirements and/or suggestions.  Ensenada, from what I've seen of it from past cruises, is about as casual as California.

 

I'll defer to others about dress in Princess' specialty restaurants.  Whatever you decide to wear, have fun on your cruise!

Edited May 18, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[jeromep]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, lion1956 said:

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

We've done a different version of this itinerary a few years back.  It was a great cruise.

 

Alaska is far from a formal cruise.  My experience has been mixed formal nights.  There are folks that dress up, and folks that get by with clothing which may not be formal, or even business wear, but isn't overtly casual.  I've seen a lot of chinos and sweaters on guys on formal night in Alaska, I'd call that far from formal.

 

That said, you are more than safe attending formal night MDR dinners in a button up shirt and slacks.  I think you'll find that formal nights are not enforced at all in the specialty venues.

 

I too have worn suits for work for years and avoid it whenever I'm on vacation.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, Eleanor Rigby 14 said:

When I saw the thread title “Classic California Coast Question” and I read that you’re leaving out of LA, I felt for sure the question would be “ What should I order at In-N-Out Burger before boarding the ship?” That’s what I’d be wondering about! 🍔

 

Double Double Animal Style with "extra toast" on the bun. Duh... 😎

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:12 PM, Thrak said:

As always, every Princess cruise has the same dress standards. It doesn't matter if it's the Med, Caribbean, or Alaska.

 

The Princess brochures and rules may be the same on paper every cruise, but enforcement does vary. I've found the California Coast, Mexican Riviera and Hawaii cruise to have much more lax enforcement than Caribbean Cruises and the Mediterranean Cruises may or may not have stricter enforcement, but many more people adhere to the guidelines.

 

Knowledge of the apparent less enforcement on California Coast, Mexican Riviera and Hawaii cruises trickles down to future cruisers. I've been on all three of these cruises in the last 18 months. Ironically I saw more tuxedos on the HI cruises, but that may be because with so many Sea Days, dressing up is something to do.

 

On 5/18/2023 at 9:27 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

I was on a Cali Coastal on the.....

 

Oh, how was the Colombia cruise? 😁🤣 (Older, native Californians HATE the "Cali" thing much the same way San Franciscans hate "San Fran". Saying "San Fran Cali" could potentially kill someone with a weak constitution).

 

For the OP, I've never seen shorts in the MDR on Formal Night. I have occasionally seen shorts in the MDR on other nights and shorts in Specialty Dining. On Formal Nights I wear a sport coat (or I don't go to the MDR). I haven't taken a tie since 2017.

[mamamusings]

Somewhat related question—how chilly does it get on deck when you’re at sea? (Too late for us to change what we packed, since we just boarded, but I’m curious!)

[KeepCalmBearOn]

42 minutes ago, mamamusings said:

Somewhat related question—how chilly does it get on deck when you’re at sea? (Too late for us to change what we packed, since we just boarded, but I’m curious!)

 

This time of year, pretty chilly. If I was going to go to MUTS I'd have a Cal Bears sweatshirt on with long pants/sweats. I wouldn't be at an outdoor event with out warm clothing. You can ride BART from the Embarcadero to Cal and get one 😁

[ChemistBabe]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

This time of year, pretty chilly. If I was going to go to MUTS I'd have a Cal Bears sweatshirt on with long pants/sweats. I wouldn't be at an outdoor event with out warm clothing. You can ride BART from the Embarcadero to Cal and get one 😁

 

We live in the bay area and NEVER go anywhere at night without a sweater.  Once the sun drops, it starts cooling down FAST.

 

The vendors at Pier 39 make a fortune selling hoodies to tourists who think that they won't need a sweater in California in the summer.