Formal Nights

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Well, on their website they still use the term "Formal":

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise#what-to-pack-for-a-cruise

 

Though the website still says:

• Evening gown, cocktail dress or elegant pant suit for women
• Tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket and slacks for men

 

So what the website says and what actually happens on the ship may not be in sync.

I agree 100% with @Potstech. We were on the Enchanted 27 March - 6 April 2024. We ate in the Amalfi MDR, DMW, 6:PM, same two top table every night. No matter the evening I wore dockers and a golf style shirt. My wife slacks and a girly fancy top. One of the so called formal evenings a family of four sat next to us after we were seated. Mom wore shorts and a nice top. Dad wore shorts and a golf style shirt. Their daughter (14/15 y/o (?) wore a dress and their son (14/15 y/o(?) slacks and a golf style shirt. We all spoke briefly and we all enjoyed our wine and meals. 

[Earthworm Jim]

31 minutes ago, Potstech said:

Their website like many of their other documentations has not been changed in years. Just like calling customer service. Ask the same question to 3 of hem and get 4 different answers.  Most likely none are accurate.

Have not worn a tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket in years. But I have wore slacks, I think.

 

As far as I know the daily planners onboard still call it a formal night as well. But it has been a while for me, so perhaps that has changed. If so, I'm wrong.

 

We aren't really disagreeing, just talking past each other. I'm saying they still have designated formal nights, though they aren't really formal anymore. And by you saying they don't have formal nights anymore you really mean that none of the nights are particularly formal in reality anymore. You're not meaning to say they aren't designated as such.

[memoak]

My dress does not change during formal night. Nice pants and button down shirt. I am done with carrying around a sports coat and I do not own a tie anymore 

[Earthworm Jim]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

My dress does not change during formal night. Nice pants and button down shirt. I am done with carrying around a sports coat and I do not own a tie anymore 

 

I figure one still needs to own a tie for the occasional wedding or funeral. But agreed you don't really need one for a Princess cruise.

[memoak]

Just now, Earthworm Jim said:

 

I figure one still needs to own a tie for the occasional wedding or funeral. But agreed you don't really need one for a Princess cruise.

I live in Portland Oregon and I have not owned a tie since I retired. Most of the weddings here are casual affairs after outside in Nature

[jeromep]

On 4/23/2024 at 9:52 AM, skiladyldp said:

How can I find out what nights those are because we may want to go to a Specialty restaurant instead?

Unless there are outstanding circumstances, formal nights, such as they are or are not, are always on sea days.  Check your itinerary, if it is a sea day, it is likely a formal night.  We have an Alaska cruise scheduled this year and on our itinerary there are 2 sea days, typical for cruises that are RT Seattle, so those likely the two formal nights.  Formal nights are not scheduled on port days mostly because, if the spirit of the formal night were as it was 10+ years ago, some folks would need some time during the day to get their hair done and face all fancied up in anticipation of the evenings frivolities.  A port day would definitely hamper that.  Additionally, we have some port days with dinner time and late evening departures, so a formal night might cut short a port day for some folks.

 

Either way, lots of other people are going to lean toward specialty restaurants on formal nights, so either book early or remain flexible.  But as others have shared, formal night might be documented a particular way on the Princess web site, but in practice, what happens in the dining room on formal nights is not that much different from any other day.

[MacMadame]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:05 AM, Earthworm Jim said:

I figure one still needs to own a tie for the occasional wedding or funeral. But agreed you don't really need one for a Princess cruise.

The last funeral I went to, the dress wasn't that much different than Princess' formal nights. 😉 

 

IOW, we saw people without ties, women not wearing dresses and even some in jeans. We would have seen shorts but it was March in NJ so too cold. 🤣

 

That said, we're going to get dressed up for our 3 Formal/Dress to Impress nights. Definitely a suit for dh and possibly one of his fun ties and an extra fancy dress for me.

[555]

In Florida most funerals I've been to have been fairly informal since it's usually hot most of the year. On occasion some guys will wear a jacket if there's a church service but afterwards it's left in the car when going to a grave site. 

Ties are very uncommon for just about any affair- at least the ones I've attended.

[IndyKid]

As long as you don't look like Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show you'll be fine...

[doghog]

1 hour ago, IndyKid said:

As long as you don't look like Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show you'll be fine...

I disagree. Who and why would someone dressed like that be stopped? Not happening. 

Edited April 28 by doghog

[memoak]

3 hours ago, IndyKid said:

As long as you don't look like Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show you'll be fine...

What would not meet muster. The makeup, the corset or the stockings ?

[IndyKid]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

What would not meet muster. The makeup, the corset or the stockings ?

The banana hammock, perhaps?

[NavyVeteran]

A formal night is never on the first night or the last night. It is usually on sea days but not always. If it's on a port day, it's usuall a port day with an early departure. 

[555]

13 hours ago, doghog said:

I disagree. Who and why would someone dressed like that be stopped? Not happening. 

That's the exact reason Princess has give up on any enforcement of a dress code.

[doghog]

3 hours ago, 555 said:

That's the exact reason Princess has give up on any enforcement of a dress code.

And exactly why I don't concern myself what others wear. 

[555]

1 minute ago, doghog said:

And exactly why I don't concern myself what others wear. 

I never did either until some people on CC seemed to be so concerned about it. I never realized it was that important to some of them. 

After all is said and done, I wonder how many of those people that felt so strongly about proper dressing up have left Princess for other cruise lines? I suspect that most of them now just accept what Princess has become today. 

[doghog]

7 minutes ago, 555 said:

I never did either until some people on CC seemed to be so concerned about it. I never realized it was that important to some of them. 

After all is said and done, I wonder how many of those people that felt so strongly about proper dressing up have left Princess for other cruise lines? I suspect that most of them now just accept what Princess has become today. 

Same story on Celebrity and RC. I'd wear shorts everynight in the MDR but I don't and it has nothing to do with Princess. 😁 I've got to get past my wife first. 😂 All kidding aside, I wear shorts and T-shirts all day so I really don't mind wearing slacks and a golf shirt in the evening. We stopped taking formal wear ~8 years ago. 

[555]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Same story on Celebrity and RC. I'd wear shorts everynight in the MDR but I don't and it has nothing to do with Princess. 😁 I've got to get past my wife first. 😂 All kidding aside, I wear shorts and T-shirts all day so I really don't mind wearing slacks and a golf shirt in the evening. We stopped taking formal wear ~8 years ago. 

I just wear what makes me feel comfortable. If it's warm in the DR, it'll be shorts, otherwise jeans which I never wear at home since it's never cool enough. 

[doghog]

4 hours ago, 555 said:

I just wear what makes me feel comfortable. If it's warm in the DR, it'll be shorts, otherwise jeans which I never wear at home since it's never cool enough. 

Nothing wrong with personal choices. Which Princess gives all.

[555]

14 hours ago, doghog said:

Nothing wrong with personal choices. Which Princess gives all.

I only wonder what took Princess so long to relax their dress code, especially since all the other cruise line did many years prior.

Could it be that they were hoping to rise above the other lines & be considered a premium cruise line, similar to Cunard? 

Anyway, it's nice to know that our vacations can now be enjoyed without having to conform to any specific form of dress. 

[Esprit]

1 hour ago, 555 said:

 

Anyway, it's nice to know that our vacations can now be enjoyed without having to conform to any specific form of dress. 

No one has ever had to conform. The dress codes have always been suggested IMHO.

As my wife loves to dress up I always complement her attire by wearing a tux/dinner jacket on the "formal nights".

As I've said before. I don't give a monkey's what other choose to wear regardless of the suggested dress code.

I've never worn shorts in any restaurant around the world and as people rightly state. Wear what you feel comfortable in.

I feel most comfortable when I've made an effort to look smart, and I get serious "brownie" points from my wife as a result!😇 

 

[555]

21 minutes ago, Esprit said:

No one has ever had to conform. The dress codes have always been suggested IMHO.

As my wife loves to dress up I always complement her attire by wearing a tux/dinner jacket on the "formal nights".

As I've said before. I don't give a monkey's what other choose to wear regardless of the suggested dress code.

I've never worn shorts in any restaurant around the world and as people rightly state. Wear what you feel comfortable in.

I feel most comfortable when I've made an effort to look smart, and I get serious "brownie" points from my wife as a result!😇 

 

You obviously haven't cruised 10 or more years prior on Princess. Although it wasn't true formal back then, they did require a jacket which then became a long sleeve dress shirt a time progressed. 

At least today we all have an option to dress as we feel appropriate.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, 555 said:

I only wonder what took Princess so long to relax their dress code, especially since all the other cruise line did many years prior.

Could it be that they were hoping to rise above the other lines & be considered a premium cruise line, similar to Cunard? 

Anyway, it's nice to know that our vacations can now be enjoyed without having to conform to any specific form of dress. 

So long?  Smart Casual dress has been allowed on the ships for years now.  I would admit that shorts (generally speaking) for dinner is more recent - like since the restart.

[555]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

So long?  Smart Casual dress has been allowed on the ships for years now.  I would admit that shorts (generally speaking) for dinner is more recent - like since the restart.

I didn't want to give an exact time when smart casual was acceptable on formal nights but like you say it has been a while.