Suggestion to End Formal Night Bickering

[Tom O.]

requiring tuxedos disregards the formalwear of other cultures..

 

 

I believe "black tie" allows people from other cultures to wear the formal garb of their culture. I know for sure, that kilts are acceptible. And formal military attire is also considered "black tie."

[pollyanno]

Excelent point bjboothman. I guess this is where I am in the minority big time. The patter says "suggested evening attire". It does not say "only if you go to traditional dining room" or "except if you go to horizon court or pizzaria". I have always interpreted this as the "entire evening" and in " all public areas of the ship".

 

I am sure I will get flamed for that interpretation. LOL

 

Rob

 

eh.. if it said "required evening attire", I'd stay in my cabin. :)

[rob.potter]

Rob – I’ll send you a pair of my asbestos britches - you can throw 'em on when the flaming starts. :)

 

Thanks bdjam, i am sure I will need them. LOL

 

Rob

[juliejoe]

The evening is ruined when we walk into the princess theatre after traditional late dinner, order an after dinner cordial and have some idiot in jeans shorts and a tank top sit down in front of us with his Miller Light beer can.

 

That is really sad! I don't think you should give that much power to the guy with the beer can. Try taking charge of your own evening and don't let someone elses attire and choice of drink ruin it for you. After all, you have paid for your cruise and you have the right to enjoy it! The guy in the jeans shorts and tank top probably did not pay for his cruise, so he doesn't have any right to ruin your evening. On the other hand, if you went directly from the formal dining room to your cabin and remain there for the evening you might be able to avoid having it ruined by idiots.:rolleyes:

 

Now - why did I break my own rule and participate in this thread? I should know better than to read these things....:(

 

To the OP - thank you for your constructive thinking. You are at least making an effort to accomodate everyone. I don't see it happening tho - this will continue to be a hot topic. I don't think there is a solution.

[bdjam]

That is really sad! I don't think you should give that much power to the guy with the beer can. Try taking charge of your own evening and don't let someone elses attire and choice of drink ruin it for you. After all, you have paid for your cruise and you have the right to enjoy it! The guy in the jeans shorts and tank top probably did not pay for his cruise, so he doesn't have any right to ruin your evening. On the other hand, if you went directly from the formal dining room to your cabin and remain there for the evening you might be able to avoid having it ruined by idiots

The guy with the beer can is being disrespectful of a formal function. I guess rudeness is in the eye of the beholder.

[rob.potter]

That is really sad! I don't think you should give that much power to the guy with the beer can. Try taking charge of your own evening and don't let someone elses attire and choice of drink ruin it for you. After all, you have paid for your cruise and you have the right to enjoy it! The guy in the jeans shorts and tank top probably did not pay for his cruise, so he doesn't have any right to ruin your evening. On the other hand, if you went directly from the formal dining room to your cabin and remain there for the evening you might be able to avoid having it ruined by idiots.:rolleyes:

 

Now - why did I break my own rule and participate in this thread? I should know better than to read these things....:(

 

To the OP - thank you for your constructive thinking. You are at least making an effort to accomodate everyone. I don't see it happening tho - this will continue to be a hot topic. I don't think there is a solution.

 

I guess it really wasn't the jeans shorts, tank top and the beer. It was the belching that went along with it.

 

This really did happen on our cruise in March. We ended up moving and did enjoy the evening show. It didn't ruin the cruise, but did create some frustration for the evening.

 

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

rob

[rob.potter]

The guy with the beer can is being disrespectful of a formal function. I guess rudeness is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Yes, it really needs to be in a bottle on formal night. :D

 

Rob

[OuiOnboard]

As in many instances within the cruising experience in particular, and in day to day life in general, people often do what they do because they can. Princess chooses to suggest an evening dress code but may not enforce adherence to that code to the degree that some might desire. If the cruiseline's dress code is not mandatory, and if some pax do not wish to voluntarily follow the suggested code, one might reasonably ask upon whom the onus lies to conform to, or failing that, to tolerate other's wishes.

I trust Princess to continue to handle this serious problem in a way that pleases most Princess cruisers.

[juliejoe]

It was the belching that went along with it.

 

Now - - - THAT was rude. I would have moved too!:)

[Ethel5]

First of all, I'd like to thank Tom O. for a very thoughtful post. It appears that most of the responders are of the "stay dressed for the entire evening bunch" of which I am a member. Several people pointed out that we are all aware of the dress codes before we board and agree they should be followed. I think it's up to Princess to enforce the dress code and I suggest that we write to Princess expressing these thoughts.

 

BTW, to the poster who thinks we spend too much time yakking about what people wear - It does show a certain lack of respect those who do take the time to shop, pack and carry the required clothing. I also feel that if the captain and crew are formal, then we should follow their lead as any good guest should.

[Cruisin' Chick]

So I guess the man in the tuxedo enjoying the show shouldn't be allowed to guzzle beer in a can.:rolleyes:

[tentativesailor]

I trust Princess to continue to handle this serious problem in a way that pleases most Princess cruisers.

 

It's quite interesting how passionate everyone gets about formal night. I think Princess does the right amount of recommending and enforcing.

 

Having a grand total of 1 cruise under my belt, here's my 2 cents worth ...

 

Guidelines for formal night was stressful at first, but after we came around to it ... was looking forward to the evenings.

It was nice to have everyone dress up so we could get a formal family portrait.

Enjoyed seeing the wide range of clothes - prom gowns to simple dresses. Now have a better idea of what to pack next time.

No else's outfits affected our enjoyment of the enening.

 

Should Princess ENFORCE the Formal Dress Code?

Most men in our group wore black suits. Most of our women wore floor length dress or dressy pant suit. Kids tried to look nice.

Our Mom's idea of formal was a nice dress with a simple cotton jacket. Should this old lady be removed from the Dining Room.

Our dad only packed black velcro walking shoes and a grey suit. Should he be denied dinner with his children and grandchildren?

My oldest son had a black suit, but refused "real" shoes. We bought him black sports shoes for dinners in the Dining Room.

Sister-in-law had a regular dress. Her shoes never made the cruise ... not quite sure which city their luggage ended up in.

 

I apologize if our family's clothing detrimentally affected anyone else's Formal Night Evening.

 

Thank you Princess for providing an evening where we could get gussied up and be pampered by your staff. We had fun ... hope others did too.

[skarletohara]

Maybe Princess could designate half the fleet as formal and half as informal.

And then on the formal ships you have to wear your formal wear every day,

all day long.....conversely, if you're on the casual ship, you will be thrown

overboard if you dare dress in anything remotely formal. Only jeans and

bathing suits will be acceptable attire in all the dining rooms.

[juliejoe]

tentativesailor - thank you for your post and the memories it brought me. Your family sounds lovely - and very much like our family. We've had several reunion cruises - with a mixture of formal night outfits. What a thrill for 4 generations of us to be together! We had a wonderful time, each of us dressed in our best, and didn't care how anyone defined formal. The older generation will not be with us this year - but we have great memories of them dressed in their finest for dinner with the family.

[OuiOnboard]

Maybe Princess could designate half the fleet as formal and half as informal.....

You might be on to something here. :)

[KLLund]

I am among those that enjoy the formal "evening" and DH goes along with dragging the tux on every cruise. I certainly don't let what anyone else does spoil my evening, but that said I would rather dine with others that feel the same .. So I usually ask our tablemates ( we prefer tradtional having had a verrry bad experience with personal choice ) what they intend of formal night and if others are not going to be bothered .. we would opt for the specialty restaurant.

 

So far we have never been seated with others who were not similarly inclined toward formal night. The rest of the dining room is just background if you have a good group.

 

BTW .. I think it is ever so much fun to sit at the roulette table with a martini and a formal gown on .. I feel so glamourous !!!!

[Redsgj]

I have thought about this in the past and had an idea too. Just a suggestion though!!

 

I thought that what they could do on those ships that have two anytime dining rooms is make one of them formal and one not. The traditional dining room would be formal (I get the feeling (just generalizing - obviously this does not apply to all!) that traditional diners tend to also be those who enjoy the formal night experience). For formal nights only, they would allow traditional diners, who don't want to do formal, access to the "non-formal" anytime dining room.

 

Obviously this could cause problems but it is just an idea!

[Casshew]

I don't think people should have to pay extra to participate in formal night.

[madelinerose]

Hmmmm...this scenario would have absolutely no affect on our evening whatsoever. IMHO, only you are capable of ruining your evening. ;)

 

 

The evening is ruined when we walk into the princess theatre after traditional late dinner, order an after dinner cordial and have some idiot in jeans shorts and a tank top sit down in front of us with his Miller Light beer can. And then go to the casino and have to stand next to the same idiot at the craps table. JMHO Rob

[Jaxsonbrownie]

Being people that enjoy dressing up for formal night,we wouldn't want to pay extra to do so.This is part of the "cruise experience" that we love participating in.There are others that do not wish to do so,that is their choice.But what others wear, or choose not to wear doesn't make or break my enjoyment of formal night. If you don't like the "view", look the other way! Yes, reading about the " Crown Incident" was getting old,& yes, this old discussion about "formal Night" and what others are wearing or not, is old too. How about Global Warming? Anyone?!!! Putting on my flame retardent formal night thong now:D

[coiran]

I vote for keeping it the way it is - we haven't had a discussion thread on this in several weeks - why bring it up again??

Ron

[Princess Patches]

If you are old enough you will remember when people used to dress up when they flew on airplanes. My mother dressed me in my best dress, gloves and black patent shoes for my first flight in the late 1960's. When was the last time you saw someone dressed like that on an airplane?

 

I grew up in the casual 60's and 70's but was raised by parents who grew up in an era where it was important to show people on special occasions that you care by dressing well. I like it and appreciate it when people put effort into their attire. I know it is more work than usual but it is worth it. I hope they don't get rid of formal nights because it is so fun to see everyone in their finery!! It adds magic to the evening. People underdress way too much in today's society. By the way, I think most people do dress for formal nights. I have seen only the occasional person who wasn't dressed up on formal night.

[Nliedel]

I dress up for the Specialty Restaurants, but would not want to do it in formal attire. Sorry, but locking the non formal types out of the specialty restaurants is not fair and would not work.

 

Now making the Specialty Restaurants semi formal or smart casual on formal nights is not a bad idea.

[judyjbest]

I don't think there is any reason to be concerned about formalwear disappearing from cruising, at least on certain lines. Carnival may abandon it first. But, as long as people like those on this thread continue to enjoy dressing in their best while cruising, the tradition will live on.

 

I still dress for nice meals locally, even though others around me aren't dressed the same, and the evening is so special for me and DH, the others do not matter. It's all in your attitude about your companion and your evening. The attire of others doesn't really matter. Action, such as belching, is another matter entirely, based on basic etiquette, but that too is something outside our control as well.

 

Happy cruising!

[TinaLee]

If only this whole topic didn't have socioeconomic connotations, it would be so much easier. If everyone on the ship had the same amount of money, the same fashion sense, was the same size, the same age, and completely like-minded, we wouldn't have to worry our pretty little heads, would we? Until that happens (and heaven forbid it ever does), then you are going to see and hear things that you don't agree with, don't approve of, that make you see red or make you want to laugh... that's just the way it is. If you can't handle the differences in your fellow travelers, fellow human beings for that matter, maybe it's time to pack up the tuxedo in moth balls and stay at home! I still can't get over the number of people who judge others based on how they dress... it boggles my mind.

 

To the OP - nice thought to try to divide the factions, but it's never going to happen. The non-formals will complain because they can't eat in the specialty restaurants and the formals will complain because they pay extra. There is no way to make both sides happy - and neither side is willing to compromise (as this thread has demonstrated). But I applaud the effort! :)