Poll: What do men actually wear on Princess Formal Nights?

[Nukesailor]

As long as I've had a tux, I've worn the tux. Usually black tie one night and red tie the second night. In fact, since I bought the tux, I've worn it more than I have my suits. For shoes, I usually wear my patent-leather dancing shoes.

 

Art

[Coracii]

I have always worn a suit & tie. Recently bought a tux and will likely bring that along next cruise. I do enjoy formal night ....the DW rarely gets to see me in full formal. I'm not militant on the issue by any stretch. I just wish that IF a cruise line chooses to have a dress code that they would enforce it... whatever that dress code is. Like it or not, dress codes are one of those things that simply dont work anywhere if they arent enforced. Either ditch it altogether or make a better effort to enforce it. Princess' lukewarm approach is just enough to keep no one happy.

 

Agree 100%. If Princess started tomorrow enforcing their dress suggestions on formal night I would either change my clothing choices or dine elsewhere those nights when sailing with them. But, since they choose to keep the policy only as suggested dress and allow people to make their own choices for the MDR, that's the path I follow. Coming from a person that doesn't follow the traditional formal attire, I still say that Princess (and other cruise lines) should make a decision and stick with it. Trying to walk the fine line down the middle just causes confusion.

[jagsfan]

This thread is so popular I haven't had time to read all the way through, but no one has

mentioned formal kilt. As much as I love seeing men in tuxes, my heart hits the floor

and shivers at the sight of a man in his full Scottish regalia. Too bad I can't get my

Scottish DH in a tux, much less a kilt.

[traveling1969]

Never had or wore a tux before my 1st cruise. Now I own 3 (thank god for ebay). Great poll, great thread, and just about the result I expected. Bon Voyage!

[GBeret]

This thread is so popular I haven't had time to read all the way through, but no one has

mentioned formal kilt. As much as I love seeing men in tuxes, my heart hits the floor

and shivers at the sight of a man in his full Scottish regalia. Too bad I can't get my

Scottish DH in a tux, much less a kilt.

 

 

I have seen both Irish & Scottish Kilt, formal dress on formal nights on Princess cruises. The only problem i'm award is that one can not wear the 'dirk' in the stocking, because of security issues. ;)

 

They always look good.

[satxdiver]

If Princess changed the suggested attire to required on formal nights the MDR would be a lot less crowded not that it is crowded now since many don't bother to even go to the MDR. It would serve to drive pax towards Carnival which abolished formal night and thus mean lost revenue. Princess is a mass market cruise line so don't expect this to happen.

 

If you want everyone to be formal, then book on the upscale cruise lines and stay off the mass market ones. It is all about the bottom line for the cruise lines and that is money.

[rcacace]

If Princess changed the suggested attire to required on formal nights the MDR would be a lot less crowded not that it is crowded now since many don't bother to even go to the MDR. It would serve to drive pax towards Carnival which abolished formal night and thus mean lost revenue. Princess is a mass market cruise line so don't expect this to happen.

 

If you want everyone to be formal, then book on the upscale cruise lines and stay off the mass market ones. It is all about the bottom line for the cruise lines and that is money.

 

If anything it would drive many more people towards the Specialty dining room.

[GBeret]

Correction:

 

The only problem i'm aware of is that one can not wear the 'dirk' in the stocking, because of security issues, etc.

[billet]

Correction:

 

The only problem i'm aware of is that one can not wear the 'dirk' in the stocking, because of security issues, etc.

 

Two years ago on the Crown there was a fight in the disco and the scotsman pulled out his dirk - luckily security were on him in a flash.

[AlFrank]

Alaska0799, sorry just saw your post. The cruise was fantastic. What we really enjoyed was whale watching with Harv & Marv in Juneau and renting a car in Skagway and driving to Emerald Lake. If you do this order Murray's Guide off the internet, it's well worth the $5.00. We did not book any tours with Princess but did everything on our own. In Ketchikan we took the free bus to Saxman Totum Park, you can join any tour going on there, very interesting. Then we walked around on our own, Creek St, etc. BUT nothing could beat Glacier Bay. It was amazing. We must have seen 15 cavings. The noise they make is unbelievable. I had been there 20 years ago but missed Glacier Bay. It really is one of the highlights.

 

Not sure if you gamble but stay away from the scratch cards, didn't hear of one person winning on those. My husband did win bingo but the $$ they take in, $20.00 for 4 games, and the prizes don't add up. Seems like they keep a lot more now for the company.

 

We left on a Monday and the first formal night was Tuesday, we had reservations at Sabatini's for my husband's b'day so missed that. The next formal night was Saturday - I think. Not very many dressed formally, very few in fact. We only saw 1 couple turned away and that was because he had sneakers on. They were told to come back about 8:30 and then there would be no problem with his sneakers. The second formal night a great percentage had jeans on and they weren't turned away for jeans. Can't speak on the first formal nite, we were in Sabatini's. That restaurant was pretty empty the times we walked by. I guess people weren't interested in a 3 hour meal. Hope this helps

[BuzzF117]

im gonna get me ona them there tuxedo tshirts and new wrangler jeans and polish my boots on my next cruise....No actually I brought my suit since we were on a budget and didn't want to spring for the tux but many of the other guys in our group were made to wear tux's by their wives er I mean of their own fruition

[winncruiser]

My husband and any males friends that we may cruise with ALWAYS wear black tie on formal nights. And, I might add, they look great!

[bbry]

Formal night - we'll go to one because it's usually the night where they serve lobster - - something rare at home!

My DH will wear a sports coat and slacks - maybe a shirt and tie, or maybe an open collared shirt.

Some will sneer and say we don't belong - go to the buffet if you can't dress up - but we will smile and know that we are here to vacation and enjoy our time together.

What is more important to any of us...what we wear to dinner? Or, who we're having dinner with.

Cancer nearly took my DH.

Congestive heart failure tried to get him 2 years later.

COPD makes just walking around difficult.

Not to mention the anemia that requires 2 hour infusions each week.

I don't care what he wears - I care that I still have him with me to enjoy this adventure.

I really don't care that some of you don't think we should be allowed to go to formal night....

So, when you see us there on the Golden we'll be admiring your tuxedos and cocktail dresses....and we'll be happy that you feel specia that night. Just know that I'll be feeling special, too!

 

 

As well you should. You should enjoy your cruise and your lobster and your dh should be able to relax and experience his cruise as easily as possible. God bless you both and many Bon Voyages to you both. We will be on the 8/1/09 Golden sailing to Alaska. My dh has had multiple surgeries one of which was for the insertion of a pacemaker/defibrillator and also suffers from cardiomyopathy. Just being on the cruise is an accomplishment & he should be able to eat the best dinners rather he feels up to a tux or not.

[Alaska0799]

Alaska0799, sorry just saw your post. The cruise was fantastic. What we really enjoyed was whale watching with Harv & Marv in Juneau and renting a car in Skagway and driving to Emerald Lake. If you do this order Murray's Guide off the internet, it's well worth the $5.00. We did not book any tours with Princess but did everything on our own. In Ketchikan we took the free bus to Saxman Totum Park, you can join any tour going on there, very interesting. Then we walked around on our own, Creek St, etc. BUT nothing could beat Glacier Bay. It was amazing. We must have seen 15 cavings. The noise they make is unbelievable. I had been there 20 years ago but missed Glacier Bay. It really is one of the highlights.

 

Not sure if you gamble but stay away from the scratch cards, didn't hear of one person winning on those. My husband did win bingo but the $$ they take in, $20.00 for 4 games, and the prizes don't add up. Seems like they keep a lot more now for the company.

 

We left on a Monday and the first formal night was Tuesday, we had reservations at Sabatini's for my husband's b'day so missed that. The next formal night was Saturday - I think. Not very many dressed formally, very few in fact. We only saw 1 couple turned away and that was because he had sneakers on. They were told to come back about 8:30 and then there would be no problem with his sneakers. The second formal night a great percentage had jeans on and they weren't turned away for jeans. Can't speak on the first formal nite, we were in Sabatini's. That restaurant was pretty empty the times we walked by. I guess people weren't interested in a 3 hour meal. Hope this helps

Thanks for the good input! We're considering renting a car and driving to Emerald Lake, also. How much time should we allow for that round-trip excursion?

[nurserosie]

Kansas

 

OMG those dogs are cute....what kind is the little one??

 

we are Yorkie people...tho our 11 year old weighs 15 pounds..so not a toy...she rules the roost tho..

 

rosie

[michmike]

For shoes, I usually wear my patent-leather dancing shoes.

 

Art

 

*laffin* Dad always joked about his dancing pants.. plenty of ballroom

[Times Prince]

last day to vote in thw poll - but once only !!! :D

[G'ma]

My husband and any males friends that we may cruise with ALWAYS wear black tie on formal nights. And, I might add, they look great!

 

Ditto here. Even my grandson, whose been cruising since he was 8 years old, wears a suit and tie......and he's 16 n ow.

 

Classy, for sure......:D

[beerstorm]

I always take two suits with different shirts and ties i have never worn a tux

and find a lot of gents tend not to wear tuxes.

[Times Prince]

It is of interest that Hosts Laura and Andy have posted concerning discussion of dress on formal nights on the same day this poll closed. If you haven't read their post, please see it at this link click here This includes the Princess dress code of

For formal evenings, men wear tuxedos, dark suits or dinner jackets, and women wear evening gowns, cocktail dresses or elegant pant suits.

The poll on what men actually wear on formal nights has closed with the following results. They support the fact that most follow the guidelines, and that exceptions are present.

• Of the 551 total respondants who use the Main Dining Rooms on formal nights, 449 (81.5%) of men dress per the formal dress code.
  
• An additional 52 (9.4%) dress nicely with sport coat and tie in the spirit of the dress code, bringing the total to 90.1% who dress well for the evening.
  
• Only 35 respondants (6.4%) go to the main dining room but do not follow the dress code.
  

Some excellent reasons were shared for the manner in which people dress, including formal dress, military dress, formal kilts, and informal dress for health reasons.

 

Thanks to all for the good discussion. I really appreciate how many people participated in the poll and discussion without the problems seen on some other threads. That's what Cruise Critic is all about - sharing our experiences for the benefit of the reader.

 

As I mentioned before - the intent was to answer the question often asked by newcomers about "what should I (or my DH) bring to wear on formal night?" From your response the answer is pretty clear (with exceptions noted), and we have some numbers we can collectively quote in the future.

 

Thanks again. See you onboard ship.

 

<<< P.S. This happens to be my 2,000th post - time to celebrate ! and plan for those upcoming cruises >>>

[LARGIN]

Thanks.. Great job..

Perhaps you could cut and paste this and add to the Sticky post you referred to..

[AlFrank]

Thanks for the good input! We're considering renting a car and driving to Emerald Lake, also. How much time should we allow for that round-trip excursion?

 

I would say about 6 hours, depends on how may times you stop and for how long. If you do the drive, we saw a grizzly bear resting at the Moore suspension bridge, quite a site. Also some black bears walking down the side of the highway. Keep your camera handy and eyes open for these. Once in the Yukon you'll go by another suspension bridge that is across a gorge, can't remember exactly what the charge was, I know they did a senior discount, was fun. The charge may have been about 30.00 pp.

[Alaska0799]

I would say about 6 hours, depends on how may times you stop and for how long. If you do the drive, we saw a grizzly bear resting at the Moore suspension bridge, quite a site. Also some black bears walking down the side of the highway. Keep your camera handy and eyes open for these. Once in the Yukon you'll go by another suspension bridge that is across a gorge, can't remember exactly what the charge was, I know they did a senior discount, was fun. The charge may have been about 30.00 pp.

Thanks for the info! Mother wants to know how frequently we may encounter restrooms. Could be a deal-breaker for her, unfortunately! Realistically, what would you suggest that I tell her?

[jt1120]

Please save one of the last vestiges of the glory days of cruising: pack a tux fellas!!!

[chamima]

Please save one of the last vestiges of the glory days of cruising: pack a tux fellas!!!

 

 

YES !!! Thank you !!!

:D:D:D:D