Hi,
We've been on six cruises but will do our first on Princess March 7 (15-day Panama).

Royal Caribbean has three categories of dress code: formal, smart casual and casual. Smart Casual on RCI is sports jackets and ties for men.

Princess has two categories: formal and smart casual. Their website doesn't specifically mention jackets or ties.

Question: Can my husband take his tux for formal nights and leave his sports jacket at home? Would he feel out of place if he wore polo shirts and dress pants or Dockers?

Sorry if you've heard this question 100 times before but, as I said, it's our first time on Princess! and a girl is trying to pack lighter to make room for shoes! (Just kidding, but kinda true.)

HI Love to Cruise! Your not alone, I have a question in regards to this too! On RCCL on formal nights do the men have to wear ties? We are on a 4 night cruise! My DH likes to wear the shirts that bottom to the top (low collar, there very dressy) with a sports coat! He is not a big fan of ties????

From the Cruise Critic website"

<edited to delete copyrighted information which was copied and pasted here>

Hope that Helps...Jackie

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave Beers,

Jackie,

While your post probably helped, you copied and pasted information from another website - which is not allowed per our Terms Of Service.

Sorry, but we have to stay within the law.

I'm going to voice my opinion of the dress code that's probably not shared by others in this forum from what I've read in the past. Formal on Princess for me is a jacket with matching pants, open shirt with no tie & dress shoes. Casual is a pair of Dockers with a 3 button shirt (golf shirt). Both myself & my wife pack lite & don't wish to dress to the extreme in order to partake of the dr fare. There are plenty of people dressing with tuxes & gowns on Princess but I've found that to be the exception these days. If you feel the need to dress on formal nights, go for it, but nothing will ever be said if you don't. We've been casual for years & enjoying it.

Actually Rich, the only difference between you and me is that I do wear a tie with the jacket. Other than that we are in agreement. My casual dress is dockers and a golf shirt, with leather deck shoes.

Love to Cruize, I concur with everything RichC says. Whatever you and your husband are comfortable with is right. A tux is nice on formal night but a suit or blazer and slacks is fine too; a tie is never a requirement. Dockers and a polo are fine for smart casual. I like Hawaiian or resort type shirts myself.

I'm actually taking the same cruise as you in April. I've found that warm climate cruises like the Canal tend to be more relaxed and casual. I'm taking a dark suit, a blazer, several dress slacks, a couple of dress shirts and ties, and 3-4 Hawaiian shirts. I like a jacket and tie at least a couple of nights.

Have a great cruise, and let us know how it goes. I'd especially like to hear about your shore excursions, as there are some ports on this itinerary that we are seeing for the first time.

Rick

Oops! Sorry I believe in being a law abiding citizen.

Thanks Dave

It will be interesting to see if dress codes on ships in the future are affected by the changes with airlines. Two airlines now have announced $25 charges for a 2nd piece of checked luggage. Could cut down on a lot of people's packing habits. My roommate on my 12nt Baltic cruise in 2005 brought 12 pairs of shoes. She needed an extra bag just for the shoes!

If I pack any lighter I'll be traveling with only the clothes on my back.
All kidding aside, I'm sure lots of folks will think twice about packing the full length garment bag or the extra 5 pair of shoes that they'll probably never ware. My wife & I both learned years ago after many cruises that we didn't need 2/3 of the stuff we used to take & these days we both travel with a 1 carry on suit case each + a back pack for me & a large carry bag for my wife. If I were to spill something on my only pair of Dockers I would use my dress pants until the laundry came back.

I intend to completely ignore everyone's advice to "pack lite" and bring entirely too many clothes!

I'll let you know how it turns out for your amusement.

Good for you, Detroit Mark! Very few of us listen to our own advice anyway--except maybe RichC. I've been cruising for over 30 years and I still take more than I ever use.

I am considering cruising on Princess cruise lines. So it would be interesting to know what the dress code is really like at dinner.

On formal nights, do allot of men really wear tuxedos, or do most of them wear just suits and ties? Or, do most of them dress even more casual on formal night?

How do most of the men dress for dinner on the other nights?

How about the women?

I could pack lighter, but I really enjoy carrying all those bags around, but I get to tip the luggage handlers more.

Hey Mark! It must be a Detroit thing (Southfield actually) cause I intend to do the same. I am packing at least two outfits for each day and a couple of extra casuals, all of my dinner outfits I think would do for formal night, and the shoe count right now is 7 pair! I already have one bag packed and my vacation doesn't start until May 14!

Frase, this is right from Princess' Cruise Answer Book:

There are two designations for dress codes: Smart Casual and Formal.

Smart Casual Evenings: Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for the ladies.
Pants and open neck shirts for men.

Formal Evenings: Evening gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies.
Tuxedo, slacks with dinner jackets, or suits for men.

That's it, Frase. I've noticed that the longer the cruise, the older the average age and the more tuxedos you see. But you will also see many on formal nights, like RichC, with jacket and open collar. And many women will have skirts and fancy tops or pant suits instead of gowns or cocktail dresses.

quote:

Originally posted by gdjoslin:
I could pack lighter, but I really enjoy carrying all those bags around, but I get to tip the luggage handlers more.

...and don't forget the additional charge for the airline.

Agreed, TekDiva although I'm not up to 7 pairs of dogs!! (whissha wuz!)

The way they make luggage ensembles these days it's just so easy for two people to lock 8 bags together and roll them around.

Well, my question certainly sparked some interest! From your posts, I conclude that 'smart casual' on Princess doesn't require a jacket (tie or not) for my husband.

Regarding the tux, my husband doesn't dress up for work and doesn't even own a suit (thus, we're not bringing one for formal nights). Although he could wear his black blazer and tie on formal nights and fit right in, he really loves his tux, which we bought for our first cruise. This is our 7th cruise so I'm familiar with what people do, but I do find it curious that RCI has three dress code categories and Princess has two (no 'casual', just 'smart casual') which made me think that Princess might be dressier.

The jacket is staying home and I'm bringing the extra shoes. LOL!

We're not 'retired', just 'tired', so we can hardly wait to get on that ship next Friday!

Thanks, everybody.

PS, f-mattox,
I'll try to answer any questions you might have when we get back.

Keep in mind that your hubby can have a tailor selected tuxedo prepared for him by Princess Cruises if you're just interested in saving space. Check out this link.

http://www.princess.com/learn/answer/before_you_leave/formal.jsp

I'm not sure whether you have to reserve ahead of time or you can wait until you're on board but it's worth a quick read!