My wife and I are cruising for the first time on the Golden Princess (Eastern Carib). What is the dress for the "formal nights", is a sport coat and slacks acceptable attire?

I sailed on the Golden during Oct. It appeared as if the most common was a dark suit. Not too meany wore a tux. (A tux is cheapest "suit" I own. Had to have one for my fraternal oganization. I hate to wear it) I wore a dark suit. If you do not have a suit take the sport coat and slacks. I don't think anyone will throw you overboard. I really think the formal night is mainly for pictures. Another couple that went with us that were first time cruisers also made the comment about what is the big deal about formal night. They were wondering why the big deal about getting dressed up for dinner. The dinner was not anything different than any other night.

My opinion is all the extra clothing just takes up space and all you wear it for is to go to eat. I know some passengers really look forward to this "big event" but with all the restrictions now on luggage and being on vacation I do not personally like having to be so formal to have a dinner. I also know that there is the option of eating in the buffet but I did not pay for a cruise to eat in a buffet. Maybe as more people keep slacking off the formal night will go away. Years ago after 6:00 pm in Vegas men had to wear a jacket and ladies had to wear an evening dress; now look at it. Money talks and customs change.

Thanks for the info.

When are you doing your cruise? If you're going close to the holidays, more people will be dressed up. Princess is a little less rigid with their dress codes. We travelled on the Celebrity Constellation in August, and a 14 day cruise had 3 formal nights, and 4 dressy nights. It was very highly suggested that you wore the dress of the evening after 6 PM in all areas, theaters, lounges and casino. Very nice to see the gentlemen in tux in the casino. After 3 nights in tux, my husband was starting to like it. I would really stick with a dark suit if you have one, or you might feel out of place. Each cruise is different, so it's difficult to tell, as some tend to be dressy, and others more casual. Enjoy!

I was just looking in the Princess Cruise Answer Book. This is a magazine that you will be getting from Princess with your final documents. It is printed On page 8 under ONBOARD ATTIRE "On Formal nights, appropriate attire includes evening gowns and cocktail dresses for ladies and tuxedos, slacks with dinner jackets, or suits for men." This magazine basically answers all of your questions. Plus as you are aware you can always get opinions thru this forum.

Have a good trip