My finance and I are trying to decide between Princess and Royal Carribean for our Honeymoon cruie to Alaska. He is a mechanic and hates to dress up and I noticed on a Princess Patter i said after 5:30 everyone had to be dressed in formal wear i.e. men had to wear suits and ties and women cocktail dresses. Is that true?? I think i could probably get him in a pair of slacks one or two days but now for the whole trip. And if its true does that mean every dinner he has to wear slacks. He would perfer wearing jeans and a polo shirt.

Welcome to cruise-chat. A cruise to Alaska is a great way to celebrate a honeymoon. On both Royal Caribbean and Princess, jeans are not considered appropriate for wear during dinner. They are fine at breakfast and lunch. Look at our FAQ on dress codes for the current guidance for the various cruise lines.

My personal opinion is that of the two lines, Princess is a little more formal

Only on formal nights does Princess request that you remain in your formal wear in the public rooms and lounges; they do not enforce this policy, but most passengers do it anyway. On other nights slacks and a polo are fine--or even nice jeans.

Over the years the dress code has changed & I can't find where they "suggest" that you remain dressed throughout the evening. It was that way a few years ago but somewhere along the line they seemed to have dropped it. Since the inception of dining at the Horizon buffet for dinner with no dress code other than shirt & shoes it would be inconsistent to require people to dress for the shows.
In any event the majority of people do dress for the "formal" dinner but some like myself & my wife do a quick change immediately afterwords to more relaxed clothing & have never been questioned in any lounge or showroom. If you can get you husband to put on a suit jacket & pants for dinner (without a tie) he'll be fine. On casual nights he can ware his jeans (no rips or holes) with a simple 3 button shit & fit right in with the crowd.

Right you are, Rich; I had to go back quite a ways to find the suggestion about staying in formal attire--they dropped it as nearly as I can tell, about 2002.

Actually it's the first time I read the statement about wearing jeans on casual night. I never saw the part where they don't approve of jeans with rips or holes.

Of course it doesn't say anything about baggy pants.