All cruise ships have dress codes but none are strictly enforced, they are more like dress guidelines. These guidelines range from encouraging guests to wear tuxedos and gowns to simply asking that guests wear clothing. Even with these loose guidelines, you will run into those who try to push the envelope that much more. More often than not, the cruise lines will ignore someone wearing shorts in the dining room but that is not always the case.
I remember being on a Princess Cruise a few years ago where I witnessed someone being turned away. It was the second formal night of a Southern Caribbean cruise and we were all waiting for admittance into the dining room. Once they opened the doors people started filing into the room. Just before my place in the line was a family (mom, dad and two little boys) that apparently didn’t notice that it was formal night. The Maitre D stopped them before they made their way into the dining room and refused to admit them. The wife was in a sundress, while the children wore slacks and polo shirts and the father (in my opinion the big offender) was in jeans and a polo shirt. They were told they could eat on the lido deck but not in the dining room that night. I remember thinking that had the father been wearing even khakis with his polo shirt the Maitre D probably would have admitted them. Sadly, this wasn’t the case and as they walked away, I remember hearing one of the little boys asking his father, “why can’t we eat here”.
Although it was a couple of years ago, I do remember not knowing how to feel about that situation. The side of me that advocates observing the rules of cruise ship etiquette was happy the rules were finally being enforced. The side of me that remembered what it felt like to be an innocent kid embarrassed by a choice my father made cringed. What I do remember clearly is when this picture perfect family got turned away both sides of me learned that ignoring the formal night dress code was a risky proposition that was not for the feint of heart.
How do you feel about formal night dress codes?
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