I finally get to tell you about Formal Night on the Crown Princess! Unfortunately, life interrupted and I’ve had to skip a few days in the 31 day writing challenge, but the remaining posts will be filled with tips for making your trip to Alaska the best it can be.
I love getting dressed up and we have so few occasions to do it these days. I guess it goes back to playing dress up as a young girl. No matter how wobbly I may have been in my mom’s heels, I still loved walking down the hall in her pumps. (I had to strut my stuff when she wasn’t looking, though… I seem to recall her saying something about me “breaking the insteps.” Sorry, Mom! I have no idea what happened to your shoes!)
I could have been 5 years old again during our formal nights onboard the Crown Princess. When I packed for these two nights, I imagined sashaying across the dining room in my sequined cocktail dress and sparkly heels with all eyes on me and my handsome prince. A real Cinderella story!
The more realistic picture would have included me tripping over the maitre d’ and dribbling au jus down the front of my dress, But, alas, I stayed on my feet and my food actually made it to my mouth. One lady even turned to me and said, “You look so pretty!” It was a magical night, both nights! Except for one thing….
Everyone didn’t dress up! I would say it was about half and half, with a few folks obviously rebelling against the machine in their t-shirt and jeans. I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed for them or feel cheated that the scene was not as pretty as it could have been. I couldn’t help but wonder just where the fashion police were?! Either have a formal night or don’t, right? I know everyone paid the same amount of money to go on this cruise, but if a formal night is required, shouldn’t everyone be required to dress up? I mean, we fit dress shoes, evening bag, a suit and cocktail dress in our luggage! And after the photo op, I’m so glad we did. We haven’t had a formal picture since our wedding.
Regardless, this fairy godmother (I’m really too old to be Cinderella), had a blast. And perhaps…meeting the captain made up for the fashion crimes committed that night.
If you are considering skipping formal night on your next cruise, let me encourage you to get dressed up. It’s so much fun and is a very nice change of pace.
Can you see the fairy dust in our pictures? The ball was magical, our carriage was an ocean liner, but there was no danger of losing my slipper at midnight. We were fast asleep long before that bell tolled.