P&O Cruises has told passengers not to wear certain clothes in some restaurants after a traveler said he was turned away from one venue for wearing formal shorts and a smart tailored shirt.
Duncan raised the complaint on X, saying he had been refused entry while other guests in shorter skirts were allowed in. P&O Cruises replied that smart shorts are not permitted in certain restaurants on board and that a suit with jacket and tie is required on formal nights in the main restaurant and other venues.
The exchange drew attention because the cruise line has detailed rules for what guests can wear at different times of day and on different evenings. On its website, P&O Cruises says passengers should follow a smart casual dress code in public areas and restaurants, with tailored shorts allowed on evening casual nights in the buffet, The Beach House and The Glass House, as well as 6th Street Diner, The Olive Grove and The Keel and Cow on Arvia and Iona. It says tailored shorts cannot be worn for Black Tie or Celebration Nights except in the buffet.
P&O Cruises also says denim, including dark denim, is not allowed on Black Tie and Celebration Nights except in venues with an Evening Casual dress code. For those more formal nights, the line says a dinner jacket or tuxedo is ideal for Black Tie, though a dark suit and tie is also acceptable for men, while women may wear an evening gown or cocktail dress. Celebration nights are described by the company as special evenings with more formal dining and entertainment, and most venues will have a dress code.
The guidance is not limited to evening wear. P&O Cruises says passengers should wear shoes when they are not by the pool and that pool wear is not allowed in lounges, inside bars, restaurants or reception. It also advises guests to dress with their destination in mind when leaving the ship for excursions.
The line says the rules vary depending on the night and that details can be found in the daily Horizon in each cabin or on My P&O Cruises under the Your Itinerary section before sailing. That matters because the same ship can have different expectations from one night to the next, and the company is making clear that formalwear rules are not optional in certain venues.
The row is the latest reminder that cruise dress codes can be as closely policed as table assignments. It also echoes another recent passenger dispute over onboard rules, including a separate P&o Cruise lounger row as 30-minute towel rule divides passengers, showing how small everyday policies can become big talking points once they are enforced in public.
For Duncan, the issue is straightforward: he believed his outfit fit the setting, but the cruise line said it did not. For passengers boarding future sailings, the message is equally plain: check the night’s dress code before dinner, because on P&O Cruises, what is acceptable in one restaurant may be turned away in another.
