This past May, Princess Cruises launched the newest of 16 ships in its fleet: the Royal Princess, with 355 staterooms – most with their own balconies – fresh-water swimming pools, a casino, exciting nightspots and shows, and a library with over 4,000 titles. Best of all, cruise-goers can enjoy 12-day sailings to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

With thousands of guests traveling on the Princess ships each month, a polished and professional look is required to maintain the unique look the company aspires to.

“At Princess Cruises, we prefer to go for a distinctive look that, for our passengers, allows easy recognition of the various departments at a glance,” says Trevor Flynn, director of housekeeping for Princess Cruises.
Color plays a large part in defining the various departments onboard. For example, dining personnel predominantly wear tops and jackets in olive green, while housekeeping wears burgundy. Passengers stopping in the bars become familiar with the staff’s emerald green uniforms.  

Uniform colors are used to differentiate and identify staff, such as the emerald green worn by bar stewards. But wardrobes also reflect the responsibilities of crew members as well as destination and climate.

Employees are also outfitted with name tags. “The company logo is present on each crew members’ name badge, which is worn at all times,” explains Flynn. “The only exceptions are where badges and pins should not be worn for safety reasons, or if they are for the less visible staff, such as in the galley areas. In those areas, the company logo is embroidered on the left breast position of the uniform.”

A few additional exceptions do apply. The Captain’s Circle jacket, for example, does have an embroidered Captain’s Circle logo, while hosts wear their name badge and a Princess logoed pin.

Fabric composition differs according to job function requirements.

Photo managers wear a standard jacket during the day, but a slightly more
formal double-breasted version for
dinners or other special occasions.

“Cotton, rather than man-made, is used for technical crew from both a comfort and safety perspective, whereas in hotel areas, you are more likely to see a blended composition,” Flynn notes. “This helps to maximize presentation, comfort and performance over time.”

While the bar stewards can be found wearing jackets made from a 75% polyester/25% wool blend (a common material mix for many of the employees’ standard jackets), technical crews might be found outfitted in fabrics that offer more flexibility and have stay-cool features.

Uniforms also vary depending on the destination of the ship and climate conditions. While the bar staff may don khakis and short-sleeve tropical camp shirts, those same uniforms are swapped out on cruises to Alaska, when the wardrobe includes black pants, green multi-colored vests and long-sleeved white oxford shirts. Flynn says this uniform is created to maintain a professional, yet “festive” appearance.

While chefwear is typical in the back of the house, wait staff on board often dress according to theme of their dining area.

Another uniform design on the ships is that of the dining staff. Each of the specialty dining rooms showcase themed outfits. Costumes can vary from a traditional French look to a classic Italian uniform.  

As for pants versus skirts, typically, the female employees wear skirts, according to Flynn, with exceptions for shore excursion staff in cooler destinations, such as Alaska.

Officers wear a more traditional officer uniform complete with epaulettes. This uniform does not differ from one vessel to another.

When it comes to cleaning such a wide variety of uniforms made from so many different types of materials, the cruise line likes to keep it simple. “Princess is pleased to offer all crew members a complimentary uniform laundry service,” says Flynn. “It’s our commitment to ensure that our uniforms are immaculate at all times.”

Susie Bramhall is a contributing writer for Uniforms.