So we did it!

We booked our very first Princess cruise and we are very excited and thrilled to try a new cruise line! Any tips or advice would be appreciated :-)

What ship, and where are you going? How exciting!

We chose the beautiful Royal and Caribbean! I know the reviews haven't been the best but thats okay because I never listen to reviews I judge for myself ;-)

Congratulations on your booking. We love Princess. Have you joined the Roll Call?

You picked a wonderful ship and cruise. Never listen to reviews here but take them with a grain of salt. You can learn a lot here on CC, but so much about cruising is what you personally make it out to be. A positive attitude makes all the difference. I love Princess because of the décor, the fantastic staff, the food, and the over all experience. They fit me.

Enjoy your cruise.

Congrats and welcome to the Princess family:). I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time; I love the Caribbean itineraries.

We enjoyed the Royal and would never worry about negative reviews, unless they were as bad as the reviews are for the Quantum of the Seas.

Two thirds of the Royal Princess reviews are favorable. Enjoy! :D

Not everything is perfect in every ship. Royal has a few faults, but we have enjoyed 28 days on her & are going for another 10 in October.

Steve & Pete

Congrats on the booking. :)

Look forward to having a wonderful Caribbean cruise on Royal Princess! :D

LuLu

Thanks everyone, we are so excited to try a new line and more in our age group ;-) The reason we wanted something different was because we wanted less children on our cruise. Love children just wanted to relax more and focus more on adults than children. Plus we find Princess goes to great ports other cruise lines don't go to much.

We love the Royal. Happy cruising!

Wonderful, you will love Princess. Being new to Princess, if you were ever in the military there is OBC for you.

We chose the beautiful Royal and Caribbean! I know the reviews haven't been the best but thats okay because I never listen to reviews I judge for myself ;-)

Join your roll call.

Great choice - I love the Royal and Regal (cruised on them both) and you are correct, Princess has some of the best ports and locations. As for the reviews - read enough of them to get a good feel. I had an aft facing balconly and was worried about the soot - and yet, didn't have a problem the entire time. Same with the elevators - just use the fore or aft ones and the wait time is really minimal. Plus, even though they are fairly large ships (passengers) you never really feel crowded as they took a lot of time making sure of the traffic flow and layout.

Have a GREAT cruise and welcome to the Princess boards and family!

We loved the Royal and the Caribbean! You'll have a great time!

The ship is a destination itself! Karen

That is so true. We love Princess and love cruising, but sometimes I read these negative reviews and wonder if I am living in an alternative universe.

We're not heavy drinkers, maybe a couple a day. Take a look at the unlimited soda package. The coffee card is also a good deal. I think the soda package gets you just about all the non-alcoholic drinks and the coffee card gets fifteen of the starbucks coffees. Works well for us.

If you want to splurge, try the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. $50PP but you get a completely served dinner on your balcony. My wife said she'd never felt so pampered in her life. You can find more information on the website and videos on you tube.

Here are some ideas, suggestions, and thoughts...

- The passenger stateroom corridors are all lined with 1000 amazing photographs from contest winners. Take time to enjoy some of them.

- On the last evening of the cruise, all of the different fountain shows play in sequence. It's nice to see if you happened to miss them during the rest of the cruise.

- Make your specialty dinning reservations as soon as you embark and before eating lunch. Go to the venue itself after dropping off your luggage and speak with the Maitre D. It beats waiting on the Dine Line.

- Instead of the Horizon Court for embarkation lunch, head for Alfredo's. All of the food is complimentary, beverages are extra charge. They have an excellent Summer Sangria. Or try a Cuban Sandwich at the International Cafe with the Soup of the Day and some fresh made cookies. All the food at the IC is also complimentary.

- Grab a Chili and Lime Crab Margarita from Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar. It's not a drink, but a margarita glass full of crab meat and avocado. For only 6$ it's a great deal.

- Try a Brownie Blast sundae with Nutella ice cream at Gelato. Yum! Gelato has a lot of wonderful sundaes (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), banana splits, as well as large waffle cones. In the afternoon the reportedly have sweet crepes. Use can use your Cafe Selects Coffee Card here as well to pay for the purchases.

- In the evening, Trident Grill has BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and wings.

- The first showing in the Princess Theater seemed to be the least busy, the 8:30pm showing always the most packed. Get there at least 30 minutes ahead of time for a good seat if going to the later shows.

- Pub Lunch is held twice; on the first full sea day and on the the final sea day. Both had slightly different menus. Get there early if possible, it starts at 11:30am and is held at the Crown Grill and Wheelhouse Bar.

- They still have a Free afternoon tea, but also a special Royal Afternoon Tea held in the seating area of the atrium under Bellini's. It's 10$ per person and uses larger, more upscale finger foods and special blends of teas. I really enjoyed it.

- Speaking of Bellini's, try one, They are delicious!

- Vines is a nice place to relax in the late morning and very early in the afternoon. There are lots of large windows overlooking the ocean.

- There is no wrap around Promenade Deck, but instead there are large seating areas amid ship outside of Crooners/Facets, and aft outside of The Vista Lounge. The aft seating areas have wonderful padded loungers, the ones amid ship has wicker-styled chairs and tables. If you need a place for walking or running, there is a circuit track topside. Seven times around is a mile.

- Try the SeaWalk at least once. It may be gimmicky, but it is a wonderful view forward and aft, and looking down.

- The Horizon Terrace aft of the Horizon Court is a great outdoor place to sit with your food or drink. Try the complimentary chips and salsa that come with your tasty beverage from the Outrigger Bar.

- Don't forget The Pastry Shop at breakfast with fresh made waffles. Or the International Cafe with their version of the Egg McMuffin. There is also a Made to Order Omelet station in the Horizon Court all the way aft on the starboard side.

- Don't miss the bartender shows at the SeaView Bar. Think Tom Cruise from Cocktail.

- The Sun Deck aft of the pool and aft of the Fitness Center has a LOT of loungers if you don't need to be right by the pool.

- The In Stateroom Entertainment System has tons of complimentary movies and TV shows.

Hope this helps! Go and have a GREAT cruise!

:D:D:D

Here's a great thread with lots of food pictures. Don't forget to check out the link in Post #3...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2017216

:D

Wow! Thank you everyone for all the great tips! So nice to be welcomed to a new cruise line :-)

Wow! Thank you everyone for all the great tips! So nice to be welcomed to a new cruise line :-)

Welcome to Princess :)

Buy FCC onboard to use as the deposit for your next cruise :)

Congrats and welcome to the club! You won't regret your decision!