RhondaPerr

On the Royal Princess right now! It is a sea day, and I have escaped to my cabin for some quiet! We have the Fiji Suite, which is as far forward on the ship as you can get! The suite is amazing. I do want to let people know though, some of the amenities listed are not available on the Royal Princess.... Make sure you look at that tiny print.

Embarkation was seamless, we were on the ship at 12 and our suite was ready! We opted to eat lunch in the dining room. Btw this is cruise #32 for me. I think not having a mid stair case is really insane... It definitely makes things harder, but nothing that makes me negative about this ship!

Yesterday we opted not to go to Princess Cays, and instead purchased the day at the Sanctuary. Yes, it is $40.00 pp per day! I like the way they have it set up, very private, so you don't feel like a fish in a fish bowl! You can book it 24 hours in advance, sea days are sold out almost immediately! I did not see a lot of the enclaves being used!

The retreat pool for adults only, was some of the coldest water I have ever felt! You think you are getting used to it, but in truth your body is just going numb lol... We went to the Beatle Maniac Show which was great!!! Not your typical cruise ship show at all! We love the entertainment in the Crooners Lounge!

The food.... The first night my friend told me her Prime Rib was good, but Luke warm. Last night was better! Room service has been excellent, and the breakfast at Sabatinis for Suite Passengers (not mini suites) was incredible! MUTS Saving Mr. Banks...great movie, but we had 20 mile an hour winds, with 20 mph gusts coming across the deck, and it got a bit chilly! The blankets, popcorn and warm cookies were available!

Today we have our Meet and Greet and Cabin Crawl. I have a manicure, and its Formal Night! The show is Colors Of The World. I really like that they have 3 different times, for the same show! The Beatle Maniacs are also doing a brand new show at the Piazza.

I was supposed to get a Birthday Cake the first night, and my waiter keeps forgetting! I am hoping he forgets till the end of the cruise, and way after I am gone lol...I already was sung to at our informal meet and greet!

More later!

Have a great time! We are right behind you on the 13 th!

After much anticipation, today marks the beginning of our Royal Princess cruise. Beginning with Dave’s everything thread and after reading reviews from others including Crusin’ Chris, Neurosurgery NP and Toronto TL we have been awaiting our turn on this new Princess Ship. Really wanted to thank Dave for the great photos of his trip as well, gave us some great insight on what to expect! We live in South Florida so our trip will begin soon as family will be driving us to Port Everglades. We have beautiful weather here today and our extended forecast looks great for Princess Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Usually takes a little more than an hour to get to Ft. Lauderdale, hoping the boarding process goes smoothly!

 

We have a very enthusiastic roll call and have planned a meet and greet this afternoon at sail away. We also have a group excursion in St. Maarten which we are looking forward to as well. Other group activities include the slot pull and cabin crawl. Some of our members have exchanged ideas and information with the April 13 sailing so I know some may be following along. Lastly, one of our members, John (Balcony Bum), had to cancel the cruise recently so we will send our greetings to him and want him to know he will be along with us in spirit! First “live from” for me, will try to post as regular as I can and hopefully I can answer some questions you may have.

 

Ken

Saw it after the fact! :)

Just read that there have been 3 power outages! They did not last long, but there was no propulsion etc... Hope it's all fixed by the 13 th! They got to St Thomas late, and stayed till 8 pm to make up for it !

Where were the hornets???

Although I’m elite we did get priority passes for the tenders in P Cays. We arrived at the re early and were told to sit anywhere. When the time came they announced #’s 1 and two to exit to the starboard side. If you have priority or get these low numbers I recommend sittin on the far side staurant of the restaurant after arriving to be on that first tender. After checking in at the rental booth we were directed to a lamp post across the way to get picked up by golf carts. This dropped us off at the bar by the cabanas and then we were escorted to our cabana.I am glad we spent the extra for the adults only section. We don’t usually cruise during Spring Break. PC was very crowded with the regular cabana area being very noisy with plenty of ‘friends’ sharing the facilities/ lounges. There were hundreds of hornets flying around close to the ground in this area (missing from the private area). The only restrooms for both areas were between #2 and 3. If you plan on spending the whole day I recommend purchasing the picnic lunch package for the extra $25pp. At 12:30 the lines for lunch were still very long. Most of the regular cabanas have shade from mature palm trees except the last 3- no shade whatsoever. The cabanas in the private area have smaller palms that provide shade as well as a shady area just outside the cabana. There is no drinking water available in either area except bottled- so bring your own.

That’s about all I can think of right now.

I had a great time in the Pop Choir :)

I think anyone who has cruised for a long time, noticed the change in the activities on certain lines. When we first started in 1987 the cruise staff never seemed to look at their watches...Now it seems, you could be having so much fun, but at 9 it's over, and by 9:01 it was like it never existed! While I understand there is a schedule, that was something big we noticed! The CD makes all the difference, and we have had some great ones, and then some who were not approachable, clearly impressed with themselves, and barely seen.

We cruise a variety of lines, 33 coming up on the Royal. Honestly although we enjoy most of the shows, there have been very few in the last 10 years that are a Wow! We still laugh at the old classics "If I were not on the Sea". And "Fountains". The ice skating show on Royal was different, but after experiencing it once, I would not miss it... Love the acapello groups, and there have been some fantastic bands, and some of the worst comedy I have ever heard! The food, and the service can make a cruise less enjoyable for me. I can't say the entertainment has ever ruined a cruise for me, but it definitely is more fun when it's good :)

I loved every minute of the Sanctuary. Not having to fight for chairs, not have to stand online for lunch, high tea and goodies brought to us... Cold wash clothes.. Bottled water... Worth every cent, but double the price I struggle with... Guess if there is room, we will make the decision then!

I know they read them. I was asked to participate in a round table discussion several years ago, and some of the topics were based on social media complaints and comments..

So disappointed! It was so nice not to have to fight for chairs. I really can't see paying almost $300 :(

Wow! How disappointing. We did the Sanctuary on our last cruise, and just loved it! Am I reading this right 40 per person??

Lol I was not seeing my posts at all! Some kind of glitch... I think I tried 4 times!

QUOTE=chrysalis;41647531]...and it was you who asked.....LOL...you could have looked up your own questions and the answers....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1987041

Hi,

Lol all of a sudden all my posts appeared...must have been stuck in the glitch :)

Hi,

Is luggage Valet available? Any issues with debarkation in terms of taking insane amount of time? Is there a soda package? Pop choir new songs?

Thanks

Geez! 3 rd attempt to post today! Is there luggage valet? Any issues with dembarkation as far as wait times through the lines? Is there a soda package? Pop choir new songs? Any mosquito issues in St Maartin?

32 cruises and still read and am grateful for all the info :)

Hmm my post never appeared... A few questions about Royal... Is luggage valet service available, where you put the luggage out the night before and do not see it again till you get to your home airport? Did they have a soda package? Pop Choir new songs? Was there any issues with debarkation as far as enough workers to get people through immigration? Any issues with Mosquitos in St Maartin?

Thanks even after 32 cruises, I still read all the reviews :)

Hi,

Just a few questions for our cruise in April. Do they have luggage valet, where you don't see your luggage until after you arrive to your home airport? ( putting it out the night before)

Have there been any issues with debarkation not running smoothly.. ( lack of immigration workers)? Is there a soda package? Pop Choir songs change?

Thanks!

Btw even after 32 cruises, I read and appreciate all the reviews :)

Loved your review, and even more excited about my upcoming cruise.

I want to say the earliest was 11:30 am, but will not sware to it!

We will be on the Reflection and were considering this because of an 11 am flight. It would keep us from carrying off our own luggage. We are flying American Airlines.

Do you think 11 am is too early for the luggage valet? I will ask on our first day for sure.

Have called Celebrity 3 times, and each time have received a different answer about the availibility of the valet service. I am glad to hear the Reflection does have it!

We had an officer at our table. He was the doctor, a lovely person from Norway. The first night he sat with us, he told our table that if he was ever late to dinner he would buy the table champagne. My husband was playing basketball one afternoon and came down hard on his ankle which promptly swelled up.... So off to the doctor we had to go, and made him late for dinner...As promised he bought a bottle.... The next day my limping husband was walking on the Promenade deck, it was wet, he went to slip, caught himself and in the process, caught his fist in my mouth... Off we went to the doctor, he was late for dinner, and he bought the table a bottle. The next day our tablemate got severe sun poisoning....off he went to the doctor, the doctor was late for dinner...and he bought the table a bottle....Soooo the last night of the cruise we all bought him bottles of champagne!

I also remember it rocking and rolling so badly, and we had an inside cabin...that our whole floor was getting dressed in the hallway...make-up, ties etc..because being in the cabin would make you feel sick..

We were hooked...forever!

Our First Cruise and despite the fact we were rolling so badly, it will always be my favorite. The nicest crew I have ever encountered, and so intimate. I don't know what I did with my photo albums from that time period, but while I am off for the summer I will look!