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We're in a Caribe Balcony room on the Ruby next week, can't wait. Any chance someone could post a photo of the fabled balcony? Thanks

We have our drink package for the 4-day... We were not expecting that . Nice!

 

Off to enjoy the suite life! (We are suite newbies)

 

I appreciate this board and everyone who takes their time to answer all the questions!

 

 

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Very timely good news, thanks a lot. We're boarding the Ruby on the 29th for a 5 dayer.

There are conflicting reports on the Board right now where people are reporting that, quite uncharacteristically, Princess personnel are quoting contradictory policies on different ships regarding the requirement for both adults in a room to have to buy the package. Some ship's crew are telling people it IS required, while crew on other ships are saying NO, both parties do NOT have to buy the package. What's the Ruby's crew telling people right now?

We're on the Royal now. Heard from a bartender last night and just confirmed with Passenger Services:

 

Starting with this cruise, if you want to buy the $49/day unlimited drink package, it is NO LONGER REQUIRED that all of the adults in your stateroom buy the package! I know this will make a lot of you very happy!

+2 on this being great news. Thanks for the confirmation. I understand that another benefit of this package is a discount of 40% on certain bottles of wine. If I take the package and my wife doesn't (I'll definitley get my money's worth @$50/day but she won't come close), how would this 40% discount work over dinner? Is she "legally" allowed to partake of my bottle, or will we have to buy her individual glasses on her own? We'll normally be buying her drinks a la carte, but this by-the-bottle over dinner question has me wondering.

This will not be a live thread as we will not have internet. Boarding was super easy drove up at1230 and was on the boat by 1250 including parking the car. Went to lunch in dining room, we asked what dining room it was in and was directed to the buffet. I then asked about sit down lunch and was told it ended at 1130, I asked isn't there one till 130 and was directed where to go. When we got there there was only 10 people inside, we ate a perfect lunch. For those that it interests the ruby now has the unlimited alcohol for 49.

Thanks for confirming the availability of the new drink package, we're on the Ruby in three weeks. Do you happen to know if they insist that both parties in a room have to buy in? I've heard both yes and no on other ships.

Is there one available ?

Very timely question for us, as well. We're boarding the Ruby on the 29 March sailing, does anyone have any current intel on whether the package has been, or would be, rolled out on the Ruby for its 5 day trips, or is it only for 7+ day trips?

Does anyone know what the cost is to rent the cabanas on the Royal? Is this done once you board the ship? TIA

On our Nov sailing, if memory serves me, the Retreat Cabanas were $80 for the day, $50 for a half day. Booking only on the ship. Keep in mind the cabanas in the Retreat area are little more than the typical backyard roofed cabana, with nicer loungers, but virtually no side wall coverage. Every time we walked past them, the sun was baking down on the loungers, so don't bother if you are looking for shade. Also, little or no privacy since the wall curtains don't close.

The Sanctuary cabanas are a whole different experience and run $130 a day.

The OP is on the Royal and there are outlets on both sides of the desk, one with just a 3-prong, one with both a 3-prong and UK outlet:

 

Good photo. The outlet on the right is the one is the one we had trouble plugging in to, due to its proximity to the light switch right next to it. It couldn't make a full connection with some bigger plugs due to the raised rocker switch preventing full insertion of the plug

I tried to find this by searching and by looking at photos without success. I would like to know how many and location of electrical plugs in the regular configuration mini suites on the Royal Princess. My husband uses a c-pap and I would like to know how far away the nearest plus to the bed is and if there is more than 1 plug for my electronics. I can bring an extention cord if need be, but I'd rather leave it at home.

 

In the pictures I can see a plug on the right hand side of the desk but can't tell if there is another one on the left hand side. Or any near the bed.

We were in a Riviera Deck Mini on the Royal last month. In our room, there were two North American outlets, one on either side of the desk. I do, however, remember that the RH outlet was a bit problematic to use with a three prong plug, as it was a very "skinny" plug, placed right beside a rocker switch for the light. I couldn't plug in a three prong plug very easily, only a non-grounded two-prong, due to interference from the raised light switch. It struck me at the time as a rather dumb idea, modularity done wrong. In any case, the LH desk plug would be closer to the bed, though still across the room.

There are probably plugs by each nightstand as well, as there are table lamps there, but I can't speak to how useable they may be, as we never looked

Have a great cruise, you're going to love the Royal. What an utterly SPECTACULAR boat ;o)

Just Checked. Its 2.3 miles.

Not the most pleasant street to walk beside - 17th is a major arterial.

The address is: 1215 Se 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale.

 

I'd get a cab from the airport and ask him to stop, or just pay the fee at a US ATM.

Not sure what the 2.3 miles refers to. The TD Bank with the Green Machine is .4 miles/2500 ft up 17th from the Renaissance, about the same distance you'd walk to Total Wines, and about the same distance to Pier 2.

In any case, you can easily see exactly what 17th looks like from Google Street View

Have a great cruise

Staying at the Renaissance for 2 nights prior to our cruise on the Royal. Does anyone know of a bank within walking distance of the hotel? We are from Canada and my friend needs to get some US cash.

We stayed at the Renaissance ourselves a few weeks ago, before our trip on the Royal. There's a TD bank a few minutes walk west on 17th, on the same side of the street. It's pretty much right across from the Embassy Suites, easy to find on Google Maps

Can someone please post the Patters from ft. Lauderdale sailings on the Royal?

Thanks kindly, Anita

I've scanned and Flickr'd all six Patters from our Nov 10 Eastern Caribbean sailing out of FLL. I scanned them as JPGs, rather than PDF for ease of viewing, but they're hi-res so they should read quite well.

Pls let me know if I cocked something up and the link doesn't work, I don't use Flickr much. ;o)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/110323674@N02/

Happy reading...

Jeff

Hi everyone,

 

We are on The Royal in Jan 2014, and as I have done in the past, I will buy a weekly soda and coffee card. I have been going through the posts on the forum, and have seen postings mentioning wine packages. Are weekly wine packages available for purchase too?

 

Thanks all.

On our Nov 10 week on the Royal, I was told by a crew member that no wine packages were available.

What is this area?[ATTACH]294454[/ATTACH]

I believe it's referred to on the Deck Plan as a "Teen Open Area" on Deck 17, port side. We noticed it was usually filled with adults despite the signs on the doors saying kids only. Mind you, on our Nov 10 trip, there weren't more than a few teenagers on the entire boat anyway

 

The large detailed model of Royal Princess available for sale in the ships store, what is your impression of the workmanship? Is it up to the standards of Maritime Replicas, or more generic and simpler? The picture of the display model shows it to almost look like a cardboard put together.

 

7 Days and Counting! :D

There were at least two Royal Princess models for sale in the main gift shop Calypso Cove, and another one that I think was a key chain. I was looking to buy the largest one, which was maybe 10" long, $40, but I passed on it. It looked to be cheap molded plastic, though solid and reasonably heavy. What sunk it for me was the hopeless, downright abysmal paint job. The horizontal blue lines along the sides, meant to represent the blue balcony glass, was very poorly laid down with a brush by some poor overworked Chinese factory worker who was under orders to paint hundreds per hour, and the workmanship, or lack thereof, in the wavy paint job really showed.

They did have a pure crystal model, much heavier and about 6" long for $80, and looked quite nice, though without any color.

I did notice some display cases around the ship, including inside the store, with what appeared to be much better quality models, but it wasn't clear if those are for sale or not, as I never noticed prices. You'll notice them easily as you walk around this gorgeous ship

More people, more devices, same bandwidth available as on smaller ships.

Not sure if this has been pointed out before, but a small notice in some of the Patters, from the 11/10 voyage, held out some hope :

"During this cruise, you may notice a technical team installing cabling. The technicians are installing extra wireless access points throughout the ship, which in turn, will help improve wi-fi access. We apologize for any inconvenience..."

We never did see the techs (the way we saw the infamous film crew ;o), but the wi-fi service WAS particularly bad.

I did receive an email prior to our Royal cruise letting me know there would be a film crew on board. They were filming the life of a cruise passenger ans cruise crew member. What they didn't tell us was that there would be a very loud and disruptive helicopter following us (taking video) for about the first hour or 2 when we left Port Everglades. The pilot was flying so low at times I thought he would hit the water.

"...disruptive..." ? Many of us loved the helicopter, found it a great addition to the sail-out and didn't find it disruptive at all. Maybe you thought he would hit the water, but, as a pilot myself, I can guarantee you that HE didn't think he would hit the water. Anyone qualified to fly an MD500 as a camera ship knows what he or she is doing, and this guy knew what he was doing.

Different strokes for different folks, remember.

I did see the footage from the helicopter in FLL, I will see if I can dig it out.

 

ITN and Channel 4 are making a documentary about cruising, they were aboard the Ruby around the Greek Isles when we were on it earlier this year.

Thanks Mike. Is this documentary Princess-specific, or are other lines featured as well? And is it just an hour-long show, I was under the impression it was to be something of a series?

Weird eh? What we thought would be an easy fix apparently isn't.

Is it not possible that the restrictions to passengers using the mid-ship stairs aren't a "design flaw" at all, but a conscious design decision based on an operational requirement. Could it not be possible that Princess NEEDS the central stairs to be used by and for the crew only, and can't have them open to all? I know on some ships they are open, but on others they aren't. Yes, opening those stairs would be an easy fix, but perhaps Princess can't do it.

We also should keep in mind that not all the "design flaws" on the Royal are flaws for everyone. I'm quite sure there are lot of folks like my wife and I who couldn't care less about a missing Promenade Deck (always struck us as a windy, nasty place, easily replaced by a myriad of other alternatives for walking around the ship).

The Royal is now our favorite Princess ship by a mile, and I'm almost dreading the letdown we'll feel next March, going back to our previous favorite, the Ruby ;o)

OP, thank you for the review. I think the consensus on the new gimmicks (Sea Walk and Fountain show) is that they are misses and not close to being hits. Not many have posted about the fondue place, crabshack, and other alternative dining options. Maybe passengers don't see value there. It is good to read about Alfredo's though. The most troubling things that I have read lately in reviews relate to lackluster service in dining rooms. Are these the Anytime Rooms or the fixed time rooms?

 

Also, I guess the first thing I will do on board next summer is to book the Enclave for the voyage. In the past, the first things we have done was sign up for Chef's Table and other specialty dining. No CT for us next summer, but we will sign up for Winemakers Dinner, Crown Grill (maybe twice) and Sabatini's. My wife will usually sign up for her gym classes as well.

Based on our week on the Royal, while we had numerous service lapses in our time on board, many more than on previous cruises, I don't believe it was due to staff not being interested in serving, or being slow or lazy, it seemed more of a confusion and inefficiency thing. We were lead to believe that a BIG crew change had just happened, and that may explain some of the lower than usual service levels, but they were always unfailingly friendly and helpful, even while being befuddled and confused. If many or most of them were very new to the ship, and the ship's layout and processes are very different from the other ships they worked, that too could explain some of the problems

And unfortunately, the service lapses were NOT restricted to the Dining Rooms (The few times we used a Dining Room, it was the Symphony). We had a particularly unfortunate experience in Sabatini's one night, with a hopelessly friendly and initially attentive waiter virtually disappearing for the second half of our meal, despite seeming to be very busy with other paying guests. I do, though, prefer to re-fill my own wine glass, so I wasn't going to bother flagging him down ;o). Similar problems in the Crown Grill for one of the Pub Lunches

Hi All

 

Lets look at the aft pool

 

With enough money and time anything is possible,

 

however what we are talking about costs lots money, and removes money making cabins,

 

so why do it, only reason is to to fill the ship, if by not having an aft pool Princess is having problems selling out the ship at the price they want

 

so if we are seeing discount prices just now to fill the ships, we will not see same low prices if an aft pool is constructed,

 

time, we know ships yards can preform the impossible in weeks just look at the Grand re model, but launch of Regal has been brought forward, would you want to do this if undertaking a big change,

 

while it is possible and they have the P&O ship plans to work to,

 

my guess we will see aft pool and other major changes on Royal class ship number three

 

will we see major changes on the Regal will believe it when Princess tells me, might just ask them tomorrow,

 

PS those on the Royal just now why have they not told us about the TV crew onboard or did they and I just missed it.

 

yours Shogun

Re your PS, yes the film crew was everywhere on the Royal last week. Saw them many times, general filming, interviewing passengers (watch for the guy in the kilt from the last Formal night), and following Captain Tony around on a walkabout.

Saw them in a powerboat in St Thomas buzzing around the ship for some exterior shots. I had also heard about them using helicopters, and an MD500 was circling the ship for quite a while as we left FLL, which I assumed was filming the departure, but I overheard a waiter tell a passenger that it was for "security reasons". Still, I'm pretty sure I saw the guy hanging out the door holding a video camera.

I was told that the filming is for an (ITN?) documentary which will show in the UK next summer. Does anyone know more about this, and when would copies be available for purchase in North America. Talk about an amazing holiday souvenir.

Are the showers on the Royal slippery? I ask because years ago when I was last on a Princess cruise, I brought a small plastic shower matt from 99 cent store for the shower--- cruisecritic people recommended-- plus a couple of clothes pins for the curtain. This was an excellent tip at the time.

 

Anyway, just wondering if this is necessary for the new Royal ship.

The shower (tub, actually) in our mini last week, was VERY slippery. I was thankful a few times for the grab bars. However, Princess is kind enough to supply a rubber mat for the tub floor, the kind with all the little suction cups. It's kept rolled up and stored on the shelf under the sink. I used it every day.

I would hope that one is supplied in all cabins, but I can only confirm for the minis.

Are these wine packages available on a ship by ship basis? I've been looking through the celebrations catalog and am not finding anything on wine (beer, soda, coffee, etc. and wine for purchase by individual bottles). I'd definitely be interested in a wine package, just didn't know they were available.

 

Thanks for any info.

FWIW, we asked on embarkation and were told there was no Wine Package available on the Royal's 7 day Caribbean last week.

On the Royal's T/A, the Retreat pool area was very windy quite a few days. If the hot tub was bubbling, the wind took the water and wet down the walkway and loungers in it's path. At the same time, the Sanctuary was a bit breezy, not windy, and was relatively calm. The cabanas around the Retreat pool were never booked whenever I walked past or was there. You'd have to enclose yourself to block off the wind and IMHO, why spend all that money to be in a hot, stuffy tent (which is what it essentially is.)

Perhaps the North Atlantic in October isn't very conducive to lounging around a pool area anyway, so that may have had something to do with the lack of activity in the Retreat cabanas? On our Caribbean sailing last week, the cabanas were very busy and popular. I can't say they were 100% booked at all times, but whenever we walked by they sure looked busy

The Retreat cabanas, which are pretty much like those ubiquitous backyard tents with fabric roofs and open sliding curtain sides, can't be enclosed to block out wind or sun anyway. The sides are on tracks and only close about a foot or so. The walls can't come close to be completely closed. They did little to block out the hammering sun, so that's why we never bothered with one.

The day we spent in the Sanctuary was largely wind-free, certainly not very noticeable or troublesome. Same for the Retreat when we passed through. On our sailing, a few days saw winds of 20+ knots per the weather report from the bridge, so coupled with the ship's own 15 kts or so, wind is always going to be a factor.

But I agree, aft would be a better location for areas like these.

Just got off of Royal and Cabin M103 (front of ship above Bridge) was great. Used balcony even at sea! Balcony big compare to others (10' x 9'.) You can use unless you are in a storm or very high winds. Ship is beautiful. Some minor complaints:

1. Getting on was very long.

2. No shade on pool deck and Retreat pool.

3. When will Princess replace the shower curtains with shower doors?

4. Why not allow passengers to view Charges on TV rather than signing in to another web site, even though it is frew?

Just having spent a week on board as you did, I'm not sure I'd agree with the finality of the blanket generalization that there's no shade in the Retreat or pool area. The ship moves relative to the sun, the sun moves overhead, but there were always shaded areas in either location, typically outboard and not immediately around the pool. Apologies for the small JPG attached, but note all the shaded loungers to the right. Due to the crowds, there may not have been many shaded loungers available, I agree, and there could be MORE shaded areas. And on the pool deck, the seating that was always shaded were tables, chairs, and sofas, and lots of them.

Agree, embarkation was lengthy. We arrived at 10:30, and not being Platinum or Elite, weren't allowed on board until 12:15. At least 30 minutes of that was spent outside in line in the noisy, stinky bus area, going from the shuttle to check-in, and the rest was sitting in the waiting room for our boarding group to be called. If you're in a hurry to board,as we were in our futile attempt to grab the Sanctuary, make sure you watch for your group being called, they don't actually call them out; we pretty much had to be mind readers to know that they were letting Group 2 board, as the only indication was one of the boarding agents silently holding up a small Group 2 card. There are multiple, angular waiting room areas, and we could have easily missed it. On the whole, the check-in process is something that should be relatively easy to improve, let's hope Princess gets the message. The actual check-in was pretty quick, and the gentleman booking us in was a real hoot. Another true credit to the Princess name.

On our cruise on the Caribbean Princess last year we did the get up early and be in line to book for "that same day". Just to be clear, are you saying on the Royal we need to be in line early in the morning for the "next day" reservations?

Thanks again for such a great review.

You're quite welcome, thanks for the kind words.

Yes, on the Nov 10 sailing of the Royal out of FLL, the Sanctuary was taking reservations every day FOR THE NEXT DAY. So when we raced up on embarkation day, and found the full week bookings were long gone, we were able to book for the next day, as there were still a very few spots left. Anyone who went up early the next day to try and get slots for that day were disappointed

It was confusing for all of us, and the staff, despite being very friendly and helpful, didn't really explain why the new policy was put in place, or how stable and long-lasting it would be

...and I'm sure NOT going to promise they won't change it back to the "old" way ;o( All I can say is race up there as soon as you board and find out what the policy is. If you are Platinum or Elite, you'll have a great head start. As I mentioned, the Maitre'd, a very helpful and true gentleman, also told us he was very surprised at how early the line was forming each morning to book for the next day.