Royal Princess design: badly solsticized

[cruisetrail]

I would really, really like to know the exact dimensions for the Royal Princess, specifically the beam (the width). The Celebrity S-class ships are 3 feet wider than the Grand-class ships (save for the Diamond/Sapphire which are 5 feet wider). Maybe one of the reasons for the reduced number of pools is because the ship is tall and narrow. Pools are, by their nature, heavy and not very stable. Other ships in the Royal's size range have only 3 or 4 pools... I guess what I'm saying is that some of the "signature" Princess exterior features may have been precluded by the ship's size... the flying bridge wings, the extra pools, Skywalkers, etc.

 

And I do agree with much of what bdjam said, but I do want to point out that of the ships mentioned, only the original Royal Princess was designed by Princess. The original Crown and Regal Princesses were actually designed by Sitmar. And it is true that the Sun-class and Grand-class have a style all their own and folks that are familiar with cruise ships know instantly that they are Princess ships. I prefer to reserve my judgement until I can see an actual ship on the water...

 

I can agree to some extent about Skywalkers.

 

Pools.

Why look at cheap party ships and floating casinos.

Look at the QM2 or RCI Freedom class.

Yes, RCI ships are 10% larger in tonnage but they have 4 pools and the flowrider. Princess Grand-class has 4 pools.

I think the number of pools is more related to the design quality rather than the ship size.

 

There is nothing to justify the lack of promenade deck, absence of the front observation deck with or without flying wings, lifeboats placement in front of the balconies other than miserable design.

 

It looks like the Royal Princess design team deliberately sourced the worst they can find on lower class ships.

They don't seem to think classy. They don't seem to think Princess.

If I were in charge I would fire the design team immediately and do what is possible to humanize the Royal Princess while in the shipyard.

Then urgent design changes to princessize the Princess future ships would follow.

[bdjam]

And I do agree with much of what bdjam said, but I do want to point out that of the ships mentioned, only the original Royal Princess was designed by Princess. The original Crown and Regal Princesses were actually designed by Sitmar. And it is true that the Sun-class and Grand-class have a style all their own and folks that are familiar with cruise ships know instantly that they are Princess ships. I prefer to reserve my judgement until I can see an actual ship on the water...

 

Thanks for the agreement. Actually Royal Princess 1 was designed by Princess in tandem with Wartsila, who also used the plans as a basis of the first Crystal ships. It doesn't matter that they were designed by other entities, they started the tradition of Princess having distinctive looking ships (Star Princess 1 was another - originally designed by Sitmar but with a distinctive look).

 

Agree with everything you've said, Mr. 'jam.

 

 

 

And I'll add that space ratio is just a number in isolation. It means nothing if the "space" isn't usable or appealing. For example, that atrium sure looks more wide open and airy than on the Grand-class, but I can't exactly hover in mid-air and use all that space! Nor am I interested in a candy shop or a separate gelateria or even an extra Horizon Court dessert venue. Those things don't trump an aft pool and lots of open deck space to enjoy, in my opinion. Princess may think they're giving us what we want; I just wouldn't have thought more food venues was that thing. (New slogan: Escape Completely to Your Fat Pants. . . . )

 

And thank you for the agreement - and I agree with you - I would prefer a nice aft facing pool over a huge empty space in the atrium or a pastry shop.

[Di Princess]

Captain Tony Draper will lead the senior officer team aboard the new Royal Princess.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (July 25, 2012) – When the new Royal Princess launches in June 2013, Captain Tony Draper will be at the helm of Princess Cruises’ newest vessel, leading a senior officer team with more than 100 years of seagoing experience among them. The senior four-stripe team will also include Relief Captain Dino Sagani, Chief Engineer Fabio Braccelli, Hotel General Manager Dirk Brand, and Staff Captain Tim Stringer.

The 3,600-passenger Royal Princess is a new-generation ship currently under construction in Italy that will debut a number of new features for Princess, including a dramatic over-water SeaWalk, a 50 percent larger atrium, a new Princess Live! television studio, and balconies on all outside staterooms.

“It takes a talented team to launch a new ship of the caliber of Royal Princess,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “These experienced officers bring considerable seagoing and management skills that we believe will contribute to the success of the ship’s maiden season.”

Captain Tony Draper has been in command of a number of the company’s vessels since 2006, including Ruby Princess, Crown Princess, Caribbean Princess, Dawn Princess, Sun Princess and Coral Princess, as well as ships for sister companies P&O Australia and Cunard. Draper began his seagoing career with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service – the UK’s civilian manned supply and logistics division of the Royal Navy. After gaining his Masters Certificate in 1994, he also pursued a lifelong interest in aviation, gaining a UK commercial pilot’s license in the same year. In 1995, he joined Princess Cruises as navigator of the original Island Princess. It was on this ship, one of the original Love Boats, that he met his wife, Joanna. Originally from Scotland, Captain Draper now lives in Cornwall, UK with his wife and young daughter, Alysia.

[caribill]

- I would prefer a nice aft facing pool over a huge empty space in the atrium or a pastry shop.

 

And yet many people complain that the atrium on existing Princess ships is much too crowded at times. Looks as if Princess was reacting to that since the new Royal will have even more passengers than existing ships.

[cruisetrail]

And yet many people complain that the atrium on existing Princess ships is much too crowded at times. Looks as if Princess was reacting to that since the new Royal will have even more passengers than existing ships.

 

I will love the new atrium.

But why ruin many other Princess signature features?

[bdjam]

And yet many people complain that the atrium on existing Princess ships is much too crowded at times. Looks as if Princess was reacting to that since the new Royal will have even more passengers than existing ships.

 

And I guess in reality I was supposing that there shouldn't have to be a trade off between a larger atrium and a pool.

[TorontoTL]

I love spending time in the Piazza of the ships, I'm quite glad that it is going to be a larger space and have more room for seating and tables. The current Piazzas are on the small side for the number of passengers. The Piazza concept has been quite a success for Princess. I think it's great that they're expanding the concept.

[lovevacadays]

I love spending time in the Piazza of the ships, I'm quite glad that it is going to be a larger space and have more room for seating and tables. The current Piazzas are on the small side for the number of passengers. The Piazza concept has been quite a success for Princess. I think it's great that they're expanding the concept.

 

I agree. And, I'm ok without an aft pool as long as there is an aft deck that you can sit.

[pris993]

Just received Princess' European book, with full floor plans for the Royal. When I look at in total, what I see is a very large floating hotel, it is all cabins and not much else. We will eventually try it when we find an itinerary we want to do. We really enjoyed the Ruby with Sabatini's and disco at the top of the ship. We may stick with the Ruby.

 

Converting the pool deck to a dance area in the evening seems a bit odd. Reminds me of when the Grand was first built and the Captain's Welcome Aboard cocktail part was held around the pool. We thought that was odd too. Who wants to be at the pool in dressy clothes, where folks have been sitting around with suntan oil all day?

 

We are going on the Star in September, will be interesting to hear what is being said while on board Princess.

 

So far we are no impressed.

[Woobstr112G]

I'm a little puzzled:confused: Everyone is basically saying no, I won't sail, it's terrible, etc when nobody has set one foot on the ship. I for one am looking forward to a brand new design from Princess and will hold whatever I find I don't like, till I actually sail on her and experience it first hand.....

Bob

[Cruise Junky]

I'm a little puzzled:confused: Everyone is basically saying no, I won't sail, it's terrible, etc when nobody has set one foot on the ship. I for one am looking forward to a brand new design from Princess and will hold whatever I find I don't like, till I actually sail on her and experience it first hand.....

Bob

 

Honestly, I can't read this garbage anymore. She's not even built and the whining is out of control. There are a lot of people who couldn't care less about a promenade deck - complete waste of space. So glad that Royal is different and not another cookie cutter Princess ship. And by the way she's selling, a lot of people agree. Must suck going through each day being so negative.

[hubofhockey]

I'm a little puzzled:confused: Everyone is basically saying no, I won't sail, it's terrible, etc when nobody has set one foot on the ship. I for one am looking forward to a brand new design from Princess and will hold whatever I find I don't like, till I actually sail on her and experience it first hand.....

Bob

 

Before they even announced that this would be a big ship, so many complained because they wanted a small ship. If people want to sail on a ship like the Ruby, they should just book the Ruby or any of the several clones it has. How many more clones do people want? I'd love to try something new. But we've done the Grand Med already and aren't crazy about the Caribbean.

[RickEk]

I'm a little puzzled:confused: Everyone is basically saying no, I won't sail, it's terrible, etc when nobody has set one foot on the ship. I for one am looking forward to a brand new design from Princess and will hold whatever I find I don't like, till I actually sail on her and experience it first hand.....

Bob

 

Honestly, I can't read this garbage anymore. She's not even built and the whining is out of control. There are a lot of people who couldn't care less about a promenade deck - complete waste of space. So glad that Royal is different and not another cookie cutter Princess ship. And by the way she's selling, a lot of people agree. Must suck going through each day being so negative.

 

Before they even announced that this would be a big ship, so many complained because they wanted a small ship. If people want to sail on a ship like the Ruby, they should just book the Ruby or any of the several clones it has. How many more clones do people want? I'd love to try something new. But we've done the Grand Med already and aren't crazy about the Caribbean.

 

Well said... I, for one, am glad that it won't be another Grand-class clone. Sure, they could have done the same basic design again, only bigger, but I'm glad that they have changed gears and are trying something different. I do look forward to sailing on her.

[billco]

Well said... I, for one, am glad that it won't be another Grand-class clone. Sure, they could have done the same basic design again, only bigger, but I'm glad that they have changed gears and are trying something different. I do look forward to sailing on her.

I agree. I think next year's maiden TA and Caribbean cruises have the potential of being the most amazing cruises I have ever been on.

[hubofhockey]

Great move is getting rid of Skywalkers and adding in the Sea Walk. Dan Styne, our most recent cruise director, refers to Skywalkers as that huge structure on top of the ship that everyone avoids.

[kkorman]

I can only laugh at these comments. Why does everyone think that what their preferences are is what most people want? Sounds like there are plenty of options available to you for what you think is important. I am happy they are making changes because the Princess product has gotten tired, predictable, and boring... And if you think that Princess is competing with Celebrity... This is a good move because I love the Celebrity product and I will give Royal a try before any other Princess ship.

[san diego sue]

There are enough of us that are so excited about the new ship design that the first transatlantic has been sold out for months. Many of us booked the first day it opened for sale. For the people that are negative,

please stay away so we can always book our favorite cabins.

I am excited that the ship will be different. It is beginning to get

boring on all the Princess ships where everything is exactly the same.

I have been on the really large ships on other lines. Never felt the larger passenger count because there were so many places to go on the ship.:D

[cruisetrail]

I am excited that the ship will be different.

 

It's not necessary to disfigure Princess if you want to make a new ship different.

 

This is how Royal Caribbean fleet grows - traditions and key features are maintained. Improvements, novelties are added.

 

This is obviously not the case with Princess.

[pris993]

Just because it is new does not make it better.. I was hoping Princess would come up with something new and exciting. I would like something better than the Grand class.

 

Hope all of you who have booked the Royal really enjoy it.

 

We tried the new Celebrity ship design twice, just does not cut it for us.

 

Somethings work and somethings don't.

 

There are a lot of options out there.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I'm a little puzzled:confused: Everyone is basically saying no, I won't sail, it's terrible, etc when nobody has set one foot on the ship. I for one am looking forward to a brand new design from Princess and will hold whatever I find I don't like, till I actually sail on her and experience it first hand.....

 

Bob

 

Well said Bob! The naysayers on this thread do have a choice... Not sail on the Royal Princess or cruise on another line since they are so unhappy with the building of the Royal. A lot of the cruises, including the Transatlantic, have been sold out months ago, so there is a big demand for this new ship.

 

I think this is going to be a terrific ship, maybe not the same as others, which was the point. Also, I am pretty sure that there will be plenty of outdoor spaces for passengers to relax.

 

It is going to be awesome! I, for one, cannot wait to sail on her!

[Carolyn R]

I agree with Bob et al. So much criticism before anyone steps foot on board. I am booked and very excited as most of my sailings have been on the Grand class and I am looking forward to something new while sticking with Princess.

[hubofhockey]

Ship looks great. My biggest concern is actually the "private" cabanas right in front of the upper pool. Is this an additional "pay for" revenue generating item for Princess?

 

Hey, I'm glad they found someone who will actually miss Skywalkers. Were they advertising on milk cartons to find that person?

[Cruise Junky]

Ship looks great. My biggest concern is actually the "private" cabanas right in front of the upper pool. Is this an additional "pay for" revenue generating item for Princess?

 

Hey, I'm glad they found someone who will actually miss Skywalkers. Were they advertising on milk cartons to find that person?

 

Yes, apparently the cabanas at the adult pool will be for rent. No idea how much.

[caribill]

To me the biggest drawback of the Royal is its size which greatly limits which ports it can sail into.

 

Instead of innovative itineraries, it will be limited to a number of ports that most Princess cruisers have seen, possibly again and again. This is especially true in the Caribbean.

 

Some cruise just to get away and be on a cruise ship, and this may be an exciting ship for them to be on. I have no doubt that the ship will sail as full as others in the Princess fleet do.

 

But for those of us who choose an itinerary and then see which ships can take us there, the Royal is a disappointment.

[IECalCruiser]

Yes, apparently the cabanas at the adult pool will be for rent. No idea how much.

I haven't seen any information indicating that there would (or would not) be a fee for the cabanas.

 

PDF states "A new adults-only pool is surrounded by plush private cabanas that appear to be floating on the water" and the video states "...enhanced with private cabanas"

 

We will need to wait and see.

 

Of course, if they don't charge then maybe there will be posts about "Cabana Hogs"