Does anybody else find the new Royal underwhelming?

[kruisey]

Hi all! If you bookmark the thread in my signature you will always be able to find our new forum for the Royal TA. Last year on the Ruby TA our roll call became so long that it was deleted a few months before our sailing and we had to start from scratch. This new forum is intended to make important information easy to find and prevent us from losing everything again. The main roll call is turning out to be a way to welcome new people and direct them to the new forum. Again, just click on the link in my signature and it will take you there. Easy peasy. :)

 

Please keep writing on the main page with the directions to the other threads

Through your post is the only way I can get through the maze.......:D

[jpthomas27]

Princess has said the Royal is "evolutionary" & not "revolutionary" which appears to be true. For me and many other passengers this is a good thing... they've taken a good design and improved upon it.

 

Good points! My wife and I are in the same boat as you. We love Princess for what it is and appreciate that they are improving on what they have rather than reinventing it.

 

If peopel are looking for "revolutionary", then there are lines like Royal Carib. which add new gimicks to every ship they build, were zip lines, wave pools and mardi gras parades can be easily found. For us... Princess is what we are looking for and I am glad they understand thier customer base (at least in this respect).

[Matcodixon]

One of the things I like most about Princess ships is that they are classy and beautiful. From the small ships like the Ocean Princess to this newest ship there is a consistent theme in the decor in general. Beautiful woodwork and art.

I have no interest in the Carnival ships with their neon and well (carnival) atmosphere.

I also have less than Zero interest in those new monsters from RCI, the Oasis and the Allure. A floating shopping mall is really not for me.

 

But that's just me..

[pris993]

We are elite on Princess and elite on Celebrity. Just got of two 7 day cruises, one on the Eclipse and one on the Ruby. Have to say we enjoyed the Ruby much more than the Eclipse.

 

This the second time we have tried Celebrity's new ship design, cruised the Equinox in 2009. We skipped the main dining room 7 nights out of a 12 nights on our Mediterranean cruise because we felt the MDR was too noisy, crowded and the food was hit and miss. This time we booked an Aqua Class to try BLU, while BLU was better I would not rate it outstanding, we eat better at home.

 

On the Ruby we enjoyed our mini suite more than the Aqua Class cabin, better layout, better storage and simply more comfortable.

 

We also felt the food in the buffet on the the Eclipse had gone down hill since our 2009 cruise on the Equniox. There is something missing from these modern Celebrity ships. The entertainment is hit and miss as well. Attempts at cutting edge seem to miss the mark for us.

 

The Grand Class ship is not our favorite design either. We actually cruised on the first cruise on the Grand Princess in 1998 out of Istanbul. We have been on the Grand, the Golden, the Star, Sapphire, and Ruby over the years. We liked the Ruby the best initially when it first came out -- largely because of the food and entertainment on board. On this last Ruby cruise we tried Sabatini's -- beautiful dining room, food good but not outstanding. We would enjoy it more if Princess was more flexible, i.e., would allow one to order in advance, something other than Italian food which the refused to do. We like the room but not the menu.

 

We would like Princess to come out with a new design but would not like it to be an imitation of what Celebrity has done. The designs we have enjoyed the most of recent new ships are the HAL - Westerdam and Cunards Queen Victoria. These are more traditional ships, very nice promendas, beautiful lounges at the front of the ship, more traditional dining rooms and comfortable cabins. I feel what we are looking for is something of the past. We will probably have to repeat some of our old favorites vs booking the new ships.

[Brad1185]

I was excited and considering booking until they disclosed that they are charging For fondue, pastrys and the crab shack at the buffet

[JanetAlice]

Good points! My wife and I are in the same boat as you. We love Princess for what it is and appreciate that they are improving on what they have rather than reinventing it.

 

If peopel are looking for "revolutionary", then there are lines like Royal Carib. which add new gimicks to every ship they build, were zip lines, wave pools and mardi gras parades can be easily found. For us... Princess is what we are looking for and I am glad they understand thier customer base (at least in this respect).

 

I concur. Though I enjoyed our last NCL cruise, when we boarded the ship the music was blaring so loud my ears hurt. (I love rock and roll so that is not the issue) I thought to myself what a contrast to the boarding on Princess. There are different lines because we have different preferences and expectations. Vivre la difference?

[Tak8]

Especially if Princess wants to comp my cruise. Some of the features look nice. Some of the dining options seem interesting. There are a few things I'm not fond of: only higher level aft suites. Also I find it strange that the thermal suite is like 10 decks below the fitness center.

[u2cruiser]

I think that Princess could have put so much more into this ship. I am not saying that it is a bad design by any stretch, and the things we have been shown look nice. However, all they have done is enlarged the Grand Class. If you take a look at the layout on the lower decks, it is practically the same. The same dining rooms, the same small theater, the same 3 deck atrium.

The upper decks in some areas have been improved, with a larger main pool area, but we have lost the terrace, which was a really nice space which could easily have been incorporated into the design. There is nothing on this ship which particularly grabs my attention and makes me want to book.

 

I think Carnival's newbuilding program is stagnating. There are no completely new designs. Royal is an enlarged Grand class, and I imagine, like the Grand class itself will be milked for all it's worth. The Dream class ships are yet another rehash of the damn Destiny class, P&O haven't seen a genuine new design for years, and are getting a Royal class ship, and Costa are getting a Dream class ship. There really isn't anything new or interesting here.

 

Contrast this with what RCI have done with their brands, with the Freedom/Oasis class ships and the beautiful Solstice class ships, it shows what can come out of designing something new from the keel up.

 

What kind of innovations would you have liked to have seen on the Royal littlesteelo? Do you have any good ideas to share? :) Bearing in mind that it needs to keep its Princess identity and not copy RCI or Celebrity's Solstice class?

 

I like to try all the different things on different cruise lines. Loved the pool areas with pool butlers and even the lawn club on Celeb (which I thought would be a waste of space), loved the nightlife on RCI, loved the drinks prices and camaraderie on P&O, but not the strict formality, loved the more casual, comfortable and relaxing warmth of Princess.

Only ship I haven't enjoyed so far is Azura, even though I thoroughly enjoyed her sister ship Ventura?! Sometimes, even ships within a fleet can have a very different feel.

 

I'm looking forward to the reviews from the Royal :)

[Dunelm]

I am glad that Princess is not going the way of "The Oasis" etc. I do not need masses of diverse entertainment, and I do not subscribe to the idea that "big is always better"; however, I can understand that for those who do, their preference will always be for bigger and more spectacular ships. That's why it is good that cruise lines offer different experiences.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I think that Princess could have put so much more into this ship. I am not saying that it is a bad design by any stretch, and the things we have been shown look nice. However, all they have done is enlarged the Grand Class. If you take a look at the layout on the lower decks, it is practically the same. The same dining rooms, the same small theater, the same 3 deck atrium.

The upper decks in some areas have been improved, with a larger main pool area, but we have lost the terrace, which was a really nice space which could easily have been incorporated into the design. There is nothing on this ship which particularly grabs my attention and makes me want to book.

 

I think Carnival's newbuilding program is stagnating. There are no completely new designs. Royal is an enlarged Grand class, and I imagine, like the Grand class itself will be milked for all it's worth. The Dream class ships are yet another rehash of the damn Destiny class, P&O haven't seen a genuine new design for years, and are getting a Royal class ship, and Costa are getting a Dream class ship. There really isn't anything new or interesting here.

 

Contrast this with what RCI have done with their brands, with the Freedom/Oasis class ships and the beautiful Solstice class ships, it shows what can come out of designing something new from the keel up.

 

It is very simple. It seems like you like RCI's builds more, so please, do not hesitate! Book with RCI! The ship is almost sold out on all open cruises, so that would make you in the minority! Happy sailing to you whoever you choose to cruise with!

[mes531]

Whoa, I'm not hating at all. It seems like a very nice ship. What I am saying is that they have added very little over the Grand class. For a newbuild, it is quite underwhelming in my opinion. All they seem to have have done is expanded things from their previous ships, not adding anything new. As someone who primarily sails RCI, there is not anything on Royal which would make me book it over a Grand class ship. So if their aim is to attract a different segment of the market, it certainly hasn't been through the design of the ship.

 

They would have been better off transferring the Princess product and feel to a revolutionary new ship design, like what Celebrity did with the Solstice class.

Wow - we were on the Solstice Maiden TA and thought the ship was terrible. It had no nice bar and dance areas, only one area for shows and there was mass congestion in the area around the disco (which we never saw anyone in). They had shows in this hallway and you couldn't see anything. Also in the staterooms, you had to climb on the bed to get to the storage area above the bed.....No comparison to the roomy many venues on the Princess ships! Just my opinion...and our friends as well. Even though our cruise was great..they all are, the Princess ships are just so comfortable!