My visit to Royal Princess - a LONG review and some of your questions answered

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the reviews. Very helpful.

 

One question I have for those who have been on the ship: are the loungers at the pool padded or bigger versions of the new rock-hard chairs on Princess balconies?

 

Norris mentions that this is a warm weather ship. It's going to be interesting to see if she can accommodate all the passengers on my northern T/A itinerary in September 2014, which is likely to be cold and rainy.

[PLW0520]

Thank you for the very detailed review. Being balcony people I don't think this will be our first choice of ships. Our last cruise was on the Emerald and we started every day with coffee from room service on our Caribe balcony. We were so pleased that it didn't have the new uncomfortable furniture.

[chamima]

 

 

 

 

(credit all pics luxurycruisecompany)

 

Thanks for the reviews. Very helpful.

 

One question I have for those who have been on the ship: are the loungers at the pool padded or bigger versions of the new rock-hard chairs on Princess balconies?

 

Norris mentions that this is a warm weather ship. It's going to be interesting to see if she can accommodate all the passengers on my northern T/A itinerary in September 2014, which is likely to be cold and rainy.

 

 

 

Sorry Pam! :(

[Mom33]

Just some observations gleaned from various reviews and pictures:

 

If you have ever stayed in a balcony on other Princess ships above Caribe deck, then the balconies won't be dramatically smaller. If you have been on Dolphin or Caribe deck balconies, you will be disappointed.

 

If you ever sat on a Dolphin mini or Caribe deck balcony in the sun, you have been observed on your balcony by others above you. The small number of cabins beneath the Seawalk wouldn't be much different.

 

The comments about the small cabins surprise me. The pictures I have seen of the mini don't differ from the ones I have stayed in on the grand class ships other then the balcony. The Deluxe balcony cabin is definitely bigger than the standard cabin or the small sofa wouldn't fit. The standard cabin appears to be the same size as on the grand class ships. It is the balconies that have changed in size.

 

The promenade deck should have been crowded on all our cruises judging by the number of complaints about the lack of a wrap around Promenade on Royal. However, it never was. A typical walk around the ship saw a handful of readers in chairs, a few smokers, a few other walkers like us and a few joggers. At times, the promenade deck was deserted. In fact, the only time there was a crowd on it was when the ship was ready to depart a port and the locals were there to perform a farewell. We are going to give the walking track a chance. Slather on the sunscreen and don a hat and walk in our lane.

Won't have to worry about annoying the joggers. :)

 

As for the pools, they have much more deck space for loungers from the pictures than on the grand class ships as far as I can see. It will remain to be seen as to whether there is enough water to go around.;)

 

Hubby and I are still excited about this new ship and he is anxious to hear all about the new Pastry shop!! :D Anyone?

[riclop]

Just some observations gleaned from various reviews and pictures:

 

If you have ever stayed in a balcony on other Princess ships above Caribe deck, then the balconies won't be dramatically smaller. If you have been on Dolphin or Caribe deck balconies, you will be disappointed.

 

If you ever sat on a Dolphin mini or Caribe deck balcony in the sun, you have been observed on your balcony by others above you. The small number of cabins beneath the Seawalk wouldn't be much different.

 

The comments about the small cabins surprise me. The pictures I have seen of the mini don't differ from the ones I have stayed in on the grand class ships other then the balcony. The Deluxe balcony cabin is definitely bigger than the standard cabin or the small sofa wouldn't fit. The standard cabin appears to be the same size as on the grand class ships. It is the balconies that have changed in size.

 

The promenade deck should have been crowded on all our cruises judging by the number of complaints about the lack of a wrap around Promenade on Royal. However, it never was. A typical walk around the ship saw a handful of readers in chairs, a few smokers, a few other walkers like us and a few joggers. At times, the promenade deck was deserted. In fact, the only time there was a crowd on it was when the ship was ready to depart a port and the locals were there to perform a farewell. We are going to give the walking track a chance. Slather on the sunscreen and don a hat and walk in our lane.

Won't have to worry about annoying the joggers. :)

 

As for the pools, they have much more deck space for loungers from the pictures than on the grand class ships as far as I can see. It will remain to be seen as to whether there is enough water to go around.;)

 

Hubby and I are still excited about this new ship and he is anxious to hear all about the new Pastry shop!! :D Anyone?

Very good point about the promenade deck, most of the time it is deserted and now most want to walk ,jog and run on the deck that will not accomodate . Interesting.

[bdjam]

The Promenade deck is a disaster with limited access and, as we all know, no full wrap round. In all honesty it is fairly useless and while it clearly will not be a big issue to everyone it would be to us and a MAJOR disappointment.

 

The cabins…….I was really surprised to find them, like for like, a touch smaller than most on the other Princess other ships. Without exception all of the many people we spoke to on our tour were disappointed with the size and particularly the very disappointingly small size of the balconies. And this is 2013 – there is still the shower curtains in most bathrooms – there are far superior alternatives available than the “bum” curtains as another poster so eloquently described them!!

 

It is hard to fathom why there should be a new build with all the razzmatazz when the reality is that guests will be getting less than usual in respect of their cabins. Even in the mini suites, the balconies are amazingly small. Having cruised on so many Princess ships with lovely balconies I am certainly disappointed at such a backward step on this much lauded new ship.

My take on all this is that Princess is looking for passengers to be away from their cabins and away from the outside decks. They are providing less than stellar cabin balconies and promenade decks which may move people away from these areas and into the ship (or up on the top decks) where revenue opportunities abound.

 

The Seawalk – a novel attraction BUT, like many others, I was absolutely amazed at how close and intrusive it is to many of the balcony cabins.

My thoughts of the Seawalk are just that...it's a novelty. You walk it in the day time, you walk it at night - total time used is about 2 minutes. Then what? How many times do you do it again before the thrill is gone. I like the idea of the Seaview Bar, however - that looks interesting and inviting. The issue with looking down into cabin balconies, however, should be noted as a drawback to those cabins (of course there have been complaints of that in regard to the Dolphin deck cabins on the Grand Class).

 

Back to the magnificent atrium – there are, of course, several revenue earning food venues there but all are delightfully created and blend in well. Princess boasts that the Piazza is 50% bigger than other ships but there are a lot more passengers. I still think it is inevitably going to be very busy due to the number of people onboard and difficult to get seats.

This may well be true, especially if the objective is to get people to turn inside to the revenue generating areas of the ship. But as another poster noted, the interiors might be Theresa Anderson's best work. Much of the interior finish of the ship is brilliant.

Seafood bar and Gelato’s. Yes, they are chargeable. Here are some sample prices that people asked for: Caviar $70 per oz, crab cocktail $6, smoked salmon and gravadlax from $4.50 to $15. There are a few items such as various salads that are complimentary with a beverage purchase……….and in Gelato, any 3 scoops $2.75 or 1 punch of a coffee card, same price for ice cream sundaes, alcoholic sundaes are $6.50 or 2 punches on the coffee card.

 

Drinks in Bellini’s (a lovely bar overlooking the atrium but only a very few seats) – most Bellini’s $7.95 with the Royal Bellini being $15.

 

Draught beer – not available in many bars, those that have only bottles/cans are generally $4.95. All drinks obviously plus the 15%.

I find the whole ala carte thing on Princess ships - all of them - to be an interesting concept. I mean I get it - and it certainly allows one to customize their cruise vacation to be as high end as they want it to be. But it seems that Princess' current market would not support so many pay as you go venues. It will be intereting to see if the gentle push from Princess to spend money on these new ships becomes a win for the cruiseline, or if it backfires.

[pris993]

Appreciate your review. Your review validates my feelings. The Royal is more like the Celebrity ships than Princess. That being said, we will probably go on the Royal some day, when it has an itinerary we are interested in doing. That is basically what we do with the new Celebrity ships. We have learned from experience on the Celebrity ships (with no promenada) and MDRs that were disappointing, how to adjust our cruise experience to suit us, when we are on board.

 

We are booked from now til spring 2015 already, on the Grand and Star Princess, along with HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam and Celebrity's Silhouette.

 

We have learned that we don't need speciality restaurants or to participate in the new revenue earning venues these new cruise ships are promoting to enjoy ourselves. Princess like other lines is looking for the newer - younger cruisers who are more turned out by the hype of these new venues and consequently spend more money on board.

[Cruzin-K]

Thank you for the detailed review. I'm disappointed in the lack of a true promenade deck, and the lack of midship stairs. Some of us try to use the elevators as little as possible, to make up for all those yummy desserts :o Still, I don't want to waste time walking all the way forward or aft just to take stairs and have to walk all the way back the other way to get where I want to go.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

There are a few items such as various salads that are complimentary with a beverage purchase……….and in Gelato, any 3 scoops $2.75 or 1 punch of a coffee card, same price for ice cream sundaes, alcoholic sundaes are $6.50 or 2 punches on the coffee card.

 

 

Is this new? Being able to use a punch of the coffee card for gelato? Is this the same on other Princess ships?

[remydiva]

 

The room key that turns the lights and power on-something German hotels had in 1999 when I first experienced them-does it turn the power off on the cell/Kindle/iPad/camera/camcorder you are charging while out of the room?

 

Just wondering. All will be revealed as more reviews come in.

 

Norris[/quote

 

EXCELLENT question. My only experience was last Sept in Paris using the room key to power on the lights. When we left for dinner,we had left the iPad plugged in to charge and I was shocked to come back and find it still at a very low % charge. :eek: When we turned on the lights, voila...it started to charge.

 

Maybe RP system is different but it will be good to hear from someone who has tried it.

[remydiva]

[/font]

 

FONT=Comic Sans MS]This may well be true, especially if the objective is to get people to turn inside to the revenue generating areas of the ship.

 

If you can't walk on the Promenade Deck, and there is no place to dance and your balcony is too small to sit on and your balcony table is too small to put your drink,book and binoculars on, and even if you did manage to sit on your balcony people would be looking down from the Skywalker or the Lounge, then you are being forced indoors to either gamble, or EAT.

 

Seems from what I've read that the eating venues have received a lot of attention in the design of RP-- whether free or pay as you go....pastries, gelato, seafood, tapas, Horizon Court, MDRs etc.

 

If everyone partakes in all the eateries and since there are no midship stairs to use to work off the extra calories, soon, no one will FIT on the small balconies anyways so it all becomes a moot point! :rolleyes:

(tongue firmly placed in cheek)

[Cruise Junky]

If you can't walk on the Promenade Deck, and there is no place to dance and your balcony is too small to sit on and your balcony table is too small to put your drink,book and binoculars on, and even if you did manage to sit on your balcony people would be looking down from the Skywalker or the Lounge, then you are being forced indoors to either gamble, or EAT.

 

Seems from what I've read that the eating venues have received a lot of attention in the design of RP-- whether free or pay as you go....pastries, gelato, seafood, tapas, Horizon Court, MDRs etc.

 

If everyone partakes in all the eateries and since there are no midship stairs to use to work off the extra calories, soon, no one will FIT on the small balconies anyways so it all becomes a moot point! :rolleyes:

(tongue firmly placed in cheek)

 

Hahaha love it :)

[Pam in CA]

EXCELLENT question. My only experience was last Sept in Paris using the room key to power on the lights. When we left for dinner,we had left the iPad plugged in to charge and I was shocked to come back and find it still at a very low % charge. :eek: When we turned on the lights, voila...it started to charge.

 

Maybe RP system is different but it will be good to hear from someone who has tried it.

I'd just get a non-charging cabin card and leave it in the slot. If I have several long port days in a row, I'll be charging my camera and stuff during drinks and dinner and I'll be "quite annoyed" if I can't recharge when I'm not in the cabin.

[caribill]

I'd just get a non-charging cabin card and leave it in the slot. If I have several long port days in a row, I'll be charging my camera and stuff during drinks and dinner and I'll be "quite annoyed" if I can't recharge when I'm not in the cabin.

 

An expired credit card or even a fake credit card that comes with the ads for credit cards will do the job very well. No need to get an extra cruise card.

 

(I do not see the post that indicates this is a "feature" on the ship. Can you point me to it?)

[caribill]

If you ever sat on a Dolphin mini or Caribe deck balcony in the sun, you have been observed on your balcony by others above you. The small number of cabins beneath the Seawalk wouldn't be much different.

 

 

The difference is that from the Seawalk you can see into the cabins if the curtains are open.

 

You could not do that when looking at a Dolphin mini or Caribe balcony on the other ships.

[Pam in CA]

(I do not see the post that indicates this is a "feature" on the ship. Can you point me to it?)

I know I've seen it somewhere. Not sure where.

[johnofyork]

An expired credit card or even a fake credit card that comes with the ads for credit cards will do the job very well. No need to get an extra cruise card.

 

(I do not see the post that indicates this is a "feature" on the ship. Can you point me to it?)

 

caribill, I used to do that. Stayed in a new hotel a few weeks back and the "slot" needed the actual room card to make the power work. We overcame it by getting a second key card "for my wife" and leaving that in the slot. Guess you could do the same thing with partner's cruise card although I have been of the impression that you should keep cruise cards with you "for security". Don't know whether that's for ID purposes or just to avoid it falling into the wrong hands!

[BratDet]

an interesting and balanced review.

 

Promenade deck is sounding like a fail.

 

Will hope I am not disappointed by the balcony size....21 days out woo hoo!

 

It is one reason why we are easily able to tolerate larger ships....if we want to escape, we don't have to wander to find a spot by the pool (where they wouldn't be making money off us anyway...)

 

Some people have commented elsewhere..that the couch in the extended balcony doesn't seem to be worth booking an extended balcony room..I am hoping I will because I really hated laying on a made bed in day clothes to catch a movie...

If the balcony size is noticeably smaller, I would stick to booking older ships...especially when you factor in the ability to walk the entire promenade deck. It was always nice to walk the Promenade deck with the

"On Deck for a Cure"...will it move to the walking track?... :(

Bernadette

[The Wilkies]

Princess Pete

 

Totally agree with your comments. We too were very disappointed with many aspects you mentioned, particularly promanade deck, size of cabins/balconies, too much space in the Atrium taken up with irrelevant uses, i.e. photo gallery and badly positioned casino. Our favourite bar on Princess has always been the Wheelhouse, now its a nothingness. We did have our lunch in the restaurant and also noticed the amount of bench seating which I also hate.

 

 

Just a small thing, but which I found particularly useful as I have no sense of direction, did anyone else notice that the colour coded carpet edges in the accommodation corridors has gone (pink for one side, blue for the other) Now one colour on both sides.

 

Have Princess boobed, we think so.

 

Hasn't put is off, we are off to Hawaii next. Princess Pete, if you are doing the Beijing to Singapore (or Bangkok) you will love it. Our favourite cruise to date.

[JimmyVWine]

Not sure where to post this, but this thread seems to get a fair bit of traffic.

 

Does anyone know if UBD is available on Royal? The information for all other ships list it as a "Specialty Dining" option along with the specialty restaurants. But the information on the Princess website for Royal lists only Crown Grill and Sabatini's under the Specialty Dining section. Having seen pictures of the balconies, I would imagine that this would be a tight fit. But it would be interesting to know for sure that Princess has conceded the point, recognizing that their new balconies are ill-suited for much of anything in terms of entertainment.

[rk713]

We are booked for next summer so there is time to change our cabin. Does anyone know which cabins on which decks are viewable from the skywalk on the Royal? We are booked on Caribe 509. Princess told me that this cabin should not be affected. The sky walk is near the front of the ship and would affect c301-443. Thanks for the info.

Rosalie:)

[PrincessPete]

Hi Rosalie

The skywalk is in the middle of the ship certainly not at the front! However, your cabin is 5 decks below the wretched thing which minimises the problems for you (sorry to sound horrible calling it “wretched” but I just think it is something people will go on once or twice and that’s it – but the intrusiveness into the cabins below is there forever!)

So not a huge problem for you I would say personally – it is the mini-suites directly below it that I would not want as they are incredibly close to the glass window. It will, of course, be very interesting to hear views from people on a cruise and their thoughts.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards.

Peter

[CI66774]

We are booked for next summer so there is time to change our cabin. Does anyone know which cabins on which decks are viewable from the skywalk on the Royal? We are booked on Caribe 509. Princess told me that this cabin should not be affected. The sky walk is near the front of the ship and would affect c301-443. Thanks for the info.

Rosalie:)

 

No worries. Your cabin isn't even in the line of sight of the people on the Skywalk as they look down.

[black_velvet]

Thanks for your excellent review, and also for your kind words about mine.

 

Not much to add to your account, just:

 

• I too liked the theatre, and it had a decent rake. There may be a problem for shorter people at the end of the side blocks though - it looked to me as though the hand rails could obstruct the view.
  
• I liked where they'd put the photo gallery, but take your point that the atrium is likely to prove a popular space, and hope there's enough seating when there's a full ship.
  

[black_velvet]

I was one who made that comment. There's nothing wrong with the couch, it's just that we never used it except to put bags or clothes on. For watching TV though, our screen was fixed to the wall directly at the foot of the bed, so lying or sitting on the bed was the best place from which to watch. It's flat screen, so it will be fine from the couch, but you may have to sit diagonally or with your head turned.

 

Some people have commented elsewhere..that the couch in the extended balcony doesn't seem to be worth booking an extended balcony room..I am hoping I will because I really hated laying on a made bed in day clothes to catch a movie...