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Live From The Royal Princess

Shogun

By Shogun,
in Princess Cruises

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TorontoTL

TorontoTL

Posted
Posted
Hi Everyone, rather than start a separate thread, I hope you won't mind me sharing my thoughts alongside Shogun's.

 

Last night we were treated to an excellent firework display which we watched from our hotel room.

 

Boarding was very busy, with everyone given letter-coded cards as they entered the terminal. We then had to wait for some time before staged boarding by letter card. One (false) reason floating around for the delayed boarding was that Her Royal Highness had stayed on board last night, but this wasn't true.

 

Security was very 'keen' and they visually checked my small Swiss knife which was packed in my suitcase.

 

Once on board we headed straight for our cabin - a deluxe balcony on Emerald Deck. First impressions were that it is a cut down mini-suite! Ample space with a sofa and dressing table/desk. Not many draws for storage though. Big wardrobe and good sized bathroom but I don't like shower curtains. Sadly the balcony is not impressive- too small really. But on balance, given we usually book mini suites, I would be happy with this cabin for two. I would think hard though about the balcony.

 

Next stop, horizon court. This is really nice. In fact the decor on the ship is to a very high standard. Silly us found the salad bar and ate from there, missing the hot stations completely until later. The food was std, and good. No complaints. Lots of service with smiles.

When we did find the hot stations I was pleased I missed them - far too many nice things to eat!!! Yes, horizon court is much improved.

 

Next we had a quick tour of the shop beginning with the Spa.... More in a moment.

 

 

Send from device_name using Cruise Critic your_app_name App

 

Great to hear more about the ship from anyone on board!

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Shogun

Shogun

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi all

 

Muster was fun was joined by two Princess Captains the new life jackets are light weight but boy are they tight can see a few issues for the bigger lady

 

CBC meet to go to chat later

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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alexmom

alexmom

Posted
Posted
I always enjoy reading what you post, but now it is even more special because I can now put a face and a voice with what you are saying. This is possible cause I watched you on the Love Boat Show.

 

Now if we all could get a picture of Dave, that would be great, since he has started what I consider one of the best most informative threads ever. I think we would love to associate a face with dmwnc1959!!

 

No kidding, that link you posted on the Royal thread for us was great. I really enjoyed it.

 

And dedosr, I hope SOMEONE (are you there Dave?!!) will post a photo of our beloved threadmeister-preferrably one on a cruise ship.

 

And I hope Mrs. Shogun recovered her purse !!

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aimhigh

aimhigh

Posted
Posted

Just had muster drill and am enjoying the sail away. Said hello to Mr & Mrs Shogun as they enjoy a beer

 

Back to the Horizon court for a moment, one addition I really like is wash bowls at each entrance. Not sure they will get much use but a really good idea.

 

One aspect of the ship that puzzles me is the number of pools. There is the main pool with two hot tubs and an adult only pool which is very nice with som comfy shaded sunbirds but that's it. I expect this may be an issue on those Caribbean cruise but who knows.

Forward of the adult pool is a simply stunning sanctuary. Pay by half day or full day to rent a sumptuous cabana complete with tv! Amazing. This area was very well appointed.

 

Next lotus spa. The quality of design, facilities and finish is remarkable. There are two 'couples apartments' one larger than the other. These are for couples treatments and have beds, sofa, tv and a designer bath.

The main spa area contains a special pool with hydro features, multiple types of showers, sauna, steam bath.,, all very high class. Only problem is that it is on deck 5 with few windows.

More later

 

( formal night tonight, with champagne waterfall. Gaynor is spoilt for choice on the dinner menu)

 

Just played love boat on the ships horns and played the opening sequence from the tv show on the big screen.

Moving now so we are off !!!! Don't you just love cruising ;)

 

 

Sent from Russ and Gaynor Aboard the Royal Princess !!

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2Canucks

2Canucks

Posted
Posted

Shogun & aimhigh...

 

Bon Voyage!!

 

Thank You so much for doing this LIVE thread from the Royal Princess! :D We board her on Nov 10, 2013 so we're really looking forward to reading all the info you can share with us about the Royal Princess!

 

We have booked D728 on the Aft. Are the Aft balconies larger? Are the Aft cabin balconies on the Dolphin deck partly covered? Hopefully you'll be able to talk to someone in an Aft cabin about the above questions.

 

Enjoy Your Cruise!

 

Pat :)

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aimhigh

aimhigh

Posted
Posted

I apologise for some random thoughts as we enjoy this short cruise, but some might be interesting.

 

Like many other who have expressed their views, I miss the aft pool. The area seems unfinished, but, and this goes for many differences, this is a new design of ship with some new ideas. It is as different as the sun class is to the grand class and you will like some aspects and dislike others. One thing is for sure, this ship will be hugely popular for Princess, and rightly so.

 

 

 

 

Sent from Russ and Gaynor Aboard the Royal Princess !!

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juakkers

juakkers

Posted
Posted

Hello all

 

Hope you don't mind me chiming in - DH and I are also on board..

 

It's our 13th Princess cruise so we know the product quite well. I would say that overall this boat has taken it and enhanced it.

 

Will try not to repeat what others have said but I agree with shogun and aimhigh that the decor is lovely. Definitely a quality, modern feel with the spa and sanctuary being stand outs.

 

The feel in the piazza is definitely a shade more upscale as well with designer jewellery, watches etc on display everywhere and bellinis adds to the glamour.

 

The lack of central staircase is a bit of a pain I must admit. We are midship on marina deck and popping up to the horizon court one floor means waiting ages for a lift or walking all the way aft and back again which will be awkward carrying snacks for he room. It is however my only gripe.

 

 

A few bits of info that come to mind:

 

There are two (that I've discovered so far!) sections to walk out on each side of the prom deck. Whilst I agree that it's a shame it doesn't go all the way round what there is is much wider than the grand class and has some really nice loungers (at the back) and furniture(at the front). There are even some loungers out facing aft where I spent a lovely 15 mins tucked away watching the prep for sail away.

 

The gym is absolutely fab, lots more treadmills than usual and all kit is state of the art. You can even race people on other exercise bikes on a virtual screen!

 

The biggest improvement for me however, is the technology. The royal princess intranet has the patters on it and you can check your stateroom account instantly on it which is really convenient.

 

Like shogun our television isn't working either, but our lovely steward has put a call in for us and also brought me my wine glasses with 2 minutes of asking.

 

Which brings me to the all important wine policy - no checking at all that I could see. We brought on our allotted bottle each but no one took notes or seemed to care :)

 

The pelicans etc kids club areas are all full of the latest stuff. Computers for the kids, games galore etc. the remix outdoor area is there at the back of it. This means that access from the outside deck is cut off on the port side at that point and to get inside you need to be on the starboard side. Once you know this it isn't an issue

 

Sorry for going on a bit, but the initial negative comments had got me a little worried and I'm just so happy to find that I love it as much as I thought I would!

 

Finally can I just add my thanks to Dave for the other thread. I was a lurker there but found it of great help and would like to give a little back now if I can.

 

Just having a wine on the balcony sailing past the Isle of Wight in the sunshine

 

Life is good!

 

Julie

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Working 2 Cruise

Working 2 Cruise

Posted
Posted

Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Shogun! Thank you for reporting back from that fabulous ship!

 

So, ok, the balconies are small and no mid-ship stairs... I really could not care less! The ship looks spectacular and will be looking forward to more!

 

Thanks to Dave and myriad of photos, I have found my spot on the Promenade deck!

 

The only thing we now need, I think, is some food porn... Especially from the new Horizon Court and like the Crab Shack, Fondues, etc.... Menus would be great too!

 

Again, thank you for reporting, and thank you to all for taking us with you. I hope you have a fantastic cruise!

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Wellpark

Wellpark

Posted
Posted

Hey Julie,

 

Great to have your comments too -yor relief is tangible but it sounds like you are really enjoying your trip. I hope you have a fantastic holiday!

Hello all

 

Hope you don't mind me chiming in - DH and I are also on board..

 

It's our 13th Princess cruise so we know the product quite well. I would say that overall this boat has taken it and enhanced it.

 

Will try not to repeat what others have said but I agree with shogun and aimhigh that the decor is lovely. Definitely a quality, modern feel with the spa and sanctuary being stand outs.

 

The feel in the piazza is definitely a shade more upscale as well with designer jewellery, watches etc on display everywhere and bellinis adds to the glamour.

 

The lack of central staircase is a bit of a pain I must admit. We are midship on marina deck and popping up to the horizon court one floor means waiting ages for a lift or walking all the way aft and back again which will be awkward carrying snacks for he room. It is however my only gripe.

 

 

A few bits of info that come to mind:

 

There are two (that I've discovered so far!) sections to walk out on each side of the prom deck. Whilst I agree that it's a shame it doesn't go all the way round what there is is much wider than the grand class and has some really nice loungers (at the back) and furniture(at the front). There are even some loungers out facing aft where I spent a lovely 15 mins tucked away watching the prep for sail away.

 

The gym is absolutely fab, lots more treadmills than usual and all kit is state of the art. You can even race people on other exercise bikes on a virtual screen!

 

The biggest improvement for me however, is the technology. The royal princess intranet has the patters on it and you can check your stateroom account instantly on it which is really convenient.

 

Like shogun our television isn't working either, but our lovely steward has put a call in for us and also brought me my wine glasses with 2 minutes of asking.

 

Which brings me to the all important wine policy - no checking at all that I could see. We brought on our allotted bottle each but no one took notes or seemed to care :)

 

The pelicans etc kids club areas are all full of the latest stuff. Computers for the kids, games galore etc. the remix outdoor area is there at the back of it. This means that access from the outside deck is cut off on the port side at that point and to get inside you need to be on the starboard side. Once you know this it isn't an issue

 

Sorry for going on a bit, but the initial negative comments had got me a little worried and I'm just so happy to find that I love it as much as I thought I would!

 

Finally can I just add my thanks to Dave for the other thread. I was a lurker there but found it of great help and would like to give a little back now if I can.

 

Just having a wine on the balcony sailing past the Isle of Wight in the sunshine

 

Life is good!

 

Julie

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leannebug

leannebug

Posted
Posted

A big THANK YOU to all who are reporting live!!

 

As a new cruiser, reading CC is fabulous, but finally finding *my boat* is priceless.

 

Thank you!Thank you!

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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Rick-cruiser

Rick-cruiser

Posted
Posted

With all the posts about the Patter being on the intranet.... I just want to make sure that there is indeed a hardcopy paper Patter being delivered daily to the stateroom.. Can someone please confirm this for me?. That would definitely be a major issue for us if we did not have a Patter to carry around with us, mark all the things we plan to do, and refer to it 100 times a day..... :)

 

Thanks!

 

- Rick

 

.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

Posted
Posted
With all the posts about the Patter being on the intranet.... I just want to make sure that there is indeed a hardcopy paper Patter being delivered daily to the stateroom.. Can someone please confirm this for me?. That would definitely be a major issue for us if we did not have a Patter to carry around with us, mark all the things we plan to do, and refer to it 100 times a day..... :)

 

Thanks!

 

- Rick

 

.

 

I truly doubt they will eliminate hard copy.

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KofAK

KofAK

Posted
Posted

I really appreciate the live updates that are being posted. Thanks to all for taking the time to do that.

 

Can someone confirm whether the coffee in HC is brewed or from concentrate. Hope to be able to eliminate the french press if it is brewed.

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