Live From The Royal Princess

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Bob TVs look good big TV wide screen not sure of size but biggest I have seen in a ships cabin, but not connections.

 

I need to complain to Princess we miss a port and by nine o clock shops are open and Mrs Shogun is straight in there,

 

casino still closed but no doubt that will open too,

 

spoke to a few first time cruisers all like the ship, chatted to a few folks that have done P&O a few complaints to kettles in rooms tea etc, but overall thought Princess ship had more life to it, CD lot more active.

 

Also a few complaints from some about deco, no promade deck etc

 

but overall the ship is great fun to be on,

 

seas rough but very little movement,

 

pub lunch is on today expect big lines at it.

 

yours Shogun

[HBINLA]

Very exciting! Love detailed live postings. Pics, perhaps? Thanks for taking us along!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[jcruizer]

Thanks to all for the live posts and for taking us with you.

Of course there will be hiccups and hopefully they will be resolved soon.

I so wish we did not have such old ships down under.... Still I will be on the Royal next year, with just a little further to travel....

 

Thanks again :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[juakkers]

I bet you've never had so many people hanging on your every word, LOL.

 

We'll be mid-ship on Marina deck in October. I'm sure we'll also miss those stairs.:(

 

Being a gym rat into weight training, I've seen very few pictures of the fitness center other than the multitude of treadmills and windows. If it's not too much trouble, can someone please show us or tell us about the other parts of the gym (weight training area specifically)? Also, did they, as suspected, eliminate the steam room and sauna from each of the changing rooms?

 

I am really looking forward to the new buffet. I haven't even seen it and I'm already hoping they convert the other ships to match as they are renovated.

 

I hope you all have a great vacation and don't spend too much time online....but don't forget about all of us either, LOL :D

 

Have Fun!

 

Hi

 

I spent an hour in the gym this morning. They have the usual range of weight machines including a full bench press. They also have loads of free weights - the largest said 100 on them - I'm presuming that is pounds not kilos!!

 

Sorry don't know about the sauna/steam room in the changing rooms, but you will be fine with the gym. It has everything a decent land gym would have :)

[juakkers]

Shogun.

Would you be able to connect with anyone on Marina deck in mid ship area to question the overhang above the balcony. Wondering if rh is any sun at all. Also is noise from MUTS heard in this area.

We are in m620, do not intend to change but would like some idea if the balcony is way more overes than those on lower decks

 

Hi

 

We are in a midship marina deck balcony. The overhang doesn't stop the sun coming on to the balcony- I was sat on it in the sunshine last night for sail away. The room isn't any darker than normal.

 

You can't hear MUTS at all ( les miserables is on at the minute) but I could slightly hear the sail away party music yesterday. Not intrusively loud though..

 

Hope this helps

 

Julie

[aimhigh]

I am back online again now so will continue our experience.

But first a lunch break

 

 

My positive impressions of the horizon court continue.. It is a nice environment, well done Princess.

 

Our tv is working and it is very large.. 46" and it has two Hamilton sockets on the lhs -quite difficult to see.

 

Back soon

 

 

Sent from Russ and Gaynor Aboard the Royal Princess !!

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Update for you all

 

sea conditions, good size swell, plenty of white caps, spray coming down side of ship, ship rolling a little but we are moving very slow, nothing to worry about, a few creaks from the wood trim in the cabin

 

tried the pub lunch, now done this on a couple of ships and this one was the poorest,

 

good points, quick service, polite staff, hot food

 

bad points, to bangers and mash, or fish and chips, or scampi in a basket, or ploughmans, or trifle

 

so went for deep fried prawns and chips, five prawns and six chips do not make a pub lunch, was offered bread and butter pudding,

 

but decided to go to Horizon Court, was looking for something more for lunch,

 

then sspotted apple cobler and custard so had a big bowl of that instead

excellant,

 

now pub lunch was busy, saw the steak pie and while small looked nice but again lack of chips but no peas

 

scotch egg appear to be of good size, did not see the curry

 

Saw Alfredo in Alfredos should have gone there instead, food looked very good,

 

Casino being very nasty not only no wins, but taking money very fast so no play time do not mind losing ten dollars if I get 20 minutes out of it but its like 3 minutes and money has run out,

 

still no cabin TV, or mobile Princess

 

need to try and steer mrs Shogun away from shops,

 

one funny thing we did see was a couple looking to find the tenders, they had got up late and thought we were at anchor, came as a bit of a shock to them that we were at sea, they had back packs and coats on ready for going ashore.

 

chat more later,

 

yours Shogun

[PrincessPete]

All very interesting Mr Shogun and huge thanks for all your postings.

 

Having had a fairly grotty morning so far working at my computer I felt so much better after reading about the couple looking for tenders!!:p

 

Your next instalment eagerly awaited!:)

 

Have you bumped into anyone in the balconies just below the skywalk yet and/or heard any comments?

 

Kind regards.

 

Peter

[TorontoTL]

Hopefully things get sorted for you guys on board. Sounds like the ship is good overall.:D

[Mom33]

Hi All

 

Update for you all

 

sea conditions, good size swell, plenty of white caps, spray coming down side of ship, ship rolling a little but we are moving very slow, nothing to worry about, a few creaks from the wood trim in the cabin

 

tried the pub lunch, now done this on a couple of ships and this one was the poorest,

 

good points, quick service, polite staff, hot food

 

bad points, to bangers and mash, or fish and chips, or scampi in a basket, or ploughmans, or trifle

 

so went for deep fried prawns and chips, five prawns and six chips do not make a pub lunch, was offered bread and butter pudding,

 

but decided to go to Horizon Court, was looking for something more for lunch,

 

then sspotted apple cobler and custard so had a big bowl of that instead

excellant,

 

now pub lunch was busy, saw the steak pie and while small looked nice but again lack of chips but no peas

 

scotch egg appear to be of good size, did not see the curry

 

Saw Alfredo in Alfredos should have gone there instead, food looked very good,

 

Casino being very nasty not only no wins, but taking money very fast so no play time do not mind losing ten dollars if I get 20 minutes out of it but its like 3 minutes and money has run out,

 

still no cabin TV, or mobile Princess

 

need to try and steer mrs Shogun away from shops,

 

one funny thing we did see was a couple looking to find the tenders, they had got up late and thought we were at anchor, came as a bit of a shock to them that we were at sea, they had back packs and coats on ready for going ashore.

chat more later,

 

yours Shogun

 

LOL!!! thanks for the updates and a good morning laugh :D

[MINI-ME]

Shogun,

 

Any update for us on the room air conditioning? We are on the July 5th Med sailing. Having done the Med in summer before, we know how hot that gets. My family and I all like it cool when we are sleeping, hot or stuffy rooms drive us nuts. Has yours been fixed and blowing cooler air yet? Have others had the same complaint you have on this? What about public rooms?

 

Thanks, and enjoy your trip.

[alexmom]

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!

 

oh yes oh yes oh yes, pleeeeeze someone "dish" on food and MENUS !!!

[Mom33]

I thought it was interesting that none of the people (so far) who posted negative reviews complained of the coffee.

 

(Maybe they're tea drinkers):)

 

And to Shogun et al--

Thanks for the live from

 

Haha I see shogun and I posted at exactly the same time!

 

Anyway, some more random bits of info/ impressions:

 

As shogun says- last night was very dressed up but maybe that is because of the nature of this 'special' cruise. We had no problems finding a seat in crooners and there was loads of space in the dining room too. In fact here has been lots of space everywhere so far - even the HC had room on the terrace at the back for lunch yesterday

 

Am still not sure if I like the new HC- pros and ons I think.. It is much bigger so there is more space while getting your food but its so big that I think it's quite hard to scope out your options!

 

Also the pastry shop just looked to have the usual desserts fro th IC at no charge in there yesterday. I didn't see a chocolate fountain or anything like that so can't comment at the moment.

 

My husband is eagerly awaiting a review of the pastry shop... any chance you will try it?

 

Forgive me if someone has posted details of this before, but I hadn't heard about it- the patter yesterday was offering a 'winemakers dinner' "our wine-making partners have developed some unique wine and food pairing events for you to in the Concerto wine room"

We were sat right by this area at dinner last night and it looks like a mini chefs table room with a large oval table surrounded by wine racks (my sort of place ;) ). No prices mentioned.

 

We sat at one of the many tables for two in the MDR and I liked it because there was plenty of space between us and the next table. It wasn't one of those where you are so close to another couple that you might as well be on a table for 4. I sat on the 'banquette' bench seat and it was very comfortable.

 

The shower pressure in our cabin is fine but the water is lukewarm. I guess they still have a few teething problems there too.

 

We do indeed still have hard copy of the patter as well as the digital one.

 

Guess we will spend the day exploring again. I need to give the HC a proper try. In fact I need to sample the pizza, burgers, gelato etc etc. all in the name of research you understand! ;)

 

I certainly do understand!:D

 

Thanks all for your good wishes -we are indeed having a great trip

 

Julie

 

It will take awhile to sort out all the minor issues onboard. It is always a risk to participate in the grand opening of anything.

 

Thanks again for your contributions to this Live.

[alexmom]

We will be on in 2days.

 

Don&Joan

 

and we will all be waiting to hear your take on the Royal Princess too!

 

i think the peeps who are doing this live from the ship are AWESOME !! to take their precious time to answer our questions is so generous. we owe you a DEBT of GRATITUDE.

 

I. O. U. to shogun, aimhigh, and juakkers. hugsandkrisses from me!

[moresun]

A big THANK YOU for the live posts,keep them coming:D

[Mom33]

I am back online again now so will continue our experience.

But first a lunch break

 

[ATTACH]275530[/ATTACH]

 

My positive impressions of the horizon court continue.. It is a nice environment, well done Princess.

 

Our tv is working and it is very large.. 46" and it has two Hamilton sockets on the lhs -quite difficult to see.

 

Back soon

 

 

Sent from Russ and Gaynor Aboard the Royal Princess !!

 

What kind of cabin are you in and are they this size in all cabins? Thanks:)

[Mom33]

and we will all be waiting to hear your take on the Royal Princess too!

 

i think the peeps who are doing this live from the ship are AWESOME !! to take their precious time to answer our questions is so generous. we owe you a DEBT of GRATITUDE.

 

I. O. U. to shogun, aimhigh, and juakkers. hugsandkrisses from me!

 

 

Me too!!

[pjrockman]

 

Am still not sure if I like the new HC- pros and ons I think.. It is much bigger so there is more space while getting your food but its so big that I think it's quite hard to scope out your options!

 

Guess we will spend the day exploring again. I need to give the HC a proper try. In fact I need to sample the pizza, burgers, gelato etc etc. all in the name of research you understand! ;)

 

Thanks all for your good wishes -we are indeed having a great trip

 

Julie

 

Thanks, Julie. Thanks for your sacrifice in the name of research.;) I now know what I am going to call it when we are on in December. I think that I am going to do quite a bit of researching....

 

Paul

[caribill]

TVs look good big TV wide screen not sure of size but biggest I have seen in a ships cabin

 

Do the TVs just lie flat on the walls or can they swivel out so they can be viewed easily from other areas of the cabin?

[juakkers]

Hi all

 

Ok, here are the results so far of my 'research' on food & drink ;)

 

I know this is a really subjective area so I will try and stick to facts as much as I can

 

Firstly the coffee- I am indeed a coffee drinker and am sad to report that those machines in the HC that look like they might be brewed coffee are actually I think just syrup ones that look fancier. HOWEVER on the plus side it is much stronger than normal and is approaching decent - the coffees from the IC are the same as usual.

Had an interesting experience in the for-charge coffee place in the pastry shop. They don't have a filter/brewed coffee machine as yet and I only drink it black so I asked if he could do an Americano. He told me couldnt as they only did espresso so I asked if he could put some hot water in the espresso and he said yes! First time I have had to tell a barista how to make an Americano - is it just me or is that a bit odd? He clearly thought I was mad. Even if he didn't know the name I thought he would understand about adding water. Maybe I am mad?

 

Anyway there is also a dedicated hot chocolate machine in the HC. Don't drink it so I'm afraid I can't comment on quality

 

Orange juice at breakfast was served in the standard big blue glasses not the tiny brown ones which have disappeared.

 

Food. As shogun kind of said it has been a bit average to me. That's a bit subjective so I'll try and elaborate:

 

Pizza from prego- just exactly the same as usual - good- the standard product.

 

Fries from trident grill - cold. Stone cold. But tasty otherwise...

 

Guacamole is a slightly different recipie on this ship. Not as 'creamy' as on the others or as tasty

 

Pasta Alfredo was ok- basket was nice and crisp but pasta a bit dry

All the desserts are exactly as usual from the IC. Haven't had one anywhere else. For the person who asked about the pastry shop there have been a couple of slightly different cakes there - a sort of pecan pie and a white chocolate mousse 'log' but I'm not sure if these are what they are supposed to have there as they still aren't charging for anything and I thought the idea was that it was for a small fee. It's all been very nice, but no wow factor for me.

 

Breakfast in HC - again just the usual products but none of that Bircher muesli like you can get in the IC that they usually have

 

The MDR dinner last night was again pleasant but nothing special for us. My salmon was cooked well and hubby enjoyed his ribs but its not a meal I would 'remember'

 

Finally, Alfredo's has some antipasto appetisers and a couple of other dishes besides pizza. Also a salad and two desserts. We are eating there tonight so I will see how it is. I have a photo of the menu so will try and upload when I get home if anyone is interested or list it in a post.

 

Julie

[Rick-cruiser]

We do indeed still have hard copy of the patter as well as the digital one.

 

Julie

 

Thank you, Julie, for confirming that.. Whew... what a relief....can't imagine life on a cruise ship without it.

 

Have a great trip!

 

- Rick

 

.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Well its be an interesting day, the good news is the TV is working now,

Some fun things for you,

Came across one couple with back packs and out door coats asking were to get the tenders, the crew member looked a bit puzzled, he explained we were at sea, and had to miss the stop at Guernsey due to the weather, he asked did you not hear the captain, the couple explained that they had slept late and just got up,

Then one guy was saying he could not understand it, as soon as the captain said we were missing the port he was off to see about the refund, but when he got there, there was no line,

But the best has to be the guy that sat next to me for lunch, basically he was saying if I book a flight to Guernsey and it is cancelled I get a full refund, I booked this ship to take me to Guernsey so I should get a full refund, I did not book it to just take me on a tour to no where.

One crew member I was chatting to said the real Princess cruisers arrive tomorrow I know understand what he meant,

Came across more crew that I have cruised with before, very impressed with one that I had not seen for may be three years got my name almost 100% correct, those boarding tomorrow are going to see so many familiar faces.

Casino is just plain nasty does not even allow me to play for a little while just swallows my money as fast as it can,

Went to the pub lunch do a few on other ships, however todays was not good, service was good, staff friendly, food hot, served quickly but no fish and chips, ploughmans, bangers and mash, scampi, I ordered deep fired prawns and chips, sorry to say, 5 prawns and about 6 chips is not a pub lunch, then no trifle , the scotch egg seemed OK, the steak pie was ok but again short on chips and no peas, OK not a deal breaker but expected better,

Went to Horizon Court, for dessert spotted a nice looking apple cobbler with custard, very yummy ,

Later went to Alfredos and normal service was resumed excellent pizza,

We had diner in Alegro chefs table looks amazing, while dining room has a nice appearance , however those bench seats, I have an issue with the waiter has to lean over one person to serve another as he can not walk around the table

Tonight muts has Skyfall on if not to cold will watch it,

When you first board you know this is a Princess ship, but you think its not like any other, however you quickly realize this ship as a familiar layout, you come out of a dining room and the wash room is where you knew it would be, the aft dining room is up and along deck 7 etc.

Princess cruisers will love this ship, it is new, it has unique features and designs, but it is still a Princess ship, you will quickly feel you are cruising with an old friend,

There are still a few odd things to iron out, like the till receipt I got today saying The Grand Princess.

But those folks boarding for the maiden are in for an exciting fun packed cruise, ship is 99.5 % ready.

Yours Shogun

[spyro1952]

Thanks to all of you for your live posts and sounds like you are all enjoying the new ship. Please get all the "research" done for those of us who will be on the maiden TA. I am also interested in the size of the aft premium balconies as I have 9/14 TA booked on Riviera deck. Seems very pricy right now and I'm wondering if it's really worth the price. Thanks again for all your reports. Great job.

[BratDet]

Are there balcony dinners?

Bernadette

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks so much for this thread. Been wondering about the Royal! My biggest question is; with no more actual space and yet one more deck of cabins, is it unbearably crowded?

 

I have been avoiding booking her until I find that out.

 

Thanks again!