Live From The Royal Princess

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I am sure you have had your dinner by now. Please try the fettuccini alfredo when you get a chance. It is very, very good.:)

 

It is available as an appertizer but doesn't come in the cheese (parmesan) basket as an app unless you specifically ask for it, it's so so good:D

[lynn_and_rob]

My DW and I are on the 7/17 Sailing from Barcelona to Venice. We spent the first day and a half in Geneva (5 hour layover, so we took the train into town and did a little sight seeing) and then Barcelona (HOHO around the city with stops at La Sagrada Familia , Parc Guell, Tapas dinner…typical touristy things) so we were a little spent and dazed when we arrived at the ship.

 

Embarkation beat our best time in Vancouver a few years back on the IP. I would say we made it from the taxi door to the piazza in less than 15 minutes! We arrived at 2:30. Taxi dropped us off right at the door to the terminal. We dropped our bags right out front then walked about 50 feet to enter the building and directly into the security screening queue. That was probably the longest part, maybe 5 minutes. After that it was up the escalator and directly to the check-in desk (no waiting.) We had our cruise cards and were on our way to the bon-voyage picture in no-time. Very impressive.

 

First things we noticed…the Piazza is very nice, but I guess with all the talk about how big it is, I think my DW and I were expecting to be blown-away with it's size. It's very nice, just not a big as we had envisioned.. We also noticed inconsistent A/C. It seemed like the stair/elevator areas as well s the elevators themselves were quite hot and stuffy. The hallways and our cabin are quite cool however. We also noticed the lack of stairs mid-ship. My DW was miffed that a lady got on the mid-ship elevator on deck 10 and got off on deck 11. Once I explained that she couldn't take the stairs because there were none, she wasn't miffed at the lady but at the lack of stairs.

 

We took a quick tour of The Enclave (aka the Thermal Suite) and I took a few pictures as well. We really enjoyed the Thermal Suite on the Ruby our last cruise and we were interested in the new improved version on the Royal. It is very impressive. The "feel" of the space is totally different and much more "spa like." However, the $240 (I think that's what it was) price per person for the whole cruise was a bit hard to swallow. I know it works out to $20/per day, but neither of us felt we would be using it more than once or twice. It would be nice to have a $35 or $40 one time use price.

 

I still don't understand the Tea Tower. We came across it by the IC, but the only literature by it was for the "Royal Afternoon Tea" which sounded like the normal afternoon tea they server. The sign did mention "A choice of our specially selected Mighty Leaf Tea from the Tea Tower." Most of the "tea draws" were empty. Possibly a work in progress? I will have to find out more about this. My DW is a big tea drinker, so she's quite interested in this.

 

We stopped by the photo area and spoke with the Videographer. The computerized photo system is not working as of yet. The original plan of swiping your card and seeing just your photos on computer screen didn't work. They had a backup plan where you could walk up to a video screen and pick an event (like Embarkation photos) and then scroll through all the pictures for that event. The backup plan didn't work either. So, as of right now, it's the normal photo experience. He did mention that the software people are on-board during this cruise trying to get it working, so maybe by the time we disembark they will have it running.

 

A little interesting side note...

The videographer will be moving to the Regal next May, and he has already been on the Regal and has confirmed that the center stair has not been fixed and can not be fixed since it was too late in the construction…the interesting part was the acknowledgment of the design flaw and knowing it had not been fixed. So maybe not on the Royal or Regal, but if there are future builds in the Royal Class, they may have center stairs, so maybe the P&O build will have one?

 

Someone had asked about hooking a DVD up to the TV? Well I can confirm that you can hook up an HDMI device fairly easily. I brought an HDMI cable along on the trip after seeing a picture showing HDMI ports on the side of the TV. I was able to plug my MacBook into one of the HDMI ports on the back and sit on the bed an look at our travel pictures on a 37" (just guessing, don't know the size, but it is quite decent size) 1080p TV. IT was very nice. The TV has buttons on the front. They don't look like buttons, but they are "touch sensitive" labels. One of the labels is make "input". You can cycle through all the inputs. There was and HDMI 1 (which is the Princess Video service), HDMI 2 (not used), HDMI 3 (the one I plugged my computer into, USB, Computer, some one other I can't remember.) Now it was not easy reaching behind and plugging the cable in, and I don't think Princess wants you doing it, but it was possible.

 

OK, that's it for now. Time for bed. Toulon tomorrow.

[IECalCruiser]

lynn_and_rob, Interesting information about the midship stairs. After the issues with the Grand in 1999, you would think someone would have remembered and questioned the design.

[IECalCruiser]

Benny Dorm or lynn_and_rob, Were they checking for wine and/or charging corkage for bottles over one per person?

[Julia’s Journey’s]

My DW and I are on the 7/17 Sailing from Barcelona to Venice. We spent the first day and a half in Geneva (5 hour layover, so we took the train into town and did a little sight seeing) and then Barcelona (HOHO around the city with stops at La Sagrada Familia , Parc Guell, Tapas dinner…typical touristy things) so we were a little spent and dazed when we arrived at the ship.

 

 

Thanks for all the great info and have an awesome cruise, looking forward to your next endorsement:)

[Northender]

Great stuff all you lucky cruisers. Keep it coming.:D:D

[Solara]

lynn_and_rob, Interesting information about the midship stairs. After the issues with the Grand in 1999, you would think someone would have remembered and questioned the design.

I agree, can't believe they made the same mistake twice!:confused::confused:

[dmwnc1959]

Joined the Royal Princess today in Barcelona....

 

THANKS for more LIVE input! Looking forward to hearing about anything and everything that you experience! :D

 

 

I still don't understand the Tea Tower. We came across it by the IC, but the only literature by it was for the "Royal Afternoon Tea" which sounded like the normal afternoon tea they server. The sign did mention "A choice of our specially selected Mighty Leaf Tea from the Tea Tower." Most of the "tea draws" were empty. Possibly a work in progress? I will have to find out more about this. My DW is a big tea drinker, so she's quite interested in this.

 

I would also love to hear more about the Tea Towers. Are they open anytime other than the Royal Afternoon Tea, i.e. sea days, etc?

 

THANKS! :D

[Benny Dorm]

Set sail from Barcelona in very calm seas. Beautiful sunset and a nice relaxed sail away. I have to be honest and say that Barcelona is not the most scenic port (unlike the city itself) and we are hoping for some more scenic ports enroute.

 

We have opted for the anytime dining option and after the previous nights over eating it was just pizza and grill last night followed by a couple of drinks in the Wheelhouse Bar.

 

The ship is so smooth that we did not even know that we had docked this morning. Bed is very comfortable although it only appears to be about 6' 3" long. I just about fit length wise whereas The Boss could be sleeping on a different continent width wise.

 

Today was Toulon but as none of us are wine drinkers we decided just to go into town on the shuttle boat $15pp. Nice area to walk around with plenty of shop and cafe's to sit and watch the world go by. Had to leave after a couple of hours after visiting way too many (in my opinion) shoe shops. The Boss found some nice sandals and is very pleased with herself.

 

BTW tried the coffee in the Horizon Court this morning. If you like coffee buy a coffee card as the Horizon only just about passes for coffee. The similarity ends at wet and warm!

 

Haven't decided where to eat tonight so we will go on another tour of the ship later.

[xni001]

Thanks Benny for taking the time to share your experience on Royal Princess with us! We are newbies and will take the same route in three weeks - getting more and more excited :-).

 

I'm not sure if you have a cabin for 3/4 people as you mentioned you are travelling with your children. In case you are, does the bed suspended from the ceiling has the same length as the regular beds ie about 6.3?

 

Does anyone know?

 

Enjoy your trip, Benny!

 

Charlene

[TorontoTL]

Thanks for the updates Lynn and Rob and Benny.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Set sail from Barcelona in very calm seas. Beautiful sunset and a nice relaxed sail away. I have to be honest and say that Barcelona is not the most scenic port (unlike the city itself) and we are hoping for some more scenic ports enroute.

 

 

Most of the ports are working ports so not wonderful while you are docked but coming in and out is normally pretty. If you stop in Monaco or Cannes they are both scenic ports but a lot of them are some distance from the city eg Rome, Florence etc.

 

Have an awesome cruise and enjoying your take on the ship. Did you go to any shows?

[Mom33]

Benny...thanks for another post. When it comes to scenic ports, Venice will be a beautiful one. If you're not on the starboard side of the ship, make sure to be up on top deck for the arrival.:D

[Mom33]

My DW and I are on the 7/17 Sailing from Barcelona to Venice. We spent the first day and a half in Geneva (5 hour layover, so we took the train into town and did a little sight seeing) and then Barcelona (HOHO around the city with stops at La Sagrada Familia , Parc Guell, Tapas dinner…typical touristy things) so we were a little spent and dazed when we arrived at the ship.

 

Embarkation beat our best time in Vancouver a few years back on the IP. I would say we made it from the taxi door to the piazza in less than 15 minutes! We arrived at 2:30. Taxi dropped us off right at the door to the terminal. We dropped our bags right out front then walked about 50 feet to enter the building and directly into the security screening queue. That was probably the longest part, maybe 5 minutes. After that it was up the escalator and directly to the check-in desk (no waiting.) We had our cruise cards and were on our way to the bon-voyage picture in no-time. Very impressive.

 

First things we noticed…the Piazza is very nice, but I guess with all the talk about how big it is, I think my DW and I were expecting to be blown-away with it's size. It's very nice, just not a big as we had envisioned.. We also noticed inconsistent A/C. It seemed like the stair/elevator areas as well s the elevators themselves were quite hot and stuffy. The hallways and our cabin are quite cool however. We also noticed the lack of stairs mid-ship. My DW was miffed that a lady got on the mid-ship elevator on deck 10 and got off on deck 11. Once I explained that she couldn't take the stairs because there were none, she wasn't miffed at the lady but at the lack of stairs.

 

We took a quick tour of The Enclave (aka the Thermal Suite) and I took a few pictures as well. We really enjoyed the Thermal Suite on the Ruby our last cruise and we were interested in the new improved version on the Royal. It is very impressive. The "feel" of the space is totally different and much more "spa like." However, the $240 (I think that's what it was) price per person for the whole cruise was a bit hard to swallow. I know it works out to $20/per day, but neither of us felt we would be using it more than once or twice. It would be nice to have a $35 or $40 one time use price.

 

I still don't understand the Tea Tower. We came across it by the IC, but the only literature by it was for the "Royal Afternoon Tea" which sounded like the normal afternoon tea they server. The sign did mention "A choice of our specially selected Mighty Leaf Tea from the Tea Tower." Most of the "tea draws" were empty. Possibly a work in progress? I will have to find out more about this. My DW is a big tea drinker, so she's quite interested in this.

 

We stopped by the photo area and spoke with the Videographer. The computerized photo system is not working as of yet. The original plan of swiping your card and seeing just your photos on computer screen didn't work. They had a backup plan where you could walk up to a video screen and pick an event (like Embarkation photos) and then scroll through all the pictures for that event. The backup plan didn't work either. So, as of right now, it's the normal photo experience. He did mention that the software people are on-board during this cruise trying to get it working, so maybe by the time we disembark they will have it running.

 

A little interesting side note...

The videographer will be moving to the Regal next May, and he has already been on the Regal and has confirmed that the center stair has not been fixed and can not be fixed since it was too late in the construction…the interesting part was the acknowledgment of the design flaw and knowing it had not been fixed. So maybe not on the Royal or Regal, but if there are future builds in the Royal Class, they may have center stairs, so maybe the P&O build will have one?

 

Someone had asked about hooking a DVD up to the TV? Well I can confirm that you can hook up an HDMI device fairly easily. I brought an HDMI cable along on the trip after seeing a picture showing HDMI ports on the side of the TV. I was able to plug my MacBook into one of the HDMI ports on the back and sit on the bed an look at our travel pictures on a 37" (just guessing, don't know the size, but it is quite decent size) 1080p TV. IT was very nice. The TV has buttons on the front. They don't look like buttons, but they are "touch sensitive" labels. One of the labels is make "input". You can cycle through all the inputs. There was and HDMI 1 (which is the Princess Video service), HDMI 2 (not used), HDMI 3 (the one I plugged my computer into, USB, Computer, some one other I can't remember.) Now it was not easy reaching behind and plugging the cable in, and I don't think Princess wants you doing it, but it was possible.

 

OK, that's it for now. Time for bed. Toulon tomorrow.

 

Thank you for your post....looking forward to more. Thanks for the info on the TV. Hubby always uses the TV to review video. We wondered if the plugs would be reachable on the TVs now that they are wall mounted.:)

[dockhl]

To all:

 

Since your next stop is Livorno, I'm asking a favor for those of you that have decided to go to Cinque Terre with a Princess shore excursion. I've found a few older postings (not on Princess Forums) mentioning that things have not been great, nor enjoyable because of conditions there and problems people have encountered.

 

Would someone please make a posting of your experience (traveling there, closures encountered, how you managed to get from town to town... any problems.... and all the good stuff)

 

Bottom line: was it worth going or would you recommend that we do a different shore excursion on our Sept cruise?

 

Your help on this is appreciated!

 

Mike

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Benny...thanks for another post. When it comes to scenic ports, Venice will be a beautiful one. If you're not on the starboard side of the ship, make sure to be up on top deck for the arrival.:D

 

I think you get a better view from uptop and have access to both sides even if you have a starboard cabin.

Forgot about Venice cause we are usually sailing out from there:D

Counting the days till I'm back and starting to get excited :D

[hobo1937]

To all:

 

Since your next stop is Livorno, I'm asking a favor for those of you that have decided to go to Cinque Terre with a Princess shore excursion. I've found a few older postings (not on Princess Forums) mentioning that things have not been great, nor enjoyable because of conditions there and problems people have encountered.

 

Would someone please make a posting of your experience (traveling there, closures encountered, how you managed to get from town to town... any problems.... and all the good stuff)

 

Bottom line: was it worth going or would you recommend that we do a different shore excursion on our Sept cruise?

 

Your help on this is appreciated!

 

Mike

 

We have not done this shore excursion but had booked it for our Ruby cruise in November. Recently I saw a notice on the bottom of the page for the excursion that the Path of Love, which sounded like a highlight of the tour, is closed indefinitely. So we decided to cancel.

[Carolina Cruisr]

To all:

 

Since your next stop is Livorno, I'm asking a favor for those of you that have decided to go to Cinque Terre with a Princess shore excursion. I've found a few older postings (not on Princess Forums) mentioning that things have not been great, nor enjoyable because of conditions there and problems people have encountered.

 

Would someone please make a posting of your experience (traveling there, closures encountered, how you managed to get from town to town... any problems.... and all the good stuff)

 

Bottom line: was it worth going or would you recommend that we do a different shore excursion on our Sept cruise?

 

Your help on this is appreciated!

 

Mike

 

If I am not mistaken Carole (Sunsetbeachgal) is taking that tour. You may want to drop a line to her on her thread, Sunsetbeachgal, live from the Royal.

[Bentley5700]

Today was Toulon but as none of us are wine drinkers we decided just to go into town on the shuttle boat $15pp. Nice area to walk around with plenty of shop and cafe's to sit and watch the world go by. Had to leave after a couple of hours after visiting way too many (in my opinion) shoe shops. The Boss found some nice sandals and is very pleased with herself.

[/quote

--------------

 

Great idea about Toulon and the water shuttle for shopping! I think we will do just that.

Since we board the Royal when you reach Venice (7/28), I hope you have a memorable, but warp-speed, trip. <g>

[MGnut]

To all:

 

Since your next stop is Livorno, I'm asking a favor for those of you that have decided to go to Cinque Terre with a Princess shore excursion. I've found a few older postings (not on Princess Forums) mentioning that things have not been great, nor enjoyable because of conditions there and problems people have encountered.

 

Would someone please make a posting of your experience (traveling there, closures encountered, how you managed to get from town to town... any problems.... and all the good stuff)

 

Bottom line: was it worth going or would you recommend that we do a different shore excursion on our Sept cruise?

 

Your help on this is appreciated!

 

Mike

 

We were in Cinque Terre in mid-May this year as part of a private tour - not a cruise. At that time, all of the lower trails between the cities were closed form the mudslides and floods of a couple of years ago. The only walking tours were the ones way up the hillside, making walking from town to town pretty much not an option. We did, however, see some serious hikers from Germany who were doing the upper trails.

 

The trains, which are on tracks down close to the shore, were running, so you can get from city to city that way.

 

Howard

[lynn_and_rob]

I'm adding some picture today, hopefully they aren't too boring. I noticed last night while out on the balcony (we're in M220) looking down toward the bow a single cabin on Emerald deck with a balcony jutting out further than the rest? I know there was A LOT of posts about balconies all over the ship, but I don't remember this one being mentioned? I've attached a picture just in case I'm crazy and just missing something. The picture is from the starboard side. The port side has the same balcony.

 

By the way, the first thing I did when we made it to our cabin in Barcelona was go check out the balcony. My wife and I both agreed that if there wasn't so much made about the size, we probably wouldn't have noticed that it was smaller. Of course, it's just the two of us and neither of us are into hanging out on the balcony. The other odd thing we both noticed is that the pictures I took of the balcony somehow made it look smaller than it is. We thought maybe the tall thin chairs add the the "illusion" of it being smaller than it is. Of course it is rather small, but it just didn't seem as small as we thought it was going to be.

 

Another thing we both noticed were a number of crew members in street clothes while on duty (this was during the emergency drill and also during gathering for excursions.) Neither of us remember this from previous cruises. We thought maybe their "casual" uniforms have not shown up yet? Has anyone else noticed this recently on Princess? Or has it always bee that way and we're just not that observant?

 

Stopped by Sabatini's and asked about lunch. Apparently no lunch in Sabatini's, at least not yet. Patter confirmed dinner hours only.

 

Bathroom talk…I don't understand all the complaints about the TP holder placement? For us it seems just fine. Maybe a little to the rear, but still very easy to reach. It is on the right side in our cabin however. We noticed that when you close the shower curtain it gets really dark in the shower. The shower curtain goes all the way to the ceiling and is not transparent, and there is no light in the shower. Not a big deal, but took both of us by surprise. There seems to be a lot of useful space in the bathroom as well, and the deep square sink is almost as big as the tub.

 

The TVs stopped working for a short time this morning. They both said "Can not connect to server. Try again later", or something like that. We waited about 10 minutes and tried again and they worked.

 

A one point there was talk about "special" material on the balcony doors underneath the Seawalk that would keep people from above seeing into the cabins. On the Seawalk last night it was quite easy to see into the cabins below. You can't really see in beyond a couple of feet or so, but you can see in without a problem.

 

One last thing for today…in todays Patter there was mention of the Ultimate Ship Tour being offered. We put our names on the list. We were told it is limited to 12 people and would take place on one of the sea days. Price is $150pp. We've done the tour before on the IP and probably wouldn't bother with it again since it is quite pricy, but we figured it's a new ship with some interesting new technology to show off behind the scenes….so hopefully we get chosen.

 

pps…Captain Draper just announce we will be departing a little late from Toulon as they fix an electrical problem with the propulsion system.

[lynn_and_rob]

Slow sending from Ship...

[chamima]

I'm adding some picture today, hopefully they aren't too boring. I noticed last night while out on the balcony (we're in M220) looking down toward the bow a single cabin on Emerald deck with a balcony jutting out further than the rest? I know there was A LOT of posts about balconies all over the ship, but I don't remember this one being mentioned? I've attached a picture just in case I'm crazy and just missing something. The picture is from the starboard side. The port side has the same balcony.

 

From the picture it doesn't look like the actual balcony is any larger but that there is something surrounding the actual balcony. Maybe it's just the angle of the picture.

 

 

By the way, the first thing I did when we made it to our cabin in Barcelona was go check out the balcony. My wife and I both agreed that if there wasn't so much made about the size, we probably wouldn't have noticed that it was smaller. Of course, it's just the two of us and neither of us are into hanging out on the balcony. The other odd thing we both noticed is that the pictures I took of the balcony somehow made it look smaller than it is. We thought maybe the tall thin chairs add the the "illusion" of it being smaller than it is. Of course it is rather small, but it just didn't seem as small as we thought it was going to be.

I've always thought that a lot of life is expectations. You expected the balcony to be small so when you saw the reality it wasn't so bad. This might be an answer to everyone that got upset at the negative posts. I, for one, just like to have as much info as possible, good AND bad, so I know what to expect.

 

 

Another thing we both noticed were a number of crew members in street clothes while on duty (this was during the emergency drill and also during gathering for excursions.) Neither of us remember this from previous cruises. We thought maybe their "casual" uniforms have not shown up yet? Has anyone else noticed this recently on Princess? Or has it always bee that way and we're just not that observant?

 

Is it possible that the people you saw in "street" clothes were the entertainment staff?

They always help out for the emergency drills and at other odd times when extra staff is needed.

 

 

Stopped by Sabatini's and asked about lunch. Apparently no lunch in Sabatini's, at least not yet. Patter confirmed dinner hours only.

 

Bathroom talk…I don't understand all the complaints about the TP holder placement? For us it seems just fine. Maybe a little to the rear, but still very easy to reach. It is on the right side in our cabin however. We noticed that when you close the shower curtain it gets really dark in the shower. The shower curtain goes all the way to the ceiling and is not transparent, and there is no light in the shower. Not a big deal, but took both of us by surprise. There seems to be a lot of useful space in the bathroom as well, and the deep square sink is almost as big as the tub.

 

The TVs stopped working for a short time this morning. They both said "Can not connect to server. Try again later", or something like that. We waited about 10 minutes and tried again and they worked.

 

A one point there was talk about "special" material on the balcony doors underneath the Seawalk that would keep people from above seeing into the cabins. On the Seawalk last night it was quite easy to see into the cabins below. You can't really see in beyond a couple of feet or so, but you can see in without a problem.

 

One last thing for today…in todays Patter there was mention of the Ultimate Ship Tour being offered. We put our names on the list. We were told it is limited to 12 people and would take place on one of the sea days. Price is $150pp. We've done the tour before on the IP and probably wouldn't bother with it again since it is quite pricy, but we figured it's a new ship with some interesting new technology to show off behind the scenes….so hopefully we get chosen.

 

pps…Captain Draper just announce we will be departing a little late from Toulon as they fix an electrical problem with the propulsion system.

 

 

Thanks for all of the info!

[Pia1913]

QUESTION: Who are the Capt. Circle host/hostess and the FC Consultant?

[IECalCruiser]

There is one cabin with a balcony like that on both sides of the ship, E125 and E130. There are what appears to be emergency exits from the Princess Theater that extends out on the Promenade below and the balcony covers that area. Those cabins are rated for four passengers.