LIVE from the Royal Princess - 30 days, Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale - 9/27 - 10/27

[LewesBeach]

Answers to some questions:

- They are not serving oysters on the half shell at Ocean Terrace

- I have no soot problems - I am midship on Emerald deck below the Seawalk

- seas have been calm and smooth, weather warm mid 70's. Captain announced we are altering course southward a bit to avoid a tropical depression Lorenzo to the north.

[paulmichael]

OMG>>>> talk about shrinkage.. what the heck did they do to the Mini suite...:eek: and the penthouse suite balcony is a joke... Wow just Wow!!

 

CC

 

Wow and more Wow.... Bob is more than right to be upset. If I spent 10K for this I would be pissed as well.

[paulmichael]

I was finally able to get the link to open up using the ship's Internet. I see they are actual pictures (owner suite) of what I have. They are at first glance appealing to someone wo hasn't actually been in one. When you are actually in them, you can see first hand just how small they actually are.

 

Bob

 

WOW The owners suite on the Grand would take up 4 of the ones on the Royal... understand why you are disappointed. Glad I only have a Balcony it looks almost as big as yours Glad you are making the best of it. Will be boarding on the 29 for a B2B.

 

Mike

[The4OfUs]

I was finally able to get the link to open up using the ship's Internet. I see they are actual pictures (owner suite) of what I have. They are at first glance appealing to someone wo hasn't actually been in one. When you are actually in them, you can see first hand just how small they actually are.

 

Bob

 

AUGH! :( OK I'm getting nervous - there are NO photos of the S5, other than the mock up that is shown for the S2 AND the S4 as well, so when I picture it I picture it like your cabin, Bob...and honestly after we got an Owners Suite on the Carnival Sensation (after they cancelled our cruise without telling us, and I went ballistic on Social Media, suddenly a non-bookable cabin was made available) I'm very worried we're going to be terribly disappointed.

 

I guess I will take heart that I have until end of Dec for final payment, and hopefully will know more about the cabin by then. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!

[curiouscat]

When the Royal gets to FLL there will be a series of TA's getting on for the Inaugral sailings... I am going to request real pics of all the room categories...

 

I would suggest if you have TA contacts,if your interested, you do the same and we can then post.. and Bob if you did book with a TA.. I'd send him/her a pic of your state room...:rolleyes:

 

Enjoy those sea days.. cloudy and cool on land here

 

CC

[bronxgirl25]

Boy, after reading this thread I am wondering why in the world did I book the spring TA on the Royal (except we have a wonderful CC group already).

 

Can you please post what you really like about the ship?:confused:

 

I sincerely hope Princess is reading this thread. It is not very becoming to the ship or Princess in general.:(

 

Thank you everyone for your "Live From" and taking the time and minutes to do it.

 

Linda....I agree about the wonderful CC group on the April TA. I'm one of them :D I am going to await judgement until I speak in person to my friends and family who are on this sailing. Everything is subjective as we all know and as of now, I'd still like to experience The Royal.

[The4OfUs]

When the Royal gets to FLL there will be a series of TA's getting on for the Inaugral sailings... I am going to request real pics of all the room categories...

 

I would suggest if you have TA contacts,if your interested, you do the same and we can then post.. and Bob if you did book with a TA.. I'd send him/her a pic of your state room...:rolleyes:

 

Excellent idea - our TA is actually headed on the Royal when it gets to FLL for a cruise, and has said she will try to get photos for us. Crossing fingers! :)

[JimmyVWine]

Super Tuscan Wine Tasting

 

Some Super Tuscans featured on Sabatini's Wine menu such as Solaia, Ornellaia, and Masseto, ...

The wine tasting was $40.00/person ....

 

Were these wines included in the tasting? Or are they pouring other Super Tuscans?

[cw2go]

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for taking the time to post here. I have never sailed Princess and was thrilled to see what Royal had to offer. I am researching for a New England cruise and thought "Self plus New England with New ship...score" But after following this thread I am sad to say I am less than excited to sail this ship. For the same itinerary, I am now leaning towards sailing NCL Gem...the price difference is huge and for us the ports are mostly what matters. (I have yet to sail them to date either but when reading on the Gem the reviews shine.)

 

Again thanks to so many of you for your honesty and time,

Patty

[Pia1913]

Yes, seas are smooth, to answer a previous question. And Bob, I still disagree with you; totally and completely. We sat on the side of the crab shack because the other side was very full. And our side was not empty either.

[RichNY]

OMG>>>> talk about shrinkage.. what the heck did they do to the Mini suite...:eek: and the penthouse suite balcony is a joke... Wow just Wow!!

 

CC

 

 

Yes the balcony is a joke...we never had a suite balcony without a lounge chair....

If one can get the wine room at the CG its really quiet but first you need to have a group, we had 8.

[RichNY]

Yes, seas are smooth, to answer a previous question. And Bob, I still disagree with you; totally and completely. We sat on the side of the crab shack because the other side was very full. And our side was not empty either.

 

 

Care to explain your disagreement ????

[gracie65]

Yes the balcony is a joke...we never had a suite balcony without a lounge chair....

 

If one can get the wine room at the CG its really quiet but first you need to have a group, we had 8.

 

Did you request the wine room when you reserved at CG? I have 8 in my group as well.

[spyro1952]

Linda....I agree about the wonderful CC group on the April TA. I'm one of them :D I am going to await judgement until I speak in person to my friends and family who are on this sailing. Everything is subjective as we all know and as of now, I'd still like to experience The Royal.

 

Marcia, I have to agree with you. I read this thread daily and have made some changes to my Royal cabin for the cruise in the fall (Copenhagen to NY) based on what I've read here. I love cruising with active CC roll calls, like the April & September, so the other stuff doesn't mean as much to me anymore. Being by myself, I just go with the flow.

I need to see for myself whether I like it or not.

Marcia

[donna travels]

This question might have been answered already, so sorry for a repeat question. On Embarkation Day they offer lots of weekly perks can you tells us what some of them are and their price. ie

 

Soda Card

Deluxe Soda Card

Wine Package

Coffee Card

Solarium Weekly Price - When and where to sign up, best location for loungers

Spa Pass

Wine Tasting

Chefs Table

 

Any others you can think of would be great.

 

Love all of your posts. Thanks again for your input:D

[mathan416]

1. Haven't seen ads for UST

 

Thanks Pia!

[Seal]

We always get Princess to let us know the square footage of the cabins and subtract the balcony from that figure--sometimes, not so good\\I love the aft corner suites on the small ships--6088 my favorite--good size bedroom, dressing area and living room w/ dining table etc. also the guest bath is very nice to have.--

 

Wish I had a suite on one of the small ships booked--but, alas--not now.

 

Nancy:D:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Due in Fort Lauderdale on the 27th....

 

[Sunviking]

Maybe I've missed something, but it seems the regulars who post here and are elite don't seem to be doing lots of buying at the for fee venues based on their posts. I've read lots of ones talking about going to the HC and some to the dining rooms. Not much mention of the seafood bar and no one that I can think of commented on eating at the Crab Shack on this cruise. Alfredos seems to get lots of visits but that's no charge. If Princess'

goal was to increase revenue from for fee venues, at least with this crowd posting now it doesn't seem to be really working. Of course, we only hear from a very small number of passengers on the ship.

 

I hope the rest of your voyage is safe and smooth.

[JimmyVWine]

Maybe I've missed something, but it seems the regulars who post here and are elite don't seem to be doing lots of buying at the for fee venues based on their posts. I've read lots of ones talking about going to the HC and some to the dining rooms. Not much mention of the seafood bar and no one that I can think of commented on eating at the Crab Shack on this cruise. Alfredos seems to get lots of visits but that's no charge. If Princess'

goal was to increase revenue from for fee venues, at least with this crowd posting now it doesn't seem to be really working. Of course, we only hear from a very small number of passengers on the ship.

 

An excellent point, and one that I have been pondering. Now that we have the number of Elites/Platinums/Golds etc. on board, I wonder what the bean counters are going to say and do if they find out that their Golden Child Ship netted a lower "per passenger spending" on this cruise than on any other! Many people have commented over the years that as much as Princess tries to market to its frequent customers, it really isn't interested in keeping them around for this very reason. I've never believed that, but I am beginning to re-think it.

[toberman]

Really glad that this "Live from" thread is staying on course and not getting hijacked. For the 4 or 5 who are posting from the ship... Thanks.

Everyone else remember, we have been asked at least 3 times not to get off-topic and allow this to remain a "Live from". Some people on the ship have to use valuable paid-for minutes to scroll thru everyone elses 'discussions'.

[#1winelover]

Thanks Pia!

I just read an earlier post that they are doing the UST but it is limited to 12 people, and it's harder than a clamshell to crack into! So it shows that some folks have an inside track, and others are running the outside one, I guess! :confused:

[CruzNut7]

Believe in earlier post that someone said there is red and white wine with frequent refills - with the implication that you could choose your food.

 

Now there's a report of the Tuscany Wine Tasting at $40 with multiple red wines and the appropriate foods - implying no choice of food.

 

Are these two different venues?

 

Also, a mention of the wine room in the CG ... is this another one and if you have 3 people could they just then add 5 more to make the table of 8?

 

Thanks for any insight.

[mema4]

Pia-

I am reading this blog and following alone with you. I agree with you about the ship. Stan has also been following. He liked going up to HC and found the food above average. As far as the dining room- we had everything made the way we wanted. Waiter was better than excellent. Vitor was the head waiter.

Regards to Mike.

Alice

[candide333]

We did a TA last year on the Grand and decided to grab a cab as recommended on CC rather than do the Princess transfer. Worst idea! We stood in line outside in the hot sun for over two hours because taxis were only discharging not picking up at our terminal. Finally crammed into a van, but missed our flight. It is a zoo when there are so many ships in port.