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

[LewesBeach]

We were in E415 on the TA. Great balcony too but no wifi in the cabin. Did you have that problem too?

 

Yeah we had the same prob - no wifi in room E411. I had to go into the hall to hook up, then go back into the room and stand by the door to keep the signal. Pretty inconvenient.

[Pam in CA]

Pam...

Thanks for those pics of the desk and storage. Very helpful.

Do you mind telling me again, what category of cabin you had, and, if possible, the cabin number? We are in a DD for the Copenhagen-NY TA in 2014 but are thinking of trading in the sofa (which we liked too) for the additional desk and refrigerator storage. You still had 2 drawers in the nightable on each side of the bed, right? After all these Princess cruises, I am not accustomed to not knowing what kind of furniture or storage I will have.... :(

Now, if I could feel confident the Elite laundry service would be back on track, I wouldn't have to pack (and store) as much... LOL.

I was in a BC cabin, M611. I'd recommend the cabin but not Marina deck. The noise from the HC was really bad. Yes, the night tables both had two drawers. The cabin was as large as the standard balcony cabins I've had on the Crown and Diamond earlier this year but had more storage with the three small shelves next to the mini-frig and the whole top of the mini-frig since the TV is on the wall. I'm booked in a sideways inside cabin for the T/A since I couldn't justify the jump in cost to a balcony (for a single, the difference was over $2K.)

[bellasorella]

thanks for the info, Pam.

We are currently booked in a DD for the Royal TA on Baja. We did find the sofa useful as a staging area, since storage was so lacking. Wasn't worth paying for an aft balcony for this route at this time of year, though.

And then, there's the soot. But I am thinking of going more midships if we can save more $$$. Unlikely at this point, but checking it out.

 

Thanks again.

[sashas_mom]

We were in a standard balcony cabin on Baja midship and had plenty of storage space. I think when they cut off the desk to make room for the sofa, it was an injustice if you use the drawers in the desk frequently as we do. We were VERY happy with our cabin and actually rarely found a problem with the elevators. Guess we were just very fortunate.:)

[sashas_mom]

Yeah we had the same prob - no wifi in room E411. I had to go into the hall to hook up, then go back into the room and stand by the door to keep the signal. Pretty inconvenient.

 

We had to stand by door or outside cabin also on the Baja deck. The day before we disembarked, my husband saw some tech guys in the hallway close to our cabin fiddling with something on the ceiling. We had wifi in cabin for that day. Obviously something easily fixed, when they get to it.

[cruisinsince75]

Was there any problems bringing wine onboard on this cruise? We brought several bottles of Proseco onboard the Ruby that we bought at the COOP market in Venice when we did the crossing. However, friends have told me that princess now charges a corkage fee on ALL bottles over a 1 bottle per person allotment, even for in stateroom enjoyment. They were on the Star out of LA on a CA coastal cruise.

[kidder kid]

There was no problem bringing wine onboard in Venice. We had four bottles in our carry on for which we were willing to pay the corkage fee if we needed to but nothing was said. Also, we purchased a bottle of Limoncello in Sorrento and they did not confiscate it when we boarded. Several of our shipmates brought additional bottles of wine on board in other ports and I did not hear of any problems.

 

Carolyn

[cruisinsince75]

There was no problem bringing wine onboard in Venice. We had four bottles in our carry on for which we were willing to pay the corkage fee if we needed to but nothing was said. Also, we purchased a bottle of Limoncello in Sorrento and they did not confiscate it when we boarded. Several of our shipmates brought additional bottles of wine on board in other ports and I did not hear of any problems.

 

Carolyn

 

Good to know. Apparently, they are running a test and it is only happening out of the Port of LA.

[LogansNini]

I have been following this thread from the beginning and wish to thank all CC members with their insights.

 

Special thanks to Pia, Pam, Bob, and Amelia who have generously given their time to include the rest of us on their travels.

 

I will be sailing on the Royal December 1st on my very first cruise and am so excited to see and do as much as I can in 7 days.

 

Your insights have been invaluable to me! Thank you soo much and hope to meet you on a future cruise, because I just know I'm going to LOVE it!!

[doublin9]

No problem in Fll bringing on 4 bottles of wine. Thoroughly enjoyed them at dinner!

[chamima]

No problem in Fll bringing on 4 bottles of wine. Thoroughly enjoyed them at dinner!

 

Were they in your carry-on(s) or your suitcases?

[Woobstr112G]

Yeah we had the same prob - no wifi in room E411. I had to go into the hall to hook up, then go back into the room and stand by the door to keep the signal. Pretty inconvenient.

 

We had an OS suite. I could not get a signal in the "bedroom" or on any portion of the balcony. I got a sporadic signal in the living room area. A number of times I also had to go outside to the hallway to be able to connect.

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

I have been following this thread from the beginning and wish to thank all CC members with their insights.

 

Special thanks to Pia, Pam, Bob, and Amelia who have generously given their time to include the rest of us on their travels.

 

I will be sailing on the Royal December 1st on my very first cruise and am so excited to see and do as much as I can in 7 days.

 

Your insights have been invaluable to me! Thank you soo much and hope to meet you on a future cruise, because I just know I'm going to LOVE it!!

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Pia1913]

No problem in Fll bringing on 4 bottles of wine. Thoroughly enjoyed them at dinner!

 

Were they in your carry-on(s) or your suitcases?

 

Doublin9: please respond to Chamima's question. To everyone else, in Europe you can bring on an entire winery. Nobody cares. Other than California, they have also been strict in Hawaii and Alaska. Not sure yet about FLL, but my friend who just got off said they weren't checking when she boarded the Royal. We are on the Crown Dec. 14 and then on the Ruby. Will know shortly.

[RNGALNG]

I just got my issue of Cruise Travel in the mail today. (Don't know if I can say this or not. We will see. . .) There is a nice size article on the Royal with photos as well. Go check it out in your library or buy an issue at your favorite book store!

[LogansNini]

I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

Thanks, Bob. I've really enjoyed your posts. :D

[Luvsailing]

We had an OS suite. I could not get a signal in the "bedroom" or on any portion of the balcony. I got a sporadic signal in the living room area. A number of times I also had to go outside to the hallway to be able to connect.

 

Bob

 

I was told by Edouard in the internet department that our cabins, especially our doors, are made of steel which impede satellite signals.

 

As for bringing alcohol on board, when I was onshore in Portugal I met a family on our ship who assured me I could bring as much alcohol on board as I wished. They were correct - I brought 3 bottles and put them through the belt in the bags from the store. That was truly wonderful as we enjoyed port and sweet wines on our balcony.

[chamima]

I was told by Edouard in the internet department that our cabins, especially our doors, are made of steel which impede satellite signals.

 

.

 

That's baloney! :rolleyes:

ALL ships' cabins are made of steel and we've always gotten an internet signal in the cabin. (At least since that technology became available.)

[Pam in CA]

I was told by Edouard in the internet department that our cabins, especially our doors, are made of steel which impede satellite signals.

Maybe Edouard should consider a different career. What IS true is that walkie talkie signals are impeded by the steel on the ship because they are often used by people on different decks but the cabin walls and doors are not made of steel. That makes no sense since that would add significant weight to the ship. You probably cannot get a WiFi signal between decks.

[#1winelover]

Were they in your carry-on(s) or your suitcases?

Karen! I was on the Maiden Caribbean and the b2b out of FLL (Port Everglades to be more precise) and had 2 bottles of wine in a wine carrying case. No one bothered to ask or search or scan or otherwise question me if I was going on 1, 2 or more itineraries! Others I spoke with on the same cruise(s) said no one bothered to check or ask questions of them either! My guess is that Princess wanted ZERO negative reactions to her first trip out of Florida (or the USA) to impede the sale of more berths on future cruises from the USA. Just my own humble opinion!

[Woobstr112G]

Maybe Edouard should consider a different career. What IS true is that walkie talkie signals are impeded by the steel on the ship because they are often used by people on different decks but the cabin walls and doors are not made of steel. That makes no sense since that would add significant weight to the ship. You probably cannot get a WiFi signal between decks.

 

They're made of some kind of metal since many people use magnets to affix various items. This metal could cause some interference.

 

Bob

Edited November 14, 2013 by Woobstr112G

[GeeDunk]

They're made of some kind of metal since many people use magnets to affix various items. This metal could cause some interference.

Bob

 

Made of a metal, which is magnetic; probably light guage steel.

Neither aluminum nor stainless steel are magnetic.

[Irishjayne]

Good to know. Apparently, they are running a test and it is only happening out of the Port of LA.

 

In May we sailed out of San Francisco on the Grand to Alaska. I had wine in my backpack. I was asked to go over to a table where the person there asked me my cabin number.

Jayne

[Carolyn R]

I was on Riviera deck aft and had the best internet access I have ever had on a Princess ship!

 

FYI: Magnets do not adhere to steel.

[GeeDunk]

FYI: Magnets do not adhere to steel.

 

Hey --

What is hanging on your steel fridge:confused:;)