Just off Royal Princess - small review.

[Meanee]

I wanted to wait until I get home to do it But thanks to Delta's 1 hour and 40 minute delay I thought I might as well do small review now.

 

We were on Royal Princess' East Caribbean itinerary. It included Princess Cays, St Thomas, St Maarten. It is very similar to first cruise I ever took, on Oasis of the Seas. Substitute Princess Cays with Nassau, and that's it. But I was sick as a dog on that trip so a repeat was quite welcome.

 

Now, let's go over typical Royal complaints.

 

Soot on balconies - Did not experience any of it. When we boarded, there were 2 small "pebbles" which produced a dark streak. And that was it. We were in Deck 12, mid (you can consider back) of the ship, port side. And looking at ship's exhaust, most of the trip it was pushed to port side.

 

Room temperature - I like my room to be cold. I'd rather wrap myself in a blanket than sweat it out at night. And room was pretty cold. Except, for some reason, at final night. It was cold enough that I was accused by girlfriend that I stole the blanket numerous times.

 

Toilet paper placement - Are you kidding? I can't believe this is an actual complaint. I am not a small person (240, 5.11), but I had zero issues reaching toilet paper. So unless you are morbidly obese, it should not be a problem. And if it is a problem, take out the damn roll and put it where you can reach it.

 

Lack of mid ship stairs - Honestly, not a big thing. Yes, it would be a bit better if stairs were there. But I did not experience any inconvenience with long elevator wait times. They seemed very normal to me. What did get me a bit annoyed is that there were 3 call button "sets" on mid ship elevator. 2 individuals, and then the rest. The individual elevators seemed to have a mind of their own, stopping at random floors.

 

Now about the ship.

 

I found the decor to be very elegant. We are not very experienced cruisers (this was 4th) but I found the decor to be very nice, not being "in your face" or looking like you stepped into 70's casino (looking at you, Carnival). There were Christmas decorations, but also not over the top.

 

Room was on a smaller side, but was decently thought out. Balcony was spacious enough for me and my gf to spend some time there. TV placement was excellent. TV system was excellent. There were more choices, more on demand stuff than I've seen on any other ship.

 

Small note about TV system - it had issues. First, while interface is 1080p, do not expect a decent quality from any shows or movies. Images were very blocky (sign of extreme data compression) and frame rate was below 20 frames per second, producing almost a "slideshow" effect. Sometimes audio was out of sync. And more annoying problem was an error message that video cannot be played, while it's actually playing. It forced you to hit OK button, returning you back to main menu. TV input button is disabled, and I did not have ViewSonic in my phone's infrared remote app. I ended up pulling the HDMI cord out from their media box and plugging in my laptop. That required some maneuvering, since TV is very close to the wall.

 

Pools - Pools were excellent. I loved the fact that Princess does not treat you like a criminal when it comes to towels. Yes, Carnival, AGAIN, I am looking at you. Towels always available. Take any, return them any time, without checking in/out (RCCL) or bringing them from your room and being threatened with a fee if they are not returned (Carnival).

I loved the fact that pools are deep, not your typical kiddie pool. Seems that every other ship goes as deep as your waistline. The 7.2 feet in main pool and 6.11 in retreat pool were welcome.

 

Pools also were not crowded and chairs always available. There were times where you could not see a single soul in the pool.

 

Food (Buffet) - Food was great. Buffet area was very large and had great choices. Some things were always available, some things changed day to day. Pastry shop is a great addition. I found a buffet schedule was great. It was open without any interruptions until 11pm (Carnival, please take notice. Do not close your buffet at 5pm when people are coming from shore, leaving only 1 crappy venue open). Most of the time, entire buffet was opened. Few times, they did close off sections, but there was still plenty of choice available.

 

Food (MDR) - Great food, great service, tiny portions. But you can always get more if you ask. Steak was grilled to the level I wanted, and did not taste like a shoe. Wait between courses was not long. We went twice throughout the cruise. I am on vacation, so I'd rather not get dressed up every night. Shirt and shorts work for me, so my food venue of choice was the buffet.

 

Food (Reservations) - Called them few times throughout the cruise, nobody picked up. Either they are too busy or don't care. I wanted to sign up for Chef's Table. Guest services couldn't sign me up, and referred to reservations. Called them few times a day throughout first 2 days, and then just gave up.

 

Shore excursions - I dare you to find a single entry that does not have "Shopping" or "Adventure" in a title. I am sure there were "Shopping Adventure" hiding somewhere as well. Some things reasonably priced. Some are overpriced. I found their lack of any Scuba activities disappointing. And I am not counting Discover Scuba they had. I am certified, and want to see more fun things that are typically off-limits to Discover Scuba trips.

 

Movies under the stars - Great idea, very "meh" execution. Low resolution, and very poor sound. Wait until next day, it will be in your stateroom TV.

But I loved staff going around with blankets, popcorn, pizza, ice cream.

Vista lounge movies were good. But for some reason, I did not see anyone offering drinks during the movie in Vista Lounge.

 

Overall - Ship was great, clean, and surprisingly problem-free, after I heard all the horror stories. Crowd was very pleasant. Ship itself did not feel like a college kegger (Yes, Carnival, looking at you again), and entertainment was pretty good. Although some was overloaded with PowerPoint, making it look like I am at the meeting at work, not on a cruise ship.

 

Overall, a very positive experience. If you are on the fence about it, I'd say go for it.

[capriccio]

Now, let's go over typical Royal complaints.

 

Soot on balconies - Did not experience any of it. When we boarded, there were 2 small "pebbles" which produced a dark streak. And that was it. We were in Deck 12, mid (you can consider back) of the ship, port side. And looking at ship's exhaust, most of the trip it was pushed to port side.

 

 

OP - I just want to clarify that the soot and exhaust issue is with the aft FACING balconies not those along either the port or starboard sides.

 

I agree with most of your other comments and your recommendation " If you are on the fence about it, I'd say go for it" as long as you don't have an aft facing balcony (or are expecting an owner's suite to live up to its name but that is another story/thread :p).

[joe/jack]

Thank you for an honest and an informative review.

Too many people complain about stupid things

Its your vacation its what you make of it

[slc22]

Thanks for your mini-review.

 

We were on the week before you. I understand the comment on the elevator with a mind of its own. We were stuck in one on deck 7 for a short time. Passengers had to pry the door open from outside to get us out. At the time the elevator said (inside) that we were at deck 5. LOL.

 

I reported it to guest services, and they took quick action to take it Out of Order, for repairs. They had a great response in my opinion.

 

I loved my Royal cruise!

 

Safe travels home....

[Meanee]

We ended up in a broken elevator too. Door closed, and that was it. No movement, no "dings" of new floor". Few minutes later door opened and Out of Order sign was there. Seen few OOO elevators on Royal. Guess they still have to work out few bugs there.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the mini-review.

 

Re: toilet paper holder. I can only comment about my experience. I had no problem reaching it. However, when it was loaded with a brand new roll that didn't want to roll, it was very difficult. I'm not obese (much less morbidly) but I do have arthritis in my back which makes it uncomfortable to twist and turn to reach down and in back of me to the left (I'm right-handed) and try to pull the paper straight. I couldn't do it without twinges of pain which is why I put the paper on the counter for the rest of the cruise. It sucks getting old but little things like this are a reality as you age. :(

Edited December 22, 2013 by Pam in CA

[slc22]

Meanee, did you have the Beatlemaniacs and Carlos Oscar (comedian) on your cruise, too?

 

We heard they disembarked. Not sure if they were back on for the next cruise? They were simply fantastic.

[tip]

I enjoyed reading your comments.

 

We board the Royal two weeks from today. We are going in with a positive attitude and I know that we shall have a positive cruise!:D

[Meanee]

Meanee, did you have the Beatlemaniacs and Carlos Oscar (comedian) on your cruise, too?

 

We heard they disembarked. Not sure if they were back on for the next cruise? They were simply fantastic.

 

We had Carlos Oscar. He did an early show and late (adult only) show. And managed to keep adult only clean and hilarious.

[Mom33]

Thanks for your mini-review. Glad you enjoyed your Royal cruise. :D

[OCruisers]

Your mini-review actually contains lots of helpful information.

Thanks for doing it! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[jdmerck]

Just off as well...were u on the elevator with me when it got stuck?? Lol we were stuck on one had to call using the phone on the elevator. .was kinda scary not gonna get into to much not happy with our vacation but had more to do with the kids program but over all a wonderful ship..pretty but needs customer service skills worked on

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for your review...we loved the Royal when we cruised her back in July and hope to be on her or Regal sometime in the future!

[sashas_mom]

Thanks for the mini-review.

 

Re: toilet paper holder. I can only comment about my experience. I had no problem reaching it. However, when it was loaded with a brand new roll that didn't want to roll, it was very difficult. I'm not obese (much less morbidly) but I do have arthritis in my back which makes it uncomfortable to twist and turn to reach down and in back of me to the left (I'm right-handed) and try to pull the paper straight. I couldn't do it without twinges of pain which is why I put the paper on the counter for the rest of the cruise. It sucks getting old but little things like this are a reality as you age. :(

 

I hear you, Pam. But at least we're young at heart.:)

[smashrt]

We too just got off the Royal today and were with a group of 14. It wasn't my favorite ship out of my 12 princess cruises, which makes me kind of sad considering how excited I was for a fresh breath of air in design.

 

Well the interior was gorgeous and loved the new decor but the logistics of things was a bummer. (Elevators, Princess LIVE, ect)

 

Elevators seemed really small and everyone would pack on.

 

Food was AMAZING! Hands down best we've had!!

 

Pools were large and tons of room and never felt like we were fighting for good chairs.

 

We all really missed Skywalkers! Level 6 just wasn't the same.

 

We too had a problem with Princess Pelicans. Our son turned 3 last week and they treated him like he should be 5. Sure, he's a tall 3 year old and looks 5 but don't expect him to be perfect. I truly felt 2 out of the 3 ladies disliked him. He's a sweet little 3 year old. It's his 5th cruise but 1st we could bring him to the kids club. So it was disappointing when we were so excited to have him be included in kids programs this cruise.

 

Buffet took getting used to but we all ended up liking it by the end of the week. They had yummy gyros that took us until the end of the week to realize they had in the "hibachi" part of the buffet.

 

All in all, any cruise is a good cruise. But will definitely book other ships before the Royal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chil-laxin]

Just thought I would add comments here as I am not yet in the mood to type a review up!

 

Hubby and I mid 30's Platinum Princess. Met folks with the aft balcony they had no issues! Toilet paper...we laughed b/c we stayed at the Westin Ft Lauderdale beach the night before and THAT was some hard toilet paper to reach--we bet no one complained to Westin.;)

OP-too bad you gave up on Chef's--best food and service experience ever, we called day one and got someone after about 20 rings (always lots of rings I have learned, unfortunately). It was more than worth the 115pp and I would do it again!!

All food was the best we have ever had we ate at MDR, buffet and Sabitini's and Crown Grill.

Service was excellent-no kids so it's hopeful they will fix the issues there.

Ship was amazing!!

We had a minisuite--we learned to close the mid room curtains at night..kept the sleeping area cold! We loved the addl space and the shower/tub space. The balcony was small but usable.

As for the pool areas they seemed fine..we didn't care to use them and generallly don't on cruises...I think being from FL and having a pool and boat and full time water access it just doesn't appeal to us much.

No midship stairs-We travelled with my inlaws and my FIL has a foot issue and he can't walk up more than 4 flights really so they said it was a little issue but only b/c SOOO many on the 12/8 sailing had scooters and they fill up an elevator. We did have a lot of scooters, luckily deck 12 wasn't like 8 and didn't have the halls filled with scooters like the inlaws did:eek:

 

We will probably do Regal when it comes out but we left thinking if only they did a little more with the spaces to "hang out" it would have made a huge difference in feeling entertained, other than that we loved the trip and the ship!

[funinthesun86]

Thanks to OP for sharing your mini review.

 

 

Sent from my KFTT using Forums mobile app

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. It's nice that you addressed some of the issues others have had concerns about. I'm sure it will be helpful for those that are thinking about booking the Royal.

[akeasley]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Glad you had a good time!

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. It's nice that you addressed some of the issues others have had concerns about. I'm sure it will be helpful for those that are thinking about booking the Royal.

[lynwar]

Hello,

I enjoyed reading all the comments.

We got stuck in an elevator, as well. There was another fellow with us, much younger than we were so after we all joked with nervous laughs, he finally called on the phone and the doors opened within what seemed seconds. We chose to use the stairs, then, and then advised others about to get on that particular elevator. I don't think there was another issue with it. We were on Aloha (12), midships elevator. I believe it was the first one on the left.

 

One thing I had to get used to was having to go to the Bistro for the desserts and pastries from the Horizon Court. We never did eat in the Bistro, either, so I imagine that we missed some good meal choices in there. We'll have to go on a future cruise, some time.

 

I'm happy that your cruises weren't complete disappointments and that you did have a good time overall. We aren't prone to using the pools, either.

 

Thanks again for your comments.

 

Lynne

[riclop]

Was this a mini review of the Royal or a mini review to put Carnival down?

[Meanee]

Was this a mini review of the Royal or a mini review to put Carnival down?

 

If I wanted to put Carnival down, it won't be a "Mini" review. :rolleyes:

[JPEvans]

I got off the Royal a week ago. One thing I noticed about all those

Scooters. Most of them were rented. Just about everyone had a plaque

That said property of such and such rental. I've noticed many of the

Passengers who used them could walk fine.

[BananaAnna]

Thanks for the review - and I especially appreciate the cruise line comparisons!

As much as I've enjoyed Carnival over the years, I have just booked my first Princess cruise and look forward to the differences. And I mean REALLY look forward to the differences.