Just off Royal Princess - small review.

[TorontoTL]

Thanks for the review!

[crewzr]

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...

 

Thanks for the informative review! Looking forward to my upcoming cruise on the Royal!

[Happy2cruise]

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.

Please do not judge, to you they may "walk fine" but you really have no idea of their condition.

[jdmerck]

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

 

 

I felt the chairs in the Princess Live were so uncomfortable, and your right the elevators were small, no way can you fit the limit of 18 people..

never ever had an issue with finding a chair except the last day when they had to close the main pool due to illness inside the pool..LOL other then that perfect, i liked sunbathing where the fountains were so i could watch the big screen, even though some of the concerts were not so good...but not a big deal

[Acosmo]

Please do not judge, to you they may "walk fine" but you really have no idea of their condition.

 

That, and they aren't inexpensive to rent. My FIL could walk short distances but couldn't stand for long periods. We rented one to be delivered to the ship, 7 days for close to $300, it was a lifesaver. He had his independence and could come and go as he pleased.

[sashas_mom]

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.

 

Scooters are very expensive to rent. Why would someone spend all that money if they didn't really need one? I rented them until I finally bought my own. I cannot walk long distances and can only walk slow. Some days I can't walk at all. Yet on the Royal I was able to dance for short intervals, often not being able to finish a dance. To look at me you would have wondered why I had a scooter. I just don't understand why people would question such a thing. Do you really think people are using them for no reason and just to aggravate people in the elevators and in the corridors? I know people who really need a scooter but won't use one because their pride gets in the way. Without my scooter I wouldn't be able to cruise. Don't judge. It could happen to you some day.

[Meanee]

To be honest, I did not think that there were too many scooters. Yes, there were a few, but not enough to be an inconvenience.

 

But my gripe with scooters. If you are going to use one, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LEARN TO DRIVE IT. Some guy decided to do a full speed reverse turn, almost running over my girlfriend's foot. Not even an apology, but gave us the face that almost screamed out "The hell you doing in my way?"

[nhcruiser]

Thanks to the O.P. and those that have added details from recent cruises. :)

We are looking forward to a Feb 23 cruise on the Royal Princess. I have not read any reviews related to the Sky Walk, pool area water feature or top side bar that overlooks the sea. Has anyone been in a mid-ship mini-suite on Mariner Deck? What is generally scheduled in the Princess Live venue?

[lynwar]

I don't think that JPEvans was meaning to offend people. She was speaking to what she observed. It is evident that many more folks do use scooters than ever before because of the convenience if they have back problems or other mobile situations. It is a very subjective issue now and hard to detect underlying reasons for using them.

 

I retired from a retirement community and many residents started buying scooters for various reasons, partly because they were covered by their insurance. Some could walk short distances or didn't want to deal with a walker when they could ride. However, the therapy department did have to hold special "driving" lessons and give out "licenses" to drive them, for the safety of all residents. There were several leg and foot wounds caused by maneuvering issues. There was also a speed limit within the halls, and 3 tickets meant taking the license.

 

But, with that said, scooters, walkers and other helpful devices and vehicles are here to stay and help with mobility and a quality of life. I believe we can all get along well on ships and in stores, churches and other public venues without malice and enjoy our times together.

 

Meanee, I don't want to overtake your thread. You dealt with your situation during your week. You've written a nice review. Because of my past work experience, I automatically hold doors open, didn't mind being behind a slow person and happily engage with older adults. And, to clarify, not all people who use a scooter are elderly! (and, I'll happily engage with you, too. )

 

Let's not get off topic..... I've been enjoying reading about the different opinions about the beautiful Royal Princess!

 

Lynne

[fielddreamer]

We were on the same cruise and agree with most everthing that you say. The one big problem we had was the getting on the ship on Sunday. It was a total mess with no direction at all except creating long lines of people standing around! I did talk to one person that had a cabin in back and they told me that they still had that problem but not too bad. My room also had a cooling problem off and on during the cruise!

[caribill]

What is generally scheduled in the Princess Live venue?

 

Patters from the Royal are posted in the thread at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950107

 

These Patters list the activities in the Princess Live venue.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

Keith

[Meanee]

We were on the same cruise and agree with most everthing that you say. The one big problem we had was the getting on the ship on Sunday. It was a total mess with no direction at all except creating long lines of people standing around! I did talk to one person that had a cabin in back and they told me that they still had that problem but not too bad. My room also had a cooling problem off and on during the cruise!

 

Our flight on Sunday was late, so we were at terminal around 2:00pm vs 12pm scheduled. And yes, boarding process was pretty disorganized. So far, I've yet to see anyone beat Oasis or Allure of the Seas boarding. But they built a new terminal just for these ships. It was about 10 minutes from curb to ship with these two cruises I took.

 

Royal Princess boarding felt like standing around in an old terminal of some dinky airport. Every worker at check-in counter had the "I wish I was somewhere else" written all over their face. You couldn't squeeze out a smile out of these people even if you told them best joke you ever heard. I am not the person who demands smiles from everyone, but if I just got off the plane and would like to start my vacation, at least make an effort to be pleasant.

 

From door of the terminal to actually being on the ship was zig-zaggy. Go here, go back, go here, go back. Not a lot of clear signs and lots of roped-off areas.

 

But what was "awesome" is when you are standing not too far from gangway and line is not moving. No idea why. Few staff members simply not letting anyone board THAT gangway for next 15 minutes. Other gangway is open and moving but they won't let you on it because your cabin range is different.

 

Disembark was also weird. You get a disembark ticket for walk-off. On previous cruises, we just woke up, got dressed, went to gangway and that's it. On this cruise, you get a ticket, wait in a dining room and then get out. Customs was slow, but I do not blame it on a cruiseline. 4 agents processing a large line of people. And all of a sudden one agent just leaves.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise on the Royal....:):):)

 

Bob

[CI66774]

To be honest, I did not think that there were too many scooters. Yes, there were a few, but not enough to be an inconvenience.

 

But my gripe with scooters. If you are going to use one, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LEARN TO DRIVE IT. Some guy decided to do a full speed reverse turn, almost running over my girlfriend's foot. Not even an apology, but gave us the face that almost screamed out "The hell you doing in my way?"

 

I, too, didn't see "too many" scooters. The people who were using them appeared to need them. Every time I see someone in a scooter, I just thank God it's not me - yet. I can only imagine what it must be like to lose even a little bit of my mobility. I believe a little patience and understanding of other people's mobility limitations, etc. goes a long way. :)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review.

[CaroltheCruiser]

Since you just got off the Royal, I am trying to find out for booking a private shore excursion if the Royal Princess changes time to island time or not? Thank you for your response.

[JPEvans]

Since you just got off the Royal, I am trying to find out for booking a private shore excursion if the Royal Princess changes time to island time or not? Thank you for your response.

 

 

We changed our clocks ahead before we arrived in St. Thomas and an hour back second to last night.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CaroltheCruiser]

Thank you so much for your answer. That really helps me out a lot. :)

[Happy2cruise]

Since you just got off the Royal, I am trying to find out for booking a private shore excursion if the Royal Princess changes time to island time or not? Thank you for your response.

Yes they do:)

[fielddreamer]

Our flight on Sunday was late, so we were at terminal around 2:00pm vs 12pm scheduled. And yes, boarding process was pretty disorganized. So far, I've yet to see anyone beat Oasis or Allure of the Seas boarding. But they built a new terminal just for these ships. It was about 10 minutes from curb to ship with these two cruises I took.

 

Royal Princess boarding felt like standing around in an old terminal of some dinky airport. Every worker at check-in counter had the "I wish I was somewhere else" written all over their face. You couldn't squeeze out a smile out of these people even if you told them best joke you ever heard. I am not the person who demands smiles from everyone, but if I just got off the plane and would like to start my vacation, at least make an effort to be pleasant.

 

From door of the terminal to actually being on the ship was zig-zaggy. Go here, go back, go here, go back. Not a lot of clear signs and lots of roped-off areas.

 

But what was "awesome" is when you are standing not too far from gangway and line is not moving. No idea why. Few staff members simply not letting anyone board THAT gangway for next 15 minutes. Other gangway is open and moving but they won't let you on it because your cabin range is different.

 

Disembark was also weird. You get a disembark ticket for walk-off. On previous cruises, we just woke up, got dressed, went to gangway and that's it. On this cruise, you get a ticket, wait in a dining room and then get out. Customs was slow, but I do not blame it on a cruiseline. 4 agents processing a large line of people. And all of a sudden one agent just leaves.

We did the e-z check with are bags direct to home. We had breakfast and met in Princess live at 7:50 and were off the ship and out of terminal by 8:30 . No problem ther but you are correct and boarding. I am done with Princess for the time being and looking at other lines for my next cruise. Most of the others do it like rccl and it only takes about 10 min to board. I don't understand why they won't change their boarding procedure. It has been the same for years and not because it carrys more passengers.

Edited December 27, 2013 by fielddreamer

[boca7]

We were on the same cruise and agree with most everthing that you say. The one big problem we had was the getting on the ship on Sunday. It was a total mess with no direction at all except creating long lines of people standing around! I did talk to one person that had a cabin in back and they told me that they still had that problem but not too bad. My room also had a cooling problem off and on during the cruise!

The problem with boarding on my 11/17 Royal cruise was the cruisers feeling that if they were priority they were the only ones & not getting in the proper lines, it was pure chaos & the staff taking the abuse. It seems that Princess has a lot more priority guests than in prior yrs.