Live From the Royal

[RhondaPerr]

On the Royal Princess right now! It is a sea day, and I have escaped to my cabin for some quiet! We have the Fiji Suite, which is as far forward on the ship as you can get! The suite is amazing. I do want to let people know though, some of the amenities listed are not available on the Royal Princess.... Make sure you look at that tiny print.

 

Embarkation was seamless, we were on the ship at 12 and our suite was ready! We opted to eat lunch in the dining room. Btw this is cruise #32 for me. I think not having a mid stair case is really insane... It definitely makes things harder, but nothing that makes me negative about this ship!

 

Yesterday we opted not to go to Princess Cays, and instead purchased the day at the Sanctuary. Yes, it is $40.00 pp per day! I like the way they have it set up, very private, so you don't feel like a fish in a fish bowl! You can book it 24 hours in advance, sea days are sold out almost immediately! I did not see a lot of the enclaves being used!

 

The retreat pool for adults only, was some of the coldest water I have ever felt! You think you are getting used to it, but in truth your body is just going numb lol... We went to the Beatle Maniac Show which was great!!! Not your typical cruise ship show at all! We love the entertainment in the Crooners Lounge!

 

The food.... The first night my friend told me her Prime Rib was good, but Luke warm. Last night was better! Room service has been excellent, and the breakfast at Sabatinis for Suite Passengers (not mini suites) was incredible! MUTS Saving Mr. Banks...great movie, but we had 20 mile an hour winds, with 20 mph gusts coming across the deck, and it got a bit chilly! The blankets, popcorn and warm cookies were available!

 

Today we have our Meet and Greet and Cabin Crawl. I have a manicure, and its Formal Night! The show is Colors Of The World. I really like that they have 3 different times, for the same show! The Beatle Maniacs are also doing a brand new show at the Piazza.

 

I was supposed to get a Birthday Cake the first night, and my waiter keeps forgetting! I am hoping he forgets till the end of the cruise, and way after I am gone lol...I already was sung to at our informal meet and greet!

 

More later!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for the live! Make sure you eat lunch at Alfredo's!

[wineforhealth]

Thanks for the live, enjoy your suite.

[-Lew-]

Hi Rhonda...and thanks for your report.

 

When we sailed in a suite onboard the Royal TA there were some suite amenities missing. We hoped they would eventually appear. Which ones have you noticed not being available to you?

 

Our suite was right across from the concierge lounge on Riviera deck. I OD'd on the free cappuccino, latte and other goodies. Have you had an opportunity to make your way over there yet?

 

Enjoy your suite and the rest of your cruise. Looking forward to reading more.

 

Lew

[Host CJSKIDS]

Glad you are enjoying the cruise.

 

Please say hi to Sybil, Michael and Ray from Carolyn!

[RhondaPerr]

iPads, you need to go get, they are not in the cabin! You have access to, but you have to pay for the Therma Spa $199 for the week! There is no Goodie basket! It's the regular canapés... None of these are causing me to cry into my soup :)) Yes, love not having to stand online at the Pursers Desk! Have not taken advantage of the snacks available in the lounge.

 

 

 

Hi Rhonda...and thanks for your report.

 

When we sailed in a suite onboard the Royal TA there were some suite amenities missing. We hoped they would eventually appear. Which ones have you noticed not being available to you?

 

Our suite was right across from the concierge lounge on Riviera deck. I OD'd on the free cappuccino, latte and other goodies. Have you had an opportunity to make your way over there yet?

 

Enjoy your suite and the rest of your cruise. Looking forward to reading more.

 

Lew

[caribill]

Embarkation was seamless, we were on the ship at 12 and our suite was ready! We opted to eat lunch in the dining room.

 

Others have posted that the embarkation day lunch menu was very limited, 3 entrees and no salads, soups or desserts. Was that your experience?

[RhondaPerr]

Tomorrow we plan on being really lazy after our excursion...spend the rest of the day at the pool, and then not get dressed up for dinner and go to Alfredo's,.. Everytime we walk by it, oh my does it entice us :)

 

Thanks for the live! Make sure you eat lunch at Alfredo's!

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks for the live report Rhonda

 

Unless I missed it...what is the itinerary?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for checking in.....

 

[Tak8]

Hope your cruise is great. Which dining room was open for lunch on embarkation?

[Mom33]

Have a wonderful cruise. Thanks for reporting your experiences.:D

[DJVKN]

Have a great cruise. We are in B102 suite 1 deck above you and port side in Feb next year. Can you tell me if you can you use the balcony on sea days?

Thanks for any information and have a great time. Look forward to reading more!

[mistyann]

Others have posted that the embarkation day lunch menu was very limited, 3 entrees and no salads, soups or desserts. Was that your experience?

 

I will be on the Royal this Sunday :D and was wondering this also. First time on a Princess cruise in over 10 years & have never eaten in MDR on embarkation day for lunch!

[caribill]

I will be on the Royal this Sunday :D and was wondering this also. First time on a Princess cruise in over 10 years & have never eaten in MDR on embarkation day for lunch!

 

Please let us know what you find.

[chamima]

Others have posted that the embarkation day lunch menu was very limited, 3 entrees and no salads, soups or desserts. Was that your experience?

 

We were on the Royal in Feb.

There was a salad and the famous Souffle for dessert but only one main course option.

Maybe they are still tweaking the menu.

[RhondaPerr]

Another great day yesterday! We had so much fun at the Meet and Greet, and fun to show people the suite! We went to the Colors Of the world show, then Kory who we love from Crooners. Dinner was okay. I am really not going to use the word " great" this time around. It's not bad, but its not a "Wow" either. We are eating In Alfredo's tonight!

 

We are heading to a party boat to go to honeymoon beach in a few moments. Typical St. Thomas weather.. Overcast, and Sunny..and there is no doubt in my mind that its going to pour at some point.

 

We took the sanctuary for half a day tomorrow... Not going into St. Maartin.

 

Can not believe its Wed. Already! It seriously needs to slow down!!

[Polycarp]

Rhonda, thanks for your current review. I'll be on TA in 1-1/2 weeks on Royal. Quick question. Are there soap/shampoo dispensers in shower/lavatory or bars of soap and battles of shampoo?

Last year on Emerald they were changing to dispensers.

[RhondaPerr]

There was not a lot on it, but enough for us to choose something we liked! There was dessert..

 

Others have posted that the embarkation day lunch menu was very limited, 3 entrees and no salads, soups or desserts. Was that your experience?

[RhondaPerr]

Bars and bottles

 

 

 

QUOTE=Polycarp;42457545]Rhonda, thanks for your current review. I'll be on TA in 1-1/2 weeks on Royal. Quick question. Are there soap/shampoo dispensers in shower/lavatory or bars of soap and battles of shampoo?

Last year on Emerald they were changing to dispensers.

[RhondaPerr]

Princess Cays, St Thomas and St Maartin

 

 

Thanks for the live report Rhonda

 

Unless I missed it...what is the itinerary?

[RhondaPerr]

Yes, we have sat out on the balcony quite a bit, but in the morning it is not in the sun most of the time!

 

 

QUOTE=DJVKN;42448045]Have a great cruise. We are in B102 suite 1 deck above you and port side in Feb next year. Can you tell me if you can you use the balcony on sea days?

Thanks for any information and have a great time. Look forward to reading more!

[RhondaPerr]

It poured on us in St. Thomas while we were at the beach! The planes were roaring overhead... The water was calm and a dream! I AM not going to complain about rain, when my husband says it snowed last night lol... Kon Tiki excursion was fun... We are docked here till 9:30pm.. Weather allowing we want to see the Fountain Show, otherwise we are eating at Alfredo's and no other plans...

 

I get a kick out of some of the rude people who are on this ship...like during MUTS someone asked these rather loud people to please let the, listen to the movie... And instead of apologizing, they acted like the people who asked them to be quiet were rude! Chair saving in the theatre, with an entire row saved, and when asked didn't they hear the announcement, they made a snarky remark.. My favorite though was the day last night playing two slot machines, and when asked very nicely by the Casino Manager to allow others to play, she said "make me!" I understand why some of my students are the way they are lol

 

There was a man screaming at Security as we boarded back on today, that did not have his picture ID, and made such a scene, that security from the other ship even walked over to find out what was going on! Did I mention that one of my table mates, first made an anti Semitic remark (I am Jewish) and then last night when the Mariachi Singers came over to the table and serenaded me for my birthday, she made a remark about Mexicans... I was going to tell her that they were Philipino...But you can't fix stupid lol..

 

The Royal is a beautiful ship, but surprisingly, it looks worn in places. The Varnish is peeling by the retreat pool... And other places... One elevator has been out of service the last few days... It is what it is :)

[dmwnc1959]

Can not believe its Wed. Already! It seriously needs to slow down!!

 

That's why I'm glad I did two weeks. :D

 

As for the rude people, yup, had them on my cruise too. I think they are on every ship. Bleh.

 

I'm guessing as Royal Princess approaches her first year in service, and a continuous stream of passengers every week, little bits of maintenance little varnishing wood and replacing worn items will now be an ongoing thing. They even had a HUGE scaffolding platform erected in the atrium when we were in St. Thomas to replace bulbs in the ceiling. I think it was the first time they ever tried that because it didn't work out so well.

 

Glad you are having a wonderful time. Looking forward to the rest of your daily updates, and your final thoughts once you've returned.

 

:D

[pcsunlover]

Just curious - do you know why the ship was so late leaving St. Thomas?

 

On our cruise 2 weeks ago the ship lost power several times and as a result we were late getting into St. Thomas. Was there a power issue again?