Why does Royal Princess have such low reviews?

[Loreni]

The aft suites have soot.

 

The forward suites are locked when underway because of wind.

 

The suites on the side have balconies that are only 3 feet and seven inches wide. How could anyone entertain in a suite like that?

 

Anyway, we don't want to entertain.

 

We do want to recline on our balcony (both of us at the same time) while facing the sea. How exactly would we do this on the Royal? Some say get one of the extended balconies. But these are mid-ship. Since we rarely use the elevators, why would we ever book a mid-ship cabin on the Royal? How inconvenient it would be to have to walk all the way forward or aft multiple times each day to use the stairs...and pay a premium for this privilege. Also people on the Skywalk CAN see partially into some of these cabins, not just the balconies. I don't get a balcony so I can keep the curtains closed. Finally, even the extended balconies are quite small. And now I hear they have no foot stools. All of these problems could be mitigated by a covered promenade deck with loungers, such as that offered on the Sapphire. At least I could recline while facing the sea. But Royal doesn't really offer this. Yes there are a few loungers (maybe 20, I guess) on each side of the "promenade platforms" exposed to the sun. Half of these will be on the smoking side. Not many loungers are left for the thousands of people onboard. I know the Sanctuary works for some, but it is too far from the sea for us.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Loreni

[LewesBeach]

The aft suites have soot.

 

The forward suites are locked when underway because of wind.

 

The suites on the side have balconies that are only 3 feet and seven inches wide. How could anyone entertain in a suite like that?

 

Anyway, we don't want to entertain.

 

We do want to recline on our balcony (both of us at the same time) while facing the sea. How exactly would we do this on the Royal? Some say get one of the extended balconies. But these are mid-ship. Since we rarely use the elevators, why would we ever book a mid-ship cabin on the Royal? How inconvenient it would be to have to walk all the way forward or aft multiple times each day to use the stairs...and pay a premium for this privilege. Also people on the Skywalk CAN see partially into some of these cabins, not just the balconies. I don't get a balcony so I can keep the curtains closed. Finally, even the extended balconies are quite small. And now I hear they have no foot stools. All of these problems could be mitigated by a covered promenade deck with loungers, such as that offered on the Sapphire. At least I could recline while facing the sea. But Royal doesn't really offer this. Yes there are a few loungers (maybe 20, I guess) on each side of the "promenade platforms" exposed to the sun. Half of these will be on the smoking side. Not many loungers are left for the thousands of people onboard. I know the Sanctuary works for some, but it is too far from the sea for us.

 

Like! I've sailed on the Royal and everything you've stated is correct. My feelings exactly - It's a beautiful ship but just not for me.

[Skai]

In sum,

 

If one has never cruised Princess before, and is sailing with an open mind and no preconceived notions, they would likely find the Royal Princess to provide for a very pleasant experience.

 

However, If one has sailed Princess numerous times, (to the point that their expectations have skyrocketed), if anything provided falls short of their best cruising experience, there is disappointment.

 

The lesson to be gleaned here is: Sometimes the viewpoints of SOME longtime cruisers might actually not be as beneficial or relevant to what a new cruiser might really care about.

 

Princess has a loyal following, and many longtime cruisers know what they like and what they don't like. Also, as a result of this loyalty, many longtime cruisers feel that Princess ought to cater to their wants/needs more than trying to attract the next generation of Princess customers.

 

And this is where the rift lies. Most of the bad reviews of the Royal have been written by faithful Princess customers who have resisted any change to the product that they've grown to love and be loyal to.

 

Hell hath no fury like that of a Princess customer scorned.....

[pklein9747]

We just got off the Royal today and thoroughly enjoyed the ship. This was our 7th Princess cruise and we would easily book the Royal again.

 

Did we miss the mid-ship stairway...yes, but only because we got upgraded to a mid-deck balcony cabin on Marina deck and it would have been easier to just go up or down a flight of stairs to get to Horizon and the Lido deck. So, we took the elevators...which were crowded sometimes, but certainly not all the time. And we didn't experience any problems with the elevators skipping floors. And, occasionally we took the aft or forward stairs...the walking did us good :)

 

Did we think the balcony was small? Yes, but on every other Princess ship we have sailed on we have had a cabin on Caribe deck. So this was smaller. But we still managed to have breakfast on the balcony every morning...Thank you room service for being so prompt and accommodating...And we sat out there to read, relax and watch the beautiful Caribbean sea. We never felt cramped. And if we wanted to lay out, there were always enough chairs out on deck in either the sun or the shade.

 

We loved the Retreat - the Adults Only area on the front of the ship. The first sea day it was very windy out there as the sea winds were blowing across the deck; however, on the last 2 sea days of our voyage, the ship was headed into the wind and it was delightful out there. It gets crowded, but people come and go all day and with some patience you can easily move from the sun to the shade and back again if you wish.

 

We liked the separate areas on the Promenade deck to sit and read on comfy chairs and just discovered this morning that there is an area in the back of the ship by the Vista Lounge where there are loungers on the Promenade deck. We did somewhat miss walking all the way around on the Promenade; but this was something we did only once or twice a cruise anyway.

 

The pools were very crowded and it does seem strange that they only have one large pool and then a smaller pool in the center of the Lido deck. The overflow area around the small plunge pool seemed to be perfect for the little kids though. The Retreat pool was also quite crowded, but I never go in thinking I'm going to be able to swim laps.

 

The food was good. We loved the new arrangement in Horizon Court and the flow through the buffet was much better than on other Princess ships. In fact, for the first time, we ate more often in HC than in the dining room. Alfredo's was delicious and Crown Grill was superb, as always. And the pizza at the pool...best on the seven seas!!

 

We really like Princess and feel it is a good fit for our likes and dislikes. We also realize that everyone is entitled to their opinions and tastes vary greatly and we read reviews of ships, restaurants and hotels keeping this in mind. We know we are fortunate to be able to cruise and enjoy it for the rest, relaxation and joy it brings us :)

[bhopal21]

The aft suites have soot.

 

The forward suites are locked when underway because of wind.

 

The suites on the side have balconies that are only 3 feet and seven inches wide. How could anyone entertain in a suite like that?

 

Anyway, we don't want to entertain.

 

Good thing, since you would also find that none of the suites have a wet bar.

 

Mike:)

[nikitty]

Thanks for all the great posts everyone! Sorry to have sparked a kerfuffle but it shows how polarized people are about this particular ship which really makes me think twice. Do I care about a promenade deck and an extra pool? Probably not. But waiting longer for elevators and worrying about my mom having to possibly climb more stairs? That could be an issue. I'm definitely mindful about getting a room closer to the middle at any rate. Either way, I really don't like the idea of having to pay so much more for a balcony to use as a glorified oceanview. So basically - we do like the sounds of the ship - how beautiful it is but a cramped balcony doesn't sound great when you're paying a premium and we are pretty much at our budget ceiling.

 

We were thinking about the Island Princess Panama cruise at Christmas (all the cruises I have been looking at are around the 20th) but it's out of the budget - unless we want to downgrade to an oceanview - (we always get a veranda) but is that something you want to do when going through the Panama Canal? We also thought of just going back to our regular stomping ground of the Celebrity but we've been on the Summit before and it would be nice to try something new - and we're not thrilled with the idea of flying into Puerto Rico - the cost and the hassle - and the ports aren't amazeballs as we have done a few on the Reflection 2 years ago. I was then thinking of a completely different tack - the Norwegian Dawn which sails out of New Orleans. We really love New Orleans so we know we'd have a fun time before the cruise, and the price is very reasonable - but not sure about this ship itself. So pretty much - my mind is mush - DH is mad because I've spent the whole holiday weekend doing research - and I am pretty much back to where I was a few days ago. :)

 

If anyone has any suggestions of Christmas cruises they really enjoyed, I'd love to hear about it! :)

Edited April 21, 2014 by nikitty

[rdsqrl]

I did the Panama Canal over Christmas/New Year's and loved that cruise so much that I feel like I should put in a strong vote in favor of it! If the 15-day FLL-LA is outside your budget, what about the 11-day roundtrip out of FLL? It only goes partway through the Canal, but there is one shore excursion that takes you through the rest of the Canal to the Pacific on a smaller boat, so you'd still get the whole Canal experience.

 

There's tons of outdoor space on the Coral and Island, so having an oceanview cabin is maybe not that much of a sacrifice as on the other ships (full disclosure: I always book OV cabins and don't particularly miss the balcony, so that's my own perspective). Aft on Caribe deck, the open deck even has some lovely loungers and that deck is generally deserted except in the morning on Canal day. Anyway, good luck with your decision.

[MauiLvrs]

If anyone has any suggestions of Christmas cruises they really enjoyed, I'd love to hear about it! :)

 

Thanksgiving likely will take a smaller bite out of your budget and provide a number of options on a range of ships.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[Loreni]

In sum,

 

Sometimes the viewpoints of SOME longtime cruisers might actually not be as beneficial or relevant to what a new cruiser might really care about.

 

many longtime cruisers feel that Princess ought to cater to their wants/needs more than trying to attract the next generation of Princess customers.

 

..

 

I doubt Princess conducted a marketing survey and learned that younger people have been holding off on cruising Princess because the balconies were too large. Or because younger people don't like ships with central stairs.

 

I don't really see how such design "features" would help princess attract younger cruisers.

[Pam in CA]

The lesson to be gleaned here is: Sometimes the viewpoints of SOME longtime cruisers might actually not be as beneficial or relevant to what a new cruiser might really care about.

As long as the viewpoints and opinions are relatively objective, factual and based on reasonable expectations, it doesn't matter whether the reviewer is new to cruising, experienced, young or old. Or IMHO, it shouldn't matter. Such input, whether you agree or disagree is educational and beneficial.

 

I've found that some things are important to some people, other things important to others, and some people just can't get worked up about any of it. People are passionate when they care and one thing stands out to me, people care about cruising on Princess.

[Skai]

As long as the viewpoints and opinions are relatively objective, factual and based on reasonable expectations, it doesn't matter whether the reviewer is new to cruising, experienced, young or old. Or IMHO, it shouldn't matter. Such input, whether you agree or disagree is educational and beneficial.

 

I've found that some things are important to some people, other things important to others, and some people just can't get worked up about any of it. People are passionate when they care and one thing stands out to me, people care about cruising on Princess.

 

 

Perhaps it unreasonable for me to presume that the majority of negative reviews of the Royal Princess are indeed longtime (Princess) cruisers.

[Pam in CA]

Perhaps it unreasonable for me to presume that the majority of negative reviews of the Royal Princess are indeed longtime (Princess) cruisers.

Nah... only extremes based on unrealistic expectations are unreasonable. :)

 

I sailed on the Royal last Fall with hundreds (thousands?) of longtime Princess cruisers and while it wasn't perfect, everyone I spoke to had good things to say about the ship. When the Royal was launched, the majority of the negative comments were made by people who had never sailed on her. They were so vocal that some people canceled their Royal cruises.

[Skai]

Nah... only extremes based on unrealistic expectations are unreasonable. :)

 

I sailed on the Royal last Fall with hundreds (thousands?) of longtime Princess cruisers and while it wasn't perfect, everyone I spoke to had good things to say about the ship. When the Royal was launched, the majority of the negative comments were made by people who had never sailed on her. They were so vocal that some people canceled their Royal cruises.

 

I find it hard to understand why a few seemingly minor shortcomings would motivate people to have such an absolutely negative impression of what otherwise appears to be a very beautiful and magnificent ship.

 

Your last statement is why I made the suggestion that one ought to take some peoples' opinions with a grain of salt -- As it pertains to how their own personal experience may be, compared to that of someone who could be perceived to be possessing unrealistic and/or unreasonable expectations - Perhaps due to an over familiarity of the brand.

 

If the day ever comes where I find myself grumbling over the perceived loss of amenities such as complimentary cottons swabs or towel animals, that will be the day that I quit cruising altogether.

 

I guess the plus side is: If the preliminary negative reviews continue to hamper bookings of the Royal Princess by certain folks, the rest of us may be able to benefit from better pricing in the future.:D

[MauiLvrs]

I find it hard to understand why a few seemingly minor shortcomings would motivate people to have such an absolutely negative impression of what otherwise appears to be a very beautiful and magnificent ship.

Maybe it is hard for you to understand it .... because you decided that the shortcomings are minor.

 

We spend 25% or more of our time on the Promenade Deck or aft pool area. A major short coming. The additional passengers missing pool not a small impace. While the Piazza may be larger ... there are a bunch more passengers.

[Skai]

Maybe it is hard for you to understand it .... because you decided that the shortcomings are minor.

 

We spend 25% or more of our time on the Promenade Deck or aft pool area. A major short coming. The additional passengers missing pool not a small impace. While the Piazza may be larger ... there are a bunch more passengers.

 

I can relate to this, as I too enjoy the Aft Pool location on Grand Class ships -- But more so on the Sapphire and Emerald than the Caribbean and the Star (due to the pool often being more shaded by the location of Skywalker's on the latter two).

 

That stated, I'm not one to give those two latter ships a glaring horrible review for that difference. Nor would I for the lack of a wrap around promenade.

 

The previous Royal Princess(R-Class) also had neither of those amenities, and yet I still found her old world charm and intimacy appealing.

[kendon]

At first we were really disappointed that the wrap around Promenade deck was not on the Royal as we spent a lot of time there ourselves. Once we experienced the the beautiful multiple seating areas on that deck, we actually liked it better than the wrap around not having to dodge the endless supply of joggers and speed walkers. There are plenty of outdoor areas to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets...including the Horizon Terrace which is beautiful!

 

Personally, I always look for what's right instead of what's wrong...in every experience. Truly don't understand the 1 and 2 star reviews.

[Woobstr112G]

Maybe it is hard for you to understand it .... because you decided that the shortcomings are minor.

 

We spend 25% or more of our time on the Promenade Deck or aft pool area. A major short coming. The additional passengers missing pool not a small impace. While the Piazza may be larger ... there are a bunch more passengers.

 

 

Well stated.....:):):)

 

Bob

[MauiLvrs]

Once we experienced the the beautiful multiple seating areas on that deck, we actually liked it better than the wrap around not having to dodge the endless supply of joggers and speed walkers. There are plenty of outdoor areas to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets...

That's nice and all ... But there are no options to be one of those walkers anywhere near the water ... and there is only the short narrow walking/jogging track way up top.

 

For us ... As long as there are other options ... that is a deal breaker for us!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[Woobstr112G]

As long as the viewpoints and opinions are relatively objective, factual and based on reasonable expectations, it doesn't matter whether the reviewer is new to cruising, experienced, young or old. Or IMHO, it shouldn't matter. Such input, whether you agree or disagree is educational and beneficial.

 

I've found that some things are important to some people, other things important to others, and some people just can't get worked up about any of it. People are passionate when they care and one thing stands out to me, people care about cruising on Princess.

 

Pam;

 

Very well stated.....:):):)

 

Bob

[PescadoAmarillo]

When the Royal was launched, the majority of the negative comments were made by people who had never sailed on her. They were so vocal that some people canceled their Royal cruises.

Many people decided to either 1.) not book the Royal Princess at all; or 2.) cancel existing bookings. This leads me to believe that the average cruiser rating would have been even lower had these people not cancelled. I think, in that respect, all the negativity was very worthwhile. If people know that the Royal's shortfalls are going to negatively affect how they cruise, not going on the ship was exactly the right thing to do.

[Pam in CA]

I think, in that respect, all the negativity was very worthwhile. If people know that the Royal's shortfalls are going to negatively affect how they cruise, not going on the ship was exactly the right thing to do.

Education and information is always worthwhile, whether it's positive or negative. To me, the question is whether the negatives or positives are more important.

 

Many of the things people are most negative about aren't that important to me or don't affect me, so I have a favorable opinion of the Royal.

[bhopal21]

And likewise Woobster's review of his suite saved me a lot of disappointment.

 

I would not have been nearly as accepting as he was to find a miniscule soot covered balcony, smaller cabin, and no wetbar in a suite that I had paid thousands for.

 

If you need the scoop, check with Cruise Critic.;)

 

Mike:)

[John Reid]

Many people decided to either 1.) not book the Royal Princess at all; or 2.) cancel existing bookings. This leads me to believe that the average cruiser rating would have been even lower had these people not cancelled. I think, in that respect, all the negativity was very worthwhile. If people know that the Royal's shortfalls are going to negatively affect how they cruise, not going on the ship was exactly the right thing to do.

 

This makes perfect sense. Any time I have posted a response on any CC board that asked for favorite ship or design, out of the nine ships I have sailed (some multiple times), Ruby is my favorite. So when I read the reviews of Royal and looked at deck plans, I knew it was not the ship for me. The amount of stars of the review did not even matter; it doesn't have the key design elements that made me like Ruby (and Golden and Caribbean) so much. I have made my subsequent cruises on other ships of choice. Ironically, we would have been back on Ruby twice more since our first Ruby cruise if Princess had not jerked around the ship's itineraries and created those four and five day cruises with minimal port stops. So, inserting Royal on seven day Caribbeans with one less port than Ruby actually kept us from sailing Princess.

 

A few years ago, we sailed out of Brooklyn on CB to NE/Canada. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We wanted to return this year, but the CB had been replaced with Royal for this year. We will return to Canada/NE, but it will be on RCI Explorer.

 

We each have key elements we enjoy. Without the aft pool, the Wheelhouse Bar as currently configured, or a promenade for daily walks watching the ocean, I would not enjoy the cruise as much. I don't book any ship on any line that does not have a walkable promenade.

 

We have the ability to drive to cruises out of Baltimore and NY/NJ. So, we have sailed the RCI choices and will be considering Celebrity to Bermuda. These are not our first choices; I wish Princess were in these ports year round. We enjoy Explorer as a drive-to ship. But it is being replaced by Quantum. Similar to Royal, I have read the descriptions of the ship's

layout and plans and know it is not for me.

 

Had I sailed on Royal without forewarning, it may well have been another low-rated review.

 

And the beauty of the situation is that with so many alternative ships that have the elements we enjoy, we don't have to risk whether other aspects of design will make up for what we will miss.

[Jetswdo]

First I have to say that what is negative to others, may be a positive to someone else, or just not important to another person.

 

If you want a complete walk around Promenade, then this is not the ship for you. DH and I could care less about this.

 

We booked this cruise for 3 snorkel days for DH. That is what he got. This sailing fit his brief spring break (April 13-20) so the Royal Princess got our business.

 

Positives regarding ship: Very good food. Workers very pleasant. Washers and dryers: reasonable and convenient. Movie selection in cabins, excellent- Pleasant entertainment.

 

Negatives: Elevators ridiculously small and very crowded most of the time. Enclave should be next to gym as on every other ship in the universe. Also we found therapy pool in there ridiculously hot. Adult sanctuary should be better shaded and supervised. People sneaked in and were able to use sanctuary for free (we felt like chumps, after we paid a ridiculous amount of money for it- and had to use subterfuge to be able to beat the system to be able to book for the week in the first place)

Would we book this ship again? If the itinerary was more extensive with beaches and being able to purchase a day pass at a resort- for the right price I certainly would. I would get a cabin with a bigger balcony and not do the Enclave or the Sanctuary. My DH would just not do a steam room or sauna after working out at the gym. But we would not choose this ship again if other options were available as DH really likes to use steam room after gym, when available. But if these negatives are not a big deal to you, then the Royal certainly is a beautiful ship.

[Cruiselover1951]

I remember all the pre-launch Royal Princess hype, fueled by Princess and Princess DIe Hards, that this was a bigger, better, more beautiful, state-of-the art, improved, passenger friendly etc. etc. ship with press releases, videos, countdowns and what nots.

 

Me think Princess set themselves up for the 65% approval rating of Royal Princess, because it turned out that the ship is just like any other cruise ships, with some good and some not so good, and some of those Princess loyals who had bought into the hype and couldn't wait to book on the Royal, were likely taken aback when finding the things that are not so good on this ship (i.e. balconies, not enough pool real estate etc) as they expected everything to be as glorious as the piazza and represent a significant improvement over the older ships.

 

So what are my qualifications for making these statements? - Well when we cruised to Hawaii in April 2013 we had already booked a cruise from Santiago to Los Angeles for March 2014, but we got wrapped up in the Royal Princess hype and wanted to experience this alleged 7th wonder of the seas and changed our reservation to the April 27, 2014 TA cruising on the Royal. And we have stuck with that cruise despite definitely recognizing that the Royal does have shortcomings, and we have come to terms with us probably having to endure days with soot (have an Aft S2 suite) and some of the other shortcomings. But we certainly are going into this cruise with open eyes - and if nothing else, all the diverse reviews certainly have lowered our expectation to likely be more realistic - and that's fine, we have yet to find the perfect cruise ship - but have never failed to have a wonderful cruise experience whatever some of these imperfections were and are.

 

Since the Regal is a sister ship to the Royal, people booking on the Regal certainly should have more realistic expectations than what the early Royal bookers had, and for that reason I would not be suprised at all if the Regal get the usual 80+% approval rating despite being identical to the Royal

 

JMHO :)

Edited April 22, 2014 by Cruiselover1951