LIVE - Royal Princess Transatlantic & Baltic day by day

[GweninTX]

4/27/14

ABOUT US--I will be doing a "Live" on our 26 day transatlantic and Baltic cruise on the Royal. My husband and I are platinum with Princess and I am 59 and he is 64 to give you an idea of where my prospective is coming from. We love to cruise and have only cruised on Princess for the last 15 years - it fits and we love their cruises!

 

BOOKING OUR CABIN --I booked this cruise 8 months ahead with a great TA and got a fantastic price during the 3 for free promo. The price on this cruise went up and up after we booked and even during the flash sales we still had a better price. Sometimes it pays to book way ahead! We booked an IA guarantee and were assigned an IA 10 days prior to the sail date. My TA negotiated an upsell to a balcony for $100 PP and where we retained our 3 for free and even got an extra $50 for using our future cruise credit to book since we went from an inside to a balcony -SCORE!so our upsell ended up at $75 PPand so worth it for all the sea days we have on our TA! We move over to an inside for the Baltic as we booked this as 2 separate cruises and the Baltic more than doubled in price from when we booked ! 😳 an upsell for a balcony on the Baltic would have been $1500 PP - no way!

 

PRE- CRUISE- We spent the night at the Quality Inn Cruiseport/Airport on Stirling Rd in Hollywood, Fl. When our bags arrived I called for their free shuttle and we waited approximately 20 minutes for them. Good service when we arrived at the hotel, room was ready and Henry took all of our bags to our room from the trailer they pulled behind their large 30 passenger shuttle. He also said he would come by the next morning and pick up our bags at 9:00 as we signed up for the first shuttle at 10:00 AM. Henry was perfect as was the shuttle service! A man of his word, he was at our door the next morning at 9:00 AM sharp and picked up all our bags and took them to the trailer. The shuttle services from the airport and to the Cruiseport were free and the room was only $79 - I highly recommend this hotel pre-cruise! Lots of food within walking distance and large K-Mart with adequate wine selection 1.2 miles from hotel. Clean rooms, large free buffet breakfast and huge pool to sit by and read and have a drink or swim if you desire. Lots were when we arrived on Sat. Afternoon.

 

EMBARKATION - We were on the first free shuttle at 10:00 am. When we arrived at the port and got our luggage situated with the stevedores, we went to get in line. It was a huge cluster you know what. They had one huge line and no line for the platinum/elite/suite folks for priority boarding. We went down to the door that was marked "Priority boarding" to make sure and Jerry was sent back to where I stood in line. At about 10:45 they finally decided to form two lines as people were VERY angry and the Princess folks were getting an earful! So we got into the priority line once it formed. At about 11:00 we started to move into the check-in area. This went very smoothly and we were then put into a room which were all platinum. Elites and suites were put in another holding room. At 11:50 we started boarding by rows and it went very efficiently. We were sitting down at Alfredo's eating lunch at 12:30.

 

CABIN - We took an upsell to an obstructed balcony for a nominal amount and are so glad we did! I did a lot of research (thanks to Dave for all his pictures and research during his Royal cruise) and chose E701. It is NOT obstructed in view in any way and is a perfect location. If you need to use the pull down bed in the ceiling ( does not protrude at all - totally flush in the ceiling) you could not access the balcony sliding doors. It was just the 2 of us so - no worries! It is right by the aft elevator and staircase. You can walk down to deck 7 and there is the most wonderful shady area with padded loungers to sit. We had it almost all to ourselves for sail away and will use it often I am sure! Our assigned traditional dining room is right below us on deck 6 - super convenient. And the elite/platinum cocktail party is in the Vista lounge - deck 7 aft too! The toilet paper holder is a non-issue - those who complained need to get a life! Balcony is plenty big for the 2 of us. I love the new sink and the extra shelves. I could put out all my toiletries. The new step in the showers is great for leg shaving. Shampoo fine for hubby and shower gel fine too. Also had bar soap and a big tube of hand lotion that is nice. I hated the eucalyptus fragrance so prefer the new ones. I am picky on shampoo so will not try it.

 

DINE LINE- called as soon as I got in cabin to reserve the Wine Dinner for our group of 10. She said we will get a letter in our cabin for when we are assigned - 2-3 days she said. Will keep you all posted.

 

I also was able to change our assigned "Free" specialty dinner we got from the 3 for free. I had to get aggressive with her as she first said they were totally booked. I told her that was unacceptable and found it hard to believe they were totally booked. I asked for supervisor and suddenly they had ALL kinds of openings! I will be putting this on my survey as it made me mad that she basically lied to me! I work in customer service and know the ropes ! We got the day and time I asked for after I asked to speak to her supervisor (without speaking to a supervisor) - Minus!

 

BEDDING- I am VERY picky about pillows and beds and LOVE the bedding. Got 4 great pillows, and I slept like a baby last night on the wonderful pillow top bed! HUGE PLUS!

 

FOOD - we are lunch in Alfredo's, only 3 couples when we arrived at 12:30. We both had the antipasto- good. I had a pizza - great - reminded me a lot of Prego's, but individual sizes. Jerry had a calzone - he liked it. Apple torte was ok Jerry said and I did not care for the tiramisu. Would definitely return, but skip dessert!

Dinner in the dining room - we are doing early traditional which starts at 5:45 - even though the booking online said 6:00 -go figure!

 

We are in Allegro dining room - convenient to our cabin - deck 6 aft. I do not care for the furnishings. Very sterile, black and silver colors and bright fluorescent lighting. Prefer the more traditional muted, soft colors and woods of other ships. It is cut up into small areas and is much quieter than other ship dining rooms - a plus. But you cannot see everyone when they walk thru - I love to see what people wear. We could talk at our table and not have to shout across the table - PLUS!

 

Breakfast this morning in Horizon court - we slept in. AMAZING! Huge and so many choices! We will be back! PLUS!

 

ENTERTAINMENT - we did not go see the welcome aboard show in Princess theatre. We have seen enough of those. We chose to go to "Name that Song Thru the decades". Really fun and assistant cruise director was great and he teaches Zumba too! We did not win as a team, but I won a prize for naming a tune just from his description before he played a note - he was amazed that I knew it was "Happy" by Pherrell - it is my new favorite song and I play it daily on my iPad!

 

Other evening activities were welcome aboard party/dance with Spectrum band. MUTS had "Last Vegas" twice. We watched "American Hustle" movie in The Vista Lounge at 10:30 - it also showed at 7:45. Lots of live music, karaoke, piano sing alongs, dancing in the Piazza. Trivia at 10:30. Late night dance party & late night karaoke.

 

We are losing an hour a day since we are Eastbound heading for the Azores. Weather is unbelievably gorgeous and really warm and humid. So glad I brought capris and short sleeves t-shirts. The pool will be mobbed I am sure. I will try and update daily as I have platinum free minutes and hubby will never use his - SCORE!

 

Any questions, I will try and answer if you post. So far we LOVE the Royal Princess!

[GweninTX]

Today the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. We had our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet from 11:00 - 12:00 at the Outrigger Bar. We had a PA system that did not work, so it was very hard to hear. We had a great turnout - probably 150 people. The captain and 4 of his staff came and made remarks. I prefer having these in the old Skywalkers, but alas - none one the Royal, and this was the biggest venue they could accommodate us in. Great time!

 

We had the Pub lunch in the Crown Grill. The fish was so hot, it burned my mouth! The fries were crisp and hot too. Mushy peas were even tasty. They also had ploughmans lunch and Bangers and Mash.

Really enjoyed it and service was very fast!

 

After lunch I went to see the movie "Nebraska" which I give a hearty thumbs up to. It was in the Princess theatre and every seat was full! My husband kept the casino going. We then went to trivia which was fun.

 

I stopped by the Internet cafe to have him troubleshoot my login error. That poor man has the patience of Job! The line is always long with people asking him questions. He said their server was causing my error when I apologized for taking up his time, so it seems like the server is causing his hair to turn much more gray! It is very very slow in our cabin.

 

We then took a short nap and then went to the Vista lounge for cocktails and steak tartare. It was packed! For all who are wondering - they allowed us to get last nights drink - the El Mejor margarita for $5 - so you can get any of the 7 featured drinks any night for $5!

 

We ate dinner in the formal dining room and our meal was good. Our service is attentive and quick. After dinner we skipped the singer in the Princess theatre - and went to the 50's-60's trivia which was all songs from our era - I got every song title correct, but am terrible with artist names. Needless to say we did not win, but had fun. We tried the 50's dance party, but the band Spectrum was not too great! The lead singer had such a thick accent, it made me cringe to hear her botch my favorites songs, so we went to Princess Live and played "Majority Rules". They taped it live so you can watch it any time on these fabulous TV's - which is nice! Again, we did not win, but had fun! (Are you seeing a trend?)

 

We then went to the casino for about an hour - I won $167.00, Jerry contributed $20! The table game limits are really high for my blood, but they are staying packed with people who are much richer than me! Minimum for Three card poker - $15. Only one $5 blackjack table. All others $10 minimum.

 

We then called it an evening! Stay tuned for more tomorrow! First formal night tomorrow night too.

[FritzG]

Thanks for doing a "live from". They keep me going until our next trip which will be the Ruby fall ta.

 

One of our neighbors is going on the next segment of your trip so it will be fun to see what he's experiencing through your eyes.

 

We sailed from Copenhagen on the Emerald TA in the fall of 2012, and we loved Copenhagen. If you have any interest in lovely gardens I highly recommend Tivoli Gardens.

 

Enjoy!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise..

[Ferndale Girl]

Yesterday we signed up for this same cruise for next year so I will be anxiously following all your posts. Sounds like you are off to a great start - enjoy and thanks for doing this!

[Mom33]

GweninTx.....Thank you so much for doing this live. I will be looking forward to your daily posts!:D We were supposed to be on this cruise and had to cancel for family reasons. Now we will be able to experience the TA and Baltics vicariously through you.

I watched her sail out on Sunday on the webcam wishing we were on her, but knowing we did the right thing for our family. We couldn't be across the pond at this time.

 

Have a most wonderful time, beautiful weather and calm seas.:D:) Bon Voyage!

[Gettingwarmer]

4/27/14

I also was able to change our assigned "Free" specialty dinner we got from the 3 for free. I had to get aggressive with her as she first said they were totally booked. I told her that was unacceptable and found it hard to believe they were totally booked. I asked for supervisor and suddenly they had ALL kinds of openings! I will be putting this on my survey as it made me mad that she basically lied to me! I work in customer service and know the ropes ! We got the day and time I asked for after I asked to speak to her supervisor (without speaking to a supervisor) - Minus!

 

 

I would think that those with "Free" specialty dinner are given allocated times in order for those that are paying to have the greater choice. Seems reasonable. Maybe it was these times that had all been booked.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Gettingwarmer

[dmwnc1959]

WOW! Is it that time already?

 

Have a GREAT cruise. Looking forward to all of your updates, insights, and opinions.

 

:D

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. Can't wait to board her for her T/A back to NY.

 

FYI, re: the toilet paper holder, I found it very awkward on the left side (I'm right-handed) and when a new roll was stuffed in there, particularly during the night, it wouldn't roll. Not complaining, just remarking.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Bon voyage, a little late...thanks so much for doing the Live posting...it is a lot of work but fun, and I found that it makes you take note of things that you normally might not...

 

We loved the Royal...felt is was a special ship and a special cruise for us!

[sun14]

4/27/14

The toilet paper holder is a non-issue - those who complained need to get a life!

 

Thanks for the review. Can't wait to board her for her T/A back to NY.

 

FYI, re: the toilet paper holder, I found it very awkward on the left side (I'm right-handed) and when a new roll was stuffed in there, particularly during the night, it wouldn't roll. Not complaining, just remarking.

 

GweninTX,

On the comment above why not just say that the toilet paper holder is a non-issue and leave it at that. No need to tell others to get a life. The toilet paper holder was a non-issue for me also but it may be for others that find it difficult to reach around. Those that complain serve a purpose as they bring about changes. Just look at the improvements the Regal will have over the Royal which were prompted by feedback from the so called complainers.

 

Don’t mean to pick on you. I have an aversion to telling others to get a life just because their views are different. I am glad that you are having a great cruise and hope for continued good weather and seas. Thanks for the review and posting it live. :)

[jagoffee]

Have a great cruise and thank you for posting. I am really looking forward to reading about your Royal Princess Baltic portion as I am doing that cruise in August. I hope you have some nice things planned.

[GweninTX]

GweninTX,

 

On the comment above why not just say that the toilet paper holder is a non-issue and leave it at that. No need to tell others to get a life. The toilet paper holder was a non-issue for me also but it may be for others that find it difficult to reach around. Those that complain serve a purpose as they bring about changes. Just look at the improvements the Regal will have over the Royal which were prompted by feedback from the so called complainers.

 

 

 

Don’t mean to pick on you. I have an aversion to telling others to get a life just because their views are different. I am glad that you are having a great cruise and hope for continued good weather and seas. Thanks for the review and posting it live. :)

 

 

I also should have said the reason I thought it was SO very silly to complain is the Kleenex/tissue holder is right by your elbow and if you can't reach the TP - use a Kleenex!

[March Babe]

Have a wonderful cruise. I so wanted to do this one but we were unable to workout the schedule. Maybe next year:). I look forward to cruising through your eyes.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks Gwen! A month before your cruise we got a great last-minute offer including airfare but unfortunately we had other commitments or we would've been onboard with you another transatlantic. At least now we can go along vicariously with you on the cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the live!

 

 

[TorontoTL]

Great start to your live from thread. I'm looking forward to all the updates.

[judylou]

Thanks for doing this live review! We are booked on the Royal for the August Baltic and TransAtlantic, so I will follow your posts with interest.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for posting a Live from thread. I love reading them. Especially the ones that are about longer cruises and overseas travel. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Woobstr112G]

Have a wonderful cruise. Looking forward to your reports.....:):):)

 

Bob

[caribill]

Thanks for taking us along.

 

The fact that the elite/platinium/suite lounge is being held in the Visa Lounge indicates there is a large number of elite and platinum members aboard.

 

It will be interesting to hear the count later in the cruise.

[cruisequeen4ever]

So glad you're doing this! Your "live

from" is going to take us to our 17 day Regal cruise! Thank you for taking us along for the sail, and have fun!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[GweninTX]

Good morning! We are losing an hour every night so we are getting up much later than normal. It was too late to get to the main dining room again this morning for breakfast, so we are at the horizon court. I just can't say enough about how much better this buffet venue is on the Royal - 500% better than all the other ships! The food has been excellent with so many selections. I love the way it is arranged and it is never busy at the food stations. It was a gorgeous morning and we ate outside at a table and enjoyed watching the ocean go by. Hope this pretty weather stays with us.

 

We then spent some quality time on our balcony reading. My husband spotted a small fishing boat and we got our binoculars. So glad we did - we spotted a whale! About that time the captain announced it on the PA system too! SCORE!

 

Our roll call had a luncheon today and they reserved the entire Allegro dining room for us! It was really fun and we got to know our roll call members better. They serves us the same things as what the other formal dining room lunch menu was offering. We both had the most wonderful Pan fried Sole. YUM!

 

There was nothing that interested us on the Patter for the early afternoon so we read on the balcony. We also watched the recorded version on TV of the lecturer talking about St. Petersburg, but it was very dry and I could not stay interested. But having these recorded is so great and viewing them on demand takes the stress out of scurrying and trying not to miss a lecture. This new "Smart" TV is wonderful - I hope they roll it out fleet wide! I also watched a culinary demo that I missed yesterday and I probably had a better view from the camera than being there live!

 

We met our trivia friends at 3:15 and sat thru some of the hardest questions I have ever heard. We got 13, the winners had 16. But it is always fun.

 

I have not made Zumba in the morning, because sleep keeps interfering. They are. offering it twice a day at 9:00 and 5:00. The late afternoon does not work well with our 6:00 dining time, so I will have to keep trying to make the AM class. Our friends who can seem to get up before me said there has been 100 people attending the morning class. They are having it up on deck 17 where it is open air and there is lots of room.

 

We went with friends to the elite/platinum reception and it was packed again. Tonight's featured appetizer was smoked salmon, toast points, cream cheese, red onions and capers. Also all the usual other appetizer suspects. We had another El Mejor margarita this afternoon. Great attentive servers here!

 

It is formal night and this is a very dressed up crowd tonight. For the men I saw about 15% in tuxedos, and 95% had on at least their Sunday suit and tie. I saw 3 men in kilts. In our dining room I saw no one without a tie and only one man without a jacket. Now the women had come to impress! I saw more long fancy gowns on this cruise than any we have been on. A lot of short cocktail dresses and the rest had on a dressy pantsuit. What was surprising was I saw very few people change clothes. The champagne waterfall/reception was well attended and there was plenty of servers with drinks and canapés. There were long lines for formal portraits.

 

Our food was really good again. We had the Tiger shrimp and the beef tenderloin, both excellent. I was shocked at how tender the beef was and really tasty too. The crab quiche appetizer was so good - hot and well spiced. The French onion soup is always good and this one did not disappoint. I was so full that I skipped dessert again. The others desserts all looked good.

 

We went to the Princess theatre to see "Colors of the World" at 8:30. We got there about 7:50 and by 8:10 - no seats. All of the critics of the Princess theatre are correct. This one on the Royal is much more compact than any of the other ships. If people need into your row you have to stand up to let them by. I am sure this is killing drink sales - and if you buy one - you hold it. No little tables in the arm rests. The show took 40 minutes - we left at 9:10. We have a really good cast of singers and dancers for this cruise. The main soloists had very good voices - I am impressed. I sing with an award winning Sweet Adeline chorus, so I am very critical of singers. This cast will be fun to listen to! Even though we had seen this show before, it looked different on this new Royal stage. We gave it 2 thumbs up!

 

Our friends then went to the Yes/No game. We walked out on deck 7 to get fresh air. Tonight the ship is much bumpier and we are definitely swaying from side to side. Several times it felt like we hit a log as the ship would shudder so violently. We decided to go and see the juggler in the Vista lounge and catch his last show. He was as much a comedian as he was a juggler. We really enjoyed his act! Tomorrow he is teaching juggling in the Piazza.

 

We were tired by this time and decided to go to bed. Here in the back of the ship we are not feeling as much wave action as we did in the theatre, but I know we are going to be rocked to sleep by the side to side swaying. Luckily we have never gotten seasick. The captain did announce that he was going to try and skirt some weather, but we might have some showers tomorrow. Good night all and stay tuned for another sea day tomorrow.

[cruise47]

Thanks what a great review on your transatlantic cruise.

[swanette09]

Today the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. We had our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet from 11:00 - 12:00 at the Outrigger Bar. We had a PA system that did not work, so it was very hard to hear. We had a great turnout - probably 150 people. The captain and 4 of his staff came and made remarks. I prefer having these in the old Skywalkers, but alas - none one the Royal, and this was the biggest venue they could accommodate us in. Great time!

 

We had the Pub lunch in the Crown Grill. The fish was so hot, it burned my mouth! The fries were crisp and hot too. Mushy peas were even tasty. They also had ploughmans lunch and Bangers and Mash.

Really enjoyed it and service was very fast!

 

After lunch I went to see the movie "Nebraska" which I give a hearty thumbs up to. It was in the Princess theatre and every seat was full! My husband kept the casino going. We then went to trivia which was fun.

 

I stopped by the Internet cafe to have him troubleshoot my login error. That poor man has the patience of Job! The line is always long with people asking him questions. He said their server was causing my error when I apologized for taking up his time, so it seems like the server is causing his hair to turn much more gray! It is very very slow in our cabin.

 

We then took a short nap and then went to the Vista lounge for cocktails and steak tartare. It was packed! For all who are wondering - they allowed us to get last nights drink - the El Mejor margarita for $5 - so you can get any of the 7 featured drinks any night for $5!

 

We ate dinner in the formal dining room and our meal was good. Our service is attentive and quick. After dinner we skipped the singer in the Princess theatre - and went to the 50's-60's trivia which was all songs from our era - I got every song title correct, but am terrible with artist names. Needless to say we did not win, but had fun. We tried the 50's dance party, but the band Spectrum was not too great! The lead singer had such a thick accent, it made me cringe to hear her botch my favorites songs, so we went to Princess Live and played "Majority Rules". They taped it live so you can watch it any time on these fabulous TV's - which is nice! Again, we did not win, but had fun! (Are you seeing a trend?)

 

We then went to the casino for about an hour - I won $167.00, Jerry contributed $20! The table game limits are really high for my blood, but they are staying packed with people who are much richer than me! Minimum for Three card poker - $15. Only one $5 blackjack table. All others $10 minimum.

 

We then called it an evening! Stay tuned for more tomorrow! First formal night tomorrow night too.

 

 

Thanks for your reports Gwen. We're booked on a Royal Princess Scandinavia & Baltic cruise in August and it's good to hear about your experiences and your perspective on the ship. Look forward to reading more. Enjoy your trip!