2 Questions about upcoming Royal Princess cruise

[Fuzzyape]

I've taken a few cruises on Princess, but as always learning new things as I check out these boards.

 

I have 2 questions. Has anyone tried the new exclusive beer for Princess? If so what were your thoughts. I'm ale drinker, the hoppier the better, but thought this might be an alternative to the Bass and Bodingtons.

 

Second, I just learned about this Ultimate Ship Tour. I've read several threads that have mentioned what it's about, and am interested. However, I didn't see anything that mentioned if it's on a certain day, and what time.

 

Does anyone know about how long the tour is? What day (or does it vary) and what time it might start?

 

Thanks ahead for the answers.

 

I'm counting down the days!

[paul929207]

It is offered on a sea day in the morning. I believe you sign up at the front desk.

[Pam in CA]

There's no specific day when the tour is scheduled. It depends on several factors. I believe it's usually in the morning on a sea day, meeting at 9am and lasting up to four hours. At least that was my experience.

[Fuzzyape]

Thanks for that info. Any info on the ale? Also feel free to share all info on either questions.

 

Counting down the days!

[Colo Cruiser]

Usually last about 3 plus hours.

[royal65]

Another suggestion re the ultimate ship tour: suggest you sign up as soon as you board. It may have changed since I did it about 5 years ago, but at that time, they limited the number of participants to 10 and several people on my cruise were disappointed they didn't make the cut.

[as19111]

When we took the tour on the Coral back in 2012, there were a number of sea days, and they actually had two tours on different mornings. It was a great tour, and we really enjoyed it.

 

We walked onto the ship and right to the pursers desk to sign up. There was already a list! It seems that some travel agents were able to sign up their customers before boarding the ship.

[beg3yrs]

We walked onto the ship and right to the pursers desk to sign up. There was already a list! It seems that some travel agents were able to sign up their customers before boarding the ship.

 

It might also have been folks from the previous cruise who were doing a B2B. They would have been able to sign up earlier than those embarking that day.

[MarKay525]

Hi - we were on the Regal last month and signed up for the Ultimate Ship Tour. (Regal & Royal are alike.) They held a lottery drawing, as so many people had signed up and only 12 people are selected for the tour. Unfortunately, we were not selected. However, a couple on our Roll Call did get chosen, and below are their comments:

 

Friday: The Ultimate Ship Tour. Though a bit pricey, we really enjoyed this. We got to see the backstage of the theatre, costume rack (think dry cleaners); the main galley/kitchen area (so clean!) where we had mocktails and dessert samples; the loading area; the engine room; the medical center which was surprisingly large and well-equipped - hope I never need to go there but was reassuring; the mooring station where the anchor is; and the bridge where we had drinks with the captain and crew. Pictures were taken throughout the tour, and we received those with a nice frame, plush Princess robes, and personalized stationary. The only place we couldn't see that was scheduled was the laundry - apparently it was backed up and unsafe.

 

And while not specifically about the Royal, this is a link to a fairly recent thread about the UST experience:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2120786&highlight=regal+ultimate+ship+tour&page=3

 

Good luck!!

Edited December 15, 2014 by MarKay525

[caribill]

The only place we couldn't see that was scheduled was the laundry - apparently it was backed up and unsafe.

 

 

To us, that was the most fascinating part of the UST when we did it (not on the Royal or Regal).

[Fuzzyape]

Thanks for all the input. Went from considering to seriously considering! If it's the first sea day, might have to skip the Meet and Greet....don't tell anyone ;)

 

It's always the problem with these cruises....I want to do it all, and it's all at the same time :)

 

Counting down the days!

[caribill]

Thanks for all the input. Went from considering to seriously considering! If it's the first sea day, might have to skip the Meet and Greet....don't tell anyone ;)

 

 

It is usually (but not always) scheduled on the last sea day of a cruise.

[janetz]

On our 10 day repo, I saw it in the patters offered numerous times. ;)

Edited December 16, 2014 by janetz

[BillyBoat]

Are you asking about the new craft beer Sea Witch ? If so, I tired it in November on a Regal cruise. I'm pretty much a "middle of the road" beer drinker. It was too dark and too strong for me. I drank the one, but had no desire to have another. Since you like ale and "hoppy" beers I'm betting you'll like it ! Give it a try!

Billy

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

I am a beer snob and usually go the entire cruise without drinking the beer as its all mainstream beer (unless we are having a Guisness at the pub lunch). Sea Witch is a good beer and fits my needs as a snob. But I agree with the last post. It's quite filling and is not something you will want to drink all day in the Caribbean sun.

 

But definitely a welcome alternative to all the other choices onboard.

[caribill]

On our 10 day repo, I saw it in the patters offered numerous times. ;)

 

It may have been "advertised" a number of times, but it was probably only actually offered once.

[Fuzzyape]

Thanks for the information BillyBoat. I was asking about that beer, I just couldn't remember what it was called.

 

Sox Fan, maybe I'll have to stay out of the sun ;)

 

thanks for all the input everyone. This is one reason I really love CC!

 

Counting down the days!