10 days on the Royal, magnificent

[nymshowdown]

Just returned from this same voyage. As usual, any cruise is a great escape and Princess is always our favorite. However, there were a few disappointments this time around. Minor things, nothing to ruin a great trip, but still things that should be mentioned as they aren't typical of Princess in the past.

 

We sailed the Royal last year and were prepared for the usual issues. No center staircase is mind boggling; thankfully our cabin was FWD so we normally avoided this. As a twenty-something, Club 6 is a huge disappointment compared to Skywalkers, especially when it comes to layout. But the proximity to main areas/new addition of BOGO happy hour seemed to fill it up a little more. Being a new years cruise, the crowd is younger, and finding chairs by the pool was a huge struggle. Still can't believe they eliminated two pools compared to the Grand Class despite raising passenger capacity. The aft adult pool is sorely missed, especially its terraced layout overlooking the wake. The two separate midship pools were another great feature lost on the Royal Class; they allow one to escape MUTS during the day if they would like, while also splitting up the masses into different areas. The thing is, no matter how annoying this all may be, you just have to suck it up, ignore it, and appreciate the other beautiful parts of the ship. If it really bothers you, book another ship.

 

Itinerary was great, visiting many islands we had never been to. We were unable to dock in St. Kitts due to wind, but Captain Dino (one of my favorites) got us to St. Thomas at 7pm, where we were able to spend a rare night out on the town, something almost unheard of on most cruises. It was more than interesting to hang at the local bars with a bunch of the crew. Entertainment was excellent. Both comedians were hilarious; Steve Morris was great for the older crowd and, despite forgetting his name, the second comedian was even funnier.

 

The service was excellent as usual. Bartenders were friendly, our steward was great, and the waitstaff were attentive. Food was very good, slightly not as great as previous cruises, but still nothing to complain about at all. Alfredo's was amazing, Sabatini's never disappoints, and the expanded Horizon Court is one of those reasons to pick the Royal/Regal over others. I just hope they change up the MDR menus soon; the dates at the bottom of most menus were 2012/2013 and are becoming a tad repetitive to the yearly or more cruiser (again, just a minor complaint). Bartenders were very liberal with the liquor and the Sea Witch IPA, despite not being the best IPA ever, is a great addition to the limited beer selection. And with this being our first cruise over New Years, the celebration on deck was pretty great.

 

Besides the usual ship design complaints and minor things said above, I had two other large issues with this sailing.

The first, and I know it's a controversial topic on this board, was formal nights. I remember being a kid/teen and having to be in a suit every formal night, no jeans on smart causal nights, and people being turned away for not adhering to the dress code. No one seemed to care what so ever on this voyage. I'm sorry if you believe it's "your choice" on how to dress, but it really does take something out of dinner when the people all around you are in torn jeans and low-opened collared shirts on formal night. Guys were even allowed in with sandals on. It seemed like less than 50% of the people in the MDR followed the dress code on formal night. If it's honestly that much of an issue, and they don't want to turn people away, make a certain restaurant formal and others not, or just get rid of it all together. It has lost the allure IMO, and this is coming from someone in their mid-twenties, not an older passenger.

Second was another lack of control by the ship's company. I'm the first to admit I was a kid on many cruises, I can "imagine" that I behaved perfectly (yet probably didn't), but the children on this cruise were out of control with absolutely no parental control. 15+ kids under ten alone in a hot tub almost all day; ate pizza inside it and splashed everyone on deck constantly. A 5 year old nearly drowned after jumping in the pool; a random passenger pulled him out, Dad was no where to be found. A mother changed her son on the open deck and then washed him off in the pool; absolutely disgusting.

I understand that it's all about that $$$ and Princess isn't about to kick people off the open deck/out of the MDR and lose customers. Maybe I was spoiled on past cruises and have come to expect better? Not sure, but I always thought this kind of behavior was "Carnival Level", and it seems to slowly becoming Princess-acceptable.

 

All in all, a good cruise. Already thinking of booking another on Princess next January, despite the minor issues this voyage they still always provide a great vacation.

Edited January 11, 2015 by nymshowdown

[kendon]

Glad to know you enjoyed it. I was starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake. We're sailing on March 29, and on the Royal because we hadn't been to Grenada. All the talk about minuscule balconies, dreadful lifts and no center stairs is pretty depressing.

I wish I could find out some of the entrees, etc. anticipation is half the fun!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You did NOT make a mistake. There's nothing not to like about the Royal...it's a stunning ship. Yes, the balconies are small, but, they're adequate. The elevators are fine...remember a watched pot never boils. Center stairs? A few extra steps never hurts. The pros far outweigh the cons. Enjoy. :)

[deb54knight]

Just returned from this same voyage. As usual, any cruise is a great escape and Princess is always our favorite. However, there were a few disappointments this time around. Minor things, nothing to ruin a great trip, but still things that should be mentioned as they aren't typical of Princess in the past.

 

We sailed the Royal last year and were prepared for the usual issues. No center staircase is mind boggling; thankfully our cabin was FWD so we normally avoided this. As a twenty-something, Club 6 is a huge disappointment compared to Skywalkers, especially when it comes to layout. But the proximity to main areas/new addition of BOGO happy hour seemed to fill it up a little more. Being a new years cruise, the crowd is younger, and finding chairs by the pool was a huge struggle. Still can't believe they eliminated two pools compared to the Grand Class despite raising passenger capacity. The aft adult pool is sorely missed, especially its terraced layout overlooking the wake. The two separate midship pools were another great feature lost on the Royal Class; they allow one to escape MUTS during the day if they would like, while also splitting up the masses into different areas. The thing is, no matter how annoying this all may be, you just have to suck it up, ignore it, and appreciate the other beautiful parts of the ship. If it really bothers you, book another ship.

 

Itinerary was great, visiting many islands we had never been to. We were unable to dock in St. Kitts due to wind, but Captain Dino (one of my favorites) got us to St. Thomas at 7pm, where we were able to spend a rare night out on the town, something almost unheard of on most cruises. It was more than interesting to hang at the local bars with a bunch of the crew. Entertainment was excellent. Both comedians were hilarious; Steve Morris was great for the older crowd and, despite forgetting his name, the second comedian was even funnier.

 

The service was excellent as usual. Bartenders were friendly, our steward was great, and the waitstaff were attentive. Food was very good, slightly not as great as previous cruises, but still nothing to complain about at all. Alfredo's was amazing, Sabatini's never disappoints, and the expanded Horizon Court is one of those reasons to pick the Royal/Regal over others. I just hope they change up the MDR menus soon; the dates at the bottom of most menus were 2012/2013 and are becoming a tad repetitive to the yearly or more cruiser (again, just a minor complaint). Bartenders were very liberal with the liquor and the Sea Witch IPA, despite not being the best IPA ever, is a great addition to the limited beer selection. And with this being our first cruise over New Years, the celebration on deck was pretty great.

 

Besides the usual ship design complaints and minor things said above, I had two other large issues with this sailing.

The first, and I know it's a controversial topic on this board, was formal nights. I remember being a kid/teen and having to be in a suit every formal night, no jeans on smart causal nights, and people being turned away for not adhering to the dress code. No one seemed to care what so ever on this voyage. I'm sorry if you believe it's "your choice" on how to dress, but it really does take something out of dinner when the people all around you are in torn jeans and low-opened collared shirts on formal night. Guys were even allowed in with sandals on. It seemed like less than 50% of the people in the MDR followed the dress code on formal night. If it's honestly that much of an issue, and they don't want to turn people away, make a certain restaurant formal and others not, or just get rid of it all together. It has lost the allure IMO, and this is coming from someone in their mid-twenties, not an older passenger.

Second was another lack of control by the ship's company. I'm the first to admit I was a kid on many cruises, I can "imagine" that I behaved perfectly (yet probably didn't), but the children on this cruise were out of control with absolutely no parental control. 15+ kids under ten alone in a hot tub almost all day; ate pizza inside it and splashed everyone on deck constantly. A 5 year old nearly drowned after jumping in the pool; a random passenger pulled him out, Dad was no where to be found. A mother changed her son on the open deck and then washed him off in the pool; absolutely disgusting.

I understand that it's all about that $$$ and Princess isn't about to kick people off the open deck/out of the MDR and lose customers. Maybe I was spoiled on past cruises and have come to expect better? Not sure, but I always thought this kind of behavior was "Carnival Level", and it seems to slowly becoming Princess-acceptable.

 

All in all, a good cruise. Already thinking of booking another on Princess next January, despite the minor issues this voyage they still always provide a great vacation.

 

We didn't experience any of the pool issues you noted in your post, but then we didn't spend very much time around the pool and we disembarked on Dec. 29th, missing the New Years leg of the cruise. We also dined late in the Concerto at the same table every night and everyone around us was appropriately dressed. We don't really miss Skywalkers as we never really spent much time there on any of the Grand Class ships. I know I would have enjoyed spending the night in St. Thomas, but surely wouldn't have been in any of the local bars. We enjoyed St. Kitts when we did the 10 day Eastern over Thanksgiving....I'm sure many of the pax on the second leg of your cruise would have rather been there since it's not on many of the itineraries and St. Thomas is on almost all. Capt. Dino is one of the best, we loved his noon updates on this cruise. We had wondered if he would be doing the crossing in April or if Capt. Tony Draper would be back onboard. Either way, we are looking forward to 6 peaceful and quiet days crossing the Atlantic before we arrive at Ponta Delgada.

[chamima]

nymshowdown - we were on the Dec. 9 - 19 sailing before you and also didn't experience your issues with inappropriately dressed people or wild groups of children ,

which are both valid complaints (but it wasn't a holiday sailing)

 

We thought it was one of our best cruises ever. (it was our 28th Princess and 40th overall)

We also ate late in Concerto and had FABULOUS wait staff (Richelle and Rocio) and the best, most personable Head Waiter ever, Roberto Navarro.

We found the crew to be uniformly happy, friendly and the service was beyond wonderful!

Yes, we missed having a larger balcony but did have enough room to have breakfast out there every day and to sit and read.

The center elevators were slow so we tried to go either aft or forward (it really isn't that far to walk).

We missed having an aft pool but found some lovely spots to relax all around the ship.

The entertainment was wonderful, varied and there was always something (many times several things!) going on.

The food was good (too good :o ).

We just can't say enough good things about this crew and this ship.

Edited January 11, 2015 by chamima

[loge23]

We're eager for our Royal cruise as well and very pleased to read the comments! Since we're paying for the overall shipboard experience and there are only the two of us, I too have no concern with the balcony size (as long as I can sit, read a book, look at the beautiful sea and hear the swoosh of the waives against the ship I'm happy). Very interested in test-tasting the new Horizon Court. BTW, does anyone know if Trivia is in the Wheelhouse bar, or somewhere else with the new ship configuration?

 

The balcony in our Aloha deck mini was indeed smaller than we're used to on the other Princess ships but quite adequate for two. You will be able to read, observe, and appreciate the sea.

The trivia was held in the TV studio on our Christmas voyage. The Wheelhouse on the Royal was not the Wheelhouse you may be used to, but merely a suggestion of the popular lounge club found on the other ships. Not to be negative, the Royal is a beautiful ship in many ways, with a very good staff/crew, just a different layout than we have grown to know on Princess. Enjoy your cruise!

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

 

 

 

The center elevators were slow so we tried to go either aft or forward (it really isn't that far to walk).

 

It is if you're located mid ship & want to go to the Piazza. :(

[Astro Flyer]

It is if you're located mid ship & want to go to the Piazza. :(

 

That's definitely an inconvenience however when we had D508 midship we never had a delay taking the elevator but realize that others did.

 

I was very surprised that after adding an aft pool on the Regal in response to passenger input they didn't finish the stairs for passenger use above deck 7. The stairs are there but not carpeted & paneled which are merely cosmetic things to look nicer. The engineer who gave a lecture said it was not finished for passenger use because it was a cost savings issue. Others have posted being told it was a $3 million savings which to me is small on a ship costing about $750 million.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

That's definitely an inconvenience however when we had D508 midship we never had a delay taking the elevator but realize that others did.

 

I was very surprised that after adding an aft pool on the Regal in response to passenger input they didn't finish the stairs for passenger use above deck 7. The stairs are there but not carpeted & paneled which are merely cosmetic things to look nicer. The engineer who gave a lecture said it was not finished for passenger use because it was a cost savings issue. Others have posted being told it was a $3 million savings which to me is small on a ship costing about $750 million.

 

It made me furious to wait for a elevator on deck 8 at times in the evening knowing that from deck 7 there were public stairs. I almost felt like running down the 1 flight to the public stairs. Most of the delays came about from people pushing buttons from both banks all the time. (as on other ships as well)

I asked the staff Captain why they didn't at least link the elevator banks together to eliminate repetitious unnecessary stops & his response was that the elevator company sold them on the idea that it's more efficient to have them independent. :eek:

Not that he agreed with me but said there's nothing he could do. :rolleyes:

[Heavy T]

We were on the Christmas cruise. The formal nights had about a 90% formal dress participation. I did not see jeans or sandals on formal nights. Even the kids and teens were well dressed. On the smart casual nights, I did see more jeans, but none with holes and no sandals. The mid-ship elevators were slow, but I was expecting that so it did not bother me. I knew I would get where I needed to eventually. I was on Baja (Deck 11). Would leave for dinner 5 minutes before I needed to be at the Symphony (Deck 5), and made it every time before 8pm. I just wish they would crank up the air conditioner in the elevators. Had 2 amazing dinners in the Crown Grill. Really enjoyed the dinners in the MDR. Our balcony was perfect for my wife and I to sit out there at sunset with a glass of wine or cocktail. Loved the movie options on the TV in the cabin. The atrium was beautiful and never too loud. Really enjoyed Bellini's. I would sail on the Royal again without question.

[janetz]

We were on the Christmas cruise. The formal nights had about a 90% formal dress participation. I did not see jeans or sandals on formal nights. Even the kids and teens were well dressed. On the smart casual nights, I did see more jeans, but none with holes and no sandals. The mid-ship elevators were slow, but I was expecting that so it did not bother me. I knew I would get where I needed to eventually. I was on Baja (Deck 11). Would leave for dinner 5 minutes before I needed to be at the Symphony (Deck 5), and made it every time before 8pm. I just wish they would crank up the air conditioner in the elevators. Had 2 amazing dinners in the Crown Grill. Really enjoyed the dinners in the MDR. Our balcony was perfect for my wife and I to sit out there at sunset with a glass of wine or cocktail. Loved the movie options on the TV in the cabin. The atrium was beautiful and never too loud. Really enjoyed Bellini's. I would sail on the Royal again without question.[

 

Bellini's is a great bar and the drinks are killer :D

Edited January 12, 2015 by janetz

[nymshowdown]

It made me furious to wait for a elevator on deck 8 at times in the evening knowing that from deck 7 there were public stairs. I almost felt like running down the 1 flight to the public stairs. Most of the delays came about from people pushing buttons from both banks all the time. (as on other ships as well)

I asked the staff Captain why they didn't at least link the elevator banks together to eliminate repetitious unnecessary stops & his response was that the elevator company sold them on the idea that it's more efficient to have them independent. :eek:

Not that he agreed with me but said there's nothing he could do. :rolleyes:

 

Not only did they cheap out on finishing the stairs above deck seven, the panoramic lifts are hardly what their title says. When you spend $$$$ for a curved glass elevator, you might as well sell the view. When the elevator services 12 decks and only 4 have a view....it seems pointless to waste money on it. The Grand Class at least had the bubble decorations on the passenger decks...on the Royal they didn't even bother finishing the steel; it sits there painted black at an awkward angle, not curved to match the glass, leaving an awkward view of the ship's structure.

 

Final thing about the stairs, if they really wanted to save money they should have eliminated them all together. Having them on 5-7 is redundant; the piazza stairs are directly forward of the elevator bank.

 

Apologies for the rants, I'm an architect so I'm constantly over analyzing these things. Doesn't ruin the cruise at all, just enjoy thinking about the design decisions.

[momphoto]

We too just returned from the 10 day NYE cruise. The ship is beautiful!! The balcony was not a problem....we used it so much and had breakfast and lunch on it at times. Our cabin was towards the aft so center stairs not really an issue. I did miss the promenade, but there was so many other places to walk outside or just sit. Food was good, service good. The piazza was a huge improvement!! We enjoyed the entertainment there, and many times it was so nice and quiet with nothing going on. I will write a full review once I get back to normal here!!

[AZPam]

Hope to hear more on the Royal as we depart April 8th!

[PP76]

Glad to know you enjoyed it. I was starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake. We're sailing on March 29, and on the Royal because we hadn't been to Grenada. All the talk about minuscule balconies, dreadful lifts and no center stairs is pretty depressing.

I wish I could find out some of the entrees, etc. anticipation is half the fun!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We were on the Royal's maiden voyage and are back again next month, you will have a wonderful time.:)

[New Cruiser Girl]

Just got off the Royal....she is a beauty !! No issues with elevators what so ever !! Balcony was small yes, but let's face it, we aren't out there to do Zumba !! Go and enjoy that gorgeous ship and staff !! Outstanding !!

[Potstech]

You must be easy to please.

The small balconies have driven us to an inside cabin IF we ever return to either the Royal or Regal. Paying that amount of money for a balcony that can only fit 2 people at a time is outrageous. Don't even talk about eating on the balcony.

The center elevator was always very slow at dinner time- frustrating at best.

Leave 10 minutes early to arrive on time from deck 8 to deck 5.

The Piazza is constantly noisy with music playing most of the time causing people having to shout to be heard.

The Promenade deck doesn't go all the way around.

Other than that there weren't any other problems.

 

Or doesn't sweat the small things for the overall good.

[bluesea321]

Not only did they cheap out on finishing the stairs above deck seven, the panoramic lifts are hardly what their title says. When you spend $$$$ for a curved glass elevator, you might as well sell the view. When the elevator services 12 decks and only 4 have a view....it seems pointless to waste money on it. The Grand Class at least had the bubble decorations on the passenger decks...on the Royal they didn't even bother finishing the steel; it sits there painted black at an awkward angle, not curved to match the glass, leaving an awkward view of the ship's structure.

 

Final thing about the stairs, if they really wanted to save money they should have eliminated them all together. Having them on 5-7 is redundant; the piazza stairs are directly forward of the elevator bank.

 

Apologies for the rants, I'm an architect so I'm constantly over analyzing these things. Doesn't ruin the cruise at all, just enjoy thinking about the design decisions.

 

No need to apologize for your honest opinions, you are entitled to them. The Royal is essentially new but it has the lowest Cruise Critic approval rating of the whole Princess fleet so there are many others that feel like you. This site is visited by many Princess fans with strong views and any comment that is perceived as negative will get a "response".

[Colo Cruiser]

CC only makes up a miniscule number of fans or non fans.

[Mom33]

No need to apologize for your honest opinions, you are entitled to them. The Royal is essentially new but it has the lowest Cruise Critic approval rating of the whole Princess fleet so there are many others that feel like you. This site is visited by many Princess fans with strong views and any comment that is perceived as negative will get a "response".

 

It is curious that Royal has a 63% rating while Regal has a 72% rating. Other than the aft pool, which wasn't swarming with customers on my Regal cruise, the ships are identical.

 

The graphs on the member review site still show 2/3 of Royal/Regal cruisers are happy with their cruise.

 

Regal and Quantum are new this past year and Regal has a 72% rating while Quantum has a 43% rating. Quantum was rated a 5 by CC Editors. I wonder why the cruising public doesn't agree. :confused: ;)

[kendon]

Glad to know you enjoyed it. I was starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake. We're sailing on March 29, and on the Royal because we hadn't been to Grenada. All the talk about minuscule balconies, dreadful lifts and no center stairs is pretty depressing.

I wish I could find out some of the entrees, etc. anticipation is half the fun!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You did not make a mistake. Enjoy your cruise.

Edited February 20, 2015 by kendon

[kendon]

It is curious that Royal has a 63% rating while Regal has a 72% rating. Other than the aft pool, which wasn't swarming with customers on my Regal cruise, the ships are identical.

 

The graphs on the member review site still show 2/3 of Royal/Regal cruisers are happy with their cruise.

 

Regal and Quantum are new this past year and Regal has a 72% rating while Quantum has a 43% rating. Quantum was rated a 5 by CC Editors. I wonder why the cruising public doesn't agree. :confused: ;)

 

Makes sense that the Royal has a lower approval rating as it was the ice breaker for a different class of ship, so initial reviews went to extremes bringing the number down. The Regal came out and people are now warming up to the larger Princess ship.

[Astro Flyer]

I wish I could find out some of the entrees, etc. anticipation is half the fun!

 

I recently discovered this excellent site for menus on the Royal Princess which should give you an idea of what to expect from the dining room & other dining options:

 

http://www.beyondships2.com/royal-princess-menus.html

[Kruznut]

It makes not one bit of difference to me about the negative opinions others may have of the Royal Princess. I will being sailing on her April 18th voyage and I am very excited. I can hardly wait to have my experience and form my very own opinion.

[jagsfan]

I recently discovered this excellent site for menus on the Royal Princess which should give you an idea of what to expect from the dining room & other dining options:

 

http://www.beyondships2.com/royal-princess-menus.html

 

 

Thank you for posting the website. I gained 5 pounds reading the menus.

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you for posting the website. I gained 5 pounds reading the menus.

 

Me too! :p

 

The MDR menus appear to be from early 2013 & may have been modified. They look similar to the menus we had on the Royal in October 2013 & 2014 but at the very least they're representative of the types of food Princess provides. It's the best example I've found for Princess dining room options & all of the other dining option's menus look like what we've enjoyed.

 

In less than 2 months I'll know if it's the same on the Regal although for me it's better to just enjoy the food without over analyzing the meals & I always find something that I enjoy & never leave hungry. :D

Edited February 21, 2015 by Astro Flyer