Royal - Eastern 10-day Review, Cabin L108

[msw.delafield]

Embarkation –

Painless! Really, painless!

Best ever in our 20+ departures from Port Everglades.

Arrived early, let into the terminal about 11am and on board 30 minutes later.

 

Impressions of the ship –

Nice, clean, new - was noticeable compared to past cruises.

Really liked the decor, felt warm and well appointed. Not garish as some ships design can be.

Layout is adequate with most ‘destination’ venues contained between decks five and seven or up on Lido deck.

This ship was noticeably bigger, compared to the Princess Grand class ships. Felt like we were walking farther than on past Grand class trips.

It never really felt very crowded; design helps to break spaces into smaller areas that seemed to feel more comfortable. The only real crowd concern we repeatedly encountered was getting in/out of the aft MDR.

Main pool layout on Lido deck was very unappealing – not enough pool space for this ship to support warm Caribbean cruising. The entire space was exposed to the MUTS experience, not separated like on Grand class ships. They need to fix this on newer designs to maintain appeal into the future.

 

Crew and Staff -

All experiences were great. Everyone was helpful and most kind.

Outstanding IC crew and Sanctuary was top notch!

Was nice to reconnect with a few from previous cruises, seeing Hristo managing in HC (formerly a Sanctuary manager) was a pleasant surprise!

 

Dining –

MDR was as expected. Food was good but not great, the dining process took it’s time too - over the course of 90 minutes or more. Staff here was not consistent and appeared rushed and inexperienced. We felt food from the Horizon Court buffet was equally appealing, but the layout was confusing, no real consistency or clear indication of which lines were serving.

Horizon/Caribe was never really crowded, aside from peak times in the morning before port disembarkation. It was nice to have the seating on the aft terrace, but that was fairly windy when the ship was underway.

Crown Grill was outstanding, it felt less intimate because it’s open to the adjacent bar and traffic corridor.

Alfredo’s was tasty, menu here could be expanded (no blanco pizza).

International Café was as expected based on prior experience on other ships.

Never got a chance to try the Seafood bar, maybe next trip!?

 

Entertainment –

Plenty of variety.

Massive amount of options in the early evening but after 9:30-10pm there wasn’t much other than music and dancing.

Theater shows were crowded and the seating layout was constricting, less accessible on this ship.

Casino was fair for this size of ship, but the entire aft of this deck reeked of smoke.

Between Casino and Churchill’s smoking they might’ve benefited from more aggressive ventilation systems on this deck.

 

Piazza –

Loud!

Most enjoyable in the morning with no entertainment, enjoyed many early morning coffees while planning the day.

Performers below and piano entertainer above, plus general crowd noise – made it challenging to enjoy any one performance without interference from another.

 

Lack of center stairs –

No issue for us, we detest climbing stairs.

Noticed that there are center stairways between decks four and seven – probably where most essential and important.

Not really sure why this is such a concern?

 

Elevators –

At times they arrived promptly and we were able to transit directly to destination deck.

About 30% of the time we were less fortunate, either waiting interminably or once on board we were subject to a tour of every floor on our way up/down.

Programming of these elevators is an issue, it shouldn’t be difficult to address and Princess is remiss in resolving this problem.

 

Outstanding Cabin – L108 Mini-Suite!

We were fortunate to upgrade to this cabin when there was a reduction in pricing.

This was a front-corner mini-suite on Lido deck, starboard side.

The cabin was two separate rooms, the main space with balcony door out to the side of the ship and a forward space for the bedroom with a huge window out onto the forward balcony.

Three storage closets for hanging clothing, a fourth with shelving and safe.

Main cabin space had a ten foot long counter/desk, small sofa and table. Only two US plug receptacles.

Bedroom space had the usual bed/s and twin nightstands.

Bedroom had a huge forward facing window – we kept this open night and day.

Two large wall mounted flat screen TV’s – one each for BR and LR.

Bath was standard mini-suite tub, etc.

Oddly, only one phone – on the desk in main cabin space, about 30 feet from the bed. Annoying for wake-up calls as it honestly forced you to get up and go answer.

Also, no (US standard) plugs in bedroom space – need to bring Euro adapters!!

 

Killer Balcony!!

Easily one of the top 10 balcony’s on this ship!!

Balcony door opened off main cabin to the starboard side of the ship, balcony here was only about 4-feet deep.

But the balcony extended forward and wrapped around the front of the cabin, was easily 20-feet wide by 12-feet deep in front – absolutely huge!!

Enough room to comfortably accommodate over a dozen folk milling around!

Two teak loungers w/side tables and a full teak table with four teak chairs – all had comfortable cushions.

We had fantastic forward and starboard views!

Was most enjoyable to order room service and sit on the balcony as the ship came into each port.

 

Bottom Line –

We will continue to defer to Grand class ship itineraries, but if/as needed we will be comfortable cruising on the Royal class ships.

These Royal class ships need a top deck makeover to be more appealing in warm Caribbean climates. Pool spaces need to be redefined – you cannot support the warm climate trips with only two pool spaces (sorry, the aft wading pool on Regal doesn’t count).

Grand class ships had the most functional top deck facilities in the industry – too bad Princess didn’t recognize that!?

Edited January 3, 2016 by msw.delafield

[Lucky TGO]

Embarkation –

Painless! Really, painless!

Best ever in our 20+ departures from Port Everglades.

Arrived early, let into the terminal about 11am and on board 30 minutes later.

 

Impressions of the ship –

Nice, clean, new - was noticeable compared to past cruises.

Really liked the decor, felt warm and well appointed. Not garish as some ships design can be.

Layout is adequate with most ‘destination’ venues contained between decks five and seven or up on Lido deck.

This ship was noticeably bigger, compared to the Princess Grand class ships. Felt like we were walking farther than on past Grand class trips.

It never really felt very crowded; design helps to break spaces into smaller areas that seemed to feel more comfortable. The only real crowd concern we repeatedly encountered was getting in/out of the aft MDR.

Main pool layout on Lido deck was very unappealing – not enough pool space for this ship to support warm Caribbean cruising. The entire space was exposed to the MUTS experience, not separated like on Grand class ships. They need to fix this on newer designs to maintain appeal into the future.

 

Crew and Staff -

All experiences were great. Everyone was helpful and most kind.

Outstanding IC crew and Sanctuary was top notch!

Was nice to reconnect with a few from previous cruises, seeing Hristo managing in HC (formerly a Sanctuary manager) was a pleasant surprise!

 

Dining –

MDR was as expected. Food was good but not great, the dining process took it’s time too - over the course of 90 minutes or more. Staff here was not consistent and appeared rushed and inexperienced. We felt food from the Horizon Court buffet was equally appealing, but the layout was confusing, no real consistency or clear indication of which lines were serving.

Horizon/Caribe was never really crowded, aside from peak times in the morning before port disembarkation. It was nice to have the seating on the aft terrace, but that was fairly windy when the ship was underway.

Crown Grill was outstanding, it felt less intimate because it’s open to the adjacent bar and traffic corridor.

Alfredo’s was tasty, menu here could be expanded (no blanco pizza).

International Café was as expected based on prior experience on other ships.

Never got a chance to try the Seafood bar, maybe next trip!?

 

Entertainment –

Plenty of variety.

Massive amount of options in the early evening but after 9:30-10pm there wasn’t much other than music and dancing.

Theater shows were crowded and the seating layout was constricting, less accessible on this ship.

Casino was fair for this size of ship, but the entire aft of this deck reeked of smoke.

Between Casino and Churchill’s smoking they might’ve benefited from more aggressive ventilation systems on this deck.

 

Piazza –

Loud!

Most enjoyable in the morning with no entertainment, enjoyed many early morning coffees while planning the day.

Performers below and piano entertainer above, plus general crowd noise – made it challenging to enjoy any one performance without interference from another.

 

Lack of center stairs –

No issue for us, we detest climbing stairs.

Noticed that there are center stairways between decks four and seven – probably where most essential and important.

Not really sure why this is such a concern?

 

Elevators –

At times they arrived promptly and we were able to transit directly to destination deck.

About 30% of the time we were less fortunate, either waiting interminably or once on board we were subject to a tour of every floor on our way up/down.

Programming of these elevators is an issue, it shouldn’t be difficult to address and Princess is remiss in resolving this problem.

 

Outstanding Cabin – L108 Mini-Suite!

We were fortunate to upgrade to this cabin when there was a reduction in pricing.

This was a front-corner mini-suite on Lido deck, starboard side.

The cabin was two separate rooms, the main space with balcony door out to the side of the ship and a forward space for the bedroom with a huge window out onto the forward balcony.

Three storage closets for hanging clothing, a fourth with shelving and safe.

Main cabin space had a ten foot long counter/desk, small sofa and table. Only two US plug receptacles.

Bedroom space had the usual bed/s and twin nightstands.

Bedroom had a huge forward facing window – we kept this open night and day.

Two large wall mounted flat screen TV’s – one each for BR and LR.

Bath was standard mini-suite tub, etc.

Oddly, only one phone – on the desk in main cabin space, about 30 feet from the bed. Annoying for wake-up calls as it honestly forced you to get up and go answer.

Also, no (US standard) plugs in bedroom space – need to bring Euro adapters!!

 

Killer Balcony!!

Easily one of the top 10 balcony’s on this ship!!

Balcony door opened off main cabin to the starboard side of the ship, balcony here was only about 4-feet deep.

But the balcony extended forward and wrapped around the front of the cabin, was easily 20-feet wide by 12-feet deep in front – absolutely huge!!

Enough room to comfortably accommodate over a dozen folk milling around!

Two teak loungers w/side tables and a full teak table with four teak chairs – all had comfortable cushions.

We had fantastic forward and starboard views!

Was most enjoyable to order room service and sit on the balcony as the ship came into each port.

 

Bottom Line –

We will continue to defer to Grand class ship itineraries, but if/as needed we will be comfortable cruising on the Royal class ships.

These Royal class ships need a top deck makeover to be more appealing in warm Caribbean climates. Pool spaces need to be redefined – you cannot support the warm climate trips with only two pool spaces (sorry, the aft wading pool on Regal doesn’t count).

Grand class ships had the most functional top deck facilities in the industry – too bad Princess didn’t recognize that!?

 

Good review thank you.

Tony

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for such a great review. Your cabin sounds wonderful!

[Grego]

Thanks for posting this fair and balanced review. We are big fans of this ship and agree with your assessment of the Piazza area. It is a great venue that could be even better by dialing down the amplification during the evening.

The HC/Bistro area is a great improvement over prior design and we often tell new voyagers on the Royal Class ships to walk the entire area first to get a sense of where things are. There are so many different cuisines available which make this food area a great choice for evening meals. This, in addition to the lack luster MDR menu, makes it a winner.

[Lisa3635]

Enjoyed your review, thanks for sharing.

[Mom33]

Thanks for your review.

We have personally used the Fountain pools and the Retreat pool, on three cruises on Royal and Regal Princess in the Caribbean and never found them to be inadequate.

[johnmik1]

Having stayed in L104 twice,I believe L108 is on the port side.

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent!! :)

[CruisingObsessed]

We sailed on her for a cold weather cruise, agree with your observations. I was pretty sure the open decks would not be enough for warm weather and would not book Royal/Regal in the Caribbean. Royal was great for Northern Europe in the shoulder season however; as the piazza (loud as it was), had enough space for people to mingle without feeling too crowded most of the time. It's beautiful too.

 

Interesting that you also felt like you were walking greater distances bow to stern; it felt like that to us too. However, Royal/Regal are not actually longer than the other Grand Class ships. The design is good at giving that illusion however, IMHO

[rebeljohn]

Nice review! Thanks for taking the time to post it........

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. I really enjoyed reading it.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed the review.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Excellent report, thanks.

[Grego]

We sailed on her for a cold weather cruise, agree with your observations. I was pretty sure the open decks would not be enough for warm weather and would not book Royal/Regal in the Caribbean. Royal was great for Northern Europe in the shoulder season however; as the piazza (loud as it was), had enough space for people to mingle without feeling too crowded most of the time. It's beautiful too.

 

Interesting that you also felt like you were walking greater distances bow to stern; it felt like that to us too. However, Royal/Regal are not actually longer than the other Grand Class ships. The design is good at giving that illusion however, IMHO

 

Confused about your comment regarding, "I was pretty sure the open decks would not be enough for warm weather and would not book Royal/Regal in the Caribbean. Royal was great for Northern Europe in the shoulder season". The Royal class ships will continue to be the main carrier in the Caribbean because they are the largest capacity ships during the season when they will fill without a problem. Little harder to fill those ships during the "shoulder season" as demand does drop off. So, I guess if you want to do the Caribbean during this time of year it's the RC ships or the Emerald and/or the Coral Class for Panama RT.

The walking distance bow to stern does seem longer, however, from midship to either end it's less than a minute and a half so that's 3 minutes overall which would seem like a very long time if you are doing this at the end of the day.

Glad to see the OP and other posters staying away from the minor negatives that have appeared from time to time. To me, the changes in the HC/Bistro and Piazza areas overcome the negatives. There are changes in those negatives with RP3 which is scheduled for Asia.

[Gracie115]

After reading your review and the high ratings you gave your cabin L104 we have changed our booking from a Deluxe balcony to this mini suite for our cruise this coming October. It looks quite large and we love the idea of the balcony facing the front of the ship. ON the deck plans it states there is an "obstructed view" and that you can't open the balcony door at sea....is this true or can you just not let it stay open?

 

Did you notice any more rocking of the ship from this location so far forward?

 

Thanks for any additional thoughts you may want to share on this stateroom.:)

[msw.delafield]

Gracie115, answers in red....

 

After reading your review and the high ratings you gave your cabin L104 we have changed our booking from a Deluxe balcony to this mini suite for our cruise this coming October. It looks quite large and we love the idea of the balcony facing the front of the ship. ON the deck plans it states there is an "obstructed view" and that you can't open the balcony door at sea....is this true or can you just not let it stay open?

- I believe the "obstructed view" refers to the fact that the balcony has a solid metal railing, not the usual blue tinted glass. IMO there was no issues with the view from this cabin and the balcony also functioned to block the wind which made it usable while underway on most days.

- There was also no issue with opening the door while the ship was at sea to step out onto the balcony. Although depending on the wind and direction of travel it could get blustery walking forward to the seating areas.

Did you notice any more rocking of the ship from this location so far forward?

- Noticed nothing regarding rocking at all. We normally cruise in an aft cabin and this was a much smoother trip!

 

Check out the link below to the CC review, it contains a number of photos that you might find useful.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=522096