Princess newb with a few couple of questions about Royal

[DISCruiser2009]

I've always been pretty loyal to DCL in the past but have been given the opportunity to try Princess next month and have a couple of questions to see what I should expect...

 

Are there self-serve drink and/or soft serve ice cream stations set up on board for quick grab-and-gos?

 

Also, does PCL allow the over-the-door shoe organizers to be hung on cabin doors?

 

Thanks for the help! I'll be asking more questions here I'm sure!

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes in the buffet there is a self serve station for coffee/tea/water/ice.

Depending on ship there is an ice cream counter/no self serve.

 

Yes you can use over the door shoe hangers.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[sunsetbeachgal]

There are self service beverage areas at the buffet but they only have iced tea, water, coffee, tea, etc. No soda. Juice is available during breakfast hours. Lemonade available during lunch.

 

The Royal Princess has a soft serve ice cream area but it is not self service. There is also a place in the piazza that has a variety of gelato but there is a charge for this.

[arctickitty]

If you say which ship you will get more specific answers about ice cream options from the other posters. My 2 cents is that they serve homemade ice cream in the MDRs during lunch and dinner, a couple flavors each day, some basic some artisan. MDR lunch open only on sea/embarkation days.

[floridalover5623]

We've found that the gelato which is served in the piazza is OK but not worth the extra charge. It's just similar to the free ice cream served in the DR.

Ask for a free sample & judge for yourself. ;)

[satxdiver]

While self serve ice cream is not available, ice cream is available during the day next to the main pool on the lido deck and usually is quite popular on warm weather cruises (like Caribbean). Also available near the pool on the lido deck is the pizzeria and grill. They are usually open from 11 am to 11 pm.

 

Any open bar will give you water but soda pop is sold by the can.

[AF-1]

wow, no self serve ice cream machines. Have not come across this on any of the other cruise lines I have sailed. Oh well

[floridalover5623]

wow, no self serve ice cream machines. Have not come across this on any of the other cruise lines I have sailed. Oh well

 

While it would be nice to serve yourself it's much cleaner and faster to have servers do the job. Just seeing the mess people can make at the buffet will show how messy everyone can be.

They would still have to have someone there full time to clean up after people.

[skynight]

wow, no self serve ice cream machines. Have not come across this on any of the other cruise lines I have sailed. Oh well

Works fine, a good system, is clean, very little wait, if any, and it is open from 11am to 11pm every day. Soft Ice Cream vanilla, chocolate and swirl, in cones or cups. No charge.

[DISCruiser2009]

If you say which ship you will get more specific answers about ice cream options from the other posters. My 2 cents is that they serve homemade ice cream in the MDRs during lunch and dinner, a couple flavors each day, some basic some artisan. MDR lunch open only on sea/embarkation days.

 

Sorry, it wasn't in the body of my post but was in the title.... Royal. I wanted info specific to Royal.

 

 

While it would be nice to serve yourself it's much cleaner and faster to have servers do the job. Just seeing the mess people can make at the buffet will show how messy everyone can be.

They would still have to have someone there full time to clean up after people.

 

DCL does an excellent job keeping the self-serve ice cream machines stocked and cleaned. It's located on the pool deck so easier to maintain and it wasn't as crowded there ALL THE TIME as you might think it would be considering DCL caters to children. Has never been an issue for us! It was just vanilla or chocolate soft-serve but it was good.

 

Thanks for all the feedback everybody! I posted about the drink stations before I learned that soda wasn't free. I was completely shocked about this! Like I said, I've been sailing exclusively with DCL so just assumed something as simple as soda would be included in the cost of the cruise across ALL cruise lines.

 

As for the over-the-door shoe organizer... DCL has banned them. Something about the metal hangers damaging the cabin doors. I love them though and can't imagine taking a vacation of any kind without one.... especially a cruise where space is limited.

[riclop]

wow, no self serve ice cream machines. Have not come across this on any of the other cruise lines I have sailed. Oh well

 

People make a mess out of the self serve machines, there system is much better.

[floridalover5623]

People make a mess out of the self serve machines, there system is much better.

 

And much quicker. Can you just visualize some of the people who can hardly walk trying to work the handle on their machines?

Just leave things as they are right now.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I'm not aware of the major mainstream cruise lines (Princess, carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America) that include free soda.

[royalcruz]

Disney is the only mass market cruiseline that has complimentary soda. The others all offer an unlimited fountain soda package for about $6-8/day plus gratuities, or purchase canned sodas for about $2 each. Disney's cruise fares are so high that having to pay for soda on the other lines really isn't a big deal.

Royal Caribbean has self-serve soda on some of their ships...it works by having a computer chip in the soda cup that comes with the package.

[AF-1]

thanks for the update on the ice cream. Do all ships have the same location for the ice cream? I ask because I have not sailed Princess; but have booked an Alaska cruise on Emerald

Edited January 20, 2016 by AF-1
added txt

[Astro Flyer]

thanks for the update on the ice cream. Do all ships have the same location for the ice cream? I ask because I have not sailed Princess; but have booked an Alaska cruise on Emerald

All of the Princess soft serve ice cream locations are on Lido deck & on the Emerald it's conveniently located next to the pizza slices location between the 2 main pools...Neptune's & Calypso's.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Cruisin' Chick]

There used to be a table for make-it-yourself sundaes in the Horizon Court (the buffet) around mid-afternoon. The ice cream was always homemade (interesting flavors) and this was always free, while you can go to the Sundaes bar and buy malts and other ice cream treats. When the Horizon ice cream was discontinued, the soft serve ice cream at the Sundaes bars (on the Lido deck by one of the pools) was then no longer charged for. The ice cream bar would open around 11ish and stay open until 11. A popcorn machine would be brought out every evening for movie snacking under the stars. No charge.

 

You can also get plenty of interesting flavors of ice cream with your meal in the MDRs.

 

One feature you will find on most Princess ships is the International Cafe. It's not an enclosed eatery, but a set of display cases and a coffee counter that is usually found in the grand atrium (the Piazza). You can get different food (good if you want a light meal) and treats 24/7. Just go up to the counter and ask for an item and it will be plated (or bowled, if you want soup) for you. The best chocolate chip cookies, ever. The only charges is for specialty drinks and for gelato, if it's served there (only a few ships).

 

I don't care for Coke products, so I take on my 'Dew.