Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Royal Princess Review 1/19-1/29

FraudBroad

By FraudBroad,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
Posted

Here’s a brief review of our sailing on Royal Princess 1/19-1/29.

 

Traveling this trip is myself (49), Cousin (47), mother (ageless) and aunt (she’d kill me).

 

Pre Cruise: I arrived from Chicago the afternoon of the 18th and my cousin arrived that evening. For dinner we went to a local German Restaurant that we found on "Yelp" and were disappointed in both the service and food...live and learn. We stayed at the Hampton Inn near the airport and the hotel was nice. Except for the fact that the air conditioning in the room didn’t work and the smoke detector was hanging on the wall by one thin wire. When we called the desk to complain about the air they sent a delightful little man up to fix it who spoke not one word of English. He did get the fan to work but the air never came on. It was a sleepless night for us both.

Embarkation: We met the moms at their hotel the next morning (my mother had given me her car the night before). The moms took the car to be parked near the port and my cousin and I took a shuttle. We arrived at the port around 10:40. The doors weren’t open yet and a line was beginning to form. The moms arrived around 11:00, right around the time they opened the doors. We quickly made our way through security and then check in. We were onboard by 11:30.

 

Food: We ate just about everywhere. Alfredo’s was always excellent, we had great meals in the main dining room (anytime dining), loved the Crown Grill and had some good meals in the buffet. I’ve always enjoyed the food on Princess and this trip didn’t disappoint! The one thing I learned was to NEVER book anytime dinning when traveling with my mother. She does not, I repeat DOES NOT like to wait in line. In fact the last night on the ship she was complaining so much about the wait that I finally walked away and let her and my aunt and cousin eat together. Worked out well for me as I took my frustration to the casino and hit a jackpot on a slot machine. *Winning*

 

Ports

Antigua: My mother and I spent the day at Valley Church Beach. $8 cab ride each way from the port. Rented two chairs and an umbrella for I think $20. We had someone that came by and took our drink orders several times. The beach was beautiful but the surf was quite rough. That would be the same on all of the islands. Cousin and Aunt booked an island tour through “Lawrence of Antigua” and had a great time.

 

Barbados: We headed to Copacabana Bar & Grill right on the beach (right next door to Lobster’s Alive). $4 cab ride each way from the port. It was $15 for two chairs and an umbrella. The beach was beautiful but I thought the service there was lacking. Surf was much calmer than Antigua but still rougher than last year. Cousin and Aunt booked the ship’s tour to Harrison’s Cave and had fun.

 

St Lucia: We were scheduled for a half day at the Rendezvous Resort ($65) but we woke to gray skies and rain. We walked around the port area for a bit and decided that we’d skip the resort (we weren’t scheduled to leave until 11:30. Our friends that did go thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the rain did hold off for them! Mom and I enjoyed a relaxing day on the ship. Aunt booked an island tour through Cosol which was excellent and cousin booked the zip line through the ship. This was the highlight of the cruise for her!

 

St Kitts: Cousin and I spent the day at the Carambola Beach Club. This was my second time there and it never disappoints. We had a wonderful day! It was $30 for both of us for ultra-comfy padded loungers and a huge umbrella.

 

St Thomas: St Thomas ended up being a letdown for me. Prior to sailing we’d booked the Catamaran Champagne sail through the ship. The day we boarded we were told that it was cancelled. My cousin and I then booked the Trunk Bay snorkel excursion through the ship and were scheduled to meet at 11:50. We headed downtown early to get a bit of shopping done and when we got back to the ship we found out that that tour was also cancelled. We ended up just exploring Havensight with the moms and enjoyed a nice lunch at the port.

 

Princess Cays: Cousin and I booked the Dune Buggy excursion through the ship. We really did have a great time but I wish the description would have been a little bit better. It was certainly an “off road” experience, so don’t even think about it if you have neck or back problems. We did stop at Light House beach which was breathtaking. I wish I’d known that we’d have 45 minutes at the beach and I would have worn my swimsuit! The tour wrapped up abruptly as the water was getting rough and they were taking the tenders back to the ship early. The tender ride back was something else…the boat was REALLY rocking and water was pouring in over the drivers head!

 

Onboard Entertainment: We attended several shows: Comedian (Steve Caoutte) was fantastic! We also enjoyed The “Unexpected Boys” (Four Seasons Tribute Group) as well as the Shows “Colors of the World” and the Burt Bacharach show that for the life of me I can’t remember the name of.

 

Deck Party: The Love Boat Deck party was reschedule due to rain and when we finally had it it was great! We loved learning to do the “Isaac” and the videos from the “Love Boat” cast were great to see. The entertainment staff really went all out to make sure we had a great time.

 

Cruise Director Staff Events: Attended many of these. Went to most of the Morning, brunch and afternoon trivia games, Marriage Match, Liar’s Club, Hollywood Screen Test, Yes/No game show and Beatle’s Trivia. All were fun but I have to say I didn’t love the staff on this particular sailing. I found most to be a bit standoffish. Although I did really enjoy the CD Lisa and Deputy CD Kelly. They were both friendly and approachable.

 

Cabins: The moms were in a balcony – M102. The balcony itself was massive. It’s right at the bow of the ship…amazing views!

Cousin and I were in an inside cabin – R214. It’s one of the sideways cabins and had more storage space than any other cabin type I’ve had before, including a suite on NCL. By far one of my favorite cabins and I wouldn’t hesitate to book the same on again!

 

I’ve never met a cruise I didn’t enjoy and this one on Royal Princess was no exception. I sailed this exact same itinerary last year and will do the same again next year. She never disappoints!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Thanks for the review!

Can you tell me what time you were in line for anytime dining that you had to wait?

 

The times we tried to go at 6:00 we waited. The night just two of us went at 7:30 we walked right in!

 

They said you could make reservations for "anytime" dining but every time I called they said we could come at 5:00 or 8:30...that just didn't work for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grego

Grego

Posted
Posted

Thanks for taking the time to post this review. It was objective and very informative. The Royal is one of our favorite ships. We will be sailing on her later this month with our cousins and I'm sure they will enjoy this itinerary. We sailed on her last year during this time and did the same ports - good thing they are among our favorites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TracieABD "Live from...." Rare

TracieABD

Posted
Posted

Yay! Another review from FB!!! So glad that you had a great cruise with your cousin and "the moms". You know, I am just a little jealous!

 

I am so glad you got another go around on the Royal. It is such a beautiful ship!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Yay! Another review from FB!!! So glad that you had a great cruise with your cousin and "the moms". You know, I am just a little jealous!

 

I am so glad you got another go around on the Royal. It is such a beautiful ship!

 

Tracie last year when you did your "Live From" on Royal you encouraged me to do my own! This year I wimped out with just a short review :cool:

 

You also inspired me to bring my sweet mamma along this time...priceless!!!

 

And Tracie I just want to say I'm so very sorry for the loss of your mother. She was a truly special person I'm sure.

 

Regards,

Natalie

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
  • Author
Posted
we did a b2b for 20 days in caribbean on Royal. Everytime we ate we had NO lines. We entered the DR on the side that is not used on other ships. People don't normally go into the DR on that side.

 

Just ahint for the future

 

They had one side blocked off for reservations only. The other side always had a line. The other restaurant was only "Anytime" dining after 7:30. I personally had no issue with it...but sweet mamma just doesn't roll that way!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Natalie!! Hi from Mary and Andrew. We sailed almost this exact itinerary with you a year ago - had a blast, and headed to the southern route for our honeymoon this fall. :-) hope you're well!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Awwww!!!! We had such a GREAT time with you both last year! Hope you love the southern route...and enjoy the honeymoon!!!!

 

 

And I'm hoping Mary that you will be part of "Voice of the Ocean". I'm sure you'll win!!!

 

Regards,

Natalie

Link to comment
Share on other sites
umbluemusic

umbluemusic

Posted
Posted
Awwww!!!! We had such a GREAT time with you both last year! Hope you love the southern route...and enjoy the honeymoon!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

And I'm hoping Mary that you will be part of "Voice of the Ocean". I'm sure you'll win!!!

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Natalie

 

 

We are really excited for the southern - mostly new stops for both of us, plus we get to go back to St Thomas which was rained out when we went last year! I'm planning on trying the Voice of the Ocean. :-) sounds like a good time!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NANCYR2

NANCYR2

Posted
Posted

Hi Natalie,

Great Review!!

 

Jim and I enjoyed meeting you. We did seem to run into one another many times on this cruise.

We also thought that the entertainment and food and ports were great.

 

Hope we sail with you again.

 

Nancy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FraudBroad

FraudBroad

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hi Natalie,

Great Review!!

 

Jim and I enjoyed meeting you. We did seem to run into one another many times on this cruise.

We also thought that the entertainment and food and ports were great.

 

Hope we sail with you again.

 

Nancy

 

Hi Nancy!

So great meeting you and Jim as well! I certainly hope that our paths cross again. We had such a wonderful time!

 

Regards,

Natalie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...