Royal Princess Review - March 13 to 23, 2016

[bankerbabe]

We recently completed a ten night cruise on the Royal Princess, disembarking on March 23. Since I relied heavily on reviews in my planning, I thought I would return the favor and share our experiences. I apologize for the length….I type very fast.

 

This review will be in a few different posts, due to the crazy length.

[bankerbabe]

First, who are we? Sailing this time was my husband and I, early 40s, and our two kids aged 20 and nearly 16. Additionally, my husband's best friend and his other half joined us. Friends have sailed once before, this was our seventh cruise, second on Princess.

 

Accommodations:

Our friends booked a forward-facing balcony on the Marina deck and loved it. Plenty of space for the two of them, and we all really enjoyed hanging out on the balcony as we pulled into port every morning. For sailaway we generally went to other areas of the ship, our favorite being the back of the ship on the Lido Deck….I can't remember what it was called, but there's a bar there and some very comfy seating.

 

We had the wild idea to share a mini-suite with the kids, rather than book them in a separate cabin. Quite frankly we regretted the decision. There was plenty of space, even when we asked the steward to leave the beds out mid way through the cruise, and there was more than enough storage for the four of us, it was just too many people in one room for too long. And getting the kids to tidy up was more stressful than it was worth. Never again.

 

The cabin itself was very nice, and would have been great for two or even three people. The full sized bathtub was nice. Even though I never took a bath, it sure made leg-shaving that much easier. Storage was great – we even had some shelves in the closet area that remained untouched. The size of the balcony was a pretty big non-issue for us. It was enough to sit on and watch the ocean go by, to read a book, and even to enjoy some breakfast. We all four couldn't sit out there, but our 20 year old was rarely in the cabin with us anyway….he had better things to do. Having two TVs was nice, and the on-demand features were great. We watched several movies while resting at night, getting ready, etc.

 

Our mini-suite was on the Lido deck, I believe it was below the Sanctuary or the adults-only area. Cabin number L225. The location was great in terms of accessibility of the public areas. Very near the forward stairs and elevator bank, so getting down to the Piazza was a breeze. It was also very near all of the offerings of the Lido deck, so it was easy to run out and grab a drink or a snack, hop in the pool or hot tub, etc. There were some mornings that we heard banging around of chairs above us, but that never started until 7:30 at the earliest and we were generally already awake for some time by then. One night they had some kind of a "Miami style" party in the Sanctuary and we could hear some music from that, but it was not much of a bother at all. It didn't prevent us from sleeping.

[bankerbabe]

Entertainment:

We don't typically participate in much of the organized entertainment options. We went to one show – an illusionist and his wife – and it was enjoyable. No problem finding seats, even though we arrived about 5 minutes before show time. Cup holders in the theater would have been nice, but we made do.

 

Other than that, we watched part of a movie under the stars, listened to some music in the Piazza when we were there anyway, and enjoyed a couple of movies in our room. We like to dine late and go to bed shortly thereafter; we get up early and are among the first off the ship most of the time. Sea days we prefer to laze around, spend some time by the pool, and hang out with our friends. I like to read more than participate in the organized activities. That said, there was plenty to do all day if that is your thing. Our 20 year old son was running from one activity to the other on some of the sea days, and our friends participated in some fun things. Maybe we are just boring. 

[bankerbabe]

Drink Service

 

This was our only real disappointment with the cruise. We had the AIBP, which for us was totally worth the money spent. The drinks are not very strong, nor are they particularly large, so it is very easy to consume five drinks per day even on port days, if the service is there. Plus, when you add in things like Gelato's and coffee in the International Café, and for us it was worth the money spent. But the challenge that we had was getting drink service.

 

Since our cruise was rather port-intensive, and the last sea day was cloudy and cool, we only sat around the pool one day. So maybe the drink service was better on other days and we just weren't there to witness it. But that one day was terrible. In 3 or 4 hours sitting out there, we only got 3 drinks. At one time, we ordered drinks, but it took so long to get them that we assumed we had been forgotten. 45 minutes went by, and we finally ordered from someone else that we flagged down. Shortly thereafter, our original drinks arrived. Then, when my husband ordered a rum and coke, he was delivered (30 minutes later) a coke. No rum. So, he asked for the rum on the side, and another 30 minutes went by before the waiter came back to ask what kind of rum. He said nevermind.

 

From that point on, we just went to a bar anytime we wanted a drink. And then, for whatever reason, the bar staff usually seemed annoyed – maybe it was our AIBP stickers? Either way, I think if Princess is going to continue selling the AIBP they need to add staff. Which I understand brings its own challenges.

[bankerbabe]

Dining:

I've seen some conflicting reports on the quality of food, but personally I thought almost everything was good to very good. The only disappointments were the Caribbean style shrimp cocktail – husband tried it one night and quickly switched back to the "American style" shrimp cocktail – and the Beef Wellington. While there were dishes that left me saying "meh", I enjoyed everything. I tend to enjoy beef dishes, with fish appetizers. Food was the appropriate temperature, served promptly. Beef dishes were a little overcooked, I always order rare and I consistently got it medium-rare. I have come to expect that from most restaurants, though, and actually prefer medium-rare over rare and the order of rare is me hedging my bets. Our friend who likes his beef medium received his food appropriately cooked.

 

On the 10 night cruise, we dined in the main dining room 6 nights. We had late traditional dining. My primary complaint about the dining room was that the drink service was terrible. I'm not one to complain, really, but getting more than one drink with dinner was darn near impossible. Our assistant waiter clearly had too many tables, and was nowhere to be seen for most of the meal. So, after the second night, we always stopped by a bar on our way to dinner and picked up our own initial drink, and then ordered a second the minute we sat down to dinner. That way we at least had another one coming for midway through the meal, which is about when we got it. Only toward the end of the cruise were we able to get 3 drinks with dinner (we're a thirsty bunch and they're small!) and that was when most of our waiter's section was empty. Coffee never arrived until dessert was completed, even when we asked for coffee mid way through the meal and/or asked for it to accompany our dessert. Specialty coffee orders were frequently wrong – it became something of a game to see what we would get. Luckily I'm adventurous and will try anything.

 

I've seen some complaints about dining in the main dining room taking too long, and I can see where they are coming from. It routinely took 1.5 to 2 hours to have dinner, but for us that was a positive. We were there with good friends and our kids, and it was nice to have that time in the evening to hang out, talk, and just spend time together. But I can see how some people would prefer something a little faster paced.

 

We had lunch in the main dining room twice, and it was OK. Not a lot of options to choose from, but what we had was good and service was good as well. We never made it to the dining room for breakfast.

 

I've seen a lot of people rave about the buffet service. We were underwhelmed. But, we do not care for buffets in general, so we are perhaps a tad biased in that regard. We had breakfast twice in the buffet, and I found the scrambled eggs to be borderline inedible. I would have gotten an omelet, but I didn't have the patience. Our daughter raved about the brownies in the buffet, I think she ate her weight's worth in them, but I never tried one. I can't recommend the sushi served in the buffet – there was something strange about the rice.

 

We loved the International Café, though I only tried the egg sandwich (our standard breakfast), the doughnuts, and the coffee. I wish I had made it back there to try the sandwiches and salads – but there's only so much room in a person's stomach!

 

Gelato's was good – I had an alcoholic sundae that was wonderful, and the crepes were delicious. Husband and I had the AIBP, so everything was included. Daughter had a coffee card and had more than enough punches to satisfy her crepe/gelato cravings throughout the cruise. She drinks regular coffee and not lattes, so that was our plan in getting her the coffee card.

 

Other dining included Sabatini's, which was great. Wonderful service, good food. We ate at Alfredo's the first day's lunch, and the service was among the best we got on the ship. We never had to order additional drinks, they just magically appeared. We ate in the Crown Grill the last night on the ship and sincerely wished we had dined there earlier and more often. The food was spot on and the service was perfect. We all had various steaks, and the waiter brought us lobster for the table without even asking.

 

But the best meal of the ship was the Chef's Table. We treated our friends and the kids to an amazing night at the Chef's Table, and it was money well spent. It is spendy, but the experience is truly remarkable. The food was spectacular, the atmosphere was great, and seeing the galley was a lot of fun. I've seen some people ask if teens would enjoy it or not, and for us the answer was yes. We have a couple of foodie kids, though, so your experience may vary. It was a lot of fun to hear the chef talk about what is in the dish, and the wine glasses were never empty for a second. I highly recommend the chef's table.

[bankerbabe]

Ports:

We enjoyed all of the ports on this itinerary, some more than others.

 

In Dominica we went with Bumpiing Tours to the champagne reef, Ti Tou Gorge, and some waterfalls. It was a very fun tour with a great guide. I felt bad for one of the women on our tour, who apparently did not realize how much walking and/or how much of an incline she would be required to walk on. She did not get to participate in many of the tour's activities. So, if you have any mobility issues, you may want to skip this tour.

 

In St. Lucia we went with Island Buggies and rented dune buggies to drive all over the island. We went to a hill-top restaurant for lunch, went to the mud baths, and swam under a waterfall. It was an expensive tour, but it was an all-day thing and a ton of fun. Terrifying, since we were driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and I had not driven a stick shift in many years, but loads of fun.

 

In Barbados, we went to the Boatyard for a couple of hours and then returned to the ship. I was craving some beach time and got it, but we were pretty worn out and wanted to rest up before the chef's table.

 

In Antigua we went with Lawrence of Antigua for a tour, and then he dropped us at a beach for a couple of hours. Beautiful beach (Valley Church Beach) with a restaurant for drinks and food. It was a fantastic, low key day.

 

In St. Thomas, our kids with zip lining with our friends, while my husband and I went over to Coki Dive Center for a discover scuba experience. We had never been diving before. Turns out scuba diving is fun for my husband, but terrifying for me. The dive master was awesome and helped me to get comfortable….I want to get certified now. Because the ship was having generator issues, they cancelled our Princess Cays stop and we stayed in St. Thomas until 10 pm. It was also my husband and my 23rd wedding anniversary, so we went out for an amazing dinner on the island, at Oceana Restaurant and Wine Bar. The setting was amazing, right on the water, and the food was very, very good. We found them on Yelp. I highly recommend them if you have the opportunity to dine there.

 

Stay with me, I'm almost done….. 

[bankerbabe]

Embarkation and Disembarkation:

 

We stayed at the Springhill Suites pre-cruise for one night. Transportation to the cruise port was complimentary. But, when we tried to schedule it the shuttle driver insisted that we needed to leave at 9:30 in order to beat the crowds. No thanks. I strongly suspect his motivation was to get us out of the hotel room early so that they could turn it for the next guest. We checked out at noon, after a leisurely morning picking up things from the nearby K-mart and Ross. We used Uber to get to the port ($40 due to traffic) and were very glad that we didn't go earlier. No lines whatsoever. I've never had an easier embarkation. We walked right in, handed in our paperwork, showed our passports, and were on the ship just before 1:00. Our cabin was available, so we dropped our things and went to lunch. Awesome!

 

Disembarkation was not quite as smooth, but still good. My son and I were the only ones checking luggage, since we were on a separate ticket from my husband and daughter we had 2 free checked bags each (I'm MVP with the airline). We signed up for the EZ check program, and decided to save the $40 by not signing up my daughter and husband. Big mistake. They wound up in a different disembarkation group, but luckily we were able to at least get them the same time. It made it a little hectic when trying to find each other after getting off the ship, but we figured it out. If I had it to do over again, I would have just paid the extra money and signed us all up for EZ Check. That said, EZ Check is the bomb. Worth every penny to just have our carry-ons with us and not have to worry about finding our checked luggage again until we reached home.

 

Edit to add:

I should add that when we were disembarking, around 9:30 (the time that the hotel suggested we get to the port) the lines were insane, outside of the terminal, waiting to get in. As we walked past everyone standing in the long line, I pointed them out to my husband with an "I told you so" . . . . he and our friends wanted to go with the hotel's advice and get there early. So glad that we didn't!

Edited April 2, 2016 by bankerbabe
Additional comment.

[bankerbabe]

Bottom line:

 

We had a great cruise. It was a lot of fun, the ports were new to us with the exception of St. Thomas, and we took advantage of some fun dining options on and off the ship.

 

Our only disappointments were either self-generated (should have booked two cabins) or centered around the drink service. We aren't super loyal to Princess, we generally book based on the itinerary, but would certainly sail with Princess again if the timing and itinerary was right. And now that we've sailed in a mini-suite, we may never be able to "tolerate" "just" a balcony cabin again.

 

 

So, if anyone is still reading, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions that folks have.

[paul929207]

I am looking forward to reading your comments. We got off the Royal the day you boarded, so it will be nice to relive our adventure.

[Nezmo]

If you did the Chef's Table on the Barbados day then we were there with you.

 

I will also be doing a review once I get my ducks in a row.

 

I will say I echo quite a few of your observations.

[Nezmo]

You might appreciate this ...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2335136

[pris993]

Thanks for your review, read with interest since we booked a 15 day transatlantic out of Barcelona for October 2017 on the Royal. Plan to enjoy the Crown Grill most of the cruise, sounds from your review we will not be disappointed. Glad to hear the balcony on a mini suite is adequate too.

 

Glad you and your family had a great cruise.

[riclop]

Thanks for the great review.

[bankerbabe]

Yes, Nezmo, we did the chef's table with you. I believe you were sitting next to my husband. :)

 

Glad to see that you enjoyed your cruise as well.

[Nezmo]

Yes, Nezmo, we did the chef's table with you. I believe you were sitting next to my husband. :)

 

Glad to see that you enjoyed your cruise as well.

That was us. I hope my camera was not too obnoxious. I tried to be quick and discrete.

 

It was great see you your children appreciate the food and experience.

[bankerbabe]

Your camera was totally fine. I wish I had snapped more pictures myself, but somewhere between the wine and the food I completely forgot to!

[hopestotravelmore]

Hi Bankerbabe

Thankyou for the review. I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Wish we had done the Chefs table like you. We did our first ever cruise in February and I forgot about the Chefs table. It sure sounds wonderful. Oh well next time.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[martin jenkins]

Drink Service

 

This was our only real disappointment with the cruise. We had the AIBP, which for us was totally worth the money spent. The drinks are not very strong, nor are they particularly large, so it is very easy to consume five drinks per day even on port days, if the service is there. Plus, when you add in things like Gelato's and coffee in the International Café, and for us it was worth the money spent. But the challenge that we had was getting drink service.

 

Since our cruise was rather port-intensive, and the last sea day was cloudy and cool, we only sat around the pool one day. So maybe the drink service was better on other days and we just weren't there to witness it. But that one day was terrible. In 3 or 4 hours sitting out there, we only got 3 drinks. At one time, we ordered drinks, but it took so long to get them that we assumed we had been forgotten. 45 minutes went by, and we finally ordered from someone else that we flagged down. Shortly thereafter, our original drinks arrived. Then, when my husband ordered a rum and coke, he was delivered (30 minutes later) a coke. No rum. So, he asked for the rum on the side, and another 30 minutes went by before the waiter came back to ask what kind of rum. He said nevermind.

 

From that point on, we just went to a bar anytime we wanted a drink. And then, for whatever reason, the bar staff usually seemed annoyed – maybe it was our AIBP stickers? Either way, I think if Princess is going to continue selling the AIBP they need to add staff. Which I understand brings its own challenges.

 

i was on this cruise, totally agree the service was way to slow up by the pool, we always ended up going to belini's, 95% of the time we found the service was great, agree about the scrambled egg didn't look appetising at all, they put on nice roasts in the horizon court but got sick and tired of mashed potato, and tasteless vegetables.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying all of your posts.

 

Keith

[shipfriend_max]

Hi, and thanks for the review so far. :)

 

i am booked on Royal Princess for August 2016, and heard several rumors that a small aft pool has been added to Royal Priness - is this true?! :confused:

[Nezmo]

Hi, and thanks for the review so far. :)

 

i am booked on Royal Princess for August 2016, and heard several rumors that a small aft pool has been added to Royal Priness - is this true?! :confused:

No aft pool on the Royal.

[psouthcomb]

Sorry to hear about the AIBP. We are going in October and I really don't want to wait for drinks, especially with the money we paid for it. I hope the wait staff are not told to ignore or take their time for people with AIBP sticker. I'm glad you had a good trip and thanks for the review.

[bankerbabe]

Oh, and I just remembered one more thing - a positive one too. :)

 

We bought a bunch of the pictures, because we really liked them and it's not something that we typically do at home. When we got home I emailed Princess for a photo release, at about 8:00 at night. By the next afternoon they emailed me one. I thought that was nice.

 

About the AIBP: I'm glad we did it, it was very nice not to care about the cost of drinks. And we did eventually get drinks, but it took more effort on our part than it should have. And I agree about Bellini's, good service there. We had sushi and poke there one afternoon and it was very good.