Meeting c.c. friends on the Nov 30th Royal cruise

[Cruz4Sun]

Royal Princess – Nov 30-Dec 10, 2016 Eastern Caribbean

 

Last year my best friend and I did this itinerary at the same time of year and loved it. When I saw a great deal that included free gratuities I convinced my husband that we should take advantage of it. We are both glad we did.

 

My DH and I flew in one day early and stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th Street. That evening we met up with 2 other cruise critic couples at the manager’s reception. What a great way to start the fun early.

 

The next morning we enjoyed our cooked to order omelet and then read by the pool until 11:30. We gathered our bags, called for Uber and by 1 p.m. we were sitting in the dining room enjoying a delicious lunch. After lunch we purchased a coffee card and headed to the Crown Grill to make reservations for the second formal night.

 

After the muster drill we headed to the Outrigger Bar for an informal cruise critic meet and greet. It was a nice gathering. Following this, we proceeded to the Elite lounge for appetizers and a $5 drink. There we were joined by our new cc friends Mayta and Bruce. We enjoyed the company so much that each evening the four of us met at this lounge. What a relaxing way to start the evening.

 

Here are my comments on our experience on the Royal Princess:

 

Ship: We loved the addition of the mid-ship stairs and side aisles in the Princess Theatre. During the first port the ship was magically transformed for Christmas and it was lovely.

 

Food: Most mornings we had a breakfast of cereal and fruit delivered to our room and enjoyed this on the balcony. For lunch and dinner we rotated between Alfredo’s, the International Café and Horizon Court. We enjoyed the variety offered and found so many wonderful foods to try. For the first time we tried room service for lunch and the sandwiches and salad were freshly prepared and promptly delivered. Two evenings we grabbed some slices from the Prego Pizzeria and headed up to the sun deck to watch football at Movies Under the Stars.

 

Our favorite meal of the cruise was our visit to the Crown Grill. The filet mignon was so tender and the sides and appetizers were very tasty. We think this experience is well worth the surcharge.

 

Daytime: Each sea day I would go to Zumba while my DH would find a cozy chair at Crooners to read in while our steward would clean the room. The rest of the day was spent at the retreat pool, sipping cappuccino at the International Café, playing games in Club Six, hitting the gym or watching movies in our room.

 

Evening Entertainment: My DH isn’t into the casino, production shows, magic acts or karaoke. Not to worry, there was still plenty to do. Our favorite shows were comedian Robbie Printz, musician John Bressler and the Beatlemanics. We also joined in at a few trivia and other game shows. We ended many of our evenings at Club Six where they had a high energy DJ and BOGO happy hour.

 

Ports:

Antigua: Thanks to our c.c. friend Jennifer, we enjoyed a 4 hour catamaran tour with lunch on the Catch the Cat. Ten of us met in the morning at Vines and headed outside. We quickly found a taxi van that drove us the 30 minute drive to Jolly Harbor for $6 per person. There we met Captain Lushi and Margot who treated us to a wonderful morning of sailing, sunning and snorkeling. Margot made a superb rum punch while Lushi fired up the grill. We were served a lovely lunch of BBQ chicken with salad and potatoes. At the end of our time the same taxi was there waiting for us and for another $6 p.p. we were back to the ship.

 

St. Lucia: We got off the ship and bought a few souvenirs at the port market. Next time we visit I would like to have lunch at the Pink Plantation which had Caribbean music and a nice looking menu.

 

Barbados: This morning we met five other c.c. members at Vines, exited the ship and found a taxi van that took us directly to the front door of the Boatyard for $5 each. At the Boatyard we paid $20 each for a day pass that included a welcome drink, 2 lounge chairs, 1 large umbrella, a boat ride out to swim with the sea turtles, use of the pristine beach and a shuttle ride back to the cruise port. It was a lot of fun swimming and relaxing with our new friends.

 

St. Kitts: We exited the ship into a fairly large shopping area. We had planned to have lunch, but each restaurant we saw had to be reached via a long, steep set of stairs. We did find some other Princess cruisers sipping $0.99 local beers at the outdoor casino bar and joined them for some lively conversation.

 

St. Thomas: We had the most amazing lunch at the Greenhouse restaurant in Charlotte Amalie. While the food was quite good, the amazing part is who we ate with. My sister and brother-in-law were on a Celebrity cruise with both their mothers. We made plans ahead a time to meet there so I could surprise my Mom! She had no idea we would be in the same port and couldn’t believe it when I sat next to her. What a priceless memory!

 

Nassau: Our ship docked later than planned and we foolishly got off with everyone at 1 p.m. There were many other ships there and the crowds were unbelievable. We stopped at the Hard Rock Café to get out of the fray and it was so disappointing. We order 2 mudslides and an appetizer. The drinks came 10 minutes after we had consumed the hot appetizer. The wait staff would barely look at you, but they automatically added 18% gratuity to the bill. I wish we would have stopped at Princess Cays instead of Nassau.

 

Disembarkation: We signed up for the walk off disembarkation option and were sitting at our airport gate by 7:30 We used the time waiting for our 11:30 flight to make some phone calls and read.

 

We loved this cruise on the Royal and the opportunity we had to meet so many nice c.c. members. We are now ready to continuing planning our October 2017 transatlantic cruise with the 100+ members already on the roll call.

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Cruz4Sun]

You're welcome! If I can get one person to try the fabulous Catch the Cat in Antigua or steer one person away from the Hard Rock Cafe in Nassau it will be worth my time and effort!

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Ditto!!

Tony

[jennybenny]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We will be on the Royal in a few months and didn't have anything planned for Barbados or St Thomas.

I appreciate the recommendations. I think we will do the Boatyard in Barbados now :)

[ar1950]

Great to read your review. Thanks for posting and thanks for the pointers, especially about the Nassau stop.

Edited December 16, 2016 by ar1950

[Cruz4Sun]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We will be on the Royal in a few months and didn't have anything planned for Barbados or St Thomas.

I appreciate the recommendations. I think we will do the Boatyard in Barbados now :)

 

You are welcome. I would recommend if possible that you get to the Boatyard before 10 a.m. to get your pick of chairs. If you want to do swim with the turtles it is best to sign up as soon as you arrive.

 

As far as St. Thomas I thought I would mention something fun we did on past trips. Magic Ice is a unique experience which we really enjoyed. The Greenhouse restaurant is only a 5 minute walk from Magic Ice. Also just a few doors down from the Greenhouse is the Big Kahuna Rum Shack for a more casual lunch in an outdoor setting.

[jennybenny]

You are welcome. I would recommend if possible that you get to the Boatyard before 10 a.m. to get your pick of chairs. If you want to do swim with the turtles it is best to sign up as soon as you arrive.

 

 

 

As far as St. Thomas I thought I would mention something fun we did on past trips. Magic Ice is a unique experience which we really enjoyed. The Greenhouse restaurant is only a 5 minute walk from Magic Ice. Also just a few doors down from the Greenhouse is the Big Kahuna Rum Shack for a more casual lunch in an outdoor setting.

 

 

 

Thank you so much! I appreciate it

 

 

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