just off the royal princess

[judy-judy]

This is a great itinerary with a good balance of sea days. Love having 2 sea days at the end of the voyage.

I see where you are a photo winner, I also had one chosen, about 5 years ago. Can you find them on the ship when you sail? How do you know which ship? Thank you. Judy

[plantlady104]

We agree that the post regarding bad food/entertainment was his opinion, but totally disagree. We ate at all the venues, and rated the food very good. The lido had a great selection, and the DR food was good to very good as well. Really don't understand the bad extreme comments; just an ax to grind. Compared to all our other cruise line experiences, the Royal was equal in quality to the food on Celebrity/Holland/MSC. If don't like something, then request another choice. Entertainment choices were varied and again some may be more enjoyable than others, but none were terrible. Too many self-absorbed, whiners and cry babies on cruises these days, just a poor reflection of the current status of human nature.

[mevs904]

I really thought this cruise was not very good. The ports were great, but the ship food and entertainment was the worst. I really don't consider pot pie and meatloaf a great dining option. I thought the best meal was at the crown grill. I have cruised many times on Princess and will not be going back. The ship was always very warm and it really looked like Princess was trying to cut back in every aspect. It really makes me sad that this cruise line changed so much.

 

 

We were on the Jan. 19 Southern Caribbean on the Royal and found the entire experience to be very good. The dinner choices were varied, and just that, options. We actually both tried the chicken pot pie. It was the Curtis Stone entree of the evening and not your typical frozen pot pie. We also experienced the Crown Grill and the Tuscan Wine Tasting Dinner at Sabatmini's and neither of these dinners disappointed, particularly the Tuscan Winw Tasting Dinner.

Concerning entertainment, we felt that the production shows got better as the cruise went on and we were very fortunate to have heard Christina Bianco sing. She does a wonderful job impersonating famous vocal divas and has a lively and friendly personality when you meet her on the ship. She will be performing on April 3rd at Birdland and we are planning on going to NYC to hear here again. On the ship we usually made a point to hear Joey Yates, the vocalist/piano player at Crooners.

The crew and the service we received from them was also excellent and would love to have any one of them the next time that we sail on the Royal, which we will definitely do.

I realize and respect that people's opinions and experiences vary, but wanted to put in a good word for the ship and crew that gave us such a memorable vacation.

[kimcht]

Just wanted to make a few comments before I move on to theports. we did traditional dining as anytime dining, both with our last princesscruise and with this one anytime dining involves waiting in line unless you goto eat immediately at 5 or around 8. with traditional there was no waiting, andwe just tried to tell our waiter and table mates when we predicted that wewould not be there the next day. we ate in the MDR about 1/2 the time,otherwise the buffet, the one time at the crown grill, or alfredos.

also the spa ladies had 15 minute chair massages for 25$several days by the pool. one day I had a bad headache and she was able torelieve it, you just have to ignore the sales pitch.

 

also hubby was happy to find out that his soda card includedvirgin strawberry daquiris.

[plantlady104]

We also disagree with thepost regarding bad food/entertainment. We ate at all the venues, andrated the food very good. The lido always had a great selection, and theDR food was good to very good as well. Really don't understand the badextreme comments; just an ax to grind. Compared to all our other cruise lineexperiences, the Royal was equal in quality to the food onCelebrity/Holland/MSC. If don't like something, then request anotherchoice, since there are at least 6-8 entrée choices for dinner. Better yet, review the posted daily dinnermenu, and if don’t like the choices, go eat at another venue and allow tablecompanions to enjoy their dinner. Entertainment choices were varied andagain some may be more enjoyable than others, but none were terrible.

[ChocolateZen]

We were very impressed with the food on the Royal. I would say it was comparable to HAL and Celebrity. Btw, the pot pie was delicious. Having a sweet tooth, I felt that Royal excelled in the dessert area. Most other lines have too many gelled type desserts (in my opinion only of course). The Royal had regular brownies, cakes and cookies which we appreciated (maybe a little too much :D).

 

We enjoyed the Colors of the World production and the Fly Boys. Princess does a great job with the trivia type shows.

 

Our only "trivial" disappointment was the size of the balconies (we enjoy having a drink with our friends on them during port saleaways and it was a tight squeeze). It would also have been nice to have at least one lounger on them.

 

The itinerary was good and it was a pleasure being the only ship in most of the ports or sharing with only a few others.

 

A wonderful cruise all in all.

[Lucky TGO]

No. :( The food is great but the location is awful. So loud from the bar area that you can't talk. Very distracting.

 

Hi Pam,

You are soooooo right the location of the CG is terrible.

Tony

[Lucky TGO]

No. :( The food is great but the location is awful. So loud from the bar area that you can't talk. Very distracting.

 

Hi Pam,

You are soooooo right the location is of the CG terrible.

Tony

[kimcht]

sorry about the repeat posts as cc was doing funny things yesterday and I cant now figure out how to delete posts.

Princess cays was a bit different from the last time we were there years ago. first of all if you have a soda card you cant use it, nor can you get a glass of water. so for soda you have to buy a can for 2$ or a bottle of water for $1.00 as they do not bring soda guns with them and the water is not safe to drink. If I would have know that I would have brought my own water bottle. as you get off the ship you can turn right or left. both sides have the barbeque, advertised to go until 1;30 BUT WHEN we were there it stopped at 1:05 for some reason so some of us did not get to eat. there are 3 food trucks on the left side, and a small kiosk that sells floats and cabanas. most of the action and the smoother beach, the gift shop, etc is on the right side. we went left as its a bit quieter, and is the better side for snorkelers or even just walking in the clear water and seeing conchs, sand dollars, etc. also be aware that if you have paid for a cabana you still have to be on the first tender over to get the ones in front, much later and the only ones you can get are in the second row or all the way to the left end. there was an issue with the first tender on our sailing so then there was a huge line to get off the ship. luckily this was the only port we had to tender on.

[kimcht]

In St Thomas we booked a princess excurison, the kayak/hike and snorkel eco excursion. we were happy with it with one exception. the rest of the group were faster kayakers than us so although on the initial trip they would stop and wait for us before telling us about the area, but on the way back they all just took off. I thought that one of the leaders should have at least kept us in site but he did not, so if we would have had any issues it would have been a real problem. It was a lovely area and a nice excursion. it was advertised to have a snack, which was a treat size candy bar, so if you tend to get hungry I would bring something with you.

 

In Dominica we did the ship whale and dolphin excursion. we saw no whales, but did see some dolphins. the boat holds about 50 people, maybe about 16 on the top deck. I did notice some people on the lower deck getting kind of green as it was a bit rough, so be aware

 

In Grenada we booked a private excursion through people from our roll call from stan at JNJ tours which was very interesting, in a 12 seat passenger van.

 

In Bonnaire we booked a 4 wheel drive excursion through the ship and it was another good one. there also lots of shops close to port to do some shopping afterwards. again I would recommend it.

 

last but not least we had booked a segway tour in aruba with dannys 2 wheeled adventures on the recommendations of trip advisor reviews. It was fine, but I had originally booked extra beach time and then he was to take us back to the ship, but he had lost his partner since then so this was no longer an option. since I had emailed him shortly before the cruise to confirm I was dissapointed and thought he could have told us at that point. we did stay longer at the beach where his office was, but it was very crowded and not nearly as nice as the beach that he was originally going to leave us at, and then we took a bus back to port.

 

Overall we had a great trip and if you have any other questions I would be happy to try and answer them

[caribill]

Princess cays was a bit different from the last time we were there years ago. first of all if you have a soda card you cant use it, nor can you get a glass of water.

 

 

This is not a change. It has always been that way with soda.

 

However, I do remember free water from the ship being available from water coolers.

[Times Prince]

However, I do remember free water from the ship being available from water coolers.

Water is freely available from water coolers in the luncheon area, along with plastic cups.

[kimcht]

I am glad to know about the water coolers. We went to the bar and asked if water was available and they told us there was none, only water to be purchased, and that all other water on the island was not safe to drink, and by the time we got to the buffet they were closing up the 1/2 hour early and there was none there they must have packed it up.

[bamelin]

What type of still bottled water do they offer for fee on board? I am a spring water snob ... I only drink high alkaline water and notice a huge difference if the water has an acidic ph balance.

 

So I stick with Evian or Eska (Canadian brand) .

[kimcht]

I dont remember what kind of bottled water it was, it was a name I didn't recognize so I would bring your own. I generally just filled up my own insulated water bottle and filled it up from the ships water, and used bottled water only if I thought I would nerd more in port.

[reemab1]

Enjoying your feedback many thanks. We will be sailing on the Royal for the first time in October - we were on the Grand in November and had anytime dining but we generally went after 8pm and never had more than a 15 min wait and that was extreme! Do you think it will be the same on the Royal as I am getting a bit concerned over some of the comments I have read?.

[Colo Cruiser]

What type of still bottled water do they offer for fee on board? I am a spring water snob ... I only drink high alkaline water and notice a huge difference if the water has an acidic ph balance.

 

So I stick with Evian or Eska (Canadian brand) .

 

 

There is no GTY that any particular brand will be onboard when you are. Brands change and its whatever is available/supplied at the time the ship receives provisions.

 

As stated in the other thread you may want to bring your own.

[kimcht]

Enjoying your feedback many thanks. We will be sailing on the Royal for the first time in October - we were on the Grand in November and had anytime dining but we generally went after 8pm and never had more than a 15 min wait and that was extreme! Do you think it will be the same on the Royal as I am getting a bit concerned over some of the comments I have read?.

I don't think it will be an big issue at that time, the lines Tend to be between 6 and 7:30 ish at least what we observed.

 

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[reemab1]

I don't think it will be an big issue at that time, the lines Tend to be between 6 and 7:30 ish at least what we observed.

 

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Thank you - appreciate that.

 

 

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[plantlady104]

At 7:15-7:30, they open the Concerto DR for anytime dining as well, so forget the Symphony DR and use the Concerto, which is less crowded.

[pris993]

No. :( The food is great but the location is awful. So loud from the bar area that you can't talk. Very distracting.

 

 

Thanks Pam, we may look at the time the bar has entertainment and try to go on off times if possible. Really like the Crown Grill food... but not the noise for sure. Who ever design it this way made a big mistake... will have Princess feedback on my critique.

[chubbypiggy]

I plan to book the Royal Princess for the April 2017 Transatlantic.

 

The best price for the mini suite cabins are the cabins below the Seawalk (for example: M423 on the starboard side) or below the Seaview bar (for example M424 on the port side).

 

Anyone have comments/suggestions if it is better to be below the Seawalk or the Seaview bar?

 

Thank you.

[reemab1]

At 7:15-7:30, they open the Concerto DR for anytime dining as well, so forget the Symphony DR and use the Concerto, which is less crowded.

 

Thank you - that's good info.

[Sea Gypsy 2]

Thank you for all the good information! Will be on Royal for March 30 sail. Can you tell me how were the movies and the music by the pool on sea days?

[kimcht]

There are movies under the stars every night sea days or no sea days, usually relatively new releases to DVD. During the day they do run some concerts on the movie screen , some music and one day they played Finding Dory. Music was periodic by the pool by a band called atomic. I thought they were fine. One night they did a deck party with many of the musicians and dancers as well as cruise directors staff.

 

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