Just returned from Royal Princess

[Cabot49]

Some people were wondering if Royal Princess has the new beds yet. I just returned this past Saturday, and at that point, they did not have them.

 

Also Matt O was the cruise director. I found him be both rude and "over the top" One night, he chastised people who left the performance before it was over! His cruise staff were all very young and inexperienced, which added to the disappointment.

 

Other than that, had a wonderful cruise on the Royal!

[I object 2]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.  The Royal is a beautiful ship.  We sailed on her Thanksgiving week and will be cruising on her again in February.  Can't wait!

[skynight]

54 minutes ago, Cabot49 said:

Some people were wondering if Royal Princess has the new beds yet. I just returned this past Saturday, and at that point, they did not have them.

 

Also Matt O was the cruise director. I found him be both rude and "over the top" One night, he chastised people who left the performance before it was over! His cruise staff were all very young and inexperienced, which added to the disappointment.

 

Other than that, had a wonderful cruise on the Royal!

Interesting. We found Matt to be one of the best CD's we ever experienced.

However, I do not like the practice of not turning on the theater lights until the CD completes their talking. It's a safety issue with people leaving in the dark. I mention it on every survey. Eliminate the after show blabber turn up the house lights and let people leave safely.

[Lisakauai]

4 minutes ago, skynight said:

Interesting. We found Matt to be one of the best CD's we ever experienced.

However, I do not like the practice of not turning on the theater lights until the CD completes their talking. It's a safety issue with people leaving in the dark. I mention it on every survey. Eliminate the after show blabber turn up the house lights and let people leave safely.

That's what we said! Matt was the BEST... not that we did things with him but the level of participation was incredible. 

[Colo Cruiser]

CD's are like food.

[Pink flamingo52]

We really enjoyed Matt O but I can see some not liking him. For my husband and I when we cruised in November on the Royal we had disappointments but mostly food related.  We both discussed seeing he was over the top....full of himself but when we talked one on one with Matt and his team, very enjoyable!

[gottagocit]

He got under the skin of many on our Caribbean cruise in December also by calling those who left the Princess theater at the end of the shows “rude” rather than staying to hear his explanation of that was going onboard the next day. Most were trying to get to the next ship activity and to scheduled dinner time and couldn’t do that an stay for his speech. I was shocked to hear him openly and repeatedly chastise people for leaving to make their next planned event.  I tuned him out for the rest of the cruise after that. 

 

We did have a great cruise otherwise. 

Edited January 23, 2019 by gottagocit

[lolane1]

8 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

He got under the skin of many on our Caribbean cruise in December also by calling those who left the Princess theater at the end of the shows “rude” rather than staying to hear his explanation of that was going onboard the next day. Most were trying to get to the next ship activity and to scheduled dinner time and couldn’t do that an stay for his speech. I was shocked to hear him openly and repeatedly chastise people for leaving to make their next planned event.  I tuned him out for the rest of the cruise after that. 

 

It sounds like it was Matt O who was being rude and perhaps egocentric.   

[TracieABD]

1 hour ago, lolane1 said:

 

It sounds like it was Matt O who was being rude and perhaps egocentric.   

I am so stinking confused. I was on the Royal in late Nov, and the cruise director was Alexander something... (or so I thought). Can anyone confirm this?

[ar1950]

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

CD's are like food.

 

Hmm, I hope not.  Don't want to see my food doing the wake show or introducing the entertainment in the theater.  😉

[Cruise Raider]

I was under the impression that all the ships in the Princess fleet have gotten the new beds.  Do you happen to know when the Royal is scheduled to get them??    

[idahospud]

32 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

I am so stinking confused. I was on the Royal in late Nov, and the cruise director was Alexander something... (or so I thought). Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, Alex (who came over from Celebrity) was the cruise director for a bit. The plan was for Matt to be on board before the South America trip. 

Edited January 23, 2019 by idahospud

[TracieABD]

9 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Yes, Alex (who came over from Celebrity) was the cruise director for a bit. The plan was for Matt to be on board before the South America trip. 

Ohhhhh! Thank you for clearing that up. Where did Alexander go to when Matt came on board?

 

[candide333]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Interesting. We found Matt to be one of the best CD's we ever experienced.

However, I do not like the practice of not turning on the theater lights until the CD completes their talking. It's a safety issue with people leaving in the dark. I mention it on every survey. Eliminate the after show blabber turn up the house lights and let people leave safely.

 

I agree, a real safety issue. My DH tripped as he was entering the theater and had to have 4 stitches in his nose. He was about 2 feet from me where I was seated and fell flat on his face. I could  barely see him when he fell. 

[vickie_bernie]

He went on vacation.  Matt arrived back jan 12.

 

I love Matt, i find him to be one of the best CD.  You need an energetic CD and matt provides this.  It is clear by how many attend his activities that he is quite popular. 

 

 

[musicpro442]

On 1/22/2019 at 6:18 PM, gottagocit said:

He got under the skin of many on our Caribbean cruise in December also by calling those who left the Princess theater at the end of the shows “rude” rather than staying to hear his explanation of that was going onboard the next day. Most were trying to get to the next ship activity and to scheduled dinner time and couldn’t do that an stay for his speech. I was shocked to hear him openly and repeatedly chastise people for leaving to make their next planned event.  I tuned him out for the rest of the cruise after that. 

 

We did have a great cruise otherwise. 

 

I was on in December and MattO was not the cruise director who called the leaving audience members "rude".  The cruise director onboard was Alexander and after shows he blatantly called people, "RUDE," with a very condescending tone of voice.  

 

I heard many negative complaints from fellow cruisers about him while I was there. 

 

I don't believe I have ever heard MattO say a leaving guest was rude.  He might joke lightheartedly about the faux pas in etiquette, but I doubt he'd blatantly call them rude.

 

I did hear MattO took a much needed vacation for the whole of December to be ready for South America on Royal.  So this could not have been he.  

 

Anyone who has seen the two CDs in question would know they are very, very different.

 

I personally think MattO is one the best CDs in the fleet.  

[gottagocit]

11 minutes ago, musicpro442 said:

 

I was on in December and MattO was not the cruise director who called the leaving audience members "rude".  The cruise director onboard was Alexander and after shows he blatantly called people, "RUDE," with a very condescending tone of voice.  

 

I heard many negative complaints from fellow cruisers about him while I was there. 

 

I don't believe I have ever heard MattO say a leaving guest was rude.  He might joke lightheartedly about the faux pas in etiquette, but I doubt he'd blatantly call them rude.

 

I did hear MattO took a much needed vacation for the whole of December to be ready for South America on Royal.  So this could not have been he.  

 

Anyone who has seen the two CDs in question would know they are very, very different.

 

I personally think MattO is one the best CDs in the fleet.  

 

I could be mistaken but I was pretty sure he was the CD on our voyage also. When I saw the OP referring to him a short time later I felt certain he was onboard for ours as well. Perhaps it was Alexander. We sailed on the Royal in December 8th. I may be confusing the two as I know we have had Matt on one of our cruises recently and I don’t recall a CD named Alexander. 

 

If I am wrong about this I sincerely apologize to Matt.

[Potstech]

Was on the Royal in December with Alex as the acting CD.  Did not like him or the CD staff at all.  Neither did my DW and friends who were with us.  Too much prancing around and acting very weird. Felt like we were on some sort of LBGT+  cruise or something.  

[Cruise Raider]

Well, I have to say I have not sailed on the new Royal class but as for the Grand and Crown Class ships, if you don't get to the showroom to the lounge in quickstep, you will be skunked out of a seat.  So, if you are one to like to go see a couple of shows or events in the evening, you really do have to leave the first show the minute it ends or you probably won't be successful in getting to see the next show.  

It is the fault of Princess for building venues or booking venues that won't hold all the passengers that want to attend.   

Just guessing, but maybe the Celebrity CD wasn't used to this as their showrooms never seem to be overcrowded.  

 

[musicpro442]

11 hours ago, gottagocit said:

 

I could be mistaken but I was pretty sure he was the CD on our voyage also. When I saw the OP referring to him a short time later I felt certain he was onboard for ours as well. Perhaps it was Alexander. We sailed on the Royal in December 8th. I may be confusing the two as I know we have had Matt on one of our cruises recently and I don’t recall a CD named Alexander. 

 

If I am wrong about this I sincerely apologize to Matt.

MattO left before the December 1 wetdock so it could not have been he. It was most definitely Alexander (Alex) to whom you're referring. I do hear Matt is back on board Royal now, about two weeks in, I believe.

 

Matt is very enjoyable and a true asset.  Alexander isn't terrible but he has a lot to learn if he's to continue his career on Princess, IMO.

[Cruiserkenn]

This is just one more reason why I like the Grand Class ships.  I always sit near the convenient exit, lower left, in the Princess Theater.  I am out and gone so fast that I would never hear any comments about me being rude.  So glad😌👍😉

Edited January 26, 2019 by Cruiserkenn

[Cruiserkenn]

And, isn't the cruise director there working for the passengers, rather than the passengers being there to please the cruise director?  I'm sorry, but please...

Edited January 26, 2019 by Cruiserkenn

[luvSClake]

We just got off the Royal Princess (Western Caribbean) and had a wonderful time.

Matt O was very energetic and informative, he and his team were great!  They kept everyone entertained and involved, they were quick to get activity choices out when our stop at Grand Cayman was cancelled and genuinely did all they could to ensure passengers were enjoying themselves.  At times, he may have seemed “over the top” but I would venture to say to have a job like this, you need to be. 

[GottaLuvCruising]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 9:18 PM, TracieABD said:

I am so stinking confused. I was on the Royal in late Nov, and the cruise director was Alexander something... (or so I thought). Can anyone confirm this?

We were on Royal in December and our cruise director was Alexander.  He was fantastic.  

[bren51]

We were also on the Royal for 2 weeks Jan 5-19 and are elite passengers.  The weather was not particularly good on our second week which was the western carib.  I have noticed over the years declining changes that have been made with activities and entertainment.  My husband loves karaoke and was only offered just once even though he says a lot of people attend.  It seems like everything is all on one day or very little the others.  The piazza was so crowded one day because absolutely nothing was happening and no chairs or tables to be found and the weather was not good.  If you play bingo or frequent the casino that was the place to be but it will cost you.  We did attend trivia whenever we could but they need to have alternative plans for not so nice weather outside.  These changes are fleetwide from what I can see.  Matt O was full of energy but as CD he needs to have a better handle on keeping his passengers entertained during inclement weather instead of everyone piling up on the plaza deck.