Royal Princess Secrets

[mrav8tr]

There is a group of us going on the Royal Princess for the first time.  Can you share what you find special about the Royal Princess or something not everyone knows about (Special hidden places, etc)

 

Thanks!

[DDG 41]

If we tell you , they won't be secrets anymore.

Sorry.

[paul929207]

Towards the end of the cruise, on a sea day for breakfast at the buffet there is lots of chocolate.

 

On another sea day, there is the  Pastry Extravaganza. Many large cakes. They are beautifully decorated.  Try to get there early to get pictures. It is in the buffet.

[voljeep]

Alfredo's for embarkation lunch - very nice on Regal and Royal

[skynight]

8 hours ago, mrav8tr said:

There is a group of us going on the Royal Princess for the first time.  Can you share what you find special about the Royal Princess or something not everyone knows about (Special hidden places, etc)

 

Thanks!

No secret places, but here is some information:

Alfredo's on deck 6 mid ship, sit down waiter served pizza and other selections, open every day 11am until late evening, no charge.

Pub Lunch served some sea days in the Wheelhouse Bar area, no charge.

Horizon Terrace, a nice place to sit and has tables for dining from the buffet.

Buffet: very very large. Walk through the entire area before you make your selections. Open 6am until 11pm every day. Never closes during that time. Has themed selections some days. Watch the back page of the Princess Patter for details.

Free coffee from grounds, tea and hot chocolate in the buffet all day and evening. It's pretty good.

International Cafe, Piazza, no charge for food, basically open 24/7. Charge for espresso drinks.

Gelato, in the Piazza, serving gelato, small charge. Free soft ice cream available on Lido deck.

Retreat Pool is the adult pool

Small shaded seating area at the port and starboard entrances to the Retreat Pool

Sanctuary, luxury lounging area on deck 17 forward. Charge involved, $40/day, $20/half day., $30/day if booked for all days of the cruise. For tropical cruises go immediately on boarding to select and reserve your lounge.

Theater, arrive 30 to 45 minutes early for production shows, 30 minutes for comics and others.

Vista Lounge, arrive at least 30 minutes early for comics and other entertainers.

Game shows such as Marriage Game and others in Princess Live will fill quickly. Not many seats there.They are shown on your cabin TV the next day if you want to catch them.

Cabin TV is interactive.

There is a charge for The Enclave. Visit the spa desk on boarding day if interested, deck 5 forward.

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, skynight said:

Horizon Terrace, a nice place to sit and has tables for dining from the buffet.

 

Even when the indoor Restaurant is chaotic due to so many guests being there at the same time, I was always able to find a table on the Terrace, aft of the main Restaurant.  Much more pleasant and Stewards were available for service.  There is a coffee station on one side of the Terrace, Starboard side, I recall.  And, the Stewards' station there has pitchers of OJ and water as well. 

[rkacruiser]

Not really a secret, but very hard to find in my experience on Royal Princess:  the door to the small outside deck mid-ships.  Really can't tell you exactly the door location, but it is aft of the entrance to one of the Shops.  Maybe someone else with more familiarity with this ship might be able to more precisely locate it for you.  The outside deck has some comfortable seating, but not a lot.  When I finally found it (on my last day at sea),  few people were there.

[ams1130]

May I ask, is there a nice place to sit and watch the wake? On my only cruise to date there was an aft pool that we spent quite a bit of time at. 

[Loverofdogs]

Fresh crepes made at Gelato on sea days, in the afternoon. 

[4cats4me]

20 hours ago, DDG 41 said:

If we tell you , they won't be secrets anymore.

Sorry.

 

Exactly what I was getting ready to say.  

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, ams1130 said:

May I ask, is there a nice place to sit and watch the wake? On my only cruise to date there was an aft pool that we spent quite a bit of time at. 

 

The Horizon Terrace is probably the best public area for that activity.  There is comfortable seating, a bar is located there.  And, with the Horizon Bistro/Court just forward of this area, there is easy access to some food.

[sterling2]

23 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Not really a secret, but very hard to find in my experience on Royal Princess:  the door to the small outside deck mid-ships.  Really can't tell you exactly the door location, but it is aft of the entrance to one of the Shops.  Maybe someone else with more familiarity with this ship might be able to more precisely locate it for you.  The outside deck has some comfortable seating, but not a lot.  When I finally found it (on my last day at sea),  few people were there.

I think what you’re talking about is by the Effy shop.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, sterling2 said:

I think what you’re talking about is by the Effy shop.

 

Looking at the deck plan there is a bit of promenade deck on either side of the ship behind both The Shops of Princess and Crooners. Is this the area under discussion?

 

[sterling2]

26 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Looking at the deck plan there is a bit of promenade deck on either side of the ship behind both The Shops of Princess and Crooners. Is this the area under discussion?

 

Not sure what area rkacruiser was asking about but this is the only area midships that I’m aware of.

[rkacruiser]

32 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Looking at the deck plan there is a bit of promenade deck on either side of the ship behind both The Shops of Princess and Crooners. Is this the area under discussion?

 

 

Yes!  That is the precise location that I "discovered" on the Starboard side.  The doorway is literally "tucked" behind the extension of the Shop.  Thanks Thrax for providing this view of the deck plan.

[Cruise2End]

On 4/26/2019 at 2:07 PM, rkacruiser said:

Not really a secret, but very hard to find in my experience on Royal Princess:  the door to the small outside deck mid-ships.  Really can't tell you exactly the door location, but it is aft of the entrance to one of the Shops.  Maybe someone else with more familiarity with this ship might be able to more precisely locate it for you.  The outside deck has some comfortable seating, but not a lot.  When I finally found it (on my last day at sea),  few people were there.

One side of the ship it’s near Effy and the other side of the ship it’s by Crooners Bar.

 

[vampiress]

is there anywhere at the front of this ship to observe?  i've only been on grand class and they had the nice observation area at the front of the ship above the bridge.

 

also do they still do the ship tour?  i'm wondering if the ship tour on a bigger ship would be more interesting?

Edited August 28, 2019 by vampiress

[ceilidh1]

23 minutes ago, vampiress said:

is there anywhere at the front of this ship to observe?  i've only been on grand class and they had the nice observation area at the front of the ship above the bridge.

 

also do they still do the ship tour?  i'm wondering if the ship tour on a bigger ship would be more interesting?

The ship tour was well worth the $150! First come first served so sign up at guest services as soon as you board! In addition to behind the scenes access you get to bring home a bathrobe, apron, group photos and frames, personalized stationery, and end the tour with snacks and beverages!

[reesepeese]

On 8/28/2019 at 6:47 PM, vampiress said:

is there anywhere at the front of this ship to observe?  i've only been on grand class and they had the nice observation area at the front of the ship above the bridge.

 

also do they still do the ship tour?  i'm wondering if the ship tour on a bigger ship would be more interesting?

You can get to the deck on top of the bridge on the Regal so it’s likely the same on the Royal. You have to walk through the cabin area on the Lido deck. There’s a door at the very front in between cabins to get out to this area.  Go get that Titanic photo!

[jondfk]

I'll add another vote for Alfredo's.  We always enjoy this on Grand class ships that have it, but Royal takes it to another level.  

 

The terrace area aft of Horizon Court is a very nice place of observing wake views.  As written, there's a not too busy bar there, lots of tables, a few couches and the like.  Oh and a self serve coffee machine too (and coffee on Royal is really good). 

[dockman]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:34 AM, ams1130 said:

May I ask, is there a nice place to sit and watch the wake? On my only cruise to date there was an aft pool that we spent quite a bit of time at. 

There are about ten of so teak deck chairs on floor 7, prom deck, at the stern on both port and starboard side....enter starboard just past library and directly across for port.  You can sit fairly close to the ocean here and actually see and hear the ocean up close as opposed to being 17 or so decks high and looking through often dirty plexiglass.  Sort of a nice little hidden area that doesn't get much use although a lot of smokers end up on the starboard stern.

 

When i was on Royal the two small decks near Crooners were blocked off for employees only and seemed to be the smoking/lounge area for shop employees.

 

One of the sad things about the Royal in my opinion is lack of a proper promenade deck that goes all the way around the ship for walking or places to sit close to the water.

[Lucky TGO]

There’s a hidden safe in the library where all the trivia questions and answers are. 😳 😁

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[JWUC]

The Royal Princess does an escape room in the chapel. There is a charge. You sign up early in the cruise and it sells out quickly.

 

There was a planetarium show in the Princess Theater. Also on a sign up basis.

 

Medallions are fantastic. Fastest check-in for ANY cruise. There is also a treasure hunt game that is played on the medallion screens throughout the ship. You can locate others in your party.

 

Of course the other Princess secrets. I don't care for the rolls in the MDR, so I order the Jewish bread and bread sticks. Also the kid's desserts - volcano.

[drew44]

On 12/18/2019 at 12:32 AM, JWUC said:

The Royal Princess does an escape room in the chapel. There is a charge. You sign up early in the cruise and it sells out quickly.

 

There was a planetarium show in the Princess Theater. Also on a sign up basis.

 

Medallions are fantastic. Fastest check-in for ANY cruise. There is also a treasure hunt game that is played on the medallion screens throughout the ship. You can locate others in your party.

 

Of course the other Princess secrets. I don't care for the rolls in the MDR, so I order the Jewish bread and bread sticks. Also the kid's desserts - volcano.

We have been on the Royal a few times and never knew they had an escape room. I know they have a brand new one on the Sky.  Where did you sign up and do you know what the cost was on the Royal?

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I learned this from Pam in CA...  you can find grilled vegetables in the buffet (portside) during lunch. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by MsSoCalCruiser