What do You like & dislike about Royal Princess

[Knickearth]

On 5/24/2019 at 8:43 AM, mcrcruiser said:

We have B2B cruises coming up on Royal Princess & like to know likes & dislikes .It would be our first cruises on this ship  We understand that no ship is perfect , for every one ;but ,it will help us to be prepared  

 

 TIA 

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Royal Princess.  Horizon Court/Buffet is the best of any ship.  Layout is wonderful.  

 

Yes, the balconies are  small but we don't spend enough time there to be a problem.  My husband and friends dislike there is no free use of sauna and steam rooms.  That really bothers them.  Think that the I believe it is called Princess Live area is a waste.

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, dockman said:

Not enough beverage stations in the horizon court buffet area.

 

I am glad that someone else agrees with me on this concern.  

8 hours ago, dockman said:

Never could figure out how to hear captains announcements in cabin without                               opening the door.

 

This is and has been a complaint of mine for many years on many different ships.  The "stock answer" has always been when I have asked about it:  "We don't want to disturb the guests in their stateroom."  Well, it disturbs me when I have to go racing to open the stateroom door to hear what the Captain has to say.  And, if I am still in my "birthday suit" coming out of the bathroom, it might disturb any passer-bys.  (I am careful not to open the door fully though.)
 

17 hours ago, tawlaw1526 said:

my only dislike is Princess Live.   It’s so uncomfortable and awkward depending on the event that we won’t even consider going in there ever again.   I’d rather miss the great entertainment or activity

 

Before I embarked Royal Princess, I was curious about this venue on her deck plan.  It reminded me of a similar venue on Celebrity Eclipse called Celebrity Central, I recall.  I found it to be a very pleasant and comfortable venue for the lectures that were provided on my 7 day Caribbean cruise.  Power Point presentations were able to be used by the gentleman and added to his interesting lecture.  I had not expected anything like that on such a short, Caribbean oriented itinerary.  Such on-board programming seems to be a Princess specialty.  

[NoWhiners]

Most of my likes/dislikes have been covered but one huge dislike for us--the music in the Atrium is way too loud!! Can hardly hear the person seated next to you. There are so many hard surfaces in that area (all 3 decks worth!), that there is no reason to pump up the music volume. We avoided this area as much as we could. We ended up having after drinks outside Princess Live or in the hall around the corner from the Wheelhouse.

 

This was on the TA and continuation around the BI in April/May 2018. Maybe it's not as bad now?

[beckntom]

1 hour ago, NoWhiners said:

Most of my likes/dislikes have been covered but one huge dislike for us--the music in the Atrium is way too loud!! Can hardly hear the person seated next to you. There are so many hard surfaces in that area (all 3 decks worth!), that there is no reason to pump up the music volume. We avoided this area as much as we could. We ended up having after drinks outside Princess Live or in the hall around the corner from the Wheelhouse.

 

This was on the TA and continuation around the BI in April/May 2018. Maybe it's not as bad now?

 

No, the loud music is still just as bad, and darn it, I forgot to mention it on my survey.  I totally intended to, because it made for a couple of unpleasant Crooners visits.  What a shame.

[geoherb]

Our last cruise was a 15-day transatlantic on the Royal. We love Matt O, but I think he's finishing up his current contract this week.

I dislike the lack of an outside Promenade Deck to walk around the ship. At least they have the balcony decks on the Promenade deck, but they were closed several days of our cruise. I dislike Princess Live for trivia. It's OK for some of the other games. It creates a bottleneck, as others have mentioned.

 

I love the expanded buffet, Alfredo's, Crown Grill, Retreat Pool, and larger atrium.

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, beckntom said:

 

No, the loud music is still just as bad, and darn it, I forgot to mention it on my survey.  I totally intended to, because it made for a couple of unpleasant Crooners visits.  What a shame.

 

Yep, I feel your pain  We would have spent more time in Crooners except for the noise. Maybe that's their plan??? 

 

I guess we are the only ones who object to the noise level, which is a little surprising. 

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks for everyone's replies  .We are glad to be sailing on Royal Princess from San Pedro Ca next April 2020 ,on a B2B   voyage 

[MissP22]

16 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Yep, I feel your pain  We would have spent more time in Crooners except for the noise. Maybe that's their plan??? 

 

I guess we are the only ones who object to the noise level, which is a little surprising. 

ģ

 

16 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Yep, I feel your pain  We would have spent more time in Crooners except for the noise. Maybe that's their plan??? 

 

I guess we are the only ones who object to the noise level, which is a little surprising. 

Your not alone hating the loud music. People have complained for years without any change. 

[dfields1814]

We were on the Royal for 49 days from FLL to LA. The Royal is not my favorite Princess ship. There is absolutely no major problems with her. In fact we are booked on her for a November cruise. But given a choice I would opt for a smaller ship like the Ruby, Diamond, Star, or Coral. .

 

1. There is no Skywalker's. Skywakker's is not only a disco but also a quiet place to find solace during day to read or do whatever. Club 6 is no match for Skywalker's. We rarely saw anything going on in Club 6 at night mainly because it was so cold in there.

2. The balcony space for a regular balcony cabin  is less. You have to sit sideways.

3. There is no Explorers Lounge. The bands plays in the Atrium. At peak times you can't find a seat there. Too crowded.

4. The is no promenade walkway on Deck 7. They have these platforms you can stand on with some deck chairs. The walking track in on Deck 17. 

5 The Buffet is actually two buffets in tandem sharing a common space. It is huge area and takes a bit of time to figure out. I am not a picky eater but the food there was not of my liking. Never heard of some of the food served there. I usually managed to find one or two things I liked. But there were a couple times I just left without eating anything. Good news we never had a problem finding a empty table.

6 Live takes up the space that would normally go to the Explorers Lounge. I prefer the Explorers lounge. Live is mainly for game shows and the like.

7. This is the first ship we did not use  the casino. We did the first night and that was it. We usually play the slots a few minutes every night. But not in that casino.

8 The Entertainment in the Princess Theater was excellent to good.  Encore and Silk were excellent. 

9. We found embarkation and disembarkation to be very good, We live about 20 miles from San Pedro. We were home within one hour after leaving the cabin. 

10 On the other hand the Royal is my wife's favorite ship. She is prone to motion sickness. The is the first cruise out of 30 plus cruises where she never got motion sickness, even once. And that was traveling though some of the world's roughest waters. I think the ship is so big it doesn't react to the wind and water as much as smaller ships. 

11 It seemed to me that the shower was larger but the bathroom was smaller. I don't know if hat was true or not, But it felt that way. For us that is a good trade.  

12 No aft pool.  Just one major pool midship  Since we don't use the pools that did not affect us.

13 We do not use the spa but it looked really nice.

14 The Royal had on demand TV and movies. The internet was fast enough. I was able to watch a Netflix movie on my laptop. 

15 For this cruise the port lecturer was excellent. They also had good enrichment lecturers. 

16 We had a charge that did not belong to us. Passenger service was excellent. Problem resolved within minutes. 

17 We  always RSVP for the MDR for ATD, Did not have todo that  on the Royal. We had to wait 10 minutes just once. But we ate before 6:00 or after 7:30.  The food was OK for the most part. I found the meat to be very tough on the first leg, excellent on the second leg and tough again on the third leg. It was the same menu, chefs, and recipes for all three legs. So I am wondering the meat quality changed with different suppliers.  I solved the problem by mainly eating fish. The most part we enjoyed the food in the MDR. Breakfasts in the MDR were pretty good. In fact we just ate there rather than the buffet which was also good for breakfast. 

18 Both specialty restaurants were excellent.

19 The Skywalk was a dud. We did it once and that was it. After a while we never noticed it. From we we saw I don't think anyone else noticed it either. They did not do the fountain show every night. We never saw it even once after 49 days. . 

20 They handled the extra 1000 or so passengers in good manner - never felt crowded. 

21  The Royal has the same amount of elevators for 1000 more passengers. However for the most of the day it was not problem. It was a problem during peak times just before or after meals. 

22 The cruise itself 49 days from Florida to LA around South America was one of our all time favorites. We met some really nice and interesting people - many from CC. I would do this cruise again in second!! (As soon as I pay off all the loans for this cruise.!)

 

All in all the Royal was a good ship and I enjoyed her a lot even though I prefer the smaller ships. 

 

[NoWhiners]

54 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

ģ

 

Your not alone hating the loud music. People have complained for years without any change. 

 

I didn't know this. There are always lots of people sitting in that area, so I just figured it only bothers us. I did ask the guy running the sound board one afternoon to lower the volume, and he did, but that was the only time it was tolerable.

 

I wonder why Princess allows them to crank up the volume, despite complaints?

[voljeep]

Last year on the Regal - the performers in Crooners would stop as soon as the entertainment in the Piazza/Atrium cranked up ...

[zalusky]

We have been on 7 princess cruises out of 14 total but had a 3 year break.  Just got off the Royal on a coastal.  This was our first Royal class ship.

 

I generally agree with most comments above.

 

Likes:

• Internet - awesome we streamed the NHL playoffs and only a few hiccups.  Porbably the cheapest deal at sea I have seen.
• Buffet - was great and in fact we ate here most times due to the playoffs.
• Gym - was clean with a view compared to the stupid Island refit.
• Medallion was easy to use but the rubber wrist bands we purchased were not comfortable.
• Matt O was awesome
• The crew was very friendly.  We did the Ultimate Ship Tour and everybody in the hallways had smiles and it was great.
• Seaview Bar Treasure Chest was a great deal for $20
• I like Alfredos and the crust was cooked perfectly 

Dislikes:

• No promenade even though thats what they call deck 7.
• Maybe not Royal specific but we skipped the MDR as the menus were always limiting and boring.
• Sabatini's was a big disappointment compared to our previous cruises.  Lobster 3 ways was a lie as the third way lobster bisque was a small drizzle that was difficult to enjoy even with the bread.
• If the Casino is to have smoking it should be walled off behind glass PERIOD.  The smoke wafted upstairs to the shopping areas.  It is also loud and distracting to the neighboring areas.
• It took me quite a few days to get my bearings as the passenger services desk is not directly visible from the Piazza as well as some of the shops
• Getting off the ship takes way too long.
• Lack of pools especially an indoor heated pool.

 

We only attended one theater show which was a magician so I can't comment on the production shows.  The theater did have a two floor entrance which is helpful to people who have difficulty with stairs.

 

Overall the Oasis class ships (forgetting the slides and rock walls which might annoy some people) have it over the Royal and given an equivalent Itinerary,  I would pick Oasis class as the dislikes are few fewer.

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by zalusky

[rkacruiser]

9 minutes ago, zalusky said:

Sabatini's was a big disappointment compared to our previous cruises.  Lobster 3 ways was a lie as the third way lobster bisque was a small drizzle that was difficult to enjoy even with the bread.

 

Thanks for confirming my suspicions when I read the description of Lobster 3 Ways.  For me, there were far more tempting selections on Sabatini's menu than that.  I chose a nightly special:  a bone-in Veal Chop that was huge, well prepared, and delicious.

[alanstarr]

On 5/26/2019 at 4:06 PM, zalusky said:

Seaview Bar Treasure Chest was a great deal for $20

 

Just curious as to what this is? 

[greenie082756]

Royal:

Like : Alfredo's, buffet selections, decor

Dislike: no aft pool, theatre seating , MDR seating (anytime) disorganized, MDR menu is not exceptional, felt crowded inside on bad weather days, small elevators

Edited May 28, 2019 by greenie082756
adding to post

[MauiLvrs]

The promenade deck was completely destroyed. The "replacement" "walking deck" is just stupid! ...

The Royal class is a huge disappointment!

[zalusky]

2 hours ago, alanstarr said:

 

Just curious as to what this Treasure Chest is? 

 

I have attached the Seaview bar menus and a picture of my Treasure Chest for $20.  I got the version with Oysters vs the Sushi option.

[alanstarr]

Looks yummy, thanks for posting!

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

MDR seating (anytime) disorganized, MDR menu is not exceptional

 

Yes, I agree with both of your comments.  Having to wait for 90 minutes holding a pager for a seating is unacceptable.  And, to compound the issue, to be seated differently than what I had requested was an additional insult.

 

Another poster had praise for the Seaview Bar Menu.  What I saw was disappointing as a solo diner and at the prices being charged.

[oskidunker]

That’s why I get fixed dining. No wait for just commuting to a time. 

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, MauiLvrs said:

The promenade deck was completely destroyed. The "replacement" "walking deck" is just stupid! ...

The Royal class is a huge disappointment!

I guess you won't be sailing Princess in the future as all the ships are going to the Royal class design.

We love it. 😍

[XBGuy]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

Another poster had praise for the Seaview Bar Menu.  What I saw was disappointing as a solo diner and at the prices being charged.

 

That is the great think about cruising.  Everybody gets to customize his experience.

 

We are embarking on the Royal Princess on Sep. 17.  We can't wait for the muster drill to end so that we can dash to the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar to order some Champagne and oysters on the half-shell before dinner.  On the nights when we don't go to dinner, we go there and have the "Treasure Chest"  (or two, or, maybe, three).

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

18 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

That is the great think about cruising.  Everybody gets to customize his experience.

 

We are embarking on the Royal Princess on Sep. 17.  We can't wait for the muster drill to end so that we can dash to the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar to order some Champagne and oysters on the half-shell before dinner.  On the nights when we don't go to dinner, we go there and have the "Treasure Chest"  (or two, or, maybe, three).

It's a great place to visit.  Very few go there (except to stake out tables to play cards!) But we really enjoyed it.

[ceilidh1]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I guess you won't be sailing Princess in the future as all the ships are going to the Royal class design.

We love it. 😍

Is this true? I love the Grand Class - Royal definitely not a favorite! I was hoping to have a future ship with the good bits of both!

[MauiLvrs]

15 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Is this true? I love the Grand Class - Royal definitely not a favorite! I was hoping to have a future ship with the good bits of both!

Not any time in the near future ....