Just booked Royal Princess for Inner Passage….

[Boozy O Croozy]

Hi boys and girls…

 

Experienced cruisers on RCI, NCL, and MSC. We just booked an Alaskan cruise aboard Royal. Everyone on the boards seem to love her, and everyone in the Review section seems to hate her lol.

 

I understand how CC works, but I want to hear from you folks if we’re going to love her too ( I’m sure we will, but indulge me).

[mtnesterz]

I will try to be even handed. The lines you previously sailed are all considered Resort Class lines. Princess, along with HAL, Celebrity... are considered Premium Class lines. If you like rides on deck rides, catering to children and young families and the other things unique to them, you will miss them on the Royal and all other ships on the line, and in this class. To put it simply, expect less energy onboard. It's more for grown-ups.

The Royal class ships are different than a standard cruise ship. No full Promenade, which was a joy to many. Few places to sit and watch the sea go by. The ship is tighter, proportionally less seating in the theater and they didn't add elevators but added decks of cabins. People have to schedule their time better just to walk through crowds and vie for seating anywhere. This is why people don't like the Royal Class ships.

On the upside, the buffet is amazing for it's scale, just get there early or late to find a place to sit. Hope you enjoy your cruise! 

Edited May 19, 2023 by mtnesterz

[CruizinSusan70]

Would be nice to know when the OP is cruising.  Is it a last minute deal for this year?  Is it next summer at the height of the season in July or either of the shoulder seasons? Is it a 7 day or 14 day journey? 

[SCX22]

The area cruised in the thread title and the ship you booked don't go hand in hand.

 

Princess' Royal Class ships, which the Royal Princess is the original iteration, doesn't go through the Inside Passage.  It cruises around Vancouver Island's western side to get to Alaska.  The smaller Grand Class ships are the Princess ships that cruise through the Inside Passage.

 

If cruising the Inside Passage is important to you, I would rebook on a Grand Class ship.

[hernonmom4]

This season The Royal Princess is sailing inside passage R/T from Seattle with Glacier Bay National Park.

[Sarnia 432]

The “true” inside passage runs between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  Royal ships do not do this, but sail round the outside of the Island (rougher seas and no scenery)

The map that Princess uses labels the area North of Vancouver Island as the inside passage, but this is only a tiny section and misses the best views.

[wolfie11]

32 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

The “true” inside passage runs between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  Royal ships do not do this, but sail round the outside of the Island (rougher seas and no scenery)

The map that Princess uses labels the area North of Vancouver Island as the inside passage, but this is only a tiny section and misses the best views.

Ugh!  That's a lousy itinerary.  Virtually no time spent in the inside passage during waking hours, except for a couple of hours in Stephan's Passage before pulling into Juneau at noon.  Only a half day in Ketchikan.  At least Glacier Bay is on the itinerary.  

[SCX22]

Below is a map of the routes taken by the Princess ships in Alaska from the 2023 Princess Alaska brochure.  The Royal class ships don't sail the entire Inside Passage and instead sail west of Vancouver Island.  Follow the dashed lines for the Royal class ship route.

[snoozecrooze]

Do some research on YouTube. There's a series done by someone who goes by the name "LeggLife" who went on the Royal Princess from Vancouver to Anchorage last year and I thought it was a nice vlog series done from the perspective of a first-time Princess cruiser (they were veteran Disney cruisers); it's fun to see a cruise line you know so well viewed from a first-timer's once in a while.

 

Keep an open mind, I'd say. The Royal Princess is from 2013 so it's not the new girl on the block anymore like she was when she first debuted but it still has all of the Princess hits and the ship is still full of life. Don't expect the same vibes you had on the other lines; instead, go with the flow and form new ones.

[SuzieQ521]

I will be on the Royal tomorrow and let you know my thoughts. We sailed Ruby a few years ago to Alaska so interested to see the difference.

[SSAtlantic]

14 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

I will be on the Royal tomorrow and let you know my thoughts. We sailed Ruby a few years ago to Alaska so interested to see the difference.

Please do let us know. We are on Royal in August as it fit the grad school schedule for DD. I am not a fan of the bigger ships so it will be a first for us on this class. Looking forward to reading your thoughts. 

[Boozy O Croozy]

Thank you everyone....we cruise September 16, 2023.

 

We are late 50s, early 60s. The ship sounds perfect!

[cr8tiv1]

I sailed on a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA a couple of Septembers ago on the Grand Princess (not a Royal Class ship).  Our sail away was at a reasonable hour that we could enjoy all the day time passings of Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver Island, and all of the islands between Vancouver and Seattle.  I was amazed how many smaller islands dotted the passage way.  There is absolutely no way that a Royal Class ship could maneuver those channels.  I enjoyed watching us cruise this section of the "map".  

 

I could be wrong since I've never been on a Royal Class ship.  I am sure if I am, someone with more experience will set me straight.

[Buckeye10640]

23 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Ugh!  That's a lousy itinerary.  Virtually no time spent in the inside passage during waking hours, except for a couple of hours in Stephan's Passage before pulling into Juneau at noon.  Only a half day in Ketchikan.  At least Glacier Bay is on the itinerary.  

Just off the Royal and I kinda agree with you on the itinerary. Much prefer a north or southbound but wanted the ease of a Seattle RT this time.  Still a great cruise, but not enough time in Ketchikan and I missed the scenic cruising and second glacier day. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

The Royal is my favorite because she has the benefits of the newer ships well still maintaining the classiness of Princess. The Buffay is huge and varied. The ship looks virtually as new as it did when it was new. The food is excellent. You looked a good one.

[mevs904]

We’ve sailed on the Royal and enjoyed the buffet, but nothing will make up for the loss of the promenade deck, especially in Alaska.  We were fortunate to have cruised Alaska on the Coral (newer is not always better).  We looking to take our grandsons on an Alaska cruise and will hold out for a Grand class ship with a promenade deck.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 minutes ago, mevs904 said:

 We looking to take our grandsons on an Alaska cruise and will hold out for a Grand class ship with a promenade deck.

There are 3 Royal's in Alaska (Royal, Majestic, Discovery) and 4 non Royals (Crown, Grand, Ruby, Sapphire).    No reason to hold out since you have 4 choices.  I assume they all have the Promenade deck that you and many other long time Princess cruises ache for.  We on the other hand, like the options that the Royal Class provides.  Have sailed on the Discovery, will be on the Majestic next week and have future bookings on the Enchanted and Sun. 

Since you like the older ships, I will assume you'll not be cruising on the Sun or the Star?  Or is the Promenade deck just an Alaskan requirement for you?

[mevs904]

Well, a promenade deck is a major priority for us as we enjoy being at sea, always get a balcony, and prefer to spend our time sitting or walking along the promenade deck rather than being in the indoor mall inside.   That being said, our next cruise is on the Enchanted because of the rich Mediterranean itinerary.  Perhaps someday we may sail on the Sun or Star, but in the meantime we will be looking to book cruises on ships (including other cruise lines) that do have promenade decks so we can enjoy being closer to the ocean.

[Buckeye10640]

47 minutes ago, mevs904 said:

Well, a promenade deck is a major priority for us as we enjoy being at sea, always get a balcony, and prefer to spend our time sitting or walking along the promenade deck rather than being in the indoor mall inside.   That being said, our next cruise is on the Enchanted because of the rich Mediterranean itinerary.  Perhaps someday we may sail on the Sun or Star, but in the meantime we will be looking to book cruises on ships (including other cruise lines) that do have promenade decks so we can enjoy being closer to the ocean.

The Royal class ships do have areas towards aft on Promenade deck with seating. I was sitting there yesterday on Royal Princess.  But its definitely not the wraparound Promenade deck that the earlier ships have. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Well, a promenade deck is a major priority for us as we enjoy being at sea, always get a balcony, and prefer to spend our time sitting or walking along the promenade deck rather than being in the indoor mall inside.   That being said, our next cruise is on the Enchanted because of the rich Mediterranean itinerary.  Perhaps someday we may sail on the Sun or Star, but in the meantime we will be looking to book cruises on ships (including other cruise lines) that do have promenade decks so we can enjoy being closer to the ocean.

The Royal Class of Princess is not an indoor mall.  Multiple classes on Royal Caribbean has that jurisdiction.

If you like a promenade deck that circumnavigates the entire ship, try the Prima or Viva of NCL.

[mevs904]

2 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

The Royal class ships do have areas towards aft on Promenade deck with seating. I was sitting there yesterday on Royal Princess.  But its definitely not the wraparound Promenade deck that the earlier ships have. 

Yes, thank you Buckeye10640.  We have sailed on both the Royal and Regal and have used the areas that you mentioned.  We certainly appreciated the opportunity that those areas gave us to be near the sea.

[mevs904]

48 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The Royal Class of Princess is not an indoor mall.  Multiple classes on Royal Caribbean has that jurisdiction.

If you like a promenade deck that circumnavigates the entire ship, try the Prima or Viva of NCL.

Thank you for your suggestions.  We would probably tend toward a Viking ship and of course there’s Disney which we have sailed with numerous times.  It will be interesting to see how much we miss a promenade deck on our upcoming Enchanted cruise.  That will help us decide our future course of action.

[CruizinSusan70]

11 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Thank you for your suggestions.  We would probably tend toward a Viking ship and of course there’s Disney which we have sailed with numerous times.  It will be interesting to see how much we miss a promenade deck on our upcoming Enchanted cruise.  That will help us decide our future course of action.

We also have an upcoming Enchanted cruise, in August of 2024 repositioning for 14 days from Fort Lauderdale to Brooklyn with 7 port stops.  Viking is out of our price range and Disney has too many kids and doesn't provide the value we like.

[SuzieQ521]

On 5/20/2023 at 8:09 AM, SSAtlantic said:

Please do let us know. We are on Royal in August as it fit the grad school schedule for DD. I am not a fan of the bigger ships so it will be a first for us on this class. Looking forward to reading your thoughts. 

Just got off the Royal. We liked it overall. No promenade but still some great viewing areas Aft. MDR food was very good. International cafe was very convenient as well. Enclave at Lotus Spa was very nice. sea walk feature was very cool.

 

Happy to answer more specific questions.

[SSAtlantic]

How was disembarkation timing?

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise.