Review Royal Princess 08-24-2007 Part 1

[Suzy Q]

Our itinerary:

Barcelona

St. Tropez

Portofino

Rome

Sorrento

Malta

Santorini

Canakkale

Istanbul

Athens

 

SHIP:

The Royal is a beautiful ship. We had a balcony cabin but would have preferred a mini suite. There are no mini suites on this ship. Having had a mini on the Ren4 and the Tahitian Princess, I missed the extra room. That said, there was ample storage (found a home for everything) but the cabin and bathroom are small. Oddly, the balcony seems very roomy and we loved sitting out there even in the heat. Newer linens on the bed. Crew--unfailingly friendly, polite and helpful. Cabin steward, Alex, (unobtrusive but efficient) was good enough to get my formal gown pressed after I discovered it wrinkled just before one of the formal nights. Nice touch, nice tip. Library--lovely quiet space, tons of books. Dining Room--Friendly and attentive, but slow. Bread, soups and desserts very good. Entrees bland & uninspired. Panorama Buffet--pretty good and the staff there was sooo nice. Sabatinis--fantastic. Coffee--well, you know. We did buy the coffee card, that helped. Internet cafe--located on deck 10. Six stations. Older equipment and tucked into the corner of the Royal Lounge. Unfortunately the smoking side. We ended up with the free package. Casino--small but everything represented. Small bar there too. Also Alan and Alana perform at the one end of the area. Boutiques--small with limited selection. Entertainment--we didn't catch too many of the shows, but the production numbers, were imho amateurish. Alan & Alana were really good. Excursions--we had only private tours.

 

Ports:

Barcelona--Since our originating flight and the connecting flight were delayed, we were late getting into Barcelona. Our guide, Aurelio, called and suggested we postpone our city tour until the next day. We proceeded to our hotel, Le Meridien, on Las Rambles. European hotel rooms are small. We ended up on the HOHO and took the red and the blue line and had a ton of fun. Thought we could get a preliminary view of what to see the next day. We went out that PM for tapas and crashed around 1AM. Again, tons of fun. Barcelona is a beautiful city and , even at the busy tourist areas, never did we feel unsafe. Next AM, we meet Aurelio for a drive to Montserrat. It is beautiful and quiet and we are among the first to arrive. After our self tour, we stop at a local vendor selling cheese, honey, (local farm products) etc. just outside. One vendor gives us a sample of sheep cheese, which is delicious! Not sure how I would keep refrigerated. I buy honey instead. We drive back to Barcelona. La Sagrada is amazing, but Parc Guell is my favorite. LSF is unfinished -supposed to be finished in 2025. Construction material and scaffolding everywhere. Parc Guell has the famous lizard and mosaic work everywhere.We also stop at the Spanish Village for some very quick shopping. We drive to the ship. Check in is a breeze and soon we sail for St. Tropez.

 

St. Tropez--Tender port. Very picturesque seaside community of alleys, shops and outdoor cafes. Very hot and very crowded. We do stumble upon an outdoor market area (selling produce, linens, sunglasses, lavender sachets, olive oil soap, you name it) enjoy jostling and shopping. Too hot. We head back to ship.

 

Stay tuned.....

[cgoingmom]

Thank you for the review. I will be waiting for the next installment. We leave on Friday for the Royal on 9/17. Is JJ King still the CD? He has been on since the Royal went into service. Also who is the Maitre D? Can't wait for the rest of your review. Thanks again!

[Suzy Q]

JJ is still there...very personable. Maitre D, sorry didn't take note.