Royal Princess??

[stellasue]

We've always enjoyed our cruises on Princess and have never had any complaints. We're looking at an Eastern Med cruise on the Royal Princess but we're beginning to have concerns about the reviews she's gotten. The areas of concern include the cabins (size), the verandahs (size) and the general condition of the ship (aquired last year, not built for Princess).

 

Has anyone sailed on her since the aquisition? It's our impression that few, if any improvements were made and little was done in the way of refurbishment.

[ScotusBoy]

We sailed on her last year for the first two inaugural cruises for a total of nineteen days. We found her to be in excellent shape. As the former R8, she was the newest of the R ships and entered service in February 2001. In the dinning room, she had brand new linens, dishes, silverware and stemware. A bonus is that she has the "new" leather-bound Princess Menus. We found the food and presentation to be better than we have experienced on other Princess ships.

 

We had a mid-ship cabin on deck eight and found both the cabin and veranda size to be quite adequate. Everything was in good working order. The public areas were well maintained and showed little signs of wear. Some public rooms (wheelhouse bar and newly installed casino) had newly laid carpeting.

 

There is an extremely large (for the size of ship) and beautiful library on board with brand new books at the time of our sailing. The Royal Lounge has been configured differently to both the Tahitian and Pacific and is more open allowing passengers a full view of the front and sides of the ship - a nice place to sit and read a book or have a quiet conversation.

 

I think that there has been some negative comments about this beautiful ship for some of the following reasons:

 

1. Unlike the Tahitian and Pacific, there are no mini-suites - the only ship in the fleet not to have any. However, the regular cabins/verandas are of the same size as its sister ships. If you want extra space you need to book one of the nine suites.

 

2. The passenger capacity is 710 versus 680 on the Tahitian and Pacific. In my opinion, the additional 30 passengers did not make the ship feel any more crowded than the sister ships.

 

3. As a result of the extra passengers, the dining room is configured differently but still does not seem any less spacious or crowded. A bonus for those that love a table for two - seven of these tables are located right at a window something not available on the sister ships. Of course, these smaller ships do not have anytime dinning but do have Sabatini's and the Steakhouse open on alternate evenings. Of course, there is always the 24-hour casual buffet in the lido and the pizzeria.

 

4. The entertainment or lack thereof is not of the standard found on the larger Princess ships. The ship does have production shows but on a smaller scale. Cabaret acts (singers, comedians, magicians, etc.) are the norm which can be hit or miss. Trivia is held morning, afternoon and evening (larger ships have no trivia in the evening).

 

5. Large ship devotees simply do not like the smaller ship experience. We feel that on the smaller ships that the overall feeling is more intimate and there is a much greater chance of meeting other passengers. Also, crew tends to remember your name and both your likes and dislikes which makes for a friendlier environment.

 

Simply stated, the Royal as well as its sisters will provide a different cruise experience than found on the larger Princess ships. Some like them small others like them large!:)

 

You must decide if a smaller ship is for you and if the destination is more important than not having the large ship amenities. The Royal, Tahitian and Pacific are able to get into smaller ports of call which are quieter and less traveled.

 

The decision is yours to make. What you read on this site are people's various opinions and you must decide what is right for you and only you.

 

ScotusBoy

[Pam in CA]

We've always enjoyed our cruises on Princess and have never had any complaints. We're looking at an Eastern Med cruise on the Royal Princess but we're beginning to have concerns about the reviews she's gotten. The areas of concern include the cabins (size), the verandahs (size) and the general condition of the ship (aquired last year, not built for Princess).

 

Has anyone sailed on her since the aquisition? It's our impression that few, if any improvements were made and little was done in the way of refurbishment.

We were on the Royal Princess last November and she's lovely -- very elegant. She was refurbished only about a year ago and I didn't see anything that could be described as "worn or torn"; the general condition was excellent. The standard outside cabin is larger than on many other Princess ships but perhaps that's just the configuration. All cabins have a small sofa and table plus dressing table. Instead of the big, open closet, there are three wardrobe closets that are big enough to hold your stuff. I thought the bathroom was slightly larger but memory is a faulty thing. I don't know anything about the balcony cabins since I didn't stay in one nor did I see one but I would suspect that the balcony is fairly small although probably no smaller than the Riviera/Aloha/Baja balcony cabins on the Grand-class ships.

 

Take reviews with a grain of salt. There are many people who write reviews not to give an unbiased opinion but to vent about their perceived problems with a cruise. Some take the time to post the reviews on this board and frequently, the problems could have been either prevented or easily corrected while the person was onboard; instead, they stewed and posted a "review."

[taxatty]

We loved the Royal in the Med last summer. The balcony stateroom was very similar to what you'd find on other Princess ships. We thought that the service and the food were the best of our five Princess cruises, perhaps because of the smaller size of the ship. The crew and the CD were incredibly friendly and we really got to know them. As stated above, the only downside compared to the other Princess ships was the entertainment since it can't have the big production shows--the entertainers did work very hard and doubled as the cruise staff. No problems at all with "wear and tear." No crowds, lines or chair hogs anywhere ever was a refreshing change. I'd take the Royal again on any port-intensive cruise.

Les

[katisdale]

I was on the same cruise as Pam above and echo her opinions on the Royal. I would book another cruise on her. As to the entertainment, I attended very few of the shows as our itinerary was very port intensive. I have mild mobility problems and was just too "tuckered out" to do many evening activities. The one program we attended - a scottish comedian - was very good. The best thing about the ship is how easy it is to maneuver around her. You don't get lost or end up going down a dead end hallway.

[stellasue]

Thank you for your replies. The somewhat negative review that concerned me most was actually the one here on Cruise Critic. It was not a passenger review but the one put forth by Cruise Critic! I've always found the CC reviews to be very upbeat and positive (even if I don't agree with them in some cases). This one raises questions in my mind and that's what prompted this post.

[taxatty]

Thank you for your replies. The somewhat negative review that concerned me most was actually the one here on Cruise Critic. It was not a passenger review but the one put forth by Cruise Critic! I've always found the CC reviews to be very upbeat and positive (even if I don't agree with them in some cases). This one raises questions in my mind and that's what prompted this post.

Yeah, the CC review was a bit tough, but the "cat-sick-yellow" area around the pool didn't bother us at all.

 

Les

[Roses2]

We were on the second cruise of the Royal last year and we echo the positive statements from the posters above.

 

We truly enjoyed the ship and the Med itinerary she sailed.

 

The small ship experience is a bit different from the ships that carry three times the passenger load. We enjoyed the special ambiance she provided.

[pris993]

We took the Royal on a Holy Land Cruise last October, one of the best cruises we have done on Princess - it was our 16th cruise with Princess. The ship is lovely and the itinerary was fantastic, plus service on the ship was very good.

 

We had been on the Pacific Princess, so we knew what to expect.

 

We have booked another similar itinerary on the new Celebrity Equinox for 2009 because we really do like larger ships.

 

Never the less, we enjoyed the Royal a lot.

[Pam in CA]

Thank you for your replies. The somewhat negative review that concerned me most was actually the one here on Cruise Critic. It was not a passenger review but the one put forth by Cruise Critic! I've always found the CC reviews to be very upbeat and positive (even if I don't agree with them in some cases). This one raises questions in my mind and that's what prompted this post.

Even though it might be a CC review, remember that it's still based on someone's personal opinion and preferences. You can have two people on the same ship at the exact same time and have totally different experiences. Last summer, I was on HAL's Prinsendam and had the worst cabin steward I've ever experienced on any cruise ship and cruiseline, by far, and my waitstaff in the dining room wasn't exactly stellar. If I'd been writing a review, I might have totally blown off the ship as "never cruise it ever" but from talking to others and seeing other's experiences, I know that mine was an abberation and not the norm. Heck, I'm booked on the same ship for 28 days in October. :)

[Meg]

We just got off the Royal Princess March 31st. We loved every inch of her! Had a fabulous time, thought the food and service were superb - why even the entertainment was great! Although the production facilities are small and not at all like the theaters on the large ships, the cast was so talented, that it didn't matter. They were terrific and the fact that the entertainers also doubled as the cruise staff, wow! They worked like dogs and always had smiles on their faces and everyone really got to know them! It was a real treat and made the entire trip to personal and special.

[Ms. Alpha]

And what I've heard/read has been 95 % excellent reviews. I am looking forward to experiencing the "small ship cruising".

[mizsusan]

My friend Darlene and I are going to do the 16 day Stockholm to Rome on the Royal in June. After reading the CC review, I was a little concerned too. After reading these reviews and looking at the above stateroom photos, I am definately looking forward to being on this ship. Actually the stateroom looks rather elegant compared to the one we had on the Diamond last year.

 

Susan

[caribill]

the entertainers did work very hard and doubled as the cruise staff.

 

 

The staff told me that

a) They get paid more than if they were just doing the entertainment

b) As cruise staff they were never bored which they would be much of the time otherwise

[stellasue]

Wow! Your timely and positive responses are making me change my point of view. We will definitely take a second look and reconsider the Royal Princess.:)

[rathgael]

We were on The Royal this year on the Amazon Cruise and had a wonderful time. I would echo the all the above comments about the ambience and condition and crew----all first class.

 

Much better IMHO than the Golden which we were on in 2007. Maybe we just prefer the smaller more intimate ships :)

 

Elma in Scotland

[SingerEsq]

A friend of mine with many, many Princess cruises under his belt just go off the Royal from the Amazon cruise. Thought the ship was great. Couldn't believe how beautiful the library is ... said he spent time there everyday. Thoroughly enjoyed meeting people and then actually seeing them again due to the ships' size.

[shellbeachjim]

I took the Cruise Critic "Sneak Preview" with a very large grain of salt, mainly because of this paragraph:

 

As lovely as the Grand Staircase is, Princess has destroyed the charming ambience of its Deck 5 library by building an additional shop -- and eliminating windows and seating areas. The Internet cafe that existed before has been given over to an expanded card- and bridge-playing room. There are, however, Internet stations tucked away in a corner of the Royal Lounge.

 

The library is on Deck 10, and were all of the libraries on the former Renaissance ships. Granted it's a small mistake, but it hasn't been corrected even after I pointed it out to the editors in May of last year.

 

We've sailed on both the Royal Princess and the Pacific Princess and would do so again in a heartbeat (and with the right itinerary).