Cruise Raider

We may or may not go to the formal dinner tonight. This is the menu from the app. we tried to hit up the chicken Korma in the MDR for lunch and it was crazy packed with a line way down past the main entrance of Alfredo’s. I now saw the lines that reflects the passenger capacity. we went upstairs to the grill and had a wonderful lunch of chicken tacos. Very tasty!

Sorry for the repeats in that one post above. anyway, there are no stated dairy free options in the IC. I will check again for later in the day … this is still breakfast. they do have fruit and some avocado toast options that would be dairy free.

The mini bar can be swapped out for the digital coffee card. The passes to the enclave is $299 for a 15 night sailing on this ship. There are no discounts for couples. also, since this was brought up, the plus and premier packages no longer stating that coffees are unlimited in the packages. I just confirmed that non alcoholic drinks are unlimited. BTW, there is a complimentary Zumba exercise class in the piazza. There was also a small one outside as well. The juice bar was all set up and ready to go in the Horizon Court this morning. Nobody was in line.

here is what I saw in another thread. it almost pays to just get the plus package unless you don’t use WiFi BTW,

sorry .. I have a hard and fast rule about phones in the MDR. Possibly, someone else will post photos.

Im sure we probably have met .. we also go on a lot of cruises, especially since the restart. I do tend to cruise with @HaveDogWillTravel frequently. I was going to trade my minibar out as we already have the package. I was just going to inquire what I could trade it out for in case someone out there wants to know. I didn’t get a lot done yesterday because I was so interested in meeting up with old friends that are onboard. Wow, it was so much fun! thank you .. this is starting out to be another perfect cruise!

Anything on under $15 is allowed under the plus package with no surcharge.

Pier 27 is awesome and has a large circular drive through. Wherever your ride drops you off, there will be a porter nearby to pick up your luggage. The Concerto dining room on deck 6 midship will be open for embarkation lunch from noon to 1:30 PM. The food has been excellent so far.

This sailing is a 5 night comedy cruise and we are staying on to combine it with a 10 day Mexico sailing. We are headed to Hawaii on this ship later this month, though. I will check out pricing in the spa.

So, it has been a perfect day onboard. We got to the pier early and were allowed right in within standing in line outside. We were checked in immediately and too a seat to wait for boarding to begin. I would say we boarded shortly after 11:00 AM. the ship is at capacity with approximately 3500 passengers but it doesn’t feel crowded in the very least. We dropped off our carry on luggage in our room … most rooms were not ready but fortunately, ours was. We headed back downstairs to check out the new packages and mainly, wines that were included. I couldn’t be more than happy with the wine selection included in the Plus package at Vines. I took a photo of the wine menu but on my phone and not my iPad so will try to post those at a later date. I also learned that the MDR, which was open for lunch, also had some decent wine choices but you have to specifically ask or you will be served the Canyon Road. While I see no reason to upgrade to the premier package on this sailing, I did notice that the app now has the packages for purchase or for upgrade and you can use your obc to pay for it. I didn’t want to take it all the way through the process so not entirely sure but it didn’t look like the insurance would be added. The wine prices may have gone up by a dollar or two per glass but since the limit was raised on the packages, they now actually don’t incur the additional charge. So, the wines we used to get that were just a bit over now fit squarely in the plus package. I’m pretty happy with the selections, whereas on the Diamond last month, they selection was awful. The prices for a glass of wine at Vines range from about $14 - $20 a glass, with a lot of the premier package wines at about $18 a glass. The limits are $15 for the plus and $20 for the premier. I can’t say how the WiFi will be for Hawaii but so far, it’s decent on this sailing and it is nearly at full capacity. The wines at Alfredo’s were listed with the varietal and not brand name and were $10 - $11 a glass. It was too cold to go up on deck for sailaway but some friends have a suite so we had a small sailaway on their aft balcony! It was just perfect. Looks like they brought the sail away party down to the piazza! So far, the menus are exactly the same as the last few times we’ve been on the Royal. I assumed they were switching up all the menus fleet wide but that’s not what we were seeing. I’m hoping someone else on the cruise will post photos because we probably won’t be taking photos at the dinner table. But, having cruised a lot since the restart, I can only say they are exactly the same as what we’ve seen in the past year and a half. I will have to check on the coffee grounds package tomorrow. I will ask our room steward if we can swap out our mini bar for the coffee package tomorrow. we did go to the buffet tonight to look to see what the had and it was Indian food tonight along with a great looking salad bar and some other standard options. We decided to go get pizza at Alfredo’s and it was a wise decision. It was perfect! The buffet looked good, just not in the mood for what they were serving. I will also check out their watch selection tomorrow. Taking the Royal to Alaska in May; if you get to any of these questions: 1) Best indoor scenic viewing spots. I would have to say Horizon Court as the windows are vast. 2) Free dining establishments besides MDR and buffet (Alfredo's and Trident?)--what's the menu like? The menus are to my liking. I do not eat any read meat, though. My DH does and he thinks the meat is pretty good. We were just beat from a day of excitement that we didn’t eat in the MDR. 3) Any Children's activities outside of the kids club area, i.e. arcade? I don’t believe so .. I haven’t seen any kids on this cruise thus far. M 4) Any indoor pool or jacuzzi areas (besides the spa)? no, not on this ship 5) Complimentary room service menu there is a great room service menu on the app with everything from soups and salads, sandwiches, hot food, desserts, etc. I love it and it is very convenient 6) How is Medallion working? And WIFI working? the medallion is working fine and even the WiFi seems to be quite satisfactory. We seem to be hitting a lot smoother seas than the previous cruise, our cabin is midship, though and there’s very little movement to be felt. My eyes are dropping so will pick this back up tomorrow..

Hi all…. Heading out to the pier from the San Francisco Bay Area in about an hour or so. I understand our cruise(s) is at full capacity. It was requested that I start this thread to answer any questions people have about the new packages, use of obc, new pricing, new menus, the elite bar swap outs, etc since 2/20. Topics I will try to cover, if I get cooperation from the WiFi and this site, will focus on these new policy changes. However, if there are any other questions you may have about the Royal Princess in particular, please feel free to ask. I will answer them if I am able. We are with a group of friends and we are hoping for a very quick and easy embarkation. A friend of ours works onboard and he too,d me this morning atht the seas were rough calming back from Hawaii. I’m not at all surprised. We’ve had some very unusual weather along the California coast the last couple of months. It is soooo cold out! I’m sure there were flights canceled so, not sure how that will impact our capacity or departure time. The rain has let up for boarding today, thankfully! Will continue from the pier in SF. It’s CRUISE DAY!

I will do that.

I will check it out today. someone posted a photo of his app .. once onboard, supposedly, you can buy or upgarde your package via the app under a heading called packages. we shall see.

headed out on the Royal in an hour or so. I will try to start a Live From post with the new info. sometimes cruisecritic fights with me onboard, though. I did just notice on FB in the Princess elite forum that the drinks in the PES happy hour have gone up from $6.50 to $8.

I sure will. Wine is my drink of choice so I will be on the hunt!

Well, we board tomorrow so will find out the scoop. I am really interested in finding out if we can just update our plus to the premier package on the app and use our OBC to do so. I will come back and report my progress. I am also interested in knowing the cost of a glass of Rombauer Chardonnay and a glass of Seghesio Zinfandel. I guess I will find out soon enough.

nice job on getting to elite. while we are pretty much on cruises nonstop this year, to bad those are not two of the ones we are doing. we are leaving in two days to catch the Royal in SF and doing a B2B, home for two weeks and then back on the Royal for Hawaii. We will be heading back out a few days later to head to LA to go on a Celebrity sailing but will be changing ships in port to get on the Discovery. After that … we definitely need to get new passports. but thank you for letting us know your upcoming itineraries! hopefully, we will cruise together again! See you in the piazza!

We have had great luck since the restart but now that cruises are filling up, maybe not quite so much now. Those low capacity sailings have been fabulous, though!

You wouldn’t have to make a whole new reservation, just have the one that is currently booked changed to a different cabin and they may even be able to just add your husband for the same price as you paid, provided it is in the same category. You should not lose your deposit. Any travel agent or Princess vacation planner worth their weight should be able to do this without issue.

I like it with one part Frangelico and no sugar on the rim! Wow … it’s so good!

I am one of those poor wine lovers. I have been so disappointed with such poor choices in the plus package. However, the wine choices on the Diamond were so pathetic on our latest cruise, that I took a look at the martini menu. I tried the bacarrat martini … OMG! It was so delish and I actually got my friends hooked on it, as well. Now, that will be my traditional boarding drink from now on. I did learn that I like it with just a quarter of the amount of frangelico and no sugar on the rim .. and icy if they can shake it for a little longer. Wow … what an amazing cocktail!

I am with you! If there is any place to splurge on a balcony, Alaska is it! And you are so right, Glacier Bay absolutely stunning and ver enjoyable from your own balcony.

there will be a chair on the other side of the bench seat so no worries. the formal nights will be dependent on your itinerary. It won’t be on the first night and won’t be on the last night. They will usually be on a sea day but could be scheduled on a port day with an early departure if your itinerary has many ports of call. When they’re are more events populated on your JourneyView, look for the nights that say formal portraits. That will be an indication of which evenings will be formal nights.

I can only answer what my experience has been when I traveled solo. I made reservations for dinner for 6:30 PM every night. I dined alone as is what still very much in the period of lockdowns for CoVid. I prefer the midship dining rooms over the other one in the very aft. They seated me promptly every night on a bench type seat, which is usually where solo travelers are seated. You will be lucky to get a seat by the window as everyone seems to want those. I appreciated the same table as my waiter really spoiled me. Dinner took about 45 minutes, as I don’t tend to have dessert or coffee/tea after dinner. you are allowed to let them know what pace you wish to keep for your dining. if you are willing to share a table with others, the availability of being seated goes way up for you. However, be aware that dining times will be increased based at the number of others at your table. If you have Club Class dining, you can go according to your own schedule, though, without any reservations. We did get a window seat every time when we were in the club class mini suites, without even requesting one. The timing of the shows in the theater are pretty consistently at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. There are game shows and events usually held at 8:30 PM in either the Explorers Lounge or Princess Live, too. There is usually live music in Crooners after dinner, in the piazza at different times through the day, in the Explorer's Lounge at 9:30 PM, up by the pool some days, the wheelhouse Bar in the evenings, club Fusion or the Vista Lounge on most evenings. The Vista Lounge or Club Fusion will also have some trivia games, comedians, etc at night. I think you’d be pretty safe planning your dinner between 5:30 and 6:00 PM if you wish to dine alone and get a seat at the first show. I actually like going to the specialty restaurants on the first formal night. I never see anything on the MDR menu that is totally thrilling on that night. Be sure to let them know in the MDR when you won’t be attending dinner there as they are apt to save the table for you when you do show up. you can still dress to the nines if you prefer or you can go smart casual for the specialty restaurants. If your cruise is fully packed, you may not even be able to get reservations. The same goes for the sanctuary. So, don’t be too disappointed if you can’t. There are still a lot of great places to eat. Don’t miss going to the sit down pizzeria (Alfredo’s or GiGis), too .. it’s so good and you don’t need a reservation there. The expanded room service menu is also great … we oftentimes will skip dinner completely, especially if they are showing a National sporting event in one or more of the venues. Then, we will order a pizza ($3 fee) and a couple of Caesar salads to wherever we are seated. Yummmmmm! The events such as crafting, lessons, classes, lectures are rarely scheduled during the height of the dinner hours .. 5:30 to 7:30. if by chance, you purchase the premium package with your booking, you will have seats reserved for you in the theater if you arrive at least. 15 minutes before the start of the shows … that may be for the production shows only but we will not know until to,row when they roll out the new features of that package. sometimes things you wish to do will overlap because they do have a lot activities and shows going on in different venues. What you don’t do one day, you may be able to catch up with it on another day or even another cruise.

And now they are headed to Japan, the menu may change again. Maybe that is just an assumption, though. The food was very good in the Diamond, with the exception of one meal at lunch in the MDR. I was very pleased with that aspect of the cruise.