gardenbunny

Maybe I missed something but I didn't see which ship the opening poster is sailing on. If it's the Coral or Island then D711 will be a covered mini suite.

 

OP, we love the mini suites. There is a nice sitting area, full bath, larger closet and more shelf room that the regular balcony cabins. You get plusher towels and bathrobes and more shelf space in the bathroom too. There is storage around the refrigerator/TV area that sort of seperates the two areas. I like that for placing things that we use thru out the cruise. The table in the sitting area is great for room service to drop off your morning coffee, etc as the balcony table can be a little small for everything.

 

I think you made an excellent choice!

You definitely made the right choice. I agree with this post by Whimsy 100%. We did our first mini in Jan/Feb on a 12 day Australia Sydney to Auckland on the Diamond. We have never used a room so much as we did on this cruise. The extra space, sofa, bathtub...it was great. If we ever do another long cruise, ie 12+ days, absolutely mini suite.

Thanks everyone for all the comments. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Not going to stress about it now that I have arranged a flight the next day using our points. If it turns out we don't require that flight the points can be deposited back into our account and used for another flight.

 

In future I will be sure to book a later flight!

I had to change my flight and paid the difference. It had been so long since we left a cruise to go back home the same day, I didn't even think about it and booked that 9:45. Read a similar post on CC before my trip amd got these same responses. I called Princess and felt really dumb when she asked if I had read the info on website about flights. Princess recommends no flights any earlier than 4 hours from arrival to port. For obvious reasons as custom clearance for ship that can delay time to begin disembarkation, and then all the other comments listed here.

lesson learned for me.

Just returned from Australia cruise. Blue Diamond Tour of the Blue Mountains was top notch. I would recommend them to everyone. Also did Red Diamond Tour of the Tobruk Sheep Station outside of Sydney. It was also a great tour.

My travel agent is suggesting a Blue Mtn tour but not sure of provider name. Cost is $160 USD with cablecar. approx 9.5 hrs.

I am trying to decide if this is a tour I want to do. We are arriving 3 days before cruise leaves Jan 28. I would like to get out of the city for a different experience. Would appreciate your sharing any details and your overall impressions. Thanks so much

I have used the patch since my first transatlantic June 2003. Only side effect is dry mouth. I was not sure if I would have sea sickness since my first cruise was only 3 days in 1999 from Vancouver to Skagway. The rest our our 2 week trip in Alaska was on land. So I came prepared on the TA. Going to give it a try with nothing, but had Patch and dramamine. Day 2 I woke up very very queasy. Pharamist had told me I had to be back to feeling "normal" before I could put on patch. Took all day but I made it and put patch on that evening. Praise the Lord I did. Captain announced that we were heading into a gale overnite and next day. So many people on board horribly ill. Every where you looked little white bags were sitting about! Waves crashing up higher than dining room windows.

I was A-OK. Have never cruised since without the patch,mthat was at least 15 cruises ago.

My son and daughter in law tried patches and had to take them off due to bad vision side effect. I have no idea why it bothers some but not others. I do not like the dry mouth, but better than being sick!

So my advice, take all options with you and see what works. Just remember if you have to go all the way and use patch, do not put on until you feel somewhat normal.

Good luck and happy cruising.

Good review, most of it was subjective, but still good. I have to laugh at the review of softserve and Gelato icecream.

 

Except for the buffet, we thought the food overall was better than most Princess ships. The buffet is about the same of past cruises for us. That is also subjective.

 

Factual, the soot problem is a real problem. We couldn't use our balcony as a result. However, we were told Princess will have that fixed in just a few months.

 

The staff service was our number one complaint. There is another thread about it going on, so I won't spend a lot of time on it. But we felt it problematic enough that it took away from some of our cruise experience. It's one thing if it is just single trip experience, but if the service on the Royal is indicative of the future Princess cruises, it will change our cruising selection habits.

 

Burt

I have read this full thread and agree with just about everything said. I too had read early reviews and had to stop. I always try to take an average of the good/bad posts. We were a group of 4 in our 60's. This was our 4th Princess cruise hacing been on Emerald twice. And we love that ship. Took trip mostly just to see the new ship.

First impression...loved it. I would go again. Piazza is totally wonderful. The life of the ship. Great great place to spend your free time to relax, eat, drink, shop, have entertainment, chat with other passengers, meeting place for members of your group at a set time after everyone doing their own thing. And it is absolutely beautiful. The finishes in that area are just wonderful..fabrics, chair design, marble and tile, the colors.

We loved Alfredos. The outdoor seating area on back of ship at Horizon is the best! Quiet, never crowded. We joked about that being our own private yacht dining area.

Staff seemed a little not up to normal. So I asked. He was a 10 year crew veteran who had been hand picked for the Royal. He was leaving for his break after our 5-day cruise. Since this was maiden Caribbean, a large portion of the crew got off in FLL and new came on. Those leaving had been with ship since May getting it ready for the first Maiden voyages and when it came from overseas, their contract ended. As a matter of fact, they got to FLL 2 days prior to this departure and the new crew got on. It went back out to sea for some training. Our room steward had been relocated from the suites deck to our Baja deck because the person prior had gotten off. She was having to learn a whole new deck and was given rooms on port and starboard side. She was very busy but still did a good job.

We tried the Crab Shack for a change. Probably not do it again but it was fun to do once. Food was good. And we did Sabatinnis. Excellent.

Agree that elevators were somewhat an issue. Hopefully they will continue to tweak that. But you just dealt with it.

Loved the display of Princess Kate ship naming ceremony with her dress, scissors, photos. etc. Nice.

Horizon was nice. Food as good as ever. But I have to admit it took me a while to get used to layout. And I got lost going back to my table more than once!!

Liked the smaller entertainment venue in Vista Lounge. Reminded me of a nightclub. We had a singer from the Letterman who put on a second show there and it was great.

Last but not least the balcony. It was fine! I prefer a balcony room as just a way to walk outside for a few minutes, see the port you are in, maybe sit and read while my husband is getting ready in the bathroom. If it gives more space in the room to make them smaller, I am all for that.

And new TVs are great and Imthink the shower may be a tad bigger!!!

Sorry to ramble, but those were my observations to share with those who are waiting for their trips. I think you will have a wonderful time. We are off to Diamond Princess 12-day Sydney to Auckland that leaves Jan 28. Cannot wait.

Happy travels to all

Oh dear, we have a 9:30-something flight out on a Sunday on our cruise from the royal. We'll try to be the first off the ship. Does FLL have TSA precheck? That might help.

 

We booked it because we saved a lot of money, and the airline I agent I booked with told me it was doable. (she said she's done it, she lives in Florida)

 

We also can just take a later flight if needed.

 

I seem to remember, though, the other time we cruised out of there we took the princess shuttle to Miami airport and were there before 10:00, so a cab to fll may work.

I have also booked a 9:30 flight off Royal on Sunday Nov 3 at FLL. I thought that would be plenty of time! Got a web special price and cannot change. Guess if I miss it, I hope to be able to catch another without costing a lot of time delay and money.

You can use the card at any restaurant. We were told it could not be used in the bars.

We will be on Emerald in October. My sister and her husband always have wine. This would be a good deal. Is it available on Emerald? Who do you ask once on board? Thanks

I love the musicians on the Cunard line - I am amazed every time I am on board and of the 3 how excellent they all are - from rock and roll, to orchestra, ballroom, classical, piano - superb! Live music is a special treat.