BRANDEE

I have been reading reviews of the Royal, searching for a mention of the coffee served on board, without much luck. My TA was on the short cruise to nowhere out of Ft. Lauderdale, and he came back and told me that Princess finally got something right. They served brewed coffee everywhere instead of the dreadful stuff we are used to getting.

 

Can anyone who has been on her confirm this?

I'm a big coffee drinker, especially iced coffee. HC coffee was very good on our cruise (July 5th). Best in 12 cruises with PC. New pots? Being two floors below the HC I could hop on the central elevator and get my iced coffee and swirls ice cream in one shot and be back on my balcony in five minutes :).

We'll be aboard the Emerald on a B2B next March and I'd like to know which ports are worth getting up very early for? Can anyone tell me if any of the following ports are especially memorable for the Sail In?

 

Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St Thomas, Fort Lauderdale, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, and St Kitts.

 

Thanks in advance! :)

In Aruba, the ship comes to port straight in from the Sea..not too much to see.

In St. Lucia, the ship passes the Twin Pitons and some lovely inlets and bays.

I apologize for another BC question; but I sent off for a BC for my son because the one we currently have has some severe discoloration on it.

 

Yesterday we received a certified copy on watermarked paper - Virginia does not issue BCs with raised seals anymore.

 

I know he should have a passport and I have urged him to get his renewed, but in the meantime my question is:

 

Does anyone have experience boarding Princess on a closed loop cruise using a Virginia BC with NO Raised Seal?

 

Thanks in advance.

All Princess cruises out of the US stop at a foreign port. On our round trip to Hawaii, which stopped in Ensenada, a passenger wasn't allowed to board (in LA) due to no passport. I would contact Princess to ask this question.

Thank You for your review, very interesting. I do have a question. Are the seats in the theater smaller in size than the previous Princess ships ? and did they take out the side isles in the theater ? The lack of a deck 7 promanade and the aft pool area as well as the smaller balcony size I think would make a difference to us. Have not been on the Royal as yet and knowing these things would come into our decision to book it or not. Thanks so much for a balanced review.

Cori

In the Royal theater, the side isles are gone. The seats seemed the same to me as other ships, but the leg room is less. There are no trays for drinks, but I didn't notice waiters taking orders. There is a much larger section for handicapped on the top left side.

In the Vista Lounge, the seating is quite cramped. Very comfortable seating but very little leg room again. Once seated, you pretty much stay till the end in both venues.

Grand, no central staircase. Elevators always broken down

Thanks for the heads up :)

The on line review questioner that is sent to your e mail after sailing is the best place to comment on the outstanding service of specific crew members. I was told these comments count in promotions and raises. I hope Marcela Toledo Scannavino Rosa Lima, the night manager on the Royal, got a double plus in her employee folder. In the mist of confusion, she got the job done and was so professional. She works at the Customer Service desk!

But not the Grand itself, right? ;)

The Grand is one of the ships I haven't sailed. Is there something I should know?

Hi Brandee.. I hope you had seen the Thread that I had created in April about the Royal Princess having "No Central Staircase Is A Royal Pain".. It had over 10,000 views and over 300 posts, providing everyone (booked and not-yet-booked passengers) a heads-up as to the situation - the potential problems and undesirable frustrations it would cause.. There was very good information as to what potentially would arise without these staircases in place (throngs of people waiting for these central elevators, perpetually full elevators, excessively long waits, high frustration levels leading to rude passengers, etc) - all of which ultimately did materialize.. Once the reports and reviews came in from those first passengers sailing the ship, the lack of a Central Staircase was virtually always mentioned as a point of contention.

 

One very positive aspect coming out of that thread - was the discussion and information suggesting, given the lack of this Central Staircase, the very best locations to book a cabin (ie, NOT in the center of the ship, in this case).

 

- Rick

.

Hi Rick..Wish I did see your post about the Royal in April. I always use Trip Advisor when I book travel, but honestly, I had never used Cruise Critic until I came home from my July 5th Royal cruise. I have cruised over 20 years, (15 with Princess) ,usually I quickly find a review about the ship or cruise line and then book, wait and cruise. I will keep posted from now on!

Your review was after my final payment, (I booked March 2012) and I had a pre cruise and post cruise (30 days in all) signed and sealed. Of course, my cabin was directly in the middle of the ship on the Riviera deck because I love to walk the stairs..ha ha!! As far as safety, actually having the staircase behind unlocked doors was okay with me..just had to leave extra time to get from here to there. So if I couldn't walk the stairs for exercise, I'd walk the promenade, double ha, ha! I did use the track up on 17 and the treadmills in the gym. Due to a medical condition, I need a cardio session each day.

In the end, it was all the things I found missing on this ship that disappointed me. I'll keep checking cc about future cruises so I won't be surprised again. However, sailing a "newbie" is over for me. Glad I did it..but what was I thinking! When the chocolate melted off the strawberries because I had no air in my cabin, I had a day of panic, but all worked out in the end.

Hopefully, Princess doesn't design all their new ships like the Royal..back to the grand class for me.

In all fairness Brandee, you not knowing what the ship looked like before boarding was entirely your fault. I booked the first day too, yet I followed along with most people and knew exactly what to expect. You had more than a year before final payment to cancel, had you not liked the ships layout.

I did say in my post..Lesson learned, do not book a new cruise ship without concrete deck plans!

After I paid Princess my non refundable deposit on this cruise based on artist renderings and digital sketches I only checked occasionally to see if she was still on time for sailing. I boarded the Royal about 16 days after her inauguration ...guess I should have been double checking Princess' promise of the most royal ship afloat. (How do you know something is missing if no one was there to experience it? Isn't that why CC is important..to inform? That's why I originally posted.) Anyway, she's a pretty lady, but not for me.

Brandee, I didn't tell you to use the treadmill in the gym. I said I would ,or use the deck up top instead of the Promenade. For me it is all about exercise. Don't care about others, my opinion.

I never even addressed my post to you. Weird. WE are all entitled to our opinions.

Hi..I wasn't talking about your post...I understood your comment. I was quoting a post to me way back in the beginning of September or end of August.

I think you need to cruise on her to make a definitive decision. We tend to like every ship we're on, since being on a ship is much better than not being on one. :)

Pia regarding your comment on knowing about the lack of promenade deck and central staircase:

When I booked my cruise on the Royal, early spring 2012, the deck plans included a promenade deck as well as a central staircase. (They actually are there, just not useable) I never went back to "check" if anything was added or subtracted from the original artists renditions. Since I have cruised Princess exclusively for the past 15 years, I had no reason to check anything. I love Princess, her ships, her crew. So when I sailed her on July 5th,second grand Med. sailing, I was one of those disappointed with many of the minuses on the Royal. I felt my $6000 fare was not lived up to. After all, Princess marketed this new ship as the cruise ship to end all cruise ships. Yes, her atrium is beautiful..a six star hotel lobby! The expected classic, elegant Princess signature design. After that, it fell flat, for me. I expected the whole package from princess, not just a larger atrium. When I cruise I use the whole ship..minus the sanctuary. So for me, this ship was a royal disappointment.

I posted a review on CC (first time) when I got home to give a heads up to other cruisers who, like me, expected certain standards from Princess. Wow, I didn't realize you were not allowed to post anything negative. (basher??) I was told if I wanted to walk around the promenade deck, I should use the treadmills in the gym..really??

If cruising once a year is all the vacation one has, I thought giving a heads up to cruisers who have specific likes and dislikes a great idea. If I had know about Royal's actual "new" design, perhaps I would have booked another ship. Lesson learned..never book a new cruise ship without concrete deck plans. BTW, I had a great vacation. I just felt I didn't get my hard earned monies worth!

So Bob what you are saying in a nutshell, is if you had to do it over again (knowing what you know) you wouldn't have sailed the Royal. Am I correct in reading your posts and understanding your frustrations with this new ship?

I've sailed the Ruby, Emerald and Royal all in hot/tropical climate. The Royal is better suited for a cold climate sailing where the outside decks (or lack of decks and pools) won't matter. If balconies, promenade deck, pools and forward / aft observation decks are important to you, this ship will be a disappointment. Royal's atrium/piazza is classic Princess. They added a venue here and took away a venue there. Bob's comments on noise levels from venue to venue is what I also experienced. The Emerald and Ruby have more outside spaces for a warm weather sailing and outside relaxation. Their balconies are larger, if that is important to you. I'm sailing the Emerald to the Caribbean in March!

Has anyone stayed in the CAT MA mini suites? These mini suites have balconies which appear to be angled when looking at the deckplan. Does this make the balcony bigger /smaller? Would you recommend booking this mini suite category?

 

I am looking specifically at A432 as I need a cabin that has a 4 person occupancy.

 

Many thanks for any replies.

My brother had R428 on the Royal. It had the largest angled balcony @ 72sq ft. The mini suite had a sofa bed that sleeps two, with a curtain dividing the two rooms for privacy. There were two chairs with detached ottomans and one small table on the balcony. Compared to the standard balconies (mine was R444)and deluxe balconies, both the same size, much larger. The larger mini suite on Aloha deck is for handicapped and the balcony is also larger. In years past, you had to be using a wheelchair to book a handicapped room..or wait until the last minute to book it if no one else did. Not sure if that is still the rule.