Pools on Royal

I have made many cruises on Princess but only on the Ruby, Crown and Sapphire.

The Royal is finally coming to Los Angeles next year and we would love to try her out. The snag may be the pools. We love the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 in the back. It is removed from most other ship activities and is adult only. I have checked the deck plan for the Royal and don't really see anything comparable. We are considering a 7 - day to Mexico and a pool will be required for us. The only pool I am really seeing is the one large pool midship. I am aware of an adult only pool forward but do not know if this requires an additional charge like the Lotus Spa.

Any input on this who from those who love pool activities (adults only) would be greatly appreciated.

Note: Because of my work schedule we would need to take the cruise during Spring break in LA. And we all know how many kids that will draw out!

There is 1 and 1/2 pools midship and 1 forward, that’s it. The front 1 is adult only and is free to use, the cabanas surrounding it are chargeable but there are regular seats too. Do Princess went from 5 pools to 2, go figure

No charge for the Retreat Pool deck 17 forward.

The pool situation on the royal is not good. One decent sized that is not in the sanctuary and it gets too crowded. It'll keep me off that ship unless the price is really right.

so what did Princess replace with on the Royal when they took out the pools?

More passengers. 😂

so what did Princess replace with on the Royal when they took out the pools?

Much bigger buffet.

The Retreat Pool is completely separate from the other pool area and definitely no kids. There is a bar right there and the Sanctuary nearby.

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The Retreat pool is free and it’s very windy there. You also have to get there early for a lounge.

Tony

The Retreat pool is free and it’s very windy there. You also have to get there early for a lounge.

Tony

Yeah, like 5am. We normally went after breakfast and not a chair to be found...number of chairs lacking vs the number of people on board. And in my opinion, that is no place to put those $$$ cabanas...put more "free" chairs.

Our cruise on the Royal in December was a 10-day. The pools weren't a problem since there were not a lot of children on board. I actually enjoyed the main pool more than the Retreat Pool. We tended to go later in the afternoon, when the sun wasn't too harsh.

When we sailed on the Regal in February, we never used the Terrace Pool.

Did you book this cruise? We are thinking about doing the Mexican cruise on Princess Royal 3/30. There are only 2 sailing out of LA area on spring break. The Royal and Carnival Splendor, I am surprised at the lack of cruises out of LA area. The pool sit on the Royal is sad, imo, going from 5 pools to 2, esp when the ship sails to the warmer weather locations. Just curious if you decided to go with the Royal. Thank you.

The Retreat pool is free and it’s very windy there. You also have to get there early for a lounge.

 

Tony

I think that must vary with the itinerary. I have gone on a 10 day Caribbean cruise and recently the 15 day TA on the Royal, and never had a problem getting a lounger, although it could be a bit windy.

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Very little shade for lounge chairs around the main pool, no real shade around the Retreat Pool.

so what did Princess replace with on the Royal when they took out the pools?

A large portion of the main pool area is taken up by a

Stage / Water Display (that lasts an entire 15 minutes per night when it is working , worked 4 of 7 night on our recent Royal Cruise).

I have made many cruises on Princess but only on the Ruby, Crown and Sapphire.

 

The Royal is finally coming to Los Angeles next year and we would love to try her out. The snag may be the pools. We love the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 in the back. It is removed from most other ship activities and is adult only. I have checked the deck plan for the Royal and don't really see anything comparable. We are considering a 7 - day to Mexico and a pool will be required for us. The only pool I am really seeing is the one large pool midship. I am aware of an adult only pool forward but do not know if this requires an additional charge like the Lotus Spa.

 

Any input on this who from those who love pool activities (adults only) would be greatly appreciated.

 

Note: Because of my work schedule we would need to take the cruise during Spring break in LA. And we all know how many kids that will draw out!

We will be going on Royal october of next year for a cruise to cabo. This will be out first cruise with princess. This would be good to know for us also.

The pool situation on the Royal is terrible. There is one bigger pool mid ship and a small plunge pool. Then in the sanctuary area there is an adult only pool. That's it. I'm sticking to the Grand class!

I have made many cruises on Princess but only on the Ruby, Crown and Sapphire.

 

The Royal is finally coming to Los Angeles next year and we would love to try her out. The snag may be the pools. We love the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 in the back. It is removed from most other ship activities and is adult only. I have checked the deck plan for the Royal and don't really see anything comparable. We are considering a 7 - day to Mexico and a pool will be required for us. The only pool I am really seeing is the one large pool midship. I am aware of an adult only pool forward but do not know if this requires an additional charge like the Lotus Spa.

 

Any input on this who from those who love pool activities (adults only) would be greatly appreciated.

 

Note: Because of my work schedule we would need to take the cruise during Spring break in LA. And we all know how many kids that will draw out!

An alternative would be an adult all inclusive resort in Mexico We do it once a year as we need a change from the ships. We can fly from Fla to Cancun for 225.00 so you should be able to fly to Cabo cheap also

I have made many cruises on Princess but only on the Ruby, Crown and Sapphire.

 

The Royal is finally coming to Los Angeles next year and we would love to try her out. The snag may be the pools. We love the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 in the back. It is removed from most other ship activities and is adult only. I have checked the deck plan for the Royal and don't really see anything comparable. We are considering a 7 - day to Mexico and a pool will be required for us. The only pool I am really seeing is the one large pool midship. I am aware of an adult only pool forward but do not know if this requires an additional charge like the Lotus Spa.

 

Any input on this who from those who love pool activities (adults only) would be greatly appreciated.

 

Note: Because of my work schedule we would need to take the cruise during Spring break in LA. And we all know how many kids that will draw out!

Here is a link to all my deck photos from the Royal Princess (Dec 2016) ...

https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-mK5mrZ

Photographs 35 to 44 are of the forward pool that is being mentioned above. All the pools pictures are free to use.

The pool situation on the Royal is terrible. There is one bigger pool mid ship and a small plunge pool. Then in the sanctuary area there is an adult only pool. That's it. I'm sticking to the Grand class!

The Retreat Pool is not part of the Sanctuary, it is outside the Sanctuary and is free to use.

However it is a very strange pool. It is very deep all over, maybe 5' 6" or more. There are steps in at one end, that jut out a metre or so into the pool. Once you step off the bottom step you're straight into the deep water. This means that most people gravitate to the edges of the pool so they have something to hold on to, or they sit on the steps blocking the access into the pool from there. People doing laps have to swim in narrow areas just out from the edges to get the full pool length to swim in. People coming down off the steps either float around in the middle, or work their way to the sides trying to avoid the lap swimmers. It really isn't a good design for anything. I much prefer the Lotus Spa pools on the Grand Class ships.

The Retreat Pool is not part of the Sanctuary, it is outside the Sanctuary and is free to use.

 

However it is a very strange pool. It is very deep all over, maybe 5' 6" or more. There are steps in at one end, that jut out a metre or so into the pool. Once you step off the bottom step you're straight into the deep water. This means that most people gravitate to the edges of the pool so they have something to hold on to, or they sit on the steps blocking the access into the pool from there. People doing laps have to swim in narrow areas just out from the edges to get the full pool length to swim in. People coming down off the steps either float around in the middle, or work their way to the sides trying to avoid the lap swimmers. It really isn't a good design for anything. I much prefer the Lotus Spa pools on the Grand Class ships.

As you said the pool has a very pool design. :( It's certainly wasn't meant for people to stand around in the water like other ships.

Last cruise I brought a short cutoff noodle- next trip I'm buying a blow up noodle which a few other people were using.

As you said the pool has a very pool design. :( It's certainly wasn't meant for people to stand around in the water like other ships.

Last cruise I brought a short cutoff noodle- next trip I'm buying a blow up noodle which a few other people were using.

They look very useful, and pretty as well.

I'm one of those annoying people who can float in a vertical position quite happily, without any aids, so the depth of that pool didn't bother me, but I could see how difficult was for some people especially as the drop-off from the bottom step was quite unexpected.

It would have been better if they had had two narrow sets of stairs, one at each side, and left the middle full length for the lap swimmers.

my wife bought a couple packages of the blow up noodles for our last cruise...fully intending to give some away...she made some kids and adults very happy...;p

Amazon, of course...

As you said the pool has a very pool design.

A pool with a pool design. Wouldn't that be true of all pools?

A pool with a pool design. Wouldn't that be true of all pools?

Poor choice of words, right.:D