Royal Princess design: badly solsticized

[jean s]

We booked the Royal for Feb. 2014 and I'm being cautiously optimistic. I am not thrilled with the lack of a true promenade deck because I spend lots and lots of time there. I'm also not thrilled with the lack of the adult aft pool. The aft pool was so great. I loved relaxing there and watching the wake. Oh well, I didn't have much choice if I wanted a 7 night Caribbean cruise in Feb. on Princess from Fort Lauderdale. Royal was the only option.

[Cruise Junky]

Youare incorrect, my sailing for an AQ cabin is 1999pp, for 10 nights. I just booked a friend the same week on Crown Princess for significantly less in a comparable balcony (per diem) The 123 program on Celebrity also carries with it some high cruise fares. Sadly princess needs to offer rock bottom pricing to fill their existing ships. I hope princess finds some identity with the regal, princess has become a bland line lost in the crowd of mid tier cruise lines.

 

Last year sailed the Grand followed by Eclipse, you couldn't pay me to sail the grand again. Sail the Eclipse again? In a heartbeat

 

What would be a comparable cabin to Aqua on Princess? There aren't any. You can't compare the two. What are the prices for a regular balcony cabin? And then you're getting a $500 drink package on top of that? Solstice for a 10 day Hawaiian cruise is $1,499 for a balcony plus a drink package. Princess? $2,400 and no drink package...now who's having the fire sale? It's not Princess

[smoosh21]

That's a very good description. We were on the Allure a year ago and while our balcony was overlooking the Aqua Theatre, I felt like I was staying at some shopping mall/ condo project. It was the only cruise that we've been on that didn't feel like a cruise.

 

The promenade is where the jogging track is. It has solid steel ceiling, floor and one wall while the other wall is covered by lifeboats so it feels like a steel wind tunnel.

 

Yep, I understand what they were trying to do with the lifeboats, but I miss the promenade of the Voyager Class ships.

I think that Royal knows this was a mistake though. I have been on both the Allure and the Oasis. On both ships they held a special sailaway party for Elite and Suite passengers on the Helipad (which is blocked off to general access). They realized how many passengers want to be out there, and since they can't let everyone out, they make sure that elite passengers get to go.

I have a feeling that Project Sunshine is going to give access back to the Helipad, and hopefully make a better promenade.

[avalon1025]

What would be a comparable cabin to Aqua on Princess? There aren't any. You can't compare the two. What are the prices for a regular balcony cabin? And then you're getting a $500 drink package on top of that? Solstice for a 10 day Hawaiian cruise is $1,499 for a balcony plus a drink package. Princess? $2,400 and no drink package...now who's having the fire sale?

 

Enjoy believing whatever you want. celebrity a better deal and a nicer ship? Easier decision

[Working 2 Cruise]

Not only Cunard.

All best cruise ships currently in operation feature wrap-around promenades, front observation decks, separate open pools for adults, etc.

HAL Signature class ships, Princess Grand Class, Royal Caribbean (Freedom Class and higher).

 

Some ships offer a sort of significant promenades (like U-shape).

 

Just a few designes from MSC, NCL and Celebrity have no promenade at all.

 

The word you were looking for actually is design.... If you are not happy with the Royal Princess, do not sail with her... Again, do what you want to do and stop moaning about what you cannot get. Please find a cruise line that you will be happy with. Happy sailings!

[cruisetrail]

We were on the Allure a year ago...

The promenade is where the jogging track is. It has solid steel ceiling, floor and one wall while the other wall is covered by lifeboats so it feels like a steel wind tunnel.

 

No, no.:)

This is an exaggeration.

 

There are lifeboats there on the Oasis class but not too many.

So the wrap-around promenade/jogging deck is liveable with a beautiful open area around the stern.

 

[cruisetrail]

We have results now: 81% vs 19%.

 

I wish Princess could listen to their clients and could keep the bean counters away from designers' desks.

 

I am sure this MSC Solstice Breakaway will be bringing money.

This is what it is being built for.

 

However, this ship could have been 10 times better.

A Princess that we lost....

[kkorman]

We have results now: 81% vs 19%.

 

I wish Princess could listen to their clients and could keep the bean counters away from designers' desks.

 

I am sure this MSC Solstice Breakaway will be bringing money.

This is what it is being built for.

 

However, this ship could have been 10 times better.

A Princess that we lost....

 

A bit dramatic for a ship has not taken a passenger yet.

 

A whopping 150 people difference I am sure is going to make a huge difference in the profitability of this ship.

[jnc411]

I hate to hear this. I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I want a cruise ship to look and feel like a cruise ship.

 

I sailed on the Celebrity Solstice one time and found it akin to sailing in an Ikea store. The overall design was cold and unwelcoming. We had a stateroom on the stern and awoke to a fine layer of soot on our balcony every morning. The lawn was a lot of wasted space and it was roped off and "resting" most of our voyage. I was glad when the cruise was over.

 

I also sailed on the NCL's Prison Ship Epic one time as well and will not repeat that mistake. Worst designed cabins and ship I've ever had the misfortune to sail on. To tell you how bad it is, NCL has scrapped the design of the prison-cell cabins on their next ships. Another cruise I was glad when it was over.

 

It's what happens when the artsy fartsy designers get to sit at the big table and everyone else is afraid to shout out that the emperor has no clothes.

 

We learned to take a better look at the ship design and try to visualize life on board. Now we don't book ships like Solstice, The Epic, The Oasis, the Allure etc. They may work for some, but for me I want a ship that looks like a ship, a promenade where I can stroll all the way around the ship and smell the ocean and maybe even see some sea life, a shady deck where I can read a good book, fresh brewed coffee, venues where I don't have to wear earplugs because some twenty-something has cranked the volume up to 10, an MDR where people dress like they are going out for fine dining and not a truck stop, a comfortable/functional/clean cabin, and stairs forward, mid-ship, and aft.

 

I agree with you , this new design is not my cup of tea.

Cori

[hubofhockey]

A bit dramatic for a ship has not taken a passenger yet.

 

A whopping 150 people difference I am sure is going to make a huge difference in the profitability of this ship.

 

It's a good thing there are so many Grand Clones for the people who (have never been on, but) hate this ship. Can't wait 10 days when the Royal open for booking for Baltics itineraries.

[dm33]

Not only Cunard.

All best cruise ships currently in operation feature wrap-around promenades, front observation decks, separate open pools for adults, etc.

HAL Signature class ships, Princess Grand Class, Royal Caribbean (Freedom Class and higher).

 

Some ships offer a sort of significant promenades (like U-shape).

 

Just a few designes from MSC, NCL and Celebrity have no promenade at all.

Most NCL ships do have wrap around promenades. I can't tell about the Breakaway. They have even more outdoor space, but can't tell if either promenade like deck is wrap around.

 

I personally don't see much value in the adult only pools. I dislike areas that exclude people rather than being inclusive and encouraging a particular group. I dislike the new trend of areas only for suites passengers (first class?), adults only, kids only, extra tariff patron only, etc, etc. On the Epic, there are so many areas you aren't allowed to go into that its only a small portion of the ship thats actually public.

[caribill]

It's a good thing there are so many Grand Clones for the people who (have never been on, but) hate this ship. Can't wait 10 days when the Royal open for booking for Baltics itineraries.

 

I would prefer a Princess ship in the Baltics without the extra 500 passengers the Royal will have. Just makes all the lines for getting off/on the ship longer, especially in St. Pete where everyone getting off the ship must line up at a limited number of booths for immigration.

[hubofhockey]

I would prefer a Princess ship in the Baltics without the extra 500 passengers the Royal will have. Just makes all the lines for getting off/on the ship longer, especially in St. Pete where everyone getting off the ship must line up at a limited number of booths for immigration.

 

Maybe they'll provide more people and infrastructure to accomodate the larger ship. Just a guess but I would suspect the Emerald had more than infrastructure to handle immigration than smaller ships and the Royal will have more than the Emerals. In any case, I'll take a couple of days of minor inconvenience to be on the Royal.

[baldercash]

When Oasis of the Seas 1st appeared my wife and I said we would never sail her, we had friends over for dinner last night who said the same thing.

Now we all say we would be interested in trying Oasis or Allure some time.

We view it as an adventure, a cruise that would be about the ship since the ports it sails to are not an attraction to us.

 

I know we will sail Royal because we enjoy sailing Princess, the ship will be a diversion and imagine it will be great to be on for a TA, all those sea days with 2 weeks to discover all the nooks and crannies of the ship.

Time well spent.

 

We asked out friends who have done Med & Baltic cruises on mega RCCL & Solstice ships and the smaller Millennium X class ships what they preferred? They enjoyed both and said you just have to adjust expectations to the size of the ship.

 

We have only done 1 Med cruise a 14 day intense 12 port cruise on Azamara.

That cruise has set the bench mark for us for the Med but I would cruise Royal in Europe without hesitation.

 

Princess does not want to make your vacation a night mare they will plan, encounter problems and adjust.

We as cruisers need to do the same, if you want to enjoy your vacation embrace change.

[IECalCruiser]

Maybe they'll provide more people and infrastructure to accomodate the larger ship. Just a guess but I would suspect the Emerald had more than infrastructure to handle immigration than smaller ships and the Royal will have more than the Emerals. In any case, I'll take a couple of days of minor inconvenience to be on the Royal.

It not Princess but the Russian government that handles immigration in St. Petersburg. If they don't provide more staff, the process will take longer.

[caribill]

Maybe they'll provide more people and infrastructure to accomodate the larger ship. Just a guess but I would suspect the Emerald had more than infrastructure to handle immigration than smaller ships and the Royal will have more than the Emerals. In any case, I'll take a couple of days of minor inconvenience to be on the Royal.

 

The Russians did not have adequate infrastructure to handle the number of passengers on the Emerald when we were there. I would not expect them to do better for the Emerald this year or for the Royal next year.

 

For St. Pete, you can expect almost everyone to want to get off the ship ASAP to start their tours, be they Princess tours or independent tours. The bottleneck is Russian immigration.

[philv]

I am not thrilled with the lack of a true promenade deck because I spend lots and lots of time there. I'm also not thrilled with the lack of the adult aft pool. The aft pool was so great. I loved relaxing there and watching the wake.

 

I have the same reservations about the Royal Princess. Not being able to circumnavigate the ship makes me claustrophobic. I may give it a try because I like the Eastern Caribbean itinerary and can only afford to get away on a 7 day. I'm hoping other amenities balance it to the positive.