Did Princess Make a Mistake with the Royal Princess

[Happy2cruise]

I tend to be one of those people who is so thrilled to be on a cruise that I don't care if the balcony is a foot smaller or if I am in an inside cabin. I don't go looking for things to be unhappy about on a ship. Some find every little thing wrong and I wonder why they even left home. Life (and the cruise) is too short to be miserable to look for all the little things that are wrong. Put me in an outside cabin with a "too small" balcony and I will still sit out there watching the water go by.

Great attitude and very well said.;);)

[teels18]

I do hope I meat many people with such a great attitude as you do! Thank you...;)

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I do hope I meat many people with such a great attitude as you do! Thank you...;)

 

On my last cruise, we were 4 hours late living San Pedro. I never heard such belly-aching in my life. It was no fault of the captain. I told my dinner mates, "You are on a ship....what could be wrong." Apparently that wasnt enough. Two of the diners agreed and the other two didnt. Sad thing was that one who was disgruntled was a contract worker for the cruise who gave lectures. That turned me off her very quickly...nothing like a snotty attitude.

[hubofhockey]

I guess then for 2013 in the med she is the right ship, for 2014 in northern europe she isnt. I am a big princess fan, i was have tried to like the royal and may sail on her for the novelty, i just think its a shame princess made so many simple mistakes.

 

I am doing Baltics next summer on the ship and booked a deluxe balcony. There are only two days at sea and we don't need much room beyond the chairs and the table for drinks and snacks. I think these balconies are too small if you have 3 or more in the room and all want to use the balconies at the same time. Other than that, what would you do with more space?

[luv2cruzuk]

In my opinion, yes I do think they made an error/mistake with several things on the Royal Princess.

 

My biggest disappointment, was the loss of the out door Promenade deck. I choose to cruise as I love the ocean and always feel a 'connection' to the sea while walking along the Promenade deck.

 

I was also disappointed with the Cabin. Overall, I think a poor design (including the balcony) considering this is a new ship.

 

Another area of disappointment for me is the top deck. (Backwards from MUTS)

Again, I felt poor design... unless you love sports, in which case you will love it.

 

Those are the things I didn't like (not too much really), however it's important to say I loved many areas of the Royal. The Atrium was my favourite area, Sanctuary/Retreat was also great. MUTS - Fantastic screen - nice and clear, even in bright sunlight.

 

At the end of the day, there will be many many people who will 'love' the new Royal Princess. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. I liked it, but didn't 'love' it and will be in no rush to return. (yes I will sail on her again one day)

[Beachdude]

A poster has returned from the Royal claiming he was able to turn the chair and face the sea. Another has experienced a UBD on the balcony of her balcony cabin.:D

 

Yes, but if this is what has to be said to argue againt small balconies, then the balconies sizes have a perception problem.

 

A better way to persuade opinions is to point out that a company like Princess doesn't make these changes blindly, they have some data that shows that new designes will improve business perspective. Maybe the number of cruisers who could care less outnumber those like me 5 to 1. I can accept that.

 

Burt

[umbertsmum]

Poster said they were sailing on the Crown, and as far as I remember the have same size balconys as other grand class.

 

On Royal I could certainly 'put my feet up' when on the balcony, and did so many times.

 

I agree Dave, DH and I had our feet up whilst on the balcony most nights in the sunshine and watched the waves

[baldercash]

Yes, but if this is what has to be said to argue againt small balconies, then the balconies sizes have a perception problem.

 

A better way to persuade opinions is to point out that a company like Princess doesn't make these changes blindly, they have some data that shows that new designes will improve business perspective. Maybe the number of cruisers who could care less outnumber those like me 5 to 1. I can accept that.

 

Burt

 

Of coarse Princess has the data that more balconies which they charge more for then Ocean views and insides will make them money. No thought required!

 

But what they have done is improved their profit margin by increasing the number of balconies and then down graded the balcony experience for all cruisers by reducing the size.

 

So are they now marketing to the uninformed or the cruiser that does not care about the balcony experience?

[seafish]

JMO - really disappointed with the new Royal - won't book this ship - thus for us - the loss of many future Princess cruise opportunities.

[cruisetrail]

we are looking forward to our Mediterranean Cruise on the MS Royal Princess this August. We have booked a Mini-Suite mid-ship. We have heard some very exciting things about the ship. However, one complaint that we have also heard is that the balconies are to small. Is this true? Did Princess make an error in the ship?

 

 

We cruise for ships and sea, so geography is not that important.

What is important is the weather.

In the Mediterranean we would skip most of ports and enjoy the sea travel.

The Royal is not a ship we will enjoy.

On this ship they ruined all our favorite spaces we like so much on a cruise (wrap-around promenade, front observation deck, aft pool, skywalkers lounge). They reduced number of pools, increased number of passengers, clustered pool deck with ugly cabanas. Miserable balconies is just a drop in an ocean of losses.

We don't spend much of our cruise time inside the ship, so changes they made inside is our last concern.

However, I would welcome nautical theme in ships décor. Without that all ships look like boring hotels.

The only novelty (for Princess) I see inside is long waited hydropool in spa.

That's a must.

Another positive is a larger atrium.

Ridiculous things: loss of central staircase and spa/sports facilities placement in the opposite ends of the ship.

 

With the Royal Princess the cruise line abandoned their classy style of cruising and made a move toward less generous, more pragmatic and primitive design of cheaper mass market cruise lines (NCL, MSC).

 

Was it an error?

Maybe that was a part of a plan.

They definitely demonstrated their disrespect to their own identity, their loyal customers and all potential Princess cruisers who value classy way of sea travel.

As you might know, the worst, oldest, clustered ships sail full.

Error or not - who knows...

[Mom33]

Yes, but if this is what has to be said to argue againt small balconies, then the balconies sizes have a perception problem.

 

A better way to persuade opinions is to point out that a company like Princess doesn't make these changes blindly, they have some data that shows that new designes will improve business perspective. Maybe the number of cruisers who could care less outnumber those like me 5 to 1. I can accept that.

 

Burt

 

The post was in response to claims neither activity could be done on the balconies. I was not aiming to persuade anyone just clearing up a misconception.:D

[hubofhockey]

Someone raised the question on the everything royal princess thread (post no longer there) about crucial mistake regarding pools on this ship. When all is said and done, there is one family only one pool for families for 3,700 passengers on this ship. How will that play out on hot days in the Med in summers when there are so many kids aboard. Do they shut the pool down during pool games or just eliminate pool games? We'll see what happens when reports come in. I think the ship is fine for the future Baltic itineraries and will be okay when kids are in schools. I just wouldn't book it for a summer Med cruise or a Caribbean cruise during vacation weeks and school breaks.

[teels18]

Another has experienced a UBD on the balcony of her balcony cabin.

 

I am a virgin cruiser so please forgive me this question...

 

What IS a UBD????

 

Thank you !

[Cruise Junky]

Another has experienced a UBD on the balcony of her balcony cabin.

 

I am a virgin cruiser so please forgive me this question...

 

What IS a UBD????

 

Thank you !

 

Ultimate balcony dinner. Steak, Lobster, champagne, very good. $100 a couple, table cloth service all done on your balcony. We did it for 4 on Sapphire, it was great.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

I will give you a point of view,

 

The Royal and future Princess ships, are designed to move the Princess

 

brand forward, Princess is a mass market cruise line and as such will build

 

ships that new cruisers want, it is also a business so will do what it needs

 

too, to make money, it loyal fans of many years are not the future,

 

they may well be catered for by older smaller ships being retained within

 

the fleet but they will have a higher per day cost than the new ships,

 

so if we want the Princess of old we will have to pay for it.

 

yours Shogun

[weberman]

Hi All

 

I will give you a point of view,

 

The Royal and future Princess ships, are designed to move the Princess

 

brand forward, Princess is a mass market cruise line and as such will build

 

ships that new cruisers want, it is also a business so will do what it needs

 

too, to make money, it loyal fans of many years are not the future,

 

they may well be catered for by older smaller ships being retained within

 

the fleet but they will have a higher per day cost than the new ships,

 

so if we want the Princess of old we will have to pay for it.

 

yours Shogun

 

Hi Shogun,

 

Thanks for all the great posts. I read a cruise magazine review somewhere ( can't remember where, that pointed out that Princess was moving in a different direction.

 

The two main concerns being cost to build and amount of revenue produced per passenger.

 

From the pictures and comments, I see many things I will probably like and several I will not like.

 

The rooms seem, from the pictures, to be rather stark. And the ship as a whole appears to be very European modern.

 

I also will miss being able to sit and read on sea days in Skywalkers, of which there are six in a row on the maiden T/A.

 

Not passing judgement but just commenting until I have actually sailed.

[JimmyVWine]

Hi All

 

I will give you a point of view,

 

The Royal and future Princess ships, are designed to move the Princess

 

brand forward, Princess is a mass market cruise line and as such will build

 

ships that new cruisers want,

Do I think that Princess made a mistake? No. But there are some unfortunate and undesirable design changes. Did Princess build a ship that cruisers ( new or old) want? In part. But some of the design changes could not have been done at the insistence of cruisers. No one was crying out for smaller balconies, no Oceanview cabins, a partial Promenade and fewer pools. It is impossible to reconcile those changes with the idea that Princess was moving forward with the cruiser in mind.

it is also a business so will do what it needs too, to make money

I think that the changes discussed above fit in here. So was a mistake made? It depends on whether the disappointing design changes negatively impact bookings. Way too soon to tell.

 

if we want the Princess of old we will have to pay for it.

 

yours Shogun

 

Perhaps. But we also have to demand it. I understand the point that was made above that we have choices. But for how long? I think the answer to the question as to whether Princess has made a mistake lies in the plan for the future. It is easy to proclaim that we have choices and that if one does not like some or all of the negative design choices that were made on Royal, that one can choose another ship. That works. For now. But every ship at sea right now will be retired and replaced over time. What will they be replaced with--more of what we have now, or more of what we just got in Royal? Are 36 sq ft balconies, no Oceanview cabins, fewer pools, eliminated staircases and partial Promenades the new normal? If so, will we be able to enjoy the old Princess by paying for it? I don't know the answer to that. But I suspect that the only way to retain certain of the features that we enjoy is to make our preferences known.

[Loonbeam]

It is impossible to reconcile those changes with the idea that Princess was moving forward with the cruiser in mind.

 

There's an important caveat to that statement. "Which cruiser". The one who HAS been on Princess for 20 years or the one they want to be going forward.

 

If so, will we be able to enjoy the old Princess by paying for it? I don't know the answer to that. But I suspect that the only way to retain certain of the features that we enjoy is to make our preferences known.

 

There's no requirement that you pay for current Princess style on Princess in the future. Another line could easily see the need and provide the same style experience Princess does now at a representative price..

[JimmyVWine]

There's an important caveat to that statement. "Which cruiser". The one who HAS been on Princess for 20 years or the one they want to be going forward.

I am not sure the caveat is that important. Why would new or future cruisers prefer the design changes that I mentioned? Now, it is possible that thay can be fooled because they wouldn't know any better. But to say that these design changes were made to appeal to or attract new cruisers suggests that there is an empirical preference for these changes and I seriously doubt that is the case.

 

 

There's no requirement that you pay for current Princess style on Princess in the future. Another line could easily see the need and provide the same style experience Princess does now at a representative price..

We can only hope. But the newer designs industrywide don't portend this. But this begs the question whether Princess made a mistake which is the jumping off point of this thread. If another cruise line has to step in to fill a gap left by Princess, doesn't that feed into the ultimate answer? I think that this will ultimately lead to the fork in the road where the customer and shareholder part ways. A mistake for one is not necessarily a mistake for the other.

[Cruise Junky]

I am not sure the caveat is that important. Why would new or future cruisers prefer the design changes that I mentioned? Now, it is possible that thay can be fooled because they wouldn't know any better. But to say that these design changes were made to appeal to or attract new cruisers suggests that there is an empirical preference for these changes and I seriously doubt that is the case.

 

 

We can only hope. But the newer designs industrywide don't portend this. But this begs the question whether Princess made a mistake which is the jumping off point of this thread. If another cruise line has to step in to fill a gap left by Princess, doesn't that feed into the ultimate answer? I think that this will ultimately lead to the fork in the road where the customer and shareholder part ways. A mistake for one is not necessarily a mistake for the other.

 

 

Just reading one of the latest reviews....

"The entire setup seemed to be with the objective of fleecing you - getting every available buck out of you, but with none of the class or charm offered by Cunard or Celebrity. We were given sub standard fayre, and we left with a firm conviction that we would in future stick with the names we usually stick with."

 

Not an indication it's doing well with people who normally sail other lines.

[Loonbeam]

If we make the assumption that Princess did market analysis, they must have identified a customer base for the designed product. Given the response at least on here, a good number of current customers may not be that base. Therefore, they have identified a target cruiser for the build that may be outside the current typical Princess demographic, one for example, in which the size of the balcony is less important than the existence of one...

 

 

 

I am not sure the caveat is that important. Why would new or future cruisers prefer the design changes that I mentioned? Now, it is possible that thay can be fooled because they wouldn't know any better. But to say that these design changes were made to appeal to or attract new cruisers suggests that there is an empirical preference for these changes and I seriously doubt that is the case.

[hubofhockey]

I am not sure how the Royal Princess attracts the new cruiser market. I don't see how sea walks, water shows, and tv studios expand the demographic or draw a greater market share of the current demographic. I am going in with an open mind next July. The features I like are deluxe balcony and enclave, but those could have been incorporated into a more updated Ruby.

[lovevacadays]

I guess it is unfortunate that the balconies are small. However, I am looking at it in a positive light in that this might be the ship for me to book an inside cabin at a better fare and just enjoy the other features of this ship. To me, this ship looks amazing and I do want to sail her.:)

[dforeigner]

As human nature, we do not like to leave our comfort zone. In other words we do not like change. After sailing a few times with Princess, our group decided to try Celebrity. I was apprehensive at first. The family and I have sailed Princess, X, and DCL. Each cruise line has its plusses and minuses.

One of my dream cruises, besides Alaska, is the Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately, we cannot go when Celebrity or Princess sail due to our little ones are attending school. Yes, we could go by ourselves and leave the little ones behind. I am very busy at work and do not get much of a chance to spend time with the little ones except when I am on vacation.

Back to the topic at hand, the only other option is NCL's Pride of America which does sail during the Summer. I am rather hesitant to sail with NCL but one thing I learned is that just because other people complain or do not like about a certain cruise line does not mean we will not like it. We do a lot of pre-planning and travel with an open mind.

[JimmyVWine]

If we make the assumption that Princess did market analysis, they must have identified a customer base for the designed product. Given the response at least on here, a good number of current customers may not be that base. Therefore, they have identified a target cruiser for the build that may be outside the current typical Princess demographic, one for example, in which the size of the balcony is less important than the existence of one...

 

The flipside to that is that they didn't do market research with the consumer in mind but with profitability in mind. Think about it. If they assembled a focus group of 16-26 year olds, (presumably the "next" generation of cruisers) and asked them if they would prefer fewer pools to more pools and 36 sq ft balconies to 63 sq ft balconies, it is inconceivable that the lesser options would prevail. The next generation of cruisers can't be that different from the current crop. So that tells me that the unfortunate design changes on Royal were not the result of anyone preferring or demanding them nor could they be the result of any forward thinking person predicting that future cruisers would prefer them. At best, they are changes designed to boost profit with the hopes that many cruisers would simply shrug of the decreased amenities in trade for other technological advancements.