Should Princess build a 3rd sister to the Royal Princess

[bdjam]

 

I worked for 35 years in management positions at a $20 billion corporation. One thing they kept telling us at training sessions is that projects large and small take on a life of their own, and once started are difficult to change or stop. Successful corporations are able to change or even stop poorly conceived projects even when they are under way. Princess seems to have failed here.

I also work for a multi billion dollar company and we have this think called Stop Work Authority. Anyone can use it if they feel that safety or excellence a being compromised. They should have something like that at Princess - certainly the design was forced by the financials - but they should have stopped before they got to the ship yard and reevaluated.

[pris993]

The decisions made on the design of Royal Princess were all made with one objective - maximizing revenue. One of the interesting things about the ship is that the improvements over the Grand Class mostly include an additional tariff. No gratis steam or sauna rooms in the gym where they should be, but for a price we'd be happy to let you in the newly designed spa with all these amenities. Rai Caluori even said in his posts that the outside promenade was sacrificed for balcony cabins - the cabins generating revenue, the promenade not so much. And the smaller balconies? Don't relax on your balcony, come out to the ship and spend money...

 

Agree with you... it is all about the $s. If they make the money they want on the new Royal then no reason to listen to discontent of past passengers.

[bdjam]

I don't disagree there are design flaws. There definitely are. What I am saying is if a person wants to experience the newest ship they should. And then make up their mind. I would not base my decisions on what I read on this board.

 

Rather than complaining take your business elsewhere. That, more than anything, will get the cruise lines to notice.

Regarding decisions based on what's out up on these boards, I totally agree with you. But the shortcomings with Royal Princess for me have nothing to do with what's posted here - it has to do with what has been built into the ship.

 

Ad regarding taking business elsewhere, I think that's just what's happening with the cancellation of reservations.

[bdjam]

The change I would like to see are more Coral/Island class ships and more of the Original Regal class ship. The Royal is not a pretty ship looking at her from the outside view.....she looks like a top heavy box. The "Global Chic" is too glitzy for most seasoned Princess cruisers. Not to mention that they bragged about more seating area for the IC and then used bigger barrel chairs that take up more room! I think before they go on with the Regal, they need to do some thinking!

amen sister!! ;)

[pablo222]

So people will say, "ah a day on a ship is better than being at home"

 

I think over the past year Carnival has pretty much proved that wrong.

[Ship's Wake]

Hmmm, just checked another cruise website that I subscribe to, and the reviews on the Royal Princess are overwhelmingly positive, with a 5 star rating. Almost nobody is griping about the negatives.

 

Now I'm wondering if the avalanche of negative threads on Cruise Critic are being magnified as people feed off each other's negativity, or if they truly reflect the general sentiment of the entire industry outside of Cruise Critic.

 

Just curious tapi, how would you explain the avalanche of positive threads? Do these reflect the general sentiment of the entire industry outside of CC?

[kendon]

The larger ships don't interest me either so I'll stick with the older smaller more personal ones. I want a ship - not a small town. It's the reason I have no desire to go one a ship that has rock climbing, ice skating or a park. To me, that's not a ship.

 

"a ship - not a small town"....exactly!

[hubofhockey]

Agree with you... it is all about the $s. If they make the money they want on the new Royal then no reason to listen to discontent of past passengers.

 

There is one very good detailed review of this ship on the current longer Med itinerary. It certainly gives the impression that the fondue and crabshack joints aren't always open and aren't always full. I'd like to hear that the cabanas aren't used that much either. ;) I really like what Royal Caribbean has done with their newer upcharge venues. They put real effort into them and don't overcharge. While Samba on the Allure is not much different than the typical land based Brazillian steakhouses, service is excellent, the views are great, and the price is good value. I suppose I just don't see much value in $20 crabshack that serves previously frozen seafood (doesn't that sound like a floating Red Lobster?).

 

On our cruise next summer, we'll stick with Crown Grill and Sabatinis and either winemakers dinner or chef's table (probably one casual meal at Alfredo's as well). It would have been nice if they put in a real third restaurant similar to what RCI has done with 150 Central Park, Samba, and or Izumi.

[Esprit]

I wonder if the negativity towards Royal Princess would be as great if the ship had its naming ceremony and maiden cruises in the US.

 

From my brief tour of the ship I think it's a step in the right direction.

[Iamcruzin]

 

 

 

The lack of a mid-ship staircase has me perplexed. I cannot for the life of me tie that to revenue creep. Unless some marketing psychologist did a study and reported back that people who get off elevators are more likley to spend money in gift shops. But boy, that would be a real reach.

 

Being in retail for thirty years I can strongly say that the stairs were eliminated to force the flow of traffic towards venues and shops. On the Plaza deck you have to walk past the spa to access forward stairs no access to Aft stairs. Fiesta deck you have to walk past the Casino and you can't access the Aft stairs. On the Promenade deck you walk past the Crown Grill and Wheelhouse bar Aft and all of the shops and art gallery forward. I am pissed off because when I booked my mid ship room I was looking at a staircase on the deck plans next to the mid ship lifts and choose my room based on that. I had no idea that I wouldn't have had access to those stairs. I never noticed the lack of mid ship stairs on the Baja Deck. Thank God for cruise Critic. Even if I decided to keep my booking I still would have had time to change my room to a less expensive forward room.

[Iamcruzin]

I wonder if the negativity towards Royal Princess would be as great if the ship had its naming ceremony and maiden cruises in the US.

 

From my brief tour of the ship I think it's a step in the right direction.

 

Really.....If you think that Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama naming a ship is going to make us like it better you are sadly mistaken. But I will say that I think many who booked the ship for Maiden Voyages were very disappointed that Princess didn't make a fuss or show any acknowledgement that the ship was new and that it was a first sailing. Passenger thought they would receive something special for being the first on board a new ship.

[Who Knew]

Responding to the thread title and having not read the entire thread, I'd say no, they probably should not build a third ship with this design.

 

However, I'm actually glad they built these two and I think it is good that they built ships that can compete with some of the other newer ships out there and that might capture some of that business. Time will tell if these two are successful or not, but I think two is enough and they should try something different. I'm really happy they are trying new things though.

 

That said, none of the shortcomings of the Royal are dealbreakers to me. I never use the pools, I don't care if I walk on the promenade or the fitness track, and as for the balcony.... Well, I DO wish it were slightly larger, but even that isn't a dealbreaker. We do spend a LOT of time out on the balcony because it's peaceful and relaxing and the public areas seem so crowded. I guess that will be a bit worse on this ship when fully loaded, so might save some money by avoiding it all. :D

 

So (sorry for the ramble), in short, I would sail on any of Princess's ships regardless of design if the price/itinerary and time off work all meshed. :D

[Rick-cruiser]

Truer words have never been spoken. Way too much negativity here. When people complain about toilet paper holders you know they have way too much idle time on their hands. We are doing a family reunion cruise during Thanksgiving on the Royal and we would not dream about cancelling based upon what is said on this board. Comments here have to be taken with a grain of salt, if you know what I mean.

 

 

I disagree with that. As much as the toilet paper is a kind of roll your eyes thing to complain about, it pretty much sums up the design of royal. Someone just plainly wasn't thinking about passenger comforts, only how to get more money out of them

 

 

You see, here's the thing..... if they make it so that it's so difficult / uncomfortable to reach the toilet paper holder, people will be tempted to use the public restrooms more... which in turn will have them walking past shops to spend more money....

 

ah.....those corporate minds are brilliant.... :)

 

- Rick

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..

[Clovis Cruiser]

Really.....If you think that Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama naming a ship is going to make us like it better you are sadly mistaken. But I will say that I think many who booked the ship for Maiden Voyages were very disappointed that Princess didn't make a fuss or show any acknowledgement that the ship was new and that it was a first sailing. Passenger thought they would receive something special for being the first on board a new ship.

 

My DH and I were on the inaugural cruise--all 19 days of it. We loved the cruise, but that was because we loved the itinerary. We were off the ship at every port and spent very little time on the ship, except sea days of course. On those days we took a breather-- but in the Piazza, not on our balcony or at the pool, etc. so we didn't experience the "shortcomings" that some of the other posters did. That being said, our reception on the ship was completely underwhelming. There were no greeters with warm welcomes as we entered the ship, none of the tours that we've experienced on other Princess ships--nothing to break the ice or introduce the ship to us. We just wandered around waiting for something to happen. At least that gave me an opportunity to take lots of photos of the nearly empty public spaces. As for the "gifts," they were for sale in the gift shop. Lots of inaugural cruise stuff in there. I think the "gift" we all expected might have been the "Royal Princess" book that was in our cabin. Most of the people I mentioned it to didn't even notice it was there. So--would we book the Royal again? Only if we loved the itinerary. As someone once said, there are lots of other ships in the sea.

[bdjam]

I wonder if the negativity towards Royal Princess would be as great if the ship had its naming ceremony and maiden cruises in the US.

Many Princess ships have been christened in places other than the US. The issue is with the ship, not with who christened her or where she was christened.

 

Being in retail for thirty years I can strongly say that the stairs were eliminated to force the flow of traffic towards venues and shops. On the Plaza deck you have to walk past the spa to access forward stairs no access to Aft stairs. Fiesta deck you have to walk past the Casino and you can't access the Aft stairs. On the Promenade deck you walk past the Crown Grill and Wheelhouse bar Aft and all of the shops and art gallery forward.

Interesting observation - and probably very true...

[toberman]

You see, here's the thing..... if they make it so that it's so difficult / uncomfortable to reach the toilet paper holder, people will be tempted to use the public restrooms more... which in turn will have them walking past shops to spend more money....

 

ah.....those corporate minds are brilliant.... :)

 

- Rick

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..

 

Stir.... Stir.... Stir. ;) :D :D

[Iamcruzin]

You see, here's the thing..... if they make it so that it's so difficult / uncomfortable to reach the toilet paper holder, people will be tempted to use the public restrooms more... which in turn will have them walking past shops to spend more money....

 

ah.....those corporate minds are brilliant.... :)

 

- Rick

.

..

 

Well they will probably soil themselves waiting for a lift or by running aft or forward for the stairs.

[gertz]

I don't think this is true. When Princess came out with the Coral Princess class, people loved it. They also liked the Diamond and Sapphire Princess and the changes that ship provided over the Grand class.

 

I think it is when they added another layer of cabins is when my disappointment with Princess came. It became clear that greed was the bottom line (how many people can be put on a ship to make more money). Unfortunately my one cruise on the Crown was extremely crowded due to probably sailing in a cooler climate.

 

Princess's business' philosophy has definitely changed through out the years.

 

Totally agree with all your posts on this subj. But I've posted this before.

 

It started going downhill for us think in 2006 when we booked the Caribbean Princess for some badly needed R&R. I did not know they added an extra deck of cabins at that time. I had never seen a Princess ship so crowded.

 

A line for everything. Couldn't get into the theater, could not even get into a lounge show. The art auction was even full.

 

On one ocassion I complained to the CC babe. She suggested we try another line. Guess what.

 

Still perfer Princess but will not and have not gone on another extra deck ship. We now realize "space ratios" do mean something, and we take them very serious.

 

My suggestion would be to build a few more like the Crown or Regal. The old ones.

[Iamcruzin]

My DH and I were on the inaugural cruise--all 19 days of it. We loved the cruise, but that was because we loved the itinerary. We were off the ship at every port and spent very little time on the ship, except sea days of course. On those days we took a breather-- but in the Piazza, not on our balcony or at the pool, etc. so we didn't experience the "shortcomings" that some of the other posters did. That being said, our reception on the ship was completely underwhelming. There were no greeters with warm welcomes as we entered the ship, none of the tours that we've experienced on other Princess ships--nothing to break the ice or introduce the ship to us. We just wandered around waiting for something to happen. At least that gave me an opportunity to take lots of photos of the nearly empty public spaces. As for the "gifts," they were for sale in the gift shop. Lots of inaugural cruise stuff in there. I think the "gift" we all expected might have been the "Royal Princess" book that was in our cabin. Most of the people I mentioned it to didn't even notice it was there. So--would we book the Royal again? Only if we loved the itinerary. As someone once said, there are lots of other ships in the sea.

 

You have to ask yourself if the cruise line doesn't show excitement and make a fuss over a new ship how can you expect the passenger to.

[bdjam]

You have to ask yourself if the cruise line doesn't show excitement and make a fuss over a new ship how can you expect the passenger to.

 

I found it interesting that there was a whole lot of hub bub before the ship went into service...videos, media, Princess Kate (apologies if I've not used the proper royal term), on and on. Then once the champagne hit the side of the ship...it sort of peetered out...

[Tatka]

It started going downhill for us think in 2006 when we booked the Caribbean Princess for some badly needed R&R. I did not know they added an extra deck of cabins at that time. I had never seen a Princess ship so crowded.

 

We sailed on CB in 2006 (sold out cruise) and were surprised how spacious she felt with so many people. We fell in love with this cruise line.

 

Caribbean Princess did not feel more crowded than Grand to us.

[ccrain]

As a former Grand class and SuperGrand class hater, we really did hate our first intro into those larger ships. Love the Coral and Island, cut our cruising teeth on the Sun Class - all 4 of them. We hated the 1st time on the Star and really did not like the CB at all. But once we figured out the flow patterns and how to avoid the crowds, we have become converts and just love both classes, from the Grand, except for the missing staircase, to the Emerald (and will be sailing on the Ruby later this year).

 

There are indeed some designs of the Royal (balconies, dance floors, more "upsell" space, less for us minimalist ala carte cruisers) that I do not care for, but my hypothesis is that the Royal and the Regal were designed for port intensive European itineraries - even though she has to go somewhere in the Caribbean during the winter.

 

I've noticed a lot of empty club space (Fusion, Skywalkers, Explorers) on port intensive cruises after 9 or 10 at night - even on the supergrands. Heck by the 4th night of all day tours we're pretty much sacked out by 10 and up at 6 doing it all over again.

 

Port intensive Northern European cruises, especially for 1st time cruisers, would also explain the small balconies. On our last cruise (TA + BI), we rarely spent time on the balcony as it was pretty cold and windy, but we did enjoy the time we did spend there.

 

So in response to the OP's original question, I hope they do not shift the entire line to a Royal/Regal design - heck one thing the Royal did was lower the Ruby Med cruise pricing later this year to make it a really good deal - keep the Gem class concept going for many years to come - but I really do wish we had a few more Corals - they are indeed our favorite.

[littlesteelo]

Being in retail for thirty years I can strongly say that the stairs were eliminated to force the flow of traffic towards venues and shops. On the Plaza deck you have to walk past the spa to access forward stairs no access to Aft stairs. Fiesta deck you have to walk past the Casino and you can't access the Aft stairs. On the Promenade deck you walk past the Crown Grill and Wheelhouse bar Aft and all of the shops and art gallery forward. I am pissed off because when I booked my mid ship room I was looking at a staircase on the deck plans next to the mid ship lifts and choose my room based on that. I had no idea that I wouldn't have had access to those stairs. I never noticed the lack of mid ship stairs on the Baja Deck. Thank God for cruise Critic. Even if I decided to keep my booking I still would have had time to change my room to a less expensive forward room.

 

On the Royal there are midship stairs up to deck 7, so that theory makes no sense. If there was no staircase at all maybe it would have some logic, but even then, you could use the staircases in the atrium.

[cruisetrail]

 

Port intensive Northern European cruises, especially for 1st time cruisers, would also explain the small balconies.

 

He did not park his car properly - May be he was on a hurry doing his job.

He asked for money - May be he received a bill from his dentist.

He had a mask on his face - May be it was too cold outside.

 

Don't look for explanations, he wanted to rob a bank! :)

[Coral]

As a former Grand class and SuperGrand class hater, we really did hate our first intro into those larger ships. Love the Coral and Island, cut our cruising teeth on the Sun Class - all 4 of them. We hated the 1st time on the Star and really did not like the CB at all. But once we figured out the flow patterns and how to avoid the crowds, we have become converts and just love both classes, from the Grand, except for the missing staircase, to the Emerald (and will be sailing on the Ruby later this year).

 

 

Ironically - I have never been a fan of the Grand class layout. It just doesn't seem logical and I totally understand why people get confused on the ship, especially after sailing other lines and their layouts. After sailing it many times, obviously I know my way around but I don't think it is a good layout. The positives I can say about the Grand class layout is that the balconies are good size, there are numerous pool areas and I can usually find a good chair in sun or shade (whichever I prefer) and it is not crowded. When I sailed the Crown, the crowds just drove me crazy. I love the layout of the Sun Class and the Coral class in reference to how the ship flows from one end to another. The Coral class is definitely one of Princess's best.