Suite Life on the Royal

[jeanico]

Sorry, but as someone who is Non- suite, NON-ELITE, NON-Priority, I take offense at being classified as "lice".....

 

I agree with you... that was an awful comment, and really not necessary. How positively condescending! :eek: While I understand the OP's frustration, I am quite certain that the crowding issue could have been described in a better way.

 

Other than that, the review was quite enjoyable. Ah, to live the Suite Life!

Edited August 19, 2013 by jeanico

[virginia beach girl]

We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

[spyro1952]

My first :eek: was at the comment how wonderful Air Canada was! I should have stopped there but gate lice:eek::eek:!

[virginia beach girl]

We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

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We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

[Sunviking]

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We are in a S4 Suite in January. Would you mind telling me when you booked and if you know when the cut off for the free internet service was?

 

In order to receive free unlimited internet service in a suite you must have booked prior to July 15, 2012. If that's not the case then to receive any free minutes you must be either Platinum or Elite in the Captain's Circle and the number of minutes you receive depends on the length of your cruise.

[JimmyVWine]

I am not using it as a derogatory term....and if it was taken that way, I am truly sorry!

 

There is no endearing way to use a term that contains the word “lice”. It is derogatory in every sense and every use and implies an infestation of pests that requires eradication.

 

But beyond that, thanks for the review. Some very interesting comments that will serve to confirm what others are surmising, both on the positve and negative front. I get a little weary of people saying that one cannot assess or criticize a ship until one sails on her. To the contrary, detailed reviews such as yours allow for easy assessment and critique without stepping foot on board.

Edited August 19, 2013 by JimmyVWine

[virginia beach girl]

In order to receive free unlimited internet service in a suite you must have booked prior to July 15, 2012. If that's not the case then to receive any free minutes you must be either Platinum or Elite in the Captain's Circle and the number of minutes you receive depends on the length of your cruise.

Thanks so much! I did not book until this year and am not Platinum or Elite so no freebie for me. But thanks so much for your kind reply!

[virginia beach girl]

ROYAL PRINCESS : July 29- August 10, 2013

 

A week since we arrived home...and I am still having difficulty with not hanging my breakfast menu out my front door! Our family of 4(DH, DS 18 years, DD 15 years and myself) had a wonderful time in Europe on land and on ship. Here are my thoughts from someone who enjoys luxury travel (no flaming…this is just my perspective.  )

Flights: Air Canada Executive First Class to Frankfurt (almost 10 hours) and then Lufthansa Biz to Venice. I love both of these airlines. Great service and usually are on time. WE left Canada on Friday, July 26 and arrived in Venice on Saturday evening around 5:30PM local time.

Venice Transportation: This outfit was great! I had pre-ordered our private water taxi tickets online. Exited baggage claim and as per instructions, the company booth was right there. They checked my print-out and directed us to the water taxi area. It was easy to find, but for those of you who have any mobility issues, it was a bit of hike with luggage in tow. We were met by a greeter who directed us to our taxi driver Venice style. ;) Wow, we had arrived. We traversed the water highway over to Venice and our driver navigated the canals to bring us to the Grand Canal, where apparently we hit rush hour traffic (Venice style)…what fun!  I will also mention that we used this taxi company on Monday to take us from the hotel to the ship. They were on time and polite….works for me. I highly recommend Consorzio Motoscafi! P.S. I found them on TripAdvisor.com, my go-to site for checking travel sites. I also try to give back to Trip by being a frequent contributor. For the record, in my review, I will mention companies, hotels, restaurants, but I hope to give a more detailed review of each of the companies in TRIPADVISOR. If anyone is interested, I am WEARECANADIAN on TA.

Venice Hotel: Gritti Palace! (SPG LUXURY COLLECTION). Ok, here it is….one of the best hotels/resorts that I have had the pleasure of staying at. From its perfect location on the Grand Canal, to the welcoming and gracious staff, to the newly renovated luxurious rooms (think ceiling to floor marble washrooms and 1000 thread count linens  ), to the ultra-amazing Club del Doge restaurant (where we had a fabulous dinner on Sunday evening), this property has made me a fan forever! (I used points for most of our 2 nights as we had to reserve 2 rooms (connecting) with our teenagers.) I WILL BE BACK!!

 

Royal Princess:

Embarkation: WE took our pre-reserved water taxi for 11:00 AM as mentioned and were delivered to a pier where our luggage was taken (and yes those little luggage tags that you print out from Princess and staple on, work just fine) Now, I have to mention that as we approached the Royal Princess, we looked in awe. From my perspective, she is a beautiful looking ship. ( WE were recently on the Celebrity Equinox in the MED, and my initial impressions of her was that she looked boxy and not at all sleek…translation: kind of ugly!! (No flaming Celebrity die-hards!) WE exited our water taxi after our luggage was collected and headed left over to the terminal. Princess had reps stationed all over, ensuring that we would find the terminal. WE entered the terminal and went up the escalators to see that we were not the only excited guests who wanted to board early! We were directed to the Suite line and were quickly given our Princess cards and directed to a seating area. We choose not to sit but rather wandered over to the “duty free” liquor that was situated right at check-in. We were told by the shop keeper, that we could each bring 2 bottles of wine or hard liquor….not quite what was stated on the Princess policy. We declined as we did not want to have the hard liquor held until we departed the ship. OK>>>so heads up. We could have brought anything on board that day, and nothing would have been said. We saw people bringing multiple bottles (carried) on board at the Venice port and every other port after that. We brought limoncello onboard in Naples, and different wines (that we brought home) from other ports. NOTHING was ever said! I cannot say that this easy liquor tolerance policy is the norm, only that this is how it was done on our cruise. We did not consume (OK maybe one bottle of wine in our suite ;) ) but purchased wines that safely made it back to Canada in our luggage. How safe it is in our wine cellar….well that remains to be seen. : D

Ok.. so back to the embarkation……It was announced that suite and elite guests could not begin the embarkation. Yeah….we did not even have to sit down…it was about 11:45 AM! However, there was abundant “gate lice”, that is, non-suite, elite people who were crowding the entrance, so that we could not get through. I think Princess should have a more established regimen for boarding….anyway, we finally made it through and walked back outside and down to board the gangplank on Deck 4. This was a bit of a disappointment to say the least. We walked into the ship (utility area) and then into the elevator area. No atrium and band, just an area where we waited for an elevator…although it was expedited when the elevator attendants found out we were in a suite. SO folks, boarding the ship was a bit of a let-down compared to my past experiences on Celebrity Equinox, Oasis, Brilliance, Splendour, Disney Magic and I think the Golden Princess.

We quickly found our suite R731 and our kids’ Deluxe Balcony R729 To be waiting and ready for us!

 

Stay tuned for more.

Dr Pam, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long review, very helpful! I am booked in a S4 but am seriously thinking of changing to an S2 and have been dying to read a review of one of those cabins! Also, have been curious about the Concierge Lounge and your review was helpful. It is unfortunately what I thought it would be...not much. But, better than no lounge at all! The balcony is the reason we are thinking of switching and you were helpful there also. The very few pictures I have seen look like there is a hallway from the living room to the bedroom that might have closets along the wall/hall, is this correct? Bathroom in between the 2 rooms off the hallway? By any chance do you have pictures that you can share?

Thanks again for a great and informative review!!

[IECalCruiser]

Dr Pam, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long review, very helpful! I am booked in a S4 but am seriously thinking of changing to an S2 and have been dying to read a review of one of those cabins! Also, have been curious about the Concierge Lounge and your review was helpful. It is unfortunately what I thought it would be...not much. But, better than no lounge at all! The balcony is the reason we are thinking of switching and you were helpful there also. The very few pictures I have seen look like there is a hallway from the living room to the bedroom that might have closets along the wall/hall, is this correct? Bathroom in between the 2 rooms off the hallway? By any chance do you have pictures that you can share?

Thanks again for a great and informative review!!

If you want more shade, consider booking the partially covered balconies on the S2s on Baja and Dolphin decks.

 

If I were paying full price for a suite, I would skip the S5s and S4s with their four foot deep balconies and pay the extra bucks for an S2 on Baja or Dolphin decks. Aloha, Caribe and Emerald S2 balconies are only five feet deep rather than nine feet deep and the lounge chairs appear to only fit in the corners. Marina deck balconies appear to be totally open to view from the Horizon Terrace above and Riviera deck balconies are also totally uncovered.

Edited August 19, 2013 by IECalCruiser

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks also for the suite information as well. We will be boarding the Royal for the T/A in October and have an S-2 (Dolphin). It looks like the Dolphin deck has the most overhang (shade) of any of the S2 suites.....:):):)

 

Bob

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[Cruise Junky]

Great review - thanks for taking the time to report back.

[sminfiddle]

It ... implies an infestation of pests that requires eradication.

 

Or PREVENTION. Which is more to the Dr.'s point. And prevention would eliminate the need for a term to describe the problem.

I could immediately visualize the situation and yes, a negative connotation.

In my book that's called Good Writing.

 

(except now I am itchy, LOL)

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

[Dr. Pam]

Or PREVENTION. Which is more to the Dr.'s point. And prevention would eliminate the need for a term to describe the problem.

I could immediately visualize the situation and yes, a negative connotation.

In my book that's called Good Writing.

 

(except now I am itchy, LOL)

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

 

Thanks for the laugh!

[gawyldcat]

My DD age 15 joined the teen club a couple of days into the cruise. She was a little nervous about going but decided to give it a try after I checked it out. She absolutely loved it because there were so many teens from all over. They had organized table tennis, cards, etc. The kids did not run all over the ship. She made some great new friends onboard and they all had their picture taken together on the 2nd last night so they could purchase it on our final day. IT was a great experience! Our DS who had just turned 18 years was not able to attend the teen club and preferred to hang out with his mom and dad. :) Just fine with us as he leaves for university in a couple of weeks.....

 

Thank you so much for the information. I have been concerned since my DD will be traveling without a friend. Sounds like your daughter had a wonderful time and was able to find some great kids to hang out with on the ship. I hope we are as lucky when we sail in February. Thanks again for your review and insight.

[compozer]

Dr. Pam,

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. I understood what you were saying.

 

After lots of research, I booked R731 the first day it opened. We are looking forward to all the sunshine although it is nice to get a little shade once in a while. The first thing I noticed when I saw a picture of the balcony, was that there were only two chairs with the table. Did you ask your steward if he could get you two more chairs? Our son is also joining us and we always eat lunch on our balcony along with many dinners. We also have guests over every night so I am real disappointed they cut back. Wonder what they will do when we order the balcony dinner - maybe bring a folding chair in:D.

 

It is interesting about getting a bottle of bubbly with your first night dinner. We did four cruises last year and the AMEX- plat perk gave us a bottle with dinner but not the first night in the suite dinner. Maybe that is a something new.

 

So, what exactly did the person in the lounge do for you? Did he help with excursions? Dinner reservations? And was it the same person every day or different ones? Do people come in and just sit around having coffee or take it back to their cabins? We always get a call from the dinning room staff the first afternoon asking when we want dinner - did they call? or was that taken care of in the lounge?

 

Did they invite the suite people to stay in the new lounge the last morning. They had a special morning lounge for suite people on the Star last spring. It was really nice.

 

I hope you will continue to answer our questions. Thanks again for spending your time with this.

[MystieDog99]

Dr. Pam,

 

Thank you for your review. It was very helpful as we will be on the 9/3 sailing and this will be my first cruise ever... :eek: So, I have been trying to read everything I can on Cruise Critic to learn the ways from the experts...so Thank you again for your time.

 

Quick question, do you know if they had hot water in the Concierge Lounge?

I was thinking of bringing along a coffee press for morning coffee or tea. I think you said they had coffee in the lounge, but the talk about the coffee quality on the ship got me thinking of other options. :confused:

 

Newbie...Chris

[Dragonqueen]

Dr. Pam,

 

Thank you for taking the time to put together such a concise & informative review, it was lovely to meet you & your family & I am in awe of the amount of activities that you managed to pack into your time.

 

I am very thankful for your understated mention of the amount of children & specifically the disruption that a small portion caused. I was unsure whether my husband & I had become so totally out of touch with how children should behave & modern parenting, I believe that even more disruption was caused on the final night causing damage in Bellinis & the whole of Horizon court to be closed due to tampering with the food.

 

 

Princess rarely has supplied refreshments for a M&G and when they do it has been because a CD used part of his budget to do so. (Although RCCL does to their M&M, the ones I attended found hardly anybody taking any food or beverage).

 

Were invites sent to the Princess staff inviting them to attend? There will usually be at least a couple of staff responding to the invites, but without the invites they will not even know the M&G is happening.

 

As for the Meet & Greet, I think the timing at 11.00 am was unfortunate, I had researched & taken advice from previous organisers & prepared & given to the customer services, individual & personalised invites for all the senior staff, (including the Captain), & the editor of the Princess Patter who kindly included it in the Patter. The Maitre'D was kind enough to pop in & apologise for not attending, but looking at all the other events & activities that were coinciding with our M&G I was amazed that anyone turned up at all, I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who did & especially to Shauna who did all our name tags & the 2 members of staff from the Teen Program.

 

I am surprised that Princess doesn't seem to recognise the work & affect that cruise critic can afford their business & I was surprised to receive documentation off Princess who had misunderstood our M&G & thought I was some kind of tour guide/organiser for the group & requested that I completed the disembarkation forms for everyone in the group :eek:

 

I look forward to hearing how others have fared & especially how Dave is rewarded for all his hard work keeping everyone positive & excited for Royal.

 

We were in D429, one of the extended angled balconies under the seawalk, & I love, love, loved that extra room, we used our balcony more than usual as a peaceful retreat & my husband also found the TV a great addition with all the latest Movies to watch.

 

I will eventually post photos of our balcony on the Royal Balcony thread & do a small review with lots of food porn photos.....I would just like to add that I also found the food met all my expectations & more, Horizon Court & Bistro is A-MAZ-ING, I just couldn't believe the variety & quality of the food, there was definitely something for everyone, ALL the staff managed to balance being friendly, efficient & unobtrusive all at the same time, which I found was exemplary.

 

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on Royal.......but never, ever during school holidays again. :D

[caribill]

I was surprised to receive documentation from Princess who had misunderstood our M&G & thought I was some kind of tour guide/organiser for the group & requested that I complete the disembarkation forms for everyone in the group :eek:

 

 

Funny

[Kentchikan]

Interesting.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you so much for your balanced review. You provided great information and I loved the tips on excursions.:)

[slc22]

 

We were in D429, one of the extended angled balconies under the seawalk, & I love, love, loved that extra room, we used our balcony more than usual as a peaceful retreat...

 

I will eventually post photos of our balcony on the Royal Balcony thread & do a small review

 

:D

 

Glad to hear more positives on this location. I'll be in D424, opposite side and one up from yours in December, and will also come back and post photos of the extended balcony.

 

We're you able to see any of the blue lighting at night from the Sea Walk on your balcony? Bet it was magical...

[Dragonqueen]

Hi slc22,

 

I am sure you will be happy with your balcony, I took a photo over the top of our divider of D425's balcony which is the starboard side corresponding one to yours, it is 8ft from the window to the rail, which gives you plenty of room to sit & stretch your legs out, my only disappointment was that we didn't have a foot stool, which would have fitted easily on our balcony.

 

We had to lean out slightly to be able to view the seawalk, the lights were lovely at night. One thing that I haven't read anywhere, but feel that I should mention, the glass on both the seawalk & seaview is 2 way & therefore looking up from our balcony we could see the people walking on the seawalk above. Now we were down on deck 9 & my distance eyesight is still pretty good, therefore there were times when I was aware of being able to view more than I would want people to see of myself. I should think that people on higher decks & further round under the walkway would have even more intimate views.

[Kentchikan]

Hi slc22,

One thing that I haven't read anywhere, but feel that I should mention, the glass on both the seawalk & seaview is 2 way & therefore looking up from our balcony we could see the people walking on the seawalk above. Now we were down on deck 9 & my distance eyesight is still pretty good, therefore there were times when I was aware of being able to view more than I would want people to see of myself. I should think that people on higher decks & further round under the walkway would have even more intimate views.

 

Oops. I guess no one thought of that.

[taschwab53]

I think the above in red is what has caused the sensitivity. Elite passengers are allowed to board at the same time as full suite passengers and as you say, it was announced that they could board. It appears as though you're referring to Elite (who had the right to board) as doing the crowding. Just saying that how words are phrased can mean something different from what you intended.

Today 06:32 PM

 

I had previously posted my error. I am sure there are more typos is a review that was written quickly but probably none more serious than leaving Out the NON before Elite. I really was not trying to offend anyone....

 

Nice review and the only other typo I noticed was where you meant to say "Gate Nice" instead of 'Gate Lice" :)