LIVE from the Royal Princess - 30 days, Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale - 9/27 - 10/27

[san diego sue]

ON Royal, our cabin C252 had wonderful internet access. Never a problem the whole cruise . I did notice the internet cafe was always packed. We use a net book. My husband had a Ipod.

 

Elite , Plat. lounge was in Club 6 (on deck 6). Really small compared to Skywalkers on the other ships. The Goodies were less and in a little corner of lounge.

[Woobstr112G]

An early good evening from the Royal Princess. It is about 1715 local time as we head toward Messina. Right now the weather is dreary (no rain). It is a little humid and is looking like it is going to rain but just a few drops as of this posting.

Yesterday for sail away, I had invited a number of fellow roll call members attend a sail away get together on my balcony. Everyone, with the exception of a few showed up. A great time was had by all. Today was our meet and greet in the Vista lounge. I wasn't feeling well so I unfortunately I did not attend. I really feel bad missing it, but I wanted to rest up a bit for the upcoming five port stops in a row.

The Royal, for the most part, continues to shine. I did have a run in today with two very rude crew members. One worked at the passenger services desk while the other was running the shorex desk. Both kinda put a little damper on the day for me.

Tonight is our first formal night. DW and I will be going to dinner at the CG and are looking forward to it.

A couple of additional observations. The concierge room (suite passengers) is a pretty cool place. They have light snacks and a cappuccino machine. I've had a bit of luck in the casino to this point. So far, I'm up about $450.00.

My OS suite continues to disappoint me. I paid a great deal of money for the right to stay in two closets for 18 days. I would urge anyone who has an OS booked on the Royal or Regal to reconsider. For what you get, it is a true waste of money.

Bob

[dmwnc1959]

Bob - Very sorry to hear that the suite you had so been looking forward to has become such a source of continuing disappointment. :(

 

And the two staff at the Customer Service Desk and Shore Excursions Desk must have transferred from Ruby Princess? Sound exactly like the pair that decidedly dampened a good chunk of my last cruise.

 

Hope you get to feeling better and enjoy the upcoming ports.

[gracie65]

Great pics Dave..Wonder if anyone can spot Bob, Pam or Pia on their balcony?!

 

 

Maybe Dave can show us his arrow thingy where they would have been standing!!LOL

[Dorset Cruiser]

My DD's parents in law have just returned on Wednesday from 2 weeks in Umbria and it rained every day at some point but still warm I believe. Hope the weather changes for you all :(

[Bimmer09]

An early good evening from the Royal Princess. It is about 1715 local time as we head toward Messina. Right now the weather is dreary (no rain). It is a little humid and is looking like it is going to rain but just a few drops as of this posting.

Yesterday for sail away, I had invited a number of fellow roll call members attend a sail away get together on my balcony. Everyone, with the exception of a few showed up. A great time was had by all. Today was our meet and greet in the Vista lounge. I wasn't feeling well so I unfortunately I did not attend. I really feel bad missing it, but I wanted to rest up a bit for the upcoming five port stops in a row.

The Royal, for the most part, continues to shine. I did have a run in today with two very rude crew members. One worked at the passenger services desk while the other was running the shorex desk. Both kinda put a little damper on the day for me.

Tonight is our first formal night. DW and I will be going to dinner at the CG and are looking forward to it.

A couple of additional observations. The concierge room (suite passengers) is a pretty cool place. They have light snacks and a cappuccino machine. I've had a bit of luck in the casino to this point. So far, I'm up about $450.00.

My OS suite continues to disappoint me. I paid a great deal of money for the right to stay in two closets for 18 days. I would urge anyone who has an OS booked on the Royal or Regal to reconsider. For what you get, it is a true waste of money.

Bob

 

Bob, I am surprised to hear about the rude employees in such customer-facing jobs. If you have time can you elaborate? If you want to just forget and move on (assisted by a drink with an umbrella poking out of it) I can understand.

 

I cancelled a suite on the Royal without setting foot in it (found an itinerary on the Caribbean Princess that appealed more) so would love to hear more details from you on the OS. I had C739 booked.

 

Wishing you a more relaxing cruise from here on in!

 

Norris

in Chicago

[curiouscat]

Bob, I am surprised to hear about the rude employees in such customer-facing jobs. If you have time can you elaborate? If you want to just forget and move on (assisted by a drink with an umbrella poking out of it) I can understand.

 

I cancelled a suite on the Royal without setting foot in it (found an itinerary on the Caribbean Princess that appealed more) so would love to hear more details from you on the OS. I had C739 booked.

 

Wishing you a more relaxing cruise from here on in!

 

Norris

in Chicago

 

Woobster.. if you can take pics to post that would help a great deal.. sad that it disappoints...:(

 

CC

[compozer]

 

My OS suite continues to disappoint me. I paid a great deal of money for the right to stay in two closets for 18 days. I would urge anyone who has an OS booked on the Royal or Regal to reconsider. For what you get, it is a true waste of money.

 

Bob

Bob,

I screwed up somehow and posted a question to you on another thread when you talked about the DVD player not working so thought I would repeat my questions here.

 

But this comment really bothers me. I have one booked for Christmas and like you, booked it when they first opened but now I'm not sure. It is costing me more than I have ever paid per day even for the GS. And I just made my final payment last week.

 

So, getting back to my questions. Do they still have the DVD library for suite passengers or is it gone with the player not working?

On all the pictures of the stern I have seen here, the suites only had two chairs with the balcony table. How many do you have? If only two did you ask your steward if it is possible to get two more? We have always had four.

 

No one has ever talked about the wrap around balcony. How is it?

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

Hope things improve for you so you can have a wonderful cruise.

[CruzNut7]

Pia - been wondering about how they can play trivia in Princess Live. From Dave's pictures, it looked like the chairs/seats were in permanent position without tables. So how do they work it for teams of 6? I've played lots of trivia but never alphabet trivia - how does that work?

Thanks for the answer re the prizes.

Continue to have fun

[Pam in CA]

Re: in-cabin WiFi

 

There are a few cabins apparently that don't have it. Guess I'm one. No "Royal Princess" option shows on the WiFi list. I've found that if I go outside my cabin, check WiFi, the Royal shows up. I can select it, come inside and I then have WiFi. If I leave the WiFi on, it's there. If I turn my phone/iPad off to Airplane mode, I have to repeat the process. At least I've found a workaround.

 

Went to the buffet for dinner instead of dressing up. The Platinum/Elite lounge on this cruise is in the Vista Lounge because there are at least 1,200 Elite and many more Platinum. Otherwise, I understand it's in Club 6.

[Shogun]

Hi Bob

Sorry to hear you were a bit under the weather hope you are better now

 

Rude crew is not something you should have to put up with

 

If l recall right Rai said no DVD movies as ship had on demand movies in all cabins

 

I found the Royal are complex ship you come across a great feature then next minute something that leaves you asking what was Princess thinking

 

Pam

 

Assume you do not have a wi fi transmitter out side your cabin l found l had excellent signal strength when it was working but when onboard there was loads of tec folk with lap tops plugged into the access panels in the passenger corridors trying to get things working

 

Wishing all on the Royal a happy and safe crossing

 

Yours Shogun

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[SewLady]

Funnyfingers,

 

Thanks for the review. I'm not gluten free but both of my nieces have Celiac (and my Dr. thinks maybe I'm sensitive), so I'll ask for the bread recipe when I'm on board.

 

Hi Abby

 

Nice to see you posting. It has been a long time since our wonderful Antarctica cruise.

 

We have a cruise on the Island coming up, then next year, back to back on the Regal. We have been cruising a lot, but not as much this year.

 

Maybe we will be on the same cruise again one of these days. Do post your thoughts on the Royal.

 

Linda

[galelynn]

Here's the sailaway.

 

[ATTACH]289405[/ATTACH]

 

My standard balcony cabin:

 

[ATTACH]289406[/ATTACH]

 

I know this is a shocker but we did Anytime last night and no wait. It was fine.

 

Have to admit that I do miss the mid-ship stairs. Not a deal breaker but I wish I could walk up or down the one flight to my cabin.

 

Pam,

 

We are in M508 for the TA crossing in April 2014, how is the noise from the Horizon Court? Is the overhang, out more than other cabin? Hope they have wifi by then. Thanks.

 

Lynn

[Woobstr112G]

Good evening from the Royal Princess. It’s about 2300 local time and I’m just getting ready to turn in after an evening of formal night activities. I always enjoy getting dressed up in my rental tux for the night’s activities. I had forgotten to try on my tux yesterday so I was worried that it wouldn’t fit. Luck was on my side however as it fit perfectly.

 

I started the evening watching the champagne waterfall in the Piazza. It was very well attended and is always a fun event. I watched the event from a seat in Crooners bar. I always do this with one of my trusty 007 martinis by my side. The martini was very good, but the bar service left something to be desired. I was sitting right next to the bar and after I had finished my martini it took almost 30 minutes for one of the bartenders to ask me if I wanted another one. Bar service on the Royal to this point is abysmal. I had a second experience in the casino earlier in the day wherein I was sitting at a slot machine for around 45 minutes with not being asked if I wanted something to drink. In addition to Crooners, I tried out the Ocean View Seafood bar. The “snack” I had was quite good and the service was acceptable.

 

DW and I had dinner at the Crown Grill. The food was very good. The service however was sorely lacking. We stood at the entrance for around 15 minutes before the person in charge came up and seated us. His attitude was also somewhat aloof and not very customer orientated. Our waiter however was nice. He did however forget to bring one side dish that I had ordered.

 

One thing I really don’t like about the CG is the way the Wheelhouse bar is set up adjacent to it. There was a piano player there who was good but the music combined with the audience participation made it very hard to enjoy a nice quiet dinner.

 

That’s about all for now. Some may take my comments as being rather negative. I would say however that they are honest observations about what I experienced.

 

Take Care All

 

Bob

 

p.s. Shgun, re: the DVD players. Rai did say that but in case you didn't know, Princess was still marketing the suites on the Royal as having a DVD player. Princess also told me this personally last week when I called them last week.

Edited October 11, 2013 by Woobstr112G

[sunsetbeachgal]

Bob,

 

Give the Bellni bar a try for your evening drink. There was a young lady waitress there in July that was excellent.

[Shogun]

Hi Bob and all

 

I was told that Princess knew that the TA would bring a hard core of experienced Princess cruisers onboard and that there was a plan to meet their higher expectations from reading peoples posts there seems to be an overall failing to meet these

 

As to info given out by Princess was talking to Director just today that Princess is not good about getting its facts right more often than not elite cruisers know way more about the Princess product than many staff do

 

Bob please post your thoughts and views others may agree or not but this is your cruise and only you can tell us about it.

 

Others may receive better or worse service but only by having a number of views can folks get the overall picture

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[#1winelover]

Good evening from the Royal Princess. It’s about 2300 local time and I’m just getting ready to turn in after an evening of formal night activities. ......The martini was very good, but the bar service left something to be desired. I was sitting right next to the bar and after I had finished my martini it took almost 30 minutes for one of the bartenders to ask me if I wanted another one. Bar service on the Royal to this point is abysmal. I had a second experience in the casino earlier in the day wherein I was sitting at a slot machine for around 45 minutes with not being asked if I wanted something to drink. In addition to Crooners, I tried out the Ocean View Seafood bar. The “snack” I had was quite good and the service was acceptable.

 

DW and I had dinner at the Crown Grill. The food was very good. The service however was sorely lacking.

One thing I really don’t like about the CG is the way the Wheelhouse bar is set up adjacent to it. There was a piano player there who was good but the music combined with the audience participation made it very hard to enjoy a nice quiet dinner.

 

That’s about all for now. Some may take my comments as being rather negative. I would say however that they are honest observations about what I experienced.

 

Take Care All

 

Bob

 

Hi Bob! I have to say that your insight is absolutely enriching! I enjoy seeing honest and truthful reports about what is happening onboard!! Your comments about the SERVICE you DID NOT receive is of prime importance to me. I may end up in the brig when I board because NO ONE stands between me and my wine! There WILL be repercussions!! And I most certainly will be calling the manager on duty to resolve the issue ASAP!

 

As for "music/sound seep" into other areas.....this is unfortunately a design flaw! Too late to fix it now, but perhaps some sound screens to muffle somewhat, the disturbance into dining areas would help.

 

Keep posting, Bob. I really enjoy reading your posts! Look forward to meeting up with you one day soon!

[san diego sue]

I don't think the Cruise Critic group is more critical than the average cruiser.

Good or bad service is recognized by everyone.

Having just gotten off the ship , I thought all the service was pretty good except for our wait staff. I do believe the particular person won't be on board for long.

As a Elite member, I don't judge a ship by a one time experience.Staff changes regularly and six months from now, a cruisers experience can be totally different.

In my opinion, there are indeed design flaws. Would that stop me from cruising on the Royal again, No.

In fact will be on board again next year for the 25 day Berlin to NYC cruise.

[spyro1952]

Well, made it to the Hotel Saturnia in Venice but not without some adventures. Slept well last night so I'm feeling far more human and less grumpy than yesterday. We'd made arrangements with the Sofitel Heathrow yesterday for a wheelchair and porter for Nancy at 5:30am. Checked out, no porter or wheelchair. We wound up having to schlep our luggage back to the terminal and check-in. Not a bad walk for me but difficult for Nancy. BA almost redeemed themselves as the crew were terrific and very helpful. Ran into some old cruising friends on the plane but they're on another ship. Got to VCE, BA was terrific getting Nancy off the plane, through Immigration and got our bags. Then, the wheelchair person told Nancy to get up and walk while I lugged all our bags. Met the Princess rep and she had no assistance to get Nancy to the water taxi. A porter took our bags but it was a bit if a hike for her. Getting on the water taxi (in the rain) was quite an adventure; getting off at the hotel was downright awful. We had to literally jump from the taxi to the hotel steps. It wasn't easy for me but horrible for Nancy but she finally did it. I told the Princess rep that if it's like that tomorrow getting to the ship, they better have "Plan B" ready. The issue is flooding and a mid-day high tide so there is a big (2-3') gap between the hotel's landing steps and the water taxi with no railings or other assistance plus they're at different heights. My jumping days are long gone. Our rooms were ready and the hotel manager remembered us from our last stay (2005.) We must be memorable but actually, the reason is that he vacations in Laguna Beach every couple of years and had remembered our discussions of LB. Relaxing now. It's raining so I may not do much today.

 

Pam, I don't want to hijack Pia's thread but I read your post re: the difficulty you had with DS and the mobility issue. Things happen for a reason and my Mom would have never made it without a lot of assistance which sounded like it was unavailable. Enjoying reading the thread and hope you are all having a great time.

I'm sorry I missed it but actually booked 2 cruises: Nov on the Emerald and the Grand in Jan to Hawaii. See u in Sept in Copenhagen.

Marcia (Colorado)

[Woobstr112G]

Woobster.. if you can take pics to post that would help a great deal.. sad that it disappoints...:(

 

CC

 

I will try to upload some pictures when I get to a wifi hotspot somewhere. Using the ship's internet is a pain as it is at a snail pace (as expected) slow. Not worried about the internet minutes it just takes forever.....:):):)

 

Bob

[trbarton]

An early good evening from the Royal Princess. It is about 1715 local time as we head toward Messina. Right now the weather is dreary (no rain). It is a little humid and is looking like it is going to rain but just a few drops as of this posting.

 

Yesterday for sail away, I had invited a number of fellow roll call members attend a sail away get together on my balcony. Everyone, with the exception of a few showed up. A great time was had by all. Today was our meet and greet in the Vista lounge. I wasn't feeling well so I unfortunately I did not attend. I really feel bad missing it, but I wanted to rest up a bit for the upcoming five port stops in a row.

 

The Royal, for the most part, continues to shine. I did have a run in today with two very rude crew members. One worked at the passenger services desk while the other was running the shorex desk. Both kinda put a little damper on the day for me.

 

Tonight is our first formal night. DW and I will be going to dinner at the CG and are looking forward to it.

 

A couple of additional observations. The concierge room (suite passengers) is a pretty cool place. They have light snacks and a cappuccino machine. I've had a bit of luck in the casino to this point. So far, I'm up about $450.00.

 

My OS suite continues to disappoint me. I paid a great deal of money for the right to stay in two closets for 18 days. I would urge anyone who has an OS booked on the Royal or Regal to reconsider. For what you get, it is a true waste of money.

 

Bob

 

Woobstr112G:

 

Thanks for your post and mentioning the time where you are when posting. It helps us readers to see what time it is where you are.

 

Tom:)

[Woobstr112G]

Bob,

I screwed up somehow and posted a question to you on another thread when you talked about the DVD player not working so thought I would repeat my questions here.

 

But this comment really bothers me. I have one booked for Christmas and like you, booked it when they first opened but now I'm not sure. It is costing me more than I have ever paid per day even for the GS. And I just made my final payment last week.

 

So, getting back to my questions. Do they still have the DVD library for suite passengers or is it gone with the player not working?

On all the pictures of the stern I have seen here, the suites only had two chairs with the balcony table. How many do you have? If only two did you ask your steward if it is possible to get two more? We have always had four.

 

No one has ever talked about the wrap around balcony. How is it?

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

Hope things improve for you so you can have a wonderful cruise.

 

There are no DVD players for any suites. This is despite Princess marketing the DVD perk as one of their suite perks (as of last week). I was also told this by a Princess CS rep when I called them last week. There are HDMI hook ups but they do not work with attached devices. Our balcony is the only good thing about the cabin. It is absolutely huge. Our Dolphin suit also has the most overhang which provides some shade. We have a round wood table with two chairs. The table is too small to accommodate four chairs IMHO. We also have two wooden recliner loungers.

Regarding the cost factor, if I would have known when I upgraded what I know now, II would have never booked the OS. IMHO it iis a big waste of money for what you actually get.

Bob

0533 local time.

[Pia1913]

Good Saturday morning from Messina (Sicily). This will be a quickie; we need to meet our tour at 7:15. Just a little bit of local info for you. Between the fall of the Rome and the 1866 unification of Italy, the Arabs, the Normans, the Germans, the Spanish and the French, all ruled Sicily. This is also the home of Mt. Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. Etna still has frequent eruptions.

Didn’t do a thing last night other than attend our friends’ lovely vow renewal ceremony and have dinner. We wanted to make it an early night because of having to get up much earlier this morning.

I must comment on Bob’s suite balcony. It’s fantastic. To die for. We loved it. All woodsy and beautiful. But, Bob's experiences around the ship are not ours. We've had nothing but courtesy and friendliness from the front desk and greetings by all with whom we come in contact.

A brief description of what’s on board today is nothing in the morning.

1. Afternoon movie: “Unfinished Song” in the theater

2. Assorted games and spa moneymakers

3. Evening is vocalist Paul Baker in the theater

4. MUTS at night: Parental Guidance

5. Assorted music games in Vista

　

Gotta run. It's 6:20 and I need coffee. Bye.

[rdsqrl]

Good morning, Pia. It's wine time here for me; I shall toast to you and to dormant volcanoes!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

From Messina.

For a new ship , the bridge cam is not transmitting a very good picture. The ones from Venice were so bad I did not post them.

 

Thanks once again for the pics of Royal in the Canal.They were excellent .:)