Considering Royal Princess

[tip]

"The One Who Must Be Obeyed" and I were scheduled to set sail tomorrow on a two week trans Panama Canal cruise originating in LA with stops on the Mexican Riviera, Costa Rica, and Colombia and finishing up in Miami. We had booked this cruise last winter. Unfortunately this summer saw my mother-in-law's health really deteriorate to the point where my wife was a care giver for 24/7 until we could find the right assisted care facility. We knew at the end of July that no way could we take a cruise and enjoy it under the circumstances, thus we cancelled which was the right thing to do. My mother-in-law has passed away in the last month and now we are looking for a cruise this January right after the holidays. Our work commitments will only allow for a shorter cruise. We had been looking at the Celebrity Silhouette, but as I have being doing research I have come across a cruise on the Royal Princess. I see some positive and negatives with it, however.

 

 

 

 

 

Positives

• A guaranteed balcony cabin is around $150 pp less than Celebrity.
  
• The Ruby Princess is brand spanking new ship.
  
• It would leave on the same day, Sunday, January 5 for seven days
  
• The itinerary is almost the same although Princess stops at St. Thomas on this cruise and not St. Kitts.
  
• We have sailed each line and enjoy both products although Celebrity has an edge in the dining category.
  
• Each line prohibits smoking on their balconies. A plus for each line!!
  

Potential Negatives

• Many (but not all) of the CC reviews have really been negative.
  
• Soot on the aft balconies--we shall not book an aft balcony.
  
• No promenade deck. Okay, we will miss it, but we will have a balcony to see the ocean and get some air.
  
• No central stairway or elevators, but we can live with that for seven days.
  
• A biggie is the fact that there have been power failures and a cruise cut short. I would like to think that the bugs will be ironed out in the next 2 1/2 months.
  
• I understand that the balconies on the Royal are small, but on the other hand there would be just the two of us and in the past we have only enjoyed a drink or a snack on balconies and not a full meal.
  
• Some forward balconies do not have plexiglass, but steel under the rail. I love to sit and watch the ocean go by.
  

So....here is what really concerns me. We can save over $300 by sailing with Princess. It is indeed a roll of the dice as the whether or not the problems with the ship will be ironed out. The two categories that we are looking at are GTY on the forward of deck 8 which would mean the theatre and/or some lounges would be beneath us meaning the potential for noise. There are also GTY balconies on the forward of decks 15/16 which we make us closer to the Lido deck which is not such a bad thing. I am concerned with what might be steel beneath the rails blocking our view. I also understand that some forward balconies can not be used while the ship is under way. That would be a bummer !

 

I know that folks can not make the decision for us, but has anyone who has been on these decks in a position to offer advice? When we first started cruising back in the day it was always with a guaranteed inside cabin and any upgrades to oceanview, (etc.) were just gravy. For the past several years we have booked balconies and don't want to be disappointed.

[Mom33]

A correction to your negative list....there are central elevators. There are also central stairs, but they are for crew only. They are opened to the public for emergencies and drills. The other elevator banks forward and aft have public stairways.

 

Although there is no wrap around Promenade deck, there is deck area for sitting and lounging on the promenade deck.

 

The big power bug appears to be fixed already.

Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide.:)

[tip]

A correction to your negative list....there are central elevators. There are also central stairs, but they are for crew only. They are opened to the public for emergencies and drills. The other elevator banks forward and aft have public stairways.

 

Although there is no wrap around Promenade deck, there is deck area for sitting and lounging on the promenade deck.

 

The big power bug appears to be fixed already.

Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide.:)

 

Thanks for clarifying. The central stairs is not a biggy, but it is good to know about the elevators. I almost always use the stairs going down.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We loved the Royal and I think many of the reviews are positive. Yes,there are some design issues but the ship is gorgeous and the positives for us FAR outweighed the design issues. We were near the forward elevators/stairs so really never noticed the center stair issue. The balcony is about 4 feet deep. The food and service were excellent and lots of wonderful food options!! I would sail her again in a heartbeat, and am looking at Baltic cruises for next summer so may very well be back on!

[toberman]

Just because you book a GTY at the front doesn't mean that's where you'll end up - it only guarantees the price. They can place you anywhere on the ship in the same category, or higher. We booked a GTY at the front on deck 10 and ended up at the rear on deck 6 which was a 3X upgrade in price, same category.

[fielddreamer]

They changed up on the obstructed balconys in front. It only depends on the deck , but the first few decks on top have only the first cabins have a obsrtucted view. They changed the metals fronts to normal plex and take a look at current photos and you will see ! Bob

[tip]

They changed up on the obstructed balconys in front. It only depends on the deck , but the first few decks on top have only the first cabins have a obsrtucted view. They changed the metals fronts to normal plex and take a look at current photos and you will see ! Bob

 

Thanks. I shall try and check that out!

[Mulege]

The tiny Royal balconies are a deal breaker for us.

[cvpends]

Why not book a particular cabin?

[curiouscat]

The Caribbean Itinerary is boring...:(

 

CC

[warnerchilcott]

The tiny Royal balconies are a deal breaker for us.

We cancelled our Oct 29th 5-day on the Royal because of this and booked a 7-day on the Carribean Princess on a Caribe deck balcony cabin. I love the half covered/half uncovered deck and the square feet! In addition, the 7-day on the Carribean Princess was a lot less money than the 5-day on the Royal.

[dmwnc1959]

My condolences on the loss of your MIL.

 

As far as picking between Royal Princess and Celebrity Silhouette, you'll have to decide what's important to you in shipboard features and amenities, read the recent Royal Princess Live threads and reviews, and weigh your options. Don't forget that 'grain of salt'. ;)

 

Personally, I could have booked any one of two dozen other ships that had a combination of features and amenities that are not available on Royal Princess, or are smaller than that found on her fleetmates. But I wanted to experience Royal Princess.

 

And I could have booked any one of several other different Caribbean itineraries, especially considering that I did this same itinerary last year on Ruby Princess but they stopped at Grand Turk and Royal Princess does not. But I wanted to experience Royal Princess.

 

I even had two other ships on deposit back in January, Norwegian Gem out of NYC and Celebrity Constellation out of FLL. Both were cancelled in favor of spending a lot more money for the vacation that I have chosen.

 

Like most people I get one vacation a year, and I'm gambling that the 2-weeks I will spend on Royal Princess in December won't be a washout. Could I have picked a 'safe' option and gone with another ship or line? Of course. But I have 'been there and done that' with a lot of other ships and lines, and I wanted something different, something new to experience.

 

And if making sure that I get cabin I want, and in the location that I want, is worth spending the extra money then I'll do it. I've worked a LOT of overtime to do just that. And I've never gone with a GTY, always a cabin assignment. If you do pick a particular cabin don't forget to mark your reservation NO UPGRADE.

 

Whatever you choose I hope you have a GREAT cruise! :D