Royal Princess Review Caribbean November 10, 2013

[lx200gps]

On the TA they used the Piazza for dance classes and lots of ballroom dancing. Did they still do that on this cruise? Was Nat' date=' the Brazilian dance instructor still on the ship? Just wondering if they had special cruise director assistants on the TA or if they are still there since Sam and Dan are still there.[/quote']

 

They sure did, lots of music, dance classes, ballroom dancing, etc, and Nat was definitely leading some of the activities in the Piazza, as well as driving my wife in her Zumba class as well. A few others also did duty with the various classes, and Sam and Dan are still #1 and #2 CDs respectively.

 

The Piazza was very heavily active the whole cruise, right down to an encore concert by the Beatles cover band mid-cruise.

[Beachdude]

In many respects, whether or not something comes off as whining can only be judged in the abstract after the fact. .

 

Wow, that was a lot to say that whining is only whining if the cruise company ignores you. While I'm not sure you really had a point, I agree that the market will weight out the whiners from the losers. LOL

 

The Royal is a very nice ship, but each of us have expectations and if new ships don't can't carry out our expectations, we have to weigh whether those expectations are worth sailing that ship again. For example, I enjoy a nice hot sauna after a good workout in the ship gym. The Royal is the first ship Ive sailed that not only doesn't provide a sauna near the gym facilities, but also requires an extra $155 where it is located. Am I being a whiner because of the change in Princess designes and policies? I don't know, but it is certainly something to consider when comparing two ships of the same price on the same intinerary.

 

We certainly can't fix small balconies, but I wonder how many folks really found that a problem. I can't say because my wonderful TA got us one of the few large covered balconies on the Baja deck. I hope I never have to whine about small balconies, but there are so many ships with big balconies that it may be a long time before we are forced to experience them.

 

Will we sail the Royal again? Hmm, sure wish they had a sauna near the gym.

 

Burt

[Mom33]

To clarify, I was referring to those few who incessantly complained about things they had yet to experience, and didn't know when to let up. An occasional expression of a justified negative opinion is good (yup, I now agree, the Vista Lounge seating could be better ;o), but some of the constant putdowns I read here fell squarely into the whining regime for me.

I was also applying the same term to the surprising number of people on board the ship with us last week, who loudly (and sometimes VERY loudly), expressed their negative opinions as hard fact. One woman walking the atrium, in a VERY loud voice yelled "This Ship Sucks!!!"

 

I studied the ship, largely through this forum, and knew every cubic millimeter of her long before we ever boarded. I was therefore surprised by nothing we saw or experienced, and our trip was everything we knew it would be. In the days leading up to the cruise, I actually had to stop reading these forums as I was getting so down and depressed about the ship from all the complaining. Fortunately, she lived up to all our expectations and WE BELIEVE, is a superb experience.

 

Jeff

 

They fall into my definition of whining also.:D ( and the beat goes on) :rolleyes:

Thanks for your comprehensive review!

Edited November 19, 2013 by Mom33

[Happy2cruise]

On the TA they used the Piazza for dance classes and lots of ballroom dancing. Did they still do that on this cruise? Was Nat' date=' the Brazilian dance instructor still on the ship? Just wondering if they had special cruise director assistants on the TA or if they are still there since Sam and Dan are still there.[/quote']

They did this on our 11/3 cruise and yes Nat was still on he ship....he was great:D

[johnmik1]

No, sorry we do not have a picture of Edgar, but if it helps, he is from the Philippines. He said he has been on cruise ships for 12 years.

 

Is this the same Edgar?

[JimmyVWine]

While I'm not sure you really had a point,...

I did, and from the balance of your post, it seems that you grasped it completely!:D

[chamima]

Wow,

 

We certainly can't fix small balconies, but I wonder how many folks really found that a problem. I can't say because my wonderful TA got us one of the few large covered balconies on the Baja deck. I hope I never have to whine about small balconies, but there are so many ships with big balconies that it may be a long time before we are forced to experience them.

 

Will we sail the Royal again? Hmm, sure wish they had a sauna near the gym.

 

Burt

 

What cabin were you in?

[Beachdude]

What cabin were you in?

 

If I tell you, then everyone will want it. Oh well, B737.

 

Burt

[chamima]

If I tell you, then everyone will want it. Oh well, B737.

 

Burt

 

Great! We're in B736!

We were looking forward to spending a lot of time on our big aft balcony but are a little concerned because of all of the reports of soot.

How did you find it?

[dedosr]

On the TA they used the Piazza for dance classes and lots of ballroom dancing. Did they still do that on this cruise? Was Nat' date=' the Brazilian dance instructor still on the ship? Just wondering if they had special cruise director assistants on the TA or if they are still there since Sam and Dan are still there.[/quote']

 

Yes they still are using it for dance classes. Yes he is still there and doing a great job. He is also very entertaining. He also assisted at the balloon toss volleyball game on the sports deck.

[dedosr]

Is this the same Edgar?

 

No it is not, but our Edgar was great also.

[chamima]

We had an "Edgar" on the old Royal Princess 2 years ago who spoiled us rotten!

He had our breakfast orders waiting for us before we came, saved desserts, had special things made, etc.

We were on the ship for 24 days and towards the end found out his real name was a complicated Filipino name and he just used Edgar so the Americans could say it correctly. ;) :p

Edited November 19, 2013 by chamima

[ne1travel]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on her in January. I do have a question regarding the Sanctuary. Last year we were unable to get the Sanctuary for the week but were able to get there early enough in the morning to book for the day. How does the daily reserve work on the Royal...you mentioned you book the day before. What time do they start taking reservations and what kind of line or time in line are we to expect?

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for providing a balanced review of the Royal. It sounds like you had some great experiences.

[lx200gps]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on her in January. I do have a question regarding the Sanctuary. Last year we were unable to get the Sanctuary for the week but were able to get there early enough in the morning to book for the day. How does the daily reserve work on the Royal...you mentioned you book the day before. What time do they start taking reservations and what kind of line or time in line are we to expect?

 

The Sanctuary booking policy on the Royal took a number of us by surprise, for sure. We raced up as soon as we got on board, arriving there around 12:30 and were met with a line of maybe six people ahead of us. We were told that the full-week slots were long gone, having been taken by the folks who were allowed to board ahead of us, but that they were actually accepting full day bookings for the next day, so we grabbed one, and it was the last time we had the Sanctuary all week.

 

The next day, lounging around and enjoying the experience, I asked the gentleman in charge, who was VERY helpful and friendly, what his experience was with the early morning lines to book for the day or half day, and it was not very good news. He told us that on the last sailing, and that very morning, the line for the next-day bookings had started to form very early, sometimes as early as 6 or 6:30AM for the 8AM opening, and that's why we didn't bother trying to book another day. He didn't really explain why they instituted the unusual policy of accepting bookings for the next day, instead of the traditional same-day bookings we're used to.

 

Still, the booking process was typical, they walk you around and show you the available loungers, so be careful if you can't take full sun, many spots are fully exposed.

[dmwnc1959]

My wife and I were on the same 11/10 sailing as the OP, coincidentally in a mini on the Riviera deck as well, and our experiences very much mirrored the OP's....

 

THANKS for sharing your actual personal experiences on Royal Princess. :D

 

 

Yes Dave,

Try the Fondue, and check out the Laser Shooting Gallery. With food, everything is subjective, you might enjoy the Fondue. I will be interested in your thoughts on the shooting range.

 

Also interested in your friends review.

 

Have a great B2B.

Steve

 

Hopefully he'll have it up tomorrow, with pictures.

 

 

 

Dave' date='

 

We did the fondue and really enjoyed it....[/quote']

 

Looking forward to giving it a whirl. :D

[cruisetrail]

Thank you for the detailed report.

 

Nice work except this terrific conclusion:

 

 

 

Taking everything into consideration, The Royal Princess is a beautiful ship. There are a few issues, but you will have that on any ship. Would I sail on the Royal again? Yes, We are booked on a New England Cruise in October 2014.

 

If I missed something or if anyone has questions, just ask!

 

In fact, none of the ships in Port Everglades that day did have major design flaws that the Royal Princess did.

Even the Carnival Freedom!

The flaws are well known.

 

Surprisingly, I found that the Royal Princess looked better in the pictures than "live".

The ship looks awqward with a blunt bow and 8 hotel floors piled up (What other ship has 8 balcony decks? Allure of the Seas!).

 

 

 

 

A rudimentary part of a supposed to have been promenade deck:

 

[nhcruiser]

Very helpful information, thanks!

[Mom33]

Thank you for the detailed report.

 

Nice work except this terrific conclusion:

 

 

 

 

In fact, none of the ships in Port Everglades that day did have major design flaws that the Royal Princess did.

Even the Carnival Freedom!

The flaws are well known.

 

Surprisingly, I found that the Royal Princess looked better in the pictures than "live".

The ship looks awqward with a blunt bow and 8 hotel floors piled up (What other ship has 8 balcony decks? Allure of the Seas!).

 

 

 

 

A rudimentary part of a supposed to have been promenade deck:

 

 

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. :) I agree with deodsr... the Royal is a beautiful ship!:D

[ne1travel]

The Sanctuary booking policy on the Royal took a number of us by surprise, for sure. We raced up as soon as we got on board, arriving there around 12:30 and were met with a line of maybe six people ahead of us. We were told that the full-week slots were long gone, having been taken by the folks who were allowed to board ahead of us, but that they were actually accepting full day bookings for the next day, so we grabbed one, and it was the last time we had the Sanctuary all week.

 

The next day, lounging around and enjoying the experience, I asked the gentleman in charge, who was VERY helpful and friendly, what his experience was with the early morning lines to book for the day or half day, and it was not very good news. He told us that on the last sailing, and that very morning, the line for the next-day bookings had started to form very early, sometimes as early as 6 or 6:30AM for the 8AM opening, and that's why we didn't bother trying to book another day. He didn't really explain why they instituted the unusual policy of accepting bookings for the next day, instead of the traditional same-day bookings we're used to.

 

Still, the booking process was typical, they walk you around and show you the available loungers, so be careful if you can't take full sun, many spots are fully exposed.

 

On our cruise on the Caribbean Princess last year we did the get up early and be in line to book for "that same day". Just to be clear, are you saying on the Royal we need to be in line early in the morning for the "next day" reservations?

Thanks again for such a great review.

[TorontoTL]

Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews, very detailed and informative.

[lx200gps]

On our cruise on the Caribbean Princess last year we did the get up early and be in line to book for "that same day". Just to be clear, are you saying on the Royal we need to be in line early in the morning for the "next day" reservations?

Thanks again for such a great review.

 

You're quite welcome, thanks for the kind words.

 

Yes, on the Nov 10 sailing of the Royal out of FLL, the Sanctuary was taking reservations every day FOR THE NEXT DAY. So when we raced up on embarkation day, and found the full week bookings were long gone, we were able to book for the next day, as there were still a very few spots left. Anyone who went up early the next day to try and get slots for that day were disappointed

 

It was confusing for all of us, and the staff, despite being very friendly and helpful, didn't really explain why the new policy was put in place, or how stable and long-lasting it would be

 

...and I'm sure NOT going to promise they won't change it back to the "old" way ;o( All I can say is race up there as soon as you board and find out what the policy is. If you are Platinum or Elite, you'll have a great head start. As I mentioned, the Maitre'd, a very helpful and true gentleman, also told us he was very surprised at how early the line was forming each morning to book for the next day.

[Beachdude]

Great! We're in B736!

We were looking forward to spending a lot of time on our big aft balcony but are a little concerned because of all of the reports of soot.

How did you find it?

 

Actually the balcony is only have covered, about five to six feet I would say. Compared to the rest of the ship, it is plenty of cover for getting out of the rain and mid afternoon sun to read a book.

 

The cover didn't seem to help the soot problem as much as you would think. We had soot up to the door. The best way we found to prevent soot on the chairs is place them next to the door facing the cabin. Then fold the chair back down into the seat. Also, don't go out bare footed.

 

The the cabin steward will clean your balcony everyday, so morning is mainly the problem. However, we had some friends visit for a few minutes about 3:00 in the afternoon. We were only on the balcony for five minutes at most, but ended up throwing away our drinks from the floating soot. That was strange because we typically didn't have a problem during the day.

 

Rain at night prevents soot from getting on the balconies and cleans them as well.

 

We still ended up enjoying the balcony, but it was a hassle to make sure an not get the soot on our clothes or white Princess robes.

 

Have a great trip, we sure did.

 

Burt

[Oxo]

Just got off of Royal and Cabin M103 (front of ship above Bridge) was great. Used balcony even at sea! Balcony big compare to others (10' x 9'.) You can use unless you are in a storm or very high winds. Ship is beautiful. Some minor complaints:

1. Getting on was very long.

2. No shade on pool deck and Retreat pool.

3. When will Princess replace the shower curtains with shower doors?

4. Why not allow passengers to view Charges on TV rather than signing in to another web site, even though it is frew?

Edited November 20, 2013 by Oxo

[cruisetrail]

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Very true.

That's why the Carnival Ecstasy has so many lovers.

 

My point was: a good impression of the report has been spoiled by a generalization that has nothing to do with the reality.:)

Lapsus (like that one in the end) often turn the whole reviews into different light.