Princess Cruises to Tweak Regal Princess Design

[Tapi]

Now the big question is: Will they relocate the toilet paper holder in the cabins?? :eek:

[Bimmer09]

Interesting to hear that Princess is tweaking the Regal.

 

Careful what you ask for.

 

The DW and I just did a B2B recently and found the Royal beautiful.

 

 

I'm not sure what an aft pool will bring to the enjoyment of sailing on the Regal or the Royal. All three (Retreat, Fountain, & Plunge) got cozy at times but so does any pool on any ship. So what will a 4th pool bring? .

 

Marty

 

I think an aft pool would give those who don't want MUTS blasting at them a nice quieter place to Escape Completely and watch the wake to remind them they are on a ship.

 

The balconies you mention are a step-backwards in passenger comfort. OK for two only, not for two plus UBD or two plus new friends stopping by for drinks.

 

They remind me of the rubbish balconies on the Carnival Dream but at least they have a sliding door not a swing open in an arc that cuts down on balcony space.

 

Ship designers don't always have passengers in mind when designing- Joe Farcus being the prime example.

 

I see the Royal Princess Promenade or lack of allows the lifeboats to be four feet lower than those on the Grand Class ships...but still you can't get into them unless a crew member is lowering them on a winch....keep the promenade deck and raise them another 5 feet where they belong until needed. The furniture on an uncovered "promenade deck" (think "rain") is another bonehead move.

 

Anyway, it's immaterial to me really as I am not passionate about sailing on either of Princess' new builds, but I am passionate against poorly-considered designs when it comes to ships. You start with a clean sheet of paper...and some ideas,( plus some learned best-practices) hopefully good ones otherwise....it's back to the drawing board which is what we have here.

 

Norris

[L454S]

 

Folks, why do you cruise? Because of large balconies, a central staircase, an aft pool or a Promenade Deck you can walk around. We cruise for vacation, the itinerary, the ship (a new experience) relaxation, or any number of reasons. Do we really want cookie cutter ships that all look the same, feel the same and offer all the same things? Or do we want an adventure?

 

Marty

 

Marty, this first sentence says it perfectly. Yes, we cruise for large balconies(spend a lot of time there). Yes, we cruise for a Promenade Deck, on longer cruises with sea days it is a nice feature for us. Staircase I can see as a plus, but not a dealbreaker. I don't think Princess would have to build cookie cutter ships to incorporate these positive aspects.

[hubofhockey]

"Designing a prototype ship three years out is not an exact science and there are always opportunities to improve upon the original concepts based on real operational experience," a Princess Cruises spokeswoman told Cruise Critic.

 

In other words, "We realled screwed up. What were we thinking?"

 

My only problem with any of this is that the team that put together the Royal Princess get a total FAIL in the design. I'll be on it next summer, thankfully, for a cruise in nice cool weather with mainly port days. After this initial season, they should keep the Royal out of the Caribbean. No thank you.

[dmwnc1959]

 

My only problem with any of this is that the team that put together the Royal Princess get a total FAIL in the design. I'll be on it next summer...

 

In all of my 48 cruises never have I booked a ship in which beforehand I considered every single aspect of that ships design a total fail. If I thought that of a ship, I never would book it regardless of itinerary or price.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I had heard this from someone who should know while on the Royal Princess but didn't dare hope. Very happy about both changes.

[Sunviking]

I think it's great that people have sailed on the Royal and loved her and many of her new features. It does look like there are some amazing things that have been added. We were booked on the maiden transatlantic in an aft suite and we decided to cancel after looking at the plans because we are among those evidently odd people that really do spend time in our cabin and use our balcony a lot. As a previous poster wrote:

 

We cruise for vacation, the itinerary, the ship (a new experience) relaxation, or any number of reasons.

 

For us in order to enjoy our cruise vacation, we don't need a huge piazza or many new dining venues. We would rather forego those and have a large and comfortably appointed cabin and balcony. We frequently entertain friends in our cabin so those are important to us. Good food, good service and good company added to that make for a wonderful and relaxing vacation for us. Other people have different needs and ideas and I respect that. Nothing we've read about the Royal since she began sailing has made us regret our decision to cancel and we have found our cruising niche. I've been on 37 cruises on a variety of lines and ships. I don't need to sail on a ship to know if there are things I may like or dislike about it. Deck plans can give me lots of information.

[5:00_Somewhere]

....

Now as far as a central staircase. Really!! Now I have to say we had a cabin on the Riviera Deck and almost as for forward as you can get. So we used the forward and aft elevators to get anywhere. Mostly the stairs and I can honestly say not too many people used those stairs. So does a central staircase from deck 7 to deck 15 mean that much when most people will not use the stairs. There were 6 elevators in that area, six. There where stairs there but for the crew and in case of an emergency the stairs were open for use

 

.....

 

I just wanted to add my own thoughts on this topic. Before we boarded, I had heard people express concerns about the lack of a midships staircase, and did not think it would be a big deal. However, we had an aft Riviera Deck cabin, and I quickly realized how incredibly inconvenient it was that we had to walk through the extensive new Horizon Court to get anywhere on the Lido Deck or above. We spent most of our on deck time at the Retreat pool, so made this trek frequently. Was it a deal breaker for me? No. But it did demonstrate the utility of that central staircase on the Grand Class ships. Just my 2 centavos. ;)

[RickEk]

I've mentioned this before, but it seems that a lot of the Royal's Promenade design deficiencies flow from the "all-balcony" mandate. If the Emerald deck cabins were oceanviews (like on most other Princess ships), then that would have allowed for a proper Promenade...

[kruisey]

I certainly will consider booking this ship at a later date if circumstances allow me to.

One of my favorite things to do on sea days is my walk along the promenade deck after breakfast looking at the ocean..:)

[Happy2cruise]

A big THANK YOU to Princess for making these changes. People who doubt the importance of the opinions voiced on this board, (whether or not the one complaining has been on the ship), are crazy. This is the single most important website for CRITIC-izing the industry and the industry pays attention and reacts. Sorry if the complaints and opinions of members here have come off as "whining". But when you order your cocktail at the aft bar and lounge in the aft pool, and then stroll the Promenade after dinner, you can raise your glass to the whiners. And while it may be too late for Regal, I'll bet you never see another ship without a cental staircase, thanks to the whiners.

Very well put;)

[JimmyVWine]

Careful what you ask for....

 

Here is my observation.

 

Yes, we found the balcony smaller than other ships we have cruised on. However, we enjoyed the balcony none the less. Unless you are expecting to throw a large party out there what do you really need?...How much space do you really need?

This particular observation, (and you certainly aren't the first or only one to express it), frustrates me to no end. Let's revisit what has been said many times, but doesn't seem to sink in. Royal was/is marketed as a great ship for families. Indeed, the Youth areas are the best in the fleet. And a substantial number of the port and starboard cabins are designed and marked on the deck plan as accomodating a third or even fourth passenger. On Marina deck, the number of such cabins is 130 out of 186 (70%). On Baja deck, the number is 98 out of 190 (52%). So exactly how many of these balconies can accomodate more than two people? A grand total of 24 larger, angled balconies mid-ship. So on these two decks alone, including Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, Mini-Suites and Premium Mini-Suites, there are 24 cabins out of 376 (6%) with balconies that can hold more than two people. People who vacation as families do not consider putting three or four people on a balcony as "throwing a large party". The whole: "it was big enough for the two of us so it will be big enough for you" attitude does not fly on a ship that has 50% of its cabins designed to be occupied by more than two people. "How much space do you really need?" you ask, rhetorically. How about, an amount of space sufficient for all paying passengers to use and enjoy that for which they paid. Imagine showing up at the MDR on the first night only to have the maitre'd tell you that two people can fit at the assigned dinner table, but the third person will have to dine at the buffet. Behind every post that suggests that "two people fit just fine so stop your belly aching" lies an uncaring or unappreciative attitude toward the fact that not everyone who cruises does so as a couple. Sure, there are those 6% of angled balconies that parties of three/four can try to book. But 6% is a pretty weak number when over 50% of the cabins are designed to hold 3+ people. That leaves an awful lot of people to draw staws to see which two can use the balcony.

 

 

Special thanks to you' date=' JimmyVWine, for leading the way with eloquence and in defense of free speech. Thanks so much.[/quote']

Thanks for that. It gets bruising every now and then. But it's all good.

[Avalon35]

This particular observation, (and you certainly aren't the first or only one to express it), frustrates me to no end. Let's revisit what has been said many times, but doesn't seem to sink in. Royal was/is marketed as a great ship for families. Indeed, the Youth areas are the best in the fleet. And a substantial number of the port and starboard cabins are designed and marked on the deck plan as accomodating a third or even fourth passenger. On Marina deck, the number of such cabins is 130 out of 186 (70%). On Baja deck, the number is 98 out of 190 (52%). So exactly how many of these balconies can accomodate more than two people? A grand total of 24 larger, angled balconies mid-ship. So on these two decks alone, including Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, Mini-Suites and Premium Mini-Suites, there are 24 cabins out of 376 (6%) with balconies that can hold more than two people. People who vacation as families do not consider putting three or four people on a balcony as "throwing a large party". The whole: "it was big enough for the two of us so it will be big enough for you" attitude does not fly on a ship that has 50% of its cabins designed to be occupied by more than two people. "How much space do you really need?" you ask, rhetorically. How about, an amount of space sufficient for all paying passengers to use and enjoy that for which they paid. Imagine showing up at the MDR on the first night only to have the maitre'd tell you that two people can fit at the assigned dinner table, but the third person will have to dine at the buffet. Behind every post that suggests that "two people fit just fine so stop your belly aching" lies an uncaring or unappreciative attitude toward the fact that not everyone who cruises does so as a couple. Sure, there are those 6% of angled balconies that parties of three/four can try to book. But 6% is a pretty weak number when over 50% of the cabins are designed to hold 3+ people. That leaves an awful lot of people to draw staws to see which two can use the balcony.

 

 

 

Thanks for that. It gets bruising every now and then. But it's all good.

I agree about balcony size- in a different fashion. First, I like big balconies for the two of us because we simply enjoy the larger balcony size. So, I too was initially put off when I first read about the balconies, until I could find the larger ones (thanks to tips from CC'ers). On the other hand, I also like knowing that in general the balconies are restrictive (i.e. small), perhaps as a filter specifically when it comes to families travelling as it might mean less children on this type of cruise ship. (So flame me) There are plenty of cruise lines with larger balconies for families to take advantage including the other Princess ships. Princess does not really discount for extra folks in the cabin as does Carnival. So perhaps they do have a target demographic after all for this type of ship?

[JimmyVWine]

...I also like knowing that in general the balconies are restrictive (i.e. small), perhaps as a filter specifically when it comes to families travelling as it might mean less children on this type of cruise ship. (So flame me) There are plenty of cruise lines with larger balconies for families to take advantage including the other Princess ships.

 

So why did they spend all that money to make state of the art Youth areas if they were trying to "filter" out families? Why mark your deck plan to show that over 50% of the cabins can hold more than two people? There is nothing inherently wrong with an "adults only" ship. But Princess did not build this ship as an Azamara ship nor does it market it as P&O does its "adults only" ships. To the contrary, there are copious references to family cruising on the Princess website as it pertains to Royal. So while the small balconies may have the effect of filtering out families, I do not believe for a minute that this was their hidden agenda.

[Avalon35]

For family cruising, I would look to Disney, Carnival and RCL large ships before Princess . I think Princess wants to accommodate families. I wouldn't call their children's facilities state of the art. And why would they combine some of their age groups when there are too few children? And which restaurant on the ship caters to children? Where are the ice shows. climbing walls, pool slides, towel animals, characters, hamburger joints ? I just think Princess targets a different demographic irrespective of balcony size.

[Rick-cruiser]

.

Jimmy, I've been reading many of your posts on the Princess boards for a long time.... I must tell you that each time I read them (especially those in which you give such thorough analysis and relevant analogies) I find myself nodding and thinking "that's exactly right".. Your viewpoint is not based solely on knee-jerk reaction or abject emotion - but rather on well thought out consideration, common sense, and logical reasoning...Your posts are eloquently written, and very often expresses the thoughts and viewpoints of so many on here... including me.. So thank you for that.. You often save me time in having to post.. J

 

When I started a thread in April (before the first sailing of the Royal) about "No Central Staircase On The Royal Will Be A Royal Pain", there were a few that stated that this was absolutely ridiculous, would prove to not be an issue at all, and accused me of "bashing" a ship before I had even sailed on her.. It was like I was attacking their first-born (I still don't get that.. but those are their issues).. I tried to explain that I personally did not need to sail on a ship to know which features I like and which I don’t.. (I also don’t like the fact that they took away the Explorer's lounge... a favorite spot of ours as it has very comfortable seating / leg room, the seats are arranged in groups of 6-8, and is the perfect venue for group games such as trivia/shows/gatherings/etc.). My thread was two-fold – Firstly, to inform fellow CCers of the lack of a central staircase and give some examples as to some of the potential issues/frustrations it may cause.. Secondly, to infer to Princess that they may have made a mistake, and perhaps they should take a closer look at the possible ramifications of their decision..

 

Well flash forward 7 months, and nearly every review mentions this lack of the central staircase - causing frustration, inconvenience, and arguments/fights amongst passengers trying to get onto the center elevators.. Even reviews with an overall positive rating of the ship often mention this one design issue.. I’m not a complainer by nature (in fact I’m the complete opposite), but how does it hurt to point out to Princess an obvious condition that they can easily fix and then incorporate into future renditions of their ships?. Certainly the people who don’t miss the central staircase won’t complain, and the ones that do will heartily rejoice – and perhaps change their mind about booking these ships.. It’s a win-win for everybody, including Princess.

 

Princess has already listened and is now consequently bringing back the Promenade deck and the aft pool.. Next (hopefully) will be the previous larger-sized balconies, comfortable theatre seating (side aisles, more leg room, drink trays) and the Explorer’s lounge.. So instead of complaining about us “moaners”, how about maybe thanking us?

.

- Rick

.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Rick-cruiser

[hubofhockey]

For family cruising, I would look to Disney, Carnival and RCL large ships before Princess . I think Princess wants to accommodate families. I wouldn't call their children's facilities state of the art. And why would they combine some of their age groups when there are too few children? And which restaurant on the ship caters to children? Where are the ice shows. climbing walls, pool slides, towel animals, characters, hamburger joints ? I just think Princess targets a different demographic irrespective of balcony size.

 

I agree. I will never again cruise with my kids on Princess. They are teens now and Royal Caribbean offers so much more that they are interested in. An exception might be a certain European port intensive cruises.

[TorontoTL]

I've mentioned this before, but it seems that a lot of the Royal's Promenade design deficiencies flow from the "all-balcony" mandate. If the Emerald deck cabins were oceanviews (like on most other Princess ships), then that would have allowed for a proper Promenade...

 

I have thought this from the beginning. Totally agree with you Rick.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Good article, thanks for the info.

[CI66774]

I agree. I will never again cruise with my kids on Princess. They are teens now and Royal Caribbean offers so much more that they are interested in. An exception might be a certain European port intensive cruises.

 

While that is true, and I did enjoy Disney (so did my daughter), Princess has some great itineraries that RCI and Disney don't have in Europe. Itinerary takes precedence in most of my cruise decisions. Daughter has fun no matter what cruise line it is.

[FishOn55]

Interesting to hear that Princess is tweaking the Regal.

 

Careful what you ask for.

 

The DW and I just did a B2B recently and found the Royal beautiful.

 

Here is my observation.

 

Yes, we found the balcony smaller than other ships we have cruised on. However, we enjoyed the balcony none the less. Unless you are expecting to throw a large party out there what do you really need? So you sit at a slight angle. You can still enjoy the sounds, sun and wind. Or just gaze off to the horizon and day dream. How much space do you really need?

 

This was the first ship that we could not walk around the Promenade Deck. Because of the new lifeboats and the davits that support them there were areas on the Promenade that were very narrow. However, the areas just outside Crooners and Facets was very popular. I think they could have used a few more chairs and table to be honest. The information in the CC report says, "Princess also will make the Deck 7 promenade accessible to passengers on Regal so they can walk the length of the ship". The "length" not around the Promenade.

 

I'm not sure what an aft pool will bring to the enjoyment of sailing on the Regal or the Royal. All three (Retreat, Fountain, & Plunge) got cozy at times but so does any pool on any ship. So what will a 4th pool bring? There were plenty of deck chairs between the Lido and Sun Decks. Maybe just a little more shady spots vs. sunny areas. It will be interesting to see where the aft pool will be located and if I had to guess not very large. More like the plunge pool on the Royal. Just a guess.

 

Now as far as a central staircase. Really!! Now I have to say we had a cabin on the Riviera Deck and almost as for forward as you can get. So we used the forward and aft elevators to get anywhere. Mostly the stairs and I can honestly say not too many people used those stairs. So does a central staircase from deck 7 to deck 15 mean that much when most people will not use the stairs. There were 6 elevators in that area, six. There where stairs there but for the crew and in case of an emergency the stairs were open for use.

 

Folks, why do you cruise? Because of large balconies, a central staircase, an aft pool or a Promenade Deck you can walk around. We cruise for vacation, the itinerary, the ship (a new experience) relaxation, or any number of reasons. Do we really want cookie cutter ships that all look the same, feel the same and offer all the same things? Or do we want an adventure?

 

Now that Princess is going to tweak the Regal are we going to be happy? Or just complain because the changed or took away something else we liked.

 

Just my experience and observations.

 

 

Marty

 

Well said.

 

Looking forward to my Royal cruise in March.

[FishOn55]

I agree about balcony size- in a different fashion. On the other hand, I also like knowing that in general the balconies are restrictive (i.e. small), perhaps as a filter specifically when it comes to families travelling as it might mean less children on this type of cruise ship. (So flame me) There are plenty of cruise lines with larger balconies for families to take advantage including the other Princess ships. Princess does not really discount for extra folks in the cabin as does Carnival. So perhaps they do have a target demographic after all for this type of ship?

 

Also, just because a cabin designates that it can accommodate a third or fourth pax doesn't mean that it will be sold as one. Many of those cabins will only be occupied by 2 pax, so the mathematical percentages of cabins available for families booking and wanting a larger balcony is likely to be different than the number listed by a previous poster.

[Woobstr112G]

.

Jimmy, I've been reading many of your posts on the Princess boards for a long time.... I must tell you that each time I read them (especially those in which you give such thorough analysis and relevant analogies) I find myself nodding and thinking "that's exactly right".. Your viewpoint is not based solely on knee-jerk reaction or abject emotion - but rather on well thought out consideration, common sense, and logical reasoning...Your posts are eloquently written, and very often expresses the thoughts and viewpoints of so many on here... including me.. So thank you for that.. You often save me time in having to post.. J

 

When I started a thread in April (before the first sailing of the Royal) about "No Central Staircase On The Royal Will Be A Royal Pain", there were a few that stated that this was absolutely ridiculous, would prove to not be an issue at all, and accused me of "bashing" a ship before I had even sailed on her.. It was like I was attacking their first-born (I still don't get that.. but those are their issues).. I tried to explain that I personally did not need to sail on a ship to know which features I like and which I don’t.. (I also don’t like the fact that they took away the Explorer's lounge... a favorite spot of ours as it has very comfortable seating / leg room, the seats are arranged in groups of 6-8, and is the perfect venue for group games such as trivia/shows/gatherings/etc.). My thread was two-fold – Firstly, to inform fellow CCers of the lack of a central staircase and give some examples as to some of the potential issues/frustrations it may cause.. Secondly, to infer to Princess that they may have made a mistake, and perhaps they should take a closer look at the possible ramifications of their decision..

 

Well flash forward 7 months, and nearly every review mentions this lack of the central staircase - causing frustration, inconvenience, and arguments/fights amongst passengers trying to get onto the center elevators.. Even reviews with an overall positive rating of the ship often mention this one design issue.. I’m not a complainer by nature (in fact I’m the complete opposite), but how does it hurt to point out to Princess an obvious condition that they can easily fix and then incorporate into future renditions of their ships?. Certainly the people who don’t miss the central staircase won’t complain, and the ones that do will heartily rejoice – and perhaps change their mind about booking these ships.. It’s a win-win for everybody, including Princess.

 

Princess has already listened and is now consequently bringing back the Promenade deck and the aft pool.. Next (hopefully) will be the previous larger-sized balconies, comfortable theatre seating (side aisles, more leg room, drink trays) and the Explorer’s lounge.. So instead of complaining about us “moaners”, how about maybe thanking us?

.

- Rick

.

 

Rick;

 

That about says it all. Well said my friend.....:):):)

 

Bob

[#1winelover]

Interesting to hear that Princess is tweaking the Regal.

 

Careful what you ask for.

 

The DW and I just did a B2B recently and found the Royal beautiful.

 

Here is my observation.

 

Yes, we found the balcony smaller than other ships we have cruised on. However, we enjoyed the balcony none the less. Unless you are expecting to throw a large party out there what do you really need? So you sit at a slight angle. You can still enjoy the sounds, sun and wind. Or just gaze off to the horizon and day dream. How much space do you really need?

 

This was the first ship that we could not walk around the Promenade Deck. Because of the new lifeboats and the davits that support them there were areas on the Promenade that were very narrow. However, the areas just outside Crooners and Facets was very popular. I think they could have used a few more chairs and table to be honest. The information in the CC report says, "Princess also will make the Deck 7 promenade accessible to passengers on Regal so they can walk the length of the ship". The "length" not around the Promenade.

 

I'm not sure what an aft pool will bring to the enjoyment of sailing on the Regal or the Royal. All three (Retreat, Fountain, & Plunge) got cozy at times but so does any pool on any ship. So what will a 4th pool bring? There were plenty of deck chairs between the Lido and Sun Decks. Maybe just a little more shady spots vs. sunny areas. It will be interesting to see where the aft pool will be located and if I had to guess not very large. More like the plunge pool on the Royal. Just a guess.

 

Now as far as a central staircase. Really!! Now I have to say we had a cabin on the Riviera Deck and almost as for forward as you can get. So we used the forward and aft elevators to get anywhere. Mostly the stairs and I can honestly say not too many people used those stairs. So does a central staircase from deck 7 to deck 15 mean that much when most people will not use the stairs. There were 6 elevators in that area, six. There where stairs there but for the crew and in case of an emergency the stairs were open for use.

 

Folks, why do you cruise? Because of large balconies, a central staircase, an aft pool or a Promenade Deck you can walk around. We cruise for vacation, the itinerary, the ship (a new experience) relaxation, or any number of reasons. Do we really want cookie cutter ships that all look the same, feel the same and offer all the same things? Or do we want an adventure?

 

Now that Princess is going to tweak the Regal are we going to be happy? Or just complain because the changed or took away something else we liked.

 

Just my experience and observations.

 

 

Marty

Marty! Thanks for putting these comment so succinctly and precise. I could not agree with you more. I enjoyed the Royal very much, and did not miss staircases. I'm not an exercise nut! I'd much rather ride than walk, and am NOT in a hurry for that elevator to come. It arrives when it arrives. No, I don't like to wait an hour, but 3-4 minutes is not unreasonable when I really don't have anywhere I MUST get to in a heartbeat!! Totally agree with your observations about balconies as well. I had enough room on both the D440 cabin (smallest I've ever had, but adequate for my needs), and E420 cabin that was angled and larger than Dolphin deck cabin. Both were just fine for me, sailing alone! The only things I've used my balcony for is setting up my video camera when in Alaska to catch glacier caves, or to just sit, sip wine, and watch the wake! Never tried to hold a M&G there, so no problem! :D I think I'd like to try the Regal when she begins sailing so that I can experience the newness and the "adventure" of what she has to offer!! Maybe we'll run into each other again! I'd like that! Be well and Happy Thanksgiving! :)

[#1winelover]

This particular observation, (and you certainly aren't the first or only one to express it), frustrates me to no end. Let's revisit what has been said many times, but doesn't seem to sink in. Royal was/is marketed as a great ship for families. Indeed, the Youth areas are the best in the fleet. And a substantial number of the port and starboard cabins are designed and marked on the deck plan as accomodating a third or even fourth passenger. On Marina deck, the number of such cabins is 130 out of 186 (70%). On Baja deck, the number is 98 out of 190 (52%). So exactly how many of these balconies can accomodate more than two people? A grand total of 24 larger, angled balconies mid-ship. So on these two decks alone, including Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, Mini-Suites and Premium Mini-Suites, there are 24 cabins out of 376 (6%) with balconies that can hold more than two people. People who vacation as families do not consider putting three or four people on a balcony as "throwing a large party". The whole: "it was big enough for the two of us so it will be big enough for you" attitude does not fly on a ship that has 50% of its cabins designed to be occupied by more than two people. "How much space do you really need?" you ask, rhetorically. How about, an amount of space sufficient for all paying passengers to use and enjoy that for which they paid. Imagine showing up at the MDR on the first night only to have the maitre'd tell you that two people can fit at the assigned dinner table, but the third person will have to dine at the buffet. Behind every post that suggests that "two people fit just fine so stop your belly aching" lies an uncaring or unappreciative attitude toward the fact that not everyone who cruises does so as a couple. Sure, there are those 6% of angled balconies that parties of three/four can try to book. But 6% is a pretty weak number when over 50% of the cabins are designed to hold 3+ people. That leaves an awful lot of people to draw staws to see which two can use the balcony.

 

 

 

Thanks for that. It gets bruising every now and then. But it's all good.

Jimmy! Your points are well taken! However, there are still many of us that did enjoy what we had on the Royal and will probably try to defend it. No matter what the cruise industry builds, there will be complaints! That's just the way people are! So I shall continue to seek out the adventures of new ships as they launch, and take whatever I get! I guess I think that the only REALLY bad decision was the placement of the TP roll in the bathroom! Ain't no one with normal joints can reach it in most of the cabins! :rolleyes: