ROYAL PRINCESS - A Different Perspective

[sunshine100]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I have 2 questions.

You mentioned that towels by the pool were plentiful. Has Princess now made towels available by the pool like Celebrity does or did you just bring the towel from your cabin?

Also, per the slow embarkation - any chance your cruise was immediately after the TA cruise where immigration slowed their disembarkation?

 

There were pool towels available by the pools and in our cabin!

 

not sure about why embarkation was slow, but we waited quite a while in the taxi just trying to get to the door to be dropped off. Once we were in line, we moved right along and were on the ship in no time! It seems like pier 2 is not meant for such a large ship with so many people! Overall, great ship and it really did not feel crowded all week!

[azdmelani]

ROYAL PRINCESS - A Different Perspective

 

Pictures Link with almost 500 photos of Royal Princess:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eroller/sets/72157637829464656/

 

November 10, 2013

7-Night Eastern Caribbean

 

Princess Cruises is probably the most consistent cruise line in the business. When you sail on Princess you pretty much know exactly what to expect. The vast majority of their ships are decorated and laid out exactly the same, and the food, service, and entertainment are generally decent. This can be a great thing for Princess regulars that like the familiar and want more of the same. I'm not one of them. In fact I like just the opposite. I like to change it up and experience new things, which is why I enjoy cruising on as many cruise lines and ships as I can. I especially enjoy prototype new builds and ROYAL PRINCESS was high on the list of new designs to experience. My history with Princess dates back to the late 80's so I have seen the line essentially transform from a premium/luxury line with small ships to the mega mass-market ships that Princess employs today. As of late I've been sailing more frequently on lines like Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Cunard over Princess simply because I have become somewhat bored with Princess. The same old design simply doesn't excite me and frankly the pastel decor that Princess loves to use seems dated. I usually do a bit of research prior to any cruise, just to get the feel of how a ship is being received. Generally speaking, Princess regulars do not seem very pleased with ROYAL PRINCESS. She is a departure from what they are used to, and there are a lot of features that Princess regulars enjoy that are lacking on ROYAL PRINCESS (RP). Of course there are plenty of new features to make up for them! For me ROYAL PRINCESS was a breath of fresh air, and perhaps a reason to return to Princess and enjoy additional cruises on the Royal or her new sister ship the REGAL PRINCESS. It would certainly be nice to take advantage of my new Elite status with Princess!

 

Those of you not familiar with Princess might be wondering what all the fuss is about with ROYAL PRINCESS and why so many Princess regulars are disappointed with the ship. Due to the design of RP some traditional features of past Princess ships are missing. Some examples include a wrap-around Promenade Deck, an aft pool, the Explorers Lounge, an observation lounge, larger balconies, a midship staircase, and a glass enclosed pool. In addition the layout of RP has some distinct differences although it's easy to see she is an evolution of the Grand Class ships. I have to say none of the omissions from the Grand Class ships bothered me or impacted my experience in a negative way (except one). Having sailed a variety of cruise lines, the design of RP follows suit with several new builds of competing cruise lines most of which I quite enjoy. There is one aspect about RP that I do consider a design flaw, and best to get this out of the way now and concentrate on the positive moving forward. I'm speaking of the elevators and the lack of a midship staircase above Deck 7. I've sailed on over 100 cruises and on a great variety of ships, and I've never experienced elevators as packed, slow, and as poorly programmed as those on ROYAL PRINCESS. It's really a shame as these elevators impact almost every passenger on the ship, and they tarnish what is otherwise a truly beautiful vessel that is very nicely run. The main issue with the elevators is that there are simply not enough of them, but the analyst in me decided to dig a little deeper. There are 14 elevators for 3560 passengers based on double occupancy. That equates to a ratio of 254 passengers for each elevator (254:1). Compare this to some of the other largest ships sailing today. RUBY PRINCESS 220:1. QM2 119:1. OASIS OF THE SEAS 225:1. CELEBRITY ECLIPSE 237:1. MSC FANTASIA 233:1. NORWEGIAN BREAKAWAY 251:1. DISNEY DREAM 178:1. As you can see, ROYAL PRINCESS actually has the worst ratio of any large ship sailing today. Unfortunately the ratio is only part of the problem. The way the elevators are programmed in the forward and aft sections compound the issue. The two port elevators are controlled by one call button, and the same with the two starboard elevators. Of course everyone pushes both call buttons and enters the first elevator that arrives (if is is not full). This means another elevator will stop on the other side even if there is no one to board since the call button was previously activated. Basically every elevator becomes a "local", stopping at every deck, usually full to the limit, and taking forever to get you where you need to go. Often times if an elevator stopped you could not board because it was completely full. The six midship elevators are programmed properly and are all synced with each other, but because there is no midship staircase above Deck 7, people were forced to take an elevator even if only going up or down one deck. The only other option would be to walk all the way aft or all the way forward to the nearest set of stairs. The elevator situation was really out of hand, and major source of frustration for everyone onboard. I sincerely hope Princess is taking action to correct or at least improve the situation as I know they are well aware of it. I certainly let them know my opinion on the survey that was emailed to me after the cruise. Because of the elevator situation, I really cannot recommend the RP for the mobility impaired, as they would be spending half their cruise just dealing with the elevators. I did speak to a few passengers in scooters, and they were beyond frustrated with the situation. I also think it's vital on RP to choose your cabin location wisely. I would recommend going forward or aft, and on a middle deck so walking up to the pools or down to the lounges is not so far out of reach. That was honestly my only major complaint about the ship, and now that it's out of the way I can discuss more pleasant aspects of this gorgeous vessel!

 

Our cabin was M129, located high up (Deck15) and forward in the ship. It is a new category for Princess called a Deluxe Balcony. There is a little extra interior space so a small sofa is included instead of just a chair which is featured in the standard balcony cabins. The extra space was welcome, and I would say the size is typical of most standard balcony cabins on other ships. The cabin is very nicely appointed, with soothing colors and quality furnishings. A large flat panel TV is now mounted on the wall directly in front of the beds. It can't be turned so best to watch it while lying in bed. The TV is interactive and it's an excellent system. Very intuitive with plenty of choices for on-demand movies and TV shows. All free I might add. There are also informative channels such as the morning "Wake Show" by the Cruise Director, a weather channel, forward facing live bow view, and the ship's position map. I also enjoyed the music channels which featured severals genres. What is missing is the ability to check your shipboard account or order room service. There are two other ways to check your account, and one is with a cool smart phone app available for free while you are sailing on RP. Besides checking your account, you can look at the ship's itinerary, check what is happening onboard and map it out, and find out just about any other information you want to know about the ship. I really enjoyed using this app. The other way to check your account balance is from two kiosks located by Guest Services that will automatically provide a printout. The bedding in the cabin was excellent and I felt the mattresses were perfect. A refrigerator and nice size safe is included along with bar soap and a bottle of lotion in the bathroom. There are dispensers in the shower for shampoo and body wash. Missing were robes and slippers. Our cabin steward was amazing and such a nice guy. I spoke with him at length about the situation in the Philippines and I felt so bad for him and his colleagues that had to work while they were still in limbo about friends and family back home. It had to be tough and I did my best to make his job as easy as possible, asking for nothing and leaving the cabin as tidy as possible. Kudos to Princess for the layout of these cabins which are ideal for privacy. When you walk out of the bathroom you actually enter an open closet area which you can't see from the cabin itself. This is an ideal dressing area providing complete privacy from other occupants of the cabin. I felt closet and drawer space was more than sufficient, and I liked the large sink area in the bathroom. The shower itself is a little larger than a typical Princess ship, but not as big compared to some other cruise lines. Water pressure was pretty dismal but I'm not sure if that was just in this cabin or all. The a/c worked great in the cabin and pretty much the entire ship was kept at a comfortable temperature, with the exception of the elevators which could get very hot.

 

ROYAL PRINCESS has many beautiful public areas, but most impressive is The Piazza. I never got tired of looking at this stunning space! Yes it's a little on the glitzy side but not in a bad way. The Piazza is really the town square of RP, and it's always buzzing with activity and things to do. Essentially it's the same concept as the Royal Promenade on Royal Caribbean ships, but instead of a long promenade it's a central square. Off The Piazza are shops, eateries, lounges, and bars. There are also performances, bands, and dancing just like on the Royal Promenade with Royal Caribbean. I really liked the concept and found myself enjoying The Piazza daily. On the lowest level of The Piazza is a Gelato shop, where you can purchase generous 3-scoop sundaes and banana splits for $2.75. I thought this was one of the best bargains on the ship! Right next store is Celebrations selling confections and flowers but it was never very busy. I'm not sure how long this shop will last. A nice Internet Cafe is also located here with great sea views and large screen desktop computers. RP has wifi throughout so if you have your own device such as an iPhone or iPad you can use it just about anywhere, including out on deck and in your cabin. The only problem is that the internet service on RP is about the slowest I've experienced on any ship. It wasn't just slow, but agonizing slow! It didn't take long using up my free minutes just downloading simple emails to my iPhone. Why the internet service is so much slower compared to other ships I don't know. The International Cafe, which is now a Princess landmark is also located nearby, and it continues to serve up a nice selection of complimentary sandwiches and sweets 24/7. Walking forward on Plaza Deck you enter a very attractive lobby area that includes the Shore Excursion & Passenger Services desks, as well as the entrance to Sabatini's, one of the specialty restaurants onboard RP. We didn't dine in Sabatini's this time around, but I thought the space was beautiful and one of the nicest looking on the ship. I did take advantage of the Lotus Spa, which is all the way forward and essentially right underneath the Princess Theater. I thought the spa was beautiful with its black stone decor. I bought a week long pass for The Enclave which is the thermal suite area of the spa. Inside The Enclave are heated relaxation beds, a therapeutic pool, and a choice of steam and sauna rooms. There are no ocean views as The Enclave is in a center location. I made good use of my pass enjoying The Enclave daily, usually after a workout in the gym or the 5pm gathering with new friends. I have to mention that the fitness center is no where near the spa, and while not a huge issue I do prefer when these facilities are adjacent to each other. The fitness center is actually located up on Deck 17 aft, about as far away from the spa as you could get! It's a nice fitness center though, with great ocean views and all new Precor equipment. I liked that there was open deck space just outside the fitness center to catch a breath of fresh air.

 

Other favorite public areas include Crooners which is the piano bar, The Wheelhouse which is a more sedate piano bar (very Cunard-esque), and Club 6 which is the nightclub. Lacking on RP is any kind of observation lounge/bar like Skywalker's on previous Princess ships. I really missed having a beautiful lounge/bar with great views of the ocean. Speaking of ocean views, there is no wrap-around Promenade Deck on RP. There are a few viewing areas with seating on Deck 7, but no deck available to passengers that wraps around. My understanding is Princess will open up some of the Deck 7 crew spaces to passengers on sister ship REGAL PRINCESS, but even so those spaces are very narrow and views will be blocked by lifeboats. The open upper decks of RP are quite expansive, and to my surprise more spacious and large than I expected. There are three pools in total although one is just a plunge pool. Even so the pools were never overly crowded and the two main pools were quite large by ship standards. The pool water is fresh but on the chilly side which I actually enjoyed. I don't like it when the pools are too warm. Finding a deck chair was never a problem, even when I strolled out late around noon or 1pm. I'm happy to say that Princess still has live music by the main pool and towels are plentiful and don't need to be returned to the cabin or a manned towel hut after use. The Skywalk is also located topside, and I thought this was a pretty cool new feature. It's a walkway that extends out over the sea below, and the floor is made of glass! It's a pretty cool sensation sailing at 20 knots and seeing the ocean pass below your feet from 16 decks above! Not quite as cool is The Fountain. It's directly midship between the pools and is a very small scale version of the fountain show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It just isn't that exciting and it takes up too much valuable real-estate that could be used for another pool or to enlarge the existing plunge pool. For a bit of peace and quiet the adults-only Retreat Pool & Bar is the place to be. It can get a little windy but on a warm day it actually feels quite nice. Forward of the Retreat Pool is the adults-only Sanctuary. It's beautifully done but there is an extra charge to use this space if one is available. On this particular cruise the Sanctuary seemed sold out most days which means it's popular and I'm sure Princess is happy about that! Unfortunately The Sanctuary utilizes the only forward facing real-estate on the ship, so most people will never get to enjoy that view. Thankfully you can enjoy a beautiful aft facing view at the Horizon Terrace. There is wonderful seating here to dine alfresco or just to relax and have a drink at the bar. Most Celebrity ships also feature an aft area like the Horizon Terrace, which they call the Sunset Bar. What I enjoy on Celebrity is that during sunset they have a solo guitarist that plays. It really makes for a magical setting.

 

What is a cruise without food, and on ROYAL PRINCESS I can assure you that you won't starve! We dined at traditional late seating in the aft Allegro Dining Room. I felt this was the most attractive dining room of the three, with the decor being much more bold than the two center dining rooms. Service was great and the cuisine was quite tasty. I have to confess I'm not that fussy when it comes to food so perhaps I'm a bit easy to please. The menu is quite extensive and I loved the huge variety of "always available" food choices. One night was dined at The Crown Grill which is an extra tariff steak & seafood restaurant and I thought the cuisine was excellent. This venue is actually connected to the Wheelhouse Bar and I really liked the arrangement. It made it feel a little like a dinner club. The Horizon Court & Bistro with its Pastry Shop surely ranks as the best or at least one of the best buffets at sea. The layout is excellent and the food choices are immense. If you can't find something to your liking here than you are just too picky! Not to be outdone is Alfredo's, a complimentary pizzeria serving up some of the best personal pizzas at sea in beautiful surroundings. The gorgeous Piazza is on one side with ocean views on the other. What more could you ask for? Back topside there is the Trident Grill serving up decent grilled fare such as burgers and chicken, and adjacent is Prego which is yet another pizzeria serving up pizza by the slice. Hidden but not forgotten is Swirls, featuring soft serve ice cream to satisfy that sweet tooth. All in all I felt the dining choices were excellent as was the service in each of them. In fact the service on the entire ship was excellent. There was never a wait to get a drink at any bar, and plenty of bar staff on deck if you wanted that drink by the pool. Every crew member I encountered was friendly and seemed to enjoy their job. This was really astonishing considering how many Filipino crew members there are onboard and the uncertainty that faces them at home. I really applaud them and I don't know if I could perform so well under similar circumstances. I noticed that Princess is becoming a bit more like Celebrity with a little more attention to detail. Things like passing out cold towels and water/juice while waiting to board the ship in various ports. I think it's the small touches that really differentiate one cruise line from another these days, and it's nice to see Princess stepping it up a bit in this regard.

 

After a fairly recent cruise on CARNIVAL BREEZE I was concerned that the lackluster entertainment on that ship might have found its way to Princess. I'm pleased to say this is not the case. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship and on deck, lots of activities, and plenty of shows. I'm a fan of the cruise ship production show and on Princess they are alive and well. There were a few production shows during the week and I very much enjoyed what I saw. There is a full compliment of singers and dancers and sometimes even a full orchestra on stage. The production shows are presented in the Princess Theater. It's an impressive theater upon first sight, but unfortunately that favorable impression quickly fades when you sit down. The space between rows is VERY tight and there is no room for drinks except in your hand. There is no aisle along side bulkheads so if you end up in one of those seats, you are pretty much stuck for the show like it or not. The good news is that every seat is unobstructed and has a great view. I would highly recommend an aisle seat on the lowest level near the stage if possible. It means arriving early but you will be far more comfortable during the show. Secondary shows are in the aft Vista Lounge while passenger participation type shows are in the midship "Princess Live" venue. Princess Live is something new for Princess, and clearly it's copied directly from the Celebrity Central concept on the Celebrity Solstice Class ships. I'm not a fan of this style of entertainment so I really can't comment on the success of this venue. I can say that often there were people gathered at the door to Princess Live so I'm assuming it's very popular and perhaps the space is not large enough. In addition there was the usual compliment of cruise ship magicians and comedians, piano performers at The Wheelhouse and Crooners, nightclub dancing at Club 6, movies under the stars, a casino that was packed nightly, shopping with a pretty good selection of merchandise, bands and performances in The Piazza, and yes the fountain show up on deck. One night was a well attended deck party that included a performance on deck by the dancers & singers choreographed with the fountain. That was the one fountain show I did think was pretty cool.

 

The itinerary for this cruise is what I call the Caribbean "milk-run". It's a great cruise for first timers who have never been to the Caribbean before. St. Thomas and St. Maarten are core Caribbean ports that all the major cruise lines call at with their largest ships. I picked ROYAL PRINCESS for a couple reasons. First I wanted to sail on the latest and greatest from Princess Cruises. I was not disappointed and the ship provided new interest and incentive to once again return to Princess Cruises. Secondly the name Royal Princess has special meaning to me, as I sailed on the original Royal Princess back in the 80's with my recently deceased grandmother. One of my grandmother's wishes after she passed was that my brother and I scatter her ashes in the Caribbean during a cruise. This was really fitting since my grandmother is the reason I became so interested in ships at such a young age. She started taking my brother and I on cruises when I was around 10 or 11 years old. My brother and I honored her wishes and her final resting place is a beautiful and unspoiled inlet called St Mary's Creek located on the coast of St. John. I could not imagine a more beautiful or spectacular setting to say our final goodbyes and I think my grandmother would have been quite pleased with our choice. The other port for this cruise was Princess Cays, which is a private beach for Princess passengers located on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. I've been lucky enough to visit all the private islands and beaches of the major cruises lines, and Princess Cays is clearly in the middle of the pack. It's by no means the best, but it is a nice beach and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. My favorite is Disney's Castaway Cay, followed by Royal Caribbean's Labadee, then Holland America's Half Moon Cay. We were lucky to enjoy very pleasant weather during this cruise, with only a few showers, plenty of sunshine, and gorgeous sunsets. I loved our evening sail out from St. Thomas. It was truly magical.

 

Disembarkation in Ft. Lauderdale was efficient and effortless as was getting on and off the ship in every port. I never encountered any substantial lines or delays with one exception. Embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale left a lot to be desired. We arrived by car around 11:00am and it took over 30 minutes just to drive into the Terminal 2 area to drop off our luggage. We saw a massive line outside the terminal that ran all the way down the side of the terminal and beyond. That is no way to start a cruise so we drove off and had lunch in Ft. Lauderdale, then stopped at the Mercedes dealership to check out the new CLA (quite impressive BTW). We returned at 2pm to find no lines what so ever and an effortless embarkation process. I would highly recommend arriving later as opposed to earlier, as clearly Terminal 2 in Ft. Lauderdale is not sufficient to handle ships the size of ROYAL PRINCESS.

 

I hope it's obvious that I quite enjoyed ROYAL PRINCESS and the overall Princess experience. Is the ship perfect? No but I haven't found the perfect ship yet (I keep trying!). I will say that RP is enough of a departure from the typical Princess experience & decor that I have a renewed interest in sailing on Princess, specifically ROYAL PRINCESS and her new sister REGAL PRINCESS. One final footnote is that Princess recently announced some changes to the design of REGAL PRINCESS that will include such features as an aft pool and a promenade deck with more passenger accessible areas. This is a step in the right direction and it's great that Princess is listening to feedback and taking appropriate action. I hope they also address the elevator situation as from my perspective this is the biggest failure of RP that also impacts the most people.

 

Please enjoy the pictures located at the link at the beginning of this review, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Ernie

 

thanks for the great review! will be embarking in two weeks :)

[Cruising89143]

Ernie, great job on the review and photos as usual. The ship looks beautiful but far too much brown/tans for me. The balconies would be a deal breaker for me. Looking at the photos of the RP and having cruised on the Reflection, I like the Reflection better. Glad that you enjoyed the cruise.:)

[lynwar]

Hi

I was on the Nov. 17 sailing, and really enjoyed the cruise. Neither of us have MAJOR complaints.

Our cabin temp was COLD, so opened the balcony doors for awhile to warm it up. Someone else posted that there are sensors in the doors.. Whoops. We'd close them and lock them before leaving the cabin so it was cooler again when we returned.

 

My laptop was working fine up until Wednesday or Thursday and then it got very slow or non-existent. There was nothing major I needed to check so I wasn't frantic, just frustrated. And, it took me several minutes to just get a partial site, ie. Yahoo, but no mail. Part of a Facebook page, but never the entire thing and problem posting.

 

As for the room safe, it wasn't used but the door kept opening every time the closet door was opened. I happened to have some tape with me so hubby taped the door closed-end of problem. The bathroom was fine, and we just used the extra roll of TP and didn't worry about the one in the holder below the vanity. Our steward's name was Mark, and he was quite cheery and nice. One "problem" with the balcony was that when sitting, the railing was at my eye level so I either had to sit up very straight or have to look through the glass.

 

As mentioned on another post, many of the chairs on board are made for tall people. :D

 

I enjoyed all the entertainment I saw. We didn't go to the production shows. I saw Beatlemaniacs- and a new group called the Speakers-who did an "Elvis" songs in the Vista Lounge and sang British songs in the Piazza. The young, lead singer has quite a nice voice. I caught some of Kory Simon and some of Ray Cousins, plus some of "Steele". The Piazza was the dancing place, and there was a couple-her hair was red-who looked pretty impressive. Other dancers were trying out their steps and everyone was really enjoying themselves.

 

We went to the Symphony Dining Room the first night. We're not hard to please so our prime rib was good. We had anytime dining, but early seating persons went in first, so we, along with 4 ladies from Minnesota I met during the day, ended up sharing a table of 10 with 2 other couples. We 6 kept running into each other all week, along with one of the other couples, which was fun. The rest of the week was spent with Horizon Court food, and we ate in Alfredo's twice. Hubby liked the Calzone the first time, but not the second time. There is a limited menu. Alex was a great server, and the tall fellow with the green jacket-Conraad?-was nice.

 

Overall, it was good cruise, and we're happy we sailed on the Royal Princess.

 

Lynne

[Mom33]

Thanks for the review lynwar. You are the second review that I have read that mentions the red head dancer.:D I wonder if she visits CC?

[alexmom]

Thanks for your comprehensive review. The photos were amazing. You really helped me pick a half dozen places to park myself on our March 30th voyage !! (you can't see it but I'm doing a happy dance!)

[dmwnc1959]

Ernie, great job on the review and photos as usual. The ship looks beautiful but far too much brown/tans for me. The balconies would be a deal breaker for me. Looking at the photos of the RP and having cruised on the Reflection, I like the Reflection better. Glad that you enjoyed the cruise.:)

 

HI Gordon! Long time, no hear. Haven't been on the Celebrity Cruises forum for a while, nor the RCI forum. Guess the Quantum of the Seas must be keeping everyone busy over there. Are you booked yet?

[eroller]

Great review and great photos. I look forward to viewing your Eurodam photos. Did you do a review of the Eurodam? If so, could you steer me to it or post a link?

 

Can't wait to sail on Royal and Eurodam this winter! :)

 

 

I have not sailed on EURODAM, but I have sailed on her sister ship NIEUW AMSTERDAM. The link to my photos on that ship is here:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eroller/sets/72157630332390262/

 

Enjoy!

 

Ernie

[eroller]

Ernie, great job on the review and photos as usual. The ship looks beautiful but far too much brown/tans for me. The balconies would be a deal breaker for me. Looking at the photos of the RP and having cruised on the Reflection, I like the Reflection better. Glad that you enjoyed the cruise.:)

 

As you know I'm also a fan of the Solstice Class, but there were many things I really loved about RP as well. Basically I would be happy on either, but might give the edge to the Solstice Class overall.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I have 2 questions.

You mentioned that towels by the pool were plentiful. Has Princess now made towels available by the pool like Celebrity does or did you just bring the towel from your cabin?

Also, per the slow embarkation - any chance your cruise was immediately after the TA cruise where immigration slowed their disembarkation?

 

 

There were two towels in your cabin which were basically to use ashore. They did not have to be returned to the cabin. Up by the pools there were unlimited towels which required no signing out. Awesome!

 

Unfortunately I don't think there were any excuses for the slow embarkation except that Terminal 2 is just not adequate to handle a ship the size of RP. Hopefully Princess will work on improving the situation but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

 

How was tendering at Princess Cay?

 

 

Tendering was no issue at all, but keep in mind I'm not one to rush off the ship. We didn't go ashore until around 11am and there was no wait. The ship's tenders are also quite nice compared to other ships. Quiet and smooth, and an upper deck area for sitting outside which was pretty cool.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

I went through your album again and noticed at the end that it bled into another group of pictures from a European trip to Venice. You had a picture of the TWA terminal at JFK being demolished. How sad. This was a pioneering terminal of the space age airport and looked more impressive then it actually functioned, especially those long curving uphill walkways where people had to drag their carryons up and down. We used it 7 years ago for the last time and were not happy having to wheel the carryons and briefcases through those long long curving tubes.

 

Anyways, back to the ship photos. The public rooms looked all polished and elegant what with the marble floors and deep rich wood and overhead chandeliers. The modernistic theater looked great, a break in styling from the rest of the ship. And the available light photography really enhanced the beauty of the ship without those pesky messy actual people getting in the way and ruining the photo.:D Did you use a constant white balance adjustment in all the public rooms not lit by sun light flowing from outside?

 

I realize after I typed this that their is a parallel between the vanished JFK TWA terminal and the elevators and elevator lobbies on the ship. My subconscious playing tricks on me.

 

 

 

Sounds like you were viewing my "Photostream" on Flickr instead of just the "set" of photos from RP. On the Photostream one set of photos will blend with another.

 

The terminal at JFK was actually the original Pan Am terminal, acquired by Delta and used for many years as Terminal 3. I took that photo at the end of my previous cruise, which was on the QUEEN ELIZABETH in October. We were returning to the US from Milan after the cruise.

 

Ernie

[eroller]

Great review ! Was there any issues you making reservations for the fine dinning venues? Is the phone line better or do you think we should go to one of the venues when we get on !

 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the review!

 

I did not use the phone line to make reservations although it looked easy to do so. We just stopped by Crown Grill after dinner one night and booked. By the time we booked the only times that were available for any night were 9:15pm or later, but since we are late eaters it didn't matter. If you want a more preferred time, best to make those reservations right after boarding.

 

Good luck!

 

Ernie

[eroller]

 

I do have a few questions...

 

In the warm-up videos by Princess Cruises they discussed the Pub Lunch being available every day, with a different 'Sea Day' menu and another menu for the 'Port Days'. When I looked at the Princess Patters for her 7-nt Caribbean cruise it only showed up twice, and on Sea Days, which is the norm. So I'm guessing they did away with the 7-days a week Pub Lunch?

 

Do you remember on what day the Royal Afternoon Tea was offered? I did see it available in the MDR, but never the advertisement for the one held in the atrium in the seating area under Bellini's.

 

The large detailed model of Royal Princess available for sale in the ships store, what is your impression of the workmanship? Is it up to the standards of Maritime Replicas, or more generic and simpler? The picture of the display model shows it to almost look like a cardboard put together.

 

Where you able to use the steam showers in the Fitness Center and if so, what where they like?

 

 

 

 

Hi David,

Let me try and answer these questions.

 

1. I looked through the Patters which I saved. The Pub Lunch was only listed for Tuesday and Friday, from 11:30am-2:30pm in the Wheelhouse Bar.

 

2. Normal afternoon tea is daily from 3:30pm-4:40pm in the Concerto Dining Room. I do recall a Royal Tea one afternoon but it's not listed anywhere in the Patter. It must have been a separate notice sent to the cabin which I probably threw away.

 

3. The large model of RP is very detailed and is a limited edition (only 100 made I believe). It's actually hand made by Maritime Replicas so the workmanship is very good. The cost is $325. I purchased #46 out of 100 for a friend of mine. There is also a smaller model of RP again by Maritime Replicas with very good detail for $175. Both these models come in a case. Two additional options are a small Inaugural season crystal model of the ship for $85, and the typical resin type model that you see on most cruise lines with far less detail for $39.

 

4. I did not use the steam showers in the fitness center because I had a week long pass to the Enclave. I did look at the showers and I believe I even took a picture of the outside. They looked like regular showers to me so I'm not sure how the steam option works.

 

Ernie

[chamima]

There were two towels in your cabin which were basically to use ashore. They did not have to be returned to the cabin. Up by the pools there were unlimited towels which required no signing out. Awesome!

 

Unfortunately I don't think there were any excuses for the slow embarkation except that Terminal 2 is just not adequate to handle a ship the size of RP. Hopefully Princess will work on improving the situation but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Ernie

 

Thanks Ernie!

We really got spoiled by having the towels right at the pool on Celebrity. Nice to know we'll have that on the Royal next year. :D (I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but very often we'll just be strolling around - see a lounger and decide to sit down. Also nice to be able to take an extra towel for a neck roll. It's the little things... );)

It's too bad about the traffic backup at Terminal 2. There was never any problem boarding the Emerald and if I'm correct there are only 500 more people on the Royal . If they can accommodate 3000 then 3500 shouldn't be such a difference. Oh well......

[TorontoTL]

Great detailed comparative review Ernie, thanks also for the photos.

[eroller]

Thanks Ernie!

We really got spoiled by having the towels right at the pool on Celebrity. Nice to know we'll have that on the Royal next year. :D (I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but very often we'll just be strolling around - see a lounger and decide to sit down. Also nice to be able to take an extra towel for a neck roll. It's the little things... );)

 

 

 

I agree completely, and having to sign out and account for pool towels is a real pain in the you know what! I also hate having to return anything like a wet towel to my cabin. Bravo to Princess for making this change on the RP!

 

As I mentioned in my review, as most of the large cruise lines become more and more alike, it's really the small things and the level of attention to detail that makes all the difference these days.

 

Ernie

[boca7]

ROYAL PRINCESS - A Different Perspective

 

Pictures Link with almost 500 photos of Royal Princess:

 

November 10, 2013

7-Night Eastern Caribbean

 

Princess Cruises is probably the most consistent cruise line in the business. When you sail on Princess you pretty much know exactly what to expect. The vast majority of their ships are decorated and laid out exactly the same, and the food, service, and entertainment are generally decent. This can be a great thing for Princess regulars that like the familiar and want more of the same. I'm not one of them. In fact I like just the opposite. I like to change it up and experience new things, which is why I enjoy cruising on as many cruise lines and ships as I can. I especially enjoy prototype new builds and ROYAL PRINCESS was high on the list of new designs to experience. My history with Princess dates back to the late 80's so I have seen the line essentially transform from a premium/luxury line with small ships to the mega mass-market ships that Princess employs today. As of late I've been sailing more frequently on lines like Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Cunard over Princess simply because I have become somewhat bored with Princess. The same old design simply doesn't excite me and frankly the pastel decor that Princess loves to use seems dated. I usually do a bit of research prior to any cruise, just to get the feel of how a ship is being received. Generally speaking, Princess regulars do not seem very pleased with ROYAL PRINCESS. She is a departure from what they are used to, and there are a lot of features that Princess regulars enjoy that are lacking on ROYAL PRINCESS (RP). Of course there are plenty of new features to make up for them! For me ROYAL PRINCESS was a breath of fresh air, and perhaps a reason to return to Princess and enjoy additional cruises on the Royal or her new sister ship the REGAL PRINCESS. It would certainly be nice to take advantage of my new Elite status with Princess!

 

Those of you not familiar with Princess might be wondering what all the fuss is about with ROYAL PRINCESS and why so many Princess regulars are disappointed with the ship. Due to the design of RP some traditional features of past Princess ships are missing. Some examples include a wrap-around Promenade Deck, an aft pool, the Explorers Lounge, an observation lounge, larger balconies, a midship staircase, and a glass enclosed pool. In addition the layout of RP has some distinct differences although it's easy to see she is an evolution of the Grand Class ships. I have to say none of the omissions from the Grand Class ships bothered me or impacted my experience in a negative way (except one). Having sailed a variety of cruise lines, the design of RP follows suit with several new builds of competing cruise lines most of which I quite enjoy. There is one aspect about RP that I do consider a design flaw, and best to get this out of the way now and concentrate on the positive moving forward. I'm speaking of the elevators and the lack of a midship staircase above Deck 7. I've sailed on over 100 cruises and on a great variety of ships, and I've never experienced elevators as packed, slow, and as poorly programmed as those on ROYAL PRINCESS. It's really a shame as these elevators impact almost every passenger on the ship, and they tarnish what is otherwise a truly beautiful vessel that is very nicely run. The main issue with the elevators is that there are simply not enough of them, but the analyst in me decided to dig a little deeper. There are 14 elevators for 3560 passengers based on double occupancy. That equates to a ratio of 254 passengers for each elevator (254:1). Compare this to some of the other largest ships sailing today. RUBY PRINCESS 220:1. QM2 119:1. OASIS OF THE SEAS 225:1. CELEBRITY ECLIPSE 237:1. MSC FANTASIA 233:1. NORWEGIAN BREAKAWAY 251:1. DISNEY DREAM 178:1. As you can see, ROYAL PRINCESS actually has the worst ratio of any large ship sailing today. Unfortunately the ratio is only part of the problem. The way the elevators are programmed in the forward and aft sections compound the issue. The two port elevators are controlled by one call button, and the same with the two starboard elevators. Of course everyone pushes both call buttons and enters the first elevator that arrives (if is is not full). This means another elevator will stop on the other side even if there is no one to board since the call button was previously activated. Basically every elevator becomes a "local", stopping at every deck, usually full to the limit, and taking forever to get you where you need to go. Often times if an elevator stopped you could not board because it was completely full. The six midship elevators are programmed properly and are all synced with each other, but because there is no midship staircase above Deck 7, people were forced to take an elevator even if only going up or down one deck. The only other option would be to walk all the way aft or all the way forward to the nearest set of stairs. The elevator situation was really out of hand, and major source of frustration for everyone onboard. I sincerely hope Princess is taking action to correct or at least improve the situation as I know they are well aware of it. I certainly let them know my opinion on the survey that was emailed to me after the cruise. Because of the elevator situation, I really cannot recommend the RP for the mobility impaired, as they would be spending half their cruise just dealing with the elevators. I did speak to a few passengers in scooters, and they were beyond frustrated with the situation. I also think it's vital on RP to choose your cabin location wisely. I would recommend going forward or aft, and on a middle deck so walking up to the pools or down to the lounges is not so far out of reach. That was honestly my only major complaint about the ship, and now that it's out of the way I can discuss more pleasant aspects of this gorgeous vessel!

 

Our cabin was M129, located high up (Deck15) and forward in the ship. It is a new category for Princess called a Deluxe Balcony. There is a little extra interior space so a small sofa is included instead of just a chair which is featured in the standard balcony cabins. The extra space was welcome, and I would say the size is typical of most standard balcony cabins on other ships. The cabin is very nicely appointed, with soothing colors and quality furnishings. A large flat panel TV is now mounted on the wall directly in front of the beds. It can't be turned so best to watch it while lying in bed. The TV is interactive and it's an excellent system. Very intuitive with plenty of choices for on-demand movies and TV shows. All free I might add. There are also informative channels such as the morning "Wake Show" by the Cruise Director, a weather channel, forward facing live bow view, and the ship's position map. I also enjoyed the music channels which featured severals genres. What is missing is the ability to check your shipboard account or order room service. There are two other ways to check your account, and one is with a cool smart phone app available for free while you are sailing on RP. Besides checking your account, you can look at the ship's itinerary, check what is happening onboard and map it out, and find out just about any other information you want to know about the ship. I really enjoyed using this app. The other way to check your account balance is from two kiosks located by Guest Services that will automatically provide a printout. The bedding in the cabin was excellent and I felt the mattresses were perfect. A refrigerator and nice size safe is included along with bar soap and a bottle of lotion in the bathroom. There are dispensers in the shower for shampoo and body wash. Missing were robes and slippers. Our cabin steward was amazing and such a nice guy. I spoke with him at length about the situation in the Philippines and I felt so bad for him and his colleagues that had to work while they were still in limbo about friends and family back home. It had to be tough and I did my best to make his job as easy as possible, asking for nothing and leaving the cabin as tidy as possible. Kudos to Princess for the layout of these cabins which are ideal for privacy. When you walk out of the bathroom you actually enter an open closet area which you can't see from the cabin itself. This is an ideal dressing area providing complete privacy from other occupants of the cabin. I felt closet and drawer space was more than sufficient, and I liked the large sink area in the bathroom. The shower itself is a little larger than a typical Princess ship, but not as big compared to some other cruise lines. Water pressure was pretty dismal but I'm not sure if that was just in this cabin or all. The a/c worked great in the cabin and pretty much the entire ship was kept at a comfortable temperature, with the exception of the elevators which could get very hot.

 

ROYAL PRINCESS has many beautiful public areas, but most impressive is The Piazza. I never got tired of looking at this stunning space! Yes it's a little on the glitzy side but not in a bad way. The Piazza is really the town square of RP, and it's always buzzing with activity and things to do. Essentially it's the same concept as the Royal Promenade on Royal Caribbean ships, but instead of a long promenade it's a central square. Off The Piazza are shops, eateries, lounges, and bars. There are also performances, bands, and dancing just like on the Royal Promenade with Royal Caribbean. I really liked the concept and found myself enjoying The Piazza daily. On the lowest level of The Piazza is a Gelato shop, where you can purchase generous 3-scoop sundaes and banana splits for $2.75. I thought this was one of the best bargains on the ship! Right next store is Celebrations selling confections and flowers but it was never very busy. I'm not sure how long this shop will last. A nice Internet Cafe is also located here with great sea views and large screen desktop computers. RP has wifi throughout so if you have your own device such as an iPhone or iPad you can use it just about anywhere, including out on deck and in your cabin. The only problem is that the internet service on RP is about the slowest I've experienced on any ship. It wasn't just slow, but agonizing slow! It didn't take long using up my free minutes just downloading simple emails to my iPhone. Why the internet service is so much slower compared to other ships I don't know. The International Cafe, which is now a Princess landmark is also located nearby, and it continues to serve up a nice selection of complimentary sandwiches and sweets 24/7. Walking forward on Plaza Deck you enter a very attractive lobby area that includes the Shore Excursion & Passenger Services desks, as well as the entrance to Sabatini's, one of the specialty restaurants onboard RP. We didn't dine in Sabatini's this time around, but I thought the space was beautiful and one of the nicest looking on the ship. I did take advantage of the Lotus Spa, which is all the way forward and essentially right underneath the Princess Theater. I thought the spa was beautiful with its black stone decor. I bought a week long pass for The Enclave which is the thermal suite area of the spa. Inside The Enclave are heated relaxation beds, a therapeutic pool, and a choice of steam and sauna rooms. There are no ocean views as The Enclave is in a center location. I made good use of my pass enjoying The Enclave daily, usually after a workout in the gym or the 5pm gathering with new friends. I have to mention that the fitness center is no where near the spa, and while not a huge issue I do prefer when these facilities are adjacent to each other. The fitness center is actually located up on Deck 17 aft, about as far away from the spa as you could get! It's a nice fitness center though, with great ocean views and all new Precor equipment. I liked that there was open deck space just outside the fitness center to catch a breath of fresh air.

 

Other favorite public areas include Crooners which is the piano bar, The Wheelhouse which is a more sedate piano bar (very Cunard-esque), and Club 6 which is the nightclub. Lacking on RP is any kind of observation lounge/bar like Skywalker's on previous Princess ships. I really missed having a beautiful lounge/bar with great views of the ocean. Speaking of ocean views, there is no wrap-around Promenade Deck on RP. There are a few viewing areas with seating on Deck 7, but no deck available to passengers that wraps around. My understanding is Princess will open up some of the Deck 7 crew spaces to passengers on sister ship REGAL PRINCESS, but even so those spaces are very narrow and views will be blocked by lifeboats. The open upper decks of RP are quite expansive, and to my surprise more spacious and large than I expected. There are three pools in total although one is just a plunge pool. Even so the pools were never overly crowded and the two main pools were quite large by ship standards. The pool water is fresh but on the chilly side which I actually enjoyed. I don't like it when the pools are too warm. Finding a deck chair was never a problem, even when I strolled out late around noon or 1pm. I'm happy to say that Princess still has live music by the main pool and towels are plentiful and don't need to be returned to the cabin or a manned towel hut after use. The Skywalk is also located topside, and I thought this was a pretty cool new feature. It's a walkway that extends out over the sea below, and the floor is made of glass! It's a pretty cool sensation sailing at 20 knots and seeing the ocean pass below your feet from 16 decks above! Not quite as cool is The Fountain. It's directly midship between the pools and is a very small scale version of the fountain show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It just isn't that exciting and it takes up too much valuable real-estate that could be used for another pool or to enlarge the existing plunge pool. For a bit of peace and quiet the adults-only Retreat Pool & Bar is the place to be. It can get a little windy but on a warm day it actually feels quite nice. Forward of the Retreat Pool is the adults-only Sanctuary. It's beautifully done but there is an extra charge to use this space if one is available. On this particular cruise the Sanctuary seemed sold out most days which means it's popular and I'm sure Princess is happy about that! Unfortunately The Sanctuary utilizes the only forward facing real-estate on the ship, so most people will never get to enjoy that view. Thankfully you can enjoy a beautiful aft facing view at the Horizon Terrace. There is wonderful seating here to dine alfresco or just to relax and have a drink at the bar. Most Celebrity ships also feature an aft area like the Horizon Terrace, which they call the Sunset Bar. What I enjoy on Celebrity is that during sunset they have a solo guitarist that plays. It really makes for a magical setting.

 

What is a cruise without food, and on ROYAL PRINCESS I can assure you that you won't starve! We dined at traditional late seating in the aft Allegro Dining Room. I felt this was the most attractive dining room of the three, with the decor being much more bold than the two center dining rooms. Service was great and the cuisine was quite tasty. I have to confess I'm not that fussy when it comes to food so perhaps I'm a bit easy to please. The menu is quite extensive and I loved the huge variety of "always available" food choices. One night was dined at The Crown Grill which is an extra tariff steak & seafood restaurant and I thought the cuisine was excellent. This venue is actually connected to the Wheelhouse Bar and I really liked the arrangement. It made it feel a little like a dinner club. The Horizon Court & Bistro with its Pastry Shop surely ranks as the best or at least one of the best buffets at sea. The layout is excellent and the food choices are immense. If you can't find something to your liking here than you are just too picky! Not to be outdone is Alfredo's, a complimentary pizzeria serving up some of the best personal pizzas at sea in beautiful surroundings. The gorgeous Piazza is on one side with ocean views on the other. What more could you ask for? Back topside there is the Trident Grill serving up decent grilled fare such as burgers and chicken, and adjacent is Prego which is yet another pizzeria serving up pizza by the slice. Hidden but not forgotten is Swirls, featuring soft serve ice cream to satisfy that sweet tooth. All in all I felt the dining choices were excellent as was the service in each of them. In fact the service on the entire ship was excellent. There was never a wait to get a drink at any bar, and plenty of bar staff on deck if you wanted that drink by the pool. Every crew member I encountered was friendly and seemed to enjoy their job. This was really astonishing considering how many Filipino crew members there are onboard and the uncertainty that faces them at home. I really applaud them and I don't know if I could perform so well under similar circumstances. I noticed that Princess is becoming a bit more like Celebrity with a little more attention to detail. Things like passing out cold towels and water/juice while waiting to board the ship in various ports. I think it's the small touches that really differentiate one cruise line from another these days, and it's nice to see Princess stepping it up a bit in this regard.

 

After a fairly recent cruise on CARNIVAL BREEZE I was concerned that the lackluster entertainment on that ship might have found its way to Princess. I'm pleased to say this is not the case. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship and on deck, lots of activities, and plenty of shows. I'm a fan of the cruise ship production show and on Princess they are alive and well. There were a few production shows during the week and I very much enjoyed what I saw. There is a full compliment of singers and dancers and sometimes even a full orchestra on stage. The production shows are presented in the Princess Theater. It's an impressive theater upon first sight, but unfortunately that favorable impression quickly fades when you sit down. The space between rows is VERY tight and there is no room for drinks except in your hand. There is no aisle along side bulkheads so if you end up in one of those seats, you are pretty much stuck for the show like it or not. The good news is that every seat is unobstructed and has a great view. I would highly recommend an aisle seat on the lowest level near the stage if possible. It means arriving early but you will be far more comfortable during the show. Secondary shows are in the aft Vista Lounge while passenger participation type shows are in the midship "Princess Live" venue. Princess Live is something new for Princess, and clearly it's copied directly from the Celebrity Central concept on the Celebrity Solstice Class ships. I'm not a fan of this style of entertainment so I really can't comment on the success of this venue. I can say that often there were people gathered at the door to Princess Live so I'm assuming it's very popular and perhaps the space is not large enough. In addition there was the usual compliment of cruise ship magicians and comedians, piano performers at The Wheelhouse and Crooners, nightclub dancing at Club 6, movies under the stars, a casino that was packed nightly, shopping with a pretty good selection of merchandise, bands and performances in The Piazza, and yes the fountain show up on deck. One night was a well attended deck party that included a performance on deck by the dancers & singers choreographed with the fountain. That was the one fountain show I did think was pretty cool.

 

The itinerary for this cruise is what I call the Caribbean "milk-run". It's a great cruise for first timers who have never been to the Caribbean before. St. Thomas and St. Maarten are core Caribbean ports that all the major cruise lines call at with their largest ships. I picked ROYAL PRINCESS for a couple reasons. First I wanted to sail on the latest and greatest from Princess Cruises. I was not disappointed and the ship provided new interest and incentive to once again return to Princess Cruises. Secondly the name Royal Princess has special meaning to me, as I sailed on the original Royal Princess back in the 80's with my recently deceased grandmother. One of my grandmother's wishes after she passed was that my brother and I scatter her ashes in the Caribbean during a cruise. This was really fitting since my grandmother is the reason I became so interested in ships at such a young age. She started taking my brother and I on cruises when I was around 10 or 11 years old. My brother and I honored her wishes and her final resting place is a beautiful and unspoiled inlet called St Mary's Creek located on the coast of St. John. I could not imagine a more beautiful or spectacular setting to say our final goodbyes and I think my grandmother would have been quite pleased with our choice. The other port for this cruise was Princess Cays, which is a private beach for Princess passengers located on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. I've been lucky enough to visit all the private islands and beaches of the major cruises lines, and Princess Cays is clearly in the middle of the pack. It's by no means the best, but it is a nice beach and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. My favorite is Disney's Castaway Cay, followed by Royal Caribbean's Labadee, then Holland America's Half Moon Cay. We were lucky to enjoy very pleasant weather during this cruise, with only a few showers, plenty of sunshine, and gorgeous sunsets. I loved our evening sail out from St. Thomas. It was truly magical.

 

Disembarkation in Ft. Lauderdale was efficient and effortless as was getting on and off the ship in every port. I never encountered any substantial lines or delays with one exception. Embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale left a lot to be desired. We arrived by car around 11:00am and it took over 30 minutes just to drive into the Terminal 2 area to drop off our luggage. We saw a massive line outside the terminal that ran all the way down the side of the terminal and beyond. That is no way to start a cruise so we drove off and had lunch in Ft. Lauderdale, then stopped at the Mercedes dealership to check out the new CLA (quite impressive BTW). We returned at 2pm to find no lines what so ever and an effortless embarkation process. I would highly recommend arriving later as opposed to earlier, as clearly Terminal 2 in Ft. Lauderdale is not sufficient to handle ships the size of ROYAL PRINCESS.

 

I hope it's obvious that I quite enjoyed ROYAL PRINCESS and the overall Princess experience. Is the ship perfect? No but I haven't found the perfect ship yet (I keep trying!). I will say that RP is enough of a departure from the typical Princess experience & decor that I have a renewed interest in sailing on Princess, specifically ROYAL PRINCESS and her new sister REGAL PRINCESS. One final footnote is that Princess recently announced some changes to the design of REGAL PRINCESS that will include such features as an aft pool and a promenade deck with more passenger accessible areas. This is a step in the right direction and it's great that Princess is listening to feedback and taking appropriate action. I hope they also address the elevator situation as from my perspective this is the biggest failure of RP that also impacts the most people.

 

Please enjoy the pictures located at the link at the beginning of this review, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Ernie

Just off the Royal 11/24, unfortunately for us embarkation was chaotic, arriving at 1145, the line was very long, I finally found the end of the priority line with difficulty as Princess does not have enough help to direct traffic, then came the very large rude group who felt they were the only priority passengers & refused listening that we are all in line. It was nasty & I felt sorry for the one Princess employee at the door. Princess PLEASE get some help outside, not a good way to start a cruise.

[boca7]

Hi

I was on the Nov. 17 sailing, and really enjoyed the cruise. Neither of us have MAJOR complaints.

Our cabin temp was COLD, so opened the balcony doors for awhile to warm it up. Someone else posted that there are sensors in the doors.. Whoops. We'd close them and lock them before leaving the cabin so it was cooler again when we returned.

 

My laptop was working fine up until Wednesday or Thursday and then it got very slow or non-existent. There was nothing major I needed to check so I wasn't frantic, just frustrated. And, it took me several minutes to just get a partial site, ie. Yahoo, but no mail. Part of a Facebook page, but never the entire thing and problem posting.

 

As for the room safe, it wasn't used but the door kept opening every time the closet door was opened. I happened to have some tape with me so hubby taped the door closed-end of problem. The bathroom was fine, and we just used the extra roll of TP and didn't worry about the one in the holder below the vanity. Our steward's name was Mark, and he was quite cheery and nice. One "problem" with the balcony was that when sitting, the railing was at my eye level so I either had to sit up very straight or have to look through the glass.

 

As mentioned on another post, many of the chairs on board are made for tall people. :D

 

I enjoyed all the entertainment I saw. We didn't go to the production shows. I saw Beatlemaniacs- and a new group called the Speakers-who did an "Elvis" songs in the Vista Lounge and sang British songs in the Piazza. The young, lead singer has quite a nice voice. I caught some of Kory Simon and some of Ray Cousins, plus some of "Steele". The Piazza was the dancing place, and there was a couple-her hair was red-who looked pretty impressive. Other dancers were trying out their steps and everyone was really enjoying themselves.

 

We went to the Symphony Dining Room the first night. We're not hard to please so our prime rib was good. We had anytime dining, but early seating persons went in first, so we, along with 4 ladies from Minnesota I met during the day, ended up sharing a table of 10 with 2 other couples. We 6 kept running into each other all week, along with one of the other couples, which was fun. The rest of the week was spent with Horizon Court food, and we ate in Alfredo's twice. Hubby liked the Calzone the first time, but not the second time. There is a limited menu. Alex was a great server, and the tall fellow with the green jacket-Conraad?-was nice.

 

Overall, it was good cruise, and we're happy we sailed on the Royal Princess.

 

Lynne

Just off the same cruise, R718, our cabin was very uncomfortable in the late afternoon getting dressed & middle of the night. Our family in 2 cabins in R709 & 719 the air was fine. Other cruisers near us also complained of heat.

[Beachdude]

Thanks for the review and pictures. The royal princess looks tiny next to allure of the seas

 

The Allure backed into that spot which made the size of the ship look even more impressive.

 

Burt

[geocruiser]

Just off the same cruise, R718, our cabin was very uncomfortable in the late afternoon getting dressed & middle of the night. Our family in 2 cabins in R709 & 719 the air was fine. Other cruisers near us also complained of heat.

 

I don't know if this could be the reason for the cabin being warm, but I have read on CC if people keep their balcony door open it can cause other cabins AC not to work right. Is this true?

[boca7]

The traffic situation at Terminal 2 around 11am was ridiculous. The line of cars, busses, and taxis went all the way around and out of the Terminal 2 entrance area and starting lining up down Eisenhower Blvd, which is the main access road of Port Everglades that runs in front of Terminal 2. There was no traffic at all at 2pm.

 

I didn't park in the garage so unfortunately I can't comment on how full it was. It's a very large garage as it's the same facility that the Convention Center uses so I think it's doubtful they would run out of spaces.

 

Hope this helps,

Ernie

The money went to refurbishing the buildings, entering is 2 lanes then splits 1 into parking garage & the other for the ship, this past week had only the Royal, its worse when 2 are boarding. This past Sunday I was waiting for my ride at 10 am, right after all traffic completely stopped for about 15 minutes or so & took awhile to clear, then at 1130 there was very light traffic. So nothing is consistent.

[Beachdude]

4. I did not use the steam showers in the fitness center because I had a week long pass to the Enclave. I did look at the showers and I believe I even took a picture of the outside. They looked like regular showers to me so I'm not sure how the steam option works.

 

Ernie

 

I used the showers once in the fitness area and saw NO steam options. In fact, I felt like Princess designed the area to discourage using the showers.

 

Burt

[Beachdude]

I don't know if this could be the reason for the cabin being warm, but I have read on CC if people keep their balcony door open it can cause other cabins AC not to work right. Is this true?

 

I don't think so, we noticed our thermostat was at the lowest setting when we first entered the room and it was never cool the whole week, even in the middle of the night.

 

Burt

[eroller]

The money went to refurbishing the buildings, entering is 2 lanes then splits 1 into parking garage & the other for the ship, this past week had only the Royal, its worse when 2 are boarding. This past Sunday I was waiting for my ride at 10 am, right after all traffic completely stopped for about 15 minutes or so & took awhile to clear, then at 1130 there was very light traffic. So nothing is consistent.

 

 

Interesting. It does appear there is little consistency regarding the terminal, but one thing is for certain is that it needs help! When I compare it to my embarkation experience for ALLURE and OASIS, ships much larger than RP, there is simply no comparison. On those ships and in that terminal it's 15 minutes from drop off to boarding the ship. Royal Caribbean really has it together.

 

Ernie