Hits and Misses on the Royal Princess

[capriccio]

Just returned from an Eastern Med cruise on the Royal Princess with extended family:

 

• DH and I were on our 10th Princess cruise
  
• DB and SIL #2 were on their 2nd Princess cruise (one Carnival under their belt too)
  
• DB and SIL #1 were on their 2nd Princess cruise (one Royal Caribbean under their belt too)
  
  • 2 daughters in their 20s
    
  • grandson - 7
    
  • MIL and FIL celebrating 50th anniversary
    
  • SIL
    

This is our consolidated opinion on items major and minor :) in no specific order:

 

Cabins - no problems with the balcony or inside cabins on Dolphin deck; lots of problems with the premium deluxe balcony and owners suite on Dolphin. See http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956349 and http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1955147. Beds were super comfortable in all cabins.

 

Atrium and other public areas - absolutely stunning.

 

Food - Food was very good/excellent. Personally only did MDR once. Loved Alfredos (and the IC) for a quick (and delicious) bite. After years of avoiding the Horizon Court on other ships we ate dinner there twice. Food and service were great, more choices than imaginable, and the entire experience was very pleasant. DH and I had outstanding meals in the Crown Grill and Sabatinis.

 

Entertainment - loved all the new technology in the shows in the Princess theater but seats are too small and there was no place to put your drink. Rows were long and their was no chance of the waiter getting to you if you were in the middle. Saw all the shows - great comedian (Carlos Oscar) and illusionist/magician (David Cats), fabulous Beatlemaniacs, and 3 production shows with a talented group of dancers and singers. Saw the Music of Elvis - very enjoyable but too short - in the Vista Lounge. The latter has a really odd seating arrangement -- way too tight.

 

Club 6 - the nightclub/elite cocktails venue doesn't hold a candle to Skywalkers. Much smaller (and was full every evening except for the last by 5:15), the shades were always pulled down (we pulled ours up :D) and it seemed understaffed. Still enjoyed it though.

 

Lack of a promenade deck - everyone missed it (DBs' other Princess cruise had been on the Coral -- they told me everyday to make sure I mentioned that was the greatest drawback in their opinion).

 

Retreat pool - cabanas were being used. I liked the relative quiet and we didn't have trouble finding shade/partial shade by 10 am. By noon it was full. One windy day you couldn't walk across the deck without losing your hat so that location is problematic in certain wind conditions.

 

Walking/jogging path -- why can't people follow directions (precisely spelled out that walkers are on the inside, joggers on the outside and to walk counter clockwise)? They need icons on the track and the walker lane should be the wider of the two (it isn't). DB who runs 6 miles everyday came to love it as long as he was out there as day broke.

 

Hallway carpets (designating port/starboard, fore and aft) were greatly missed the first few days. Why take away something that worked so well and passengers relied on?

 

Elevators - we were aft so used those elevators. After the first day (utter confusion as usual) we didn't see any problems but then again we usually took the stairs.

 

DB#2 and SIL did the Ultimate Ship Tour (we had recommended it and then worried they would say we wasted $300 of their money :eek:) and loved it - said it was the highlight of the trip (whew!).

 

Gym - lots of the party used the gym. The only complaint was the audio not working on the treadmills but that was fixed.

 

Funzone (3 -7 year olds) - only a handful of kids but it was the absolute highlight of the 7 year old's cruise.

 

Internet - very hit and miss for those of us at the far aft of the ship. That really needs to get fixed.

 

Air Conditioning - no problem in the cabins but there were definitely hot and cold spots on the ship with the entertainment venues running too hot.

 

The staff were hardworking and very gracious. We did have a problem with the passenger services desk saying they would reverse an incorrect charge and instead adding it again :eek: but we got that straightened out half an hour before leaving the ship. Check your folios! DB #2 had charges that they never made (and were reversed without issue).

 

Finally - thank you to all that recommend the 12 meter yacht race in St. Marten. It was an outstanding excursion (and our yacht won :p).

Edited December 15, 2013 by capriccio

[paul929207]

Thanks for your comments

[TorontoTL]

Thank you for your detailed review!

[Mom33]

Thanks for your review! Seems like you enjoyed your Caribbean cruise. :D

[Happy2cruise]

Glad you enjoyed the Royal:)

[OCruisers]

Thanks so very much for your time to tell us about your cruise on Royal Princess. Very helpful to those of us who are yet to sail on her. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[shoes 1]

What cabin number were you. We have booked d711 aft side of ship. Wondering about soot problems in that area??

[capriccio]

What cabin number were you. We have booked d711 aft side of ship. Wondering about soot problems in that area??

 

We were in D727 (aft corner) and my DB and SIL were in D729 (totally aft). I think you will be fine - D727 had 2 sliding glass doors - one on the side (the suite bedroom) and the other true aft (in the sitting room). Problems were much, much more apparent on the aft portion of the balcony. I had two nieces close to your cabin in D701 (if I remember correctly) and there was no problem on their balcony at all.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for your review!

[Cruise Junky]

OP, if you have a facebook account would you mind popping over and answering the women's question after soot on aft balconies. The usual Facebook guard are telling her there's no issue.

[capriccio]

OP, if you have a facebook account would you mind popping over and answering the women's question after soot on aft balconies. The usual Facebook guard are telling her there's no issue.

 

I'm sorry - I'm not on Facebook but believe me there is a major issue and everyone from the engineer who gave the 'building a new ship' presentation down to the passenger services desk staff are very, very aware of it. I have pictures on my I-Pad but have never attached a picture on cruise critic. If someone wants to give me simple :D, step by step instructions on how to do so, I can try :p.

[Beachdude]

I'm sorry - I'm not on Facebook but believe me there is a major issue and everyone from the engineer who gave the 'building a new ship' presentation down to the passenger services desk staff are very, very aware of it.

 

Yes they are, we were told a fix is coming in just a couple months.

 

It was so bad that I had to throw out my drink after standing on the balcony for only five minutes.

 

The soot doesn't always accumulate, but I can't tell you the conditions of when it does and doesn't. Rain does help keep it away.

 

A suggestion until the problem is fixed is turn the balcony chairs toward the cabin when you are using them and scoot them against the window. This will prevent soot from accumulating on the chairs. Not much you can do for the deck.

 

Burt

[beg3yrs]

 

Walking/jogging path -- why can't people follow directions (precisely spelled out that walkers are on the inside, joggers on the outside and to walk counter clockwise)? They need icons on the track and the walker lane should be the wider of the two (it isn't). DB who runs 6 miles everyday came to love it as long as he was out there as day broke.

 

 

OMG, that resonates so well with us. It is not just the Royal though. On every ship upon which we've sailed, so many passengers are without a clue about runners and walkers. The clueless will move directly into a runner's path without a care in the world. I've had to give up running on a ship as my knees have lots of miles on them. While they still work fine in a straight line or a gentle curve, having to repeatedly quickly swerve or stop is just too much.

 

Great review, chock full of useful information. We're not on the Royal until November and your inputs have increased our excitement!

[MauiLvrs]

Walking/jogging path -- why can't people follow directions (precisely spelled out that walkers are on the inside, joggers on the outside and to walk counter clockwise)?

Because they want to walk where they can see the sea ...

and the other place to do that is gone...

[pablo222]

Walking/jogging path -- why can't people follow directions (precisely spelled out that walkers are on the inside, joggers on the outside and to walk counter clockwise)? They need icons on the track and the walker lane should be the wider of the two (it isn't). DB who runs 6 miles everyday came to love it as long as he was out there as day broke.

 

 

Maybe they have been reading cruise critic, and have learned that rules are (only) for other people.

[SwissDave]

Because they want to walk where they can see the sea ...

and the other place to do that is gone...

 

And there are many many many other places to do that on the Royal besides the walking/jogging track, which is a relatively small area on the top of the ship.

[Clutterlady]

Yes they are, we were told a fix is coming in just a couple months.

 

It was so bad that I had to throw out my drink after standing on the balcony for only five minutes.

 

The soot doesn't always accumulate, but I can't tell you the conditions of when it does and doesn't. Rain does help keep it away.

 

A suggestion until the problem is fixed is turn the balcony chairs toward the cabin when you are using them and scoot them against the window. This will prevent soot from accumulating on the chairs. Not much you can do for the deck.

 

Burt

 

You won't convince anyone on Princess's FB page that their is any soot problem on the balconies. Looks like they are calling everyone a liar:mad:

[capriccio]

Because they want to walk where they can see the sea ...

and the other place to do that is gone...

 

This has nothing to do with the lack of a Promenade Deck (which we did miss). By the way - you get fantastic views of the sea from the walking/running track. I know, I walked it.

 

There is a designated lane for walkers on the track but it is too narrow since many folks like to walk in tandem. On the other hand the lane designated for runners doesn't need to be as wide as it is since running is usually a solitary pursuit - especially compared with walking.

 

I just wish folks would follow very simple instructions. My brother gave up running during the day because it was too dangerous with walkers on the runners track and folks going in the incorrect direction. He switched to daybreak when he had the track to himself.

[capriccio]

Maybe they have been reading cruise critic, and have learned that rules are (only) for other people.

 

LOL - so true!

[Cruise Junky]

You won't convince anyone on Princess's FB page that their is any soot problem on the balconies. Looks like they are calling everyone a liar:mad:

 

Shocking isn't it?