Royal Princess cabins vs. other Princess ships cabins

[mizLORInj]

Hi. Would those of you who've sailed both Royal and some other Princess ships (large and mid-size) comment on the similarities or differences in the cabins? We usually get a balcony cabin, but I'm open to comments about other types as well. The categories for Royal seem different than their other ships (though I've not been on Princess for 1.5 years so maybe things have changed in the categories). :)

Thanks!

Edited December 26, 2013 by mizlorinj

[Astro Flyer]

I've sailed on the various types of Grand-class ships plus the Royal Princess. The cabins felt very similar to other ships & maybe without the room full of mirrors could feel slightly smaller to some but not to us. We spent more time on our deluxe balcony's couch than on the balcony because we had direct sunlight during our transatlantic crossing & not because it was 4' instead of 5' deep. We comfortably enjoyed another Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

 

The shower was slightly larger with a small step opposite the shower head. The flat panel TV was attached to the wall at the foot of the bed. The programming was easily the best ever with many choices including on-demand programming. We were very comfortable during our 18 days onboard & the pillow-top mattress was very comfortable. :D

Edited December 26, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[Pam in CA]

I had a standard balcony cabin on the Royal and it was very similar to a standard balcony cabin on the Diamond, Crown, Sapphire and other ships.

 

Here's my Diamond cabin from May:

 

Here's my standard balcony cabin on the Royal:

[fielddreamer]

Hi. Would those of you who've sailed both Royal and some other Princess ships (large and mid-size) comment on the similarities or differences in the cabins? We usually get a balcony cabin, but I'm open to comments about other types as well. The categories for Royal seem different than their other ships (though I've not been on Princess for 1.5 years so maybe things have changed in the categories). :)

Thanks!

I just got off Sunday and we felt it was better than the other Princess ships we had been on. The layout was a little better in the bathroom closet area with a wider walk in between the bathroom door and closet area , but the best part was the 42" TV and the choice of movies to chose from !

[sunsetbeachgal]

The size of the standard balcony and regular inside cabins and bathrooms/closets seemed the same. As others said, the large TV with on demand programming was a huge plus!

Edited December 26, 2013 by sunsetbeachgal

[dorisis]

The Ocean and Pacific Princess ships have the largest standard cabins.I find the other Princess ship's cabins smaller than most other cruise lines. No sofa unless you book a mini suite; which really isn't a suite at all.

Edited December 26, 2013 by dorisis

[capriccio]

We have been in a Premium Suite on the Emerald, a Vista Suite on the Sapphire and a Window Suite on the Caribbean and have seen Owner Suites on them so we expected to be wowed on the Royal Princess. We weren't:(.

 

Layout

 

There are two distinct rooms - bedroom and seating room - as in a hotel suite which is nice - especially if on different sleep schedules or TV viewing preference.

 

But the seating room is smaller than the seating space in any suite we've ever been in (think the size of a mini-suite). My husband's first question was where is the couch? -- there was only a love seat. As others have noted there is no longer a wet bar either. Entertaining more than 2 people (and that would be tight) inside the suite was out of the question with a loveseat, desk chair and small arm chair (a second desk chair is in the bedroom but there is no where to put it in the sitting area). It was problematic (see below) on the balcony.

 

Lots of closets which was nice and separate, connecting bathrooms (one with sink and toilet, the other with sink, tub - not a whirlpool like on other ships, and separate shower) were very nice and if you could have entertained, the 1/2 bath would have been great.

 

The bedroom also had another desk and lots of storage space. The bed was extremely comfortable and the bed linens and towels were also very nice.

 

We liked the decorating scheme - it is very pretty and relaxing.

 

Balcony

 

What a great balcony (at least on Dolphin and Baja which have the widest balconies; some of the others are incredibly narrow)! Too bad they put cheap, undersized furniture on it. No more big teak, cushioned loungers and tables for 4. There were two loungers made of some type of unfinished wood where the metal pieces are already turning green with corrosion (and narrower than the traditional teak chaises), two small end tables, a small dining table and only chairs for 2. Lots of space to entertain but no where to sit....

 

But that wasn't a problem because of the soot and exhaust :eek:. See lots of other threads on that topic. While this is still an issue I couldn't recommend any aft facing (stern) balcony cabin.

Recommendations

 

First and foremost, Princess must fix the soot and exhaust problem. Until then warn passengers - don't wait for them to complain.

 

Princess needs to rename (and reprice) these suites -- they are not Owners Suites. In addition they need to put some realistic floor plans on the web site - that really shouldn't be so difficult. And while they are at it, they should put realistic information about balcony size (I know it is too much to ask that they include shade coverage) on the web site too since some of the Owners Suites have very narrow balconies. Finally, the suite perks on other ships include the Thermal Suite -- the Thermal Suite on Steroids on the Royal is the Enclave and it isn't included in the perks. The additional perk on the Royal was the concierge lounge -- we went once to check it out and the best my husband can say is, 'it has a capuccino machine!' but he drank plenty of capuccinos in Sabatinis each morning so he didn't go back.

 

We love aft suites and are willing to pay for them but in this case do not think we got our monies worth.

Edited December 26, 2013 by capriccio

[GottaLuvCruising]

Which balconies on the Royal Princess are fully covered? We hope to book our next cruise on her while we are on the Ruby next month.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

Which balconies on the Royal Princess are fully covered? We hope to book our next cruise on her while we are on the Ruby next month.

 

They are all fully covered. No more of the tiered sides of the ship like the grand class ships. Almost all balconies are all tiny. I would never book one of those cabins. And the aft balconies get all the soot. There are few balconies that are larger around the bump out but that is it.

 

If you are huge balcony fan, then this class of ship isn't for you. Yes, we are going on the Regal next year but we specifically picked a large baloncy. (Moved from an aft one after the disaster on the Royal).

 

The Royal class ships are now our least favorite and we won't be on them much unless the itinerary is outstanding.