Royal Review 2-9-2-16-14

[tobyt]

I hope this is helpful to someone, while we had a relaxing week, there were some misses on this trip!

 

We flew to FLL a day early for our cruise, while I know others are fearless and take the plunge flying in the same day as embarkation coming from the snowy Northeast (especially this winter) I just cannot risk it! Our flight was uneventful and we arrived early morning to the crazy FLL airport which looked like it was under attack, huge security lines, bathroom lines and people everywhere but just a typical winter Saturday!

 

Preceded to the Alamo desk in the car rental facility which again had another huge line but I had prepaid and booked and we used the self-service kiosk and we were out of that area and selecting a car within 10 minutes. Alamo/National operate a bus service from the airport to Port Everglades which is free when you rent and we used both Sunday (2/9) and on our return the following Sunday car rental cost was almost covered by what we would have spent on a taxi for both trips.

 

We spent a fun filled day enjoying the warmth at Gulf Stream as the horses were running! It was so nice to be outside in the sunshine and able to not have on our heavy clothing. We had a quick overnight in a Hampton Inn (love their service and consistency) then onto airport car drop off and shuttle bus to the port.

 

We tipped the porters as we always do and I beg (I am not proud!) for them to not lose my luggage and I am assured that all is well! The check in line is not awful at this time (around 11:30) and it is moving quickly. We have our carryon backpacks scanned and we check in quite quickly and get the obligatory photo taken all within an hour. We are finally on the lovely Royal Princess!!!! We entered into the Piazza area and while I had read extensively and seen photos my husband had not and was quite impressed at the luxury and subtle rich color scheme.

 

We opted for a bite at Alfredo’s to start our relaxing cruise; the buffet on day 1 is just too much for me, too many people who appear to have never eaten in their lives. We were the only folks actually eating in Alfredo’s and throughout the week it seemed as if folks thought it was a fee restaurant or were not aware of it as there were rarely any crowds. Lunch was excellent and we set off to find the International café for a bit of a sweet treat! Both lunch and our treats were wonderful and we spent far too much time noshing at the IC all week long! They have awesome salads, sandwiches and desserts and I love the idea that there is someone picking it up and serving me. While there was not an announcement of Noro onboard by mid-week the salt and pepper shakers were gone in the buffet and the staff was handing out plates and utensils which is a sure sign of precautions being taken, hoping that if anything it was kept to a minimum. We carry sanitizer (and always use it before eating even after touching a menu or serving handle just to be certain) and are very careful about hand washing onboard (there are new stations on the Royal) and using the Purell but we witnessed far too many folks arguing with staff about such a healthy and important habit for the health of everyone!

 

We purchase our inclusive soda package with mocktails which I love while sitting poolside and head up to try to book a Sanctuary seat for the week….no such luck all sold out already! While I know we could attempt to get a daily seat, I have no interest in standing in line in the wee morning hours (or truthfully more likely hubby doing so!) and while it looked stunning I knocked it off the list of must do items for this trip. I did like how private it was when I toured so different from when we have used the Sanctuary on the Ruby. The Retreat pool located just outside of the door looks like a relaxing option so we will plan on spending some time there.

Then down to drop off our bags at the cabin and wander around seeing the sights and hoping to figure out the layout of our home away from home!

 

Our cabin (an inside on Baja) was perfect sized and with the slight change in bathroom and closet configuration, it gave us plenty of space. Our room steward Nob did an excellent job and always managed to get in and out while we were out! The only negative I can say is a distinct sewage smell in the hallways at times and flushing which was not sufficient. In fact, the toilet would not flush correctly and we had to call maintenance who corrected the issue but it was still a somewhat tentative flush. Later in the week, we met neighbors in the hallway who were having similar issues so not certain if there is an overall problem in that area of the ship.

 

Anytime dining at the Symphony was excellent and we returned each evening. The service was excellent not too drawn out (even on the first night) and we happily stuffed ourselves nightly. The only negative was the second formal night when we arrived to find a wait and received our first beeper of the cruise. We had gone for martinis at Crooners (not a problem at all!) and were enjoying a lovely adult beverage when the beeper went off. I trotted downstairs to let them know hubby was coming only to be sent to another dining room. I went up and down looking for hubby who was doing the same I took the stairs = he took a different set we finally were settled in for dinner in the alternative dining room and it was NOT good. The servers seemed annoyed we were there, linens were dirty and each item simply plopped in front with no pepper, no extra cheese, no beverages offered, water glasses empty and we were sharing hubby’s water, nothing I could not get at a local low budget Applebee’s, if it had been my first experience I would have been sad, I even had to ask for silverware at one point as I had none….come to find out after reading the Patter it seemed that the dining room was being used for traditional dining and since it was well past the start of that it seemed we were just placed there due to crowding. I would have been so disappointed if that was my dining for the week.

I celebrated a milestone birthday while onboard and could not say enough nice things about how it was handled on the first formal night. Luigi took my card for cake and really made it an event with singing waiters, and "fireworks" he improvised by using the menus and one of the other waiters making a shrill noise, so funny!

 

We did spend one glorious dinner at the Crown Grill on the last night of our trip. We made the reservation as soon as we boarded and it is always a highlight to end our trip with such a wonderful meal. While we did not like the new Crown Grill layout on the Royal at all and I felt somewhat like I was eating in a fishbowl with the folks looking over from the bar area, it was still a delish dinner. I hope they will reconsider the layout for the Regal as it gets quite loud when the music is playing and as mentioned there is a lack of privacy I miss from the other Crown Grills we have been to.

 

Ports of call are repeats for us but this was the very best tender to Princess Cays ever, very smooth and not at all seasick inducing! St. Thomas was spent taking a water taxi to Water Island and Honeymoon Beach, while it does get a bit crowded it was a special day in the sun. there are a couple of little bars for snacks and drinks and although I knew it was not a snorkel spot I did bring my gear and happily spent a long time watching a number of turtles swim around, such fun! St Martin for us is all about the guava berry liquor and we did a bit of shopping and hunkered down for some cool and refreshing drinks and purchased as many bottles as we can carry for our summertime pool beverages. It rained very briefly in the morning and it was muggy on St. Martin but we love the island and enjoyed just watching the people, listening to the music and chilling dockside!

 

Entertainment on the Royal is one of the BIG negatives for us. We quite frankly had a difficult time finding things to do. It was great to watch MUTS but I don’t want to feel like that is my only option each evening and many times this trip I did. We are not 75+ and the entertainment and evening music was primarily geared for that demographic. In addition, the cruise director Ron has clearly decided that to get high marks he will direct ALL of his attention as well as his entertainment options to that group. I know that even my Dad (76) would have been unhappy with the music and entertainment options. Big band music and dancing every night just does not cut it….I was hoping for a vow renewal on Valentine’s day (I heard they did one on Crown this year) nothing…pretty decorations but a balloon drop over the dance floor is not really entertainment. Even the game shows had a difficult time, we showed up for the Quest and there was no one there and the staff did not seem overly happy and discouraged us from even staying. During the day limited concerts or movies poolside (what did play were SUPER old movies and concerts which seemed to date back years!)- mostly nature clips which played over and over and over again…..limited pool games and while NOT looking for a Carnival like atmosphere I would have been happy to watch something other than nature scenes on the big screen. Even the cooking demos which were in Princess Live were not anything terrific and I have always enjoyed them in the past, it seemed they were set up to play on the TV and less about the actual event.

Positive entertainment notes- daily Zumba with Nat- wow he gives a great workout. MUTS for Gravity, Captain Phillips (fun to watch from a boat!) and Last Vegas. Band at pool was good but super limited play times.

 

The other negative for us was the other passengers, never have we encountered such rude, entitled and angry passengers. We go with the flow and rarely complain but it seemed that the other passengers could find nothing but fault and complained about everything. I know and understand that there are loads of the Elites onboard and longtime cruisers who don’t like "new" or "different" but they seemed to find it a game to poke at everything around them. Complaints at muster about needing to wait and why there were not special places for them to muster…I mean you are sitting in a casino how difficult is it?!?!?! The tender process (we waited until 10 after Zumba and breakfast) to let the crowds thin and there were still major complaining on the 5 minutes it took to get onboard. I had a gentleman (I use that term lightly) standing next to me pounding on the counter of the IC as he was waiting for someone to service him. I had people push ahead of me at IC telling the waiter/chef that they were elite and should be able to go ahead of everyone and they needed breakfast sandwiches….really I have never seen that as a perk in my Princess news. There were also many people on multi week trips, fine you have been here before but really for some of us this is our week of vacation which is precious and we plan and save for, stop talking about last week and comparing it to last week and let it happen, remember this is new to me!!!! Chair hogs are all over but this week was amazing I would find a spot there were towels nearby and 4 hours later someone would actually come to sit in them! People were attempting to reserve chairs for MUTS even before the chairs were even in place by putting beach towels down. I cannot say it was everyone and we met and interacted with many lovely folks but there were so many that it truly impacted our week!

 

As I mentioned, some good, some bad, we were away from the cold and snow, someone was making my meals and cleaning up for me and I was with my DH all good and wonderful and nothing but happy memories. However, this trip unlike any other there were enough negatives to make me rethink Princess, inaugural seasons (we did not have this issue on Ruby during her first FL season) and consider if we need to try another line next winter.

[tooner1977]

Thanks for your review. We are also in an inside cabin on the Baja deck glad to hear it was decent size we are use to the outside obstructed view on Princess and was worried hubby would get in my way too much in an inside lol :) Do you happen to know if they were offering the alcohol drink package onboard?

[tobyt]

We have done the obstructed as well and I like the ability to see the natural light BUT we do also like the darkness of an inside room. I looked for the drink package and did not see that it was being offered yet on the Royal.

[kendon]

Enjoyed your review.

 

tobyt, we were on the same cruise. How could you forget to mention The Beatle Maniacs?? They were the absolute best Beatle's tribute band I've ever heard. :) They did a show in the Princess Theater, then played in the piazza on the last night. Fabulous entertainers! I'll admit that I was surprised to see old movies on the big screen. It would probably be a better idea to show those in the Princess Theater in the afternoons...not a MUTS fan anyway.

 

As for the passenger demographic, I'd say the average age was about 50 (we're just above that ourselves). We did not encounter any of the rude/entitled passengers that you seemed to see so many of. Many came from the midwest and Canada and were very polite and fun. After lots of Princess cruises, we thought the mix of passengers on this cruise was wonderful and enjoyed sharing breakfast, tea, and dinner with new people every day.

 

The new Horizon Court was fabulous, and the eating opportunities were endless on this ship. Always seating at the new style buffet, even on embarkation day.

 

Any negatives are not worth mentioning...were there any negatives? Oh yea, the lack of mid ship stairs...got over it right away. Overall, I would give this cruise experience an A plus and look forward to booking another on this ship.

Edited February 22, 2014 by kendon

[Woobstr112G]

Op;

 

Thanks for taking the time to pistol your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Working 2 Cruise]

Op;

 

Thanks for taking the time to pistol your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

"Pistol?"

 

OP it appears we have 2 very conflicting reviews in the same thread...

 

You may be happier on another cruise line, such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean as they seem to have more 20 something entertainment, although I had to suffer through Carnivals entertainment in 2012.

 

I do think Princess could offer more current movies but still enjoy the nature scenes which are played because a lot of customers complained about the constant loudness of MUTS.

 

Did you read the Patter to see what choices were available? Did you check out comedians and production shows?

[CI66774]

OP - thanks for your review. I was on the Royal in December and found the paxs to be wonderful. So many came up to my daughter and told me how beautiful she is (she's adopted, so I'm not complimenting myself!!!!). Maybe if was because it was right before Christmas but I didn't have any of the encounters you had.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[dmwnc1959]

However, this trip unlike any other there were enough negatives to make me rethink Princess, inaugural seasons (we did not have this issue on Ruby during her first FL season) and consider if we need to try another line next winter.

 

...we were on the same cruise.

 

Any negatives are not worth mentioning...were there any negatives? Oh yea, the lack of mid ship stairs...got over it right away. Overall, I would give this cruise experience an A plus and look forward to booking another on this ship.

 

 

 

OP it appears we have 2 very conflicting reviews in the same thread...

 

 

Guess this just goes to prove that two people on the same ship and the same cruise can have two compete my different experiences.

 

:D

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Thanks for the review. Also curious to see if you noticed them offering an all inclusive alcohol package. Sailing in 1 week and can't wait. Thanks.

[hllwdcruiser]

Thank you for your review. Sorry you had such a negative experience with the Elite passengers. We have always experienced the complete opposite with the well traveled passengers - the ones we have met (on our last cruise several with 40+ on Princess) have always been extremely laid back and a wealth of useful information.

It is always a good idea to fly in the day before - there have been too many passengers this past winter who literally "missed the boat" due to cancelled or delayed flights - I can't imagine anything worse - especially after all the months of planning.

[squaw]

We were on the same cruise on 2/9. We would not chose the Royal again for many of the same reasons listed but we had a great vacation. You really do make your own good time no matter what you actually think of a particular ship. I think the ship itself is beautiful and the staff was very good. we did meet some nice people. We did not find any rude travelers. We were not crazy about the entertainment but the Beatle Maniac's were great. We do prefer the grand class ships over the Royal design. Bigger did not make this ship better. It seems like they made more space in the piazza area to accommodate the 500+ extra guest on board over the grand class but took away an adult aft pool to make a bigger horizon court again to make more room for the extra guest. It seems like all they did was make the theater more cramped to fit more people. They made some cabins smaller and took away the promenade deck and yes it is very inconvenient to lose the mid ship stairs but you get use to it.

For anyone looking to go to the enclave. We checked it out as soon as we got onboard. They are now asking $199 a person for the week. When I ask about the $159 that I read about they told us they went up on the price because of the demand. They only take 40 couples and they were almost sold out and we got there around 12:30.

 

I would highly recommend when going to orient beach in St Maarten to have the taxi driver take you to Le string They have chair,umbrella and drink for $8. They have rest room,shower, bar and restaurant available. We got there around 10am and got front row chairs a few feet from the water.

 

St Thomas - Coki Beach was really nice with good snorkeling from the beach. We got there around 10 am. The beach staff was very nice and helpful. It started getting busy around noon. It is easy to grab a taxi - it us about 30 minutes away. The staff there try to schedule your taxi rides back to ship so everyone is not trying to grab a taxi all at the same time. Chairs are $5.

 

We would go back to the Ruby ( we loved the Ruby) but I think we will take a break from Princess for awhile.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Squaw, don't worry about the Ruby, she is moving to the West Coast next year!