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My review of our week aboard the Royal 4/6-4/13 plus arrest this morning

bichonsx2

By bichonsx2,
in Princess Cruises

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bichonsx2

bichonsx2

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We were so very excited to begin our Royal Princess cruise after so many months of chatting with our roll call friends. And were not disappointed! For sure, the weather cooperated until the last sea day.

 

We took a cab from the airport because we had to stop at Total Wine on the way to pick up our wine. Unfortunately, the traffic was horrendous and so backed up right at the pier. We did have to wait about 45 minutes in line to check in...but once we were inside and saw the piazza, we just let the other things roll off our backs. We met our roll call members at Sailaway at Outriggers. Really a fun time. After chatting with each other for so many months and to finally meet in person.

 

Our cabin was lovely (D207) we had a deluxe balcony. Very nicely appointed, we didn't find the balcony too terribly small, the toilet paper location is certainly not a spoiler. We didn't watch the TV too much, but it served its purpose. It took a little while to figure out, but worked fine. Our cabin steward, Jun, was efficient and always cheerful. We appreciated his attention. We were very happy campers!

 

We didn't love the food in the Symphony. We had any time dining, the service was for the most part good...the food just wasn't terrific. There were only 3 or 4 entree choices each evening, and not always so appealing. We did end up going to Crown Grille and Sabatini's on both formal nights. We decided to not bring formal clothing this trip, and it worked out FINE!!! We really enjoyed not "schlepping" all of the extra clothing. Our meal in Crown Grille was superb. I had a double order of the lamb chops and they melted in your mouth. My DH had a gorgeous steak that he loved! Our meal in Sabatini's was also very good...but I would have to give the prize to Crown Grille. we even did Alfredos one nite for dinner..very good .but I would have to say that it's really more appropriate for lunch.

We did enjoy HC every morning for breakfast. Loved the chocolate croissants. OMG...so good. The eggs benedict were my least favorite (they were almost always overcooked). We had been spoiled by our cruise on Holland. They had an eggs benedict station with about 15 choices of eggs benedict - made to order as you waited. But for the most part, Horizon Court is really nice...very CLEAN and the servers are always pleasant and efficient.

 

We enjoyed the entertainment. David Cats was the illusionist and he was fantastic. Really enjoyed his show. We also enjoyed Steven White...a very very funny comedian. The Beatlemaniacs were awesome! We saw them in the theater and they also performed in the piazza on Friday nite and that place was rocking!!

 

The chair situation at the pool was problematic. But we went up to deck 17 and were usually able to find chairs. Loved the pizza out there and also Swirls ice cream. There was always something going on and the service was indeed attentive.

 

We enjoyed our day at Princess Cays...a gorgeous day...the tender ride was a bit bumpy but everyone made the most of it...laughing and raising their arms with every big bump. Rather funny. The barbeque is adequate...not great...not terrible.

 

St. Thomas was lovely as usual. The weather was beautiful. We went out to Magen's Bay for a few hours. We saw two dolphins frolicking in the water. Everyone was very busy with their cameras trying to capture them. Then into town to pick up a few things and had lunch at Coconuts in one of the cute little alleys. Just love St. Thomas!

 

St. Maarten was really beautiful. We worked out a deal with a taxi driver who first took us out to Airport Beach. We watched a few planes come in (really fun) and then he drove us through Simpson Bay area and took us to Dawn Beach. It was a beautiful beach with a lovely outdoor place for lunch. We stayed for a few hours and he came back to pick us up.

 

We spent a few hours in the casino most nights...just watching and playing the penny slots. On Sat. afternoon, we had our slot pull with our roll call members. It was really fun and we all came out with $10 more than going in.

 

There was a bit of excitement this morning after breakfast. We were on our way down to our cabin to check out and our elevator stopped at deck 11. The doors opened and there we saw several police, several ship security personnel, a german shepard and a passenger with his hands handcuffed behind his back. We guessed he was late 20's, early 30's? He was dressed in flip flops, lounge pants and tee shirt. We were all asked to exit the elevator so they could escort this passenger out. We (including the other people with us in the elevator) tried to figure out what was going on and concluded (obviously a guess) that perhaps they discovered drugs in his suitcase or something like that? It was a very creepy experience.

 

Our disembarkation was as smoothly as possible. We got our bags right away, had a wait of maybe 15 minutes to go through customs and arrived at the airport at 8:30 am, well ahead of our 11:45 am flight back to Philadelphia.

 

We gave this cruise a 9 out of 10. We truly relaxed which was our main goal. We loved the ship...she is quite beautiful. And the service was really very good. We would travel on the Royal again but definitely to a different itinerary.

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riclop

riclop

Posted
Posted
We were so very excited to begin our Royal Princess cruise after so many months of chatting with our roll call friends. And were not disappointed! For sure, the weather cooperated until the last sea day.

 

We took a cab from the airport because we had to stop at Total Wine on the way to pick up our wine. Unfortunately, the traffic was horrendous and so backed up right at the pier. We did have to wait about 45 minutes in line to check in...but once we were inside and saw the piazza, we just let the other things roll off our backs. We met our roll call members at Sailaway at Outriggers. Really a fun time. After chatting with each other for so many months and to finally meet in person.

 

Our cabin was lovely (D207) we had a deluxe balcony. Very nicely appointed, we didn't find the balcony too terribly small, the toilet paper location is certainly not a spoiler. We didn't watch the TV too much, but it served its purpose. It took a little while to figure out, but worked fine. Our cabin steward, Jun, was efficient and always cheerful. We appreciated his attention. We were very happy campers!

 

We didn't love the food in the Symphony. We had any time dining, the service was for the most part good...the food just wasn't terrific. There were only 3 or 4 entree choices each evening, and not always so appealing. We did end up going to Crown Grille and Sabatini's on both formal nights. We decided to not bring formal clothing this trip, and it worked out FINE!!! We really enjoyed not "schlepping" all of the extra clothing. Our meal in Crown Grille was superb. I had a double order of the lamb chops and they melted in your mouth. My DH had a gorgeous steak that he loved! Our meal in Sabatini's was also very good...but I would have to give the prize to Crown Grille. we even did Alfredos one nite for dinner..very good .but I would have to say that it's really more appropriate for lunch.

We did enjoy HC every morning for breakfast. Loved the chocolate croissants. OMG...so good. The eggs benedict were my least favorite (they were almost always overcooked). We had been spoiled by our cruise on Holland. They had an eggs benedict station with about 15 choices of eggs benedict - made to order as you waited. But for the most part, Horizon Court is really nice...very CLEAN and the servers are always pleasant and efficient.

 

We enjoyed the entertainment. David Cats was the illusionist and he was fantastic. Really enjoyed his show. We also enjoyed Steven White...a very very funny comedian. The Beatlemaniacs were awesome! We saw them in the theater and they also performed in the piazza on Friday nite and that place was rocking!!

 

The chair situation at the pool was problematic. But we went up to deck 17 and were usually able to find chairs. Loved the pizza out there and also Swirls ice cream. There was always something going on and the service was indeed attentive.

 

We enjoyed our day at Princess Cays...a gorgeous day...the tender ride was a bit bumpy but everyone made the most of it...laughing and raising their arms with every big bump. Rather funny. The barbeque is adequate...not great...not terrible.

 

St. Thomas was lovely as usual. The weather was beautiful. We went out to Magen's Bay for a few hours. We saw two dolphins frolicking in the water. Everyone was very busy with their cameras trying to capture them. Then into town to pick up a few things and had lunch at Coconuts in one of the cute little alleys. Just love St. Thomas!

 

St. Maarten was really beautiful. We worked out a deal with a taxi driver who first took us out to Airport Beach. We watched a few planes come in (really fun) and then he drove us through Simpson Bay area and took us to Dawn Beach. It was a beautiful beach with a lovely outdoor place for lunch. We stayed for a few hours and he came back to pick us up.

 

We spent a few hours in the casino most nights...just watching and playing the penny slots. On Sat. afternoon, we had our slot pull with our roll call members. It was really fun and we all came out with $10 more than going in.

 

There was a bit of excitement this morning after breakfast. We were on our way down to our cabin to check out and our elevator stopped at deck 11. The doors opened and there we saw several police, several ship security personnel, a german shepard and a passenger with his hands handcuffed behind his back. We guessed he was late 20's, early 30's? He was dressed in flip flops, lounge pants and tee shirt. We were all asked to exit the elevator so they could escort this passenger out. We (including the other people with us in the elevator) tried to figure out what was going on and concluded (obviously a guess) that perhaps they discovered drugs in his suitcase or something like that? It was a very creepy experience.

 

Our disembarkation was as smoothly as possible. We got our bags right away, had a wait of maybe 15 minutes to go through customs and arrived at the airport at 8:30 am, well ahead of our 11:45 am flight back to Philadelphia.

 

We gave this cruise a 9 out of 10. We truly relaxed which was our main goal. We loved the ship...she is quite beautiful. And the service was really very good. We would travel on the Royal again but definitely to a different itinerary.

Thanks for the review.

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A1A

A1A

Posted
Posted

Nice review, we had a blast at the slot pull! How many times can you go to the casino for 90 minutes and double your money? Did not realize there was an arrest on-board this morning. If it was drug related I am happy that it was discovered and have no tolerance for this on a cruise! Thanks for your review, it was our pleasure meeting you!

Ken

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frqttrvlr09

frqttrvlr09

Posted
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I am taking my first cruise on the Royal Princess next month, starting and ending in St. Petersberg (Scandinavia/Baltic 10 days). What are the booking charges for the specialty restaurants (I assume there is no additional charge for the food, just to book there), and on such a large ship, is there difficulty in making reservations, which I am assuming can be made upon embarkation? Do other eating venues charge for the food (gelato shop? bakery? seafood restaurant/bar?

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rdsqrl

rdsqrl

Posted
Posted
I am taking my first cruise on the Royal Princess next month, starting and ending in St. Petersberg (Scandinavia/Baltic 10 days). What are the booking charges for the specialty restaurants (I assume there is no additional charge for the food, just to book there), and on such a large ship, is there difficulty in making reservations, which I am assuming can be made upon embarkation? Do other eating venues charge for the food (gelato shop? bakery? seafood restaurant/bar?

The specialty restaurants (Crown Grill and Sabatini's) are $25 per person and booking can be made on embarkation day and any time therafter. Gelato is about $2.50 (I'm not positive). The Ocean Terrace has an a la carte menu. If by "bakery," you mean the International Cafe, there's no charge for anything there. And there is no charge for any pastries/breads up in the Horizon Court/Horizon Bistro.

 

Since it's your first time on Princess, definitely read this if you haven't already:

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/index.jsp

Each link goes to tons more links with lots and lots of good information. This used to be something mailed out to people automatically when they booked; now, apparently, Princess hopes new cruisers will stumble across it by accident . . .

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JF - retired RRT

JF - retired RRT

Posted
Posted
The specialty restaurants (Crown Grill and Sabatini's) are $25 per person and booking can be made on embarkation day and any time therafter. Gelato is about $2.50 (I'm not positive). The Ocean Terrace has an a la carte menu. If by "bakery," you mean the International Cafe, there's no charge for anything there. And there is no charge for any pastries/breads up in the Horizon Court/Horizon Bistro.

 

On the Caribbean Princess the Gelato was $1.50 (I think) for 3 scoops.

Int. Cafe FOOD is no charge. Drinks cost $$

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bichonsx2

bichonsx2

Posted
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Mom33 - We were also relieved! ha ha

 

AIA - ken - we also enjoyed meeting you both. We'll be curious to see what your next cruise will be. Hope you got your luggage back. What a pain.

 

JCarlisle - we took good care of D207 for you! I know you will enjoy.

 

Elainemh - We enjoyed meeting you and your daughter at the sailaway as well. Too bad we didn't bump into each other during the rest of the cruise. Hope your trip home was smooth and uneventful!

 

Bluesea321 - Thankfully...no power outages! Wishing you the same.

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fairsky1984

fairsky1984

Posted
Posted
Thanks for a great review! I certainly enjoyed reading it! :)

Also, the part about the arrest was something seldom seen. Guess we'll never find out what he did ....

LuLu

~~~

Saw a similar incident during a cruise several years ago, but it was a crew member from the casino. Not only was it drugs, but he had also been under "surveillance for casino-related issues"....or so we were told. Watched him taken into custody and down the ramp to an awaiting squad car.
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rdsqrl

rdsqrl

Posted
Posted
On the Caribbean Princess the Gelato was $1.50 (I think) for 3 scoops.

Int. Cafe FOOD is no charge. Drinks cost $$

The poster I was responding to is going to be on the Royal, where gelato is more expensive than on the other ships (not including the CB) that have gelato, and was specifically asking about upcharges for food, not drinks.

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prerna

prerna

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Posted
The poster I was responding to is going to be on the Royal, where gelato is more expensive than on the other ships (not including the CB) that have gelato, and was specifically asking about upcharges for food, not drinks.

 

I believe Royal Princess has a Free Soft Serve Ice cream bar... but does it also give complimentary hard serve ice cream ( Also the yummy Cones) in the mdr and the horizon Court?:confused:

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted (edited)
I believe Royal Princess has a Free Soft Serve Ice cream bar... but does it also give complimentary hard serve ice cream ( Also the yummy Cones) in the mdr and the horizon Court?:confused:

Yes - mdr (no cone)

No - Horizon Court

Edited by caribill
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