Royal Princes Balcony's

[bluesea321]

Perhaps you didn't read all the conversation here carefully?. The poster made his response in a manner that you are criticizing me for. The opinion was that if I love the Royal, then my perceptions are biased. My response was would their dislike of the Royal cause them to be biased also?

 

Gee Mom33, it seems to me that you are the one that did not read the conversation carefully. Below is what I responded to you. Where does it say that your perceptions are biased? Nowhere of course... If you are going to quote me please quote me correctly.

 

I know that you loved the Royal, you rated it a 5+, perfection. The Royal is far from perfect, if such a ship exists at all, but different strokes for different folks... :)

[Mom33]

Gee Mom33, it seems to me that you are the one that did not read the conversation carefully. Below is what I responded to you. Where does it say that your perceptions are biased? Nowhere of course... If you are going to quote me please quote me correctly.

 

Something about your comment must have given me the impression. :)

[tip]

Yes, the balconies on the Royal are smaller than on other ships. To us, once we got use to it, it was no big thing. IMO, a smaller balcony is still better than no balcony at all;)

 

Very well said!

[Sea-debris]

Mom33 thank you for the complement on my tag :p I picked it because my husband complains about "the debris I scatter in the cabin" brochures, daily ships news, postcards, menus and stuff from ports of calls .

 

I am new to CC and have been following threads and am interested in sailing Royal so I thought I would research info on the ship.

 

I have limited cruising funds so I want to make every dollar spent count and insure I am getting the most for our money.

 

I understand everyone has different wants and needs on ships but I look for honest and critical ship reviews and comments.

I understand there are cruisers who don't care about the size of the balcony but if it is dinky then I appreciate the candor to acknowledge it as a balcony that is small and uncomfortable is not good cruise value to me.

I want to do a cruise in a balcony on the back but that does not seem to be a good option on Royal because of soot?

 

I plan to go on Royal with eyes wide open and avoid disappointment because of high expectations or ignorance.

 

I am sure Royal is a great ship but I just want to know what is good about her so I don't miss those features and what is a problem so I can avoid them and be informed.

 

I take it from your response that you consider all Princess ships equal?

 

I have only been on a few cruises and Royal would be my first cruise on Princess. I had hoped you could have told me Royal was a better experience then the other ships or your favorite.

 

I may start a thread and ask for input if Royal would be recommended as a good first ship to experience the Princess vibe I have read about.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Sea-debris

[bluesea321]

Mom33 I am new to CC and have been following threads and am interested in sailing Royal so I thought I would research info on the ship.

 

I have limited cruising funds so I want to make every dollar spent count and insure I am getting the most for our money.

 

I understand everyone has different wants and needs on ships but I look for honest and critical ship reviews and comments.

I understand there are cruisers who don't care about the size of the balcony but if it is dinky then I appreciate the candor to acknowledge it as a balcony that is small and uncomfortable is not good cruise value to me.

I want to do a cruise in a balcony on the back but that does not seem to be a good option on Royal because of soot?

 

I plan to go on Royal with eyes wide open and avoid disappointment because of high expectations or ignorance.

 

I am sure Royal is a great ship but I just want to know what is good about her so I don't miss those features and what is a problem so I can avoid them and be informed.

 

I take it from your response that you consider all Princess ships equal?

 

I have only been on a few cruises and Royal would be my first cruise on Princess. I had hoped you could have told me Royal was a better experience then the other ships or your favorite.

 

I may start a thread and ask for input if Royal would be recommended as a good first ship to experience the Princess vibe I have read about.

 

Sea-debris, you are welcome to start a thread of course and ask for input on the Royal but if you do you are going to get the same kind of responses that you have seen here - some will say the ship is great and others will say it is not. The balcony size is only one factor. I suggest you read the reviews of the Royal versus a ship like the Ruby, the newest prior to the Royal. The Royal has a 65% approval rating, the lowest of the Princess fleet. The Ruby in contrast has 85%. Whether the pluses of the Royal outweigh the negatives is something that only you can answer based on your own individual preferences and desires.

Edited April 26, 2014 by bluesea321

[caribill]

I suggest you read the reviews of the Royal versus a ship like the Ruby, the newest prior to the Royal. The Royal has a 65% approval rating, the lowest of the Princess fleet. The Ruby in contrast has 85%. Whether the pluses of the Royal outweigh the negatives is something that only you can answer based on your own individual preferences and desires.

 

I wonder what the Royal approval rates are for first time Princess cruisers vs. experienced Princess cruises.

 

Both may agree that there are many "wow" factors about the Royal, but many of the experienced Princess cruisers miss some of the things they really liked about some of the other ships. These are items the first time Princess cruisers would not miss because they have never experienced them on Princess.

[bluesea321]

I wonder what the Royal approval rates are for first time Princess cruisers vs. experienced Princess cruises.

 

Both may agree that there are many "wow" factors about the Royal, but many of the experienced Princess cruisers miss some of the things they really liked about some of the other ships. These are items the first time Princess cruisers would not miss because they have never experienced them on Princess.

 

Good point and good question. I wonder that also... My guess, and that is all it is, is that a person that has never cruised before will likely find the Royal very nice if they at all enjoyed the cruising experience. In contrast if they have not sailed on Princess but have done so on one of the newer ships of another line they will notice the smaller balconies, the small and often crowded elevators, the soot aft, etc. I think the OP could very well have a great time on the Royal, I did, but for me given the choice of the same itinerary on the Royal or the Emerald or Ruby I would choose the later.

[Sea-debris]

Thank you for the advice bluesea321.

I have found the member reviews and will read Royal and Ruby reviews. Not sure how to find ratings of ships?

 

We have sailed a Carnival cruise inside and a Celebrity Equinox Ocean view. I enjoyed the window more and the Celebrity ship was much nicer and I felt more pampered on Celebrity.

 

People we met on the ship suggested we try Princess as it was similar and that a balcony on the back was very nice. Also Princess has a special dinner you can have on the balcony. I have seen the pictures people have taken on the balcony with only their feet in the shot the balcony rail a blue sky and the sea going by. This is what I would like.

 

We enjoy the all inclusive price of a cruise we get to travel and relax and no surprise at the end of the trip. Much better then a Mexican all inclusive where you are stuck one place all week and you have to pay for everything if you leave the resort.

My husband did not want to cruise at all but he really enjoyed going to the gym and loved the sauna on Equinox while I just floated in the spa pool and we enjoyed the Spa food they offered on the pool deck.

 

Looking forward to cruising Princess.:)

[bluesea321]

Thank you for the advice bluesea321.

I have found the member reviews and will read Royal and Ruby reviews. Not sure how to find ratings of ships?

 

We have sailed a Carnival cruise inside and a Celebrity Equinox Ocean view. I enjoyed the window more and the Celebrity ship was much nicer and I felt more pampered on Celebrity.

 

People we met on the ship suggested we try Princess as it was similar and that a balcony on the back was very nice. Also Princess has a special dinner you can have on the balcony. I have seen the pictures people have taken on the balcony with only their feet in the shot the balcony rail a blue sky and the sea going by. This is what I would like.

 

We enjoy the all inclusive price of a cruise we get to travel and relax and no surprise at the end of the trip. Much better then a Mexican all inclusive where you are stuck one place all week and you have to pay for everything if you leave the resort.

My husband did not want to cruise at all but he really enjoyed going to the gym and loved the sauna on Equinox while I just floated in the spa pool and we enjoyed the Spa food they offered on the pool deck.

 

Looking forward to cruising Princess.:)

 

The approval rating is the percentage of people who Cruise Critic reports as having "loved it". As I understand it when a reviewer gives a ship a 4, a 5 or a 5+ (which CC defines as Perfection) this is a "loved it" rating. When a reviewer gives a ship a 1, 2, or 3 they did not "love it" according to CC and the review does not count towards that rating. Don't know why CC includes a 5+ perfection rating as IMO no ship is ever perfect.

 

Here is a link to the Royal's review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=400

As you can see in red towards the top, 65% of reviewers "loved it", i.e., gave it a 4 or higher rating.

 

Here is a link to the Equinox's review"

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=382

As you can see 93% of reviewers "loved it", i.e., gave it a 4 or higher rating. So on average reviewers are far more pleased with the Equinox than with the Royal.

 

IMO Celebrity and Princess are in a different category compared to Carnival so I am not surprised that you enjoyed the Equinox better. A balcony on the back of a Princess ship is normally very nice indeed. Unfortunately the Royal has a soot problem that has kept people from fully enjoying their aft balconies. Princess is well aware of this - don't know if they will be able to solve it soon or not. The aft balconies and a few mid-ship under the seawalk are large enough to have dinner on them. I had a Deluxe Balcony cabin on the Royal and the table I had was very small, I estimate about 16 to 18" on diameter, not large enough to have a dinner on. Here is a picture taken by another poster.

Nearly all balcony cabins on the Royal have the same size balcony and furniture, a few exceptions here and there.

 

If you decide to cruise on the Ruby or any other Grand class of Princess ships I recommend a mini-suite or a Caribe deck balcony stateroom or an aft stateroom (no soot there) as all of these have large balconies to enjoy a dinner. Regardless, all Grand class ship balconies are larger than the Royal's and have better furniture so a dinner could be enjoyable on any of them. If you do cruise on any of the Princess ships it would be nice to get your feedback and hear about your experience.

 

Hope this helps....:)

[Woobstr112G]

Mom33 thank you for the complement on my tag :p I picked it because my husband complains about "the debris I scatter in the cabin" brochures, daily ships news, postcards, menus and stuff from ports of calls .

 

I am new to CC and have been following threads and am interested in sailing Royal so I thought I would research info on the ship.

 

I have limited cruising funds so I want to make every dollar spent count and insure I am getting the most for our money.

 

I understand everyone has different wants and needs on ships but I look for honest and critical ship reviews and comments.

I understand there are cruisers who don't care about the size of the balcony but if it is dinky then I appreciate the candor to acknowledge it as a balcony that is small and uncomfortable is not good cruise value to me.

I want to do a cruise in a balcony on the back but that does not seem to be a good option on Royal because of soot?

 

I plan to go on Royal with eyes wide open and avoid disappointment because of high expectations or ignorance.

 

I am sure Royal is a great ship but I just want to know what is good about her so I don't miss those features and what is a problem so I can avoid them and be informed.

 

I take it from your response that you consider all Princess ships equal?

 

I have only been on a few cruises and Royal would be my first cruise on Princess. I had hoped you could have told me Royal was a better experience then the other ships or your favorite.

 

I may start a thread and ask for input if Royal would be recommended as a good first ship to experience the Princess vibe I have read about.

 

Definitely not the ship to choose for your first Princess cruise. (IMHO). The Royal is a very beautiful ship. However if you like a walk around promenade, central staircase, decent elevators, an aft pool with some wonderful views, an easy access theater, a lounge where you can easily get in and out of chairs, quiet dinners in the Crown Grill/Sabatinis, an aft view cabin where you can actually use the balcony, or a larger than microscopic size balcony, stick with a Crown or Grand class ship.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited April 26, 2014 by Woobstr112G

[jnc411]

Definitely not the ship to choose for your first Princess cruise. (IMHO). The Royal is a very beautiful ship. However if you like a walk around promenade, central staircase, decent elevators, an aft pool with some wonderful views, an easy access theater, a lounge where you can easily get in and out of chairs, quiet dinners in the Crown Grill/Sabatinis, an aft view cabin where you can actually use the balcony, or a larger than microscopic size balcony, stick with a Crown or Grand class ship.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

I mostly agree with Bob. I have read all the reviews , and it sounds like the Royal is a beautiful ship in decor, but I probably won't book a cruise on the Royal anytime soon,I just booked a different cruise on a Princess ship, even though I liked the itinerary on the Royal more, the cons just outweighed the pros for us personally. My husband is a big man , 6'6" tall and most things , balconys (we always use our balcony alot), cabin size , Princess theater seating , etc. are all smaller on the Royal ,which makes it less enjoyable for him and no promanade deck which we always enjoy walking, no center stair case, fewer pools, the cooler and not fridge in the cabin, just some things are missing for us. But I also understand that some people really like the Royal, and that is a good thing.

But it will be interesting to see if the Regal has changes becasue of some of these issues, am following the Regal thread on these boards.

Cori

[caribill]

the cooler and not fridge in the cabin

 

I do not remember seeing anyone post that the fridge in a Royal cabin is any different than one on other Princess ships.

[Mom33]

I do not remember seeing anyone post that the fridge in a Royal cabin is any different than one on other Princess ships.

 

It isn't. It's just brand new and cold. ;):D

[bluesea321]

There was a good mini-fridge on the Royal cabin I stayed in and I suspect all cabins have the same fridge. IMO the fridge did not get quite as cold as a regular refrigerator at home but one big advantage I noticed is that this fridge is self-defrosting and had no ice build-up. On other ships if the fridge had not been defrosted in a while the ice build-up would keep it from really cooling the contents. I thought the fridge on the Royal was a plus and I hope they install this type while retrofitting the other ships.