An Observation re Center Staircases

[Kartgv]

To paraphrase an old saying, before criticizing someone for using the elevators for only one deck, climb a flight of stairs in their shoes. There are many of us who experience pain going up or down for various reasons; we often try very hard to appear as "normal" as possible.

[browneyedwoman]

If it's in the evening and women are wearing high heels, some avoid stairs for safety reasons.

[Astro Flyer]

To paraphrase an old saying, before criticizing someone for using the elevators for only one deck, climb a flight of stairs in their shoes. There are many of us who experience pain going up or down for various reasons; we often try very hard to appear as "normal" as possible.

We adjusted to our deck 9 midship cabin on the Royal & walked fore or aft to the stairways. We don't have mobility problems & decided to leave midship elevators for those with mobility problems who needed to use them.

[caribill]

The interesting thing is that there are few complaints about the lack of a center staircase on the Grand. Guess it's become a non-issue. :)

 

 

It's not a non-issue to me. When I have been on the Grand in a cabin near the center of a deck, it is just a big annoyance.

 

The difference between the Grand and the Royal on this subject:

 

All of the Grand class ships after the Grand had a center staircase that could be used by passengers. It seemed that Princess had learned its lesson that there should be passenger accessible stairs near each elevator bank. Thus it was a big surprise that the "mistake" on the Grand was repeated on the Royal.

 

The Grand has a lower berth capacity of 2600 passengers while the Royal has a LBC of 3560 passengers, 960 more people. Thus more people will end up wanting to use the center elevators on the Royal than on the Grand since the more convenient (for many) stairway is not available.

 

And while the next build after the Grand had that center stairway for passengers, the next build after the Royal (the Regal) does not.

 

I have not been on the Royal to see for myself what others have reported, that the elevators on the Royal are smaller* than on the Grand class. But if that is true, the combination of smaller elevators for more passengers is not a good one.

 

(* called "tiny tubes of terror" by a couple of posters)

Edited May 26, 2014 by caribill

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

When on the Grand we were mid ship and it was a real pain going up a few decks to find your route blocked

Getting a lift to go down one deck just seems wrong

On the Royal we were mid ship and having to walk forward as lifts just were not working right was a pain not a deal breaker but expected better from Princess

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[redtogo]

Hank, I fully understand the point you were making, and weren't directing it at anyone in particular. Glad to hear that you and the "exerciser" had a laugh over the situation. And, it's also easy to understand why you two are so slim.

[Hlitner]

Hank, I fully understand the point you were making, and weren't directing it at anyone in particular. Glad to hear that you and the "exerciser" had a laugh over the situation. And, it's also easy to understand why you two are so slim.

 

I will paste this post on my wall since it might help convince us that we are "slim." These days we are always fighting the battle of the bulge, and spending 70+ days a year on cruise ships does not help :). At dinner on the Ruby one of our tablemates brought up the Royal/Regal staircase issue. A comment was made (not by moi) that probably most of the complainers never actually use the stairs, but just like to complain. After that dinner DW and I started to look around when we used the stairs and found that, with the exception of crew members, we were generally the only passengers on the steps. Then one day we saw a lady climbing up the steps with the help of our cane and I wanted to say "go Granny go!"

 

We would note that Celebrity's very popular "Solstice Class" ships only have 2 staircases...but we are not aware of any complaints.

 

Hank

[OCruisers]

The interesting thing is that there are few complaints about the lack of a center staircase on the Grand. Guess it's become a non-issue. :)

 

Not having a center staircase on Grand made me realize how inconvenient it was not to have one.

It would take lots more than the lack of a center staircase to keep me from sailing on at ship ... but it certainly is nice when there is one. :)

LuLu

[redtogo]

Royal Princess elevator. Capacity 18 people!

[PescadoAmarillo]

Stairs or no stairs, people always complain about the elevators no matter what ship they are on.

I disagree. We were on three ships in three weeks last fall: the Royal Princess, the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Allure OTS. Three ships, three entirely different sizes. The only ship I ever heard anyone even mention the elevators was the Royal Princess, and it was always to complain about them.

[antsp]

We spent 21 days on the Emerald in April and made a conscious decision pre cruise, only to use the stairs. As our cabin was midship for the second part of the b2b we used the midship stairs all the time.

[Mom33]

I disagree. We were on three ships in three weeks last fall: the Royal Princess, the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Allure OTS. Three ships, three entirely different sizes. The only ship I ever heard anyone even mention the elevators was the Royal Princess, and it was always to complain about them.

 

I am referring to reviews published on CC and here on the threads about Princess ships. The Crown, Emerald, Caribbean, Ruby all have mid ship stairs.

Why should people have to complain about those elevators? They do though.

 

I personally rode those Royal mid ship elevators in April. The horror stories from the Fall never happened to us. They hold less people, but they must have been reprogrammed as we never waited 10 minutes for one.

We have never waited 10 minutes for any elevator on any Princess ship. :D

[emilygrace]

We were on the Grand in March, had a mid-ship cabin on deck 8, and were dismayed to find there were no center stairs above deck 6 or 7 (can't remember which). We are stair people, partly to compensate for the different eating style on board, but mostly because it is oh so much faster than taking the elevators.

 

We are thinking about a short cruise on the Golden......are there center stairs going up to the top decks?

[Pam in CA]

I have not been on the Royal to see for myself what others have reported, that the elevators on the Royal are smaller* than on the Grand class. But if that is true, the combination of smaller elevators for more passengers is not a good one.

 

(* called "tiny tubes of terror" by a couple of posters)

Yes, they are noticeably smaller but they are (or were) poorly programmed so that if you pushed a button, it was only for the two elevators nearest the button. "Tiny tubes of terror" is not an accurate description. :) They're smaller only if you're used to the larger elevators on the other Princess ships.

 

We are thinking about a short cruise on the Golden......are there center stairs going up to the top decks?

All of the Grand Class ships other than the Grand have a center staircase as do the Coral/Island. The Royal and Regal do not. The smaller ships (Sun, Dawn, Sea, Ocean and Pacific) have two staircases but they are located more centrally. In other words, the forward stairs are further aft and the aft stairs are further forward, if that makes sense. :) Edited May 27, 2014 by Pam in CA

[helenb]

We are stair-climbing people. The only time we use the elevator is at embarkation and disembarkation when we have suitcases.

 

This being said, we have never had a problem using the stairs on a cruise ship. The key is to ensure that your cabin is relatively close to a set of stairs. Then when you go somewhere, you head to those stairs, go to the appropriate deck, and walk across. When you go back to your cabin, you head to the same stairs, then go up or down to your cabin.

 

Of course, moving about the ship from place to place happens, but I find that 90% of the time our cabin is the start or finish of our walking journeys, and as such, the location of a cabin close to the stairs is paramount, and makes our lives much easier!

[Kmkub]

Both the Ruby and the Crown have two separate button call systems in the center elevator bank. If you want the first available elevator, you have to push two buttons.

[Astro Flyer]

The stairs are there but unfortunately management decided to save a small percentage of the total cost of the entire ship by not finishing them for passengers except in an emergency.

[pablo222]

Both the Ruby and the Crown have two separate button call systems in the center elevator bank. If you want the first available elevator, you have to push two buttons.

 

That is not true. The center button calls all four elevators.

 

The outside button calls only the outer two cars -- which go to more

floors.

 

Because of this, once you are in the elevator, it is important to

be quick on the close-door button.

[caribill]

Both the Ruby and the Crown have two separate button call systems in the center elevator bank. If you want the first available elevator, you have to push two buttons.

 

That is not true. The center button calls all four elevators.

 

The outside button calls only the outer two cars -- which go to more

floors.

 

Because of this, once you are in the elevator, it is important to

be quick on the close-door button.

 

Not quite.

 

The center elevator bank includes four regular elevators and two "Panoramic" elevators. One set of buttons calls all four of the regular elevators which go from decks 4 to 15. The two panoramic elevators go from decks 5 to 15.

[SparkleBee]

I am just off the Royal and the lack of central staircase was a BIG issue for me! I prefer only to use stairs, however my room was central so it made no sense for me to walk all the way to the end to use the stairs when there is a central elevator. it was maddening!!!! I HATED not having those stairs. the elevators are a PITA for several reasons. before my cruise I thought people were just whining but now that I've experienced it myself I realize they are right!

[AZ Ocean Lover]

We were on the Island last week and if it was one or two flights I would always walk (and always walk down regardless of the number of lights) but my husband insisted on taking the stairs because they were faster and then would try to beat me to our floor. Nine times out of ten I would beat him. Needless to say I was very impressed with the speed of the elevators on the Island.

[Bluwaterz]

To paraphrase an old saying, before criticizing someone for using the elevators for only one deck, climb a flight of stairs in their shoes. There are many of us who experience pain going up or down for various reasons; we often try very hard to appear as "normal" as possible.

 

Exactly. I would love to take the stairs. I have lupus & my joints are affected & it's very difficult for me to use the stairs. If you saw me, you would never guess I have anything wrong. As others have said, try not to judge. Believe me, I'd love to walk in your shoes.

[Iamcruzin]

This whiner books mid ship on deck 8 for the sole purpose of using the central staircase. We like having easy access to room in the evening to use our own restroom and in the morning it's a quick walk down for coffee and danish.

[mytime53]

I love the central staircases and use them (and the other stairs) whenever possible, both up and down. That said, I have learned in the past 12 years to never confuse another's appearance of health and ability with their actual health and abilities. I learned that through both caring for elderly relatives and going through the debilitating effects of my own chemo treatment. I looked fine to my coworkers, but could barely get down the stairs when I woke in the am, and had to crawl up the stairs sometimes in the evening. NO ONE who knew me knew that was my condition, so certainly no stranger would know.

 

I just got off a cruise today, and here are 2 of my observances about the central staircase...for a culture that is trained to walk on the right, especially on stairways, the curve is backwards...it has you walking down on the narrow side of the stair, and it is narrow, esp. for a woman wearing heels. And 2, there were times we had to take the elevator to go one flight because the stairs were totally blocked by people sitting on them, at the encouragement of the cruise staff.

[antsp]

The cost saving to Princess is ridiculous, can there be another reason. It can't be money.