Lack of Stairs on Regal and Royal Ships

[Hyperpipe]

We were going to book on One of the 2 new Princess ships till we read some posts that there is no center stairwell on the Regal or Royal. People are stating it takes up 20 minutes on average to get into an elevator mid ship. I have mobility issues so it makes it really difficult getting from one floor to the next withour using an elevator and i cannot stand for 20 minutes waiting for one. Why would Princess do that only have stairs at front and back of ship.The people that can do stairs take up space in elevator midship :confused:rather then walk to front or back of ship.We will never sail on those 2 ships because of this issue.

[xxoocruiser]

We were going to book on One of the 2 new Princess ships till we read some posts that there is no center stairwell on the Regal or Royal. People are stating it takes up 20 minutes on average to get into an elevator mid ship. I have mobility issues so it makes it really difficult getting from one floor to the next withour using an elevator and i cannot stand for 20 minutes waiting for one. Why would Princess do that only have stairs at front and back of ship.The people that can do stairs take up space in elevator midship :confused:rather then walk to front or back of ship.We will never sail on those 2 ships because of this issue.

 

Any newer cruise ship I've been on lately regardless of cruise line does not have a center stair case. Bottom line it's all about revenue and stair cases take up a lot of space that doesn't produce a dollar return. I have found that on larger ships such as the Royal and Regal that have 19 decks that the most people will take the elevator even if there was a center stair case.

 

Personally find it hard to believe the wait time is 20 minutes through out the entire day ( or cruise for that matter) given that both the Regal and Royal have 8 elevators mid ship. Though at times it can be busier than normal. I've been on RCCL's Allure with close 6,000 passengers and never had to wait 20 minutes for an elevator.

 

Regardless of the ship or cruise line there are peak times that the elevators can be busier than normal. The busiest time is the dinner rush and after dinner but again I never had to wait 20 minutes. Personally so I don't get caught up in the elevator dinner crunch I usually plan to go to the dining room a few minutes late which also helps to avoid having to stand around waiting in the crowd for the doors to open.

 

There's no shortage of stairs or elevators on either ship.

Regal and Royal both have :

• 2 stair cases forward
  
• 2 stair cases aft
  
• 4 elevators- forward
  
• 8 elevators mid
  
• 4 elevators aft
  

Edited July 16, 2014 by xxoocruiser

[katisdale]

I don't think the absence of center stairs makes much of a difference unless your cabin is located near the center of the ship. It would be interesting to see if Princess placed the accessible cabins toward the front or aft elevator areas. I'm cruising on the Regal later this month. Our cabin is in the 300 area so closer to the front elevators. I will decide after we sail.

[terrierjohn]

Any newer cruise ship I've been on lately regardless of cruise line does not have a center stair case. Bottom line it's all about revenue and stair cases take up a lot of space that doesn't produce a dollar return. I have found that on larger ships such as the Royal and Regal that have 19 decks that the most people will take the elevator even if there was a center stair case.

 

P

I don't think extra revenue is the key in this case since I understand that the centre staircase still exists but is now for cruise use only, except in emergencies.

[dorisis]

We did a B2B cruise on the Royal last December. The elevators are smaller than normal and, yes, there were long waits and many passengers would push in front of the wheel chair and would also block the way out. It certainly was not a handicapped friendly ship.We will never go back on the Royal or the Regal.

[katisdale]

I was very happy with our July 25 cruise on the Regal Princess. We just got home early this AM. I found the lack of a center staircase to be a non-issue with the exception of the 1/2 hour after the muster drill. During that time all elevators (4 forward, 6 mid ship, and 4 aft) were crowded. Other than that we did not wait, nor did the elevators seem small to me. Yes, some people push ahead of their "turn". I think that has more to do with their manners than the way the ship is constructed. I would happily return to the Regal.

[Waynetor]

We did B2B on the Royal in Jan. We had a h/c cabin near the front. Based on the reviews we had seen we expected problems with crowded elevators but we rarely had much of a wait - never more than a couple minutes.

[dancinman66]

We were going to book on One of the 2 new Princess ships till we read some posts that there is no center stairwell on the Regal or Royal. People are stating it takes up 20 minutes on average to get into an elevator mid ship. I have mobility issues so it makes it really difficult getting from one floor to the next withour using an elevator and i cannot stand for 20 minutes waiting for one. Why would Princess do that only have stairs at front and back of ship.The people that can do stairs take up space in elevator midship :confused:rather then walk to front or back of ship.We will never sail on those 2 ships because of this issue.

 

 

You will find this on lots if ships now and people use lifts as they are just too lazy most big ships go that way

Stairs take up valuable space they need to put cabins etc

 

 

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[flcruiser3]

We sailed on the Royal earlier this year with our son in a wheelchair. We never waited more than 5 minutes for an elevator. Most people would see us with the wheelchair and offer for us to get in before them. Of course, there are always the few that run to the elevator as soon as the door opens even if others have been waiting longer than them!

 

 

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