Mid-ship stairs on Royal Princess?

[BrightyB]

A recent guest review of the Royal indicates that, during the next dry-dock in Sept., stairs will be installed mid-ship, where there are presently only elevators. Anyone know more about this?

[Pam in CA]

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Pam in CA

[floridalover5623]

It's not a "big" deal but waiting 5 to 7 minutes for an elevator to go down 3 decks at dinner time sure can get aggravating especially when on does stop & it packed with people. Using the stairs can only take but a few brief minutes.

[wheezedr]

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

 

Amazing how many times we saw passengers come in and out of those doors while on our 21 day med cruise.

[floridalover5623]

Amazing how many times we saw passengers come in and out of those doors while on our 21 day med cruise.

 

Ha ! You must have seen me. :D:D

[Mom33]

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

 

 

I agree with Pam [emoji568]⚓️[emoji41]

[Gishua_]

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

 

I agree. We didn't even notice it on the Regal. I find it funny that so many people gripe about this.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Gishua_

[PrincessLuver]

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

 

Totally agree.....we have spent 60 plus days on Royal and it was never a problem but people seem to have to have something to complain about on a cruise ship...:)

[peety3]

Totally agree.....we have spent 60 plus days on Royal and it was never a problem but people seem to have to have something to complain about on a cruise ship...:)

Everyone cruises for their own reasons...accept it and life gets better. Me, I enjoy cruising to Alaska for the photo opportunities. As such, when heading out for excursions, I've got a camera on my left side (wide angle), a camera on my right side (telephoto), and a camera on my shoulder (21" long supertelephoto, on a monopod that's in front of me by a few inches). As such, I can't just "squeeze" into an elevator. Not having the stairs puts more warm bodies into the mid elevators, so now I'm walking forward or aft just to get to stairs (or find a spot in an elevator if that set isn't as crowded). I'm not complaining, but I'm probably not cruising the Grand to Alaska again because of it, and same goes for these ships.

[IECalCruiser]

If you are taking the stairs, what is the issue with walking forward or aft and taking those stairs? We did that on the Grand a few years ago with no issue. Since then, I have developed an issue with my knees and don't do stairs unless absolutely necessary. The absence of the center stairs on the Regal was a moot point for me.

[Colo Cruiser]

As stated the stairs are already there. They just need to have the decor added for passenger areas.

 

We used them during muster......

During our cruises we never thought about the stairs and never missed the stairs.

Don't care if they are open to passengers or not.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[tailspintom]

If you are taking the stairs, what is the issue with walking forward or aft and taking those stairs? We did that on the Grand a few years ago with no issue. Since then, I have developed an issue with my knees and don't do stairs unless absolutely necessary. The absence of the center stairs on the Regal was a moot point for me.

 

Amen, Inland. We have sailed her 3-4 times and have had no issues of importance. A wait of 5 to 7 minutes? Where am I going that requires tight timing? This is one of the better ship designs with an exceptional Horizon Court, International Cafe, Alfredo's, and Master Dining Room. The theater is spacious with a sound system that allows this half deaf guy hear some good lectures and shows. ...sometimes. But that's just me.

[tailspintom]

If you are taking the stairs, what is the issue with walking forward or aft and taking those stairs? We did that on the Grand a few years ago with no issue. Since then, I have developed an issue with my knees and don't do stairs unless absolutely necessary. The absence of the center stairs on the Regal was a moot point for me.

 

Amen, Inland. We have sailed her 3-4 times and have had no issues of importance. A wait of 5 to 7 minutes? Where am I going that requires tight timing? This is one of the better ship designs with an exceptional Horizon Court, International Cafe, Alfredo's, and Master Dining Room. The theater is spacious with a sound system that allows this half deaf guy hear some good lectures and shows. ...sometimes. But that's just me.

[Steelers36]

May as well mention for the uninitiated that REGAL is the same situation. We've sailed it once and while it was a bit annoying for me who uses stairs all the time, I was well aware before stepping on board and I quickly adapted to work without those stairs.

 

That said, if they upgrade them, I will use them.

[Astro Flyer]

We have no mobility issues so we can easily walk either fore or aft to use those stairways.

 

We prefer to use stairs for a couple of reasons...to burn off a few calories & to save elevators for passengers with mobility issues. Without the midship stairs being finished for passenger use those elevators were more crowded & passengers with mobility issues would sometimes have to wait for room on the elevator.

 

I'm sure that many of the passengers using the midship elevators didn't have mobility issues & just didn't want to do like us & other passengers to simply walk to the fore & aft elevators. If more passengers would do that there would be more room on the midship elevators for passengers with limited mobility.

 

As I said, the midship stairways above deck 7 being unavailable for passenger use (except for in an emergency) was not an issue for us however I don't see any downside to making them available to passengers. By finishing those stairs passengers would have an easier option to use them resulting in more room on elevators for passengers with limited mobility.

[islandatsea]

May as well mention for the uninitiated that REGAL is the same situation. We've sailed it once and while it was a bit annoying for me who uses stairs all the time, I was well aware before stepping on board and I quickly adapted to work without those stairs.

 

That said, if they upgrade them, I will use them.

 

The no stairs mid ship did not bother us while on the Regal Princess. If Princess does add the central staircase for passenger use, we will use them. We have a cruise on the Royal Princess this November & looking forward to it :) .

 

Like someone else said, the Horizon Court is an excellent buffet area, IMO.

[PrincessLuver]

May as well mention for the uninitiated that REGAL is the same situation. We've sailed it once and while it was a bit annoying for me who uses stairs all the time, I was well aware before stepping on board and I quickly adapted to work without those stairs.

 

That said, if they upgrade them, I will use them.

 

New Majestic, sister to Regal and Royal, does not have a center staircase either....evidently Princess engineers do not see the need....;)

[PescadoAmarillo]

I think that the lack of midship stairs for passengers are less of an issue if you select your cabin carefully in view of how you spend time on the ship. I think this makes 'Guarantee' cabins much less desirable on these ships. With so many informed cruisers choosing the forward and aft cabins, Guarantees are more likely to be assigned cabins in midship locations. And I believe the midship location is less desirable on the Royal and Regal (which is funny, because the Royal Princess launched about the time Princess changed their categories so that midship cabins commanded higher prices).

[Astro Flyer]

New Majestic, sister to Regal and Royal, does not have a center staircase either....evidently Princess engineers do not see the need....;)

 

Based on the presentation by a Princess engineer who was involved with developing the Royal-class ships they wanted the midship stairs completed for passenger usage. ;)

 

He said that Micky Arison refuses to pay for any cost overruns & that's why the midship stairs are unfinished & are for crew use only except during an emergency. As I recall the Royal's original plans were for 2 full size midship pools & twin glass pianos in Crooner's. One of the pools became the Plunge splash pool & there's 1 wooden piano in Crooner's...maybe more cost overruns that Arison would not pay extra to have on the Royal-class ships.

 

I read that the Majestic will have the midship stairs finished but none of us will know until we receive any official reports about it.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[riclop]

A recent guest review of the Royal indicates that, during the next dry-dock in Sept., stairs will be installed mid-ship, where there are presently only elevators. Anyone know more about this?

 

Stairs are not a big deal.

[caribill]

Stairs are not a big deal.

 

They are if you only want to go one or two decks.

 

On the CB this year, I had a cabin near the center on deck 8 and used the center stairs to go to deck 7 or 6 (or back up to 8) numerous times each day.

[Lucky TGO]

Stairs are not a big deal.

 

I agree it's no big deal. If you like to walk go to the front or back and use the stairs.

Tony

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Many other cruise lines are building far larger ships that only have two stair/elevator lobbies. I like using stairs, so when booking my cabin I take this into account and chose a room close to the stairs. If I am in one of the public decks and want to go to my cabin I take a stroll along that deck then use the stairs closest to my room. Easy Peesy!

 

That said I'd be happy to have three stair options over two any day :D:D:D

[PrincessLuver]

Based on the presentation by a Princess engineer who was involved with developing the Royal-class ships they wanted the midship stairs completed for passenger usage. ;)

 

He said that Micky Arison refuses to pay for any cost overruns & that's why the midship stairs are unfinished & are for crew use only except during an emergency. As I recall the Royal's original plans were for 2 full size midship pools & twin glass pianos in Crooner's. One of the pools became the Plunge splash pool & there's 1 wooden piano in Crooner's...maybe more cost overruns that Arison would not pay extra to have on the Royal-class ships.

 

I read that the Majestic will have the midship stairs finished but none of us will know until we receive any official reports about it.

 

 

We are booked on the Majestic and deck plans so far show no center stairs....

OK with me....I heard from an engineer it was to make the Piazza larger??

[myfuzzy]

Not having mid ship stairs on the Royal and Regal is IMO, bad planning on those who built these ships. They should realize that for 3000+ people not having the advantage of using that set of stairs is unthinkable. It is inconvenient to find other alternatives to get from deck to deck. They should have realized early on, that it was indeed a mistake and should have done something about it much sooner. The elevators are much too crowded and the wait is to long.