Mid-ship stairs on Royal Princess?

[Colo Cruiser]

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.

 

With their experience and years of operating ships I am sure they were well aware of what the outcome would be. :(

Edited July 15, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[myfuzzy]

With their experience and years of operating ships I am sure they were well aware of what the outcome would be. :(

 

Well, its a pretty expensive lesson learned. As well as the joke of the aft "pool" on the Regal. Should have left that alone and not bothered with it. Bad enough, its the size of a hot tub, but also letting smoking go on around it YUCK!

 

What happened on the Majestic, I haven't been following that new build, mid ship stairs, aft pool--yes, no? I know its for the Asian market, but maybe someday it will come to the states.

[caribill]

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??

 

Engineer is ill-informed.

 

The stairs exist on the Royal and the Regal and existed from the beginning.

 

However, above deck 7 they are not available to the passengers.

[UpcountryTravelers]

Correct! There ARE center stairs and they ARE finished for passenger use on the public decks. Just not on stateroom only decks. Sheesh! No big deal!

 

On the Oasis of the Seas, for comparison, ( a MUCH larger ship with twice the passengers) there are no center stairs at all.

 

Royal and Regal are not our favorite Princess ships, but they have many great features and this bravo-sierra about center stairs is simply a waste of time, IMO.

[caribill]

On the Oasis of the Seas, for comparison, ( a MUCH larger ship with twice the passengers) there are no center stairs at all.

 

 

And also no center elevators.

[PescadoAmarillo]

On the Oasis of the Seas, for comparison, (a MUCH larger ship with twice the passengers) there are no center stairs at all.

We were on the Royal Princess and the Allure OTS one week apart and there is no comparison between the elevators on those two classes of ships. While we were constantly waiting for elevators on the Royal Princess and they were very much a topic of conversation among our fellow passengers, on the Allure we never waited more than a minute, never had an elevator arrive full, never had to take an elevator up to go down (or vice verse) and never once heard anyone talking about the elevators. As it should be.

 

So it's not just the lack or presence of a midship staircase for passenger use, it's the cramped and poorly programmed elevators on the Royal Class ships that compound the problem.

Edited July 17, 2016 by PescadoAmarillo

[floridalover5623]

Correct! There ARE center stairs and they ARE finished for passenger use on the public decks. Just not on stateroom only decks. Sheesh! No big deal!

 

On the Oasis of the Seas, for comparison, ( a MUCH larger ship with twice the passengers) there are no center stairs at all.

 

Royal and Regal are not our favorite Princess ships, but they have many great features and this bravo-sierra about center stairs is simply a waste of time, IMO.

 

I haven't been on the Oasis but in the past on RCCL the elevators were so fast that the need for a staircase to go 1 or 2 decks was unnecessary. For some reason Princess was talked into programming their elevators differently & we pay the price by having to wait.

[skynight]

So it's not just the lack or presence of a midship staircase for passenger use, it's the cramped and poorly programmed elevators on the Royal Class ships that compound the problem.

Agree

 

The Royal & Regal have the same number of elevators as the Grand, Star and Golden, but have approximately 1,000 additional passengers. The ships should have had more to compensate for the additional passnegers. To compound the situation the call buttons on the six center elevators are not fully linked, so passengers just push the three different call circuts and try to get on the first car that arrives. A further complication are the lack of stairs for those passengers that just wish to avoid the elevators. And finally the most important issue is one of constant unflattering reviews for the cruise line and the Royal Class ships. When I met the actual designer of the Royal on a cruise this past winter, I questioned him, what cost less? Is it better to spend the million to open up the center stairs, or are the constant negative the reviews really more costly in the long run? He said I made a good point.

 

My understanding is the the center stair conversion was approved for the upcoming dry dock. So we'll see in October. Hopefully they will correct the call button issue at the same time.

[floridalover5623]

Is it better to spend the million to open up the center stairs, or are the constant negative the reviews really more costly in the long run? He said I made a good point.

 

My understanding is the the center stair conversion was approved for the upcoming dry dock. So we'll see in October. Hopefully they will correct the call button issue at the same time.

 

Even with the negative comments made here on CC & other boards I doubt if it deters anyone not to sail on the Royal class ships. It's not convenient but certainly not that it would cause anyone to steer away form booking.

 

As far as the elevator programming issue, it seems that all the Princess ships are similar and they were sold on the idea that it's more efficient the way it is, although I don't know of any passenger who would agree.

[skynight]

Even with the negative comments made here on CC & other boards I doubt if it deters anyone not to sail on the Royal class ships. It's not convenient but certainly not that it would cause anyone to steer away form booking.

 

As far as the elevator programming issue, it seems that all the Princess ships are similar and they were sold on the idea that it's more efficient the way it is, although I don't know of any passenger who would agree.

Just some additional comments:

I have read on these boards that some potential customers have selected other cruise lines because of all the negative comments of the Royal. Many of those comments are related to the center stairs. Negative comments are just not a good thing for a business.

 

When I asked the ship's designer why the call buttons were not linked, his answer was that since the panoramic elevators were turned out away from the center view, passengers would only call that one elevator, and only use the elevator called. I responded, that isn't reality, why did you turn them outwards, and it seems clear to me that you have never cruised as a passenger?

[PrincessLuver]

We were on the Royal Princess and the Allure OTS one week apart and there is no comparison between the elevators on those two classes of ships. While we were constantly waiting for elevators on the Royal Princess and they were very much a topic of conversation among our fellow passengers, on the Allure we never waited more than a minute, never had an elevator arrive full, never had to take an elevator up to go down (or vice verse) and never once heard anyone talking about the elevators. As it should be.

 

So it's not just the lack or presence of a midship staircase for passenger use, it's the cramped and poorly programmed elevators on the Royal Class ships that compound the problem.

 

Well......plus the passengers on Princess ships tend to walk and move much slower then RCCL passengers so they are forever holding the elevator doors open to wait for wadlers, walkers and wheel chairs to get in....:D:D:D

[nukesubsailor]

Short of a power outage disabling the elevators, I see only two reasons to use the stairs: you don't want to wait for an elevator or you want the exercise.

If you want the exercise, then having to walk to one end of the ship or the other to get to a staircase should be no reason to complain about the lack of a central staircase.

Whether of not a ship has a central staircase has never been a deciding factor on which cruise I choose to take. I believe the majority of passengers feel the same way. It doesn't seem to be keeping Princess from selling enough cabins to make a profit.

[floridalover5623]

Just some additional comments:

I have read on these boards that some potential customers have selected other cruise lines because of all the negative comments of the Royal. Many of those comments are related to the center stairs. Negative comments are just not a good thing for a business.

 

I suppose some people would be put off by the negative comments about stairs but I can't imaging it would influence that many in total.

 

When I asked the ship's designer why the call buttons were not linked, his answer was that since the panoramic elevators were turned out away from the center view, passengers would only call that one elevator, and only use the elevator called. I responded, that isn't reality, why did you turn them outwards, and it seems clear to me that you have never cruised as a passenger?

 

It appears that they're grasping at straws trying to come up with a logical answer to justify a poor design. :rolleyes:

 

I was one of the people who originally disliked the layout & features of the Royal/Regal but have come to accept them as being OK - even with some features I don't particularly love.

Comparing them to the older ships with their ageing problems the newer ships are still a better choice all around.

[pablo222]

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.

 

According to the posts here, no center stairs in the plans for Majestic.

 

From what I have read, for the Asian market, they expect few people

on deck, and many, many indoor activities.

 

If Princess is not building Majestic with center stairs, it seems pretty

odd that they would retro-fit Regal or Royal.

 

Whenever I read someone onboard told someone else that it would be

happening in the next drydock ... I think ... WORD OF GOD.

 

Ooops. I mean I think ... I'll believe it when Princess posts some dry

dock pictures showing the construction.

[UpcountryTravelers]

....., on the Allure we never waited more than a minute, never had an elevator arrive full, never had to take an elevator up to go down (or vice verse) and never once heard anyone talking about the elevators. As it should be.

 

......

 

That was certainly not our experience on the Oasis. We often had to go up to get down, sometimes an elevator would simply refuse to stop on our stateroom deck (one particular elevator that we learned to avoid) but any other that was pushed. And rather long waits were not unusual.

 

It was still an amazing ship that we are glad we cruised on. Again? Probably not.