Table Tennis

[tkdmuffin]

I very much enjoy playing table tennis (ping pong). However, the experiences I (and others) have had on the Princess line so far has been nothing short of frustrating. Think about it. Placing the tables on deck in the wind, balls travel uncontrollably all over the place including out into the ocean (pollution and possibly dangerous to anything that could eat or swallow them). It was absolutely no fun at all playing under such conditions for anyone. Having traveled on Celebrity, they had the table inside, in the courtyard at designated times which made much more sense. Whoever thinks up these things have no idea what they are doing including knowing that there are such things as outside balls which they did not have. On the plus side, the staff did replenish the balls when needed (all the time) and provided ok paddles. I noticed that a number of passengers would have loved to play but were discouraged by the setup. Some even brought their own paddles but just walked away.

[Colo Cruiser]

I very much enjoy playing table tennis (ping pong). However, the experiences I (and others) have had on the Princess line so far has been nothing short of frustrating. Think about it. Placing the tables on deck in the wind, balls travel uncontrollably all over the place including out into the ocean (pollution and possibly dangerous to anything that could eat or swallow them). It was absolutely no fun at all playing under such conditions for anyone. Having traveled on Celebrity, they had the table inside, in the courtyard at designated times which made much more sense. Whoever thinks up these things have no idea what they are doing including knowing that there are such things as outside balls which they did not have. On the plus side, the staff did replenish the balls when needed (all the time) and provided ok paddles. I noticed that a number of passengers would have loved to play but were discouraged by the setup. Some even brought their own paddles but just walked away.

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. It's been this way on Princess since I can remember. Over 30 years.

[easyboy]

When cruising the Caribbean in spring or summer, i have seen some enjoy playing table tennis up on deck.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Alessandrina]

On some ships, Star, and Grand, for instance, there are ping pong tables inside - upstairs where the covered pool is. On Majestic Princess, whilst still outside, there are nets all around the five ping pong tables.

 

Cheers.

[pablo222]

I very much enjoy playing table tennis (ping pong). However, the experiences I (and others) have had on the Princess line so far has been nothing short of frustrating. Think about it. Placing the tables on deck in the wind, balls travel uncontrollably all over the place including out into the ocean (pollution and possibly dangerous to anything that could eat or swallow them). It was absolutely no fun at all playing under such conditions for anyone. Having traveled on Celebrity, they had the table inside, in the courtyard at designated times which made much more sense.

 

Celebrity does something the way you like.

Princess does not.

 

Sounds like Celebrity is the cruise line for you.

[beg3yrs]

Pacific Princess tables are in a protected area. Love to play there.

[Lucky TGO]

Try playing with a rubber ball it’s a lot of fun. Works great in the wind.

Tony

[Kingofcool1947]

I very much enjoy playing table tennis (ping pong). However, the experiences I (and others) have had on the Princess line so far has been nothing short of frustrating. Think about it. Placing the tables on deck in the wind, balls travel uncontrollably all over the place including out into the ocean (pollution and possibly dangerous to anything that could eat or swallow them). It was absolutely no fun at all playing under such conditions for anyone. Having traveled on Celebrity, they had the table inside, in the courtyard at designated times which made much more sense. Whoever thinks up these things have no idea what they are doing including knowing that there are such things as outside balls which they did not have. On the plus side, the staff did replenish the balls when needed (all the time) and provided ok paddles. I noticed that a number of passengers would have loved to play but were discouraged by the setup. Some even brought their own paddles but just walked away.

 

Sorry to hear your dissatisfaction with Princess.

Do you bring your own paddles and balls? Last time I was on Princess they had a table tennis tournament.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Times Prince]

We've played ping pong on almost every Princess cruise we've been on. There have been tables located in a variety of possible places, and a little wind is part of the fun for us. We play aggressively, but don't usually care about the score - it is more about the fun and exercise. My wife once played in a tournament onboard and came in 2nd - the 1st, 3rd, and 4th place people were serious players and brought their paddles in little suitcases, so that tells something about our level. We are not that serious.

 

We've only had one ship where it was even possible to hit a ball over the side. Most areas (Grand and Emerald class ships) have tables in a semi protected area, with glass walls. The Royal Princess had tables within a netted area on the sport deck. It all depended on what direction the wind was blowing, and how much. Spin added to wind makes for interesting play.

 

But let's face it - there are no true indoor venues for ping pong (unless there's a table in the teen area), and breezes can affect play no matter where you are. The best locations were on the Emerald/Crown Princess. which uses a sheltered area on one of the rear decks above or below the Café Caribe.

 

However if you think ping pong with a little wind is fun, you ought to try basketball on the sport deck. The wind can carry a basketball sideways by a couple of feet on a free throw.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Times Prince
misspelling changed meaning of sentence

[dverzic]

On some ships, Star, and Grand, for instance, there are ping pong tables inside - upstairs where the covered pool is. On Majestic Princess, whilst still outside, there are nets all around the five ping pong tables.

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

That's good to hear since we are going on the Grand in November and my husband was pretty excited when I told him they have a ping pong tournament!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[jwattle]

That's good to hear since we are going on the Grand in November and my husband was pretty excited when I told him they have a ping pong tournament!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Game on!! We're on that cruise with you :D

[dverzic]

Game on!! We're on that cruise with you :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kevin Rogers]

We just went on a tour around new zealand with the royal princess. I am a competitive table tennis player and there were a couple of others who were the same. However, the 2 table tennis tables that were available to adults were on the 17th level, outside and exposed to the wind in a location where there is maximum wind, even when the ship was docked. This is utterly hopeless. Table tennis is an indoor sport and wind easily blows the ball around making it unplayable and unrealistic. It should be located indoors, as in the teenage games room. Whoever, decided on the current system needs their head read. It is utterly stupid and rediculous.  Don't promote that you have table tennis facilities. It is false advertising. Better still, provide proper facilities.

 

We have previously sailed with celebrity cruises. They did the right thing. We are going on a round the world trip on the coral princess. Do they have their table tennis facilities inside?

Edited December 19, 2023 by Kevin Rogers
Correct spelling

[deja moo]

I was on the Emerald last week and they had the table tennis on the Fiesta deck six forward. It is right before the Princess theater in the starboard side of conference center.  They had two tables set up and a nice assortment of paddles and balls. I only played there once, but it was a nice set up.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Not that it changes any of the answers here much...but this thread was 6 years old!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

15 hours ago, Kevin Rogers said:

We have previously sailed with celebrity cruises. They did the right thing.

really? which ship? We are going to be on Reflection in a couple of months, and they put a ping pong table in the elevator lobby, literally in a tiny corner, with no room to move around.

The boys are not professional, though, and just love to play on cruises.

On Enchanted the tables were somewhere on the pool deck next to a bar, as far as I remember. DH and DS spent hours playing and having fun. 

[MrSchwump]

I’ve never understood table tennis on the open deck of a ship at sea. Why not try to fly a kite in a gymnasium?

[Kevin Rogers]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

really? which ship? We are going to be on Reflection in a couple of months, and they put a ping pong table in the elevator lobby, literally in a tiny corner, with no room to move around.

The boys are not professional, though, and just love to play on cruises.

On Enchanted the tables were somewhere on the pool deck next to a bar, as far as I remember. DH and DS spent hours playing and having fun. 

It was the royal princess.

[Kevin Rogers]

What are the table tennis facilities like on the Coral Princess? We are going on this boat for a 110 day world tour?

[Thrak]

Coral Princess has The Conservatory on Sun Deck - Deck 15. That is the deck above the covered pool. The Table Tennis setup will be up there in a fully covered area. There "are" doors on either side of that area that go out to the deck but they are generally closed unless someone is going in or out and that isn't really very often. The "interesting" thing will be that loose balls can fall down to the pool deck below.

 

Edit: Having just finished 63 days on Grand Princess I can only say I would never spend that long on a single ship ever again. Remember that there will be passengers leaving and others boarding throughout the cruise. I can't imagine 110 days of repeating menus, repeating Cruise Director jokes, repeating Trivia, repeating Production Shows, etc. We did get a variety of entertainers - a few were exceptional while a few were incredibly bad. I sincerely wish you the best of luck spending 110 days on one ship. I know some folks do it and love it but 63 days on one ship was too long for us. (There were some amazing crew members who made our time special. I made sure to write to Princess with multiple commendations.)

Edited December 19, 2023 by Thrak

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Kevin Rogers said:

It was the royal princess.

I asked which Celebrity ship did the right thing. Since we are going to be on Reflection in 2 months and it doesn't look like they did the right thing on her.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Kevin Rogers]

29 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Coral Princess has The Conservatory on Sun Deck - Deck 15. That is the deck above the covered pool. The Table Tennis setup will be up there in a fully covered area. There "are" doors on either side of that area that go out to the deck but they are generally closed unless someone is going in or out and that isn't really very often. The "interesting" thing will be that loose balls can fall down to the pool deck below.

 

Edit: Having just finished 63 days on Grand Princess I can only say I would never spend that long on a single ship ever again. Remember that there will be passengers leaving and others boarding throughout the cruise. I can't imagine 110 days of repeating menus, repeating Cruise Director jokes, repeating Trivia, repeating Production Shows, etc. We did get a variety of entertainers - a few were exceptional while a few were incredibly bad. I sincerely wish you the best of luck spending 110 days on one ship. I know some folks do it and love it but 63 days on one ship was too long for us. (There were some amazing crew members who made our time special. I made sure to write to Princess with multiple commendations.)

Thanks for your comments. We are going with friends and 110 days could strain those relationships, but hopefully not. I am a 72 year old up and rising young star at table tennis (in my dreams). I was planning to take my TT robot and use multi-ball feed, but balls falling to the deck below could be a problem.