15 Night Norway and Atlantic Passage Cruise Gone South

[DChabira]

Royal Princess Review September 10, 2018

 

Embarkation

 

The taxi driver dropped us curbside at the Southampton Cruise Terminal, and our bags were immediately whisked away. Unlike many terminals, you check in first, prior to going through security. The lines moved quickly and we were checked in within twenty minutes of our arrival. After being checked in, you’re given a number and told to relax in the waiting room until your number is called to go through security and board the ship.

 

My wife normally packs a small paring knife in her checked luggage for slicing up fruit in our stateroom. Security noticed the knife when the bags were being x-rayed, and we were summoned to security to locate the knife and dispose of it. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After we disposed of the knife, we were taken directly to the gangway to board the ship, and therefore we missed the entire waiting room process.

 

Cabin

 

Our balcony stateroom Emerald 428 on Deck 8, is listed as having an obstructed view. I read a number of reviews of this cabin before booking it, that said it didn’t have an obstructed view. Obviously, I was a little nervous to see for myself. The balcony it actually a little larger than most because of the shape of the ship. There’s a lifeboat to the left, on the deck below which is why I assume it’s listed as having an obstructed view, but I wouldn’t consider it an obstructed view at all.

 

We liked the layout of the room and our stateroom position mid-ship. We also liked the 42” flat panel LED television on the wall at the foot of the bed. We were very close to the mid-ship elevators and it was a convenient location to get to everything.

 

Our sliding door to access the balcony was extremely difficult to open, it took both of us to slide it open.

 

Our cabin steward Renaldo started off sensational but service rapidly declined as the cruise progressed.

 

Ship

 

This was our 28th cruise and our third with Princess. Although we have Diamond Status with Royal Caribbean’s Crown &Anchor Society, and Elite Status with Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, now we mostly book our cruises based on itinerary and the price.

 

One of the best thing about the Royal Princess, is the self-service Laundromats on each deck. We had been in the U.K. a week before boarding, and it was wonderful to wash and dry a couple of loads of laundry after we boarded.

 

Although, the ship was built in 2013 and is only five years old, it feels much older in every way. The décor in general feels very outdated. It’s quite worn for such a new ship. We noticed boarding how rusted the hull is. The carpets, the furnishings, almost every aspect of the ships hows signs of excess wear and tear.

 

Dining

 

What really shocked us, was that a newer ship would be built to such old standards. In a world of competing mega-ships that offer dozens of dining options, the Royal Princess is like a twenty-year old ship trying to adapt itself to modern day standards.

 

There are only three Specialty Restaurant options, Crown Grill (Steakhouse), Sabatini’s (Italian), Crab Shack (Seafood). Only Sabatini’s is housed in a purpose-built restaurant space. The Crown Grill is in a pub space, and the Crab Shack is hosted in a roped off section of the Horizon Court(Buffet) area. On this fifteen-night cruise, the Crab Shack option was only offered on two nights. The Crab Shack menu was wonderful and the food was exceptional. However, the ambiance was terrible sitting among the buffet guests. The Sabatini’s menu offered a poor selection of Italian specialties,and the Crown Grill was by far the best of the three specialty restaurants. We celebrated my wife’s birthday at the Crown Grill and it did not disappoint, her Ribeye was incredible, and my Filet Mignon was exquisite.

 

The main dining room menu options for dinner were some of the worst we’ve see in our thirty-four years of cruising. The food was mostly mediocre to poor, with the deserts being the highlight of most of the dinners each night. The rolls and bread were extremely hard, maybe it’s a European thing, but we prefer softer bakery items. There are three main dining rooms,The Symphony, The Concerto, and the Allegro. We had “Anytime Dining”, and which dining rooms we could eat in at which times was very confusing. Getting a table for two was extremely difficult. There were only a handful of real tables for two in each dining room, the majority of the time we were seated in areas where long tables were pulled a foot or two apart, and you were seated 18” from the person next to you. This is not what I consider a table for two. Also, the staff encouraged you to share tables, and shamed you for asking for a table for two. This is also the first cruise we’ve been on where the waiters are constantly trying to upsell something. The dining rooms were severely understaffed. Our waiter one evening had five two tops and three five tops. One waiter trying to serve 25 guests with “Anytime” dining results in a disaster.Assistant waiters were in very short supply. The food was rarely ever hot.Often, we watched our dinner sit on the waiter’s station for 10-15 minutes prior to the them delivering it to our table. On numerous occasions, my wife sent her dinner back as it was cold. This goes back to the ship trying to operate “Anytime” Dining using the old Traditional Dining model, and not like a regular restaurant where diners come and go.

 

The Allegro Dining Room is the only dining room that served Breakfast and Lunch. Guest began lining up thirty minutes or more before this dining room opened, to get a table. Once the dining room was full, there were long lines and long waits. A second dining room should have been opened,as no one should have to wait in line to have breakfast or lunch. We have always preferred to eat breakfast and lunch in the dining room, as it is generally served hotter than the luke warm food at the buffet. Again, we were disappointed as the food almost always arrived cold. The breakfast and dinner menus in the Allegro were no more inspiring than the dinner menus. The breakfast menu was always the same, on the left with one or two special items on the right side that differed every day. Many fundamental breakfast items were missing, like waffles, French Toast, and Eggs Benedict.

 

The Horizon Court Buffet was adequate, but it offered typical smorgasbord fare that was faintly warm and never hot. There was one Omelet station, but you had to really search for it, and very few cooking stations where chefs offered anything fresh or custom.

 

I can understand an old ship being retrofit to accommodate “Anytime Dining” but with ships the same age like the NCL Breakaway& Getaway being outfitted with twenty-one restaurants, the Royal Princess dining options are quite archaic.

 

Service

 

With the exception of our stateroom steward who went above and beyond at times, the staff and crew were unenthusiastic. They went through the motions, but mostly they made you feel as if you were bothering them, if you made a request. This was particularly true in the dining rooms. The majority of the staff did not have a very good command of the English language. On a few occasions the staff was downright rude. One night my wife moved her fork from where it was placed, and the waiter said “What’s wrong, are you left handed or something”?

 

Itinerary

 

We chose this particular cruise especially for the itinerary. Following the first two ports, Rotterdam and Hamburg, the captain informed us that the next three ports were being cancelled, due to inclement weather concerns. Bergen Norway, Belfast Northern Ireland, and St John’s Newfoundland were quickly replaced with two new ports, Vigo Spain and Ponta Delgado, and the ship would cross the Atlantic on a more southern course,arriving in New York on schedule.

 

We docked in Vigo on a Sunday when absolutely nothing was open. Ponta Delgada was better than Vigo but still these ports paled in comparison to our original itinerary. After we sailed from Ponta Delgada, we received a notice that each guest would receive a $200 credit for the disruption to our schedule. While this was a welcome gesture, you really can’t put a price on missing destinations that you had dreamed of visiting all your life. I suppose the only positive, was the few days of warmer than expected weather. Sadly, we hadn’t packed shorts or any cooler garments, knowing this was going to be a cool weather cruise.

 

The Ship

 

Much of this I’ve already covered in some form. As is the case with most cruise ships, the hot tubs were far from hot. There’s no covered pool which is disappointing, and I never wrapped my head around the area they call the “Retreat”. It’s an exclusive area where you can rent an expensive cabana, but there’s no pool? The areas for walking are extremely limited and the outside deck on level seven is restricted to crew only. There’s a tiny walking/running track at the stern of the ship, that requires seven laps to equal a mile.

 

Entertainment

 

The entertainment onboard was poor to begin with, and the change in itinerary only complicated the already weak lineup. We have an entertainer friend that works on cruise ships year-round for a living. He tells us that Disney pays the best, with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity not too far behind. However, he says that Princess and their sister companies, Carnival and Holland America pay their entertainers 50% less. It was very obvious on this cruise.

 

The Transatlantic Crossing

 

Since this was our first Transatlantic voyage, we were a little nervous. On our five days crossing the Atlantic, the weather was fairly good. Only the third day Saturday, did we have rough seas, and on our last day it was cold and gloomy, with scattered rain.

 

The morning of our final day at sea, a guest had medical complications, and the Coast Guard in Boston had to send a helicopter with airplane support to extract the guest.

 

Disembarkation

 

We walked off with our own luggage as we had an early flight out of JFK, and the ships transfers wouldn’t guarantee you’d arrive in time for any flight before 2:00pm. Walking off went smoothly and quickly.Getting a taxi sucked. We had 20 people in front of us, and 100 behind us, and we waited over an hour. On average one taxi pulled up every five minutes? Why there was a shortage of taxis, I have no idea. We taxied to the nearby Jay Street Metro station, and took the subway to JFK, arriving at 10:20am, in plenty of time for our 12:27pm flight.

 

Wrap up

 

We’ve lived in Las Vegas for twenty-one years and have seen the cost cutting that’s gone on here locally for the past two decades.Everything is all about the bottom line. The cruise industry is no different,and each cruise we take, we notice the cost cutting, less staff doing more, and the decline of service and quality. Now that tips are automatically added to your bill, I have to wonder if the staff even gets them any longer, or if they’re all just on salary now. Without the old-style tipping process, there’s really no incentive for them to give you great service? I understand why mandatory gratuities were put in place, as many guests used to stiff the crew. There’s really no good scenario either way.

 

Some cruise lines are worse than others and it was certainly noticeable this time with Princess. Sadly, nothing stays the same.

 

I’m not going to say explicitly that we will never sail with Princess again. Sometimes it the management or the crew of a specific ship and not necessarily the cruise line as a whole? However, Princess is not going to be high on our list for any vacation in the near future.

Edited September 27, 2018 by DChabira

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks for taking the time to write one. :)

[mnocket]

I hadn't thought about it, but your comparison to Vegas rings true. Thanks for the review.

[caribill]

Royal Princess Review September 10, 2018

 

 

Our sliding door to access the balcony was extremely difficult to open, it took both of us to slide it open. Did you ask your cabin steward or anyone else to have this problem fixed?

 

There are only three Specialty Restaurant options, Crown Grill (Steakhouse), Sabatini’s (Italian), Crab Shack (Seafood).......with ships the same age like the NCL Breakaway& Getaway being outfitted with twenty-one restaurants, the Royal Princess dining options are quite archaic. In my mind, the proliferation of specialty restaurants such as on NCL contributes to the decline of main dining room quality and almost forces passengers to pay extra for a quality dining experience.

 

Itinerary

 

We chose this particular cruise especially for the itinerary. Following the first two ports, Rotterdam and Hamburg, the captain informed us that the next three ports were being cancelled, due to inclement weather concerns. Bergen Norway, Belfast Northern Ireland, and St John’s Newfoundland were quickly replaced with two new ports, Vigo Spain and Ponta Delgado, and the ship would cross the Atlantic on a more southern course,arriving in New York on schedule. Unfortunately, Princess cannot control the weather. As disappointing as the cancellation of the original ports was, I expect most passengers would have been even more disappointed if the ship was sailing in the midst of significant storms. The ports involved may have been inaccessible due to heavy seas and if the ship did make the ports, the experience on land in the middle of bad weather would probably not be a good one.

 

The Ship

 

I never wrapped my head around the area they call the “Retreat”. It’s an exclusive area where you can rent an expensive cabana, but there’s no pool? The "Retreat" area is the area with a pool that is restricted to adults (18 and over) and is available at no cost. The exclusive area is forward of the Retreat area and is called the Sanctuary and, indeed, does have a charge.

 

 

Thanks for your thorough and honest report.

[pompeii]

 

 

Our sliding door to access the balcony was extremely difficult to open, it took both of us to slide it open.

 

 

There is an "open" and "closed" position on the door handle, and if you don't reposition the handle, the door will still slide but only with effort. Maybe that was the problem?

 

I only mention because I have done that myself:)

[Casey12]

Thanks.

[Griller]

Quite a lot of your review is just normal Princess, some of us even like the way they do things and the décor and lack of 21 dining rooms.

 

Lack of well spoken English is not something I have encountered on any Princess ship, and rude staff only a couple of times in over 20 year.

 

We just spent 25 days on Regal Princess which is pretty much identical to Royal and we considered the food and service was excellent, I wonder if it is actually the same on Royal and maybe you were just expecting too much of Princess in general.

 

You mentioned you book on price - well I guess you bought cheap and you got cheap.

 

We don't expect much of a cut rate mass market cruise line like Princess- and we are not disappointed.

 

Entertainment isn't that great IMHO on Princess, and I would never book it for that .

 

Anyway it seems that no one died and the ship didn't sink and now you know that Princess probably isn't up to your expectations so its been a learning experience which hopefully wasn't too painful.

 

We have 49 days booked on Royal soon so lets hope its what we have come to expect from Princess

Edited September 27, 2018 by Griller

[happy cruzer]

Thank you for the review. Yes, the RCCL ships are very different from Princess. I like them both, really enjoy the differences. Most of the things that annoyed you about the dining on Princess, we consider pluses. Love the MDR and the very few specialties that charge must less. Love the choices.

 

P.S. I think it a sign of good server to want the silverware placed in the traditional spots. I've had them discreetly move it back to the proper spot before :).

[susancruzs]

Thanks for your thorough review. I pretty much sail with Princess, half 30+ cruises, but also Diamond with RCI. I prefer Princess for itinerary choices, and the fact it does not have a gazillion dining choices! :) Years ago I sailed with NCL would not now because of the dining set up.

 

Cruising alone I prefer the traditional dining, always have, I don't want to re-introduce myself every night. I take longer (never less than 2 weeks) and prefer to get to know my table mates.

 

Cruising is all about what works best for you, which is why it is good there are so many choices.

[bobby3334]

In reference to above about the taxi shortage the destination expert warned not to rely on taxis at that Queens terminal. There actually is a whole thread on that. In your situation (relatively early flight) she and other recommended to rent a car service which I noticed a number did. If you didn’t do this in advance after some research on CC an expensive phone call to reserve. The bus transfer was about about an hour late. I had a flight at 222pm and made it with a couple of hours to spare. Various strategies are discussed on the other thread. Mike

 

 

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[PoohUnderstands]

Appreciate your thoughts on your cruise. Entertainment is subjective, as is dining, but I go for all the fun times in Princess Live theatre anymore (love CD, Matt!) instead of the shows. I only go to a show if it is a comedy type thing. Singing, etc. is just not my thing.

 

I tend to agree with service, etc. with anytime dining on any ship's line. I do not like it at all, mainly for all the reasons you stated. That is why I now book CC cabin. This gives me same waiters who do not have too many tables; hot food; and especially nice when open for lunch and breakfast. Just combines the best of service 10 years ago or so and mixes traditional benefits with going at any time you want!

 

Oh, by the way, if you do go on a future Princess cruise due to cost/itinerary, you can order crunchy french toast, eggs Benedict (order hollandaise sauce on the side-this way you get fresh cooked eggs that haven't been sitting under a heat lamp and the sauce gets all icky-plus you get more on the side! Grin), or any other item. You don't have to wait until it is on the menu!!

 

Pooh

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[RDC1]

As others have mentioned, several of the things you disliked such as the traditional design of the ship, the limit in number of dining venues, etc are some of the things that make Princess different and we prefer it that way.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. Hopefully your next cruise will be better.....:):):)

 

Bob

[AncientWanderer]

We rarely cruise with Princess anymore either because of the arrangement of the tables in the MDR. We, too, enjoy a table for two, and we are not buffet people. The tables being so close to one another is uncomfortable and loud and really detracts from what should be a high point of the day. On a long TA/Northern Europe cruise with Princess, we did end up eating dinner in the Lido most nights because of the weird MDR setup. Unless a Princess itinerary was really super attractive, we'd never do this again. Sad, because other than that, we like Princess...but dinner is a highlight on a cruise.

[Griller]

We rarely cruise with Princess anymore either because of the arrangement of the tables in the MDR. We, too, enjoy a table for two, and we are not buffet people. The tables being so close to one another is uncomfortable and loud and really detracts from what should be a high point of the day. On a long TA/Northern Europe cruise with Princess, we did end up eating dinner in the Lido most nights because of the weird MDR setup. Unless a Princess itinerary was really super attractive, we'd never do this again. Sad, because other than that, we like Princess...but dinner is a highlight on a cruise.

 

I know what you mean, we gave up Queens Grill on Cunard for the same reason, the tables were so close we had to move one to get seated.

 

On Princess I would have just asked the MaitreD' for a larger table in a quiet corner for the two of you, if it were possible I am sure you would be accommodated.

 

There was no hope of that on Cunard for us, every square inch of dining room was crammed with tables close together.

[Retired_Army]

Sorry you didn't enjoy the cruise. We were also on this trip and while I agree the "entertainment" was week we had none of the problems you mentioned. Our dining staff in Allegro (set dining) was excellent and although the menu was pared down everything we ordered was hot and tasty. The selections on the Lido deck (Horizon Court) were numerous, more than any of the smaller ships in the Princess fleet. There were always at least three “carving stations” with selections of chicken, lamb, beef, fish, and pork plus several days with shrimp and even lobster. Perhaps not as hot as I would have liked, but always acceptable.

We were on the same side of the ship (port) on Marina deck 15. Our trick on the sliding door is to put a hip into it because of the air pressure warping the door.

As far as port changes you can't hold Princess responsible for the weather. The missed ports of Belfast and St John's were primary considerations in booking this cruise but nature sometimes doesn't cooperate. Options in Vigo on Sunday were limited but we found it enjoyable to experience the less crowded streets and parks mingling with local families. Ponta Delgado in the Azores was beautiful, we liked it so much we booked a reverse direction transatlantic for next May to return.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. We were on the same cruise (and I did a "live" thread from it). It's amazing how people can have different experiences on the same cruise. I've reacted to some things below.

 

After we disposed of the knife, we were taken directly to the gangway to board the ship, and therefore we missed the entire waiting room process. Lucky you. We ran into several people on the ship who had a long wait due to the tide situation and the problems they had with the ramps.

 

Our cabin steward Renaldo started off sensational but service rapidly declined as the cruise progressed. That's sad. Did you communicate your wishes to him? We had a great cabin steward on the Riviera Deck--Romeo.

 

The carpets, the furnishings, almost every aspect of the ships hows signs of excess wear and tear. I did not notice anything with excess wear and tear during this cruise.

 

The Crown Grill is in a pub space …The Crown Grill is a small dedicated restaurant right beside the Wheelhouse Bar. I agree it's not as nice as the configurations on some other ships, but I wouldn't describe it as a pub space.

 

The main dining room menu options for dinner were some of the worst we’ve see in our thirty-four years of cruising. The food was mostly mediocre to poor, with the deserts being the highlight of most of the dinners each night. The rolls and bread were extremely hard, maybe it’s a European thing, but we prefer softer bakery items. I did not have a problem finding something tasty to order every night. I frequently skipped the desserts.

 

This is also the first cruise we’ve been on where the waiters are constantly trying to upsell something. We did not have the same experience. Perhaps it's the difference between traditional and anytime dining.

 

The Allegro Dining Room is the only dining room that served Breakfast and Lunch. Guest began lining up thirty minutes or more before this dining room opened, to get a table. Once the dining room was full, there were long lines and long waits. This was not our experience at all. We occasionally saw a line of people ahead of us. A lot of times, though, they were waiting for others to join them. Others were waiting for tables for two. We ate breakfast in the dining room 14 out of the 15 days and lunch every day it was available except one.

 

The breakfast menu was always the same, on the left with one or two special items on the right side that differed every day. Many fundamental breakfast items were missing, like waffles, French Toast, and Eggs Benedict. Yes, waffles were missing but they're available in the buffet and you could get pancakes or French toast. (The pancakes I had weren't very good--the banana pecan special one day.) French toast and eggs Benedict are available if you ask. I frequently ordered and received things not on the menu.

 

With the exception of our stateroom steward who went above and beyond at times, the staff and crew were unenthusiastic. They went through the motions, but mostly they made you feel as if you were bothering them, if you made a request. This was particularly true in the dining rooms. The majority of the staff did not have a very good command of the English language. Once again, not our experience at all with any of the staff. Most of the waiters and bartenders were friendly and attentive. We had a couple of bad waiters at breakfast and lunch, but not enough to complain. Once, for instance, the muffin man told us they had not made any bran muffins that day. I did not believe him. I think he was just out of them and did not want to go looking for more.

 

We docked in Vigo on a Sunday when absolutely nothing was open. Absolutely not true. There were many stores open, especially close to the pier (and in the huge shopping mall right there). Even farther away in the town, we saw bars and restaurants that were open. We even found a pharmacy that was open.

 

Ponta Delgada was better than Vigo but still these ports paled in comparison to our original itinerary. After we sailed from Ponta Delgada, we received a notice that each guest would receive a $200 credit for the disruption to our schedule. I wish we had received the notice sooner. I would have booked an excursion in Ponta Delgada if I had known. The good news is that it was refundable onboard credit, so I'm waiting for a check to come in a few weeks. We also had the adjustment in port taxes (around $27 per person) as refundable onboard credit.

 

Sadly, we hadn’t packed shorts or any cooler garments, knowing this was going to be a cool weather cruise. We wore shorts in Rotterdam and Hamburg. We also had them for our precruise visit to London. The temps were in the high 60s and low 70s in those ports.

 

The areas for walking are extremely limited and the outside deck on level seven is restricted to crew only. I miss having a proper outside Promenade Deck on the Royal and Regal. But there are the patio areas open to passengers much of the time that let you get closer to the water. I still enjoyed watching the wake from the aft down there.

 

 

The entertainment onboard was poor to begin with, and the change in itinerary only complicated the already weak lineup. I enjoyed the guest entertainers. I don't get the big attraction of "The Secret Silk." My favorite production shows on this cruise were "Encore" for the singing and "Sweet Soul Music" for the singing and dancing. I'm tired of "Colors of the World." The itinerary change did not affect the lineup much. The only change I saw was we had Darren Dowler instead of Greg London. The other guest entertainers we had were the ones listed in the first day's Patter. I thought the Flamenco Express Dance Duo had been picked up in Spain as a replacement for another act until I reviewed that Patter.

 

Why there was a shortage of taxis, I have no idea. Probably had to do with the United Nations conference starting that day.

 

I’m not going to say explicitly that we will never sail with Princess again. You have a 20 percent credit sitting there until Dec. 31, 2019, if you decide to sail with Princess again.

[bobontheblue]

I too was on this crossing. It is very interesting to see different perspectives, all are valid as we all get out of it what we want to. Was is a deep disappointment to have the changes happen that we all experienced , yes. Was it the right decision, probably. Will this crossing be the best one ever for me, no. That being said I had the pleasure of meeting some of the nicest staff and fellow passengers I have ever had the pleasure to sail with. Some of which I sincerely hope to have our paths cross in the future, memories I will treasure forever . Please keep in mind. we all walked off in New York. Somebody, was airlifted in the ocean and taken to hospital. Safe travels everyone.

[Griller]

We were on the Regal transatlantic last week and we had an urgent call for Type 0 Negative blood for a patient in the medical unit.

Enough people with this rarer blood group responded quickly - they had to have a current donor card with them to donate - and 10 were selected.

The patient survived the night and the procedure and Capt Tim Stringer pressed the pedal to the metal and the ship arrived early in and anchored in Halifax where the patient was taken to hospital, I am told he was transferred by tender as we couldn't dock early.

 

It was handled very well.

[redhatters]

We sailed on the Sept 10 transatlantic Royal sailing. Has anyone received the promised cruise credit of $200 each on their credit cards yet????

[bobby3334]

It was on my cruise account $200 deduction on on board charges. Was listed the same day as announced. Mike

PS It was a $200 credit (subtraction listed as something like “company accommodation)

 

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Edited October 3, 2018 by bobby3334

[Diver2014]

Hmmm....we were on the Royal Princess last year and I have to disagree with almost everything the OP said. We've done 2 Princess cruises in the past 2 years and have 3 more planned in the next 2 years because we like the ships so well. We've been on more than 30 cruises with other cruise lines and we've settled on Princess as our 'go to' cruise line. I got

the impression the OP was being a bit too picky or maybe I just don't notice the things that were cast in a negative light.

[bobby3334]

I am having the $600 credit applied to a future cruise. It is listed in my Princess profile. I was probably one of the few that was happy about the diversion. I had seen all the missed ports and was happy to take the smooth southern route—smooth and much warmer and substantial rebates. Mike

 

 

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[K D cruiser]

Who was the Captain?