Royal Princess Review 4/13/19 ... Mexican Riviera

[Terry&Elizabeth]

Overall Cruise Rader gave the Royal an 8 out of 10 which is darn good.  Ok the people at the buffets were pigs but they are that way at the Bellagio and Caesar buffets in Vegas.     We have never tried Princess and our blast off is coming up next Saturday.  Frankly, we'll take an 8 and be pleased as punch.  This cruise is reasonably priced as it compares to other pricey gigs we've tried so honestly if the sun is shining and the temperatures are balmy, we will enjoy our week. 

Edited April 20, 2019 by Terry&Elizabeth

[Colo Cruiser]

36 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

As I recall reading there was a large turnover of crew when the Royal arrived in LA a month ago.  My guess about the reasons for the Royal’s inconsistent service is due to inexperienced & overwhelmed crewmembers.  Although inconsistent dining service due to overwhelmed crew isn’t something new but in recent years it appears to be getting even worse. ☹️

I also read where someone commented that maybe there were issues due to a large crew turnover (thought they were guessing though) but they generally don't turn over numbers that would affect the ships main function/operation which is dedicated passenger service.

IMO I think crew turnover is maybe a max of up to 150 on a major city turnaround day and stragglers throughout the cruises. Crew changeover is a constant and never stops. These schedules/rotations are made months in advance.

[1emerald1]

Thanks for your great review, I board one week from today!  I just watched the Royal depart San Pedro and it looked to me that there were very few people up on deck.  On your cruise, was the sail away party moved indoors?  Just curious because it has been pretty windy here.  Or, maybe the quality of the you tube video isn't that clear.

[Terry&Elizabeth]

25 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Thanks for your great review, I board one week from today!  I just watched the Royal depart San Pedro and it looked to me that there were very few people up on deck.  On your cruise, was the sail away party moved indoors?  Just curious because it has been pretty windy here.  Or, maybe the quality of the you tube video isn't that clear.

 

We also watched the Royal back out from the pier at about 4:15 PDT on the LA Harbor Cam.   It looked to us that there was a ton of passengers on decks 16 & 17 watching the sailaway.  Pretty exciting to think that our wait is down to 7 days. 

[ceilidh1]

2 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

Breakfast is a zoo up there and I’ve rarely if ever gone there.  My husband always :makes me a plate and brings it back to the room.   We went for breakfast on the last day and it’s was way too crowded.   Lunchtime and dinner are more tame, IMHO, especially if one waits an hour or so past  the mad Rush at noon and goes in at 1:00.  

Regarding the MDR, I’ve heard consistently bad stories about the MDR on the Royal Class ships.  That is just wrong that a waiter would say they’re too busy to accommodate a reasonable request.  I still think it is due to the huge size of the MDRs in relation to the kitchen or something. 

 

And BTW, ZaZa is fantastic.  Loved her. 

 

LOL - we only went to the dining room twice (early seating) and both times, we had no assistant/drink waiter. Our waiter never asked if we wanted drinks and when I requested them with our order he told me that it would take a long time for him to go to the bar and get them so it would be faster to get them myself. I seriously thought he was making a joke....he wasn't! Throughout both dinners, I got up, left the table, and walked to the bar to get my own drinks!

 

ZaZa was great! We ate at Alfredos a LOT! I enjoyed the buffet once I went in with lower expectations (as in, don't expect anyone to get you drinks and survival of the fittest for table and food...ha ha).

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

As I recall reading there was a large turnover of crew when the Royal arrived in LA a month ago.  My guess about the reasons for the Royal’s inconsistent service is due to inexperienced & overwhelmed crewmembers.  Although inconsistent dining service due to overwhelmed crew isn’t something new but in recent years it appears to be getting even worse. ☹️

I agree 100% that many (not all) of the crew seemed overwhelmed with the number of passengers. I was on the first West Coast sailing and, to me, it felt that there were the same number of staff as there would be on a regular/Grand class sized ship. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was how it felt...especially in the dining room, buffet,  and bars!

[4cats4me]

2 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

LOL - we only went to the dining room twice (early seating) and both times, we had no assistant/drink waiter. Our waiter never asked if we wanted drinks and when I requested them with our order he told me that it would take a long time for him to go to the bar and get them so it would be faster to get them myself. I seriously thought he was making a joke....he wasn't! Throughout both dinners, I got up, left the table, and walked to the bar to get my own drinks!

 

ZaZa was great! We ate at Alfredos a LOT! I enjoyed the buffet once I went in with lower expectations (as in, don't expect anyone to get you drinks and survival of the fittest for table and food...ha ha).

 

LOL, that’s is ridiculously bad dining room treatment.  Makes me so happy I didn’t waste my time there, once again. 🤗

There is just no excuse for not getting us clientele a drink.  Let me guess, they’re not willing to bring drinks to those on a drink package? I remember in the early days of the soda packages how everyone would indicate that they got attitude from drink servers for refills.  Starting to wonder if that was the issue ? 

Maybe not, but it wouldn’t have set well with us at all. 

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, 4cats4me said:

 

LOL, that’s is ridiculously bad dining room treatment.  Makes me so happy I didn’t waste my time there, once again. 🤗

There is just no excuse for not getting us clientele a drink.  Let me guess, they’re not willing to bring drinks to those on a drink package? I remember in the early days of the soda packages how everyone would indicate that they got attitude from drink servers for refills.  Starting to wonder if that was the issue ? 

Maybe not, but it wouldn’t have set well with us at all. 

I'm not sure if it was the drink package thing or more that the waiter really was just overwhelmed having to deal with all the tables with no assistant. I thought it was just a fluke the first time, so went back the next night. Same thing.

[1emerald1]

23 minutes ago, Terry&Elizabeth said:

 

We also watched the Royal back out from the pier at about 4:15 PDT on the LA Harbor Cam.   It looked to us that there was a ton of passengers on decks 16 & 17 watching the sailaway.  Pretty exciting to think that our wait is down to 7 days. 

Well that’s good to hear, I did just pick up new glasses , haha! See ya soon!

[TheRabbit]

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

  I hope you have a great time on that gorgeous ship. 

A wedge pillow raises the head of the mattress and slopes downward (just like a wedge of cheese) for people that have GERD and/ or sleep apnea.  I find it terribly uncomfortable so it is nice the beds are actually in two so my side wasn’t affected at all.  

 

I forgot to mention that my DH was also supposed to have a Cpap machine, which he hadn’t gotten in time ... but since I was anticipating it, I ordered a gallon of distilled water as well.  It was in our room when we arrived.  They were on top of it!  

 

And we were in Berth 91 going out.  I hate to admit that I think we sailed back into the same berth but I can’t really say for sure.  We were just off the ship so quickly, I didn’t really pay attention but I think it was the same one.  

For others, were you able to plug the Cpap in behind the bed or did you have to run an extension. I thing this question was asked by others months ago, but never saw a definitive answer. This way I can pass it on if I see it pop up again.

 

We're join the Royal on the 4th of May. Looking forward to being on-board the Royal again after over 5 years.

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks...we have a week to decide whether to hope to have your gold wine package experience or to carryon our wine.  Being a B2B we can each bring on two fee free bottles from home for our cabin.  I’m leaning towards a wine package which allows us to have a cruise long wine tasting.  🍷🍷

 

I’ll have 20 beers from our minibar during our 2 weeks onboard in addition to our wine.

 

A ten bottle package may be sufficient because we’re also having a UBD and a Winemakers Dinner...did they offer the $60 Super Tuscan lunch in Sabatini’s?

 

Sorry that we missed meeting you when you changed cruises (was it the upcoming MR or the coastal?) but thanks for generously sharing your experiences...is it obvious that we’re eagerly anticipating boarding the Royal Princess again. ☺️

 

We were originally booked on the coastal and we canceled when they canceled the Medallion.  But then, we got if after all and a smoking deal on the cruise we chose in the long run.  

Thye did have the super Tuscan lunch but I didn’t care for the menu so we didn’t book it.  

Not sure if we were supposed to get the wine package or not ... just so glad thye sold it to us.  We’d have drunk less if it weren’t for the package...I’m sure of that.  

We sail out of SF a lot and usually take our own wine but think I will save myself the trouble and just get the package.  Our next sailing is ten days so should have no problem getting it on that cruise.  

This vacation ended up being ten nights because we started it with a pre-cruise trip in Las Vegas, so we didn’t want to be lugging the extra bottles beforehand.  Plus, we knew we wanted to do walk off with an early flight so just wanted carry on luggage to deal with on our flights.  

 

[TheRabbit]

59 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I also read where someone commented that maybe there were issues due to a large crew turnover (thought they were guessing though) but they generally don't turn over numbers that would affect the ships main function/operation which is dedicated passenger service.

IMO I think crew turnover is maybe a max of up to 150 on a major city turnaround day and stragglers throughout the cruises. Crew changeover is a constant and never stops. These schedules/rotations are made months in advance.

I'm wondering if certain contracts are shorter. It seems as though I have seen and heard of more turn over of crew.

[Cruise Raider]

6 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Was the new production show The Secret Silk performed?

 

Since the Royal arrived in LA on 3/23 the show has been suspended & have read speculation about the reasons why.  We embark next Saturday & hope to see this latest Stephen Schwartz production show having enjoyed his two other shows for Princess,

 

Looking forward to reading more about your experiences on the Royal Princess which we’ve enjoyed several times.

 

Sorry for the delay in my answer ... something went wonky when trying to answer this from the airport.  

I am pretty sure that we did not have Secret Silk on our sailing ... I also read those same reasons as to why it was canceled.  We only went to the theater twice ... dining times were so difficult that we were always skunked out of seeing the shows in the theater.

We still had a very enjoyable time but with more flexibility on dining, I think it could have been even better.  

 

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

All I can say is wow!  ☹️

This is so disheartening to hear and its early in the Royal west coast deployment and it seems to be getting worse.

 

We still had a good time and a very enjoyable cruise.  

Valariano and Renz in the MDR were great.  Itsel was also a sweetheart and Dennis, the head waiter in the Symphony dining room also bent over backwards to make us happy.  Rosalie in Bellini’s also did a great job, as did Emily at guest services. Sebastian (Basti, up in Club 6) was another one that mad us feel so welcome!  There were others as well that made our cruise more special.  So, didn’t mean to make it sound like the entire crew was dismissive ... just some of them need a lesson in customer service.  Everyone at Alfredo’s and the IC & coffee bar were great.  One of them apologized for the delay when there really wasn’t one.  

Of note, room service as spot on and quick!  And, this morning at 4 am, our toilet decided to stop working and the plumber was there within ten minutes of our phone call.  It would have been a hassle to get dressed to find a working toilet at that time in the morning.  So grateful we didn’t have to.  

 

[Colo Cruiser]

15 minutes ago, TheRabbit said:

I'm wondering if certain contracts are shorter. It seems as though I have seen and heard of more turn over of crew.

Contracts can range from a few weeks to more than 10 months.

Princess still gauges the turnover on all of their ships so that it does not create a shortage of either crew or experience. 

 

So when a new ship comes into service experienced crew are drawn from across the fleet to staff it. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, 1emerald1 said:

Thanks for your great review, I board one week from today!  I just watched the Royal depart San Pedro and it looked to me that there were very few people up on deck.  On your cruise, was the sail away party moved indoors?  Just curious because it has been pretty windy here.  Or, maybe the quality of the you tube video isn't that clear.

 I think they had it outdoors on our cruise but we enjoyed it from our balcony.  

It was a little windy on our embarkation day but nothing like the previous days.  We flew to Vegas and they actually delayed our flight in due to a closure at McCarren airport from the high winds.  It wasn’t even that warm there for being mid-April.  Cabo was on the cool and windy side and it finally warmed up (not hot, though) by the time we reached Mazatlan.  PV was warm but then it was back to cool and windy on the way home.  It’s downright chilly here in the SF Bay Area ... just a strange spring all over the west coast.  

[1emerald1]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 I think they had it outdoors on our cruise but we enjoyed it from our balcony.  

It was a little windy on our embarkation day but nothing like the previous days.  We flew to Vegas and they actually delayed our flight in due to a closure at McCarren airport from the high winds.  It wasn’t even that warm there for being mid-April.  Cabo was on the cool and windy side and it finally warmed up (not hot, though) by the time we reached Mazatlan.  PV was warm but then it was back to cool and windy on the way home.  It’s downright chilly here in the SF Bay Area ... just a strange spring all over the west coast.  

Thank you, the you tube that shows the San Pedro departures is not nearly as crisp as the Port Everglades webcam. 

[Cruise Raider]

44 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

LOL - we only went to the dining room twice (early seating) and both times, we had no assistant/drink waiter. Our waiter never asked if we wanted drinks and when I requested them with our order he told me that it would take a long time for him to go to the bar and get them so it would be faster to get them myself. I seriously thought he was making a joke....he wasn't! Throughout both dinners, I got up, left the table, and walked to the bar to get my own drinks!

 

ZaZa was great! We ate at Alfredos a LOT! I enjoyed the buffet once I went in with lower expectations (as in, don't expect anyone to get you drinks and survival of the fittest for table and food...ha ha).

 

Yes, Alfredo’s was great!  And, unfortunately, we heard that in the MDR, too.  For us, it was breakfast and our waiter wouldn’t get us our specialty coffees ... not that it would be ‘faster’ for us to get them ourselves but if we wanted them at all, we’d have to get them ourselves.  

 

We asked for our bottle of opened wine they were storing when in the Crown Grill to enjoy with our pub lunch but we were told they could t get it for us as it wasn’t a dining area.  Ok ... what is it if not a dining area?  They then explained they were just too busy to get it.   It just didn’t pay to argue with them.  It wouldn’t change the outcome.  

 

Again, we didn’t get this non-service from everybody but it takes away from the overall cruise experience when it happens several times throughout the cruise.  

It might be rather surprising to the staff to realize what passengers remember and make judgements on.  We’ve sailed a lot in the past and it is rather surprising to hear ‘no’ from some members of the staff.  I would never judge the entire staff on the actions of a few but it does stand out that we heard ‘no’ as many times as we did.  I still think we had an overall good experience and would probably be likely to book a sailing on this beautiful ship again ... but I didn’t!  

I was actually eyeing the Bliss and I am actually booking on the Eclipse when she comes out this way instead.  

 

[ceilidh1]

17 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Yes, Alfredo’s was great!  And, unfortunately, we heard that in the MDR, too.  For us, it was breakfast and our waiter wouldn’t get us our specialty coffees ... not that it would be ‘faster’ for us to get them ourselves but if we wanted them at all, we’d have to get them ourselves.  

 

We asked for our bottle of opened wine they were storing when in the Crown Grill to enjoy with our pub lunch but we were told they could t get it for us as it wasn’t a dining area.  Ok ... what is it if not a dining area?  They then explained they were just too busy to get it.   It just didn’t pay to argue with them.  It wouldn’t change the outcome.  

 

Again, we didn’t get this non-service from everybody but it takes away from the overall cruise experience when it happens several times throughout the cruise.  

It might be rather surprising to the staff to realize what passengers remember and make judgements on.  We’ve sailed a lot in the past and it is rather surprising to hear ‘no’ from some members of the staff.  I would never judge the entire staff on the actions of a few but it does stand out that we heard ‘no’ as many times as we did.  I still think we had an overall good experience and would probably be likely to book a sailing on this beautiful ship again ... but I didn’t!  

I was actually eyeing the Bliss and I am actually booking on the Eclipse when she comes out this way instead.  

 

I agree - I heard "No" more times on this trip than I have over all of our cruises combined. I was shocked. I was pretty fed up by the end of the cruise - like you, we had a good time, but just wasn't what I am used to. I vowed NEVER to sail Royal Princess again and was even dubious as to whether I would give Princess another chance. I sent an email to customer relations when I returned, and my TA also went to bat for me on some of the unacceptable issues we had. Happy to say that Princess came through - contacted me within days and added all kinds of goodies on to two cruises I had booked. One of which is on Royal Princess. Hmmmmmm.......

 

Now I've calmed down and things don't seem so bad, especially when I read of what NCL is doing to it's poor passengers sailing on Getaway next week!

 

We are sailing the Bliss Sept 30th from Vancouver to LA - did it last year and LOVED it. This time we are trying their Haven cabin. I might never come back to "regular" cruising......lol!

[ceilidh1]

25 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

 

 I still think we had an overall good experience and would probably be likely to book a sailing on this beautiful ship again ... but I didn’t! 

 

 

This was the first time, in 27 Princess cruises, that I didn't buy a future cruise credit on board....

[oskidunker]

Thanks for the review.. I will never sail on one of these mega ships. 

[Cruise frenzy]

Cruise Raider -- thanks for your Royal review.  Do you know who the most traveled passengers ere on your cruise?  Thanks.

[Cruise Raider]

Ok ... so forgot to mention how much I loved having the Medallion in my review.  It did have a glitch or two at the very beginning of the cruise.  It just didn't seem to be working at all but then, all of a sudden, it was up and running pretty well. 

There seemed to be something odd where it was turning the light green on not only our door but also our neighbor's door as we walked down the hall.  We called guest services as that didn't seem too safe but they assured us that it wasn't really opening their door.  After that, it no longer turned their light green so kind of seemed like they adjusted something so our medallion no longer worked for their door.  ???  

 

The Medallion Net worked as well as my wifi at home and I had no problems streaming shows on it.  My DH hates to have the tv on at night but it relaxes me so I was able to watch tv on my iPad without bothering him.  The unlimited internet was $60 per week for anyone purchasing it and $52 for elite members, but this could only be purchased once onboard for this discount.  It would be great if the elite discount could be given ahead of time online ... just a thought since the Captain's Club status is known ahead of time anyway.  For the $52, you could share it with your cabin mate but only with one device at a time.  It wasn't really needed on two devices for us, though and my DH just used his elite minutes, anyway.  

 

The medallion worked so well in the casino.  It is odd not having to do anything but touch your medallion to the slot machine in the casino and plug in your pin number if you want to charge money to your account or move money from your bank to the machine.  You just hit the cashout button when you leave and it is just that easy.  

 

There are touch screen schedules and ship schematics all over the ship ... so convenient to find out where an event is and at what time without carrying a Patter around.  Of course, you can also get this on your device but the touch screens also draw you a little map on how to get to where you are going from where you are.  I can see this replacing the Patters sometime in the not so distant future.  

There are also other fishy games kids were playing on these screens but not really sure what that was all about.  Our cruise director had a talk about all things Medallion in the theater one morning ... but of course, our relaxed and lazy selves missed it.  I am sure we didn't use it to its full extent but I thought it was a very cool feature.  I will miss not having it on my next sailing.  

 

As I mentioned in another post, if you purchase your first drink on Ocean Now, that drink is free for a limited time.  We used ours at Bellini's but it kept showing up as we were at the bar downstairs ... so that was a small glitch that seemed to occur early in the cruise.  

 

What was great about the Medallion is the ease of wearing it on a lanyard or even in your pocket and it would work from wherever you wore it.  I've heard some people have concerns about being tracked but that is the least of my worries as I don't care if the powers that be know where I am or what venue I've been to.  You also have the ability to check your folio from your device and was glad to learn there were no additional charges that showed up on our bill.  

 

 

[4cats4me]

39 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Yes, Alfredo’s was great!  And, unfortunately, we heard that in the MDR, too.  For us, it was breakfast and our waiter wouldn’t get us our specialty coffees ... not that it would be ‘faster’ for us to get them ourselves but if we wanted them at all, we’d have to get them ourselves.  

 

We asked for our bottle of opened wine they were storing when in the Crown Grill to enjoy with our pub lunch but we were told they could t get it for us as it wasn’t a dining area.  Ok ... what is it if not a dining area?  They then explained they were just too busy to get it.   It just didn’t pay to argue with them.  It wouldn’t change the outcome.  

 

Again, we didn’t get this non-service from everybody but it takes away from the overall cruise experience when it happens several times throughout the cruise.  

It might be rather surprising to the staff to realize what passengers remember and make judgements on.  We’ve sailed a lot in the past and it is rather surprising to hear ‘no’ from some members of the staff.  I would never judge the entire staff on the actions of a few but it does stand out that we heard ‘no’ as many times as we did.  I still think we had an overall good experience and would probably be likely to book a sailing on this beautiful ship again ... but I didn’t!  

I was actually eyeing the Bliss and I am actually booking on the Eclipse when she comes out this way instead.  

 

 

Funny, when I was reading this post I was thinking how they would never say no on Celebrity to a request for coffee in  the dining room. Wow.  We have been  contemplating cancelling our Oct Equinox cruise and booking on the 10-day Royal to Mexico instead.  This post just helped me decide to keep our sailing on X.  No way will they tell us no at breakfast in Blu for coffee.  

I want to be waited in on our Next  cruise. (Tired of battling the buffets, even though I like them.  )

(I keep hearing warnings about Norwegian if not doing the Haven.  Everything is a surcharge, even bottled water, and they won’t let us bring on our own, either.  If they give you a free drink package, you still have to pay the 18% gratuity, same with their restaurant packages.  I half considered it until I started adding on all the things, and they have one teeny tiny pool for all 4,000 people is what I’ve been told. )

 

 

[4cats4me]

17 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

Thanks for the review.. I will never sail on one of these mega ships. 

 

Even if they return barrel chairs to the cabins? 😃

 

okay, just kidding, Oskicruiser