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What do You like & dislike about Royal Princess


mcrcruiser
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1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

 

We are booked our our first Royal Princess cruise this September, and I, too, am a "stair person."

 

Can you provide more information on why you "ended up on elevators a lot?"

 

It appears to me from the deck diagrams at the Princess web site, that the Royal Princess has aft- mid- and fore- staircases similar to the other Princess ships that we have cruised.

 

I’ve sailed on the Royal numerous times & primarily used the stairs...no different than on any other ship.  Originally the midship stairs were only available up to deck 7 except for the muster drill & in emergencies.  But that design flaw was corrected during a shipyard maintenance.

Edited by Astro Flyer
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3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

The Sanctuary is FANTASTIC!!!

Presumably the Sanctuary on ROYAL is essentially identical to REGAL.  In that case, I disagree because way too much of it is exposed to sun with little shade.  Much prefer Grand Class ships for that area.

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3 hours ago, PoohUnderstands said:

..................................................

  We will be on the Regal in August, and best of best, Matt O. will be our CD!!!!!!!!

 

Pooh

Are you sure?  The CD email won't be out yet for an August cruise.  We just received ours for June and it is Alex Yepremian, who I I have never heard of before.

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2 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Are you sure?  The CD email won't be out yet for an August cruise.  We just received ours for June and it is Alex Yepremian, who I I have never heard of before.

Matt's leaving us tomorrow and will be back later this summer. I think he told me July? Maybe August?

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Just now, idahospud said:

Matt's leaving us tomorrow and will be back later this summer. I think he told me July? Maybe August?

I thought he was on ROYAL, not REGAL.  Whatever.  Anyway, I hope Alex is okay.  The main thing to me is to have decent scheduling of events and the ED would be involved in that heavily as well and IDK who that is.  Nothing I can do about it anyway.  I just expect to enjoy and have a good time. 

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5 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I thought he was on ROYAL, not REGAL.  Whatever.  Anyway, I hope Alex is okay.  The main thing to me is to have decent scheduling of events and the ED would be involved in that heavily as well and IDK who that is.  Nothing I can do about it anyway.  I just expect to enjoy and have a good time. 

Yes, I'm on the Royal and Matt O' is leaving the Royal tomorrow.  I thought this topic was about the Royal not the Regal? Sorry if I missed that this post was about the Regal. 

Edited by idahospud
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3 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Yes, I'm on the Royal and Matt O' is leaving the Royal tomorrow.  I thought this topic was about the Royal not the Regal? Sorry if I missed that this post was about the Regal. 

No, you are right that the thread is about Royal, but then Matt O' came up and there was a post about him being on Regal later this summer and it seemed odd to me is all since another guy is on Regal.  I guess there is a short swap or something for some reason.  There is a thread on Princess board regarding CD/ED for each ship and I think it is hard to rely on it anymore as it isn't always accurate and personnel seem to move around more often than some years ago.

 

(IIRC, I was expecting Matt O' as our CD on Regal some months back, but nope, not going to be that way for June 1)

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Likes:

The decor is beautiful.

Service in the lounges, cabin service, service at Sabtini's, Crown Grill, and Alfredo's, Front Desk,:  all were very good to excellent.  Other staff members encountered were friendly and helpful.

Music of different types was plentiful and excellent.

The Piazza:  extremely well used with diverse, short entertainment programs.

Royal Princess is a good sea boat; she rode well.

Showroom entertainment was very good.  The one-time only day time performance with the Executive Chef and the Maitre d' is not to be missed if one enjoys comedy.

The Champagne Waterfall carried out in The Piazza is a carry-over from when Princess acquired Sitmar Cruises.  Very well done and was guest-friendly (meaning that it went on for as long as many guests wished to participate).  

The comfort of my mini-suite; well designed with enough storage space for a longer cruise than 7 days.

Well organized and executed embarkation and disembarkation.

 

Dislikes:

The Horizon Buffet/Bistro was a confusing, chaotic mess at prime meal times in the morning and at lunch.

Too few beverage stations in the Horizon Buffet/Bistro for the number of guests.  And, in the morning, for a first time guest:  where the heck does one get a glass of Orange Juice?

Anytime Dining was a disappointment.  If one did not make a reservation by 8:30 A. M., it became impossible, usually, to get one.  Advance reservations for the next day or days?  No way, Jose!

Arriving at a MDR and given a pager; OK, that's acceptable.  But, waiting for 90 minutes for it to "go off"?  Not acceptable!

Upon embarking on Deck 6, Club 6 was available to store luggage until the staterooms were available.  I did so.  Then, went to lunch in the MDR.  BUT, my lunch was not over before that storage area was going to close.  I had to interrupt my lunch to retrieve my carry-on bag and then return to the MDR.  A longer "staying open" time is needed for that area if Princess wants that service to be guest-friendly.

 

Likes/Dislikes:

Lotus Spa:  the Thermal/Hydrotherapy Pool area

Pool is great.  The Thermal Beds are great.  The aromatherapy showers are really enjoyable.  The saunas very acceptable.  The Spa personnel are pleasant and helpful.  The locker rooms were very good.  My dislikes are the darkness of the pool/Thermal Suite area.  The pool itself is dark; the Spa is located near the bottom of the ship, so the entire Spa area is dark.  (This is in contrast to the Greenhouse Spa on HAL ships.)  And, there are not enough hooks on the walls for guests to hang bathrobes when they are using the Thermal Beds or are in the pool.

For a very popular event, i.e. New Year's Eve's celebration in The Piazza, the number of guests attending was more numerous than I expected and prevented me from fully enjoying the festivities.  If I left my seat in a lounge around The Piazza, I lost it.  I should have chosen a smaller, quieter venue that evening.

 

Knowing what I now know, would I again sail on a Royal Class vessel?  Yes.  I think I have learned how to "navigate" my way around on such a large ship.  Royal Princess was the largest ship on which I have sailed.

 

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Too many interesting posts to keep track of, but here's my list:

 

Likes:

-- Alfredo's, no charge pizza-and-more restaurant, is a great choice anytime, but especially on embarkation day if you don't want to trade elbows in the buffet or spend an hour or two in the MDR.

 

-- From what I've seen the entertainers, at least the production cast, are a cut above the usual Princess talent. They apply for, and receive based on merit, the ships they want to perform on.

 

-- The buffet has a lot more options than any other I've seen. Yes, you have to tour the offerings before you start putting stuff on your plate, but how can more choices be bad?

 

Speaking of more choices, anyone but a TVphobe would be happy with the Royal Princess TVs. They offer movies galore, including the previous night's MUTS selections.

 

Dislikes:

 

Yes, those little balconies are a stupid mistake. Worse yet, Princess doesn't seem to see the problem as they continue to make 9 by 4 balconies. As some have said, there are more generous balconies if you do your homework and book early.

 

Jim

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2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

I’ve sailed on the Royal numerous times & primarily used the stairs...no different than on any other ship.  Originally the midship stairs were only available up to deck 7 except for the muster drill & in emergencies.  But that design flaw was corrected during a shipyard maintenance.

 

Thank you, AF.  I'm going to have a great cruise regardless of the number of stairways.

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26 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Dislikes:

Upon embarking on Deck 6, Club 6 was available to store luggage until the staterooms were available.  I did so.  Then, went to lunch in the MDR.  BUT, my lunch was not over before that storage area was going to close.  I had to interrupt my lunch to retrieve my carry-on bag and then return to the MDR.  A longer "staying open" time is needed for that area if Princess wants that service to be guest-friendly.

 

 

I'm not sure that policy is unique to the Royal Princess.  I encountered the same thing on the Ruby Princess, last month.  So, I just dragged my wine tote with me to lunch.

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10 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

Thank you, AF.  I'm going to have a great cruise regardless of the number of stairways.

We just enjoyed another 14 days on the Royal Princess as much as our previous 6 weeks.  Many more pros than cons for us & was able to purchase a wine package on a 7 day cruise. 🍷😊

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An additional dislike:  on one of the MDR's menus was a Pork Belly entree by Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone.  This entree wins the most disliked entree I have ever ordered in any ship's dining room.  It makes the Entrocote that I ordered in the QE2's Table of the World Restaurant a much better surprise.  (Why?  My order for Entrocote turned out to be Beef Liver.)

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9 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

An additional dislike:  on one of the MDR's menus was a Pork Belly entree by Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone.  This entree wins the most disliked entree I have ever ordered in any ship's dining room.  It makes the Entrocote that I ordered in the QE2's Table of the World Restaurant a much better surprise.  (Why?  My order for Entrocote turned out to be Beef Liver.)

Since Stone was hired by Princess that’s been available on all Princess ships I’ve sailed & is not limited to the Royal Princess.

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23 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Since Stone was hired by Princess that’s been available on all Princess ships I’ve sailed & is not limited to the Royal Princess.

 

Yes, I am aware of this and I won't be ordering whatever he "recommends" on the MDR menu.  Some rave about a Pot Pie creation of his.  I can buy a perfectly acceptable Pot Pie entree from my local Kroger's frozen food section.  The cost of which would be significantly more inexpensive than purchasing a cruise on a Princess ship in order to enjoy a Curtis Stone "Pot Pie".

 

Short message:  Celebrity Chefs on whatever cruise lines consistently disappoint me by their offerings.

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Love: Matt O : Cruise Director.  He is great. Sooo funny and energetic.  Even taught zumba.

Princess Live/Karaoke. So much fun.

Larger piazza and IC area.

Lots of deck space.

Nice retreat area

Loved the Medallion.  So easy. 

Dislike: no promenade.

Theatre doesnt have a side aisle so awkward having to walk in front of everyone to get to the side.

When walking to the aft you have to walk through the gym on that floor.

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I love the Royal Class ships and my only dislike is Princess Live.   It’s so uncomfortable and awkward depending on the event that we won’t even consider going in there ever again.   I’d rather miss the great entertainment or activity instead if sitting in a cramped theater.  There’s no where to put a drink, hard to socialize and all around a miserable venue.   

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My primary dislike about the Royal is the lack of a promenade deck.  This is important to us and is a major factor in our ship selection.  We did enjoy the other positive aspects of the Royal that have been mentioned in other posts, but if at all possible will select a ship with a promenade deck on Princess or other cruise lines when planning future cruises.  

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Dislike:  No proper prom wraparound deck for walking.

               The "walking/jog" track at top of ship.  Too exposed to elements and too many laps                    to the mile.  Also  closed frequently due to weather.

                Tendering is a nightmare with 3600 passengers.  Ships this large should go only to                     ports with docks.

                 Library is a joke.  Without all the books donated by pax it would be even worse.

                 Not enough beverage stations in the horizon court buffet area.

                 Not enough seats in Princess show room to accommodate the number of                                    passengers.

                 Never could figure out how to hear captains announcements in cabin without                               opening the door.

                 Didn't particularly like the various musical groups in the bars.

                 

 

Like:    Overall good service in dining/bar venues as well as cabin stewards

             Huge selection of different foods in Horizon Court.

             Great cabin TV's.

             Still have self serve laundromats.

             Cabins well designed and comfortable.

              

             

Edited by dockman
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18 hours ago, Potstech said:

My biggest dislikes are the Passenger Services desk and the Excursion desks.  Very uninformed and sometimes rude people there. Other wise we like most of the other things on the ship. Will be nice to compare the Royal/Regal to the Sky next January.

I also felt this way.  Passenger Services were not friendly or informed.  I had to insist that they check out a lecture that was not in the Patter but that I knew was supposed to be on a certain day since I had talked to the lecturer the night before.

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I was extremely disturbed by the open area right above the Casino so that the smoke comes up to deck 7.  Bad enough that the Casino allows smoking and is soooooo small, but to have the smoking area right under the open area on deck 7 does not make sense to me.

 

Also agree that the library is a joke.  The best thing about Princess library was that they still maintained one and on most ships it still had many books.   The one on Royal is very small and most of the shelf space was taken up with games even thou there were not enough tables for card players, puzzle making or any "group" that wanted to play a game.

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18 minutes ago, CRUISEWITHH said:

I also felt this way.  Passenger Services were not friendly or informed.  

 

Those of you who complained on your post-cruise surveys must have been heard loud and clear.  On our recent Royal b2b (4-27 with 5-4), the Passenger Services desk was staffed with the friendliest, most willing to help personnel I have ever seen there.  I was totally impressed and mentioned it on MY survey.  I couldn't have been happier with the smiles and service I received there.

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I liked everything about the Royal, except for the lack of a wrap around Promenade deck. And even that was mitigated by the walking/running track up top. We like to do a lot of laps, and that walking track was fine for that since there was no rain the entire week.

 

We really appreciated the movies on demand in our cabin.

Edited by Sea Hag
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We like Alfredo’s and the beautiful Piazza.  Great live music throughout the ship and a great buffet selection.  We have only had staterooms on the hump and aft, so we can’t complain about small balconies.

 

We don’t like the small bathrooms in the regular balcony staterooms and sure miss not having a couch.  We also don’t like the cutbacks we seen over the past 3 years.  We will be back on Royal Princess in August.

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1 hour ago, beckntom said:

 

Those of you who complained on your post-cruise surveys must have been heard loud and clear.  On our recent Royal b2b (4-27 with 5-4), the Passenger Services desk was staffed with the friendliest, most willing to help personnel I have ever seen there.  I was totally impressed and mentioned it on MY survey.  I couldn't have been happier with the smiles and service I received there.

Glad to hear this! We were on the March 23rd sailing and guest services were terrible. I did mention it, more than once, on my post cruise survey! Glad it has improved!

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