Loyal Royal Caribbean passenger coming to Princess

[sellwingri]

I started cruising on Princess over 20 years ago but after a less than enjoyable trip, switched to Royal where I’ve  been (with a few exceptions) for 25+ sailings.  We were scheduled on a Royal Mediterranean cruise in October that we canceled but couldn’t find another trip with the same ports so we’re booked on Enchanted in Sept ‘21.  I’ve got some basic questions.

 

1.  Are formal nights really dressy or are jeans accepted and worn by many?

2.  We really enjoy Royal’s entertainment.  Does Princess offer a big variety of different type of shows?

3.  Even though it says boarding starts at 1pm, will we be able to board around 11am?

4.  Can you order coffee and a continental breakfast before turning in at night for delivery at a specific time?  Is it free?  Do they call before delivering it?

5.  Is the main dining room still open for lunch on boarding day?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tak8]

I give it a shot.

1. Really dressy no.  Depending on who is at the door jeans may be a problem.

2. We will get musicals, comedians and a magician. 

3.pre pandemic you would usually be on board by 1130 if you were in line.  No idea what will happen when cruising resumes.

4. Yes, you can order basic items for a specific time and they almost always call.

5. One dining room will be open.  Many staff will steer you toward buffet. Again prepandemic. Attitude may be different when we sail again.

 

Hope you enjoy your Princess cruise.

[susancruzs]

You can find many threads doing a search for formal nights! 🙂  If you are sailing a longer itinerary in the Med., Fall, you might not see as many jeans in the dining room at dinner.  According to some, shorter, cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska have more jeans.  I've never seen many jeans in the dining room or much in the way of real casual clothes.  

 

I've always been on board before 1 p.m. and never had to wait for a cabin like on Royal Caribbean.  In the odd case I did, I was able to set my carry on down in the cabin then go grab a bit to eat.

 

Dining first day will be interesting to see how it is handled and what will the buffet be like?  There are unknowns now.

[soloadventurer]

Diamond member with Royal trying Princess next year on a B2B Cruise 

[skynight]

11 hours ago, sellwingri said:

I started cruising on Princess over 20 years ago but after a less than enjoyable trip, switched to Royal where I’ve  been (with a few exceptions) for 25+ sailings.  We were scheduled on a Royal Mediterranean cruise in October that we canceled but couldn’t find another trip with the same ports so we’re booked on Enchanted in Sept ‘21.  I’ve got some basic questions.

 

1.  Are formal nights really dressy or are jeans accepted and worn by many?

If you refer to post #8 in the thread shown below you will be able to see my comments on dress for dinner and other evenings.

2.  We really enjoy Royal’s entertainment.  Does Princess offer a big variety of different type of shows?

Princess offers shows each evening in the theater. Some are production shows. Others are comics, singers, musicians, magic. It just depends on which entertainers are on board. There may also be some entertainers in the Vista Lounge as well as Princess Live. All shows are walk in, no reservations. For popular production shows arrive at least 30 minutes early, earlier for very popular shows or comics. There are normally two theater shows per evening. The mid evening, around 8/8:30pm show is the most crowded. Earlier or later shows are not normally as crowded. When it gets closer to the sailing date the daily schedule should be available for viewing on Princess' medallion app. In addition to actual shows there will be live music in the various areas around the ship including the Piazza, Take Five, Crooners, Crown Grill Bar, Vista Lounge. The Cruise Director's staff also hosts various evening and daytime game shows and activities like trivia, theme nights, deck parties, marriage game, liar's club, karaoke, etc.

3.  Even though it says boarding starts at 1pm, will we be able to board around 11am?

Normally boarding begins shortly after the ship is cleared of disembarking passengers. This is around 11:30/noon. If you arrive around 10:30/11am your will be assigned to one of the first groups. If you have at least 5 past Princess cruises (or 50 days) you will have platinum loyalty level and will board with other platinum passengers. If 15 cruises (or 150 days)  you are elite or in a full suite you will be one of the first groups to board. Boarding begins with priority boarders followed by all others grouped by order of arrival at the pier. Once boarding begins it goes very quickly. Cabins may not be ready until around 1pm, but I have seen them ready before that time. 

4.  Can you order coffee and a continental breakfast before turning in at night for delivery at a specific time?  Is it free?  Do they call before delivering it?

Yes. You can order the evening before. Yes, free. All room service is free. I don't believe there is a call. If you are in a full suite you can order room service for all meals from the full DR menu. Full suite passengers also can get the special mimosa breakfast which on the Enchanted will probably be served in either Sabatini's or the Crown Grill. Passengers in Club Class mini suites are able to dine in the Club Class section of one of the DR's.  

5.  Is the main dining room still open for lunch on boarding day?

Yes, one DR has been open from noon until 1:30. On some sailings the time is 11:30 until 1:00.

 

Thanks for your help.

Hope the information is helpful. Tips, if you are ex military look up the Princess military OBC benefit. If you own at least 100 shares of Carnival Corp. stock look up the shareholder's benefit on the Carnival Corp. web site. On Princess all OBC is stackable. You do not have to choose one or the the other. 

 

 

[sellwingri]

Thanks for your help.  My first question wasn’t really worded correctly but I think I got my answers.  We will dress up on formal nights but was wondering if jeans were ok for other nights. This is a 14 nights, very port intensive cruise.  
 

I am platinum (diamond plus on Royal) so it’s great to hear I’ll be able to board earlier than some.

[satxdiver]

35 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

Thanks for your help.  My first question wasn’t really worded correctly but I think I got my answers.  We will dress up on formal nights but was wondering if jeans were ok for other nights. This is a 14 nights, very port intensive cruise.  
 

I am platinum (diamond plus on Royal) so it’s great to hear I’ll be able to board earlier than some.

Jeans are allowed in the MDR on all nights except Formal nights when dockers will suffice.  Boarding is in the order of elite/suite first, platinum next and everyone else by when they arrived and processed in.  Wedding parties are allowed on first if there are any. 

 

Formal nights for men:  pants (e.g. dockers), button shirt and shoes (athletic shoes etc).  Women can wear about anything that looks "formal" including fancy flip flops.  The only thing they seem to object to on formal nights is jeans and that is getting less and less.

Edited July 18, 2020 by satxdiver

[skynight]

1 hour ago, sellwingri said:

Thanks for your help.  My first question wasn’t really worded correctly but I think I got my answers.  We will dress up on formal nights but was wondering if jeans were ok for other nights. This is a 14 nights, very port intensive cruise.  
 

I am platinum (diamond plus on Royal) so it’s great to hear I’ll be able to board earlier than some.

Yes, jeans are allowed, but if you have ripped or torn jeans you may be requested to change. Jeans are not specifically disallowed on formal evenings. I have seen them.

Platinum groups will board after Special Needs, Full Suite, Elite loyalty level. Boarding of the initial groups is very quick. There probably will be lots of platinum passengers. The Enchanted will be a medallion ship. When it is closer to the sailing date, maybe 90 days, you will be able to download the Princess medallion app. If you wish you can enter all your data in the app, and have the medallion sent to your home. You can then bypass check in and be directed to the boarding waiting area. You can also choose to pick up your medallion at the pier at check in. This only takes 5 minutes or so. In both cases you have to first go to the cruise personlizer and enter all your immigration information. Recognize that information provided is pre-pandemic. There could be changes in timing in the fall of 2021. I'm specifically thinking about extra time required for cleaning the ship as well as wellness checks for passengers.

[MissP22]

Lots of correct answers... I wonder how things will be if & when people return to cruising someday in the future. 😕

[sellwingri]

I plan on cruising in Nov, Dec, Feb, March, May, June, and Sept and feel confident (??) in all of them.

[Ombud]

20 hours ago, sellwingri said:

I started cruising on Princess over 20 years ago but after a less than enjoyable trip, switched to Royal where I’ve  been (with a few exceptions) for 25+ sailings.  We were scheduled on a Royal Mediterranean cruise in October that we canceled but couldn’t find another trip with the same ports so we’re booked on Enchanted in Sept ‘21.  I’ve got some basic questions.

 

1.  Are formal nights really dressy or are jeans accepted and worn by many?

2.  We really enjoy Royal’s entertainment.  Does Princess offer a big variety of different type of shows?

3.  Even though it says boarding starts at 1pm, will we be able to board around 11am?

4.  Can you order coffee and a continental breakfast before turning in at night for delivery at a specific time?  Is it free?  Do they call before delivering it?

5.  Is the main dining room still open for lunch on boarding day?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

If you just want a continental breakfast that's fine but I usually get coffee / juice / fruit / egg sandwich (omit meat) / maybe something from the bakery / yogurt for later. I don't mind having something in the fridge as I've only been to the buffet once in 32 cruises ..... also you pick a 30 minute time block and they've always shown up at the beginning of the time block (Ie: 7-7:30 usually comes at 7)

[JF - retired RRT]

Some may have gotten a call from room service...I never have (25+ cruises).

ALL room service is not free. Pizza has a $3 (?) charge, plus some items on the new menus found on the newer ships have a charge. The charge is shown on the menu.

[nini]

Sellwingri-

What is your sailing date? We are also on the Enchanted in September '21. We have

not yet joined the Roll Call. We love Princess after trying Celebrity 2X and HAL 1X.

We do not care to have a waterslide or rock wall on our ship. Is Princess perfect? No.

Have some things irritated us? Yes.

But, now when we walk onto a Princess ship, it feels like home.

 

And yes, there are some ships we prefer over others. However, the last (and newer) Celebrity

ship we were on, felt dark and claustrophobic. We love the light, bright, open atriums on the

Princess ships along with the International Cafe (free except for the gelato and espresso) and

Vines.

[MCC retired]

Keep in mind that unlike RCI  , Princess allows TA's to discount Princess best rates upfront.

Princess also offers OBC to Military , Shareholders as well as TA, Group and  Promo OBC's . Unlike RCI OBC's, they  are Stackable.

[tere247]

Don’t forget the buffet.  Princess’ buffets are open from early morning until 11pm. Plus, there’s the International Cafe open 24 hrs.  That’s a big plus for me.  Our midnight snacks on Royal Caribbean were lacking.  I did enjoy our dining room meals on Royal Caribbean more than Princess.  
The one thing I didn’t like on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean that we could never find a quite SHADED place to sit.  Our favorite shaded places on the Sky, Regal and Royal was Lido Aft.  Tables and chairs, couches, loungers, and music that we were able to tune out .  Also the area around the Retreat Pool.  

[sellwingri]

On 7/22/2020 at 11:33 AM, nini said:

Sellwingri-

What is your sailing date? We are also on the Enchanted in September '21. We have

not yet joined the Roll Call. 

 

We board Enchanted Princess on  Sept 18 in Rome and end in Barcelona on Oct 2nd.

[nini]

1 hour ago, sellwingri said:

We board Enchanted Princess on  Sept 18 in Rome and end in Barcelona on Oct 2nd.

We get off of the ship the day that you will board. Enjoy!

[trbarton]

Some additional tips.  Get to the Princess Theatre early at least 30 minutes, earlier if it’s a popular production, as the theatre can fill up. 
 

I’ve taken the room service menu & hand written things on it not on the menu which was delivered. When it days 7-730 am I have circled 7 am & it was delivered then. 
 

Yes in the past you could arrive early & be let into the terminal.  I’ve been inside as early as 10:30 am.  Now we’ll have to see what happens. 
 

Any other questions please ask. 
 

Tom😀

[Cruise Raider]

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

I started cruising on Princess over 20 years ago but after a less than enjoyable trip, switched to Royal where I’ve  been (with a few exceptions) for 25+ sailings.  We were scheduled on a Royal Mediterranean cruise in October that we canceled but couldn’t find another trip with the same ports so we’re booked on Enchanted in Sept ‘21.  I’ve got some basic questions.

 

1.  Are formal nights really dressy or are jeans accepted and worn by many?

I wouldn't really say that jeans on formal night are the norm, although, I've seen a few do it here and there.  

Nice jeans on any other night are fine in the MDR, though.  And the specialty restaurants always have a smart casual dress code, even on formal nights.  

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

2.  We really enjoy Royal’s entertainment.  Does Princess offer a big variety of different type of shows?

Not really .... Royal Caribbean excels in this area.  There are shows but, just not the level or variety of entertainment you'd find on Royal.  

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

3.  Even though it says boarding starts at 1pm, will we be able to board around 11am?

Maybe ... just depends on the port and how many others are in a group ahead of you, such as wedding parties, suites, elite, platinum.  You would probably stand a better chance of saying you'd be on board by noon.  Now, all of this is based on Pre-Covid times, so, if they have to test people and count on social distancing, that might all get thrown out the window.  

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

4.  Can you order coffee and a continental breakfast before turning in at night for delivery at a specific time?  Is it free?  Do they call before delivering it?''

Yes, you can and there is a small menu to choose from without any charge.  They have started calling before they knock on the door.  

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

5.  Is the main dining room still open for lunch on boarding day?

Yes, it was in the past although, they try to steer you towards the buffet instead.  However, again ... pre-CoVid.  

On 7/17/2020 at 4:50 PM, sellwingri said:

 

Thanks for your help.

 

 

BTW, the Royal Class ships on Princess are absolutely gorgeous.  I think you will find them comparable overall  I think the food is better on Princess, the entertainment is better on Royal.  It's hard to compare what will be with all the changes that will have to be made once cruising resumes ...so, all info given is based on past experiences.