Royal Pictures & Questions

[RonJJ]

I am currently on the waitlist for the Royal - Holy Land tour in July. I have been unable to find any picutures of the ship, other than what Princess provides, which is pretty scarce. Would anybody happen to have any pictures? Cabins (balcony) and common rooms.

Also, I am hoping to get a BA category room, deck 8, my only concern is the fact that it may be under the pool located directly above on deck 9. Would this cause significant noise problems, also can the people on deck look directly down onto the room balconys? Seeing that the casino is so small, does it by chance have a craps table.

Any other comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

Ron

[chrysalis]

We spent 24 days on the Royal.....and enjoyed her alot. We found our cabin (7088) to be perfect for us, and in fact, we have booked the same cabin on her sistership, the Tahitian for 32 days. We deliberately booked that cabin because we did not want to be on deck 8 for the reasons you just mentioned, and the balcony opening/railings starting at 7088 moving aft have larger openings. Also, 7088 is right beside a BB cabin, and has a solid fireproof wall and that cuts down on noise.

 

People are not able to look down on to your balcony.

 

What kinds of photos would you like me to post?

[juliejoe]

Have a look at John Heald's blog about the Pacific Princess - Royal's sister. He includes some great pictures. I believe the style and decor of the two ships is very similar.

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/06/25/pacific-princessa-day-onboard-a-5-star-country-inn/

 

Re noise from the pool - I don't think there will be any. This is such a port intensive cruise, the pool was used very little. Nightime activity on the Pacific Holy Land cruise this year was pretty sedate.

 

DH does not remember there being a craps table in the casino on the Pacific.

[taxatty]

We had 7049 on the Royal and enjoyed it a lot. Other than the location, all the balcony staterooms are pretty much the same--not huge (very tight for three) but big enough. I don't know if the BAs have bigger balconies. An aft Deck 8 BA would be below the buffet, which may be noisier than being under the Spa pool forward.

 

Les

[Pam in CA]

Have a look at John Heald's blog about the Pacific Princess - Royal's sister. He includes some great pictures. I believe the style and decor of the two ships is very similar.

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/06/25/pacific-princessa-day-onboard-a-5-star-country-inn/

 

Re noise from the pool - I don't think there will be any. This is such a port intensive cruise, the pool was used very little. Nightime activity on the Pacific Holy Land cruise this year was pretty sedate.

Thanks for the link to the blog; it really does capture the ambiance of all three former "R" ships, the Pacific, Royal and Tahitian Princess. They are very, very similar with just minor differences.

 

Here are photos of my oceanview cabin on the Royal. The balcony cabin is very similar -- it has a balcony. :) The comment that there's little nightlife due to the intensity of the cruise is right on. When you have several 8 - 12hr tour days, probably in high heat, and you have to get up early the next morning for the next exhausting day, very few have the energy to do more than have dinner and head for bed.

[Hulagirl]

We were on the Royal Princess last year. Here is the link to her pictures from the ship.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/559607482UwetAa

[caribill]

http://fp.caribill.com/ has pictures of the Tahitian Princess. Almost identical to the Royal, the main difference being more cabins on deck 8 and the Internet room being on a different deck.

[MacWiz]

For those considering deck 8 on the Royal, we had cabin 8063 on it's 21 day sailing from Stockholm to Montreal starting in August of this year. I would HIGHLY recommend AGAINST that cabin or any of those close by.

 

We found that with 8063 being directly under the Panorama buffet, that the workers in the buffer began rolling carts of food, dishes, ... across the tile floor between 3 and 4 AM everyday. We were stuck there for 21 days with this "early wake up call" with no option to change cabins since the ship was full. This cart noise was also prevalent just before and during the main meal times in the buffet (breakfast and lunch) but the early morning stuff was the most annoying.

 

FYI: When we booked this cruise, we asked specifically for a lower category cabin on the 7th floor. Our TA convinced us (with a discounted price) to "upgrade" to this 8th deck cabin. Seeing as how it wasn't under the pool, we hesitantly agreed. BIG MISTAKE.

[mycruz]

Thanks Hulagirl for the pictures! Looking forward to sailing on her in 2010. I love the colors and the dark wood, makes it seem very cozy.

[RonJJ]

Thank you so much for all your pictures and comments. The Royal is a beautiful ship. Unlike some ships we've been on, the Royal's decor seems very subdued and tasteful.

We can't wait for July. The ports are why we decided on this particular cruise. Is the Holy land a new itinerary? I don't recall seeing it before?

 

Thanks again,

Ron

[Pam in CA]

The ports are why we decided on this particular cruise. Is the Holy land a new itinerary? I don't recall seeing it before?

The Holy Land itinerary has been around since, I believe, the summer of 2007; maybe earlier. In 2001, we booked a cruise on the old Royal Princess that was very similar to the Holy Land itinerary but it was modified to miss Israel due to State Department warnings. Instead, we had two days in Istanbul.

[Hulagirl]

Mycruz! Glad you enjoyed the pictures. My daughter took those on our cruise and they did turn out quite good. The ship is very nice and subdued with the colors. I did miss the mini suites though that the Tahitian has, but I think you will enjoy this ship. Have a great cruise.

[Joy R]

I noticed from one of the photos on HulaGirl's album that the plugs in the cabins consist of two American-type and two European. Is this true of all the cabins? We are due to sail on the Royal in December, and the photos and comments I've read show that she is a beautiful ship, so we are very excited. Can anyone comment on the plug sockets? Usually there is only one socket (American type, of course!) in any cabin, but if there are more we won't have to bring an extension strip with us.

[shellbeachjim]

I noticed from one of the photos on HulaGirl's album that the plugs in the cabins consist of two American-type and two European. Is this true of all the cabins? We are due to sail on the Royal in December, and the photos and comments I've read show that she is a beautiful ship, so we are very excited. Can anyone comment on the plug sockets? Usually there is only one socket (American type, of course!) in any cabin, but if there are more we won't have to bring an extension strip with us.

As far as I know this is true for all 3 former Renaissance ships (Pacific/Royal/Tahitian Princess). It is very convenient for those electronic gadgets which need recharging and can handle dual voltage. Here are a couple of pictures from the Pacific Princess. We have been on both the Pacific and Royal Princess and both of them were configured similarly.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

Sorry - a little OT here.

 

Hulagirl - Thanks for posting your webshots link. Did you post a review of your ports in the Black Sea? We'll be cruising there next year and it's hard to find info.

[friend of Eeyore]

We spent a wonderful 12 days on the Royal in summer 2007. Our pictures are here: click here. We loved the ship, and will be back on her next Christmas. We've got one exotic booked (that cruise), but the Holy land cruise would be wonderful - it's in our dreams.

[mycruz]

Mycruz! Glad you enjoyed the pictures. My daughter took those on our cruise and they did turn out quite good. The ship is very nice and subdued with the colors. I did miss the mini suites though that the Tahitian has, but I think you will enjoy this ship. Have a great cruise.

 

We are normally "mini suite" cruisers and since this ship doesn't have mini's, well it was between a balcony and suite, guess which cabin one? ;)

 

Looking forward to sitting on the balcony on the front of the ship sailing down the Amazon!