First cruise on Royal...my opinion

Thank you for the info, I was wondering what the dress code was, on casual and formal nights please. Thank you

We were on the 27 day British Isles/TA in August/September, and dh and I had differing opinions. He loved the ship, and while I liked it a lot I prefer the gem class ships. We liked the new layout in HC, but we found it difficult to get a hot meal especially at breakfast unless we ordered omelets . Often by the time we navigated the crowds to get to get to our table the food was cold. Also we felt that someone should have been stirring/rearrranging the food to keep it warmer. We loved Allegro for dining, and we found the food to be delicious. We always enjoy dinner on Princess, but on the Royal it was probably the best we've had. The Crown Grill was excellent. The new larger piazza area was great, and we loved Alfredo's. The balcony was smaller than we're used to, but it was sufficient for enjoying the very calm crossing. We didn't find the lack of stairs to be a big problem.

Our biggest gripe was our linens. They certainly weren't what we're used to on Princess. The sheets always had a small tear or multiple puncture holes in them and were often stained. The very thin towels often had dark marks on them like someone used them to polish silver. We spoke to our steward about it a couple of times, and once we asked him to change the sheets, but we finally just tossed the towels in the shower unused if they were stained. At first we thought it was our steward's fault because he wasn't very good, but in talking to our table mates and others onboard we found that most of them had the same experience. Over a 27 day cruise this became very annoying. We're Elite, but we never sent any laundry out this time because we were afraid our clothes would come back stained and torn.

We're hoping that this won't be repeated in January.

Our biggest gripe was our linens. They certainly weren't what we're used to on Princess. The sheets always had a small tear or multiple puncture holes in them and were often stained. The very thin towels often had dark marks on them like someone used them to polish silver. We spoke to our steward about it a couple of times, and once we asked him to change the sheets, but we finally just tossed the towels in the shower unused if they were stained. At first we thought it was our steward's fault because he wasn't very good, but in talking to our table mates and others onboard we found that most of them had the same experience. Over a 27 day cruise this became very annoying. We're Elite, but we never sent any laundry out this time because we were afraid our clothes would come back stained and torn.

We're hoping that this won't be repeated in January.

We did a 20 day B2B on the Royal last month. While no one would ever describe the towels as plush they weren't worn or exceptionally thin and there were no marks on them and since the steward insisted on changing them out twice a day (we take lots of showers :D on a hot Caribbean cruise) we went through lots of towels! Also no problems with the sheets or sending out our laundry 6 times (don't judge - it was very hot :D). Maybe we were just lucky or maybe you were unlucky. Maybe they loaded some new linens when the ship got back to the US?

We did a 20 day B2B on the Royal last month. While no one would ever describe the towels as plush they weren't worn or exceptionally thin and there were no marks on them and since the steward insisted on changing them out twice a day (we take lots of showers :D on a hot Caribbean cruise) we went through lots of towels! Also no problems with the sheets or sending out our laundry 6 times (don't judge - it was very hot :D). Maybe we were just lucky or maybe you were unlucky. Maybe they loaded some new linens when the ship got back to the US?

I hope they loaded new linens after the ta. We'll see how things are in January. Our towels were changed 2x daily, too, but most of the time 2 or 3 of them went right onto the floor of the shower. I'm serious when I say that a few of them were what I give dh to use on his car or boat. Luckily only once or twice did they appear to be "body" stains. They were mostly dark gray/black stains like the ones I set aside for polishing silver. We're blaming it on the laundry area as none of the linens were ever what you could call white.

I hope they loaded new linens after the ta. We'll see how things are in January. Our towels were changed 2x daily, too, but most of the time 2 or 3 of them went right onto the floor of the shower. I'm serious when I say that a few of them were what I give dh to use on his car or boat. Luckily only once or twice did they appear to be "body" stains. They were mostly dark gray/black stains like the ones I set aside for polishing silver. We're blaming it on the laundry area as none of the linens were ever what you could call white.

I certainly hope you share our experience since that sounds terrible and totally unsatisfactory!

What time did you go to embarkation? Just wondering if it matters. I am sailing in the Regal next month and would not do well left out in the sun for medical reasons. Did they allow Elite to embark first?

Sorry, I can see now you answered this

What time did you go to embarkation? Just wondering if it matters. I am sailing in the Regal next month and would not do well left out in the sun for medical reasons. Did they allow Elite to embark first?

 

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Preferred (BVE, wedding parties, elite, and platinum) boarded first on our Royal cruise last month - they didn't even open the doors for the 'regular' passengers in the first 15 minutes; I'm not sure when they did since we entered the terminal after about 15 minutes. I don't understand the waiting in the sun comment (maybe the wheelchair waiting area?) since both the preferred and regular lines were under cover.

I would like to know about your Turn-Around Day. How was it managed? When did services reopen? Should I stay on the ship for the experience, or should I find something to do (like go to a nail salon or hairdresser in FLL) and reboard later in the day?

Kathleen, thank you for your review of the Royal Princess. We sailed her in October and posted our review in the review section on cruise critic. While there were many positives, staff, theatre, and so on the balcony, promenade, cigar bar, and casino design limitations are a future deal breaker for us. We far prefer the Grand Class. Of course all these things are a matter of personal preference.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=515528

I would up here reading your excellent review researching the Regal already knowing that she retains the same, what I consider, limitations of the Royal. This is a shame because what we wanted to do was the 5day Canadian/New England cruise coupled with the 14 day reposition from NY. This would have been perfect itinerary wise even though we live in NY north of the city and can drive to Canada etc. Still figure nice 5 days up then back to city stay in same suite then head off to Caribbean. Friends that sail with us could be persuaded as well we figured. But then saw it was the Royal class Regal. They sailed on Royal with us and will not do this class ship again, neither will we.

We are spoiled I admit, we sail in PH Suite now a days, did our smaller, obstructed etc cabins through our 30 plus years of cruising so unapologetic ;) Spending what we must to travel the way we now wish will not allow for horrible balconies and such. So we will pass.

I certainly agree, as evidenced by my review, that there are many positives of this class ship. This is why reviews are so useful to me. If the issues that people like myself point too are not issues for others then this is a gorgeous ship with a wonderful staff. Harder to find well staffed and friendly crew lately it seems on many lines.

Thank you again for a great and balanced review.

George in NY

I would like to know about your Turn-Around Day. How was it managed? When did services reopen? Should I stay on the ship for the experience, or should I find something to do (like go to a nail salon or hairdresser in FLL) and reboard later in the day?

We live in FLL so we never get off the ship - but that is definitely an option. In-transit (B2B) passengers were processed around 10:30 and we were back on the ship by 11. We had reserved the sanctuary for both our cruises so we just hung out there. I'm not sure about spa/salon services on turn-around day since they are giving lots of tours of the area. Does your personalizer let you make a reservation? All the restaurants are open by noon -- I don't think the IC closed at all.

If you are looking for something touristy to do in FLL, try the water taxi (http://www.watertaxi.com). It stops at the Hilton Marina on 17th Street - within walking distance of terminal 2 where the Royal and Regal normally dock (unless both are in port on the same day :D). It's a great hop on/hop off means of transportation around FLL and the captain provides a commentary. It really is the only way to see the mega mansions and mega yachts that are such a part of FLL.

We got off the Royal a week ago and I couldn't agree more about the towels. Over the ten day cruise, the towels were grey, thin, and so hard you almost scratch your skin. It's like they got them off a very old ship. We asked our cabin steward to give us white towels. Occasionally we would get maybe one or two white towels, the rest were grey. Maybe they are not using bleach anymore, who knows. On the Grand class ships we always had white, plush, fluffy towels. The sheets on the Royal were fine though. There are just too many issues, besides the towels, for us to go back on the Royal.

Thanks for your review. We are sailing on her Feb 8; we enjoyed the Caribbean Princess, so looking forward to a newer ship.