Just Off the Royal - Grand Med - Photo Pkg, ATD, Internet Minutes, and More

DH and I just returned from a 21-day Grand Mediterranean cruise on Royal Princess. We are Platinum CC members. Here are a few observations. As always, opinions are subjective. Note: we booked this as a single 21-day cruise, but it was also sold as separate 7- or 14-day "voyages."

• We purchased the "all-inclusive photo package" when we booked the trip last year. Apparently, there has been a policy change since we booked, so now a package is only good for one "voyage" (or leg of a longer trip.) We learned this when we went to retrieve the photos from the first 7 days and were offered the option of extending the package at a price. It wasn't an unreasonable price, but that's not what we had purchased so we spoke with the photo services manager du jour and were told we could get all 21 days' photos at the original (prepaid) price, but only because we had booked before this changed. Be aware.
  
• Internet minutes were promised at 500 for a 21-day cruise but were issued in 3 150-minute increments, one increment per 7-day "voyage." We had to wait until the last "voyage," then request the additional 50 minutes at the Internet Cafe service desk. Not a big deal but even the minor annoyances detract from the cruise experience. Also, whenever we had minutes left over at the end of 7 days they rolled over and were used first. E.g., I had 17 minutes left after the first "voyage," and when I logged on that Saturday I was able to use those and was then automatically logged off until I agreed to the next 150 minutes. They don't tell you this anywhere we could find; we had to ask.
  
• Anytime Dining - We had friends on the ship and we wanted to eat together most nights. One of us always called ahead to get a reservation, and we usually requested a specific table (because we liked the location and the wait staff.) We were always told they cannot guarantee tables for ATDers but we were usually advised as to when a particular table was likeliest to be available. This worked very well for us 95% of the time. We always got a table for 4, it was usually the one we requested, and we were always seated as soon as we showed up (on time for our reservation.) It's not hard to make that call each day, and choosing ATD lets us vary our dinner time in accordance with our other plans.
  
• If you haven't cruised Princess in at least a year: gone are the 3 Curtis Stone menu offerings each night. There was one CS chicken-and-leek pot pie listed at the very bottom of the entree page, almost as if it were an afterthought. We didn't care for the CS dishes so this was a positive change for us. On a much higher note, the Norman Love chocolate desserts are divine!!! Bravo to whoever incorporated that change!!!
  
• We were happy to note that the Princess At Sea app works much better than it did the last time we sailed, although messages are still somewhat slow to arrive. I'm guessing that the Medallion technology will need a similar amount of time to work out the bugs.
  
• Our bed was not the new one, but it was still so much better than the old ones that required a foam "egg grate" topper just to make them bearable! We slept well, or we did until the next-door neighbors changed from the old coughers (there was a nasty flu bug onboard) to the young party bunch. LOL They partied so hard one night they shattered the balcony glass!
  
• Captain Bob Oliver is the calmest, coolest cucumber at sea. I'm sure he was beyond frustrated with several situations beyond his control (the worst being a long delay leaving one of the Greek islands for Kotor because the EU's online customs system was down), but he never showed it. He communicated often, calmly, always in detail, and always with the reminder that safety was of paramount importance. During one night's journey he was ordered to divert to a tanker that had caught fire and it took us hours out of our way. He explained it all thoroughly the next morning, and again reminded us that the safety of EVERYONE at sea is his and the ship's priority. When he was out and about he was approachable and very open. Well done, Captain.
  
• Our cabin steward was the happiest crew member we've ever met, as well as one of the most efficient and helpful. Thanks, Tasmin!
  
• We had some of the best shore excursions we've ever experienced. All Princess shorex this time, as we didn't want the stress of worrying about timing in ports where we don't speak the language and/or the destinations are far from the ports themselves. Except in France (where we've never had a good guide), our guides immersed us in the cultures, histories, and even the mythologies of their countries. They really knew their locales and answered questions easily. Princess has always got high marks from us for its itineraries; we will now score them highly for shorex as well.
  
• Kotor is stunning, friendly, and probably about to become a hot spot.
  
• We were allowed to bring wine onboard that we bought in port and consume it in our cabin without any corkage fees. We really appreciated that. We also buy a wine package for these longer cruises but we like to try the local grapes as well. Princess would do well to continue this reasonable practice, as we spend enough onboard anyway. In fact, the more wine we consume the more we spend! :D
  
• Alfredo's continues to be a delightful perq. We enjoyed several long lunches there.
  
• Thank you for giving us back the center stairs!!!
  

Overall, this was one of the best cruises we've enjoyed, and that's saying a lot. While we also like the Emerald and her sister ships, we would miss Alfredo's, the larger atrium, the International Café, and the expanded Horizon Court. And we are so very blessed to be able to cruise at all!

Sounds wonderful! My stepdaughter was on the Royal in May and said that Kotor was a wonderful surprise and their favorite port!

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We were on her for the TA followed by the Mediterranean. We too loved Kotor.

As for internet minutes.... that is the way it always is. Your minutes are not based on how you booked but by each leg. We had a 17 day and then an 11 day. For the 17 day we purchased extra minutes which rolled over to the 11 day. At the end we had a lot of minutes. Tried to use them up but left some unused. 11 days was not enough time to use what we were given especially where we had some rolled over. Basically we could not evenly space everything. First world problem!

Thank you so much for your review. It's nice to hear so many positive things about the Royal. We will also be visiting Kotor on our Grand Med cruise on the Royal in October, and I'm looking forward to it based on your remarks. I'd love to hear more about the ports you visited and your experiences.

Also, thanks for the advice on reservations for anytime dining. I've only read negative experiences others have had, such as long lines and wait times. We'll give your system a try.

Thank you so much for your review. It's nice to hear so many positive things about the Royal. We will also be visiting Kotor on our Grand Med cruise on the Royal in October, and I'm looking forward to it based on your remarks. I'd love to hear more about the ports you visited and your experiences.

 

Also, thanks for the advice on reservations for anytime dining. I've only read negative experiences others have had, such as long lines and wait times. We'll give your system a try.

In May we had no problem with anytime dining. Only real busy on formal night.

Thank you for such a lovely review. I agree with you in loving some of the features on the Royal class, especially the buffet!:):):) I have a couple of Grand Class cruises booked and two on the Royal. I'm looking forward to the aft decks on the Grand Class and the things you mentioned on the Royal. :):):)

Thank you for an informative, balanced and interesting review! Welcome home! I look forward to my cruise on the Royal in 2019 and Kotor next year.

Both Croatia and Montenegro were a pleasant surprise to my wife and I, we throughly enjoyed the beauty of both countries and the history behind it.

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I thought the beds were upgraded at the same dry dock when they did the central staircase? Does anyone know if they are only done during dry dock or if it's an ongoing project the do at sea or what the plan is on them?

I thought the beds were upgraded at the same dry dock when they did the central staircase? Does anyone know if they are only done during dry dock or if it's an ongoing project the do at sea or what the plan is on them?

*The Princess Luxury Bed is now available on board Ruby Princess, Emerald Princess, Coral Princess, Sun Princess, Grand Princess, Caribbean Princess, Majestic Princess and Pacific Princess and will debut on board Golden Princess (Oct 2017), Sea Princess (Nov 2017), Star Princess & Island Princess (Dec 2017), Sapphire Princess (Mar 2018), Crown Princess (Apr 2018) and Diamond Princess (Aug 2018), followed by Royal Princess & Regal Princess in 2019. Please note this schedule is subject to change.

*The Princess Luxury Bed is now available on board Ruby Princess, Emerald Princess, Coral Princess, Sun Princess, Grand Princess, Caribbean Princess, Majestic Princess and Pacific Princess and will debut on board Golden Princess (Oct 2017), Sea Princess (Nov 2017), Star Princess & Island Princess (Dec 2017), Sapphire Princess (Mar 2018), Crown Princess (Apr 2018) and Diamond Princess (Aug 2018), followed by Royal Princess & Regal Princess in 2019. Please note this schedule is subject to change.

Above true except the Luxury Bed is now available on Regal if you are in a suite or club-class mini suite.

Nice review!

Hey there!! Going on my FIRST CRUISE in September on the Royal to celebrate my 50th birthday. Thanks so much for your review, as I have requested ATD, myself. Also to echo a couple of other reviewers on here: It is nice to read a review that is not only informative but constructive. Some commenters on Cruise Critic never seem to have anything good to say about anything, moaning and complaining about anything they can think of, so it is nice to read a positive review once in awhile. Cheers!!!