Avoid Full Suite Royal Aft

I just completed a 28 day cruise on Royal full suite aft. The soot problem is not corrected as I was told. Every morning soot had to be removed from rails, deck and furniture. It is black and oily. Cabin steward did his best to clean every day. I am an early riser and cleaned small area of rail to enjoy the sunrise. I was told it was worse before. As wonderful as the view is never again unless deck is more protected. Has everything to do with design. Soot is easily trailed into cabin.

I just completed a 28 day cruise on Royal full suite aft. The soot problem is not corrected as I was told. Every morning soot had to be removed from rails, deck and furniture. It is black and oily. Cabin steward did his best to clean every day. I am an early riser and cleaned small area of rail to enjoy the sunrise. I was told it was worse before. As wonderful as the view is never again unless deck is more protected. Has everything to do with design. Soot is easily trailed into cabin.

This is disturbing. You spend a ton of money for that suite and it's been going on since the ship was launched.

Sorry you had to deal with this.

Did you have any discussions with senior management? They should have refunded you a bunch of $$$!!

I just completed a 28 day cruise on Royal full suite aft. The soot problem is not corrected as I was told. Every morning soot had to be removed from rails, deck and furniture. It is black and oily. Cabin steward did his best to clean every day. I am an early riser and cleaned small area of rail to enjoy the sunrise. I was told it was worse before. As wonderful as the view is never again unless deck is more protected. Has everything to do with design. Soot is easily trailed into cabin.

So sorry for your bad experience on the Royal. We did a 15 day Hawaiian cruise in late April 2016 on the Star Princess in our first Aft penthouse suite, C749. It was our best cruise ever. There wasn't the slightest evidence of any soot. I would guess that the newer ships have a major design problem. You deserve a major apology and a sizeable refund. I wish you luck.

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We were in Royal aft suite A735 in October 2015 and experienced the same thing in terms of soot. They were tiny balls that ranged in size from a tiny dot to pea sized. Our steward kept a hand towel on the floor just inside the sliding glass door to keep us from tracking it on the carpet. And if we wanted to sit on the balcony furniture, we put a towel down on it first. That coupled with the extremely narrow balcony would keep us from ever booking one of those suites again.

At the CC Meet & Greet, I asked the Hotel GM about it and at first he denied there was a soot problem, then quietly told me that there would be a solution deployed at the next dry dock. It doesn't seem like the solution (if there truly was one) worked. Sorry you had to deal with soot, I certainly understand the inconvenience having dealt with it!

So sorry for your bad experience on the Royal. We did a 15 day Hawaiian cruise in late April 2016 on the Star Princess in our first Aft penthouse suite, C749. It was our best cruise ever. There wasn't the slightest evidence of any soot. I would guess that the newer ships have a major design problem. You deserve a major apology and a sizeable refund. I wish you luck.

Completely agree with you! We have been in C748 and D737 on the Star and never had to deal with any soot.

OP, what deck were you on? I've experienced soot problems on the super huge aft balconies on the Summit but it took about 4 days for it to get noticeable. I want to make sure I avoid the aft of the Royal/Regal.

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

Sadly this has been an issue since it's maiden voyage

I spent $$$$$ on D726 on the maiden T/A in 2013. Soot was a major detractor . Never again.....

Bob

Ugh!! So disappointing to hear! :(

We have never booked a suite, but want to save up one day for it for a special anniversary. I would be so disappointed with a soot problem :(

Thanks for the warning, I really hope they fix this problem

We had the same soot problem in suite A729 on the Island Princess (uncovered aft balcony) on our Alaska cruise last year. The covered balcony below us didn't notice any.

Sadly this has been an issue since it's maiden voyage

I spent $$$$$ on D726 on the maiden T/A in 2013. Soot was a major detractor . Never again.....

 

Bob

We had the same issue on the Royal in December 2013 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956349) and swore off any full suites on the Royal class ships. We've since had a 20 day B2B and have a 25 day B2B coming up in October on the Royal in mini-suites where we feel we at least get value for money which we did not in a full suite.

Just finished a cruise on Royal a month ago, where we had an aft cabin on the Baja deck. There was some ash debris on the balcony, not a lot but a little, to me not deal breaker. There was equipment room next to us and its balcony had more ash on it, more likely as a result of not being cleaned as often as others.

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Just finished a cruise on Royal a month ago, where we had an aft cabin on the Baja deck. There was some ash debris on the balcony, not a lot but a little, to me not deal breaker. There was equipment room next to us and its balcony had more ash on it, more likely as a result of not being cleaned as often as others.

 

 

 

 

 

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Full suite or deluxe balcony?

Cruise Junky we were in a deluxe balcony, I believe the aft layout was from left to right - corner suite, deluxe balcony, deluxe balcony, equipment room, deluxe balcony and then a another corner suite.

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The aft facing suites on the Grand Class ships are such a joy. So sorry that the aft facing cabins on the Royal have this soot problem. So sorry.

I've considering the Royal and Regal but everything I read about them that matters to me seems disappointing. They have small balconies in every level of suite and apparently they the aft suites cannot enjoy the ambiance of the wake due to the soot. I have heard they have great buffets but I don't really care about that.

I have to say that the Island aft suites are the best in the fleet. We have been in A727 and A729. There was no noticeable soot issues. These balconies are HUGE!!!!!

The aft facing suites on the Grand Class ships are such a joy. So sorry that the aft facing cabins on the Royal have this soot problem. So sorry.

Agreed. I was in C750 and thought it was great but not as great as the Island. The deck was about half the size of the gigantic aft Island decks. Love the Grand and will always sail her but will also snag those Island aft suites whenever I can.

I am currently holding C-738 on the Royal, would you advise against booking this suite? It is pricey but I do love the location and the size of the balcony. Any advice would be appreciated.

I spent $$$$$ on D726 on the maiden T/A in 2013. Soot was a major detractor . Never again.....

 

 

Bob

We were in the suite below you on emerald deck on that sailing, and didn't have an issue with soot.

Two years ago we were in D726 on the fall TA on Royal, and are taking the same cruise in the same cabin on the Regal this September.

We love the spacious aft corner suites and large balconies on this class and also Celebrity S class. The positives far outweigh any soot issues.

The cabin attendants clean the balconies every day.

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We were in the suite below you on emerald deck on that sailing, and didn't have an issue with soot.

Two years ago we were in D726 on the fall TA on Royal, and are taking the same cruise in the same cabin on the Regal this September.

We love the spacious aft corner suites and large balconies on this class and also Celebrity S class. The positives far outweigh any soot issues.

The cabin attendants clean the balconies every day.

 

 

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Thank you, you have reassured me!

Agreed. I was in C750 and thought it was great but not as great as the Island. The deck was about half the size of the gigantic aft Island decks. Love the Grand and will always sail her but will also snag those Island aft suites whenever I can.

Sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing😄

My wife and I were in aft cabin R735 on the Royal a couple of weeks ago in Greece and while there was some minor soot on the balcony every morning it was not nearly as bad as I had expected after reading many posts on the subject. If I had not expected a soot issue I doubt I would have thought twice about it. But I did stack the chairs up close to the door at night as a soot precaution. And of course the balcony was cleaned every morning once we left the room. We would definitely reserve the same room again and loved the larger balcony and view from the back.

My wife and I were in aft cabin R735 on the Royal a couple of weeks ago in Greece and while there was some minor soot on the balcony every morning it was not nearly as bad as I had expected after reading many posts on the subject. If I had not expected a soot issue I doubt I would have thought twice about it. But I did stack the chairs up close to the door at night as a soot precaution. And of course the balcony was cleaned every morning once we left the room. We would definitely reserve the same room again and loved the larger balcony and view from the back.

Glad to read that the soot issue was very manageable for you. We have R734 booked on the Regal next February and imagine our experience may be similar.

For me, I would not want to have a suite/cabin that had a balcony soot . Stepping in it or sitting in it can be a pain. But breathing it in, not what I would want to do!