cruze610

Not To Worry!

The All Inclusive Beverage Sticker will be available on Emerald Princess. :)

 

LuLu

Great news. Thanks. As long as it's added before December 14 I'll be happy.

I'll be on the emerald in December. I think I read somewhere that the AIBP isn't available on the Emerald but now I can't find the source. Can anyone confirm if this is true?

When I was on the Royal, there were two pools on the ship... the main pool and the Retreat pool which has nothing to do with the Sanctuary, which has no pool. :)

 

People cruise for different reasons and aside from the cruises I tend to take which are longer and have a lot of Platinum and Elite, Princess is marketing to a much broader demographic than they used to, people who couldn't care less about how cruising used to be. They want quick, casual dining, hamburgers and Mac 'n cheese on the menu, bands playing, and non-stop activities. Princess no longer is the line to "Escape completely" but is now, "Come back new," whatever that means. Has anyone figured that out yet?

 

Anyway, follow the money. Always. The large ships are cheaper to operate and the line makes more money. That's the bottom line. Fewer and fewer are willing to pay the premium fares to sail the smaller ships. Not something I'm happy about but that's the financial reality.

I believe the whole "Come Back New" thing is referring to their belief that after taking a Princess cruise and seeing the world and all if has to offer in different regions that they travel one then becomes a new person having experienced these things.

I for one can't stand the new slogan. But that wont keep me from sailing with Princess again. The lower than average service that I experienced while I sailed on the new Royal, now that's a different story. I'll certainly go with Princess again but if the service on Royal is any indication of how Princess is becoming, I'll have to look elsewhere.

I am very surprised that Princess has not left at least 1 ship in San Juan. If they were to have the Sea Princess for example, they should not have too much difficulty filling a ship that size. It really is a much better itinerary IMO from San Juan. Southern Caribbean is so much better than Eastern. So many people that I speak to onboard have said that they don't even bother getting off the ship in St. Thomas or Princess Cays since they have been there so many times. I feel like I'm getting to that point.

I will try Royal or Celebrity next time I want to go to the Caribbean. Who knows, I might even enjoy them as much or more than Princess. if that happens, it can open up a whole new world of possibilities. up till this point I have cruised with only Princess (except for one awful Carnival cruise back in 02)

Great info. When did you book the enclave? As soon as you boarded? :)

It was one of the first things we did when we boarded. We went straight to our cabin and called to reserve. We tried to just reserve for the 3 sea days but were told that to limit the # of pax, we had to book for the entire cruise.

Being elite, can you tell us if they have the complimentary laundry service worked out on Royal now? We were on the maiden TA and the laundry was completely overwhelmed. It took 5 days for laundry to come back.

 

We are on Royal again in Sept and were curious.

.?????

 

Thanks

Laundry Service was great as usual. We sent laundry out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We got is back before 5pm the following day each time. No delays, no missing items.

Since the flights are expensive for many, not as many people are willing to book cruises starting in San Juan. If Princess cannot sell sufficient cabins at pricing that makes sense to the company, then Princess will no longer offer cruises from there.

So I guess using this theory, Princess will eventually pull its fleet out of FLL. because the ships out of there don't seem to be selling out any more on a weekly basis.

Yes, its all about the money. Seven night cruises with only one sea day are a thing of the past; they need the onboard revenue from a captive audience for at least two sea days plus one port day only 7am to 1pm or 2pm to 7pm. (And one of the most common survey replies was that if the effort and expense was made to fly to San Juan, passengers wanted NO sea days at all, only port days).

 

And as for deep discounting: when these cruises ran I regularly received 'last minute deal' e-mails for $279! Yes, $40/pp/pd--and even that wasn't low enought to tempt enough people to spend the money for last minute airfare; most of the late bookings were to Puerto Rican residents. Princess then had to find additional Spanish speaking staff and make most announcements in two languages--which became another area of negative survey feedback.

 

And as an aside, yesterday I received this last minute deal e-mail: four day Caribbean getaway for $129--$33/pp/pd! Have to wonder how long Princess will stay in the already saturated half-week from Florida cruise market.

Makes a lot of sense that they would want to have more time at sea. I didn't think of it from that aspect. Makes perfect sense. and I will definitely agree that the multilingual constant announcements that I had to endure when on a Carnival cruise out of SJ SUCKED!!!

Expensive for almost everyone. As an example from an actual cruise which included Christmas onboard:

• 8 day Cruise cost: Balcony guarantee cabin: $ 848 per person
  
• Air cost (coach), flying from Texas: $869 per person.
  

That particular cruise contained a high percentage of Puerto Rican passengers, because it was just too expensive for mainland US based passengers to get to the cruise., requiring the cruise line to deeply discount the cabin prices to fill the ship - and you can see how deeply they had to discount from the price above where a holiday cruise usually is over twice that cost for a balcony cabin.

 

Compare that with other US based home ports, and you will find the overall cost to get to/from the port combined with the cost of the cruise to be significantly less expensive compared with San Juan, meaning more passengers can afford to book those cruises.

 

With low passenger bookings because of high costs, it was a business decision for the cruise line to withdraw from Puerto Rico for a while.

 

And yes, after those flights, I would call it a pain.

I think the big reason was that the ships were hard to fill up. They were really "deep" discounting those cruises. All about making a profit. I think Carnival is the only one still sailing out of San Juan.

Just checked to compare what a flight would cost from NEWARK to FLL vs. SJU Christmas week 12/22-12/29 to FLL-$595 and to SJU $692. While I find those prices to be obsurd (even for a holiday week) its less than a difference of $100.00 for the extra $100 I'd fly to Puerto Rico EVERY TIME.

I don't know about other departure cities but from Newark, its a nonstop flight to SJU. Its obviously a longer flight than going to FLL but not a pain by any means.

Every time I cruised out of SJ there was a sign displaying that the sailing was sold out. But in fairness, this hasn't been for about 3-4 years when air fare was a lot less. I used to be able to fly rt from EWr to SJU for under $400.00 and the cruise fare was discounted I'd say. I used to book a BA balcony mid ship on Caribe deck for $749pp.

Because it is expensive and a massive pain to fly to San Juan.

Expensive for Whom? I don't think that Princess would discontinue using it as a port because its more expensive to fly there. Yes While it is a longer flight to San Juan then to Fort Lauderdale, I'd hardly call it a pain. The itineraries are so much more varied. I can remember the days of taking a 7 day that took us to Antigua, Tortola, St. Lucia, Barbados and Aruba. That was one of the best itineraries I've ever taken. Its gotten to the point where The itineraries are no longer the deciding factor when going to the Caribbean. (I and so many others I'm sure) have been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten so many times that its become "the same old thing".

Does anyone know why Princess seems to have stopped using San Juan as a departure port? I much prefer the itineraries that are offered when sailing from SJ.

Everything in the Enclave is included in the $159.00 there are no additional fees or reservations needed. There are obviously charges for massage service and beauty services but the 159.00 includes a full week of use of all of the Enclave. When you go there, you can use the therapy pool any time you like.

We went there often and at different times. It was rarely crowded and never to the point where we could not get in the pool.

Only complaint was that later in the day the water temp was too low. We notified the people at the front desk in the lotus spa and they increased the temp and suggested we try to come earlier when the temp seems to always be hotter.

Hi All

 

Lets look at the aft pool

 

With enough money and time anything is possible,

 

however what we are talking about costs lots money, and removes money making cabins,

 

so why do it, only reason is to to fill the ship, if by not having an aft pool Princess is having problems selling out the ship at the price they want

 

so if we are seeing discount prices just now to fill the ships, we will not see same low prices if an aft pool is constructed,

 

time, we know ships yards can preform the impossible in weeks just look at the Grand re model, but launch of Regal has been brought forward, would you want to do this if undertaking a big change,

 

while it is possible and they have the P&O ship plans to work to,

 

my guess we will see aft pool and other major changes on Royal class ship number three

 

will we see major changes on the Regal will believe it when Princess tells me, might just ask them tomorrow,

 

PS those on the Royal just now why have they not told us about the TV crew onboard or did they and I just missed it.

 

yours Shogun

I did receive an email prior to our Royal cruise letting me know there would be a film crew on board. They were filming the life of a cruise passenger ans cruise crew member. What they didn't tell us was that there would be a very loud and disruptive helicopter following us (taking video) for about the first hour or 2 when we left Port Everglades. The pilot was flying so low at times I thought he would hit the water.

I love that the Promenade will be "walkable" for the entire length of the ship and I love that they are adding an aft pool. but for me to sail Royal again or Regal at all I would need a larger balcony.

Thanks for your review Cruz610......a question about the Enclave.....is it coed or are there 2 areas - 1 male/ 1female?

The Enclave is coed but there are seperate male/female restroom/locker rooms to use before and after using the enclave.

Royal Princess November 10-17

I’ll start by saying that we have like many of you cruised with Princess many times. I am Elite and DW is only a couple away from Elite. We chose this cruise strictly because of the ship. We decided as soon as we heard that this ship was being built that we HAD TO BE ON IT ASAP!

I will try to keep this review as short as possible but I apologize in advance it I start to drag on an on. I tend to do that sometimes. I will keep this strictly about the ship and not go into details about the ports (Princess Cays, St. Thomas and St. Maarten) as that is not what this review is about.

Embarkation: We arrived at Port Everglades a littler later than we usually like to but the early flights from EWR to FLL were way to pricey. We arrived at the terminal at about 2pm. The line of people that were lined up outside along side the terminal was longer than we have ever seen in the past. This didn’t bother us as we walked to the front and went in the preferred line. Once inside our line moved rather quickly. From the time we entered the terminal till the time we made it up to the line at the check in counter it was less than 10 minutes. There didn’t seem to be any preferred line once at the check in section. Not a big problem either as the lines moved very swiftly. We worked our way to the front of the line in less than 10 minutes. Checked in, got our cruise cards and were ushered upstairs in no time. Now, once upstairs, that’s where the waiting began. Every one getting their photos taken as they walk on takes some time. I think the wait was about 20 minutes but since I was so excited to board that it felt like an hour. We finally stepped on to the Royal at about 245 ish. We headed straight for the elevator to get to our cabin.

We immediately noticed how beautiful the Piazza was. It was huge and extravagant. We had to wait quite a while to get an elevator. Maybe 10 minutes. Once the elevator opened I understood why.

EVERY SINGLE ELEVATOR on the Royal is I think significantly smaller than that of the other Princess ships. This means that sometimes (often times) when the elevator would open to let people on, there was no room for them to get on. This was a disappointment that I seemed to encounter several times during the cruise. Once at our cabin A707 Jason our stateroom steward greeted us. He was for the most part GREAT. Not the best we have ever had but certainly not bad at all. He was attentive and fulfilled our needs when they came up.

The stateroom was very nice but slightly smaller than what we have gotten used to. It was a regular balcony cabin. We didn’t opt for the deluxe balcony but we wished that we had, as it was just a little too tight in our cabin. The shower was noticeably larger and the addition of the little ledge and wall mounted shampoo and shower gel was a nice feature. But how do they increase the shower size? They make the bathroom smaller!!! Not good. The TP holder as mentioned by so many other people is in an awful spot. Princess is very well aware of this and they have already taken steps to change it in the Regal. I would imagine they would also correct it on the Royal.

The balcony is smaller as we are all aware of already. We spent a lot of time on the balcony and did miss the extra space. There were 2 chairs that were capable of reclining but with 2 people on the balcony it just isn’t possible to do that. There is also a tiny table on the balcony. There would really be no way to eat any kind of a meal on the balcony the way that it is. We were also above the rear section of Promenade (aft of the last tender) Very bright lights would come on in the evening to light the deck and cause our balcony to never get as dark as we like. This made it more difficult to see all the stars in the sky.

Speaking of the Promenade deck, It sucks that it does not wrap all the way around the ship. Lets leave it at that.

Absolutely loved the layout of this ship!!! This was the first time I went on a cruise and had the layout down pat and actually knew my way around by the 2nd or 3rd day.

For the most part, the entire crew was fantastic. Very friendly through out the entire length of the cruise.

The only place that we experienced bad service was in the Symphony and Concerto dining rooms. Service was the worst it has ever been. We actually got up and walked out of the Symphony dining room because service was so slow.

Loved the buffet. The new HC was much nicer, more modern and better laid out. Never once did we have trouble finding a table to sit at. Which is good because we ate almost every dinner there. We ate at the Crown Grill once, Alfredo’s once and Concerto once. All other dinners were at the HC. Food was better quality and better selection than we remembered. And the wait staff was terrific.

Crown Grill was great as it always is although DW got a NY Strip and it was very fatty. Alfredo’s was great. We actually went there twice. Just a suggestion to Princess though, It would be nice if they offered some daily specials or something to mix it up a little with the menu.

Burgers and dogs from Trident was great as usual, Pizza from Prego was good but not as good as in the past. Seemed like they are making the pizza a little thinner now. We never made it to the seafood terrace bar so I cant comment on that. Bellini’s was nice but the kind of place where I would only go once just to try it.

The Sky Walk was kind of cool the first time I walked on it then the novelty wore off quickly. I think most of the passengers might have felt the same because when ever I walked by, no one was on it. The Sea View bar was kind of cool. The flair show was spectacular!!!

MUTS- During the day. EVERY SINGLE DAY ALL DAY LONG all they played was some National Geographic scenic slide show. No TV, no movies. NOTHING AT ALL. I don’t get why they did that. Night Time was of course a different story. Movies every night and even Monday Night the fountain and light show I think is a big waste of space. We went to see it and it was so windy the water was blowing into the air sideways soaking everything on deck. On the final night of the cruise it wasn’t quite as windy but the show only lasts about 5 minutes so not worth seeing more than once.

Pools were kind of small but large enough I think. They should really have more lounge chairs by the pools though. On a sea day it is impossible to get a chair unless you are one of those dreaded chair hogs that everyone knows I’m talking about. The no reserving chairs rule is very obviously not enforced.

The deck is no longer real teak wood like it has always been. I don’t know what it is exactly but it is extremely slippery when wet and the black lines that are supposed to look like the seams in the boards are just painted on with black paint.

I loved the addition of all of the auto opening doors. Also loved the spa.

We were under the impression that we could reserve the Enclave by the day for something like $40-$50 per day per person. Don’t remember if we read that here on CC or on the princess site. This was not the case. We were told when we called to reserve that it had to be done for the entire week. This was $159 per person for the week. We did book it and we are glad we did. It was very relaxing and it truly did help us “escape completely”

I could go on and on but this review has already been way too long. I know I left out a lot Any questions, I will gladly answer. But for now I guess that’s all I’ll say. Sorry this review was so long.

the bottom line. Will I sail Princess again? Of course I will. I am a fan boy! Will sail on the Royal again? Probably not.

I was on the Royal also use disembarked today. Will write a full review when I have more time. Need a couple days to get back to normal. But I strongly agree with some of the comments from the op.

Had a great cruise but there were a lot of disappointments.

Full review to follow

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There is the Piazza which is simply too small. Also the shops are quite small and not especially well stocked while there seemed to be a large amount of lounge space that was seldom in use.

 

Interesting that it was so crowded yet a lounge area that was seldom used. hmmm...

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. We will be sailing on Royal in 6 days and are looking forward to it. Reviews like this make me even more excited!!

Princess like other lines has a policy that states you can bring wine and champagne on board for consumption in your cabin. You are NOT permitted to bring soda or alcoholic beverages on board other than that.

Unoficially, (and this is why I have been on 31 princess cruises instead of switching lines) I have brought cases of beer on board and just asked about the policy Nd been told "what we don't see we don't know u have". That said, try at ur own risk.

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Does anyone know if the current CD on Ruby- Lisa Ball will still be on in March? We will be sailing on Ruby March 13th and have heard a lot of not so favorable reviews of her as a CD. Just wondering if she will still be there in March and if not, does anyone know who the new CD will be while she is on vacation?

I have noticed numerous threads about the Aft of the Grand Class ships; I was bored and wanted to put together a reference guide for the Crown, Emerald and Ruby Ships. Feel free to add to it. I am visual person so I hope this helps all out there that are looking to book an aft balcony of some kind

 

Pictured below is the Crown Princess

 

flvol77, thanks so much for taking the time to create this photo and posting it. It was great to see. I just booked our january 09 cruise on the crown and I thought id try an aft cabin. I was unsure about what kind of use Id have of the balcony. I booked baja 749 before seing this picture. I was concerned once I started hearing about all those beams. Now thanks to your hard work, I see I made the right choice. I cant wait to be sitting out on my "beam free balcony" with a cocktail in hand!

Thanks again.

note the letters in this URL....the "ta"

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ta/index.html

Thanks for clearing it up. Now I feel silly for calling the Tahitian TP. we can leave the TP in the bathroom from now on.

I this official list something that was made by Princess? All this time I have been calling the Tahitian Princess TP. how did these initials originate?