NewPennCruiser

When you walk into the buffet from the pool area, you will first walk into the Bistro. The furniture is different with lots of tall tables and counter type space to sit at and the pastry shop is located here. Desserts are available there all the time even if the Bistro section is not necessarily open. As you continue aft, you will enter the Horizon Court area and there are many serving areas available and as Pam has mentioned, make sure you walk through and check out everything because there are many options. There was often a taco area, many pastas, a grilled food area and many salad options.

You will get spoiled and the old Horizon Court will just seem totally inadequate, so enjoy. As you continue back through the Horizon Court you can go through the doors to the Horizon Terrace which is outdoors but completely covered. The Outrigger Bar is located here with sofas to lounge on and many tables that give you the option to eat outdoors even if the weather isn’t all that great. There always seemed to be open tables.

A nice addition to the buffet is hand washing areas as you walk into the Bistro. They still have the hand sanitizers around but I thought it was smart to add an easy option for washing your hands. We always stopped and they usually had someone there asking people to wash their hands as they entered the area. At busy times, most people just seemed to walk by but many people stopped.

Depending on time of day or how busy they are, the entire Bistro / Court area might be open but there were often times when some sections were closed down. Even if a section like the Bistro might not be serving food, you were always welcome to sit there.

Oh and before I forget, if you have a coffee card or just would like to get an espresso or latte, they have a coffee machine in the pastry area of the Bistro that will make coffee drinks, just like at the International Café.

Have fun exploring!!! Dave

We've cruised on both ships and while they are not in the same class and the Royal is much nicer (in my opinion), I think the itinerary on the Dawn from Boston to Quebec City is more interesting than the round trip from New York.

We've also done the round trip NE/Canada cruise on the Caribbean and it was a great cruise but our favorite stops were in Canada and it would have been nicer if it continued to Quebec. We probably should have taken the 10 day Princess cruise but like you, we were limited to 7 days.

I would weigh the itineraries against each other and pick what you prefer. Food is subjective and like some have said, we had no issues with the MDR food on the Dawn. And if you choose, the specialty restaurant selection on NCL is quite fantastic with a lot of options. Both cruises will be nice and my suggestion would be to go with the itinerary that you prefer. In either case, have a great cruise!

Dave

Dave beat me to it, but yeah, the aft Promenade Deck areas on either side will be perfect for what you're looking for. The starboard side toward the back allows smoking and given the current itinerary that side will be in the sun heading to St Maarten, then the port side on the return trip.

We wanted quiet time in the shade so we just picked the appropriate side and it was a fantastic place to lounge, read, relax and do whatever you want away from the many other activities going on around the ship.

thanks for the info I have one question what resurant is the any time ?

Symphony was anytime dining all night and Concerto was anytime dining after 7:30.

We always wanted to cruise to Bermuda and we chose NCL out of Boston last year. We had a great time and enjoyed cruising on the Dawn. Embarkation was a breeze in Boston and we really liked the ship.....you're pretty much just using it as a hotel for 3 days while in Bermuda, food is good and the price point is competitive.

It is easy to get around the island, the people are nice and I love visiting there. Personally I wish Princess offered some itineraries that included Bermuda but they don't and I really think NCL is a nice option. I also have heard good things about RCCL out of New York/New Jersey but I've not tried them yet. Personally we choose Princess first if they cruise an itinerary we are interested in but I would never hesitate to cruise NCL if there is something that interests us. (like Bermuda) Dave

We were also on the Royal 2/2 and enjoy the Crooner's on all the Princess ships we sailed. The Crooner's was off to the side near the center elevators and stairs to the Piazza. I liked the Crooner's location better on the other Grand ships.

Good point and I definitely noticed a difference with how Crooners was used on Royal vs the Grand Class ships. On the Grand Class ships it seems like Crooners is the main destination for entertainment in the Atrium/Piazza and aside from maybe a pianist or some light entertainment, there isn't much happening in the Atrium. On Royal, it seems like the Piazza is the focus and Crooners just happens to be part of it. At least on our sailing it seemed that most of the entertainment was featured on the piazza stage and maybe late in the evening there was something going on in Crooners. Because the area is so open you really can't have entertainment going on in multiple locations at once and with the Royal, they are ultimately featuring the piazza as a complete destination.

I also kind of thought the Crooners Bar seemed to be an afterthought because as you mentioned it's in the corner near the stairs and elevators, not out where it would make more sense where you might sit and have a drink and still enjoy what might be going on around the piazza. The rest of the seating is nice and expansive, but I agree they definitely could have done a better job designing the space. I can honestly say we didn't spend any time there except to maybe walk through heading somewhere else or to get to the doors that take you out onto the side promenade porch.

The review was great, maybe because it was from a fellow 'yinzer' We're sailing in 3 weeks (my daughters surprised me with the cruise for my 50th birthday! Yay for me!) We're so excited as this is our first cruise and some of the reviews weren't so great so we were getting worried...your review has now put our minds at ease and now are even more excited and we are so looking forward to this trip. I can't wait to get on board and check it all out! Can't wait to get out of the 'burgh and dive into those clear, blue Caribbean waters!

Congrats on your big day and winter has been pretty brutal around here hasn't it? I remember thinking when we cruised a few weeks ago that on the first day I just walked out on deck in the morning with my coffee and let the sun soak in and thought how nice it was that I didn't see snow and it was 80 degrees. I would just suggest that you do your research and as many others here will also say, read the reviews with a grain of salt, even the ultra positive ones. 3,600 passengers on a ship will have 3,600 differing opinions so pull out information that means something to you and go into the cruise with an open mind ready for an adventure. Don't sweat the small stuff, relax and soak in your surroundings. For 7 days, winter in the Burgh will be a distant memory and I think you and your family will have a great vacation. Dave

Island will be in Europe doing the Grand Med. Itinerary

Thanks and I just also noticed the 2015 Mediterranean thread that was started as well. Interesting shift of ships..... Dave

Does the Island figure into this or are they moving it?

Dave,

Thanks for the great review, our turn in 45 days! Any more on Alfredo's we have it our our list of must do's for this trip, along with so many other things!

Cheers!

Ken

Alfredo's seemed to get more crowded as the week went on. I think we ate lunch there twice and dinner once as an alternate option on one of the formal nights. I really loved the minestrone soup, salad and Hawaiian pizza. My partner loved the antipasta options and we never did try the calzone... Maybe next time :) The expanded menu is fantastic in comparison to what is offered on Sapphire. The pizza is different than what you get at Prego; more like something from California Pizza Kitchen or some of the other specialty pizza places out there. It got a huge thumbs up from both of us!

Thanks for your review! Did you check out the kiosks in the photo gallery? If so, what could one purchase? Prints, digital file of the picture? Thanks for your help!

 

 

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Someone else might be able to pipe in on this one, but we managed to mostly avoid the photographers this cruise. They will place out the usual port photos to browse, etc and it seemed like the kiosks were working as I watched some others bringing up photos... I'm just not sure what your options are and whether you can purchase digital files.

Looking at the Lido deck can anyone tell me about the Trident Grill, Mermaids Tail and Prego? Thanks ahead. :)

Trident grill is basically the place to get burgers, fries, hot dogs, brats, BBQ, etc. Prego is the traditional Princess pizza and Mermaids Tail in a bar. All are complimentary dining options, well of course except for the bar. :)

Thanks for the review. Looking for to Christmas on the Royal. One question: When you wrote there were BBQ options at the grill, are you talking about hamburgers, hot dogs or things like ribs, chicken etc.?

They had the usual burgers, hot dogs and stuff all the time, but on some days for lunch and dinner they had actual BBQ like pulled pork and ribs. It was quite tasty.

Thanks so much for your time to do this excellent and detailed review!

Very helpful since we haven't cruised on the new Royal Princess yet.

Appreciate your tip on "Sea Watch Bar". So you liked it better than Crooner's which is where we hang out on most Princess ships?

 

LuLu

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Crooners was still popular but it's very different than the SeaView Bar. There was just something about being outside and there is a skylight above the bar that brightens things up and the view is spectacular. It's also sort of protected from the wind, etc and there were lots of places to sit. As for the bars indoors, we really liked the way the Wheelhouse Bar is associated with Crown Grill. There was usually a jazz duo or pianist playing there and we seemed to head that way if we were inside. Crooners is different on this ship and it's hard to explain why accept that it is more open to the piazza so it seems to be more included in what is going on elsewhere on the other levels. It seemed like it was still a great place to sit and hang out though. Part of the fun on this cruise was just exploring and seeing what we liked or disliked... by the end of the week we just sort of headed to certain places that were most comfortable to us. I guess we do that on the other ships as well. Dave

So this means you have to stand in a common line when you arrive at the dock to go through security before you are allowed to go to the Platinum/elite lounge. Is this correct?

There are two lines to get into the terminal but the preferred line is not very obvious even though there is a sign. We recently cruised on Royal and used hotel shuttle that got us there at about 10:30am. There was a long line forming along the wall of the terminal and your first instinct is to just get into line since you used to be split up after you got inside. But if you look at the entrance doors, there are 2 and the one to the right is the preferred line. When we got there they were just opening the doors so we wandered down sort of wondering if we should go into the right door and sure enough we eventually noticed the sign and walked right in. After we did that we noticed a few people step out of the original line and follow us since they had preferred boarding too and were confused like we were. Once inside we went directly through security, then check in and then to the appropriate area to wait for boarding. In our case, we are elite and we were directed upstairs to the elite lounge.

Lesson learned for us, if you have preferred boarding, stay right and watch for the signs. Dave

Thanks for the review, we'll be on her in April :D May I ask how playing in the Casino works? Can we just bring cash to use or can you charge to your ship account (without any fees!!)? Thanks!

As far as the slots go, you can just use your room card. Stick it in the machine, create a pass code, charge to the ship account (no fees) and away you go. You can keep the money on the account until it's gone or you cash out, and you have to remember to cash out at the end. I'm not sure about the table games. Dave

Good review.:)

Benny, I wanted to thank you for your live thread. You sailed the week before us and I could tell your expectations were very similar to ours. I thought your observations were spot on. We enjoyed breakfast at Int'l Cafe, quiet time in the piazza early mornings and finding places off the beaten path to sit, relax, read and people watch. I'm enjoying your review (and pictures) as well. Feels like I'm there again instead of snow blowing the driveway! Dave

So if all things were the same, would you sail the Royal or a Grand class ship again if the itinerary was identical?

Personally for us, we would probably pick the Royal. We felt like the Grand Class ships would seem dated after cruising the Royal because at least in the public areas, especially the Piazza, it seemed like they really nailed it with the design. Of course that is just my opinion for what it's worth and our next Princess cruise is actually going to be the Ruby, so we'll get to test out that theory. Dave

Royal reviews are popular these days but I thought I would add some of our own impressions as well. It’s been a few weeks but I finally had some time to put my thoughts together from our 2/2 cruise since I thought it would be helpful to some. We signed up for this cruise as soon as it was available for booking and really had been looking forward to seeing the new ship. We did make one change to our reservation based on other reviews and that was from a suite to a mini suite. We usually book mini’s but after cruising in a Sapphire vista suite last year, we decided to splurge on a suite for this cruise as well. However after seeing the prices for the mini’s drop significantly as the sailing got closer and no discounts on the suites, we changed before final payment and saved a bundle of money.

First impressions were all positive. As everyone has said, the ship is stunning. While some of the decisions like smaller elevators or not having a center stairwell can be legitimately questioned, you can’t fault the decorators and designers any. After reading how impressive the Piazza is, I went in expecting to be wowed and I was. The lighting, artwork and basically everything around the ship is elegant and makes you feel like you’re in a 5 star hotel. Even though the ship is “different” and new, if you’re familiar with the Grand Class ships, you’ll learn to get around quickly.

As for our room, it was pretty much what we expected. I like the new desk layout in the mini suite and the bathroom was pretty much the same. Having the TVs mounted on the wall and eliminating the circular room divider seemed to open up things more and there was plenty of space. The much maligned balcony was functional for 2 and ok for us. But really, I can’t believe they had foot stools included with the chairs because basically there is no room for them. They just sit under the chair and get in the way. It appeared there was room to use them on some of the mid ship extended balconies but why waste money on them when they can’t be used on 90% of the balconies! It seems like they just plopped the same furniture on the balcony that they would any ship and expect it to be useful. I can just see a manager with a list somewhere… mini suite gets two chairs, two foot stools and a tall table…. check. Nevermind everything really doesn’t fit.

As for dining, we tried to experience some new things being offered on Royal that the other ships don’t offer. The expanded Alfredo’s is fantastic and we ate there numerous times. In fact we ate lunch there on embarkation day and had the place to ourselves. It seems to take people a good portion of the week to realize it is a “free” alternate dining option. The International Café was great as always and the expanded Horizon Court is everything people said it is. The options are endless and food was very good. We also liked the Horizon Terrace area and I seriously think some people didn’t realize it was back there. We loved sitting out back for breakfast or just to relax in the evening. We only ate in the main dining room once, buffet on both formal nights and we tried a couple of the offerings only available on Royal so far. First, the Wine Cellar Dinner, which was wonderful ($40 charge) and we tried the Fondue Dinner available last night of the cruise in a roped off area in the back of Horizon Court ($20 charge). We enjoyed that as well because it’s not something we would usually do at home. Pizza on deck was great as always and it was nice to see BBQ options at the grill for lunch or dinner on various days.

Entertainment was plentiful and there was something to do everywhere. The bands were all excellent and it was just nice to sit in the piazza in the evening and watch people dance or maybe get some ice cream or coffee to relax. Everything is very high tech on this ship, from Princess Live, to the lighting and sound of the new theatre to the amazing MUTS screen and surround sound. They certainly did not spare any expense to make things current and flashy. We liked the production shows especially Sweet Soul Music and actually enjoyed the water shows on deck. They seem to show them at dinner time so most people don’t even pay attention, but on the last night, they showed them all one after another so you could catch them all at one time. More people seemed to watch it then. I didn’t expect it to be Bellagio and it’s not but it’s nice for what it is. If it’s windy, the water goes everywhere.

It rained the night of the Hot Latin Night party so it was moved to the piazza and the other big feature for our cruise was the Super Bowl; which was a beautiful evening and the new MUTS showed itself off nicely for a packed deck party.

I thought I would miss Explorers Lounge but really didn’t and see that Princess Live is very popular and active all day. The Vista Lounge was a great place for many of the shows although the seating is cumbersome for many and the new Princess Theatre is quite dazzling. Almost everything taped in Princess Live is available later on the TV in your room so don’t worry if you can’t get in to see something. It got packed for many of the lectures and game shows that were presented there.

While we thought the Sea Walk was sort of gimmicky, we really liked the Sea Watch Bar on the other side. It was usually packed and it turned out to be our favorite place to stop and get a drink in the evening. We also liked all the sofas and comfy furniture located everywhere. Nice touch and lots of outdoor tables for dining.

So much has been said up to this point about the missing wrap around promenade deck and aft pool area that I won’t even really comment on it. It is what it is and those “missing” items didn’t affect our cruise experience. As for the missing center staircase; what were they thinking! We avoided the mid ship elevators most of the cruise and stuck to the forward and aft stairs when we could. The aft elevators seemed to be the least crowded. That said, the elevator situation seemed about the same as we have experienced on other ships. Most people were patient and waited and then there were the usual folks who lacked any elevator etiquette. Really people, you’re on vacation, chill out. It’s not the end of the world if you’re late for bingo! And no, if the elevator door opens and it is packed to the rafters, there is not room for 3 more people!

Seas were extremely smooth so we were not really tested for how the ship would handle rough seas. Most of the time it didn’t even feel like we were moving. Staff on board was exceptional and you could tell that Princess has their “A” rated people on the ship. Most people we talked to were going to be heading on Holiday soon and come back to launch the Regal so Princess is really using their good people on the new ships right now.

One of our favorite places to hang out was on the back promenade “porch” where they had loungers. One sea day there was nobody out there and we found a couple of empty loungers in the back and we sat there most of the afternoon. It reminded me of our cruise last year when we had an aft vista suite and I would sit out on the balcony and instantly fall asleep to the sound of the wake. I’m not sure if many people realized these back promenade areas were there. You could smoke on the starboard side.

Sorry this ended up being somewhat disjointed and I was trying to remember some of the hits and misses of the cruise. It was mostly “hits” for us and in all we had a great time. I mean really, we were in the Caribbean when it was -2 degrees back home. I can’t complain!

I was reading so much beforehand about the ship that it became information overload and at some point I decided to stop reading and just take the cruise and experience it for myself. I like the Grand Class ships a lot but I really loved the Royal. It was for many reasons; the main one being that it’s different. Princess would be boring if they had 12 Grand Class ships and I saw a lot of “blue cards” on this cruise so if Princess was trying to reach out to new passengers by putting something elegant and different out there, they succeeded. It was one of the livelier Princess cruises we have taken. The Piazza was packed after 10:30 with people dancing every night and the casino and shows were all packed most nights. The only thing that I really didn’t like about the cruise was it was too short! We would definitely cruise on her again and I would just say for those of you looking forward to sailing on her for the first time, she’s not perfect, but she is a nice addition to the Princess fleet.

Dave

We recently cruised on the Royal (2/2) and thought that the folks who dressed formal really outdid themselves this cruise. On our last few Princess cruises, it seemed like formal night was becoming "less" formal, but this time we saw lots of very nice suits/tuxes on men and gowns/sequined dresses on women.

Being a Caribbean itinerary we really didn't expect that so I just think it depends on the demographics for a particular cruise and it can always change. I also have no idea if anyone pushed the limit in the dining rooms because we did not dress formal and ate in the buffet both formal nights.

Dave

His name is Dwight Blake and he is a great singer. He often performed in Crooners, the Piazza, etc. (those shows were not necessarily Elton John music) One night he did his "Elton John with a Tan" show in the Vista Lounge backed by the Royal Showband. It was a great show and yes it featured Elton John music along with costumes and outrageous glasses. Dave

I was on that Crown Princess Noro Cruise to Nowhere too. There were at least 300 infected, and they had almost as many the previous week. We knew about this prior to boarding, and had to sit in the convention center all day while they "cleaned" the ship. We were given a full refund of the cruise, and they also paid for people to get back home. My husband was feeling better by the time we were back in Ft Lauderdale, so we chose to just keep our original flight home, and stayed a few days in Ft Laud. Princess also offered us a discount for a future cruise, but we decided not to take it. I believe it was something like 10-25% off of the same category you had for the same cruise. I hope that Royal Caribbean will also be giving some sort of refund to the Explorer passengers. 600 people sick is a lot! Everything changes on the ship too, even for people who aren't sick...so definitely not the same cruise people would be expecting. Everyone needs to wash their hands, and not touch much! All of the time, not just when the noro breaks out somewhere.

I was trying to remember how many we had so I went out to the CDC site and we actually had about 350 sick including the crew. The previous week was about the same but the difference between weeks was the crew numbers escalated significantly on our cruise which is why I think the CDC acted so quickly and cancelled the cruise sending us back to Port Everglades. It was always my thought that Princess was pretty generous with reimbursement because in afterthought maybe they thought they should not have sailed that second week. (but would obviously never admit it) I remember that entire day in the convention center probably just made matters worse. We were all crammed in there for hours and didn't get on the ship until close to 8:00pm if my memory serves me right.

Other than getting our cruise fare refunded, the additional future cruise credit actually was 25% of the current cruise fare toward a future cruise. I think you had to use it within a year? Can't remember exactly. I also thought the Captain handled things well and was very forthcoming with information with frequent updates on ship. There were about 700 of us doing B2B and they bused us to Orlando and put us up in the Grand Hyatt and one other resort that I don't remember. I thought they did about everything they could under the circumstances and I hope rccl ultimately responds the same for their customers.

While we understand the rush to get people out, we have never been shown all those "hints" nor have we had times circled on notifications, etc. I have heard others say that luggage was laid out for them to pack, etc but that has never happened to us either. We are usually out before the 8am deadline though and certainly respect the need to get things turned around quickly.

I will say that they did take the nozzle off our shampoo/conditioner bottle on our Ruby cruise in December and we just thought it was very strange to do that. But we were told that the Stewards were told to do this until the bottles are fixed in the shower holders so that people don't take them. I don't know if that's true but from what I'm hearing on cruises where the dispensers aren't attached to the shower, they seem to be doing this on the last night of the cruise. Dave

Thanks for the live report. We board on Sunday and are so excited to be getting away from this dreadful weather!!!!! :) Have a great cruise! Dave

Ken, I agree - I just think that it started so early in the cruise, I'd be willing to bet that not many (if any at all) got the cruise experience they were paying for and/or expected. I think the right thing to do given the environment on the ship would just be to give everyone their money back. I think that would go a long way for the passengers, and they'd get most of their money back in future bookings. Lots of time and money spent planning, getting to and from the ship, etc. Very disappointing for those involved.

From past experience in a similar situation, I can say I agree totally with what you're saying. We were on the Crown Princess "Noro cuise to nowhere" in 2012 when the CDC stopped the ship and sent it back just 3 days into the cruise. While we didn't get sick, you were constantly wondering what to do or where to go. On day one it was obvious we shouldn't have sailed because the red bags and employees in hazmat suits were already running around. You asked yourself so many questions, where should I eat, is going to the gym a risk? are the people that should be staying in their rooms listening and staying in their rooms? Many crew were sick so shows were cancelled and activities were curtailed for the 2 days back to Fort Lauderdale. We were almost to Curacao when they announced the cruise was ending and the CDC was sending us back so we never stopped anywhere.

We made the best of it and were thankful we never did get sick but it was to be the first leg of a 14 day B2B so we kept wondering what else might happen before this is over?! Princess put us up and took good care of us. But wow, it was probably one of the strangest vacations we ever took. They totally stripped the ship, replaced all the food and sanitized everything 3 times. We left the next week on schedule and everything was fine.

One thing everyone needs to think about is that RCCL is going through a logistical nightmare right now. Will everyone be happy with the compensation offered? Probably not. But this doesn't happen everyday and I'm sure they are doing what they can to help people. I just hope that they have curtailed the virus best they can and nobody else gets sick. Like our cruise, it's just crazy to think that when the ship gets back, they will just be letting the sick people off to go to hotels, get on planes, etc. What a mess!

For those of you caught up in this craziness, I wish you well!!!! Dave