Beachdude
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Posts posted by Beachdude
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This would be a bit of a tough choice for me. I have not sailed NCL because they have a bad reputation with food quality.
We just sailed the Royal and in general I rate it about even with Carnival. Now we haven't sailed Carnival or Glory in a couple years, but the food and service was as good as Princess. In fact I think the service overall was better on the Glory (2 years ago) than the Royals service last week.
The Royal ship is nicer than the Glory, but I like the fitness and pool areas better on Glory. Princess now charges $160 to use their saunas.
The Glory had a sports bar, Royal doesn't. Royal has a nice sport deck that is much better than Glory.
Seems like the cabins are bigger on the Glory as well as the balconies. Entertainment was better on the Glory two years ago, but I think they have scaled that down.
Both ships are nice, I'd have to flip a coin.
Burt
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Common sense should prevail. BTW, I hate it when the elevator doors open and there are 6 people on it who will not step back or to the side and announce that it is full. That's when I get rude and step in announcing that there's plenty of room.
Maybe they rode the elevator with you before. Are you a senior?
Burt
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Pretty sure he wanted it to be hush hush due to legal reasons. Unfortunately, if he treats someone they can turn around and sue him. Sad, because I know they WANT to help if needed.
I doubt it was laws, my father inlaw got in the habit of not letting anyone know he was a doctor after he missed a couple days of vacation at a Colorado resort. None of the issues were life threatening, the resort just gave his name out as incidents occured. Most doctors will volunteer for a life threatening situation, but they'd like to enjoy their privacy for cuts and bruises.
Burt
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I'm not sure what you are expecting. Have you ever complained to RCCL and did they respond better?
We complained about the soot on our balcony and I was very impressed by the response. We are not typically complainers, so I can't compare with the other four or five cruise lines we've sailed, but Princess sure made us feel like we were important to them.
Also, I'm glad you ventured to Princess, but try some othe other lines as well. The differences are enjoyable most of the time.
Burt
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Were you in a portside cabin? Seems that is where the a/c problems are. I`m booked for 1/5 & changed my cabin to the odd side lower deck.
Well sort of, we were on the aft. We were port side of the center if that helps.
Burt
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They looked like regular showers to me. I did look inside to see if there was a steam setting but I didn't see any. Maybe I missed it?
I'm not a fan of the fitness center being so far away from the spa, and I also prefer free steam and sauna in the changing room. Not a deal breaker but certainly a preference.
Ernie
Nope, you didn't miss anything, there aren't any steam options. And I agree with you, steam saunas near the fitess areas are amenities I enjoy with cruise ships. I won't say it's a deal breaker, but it is one reason I will consider other ships when shopping for a cruise.
Burt
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I don't know if this could be the reason for the cabin being warm, but I have read on CC if people keep their balcony door open it can cause other cabins AC not to work right. Is this true?
I don't think so, we noticed our thermostat was at the lowest setting when we first entered the room and it was never cool the whole week, even in the middle of the night.
Burt
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4. I did not use the steam showers in the fitness center because I had a week long pass to the Enclave. I did look at the showers and I believe I even took a picture of the outside. They looked like regular showers to me so I'm not sure how the steam option works.
Ernie
I used the showers once in the fitness area and saw NO steam options. In fact, I felt like Princess designed the area to discourage using the showers.
Burt
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Thanks for the review and pictures. The royal princess looks tiny next to allure of the seas
The Allure backed into that spot which made the size of the ship look even more impressive.
Burt
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Agree. Btw' date=' the regal is very deep into fitting out at this point (meaning they're doing the interior finishing). I don't expect any major differences between the two. I don't even expect anything other than perhaps small decorative differences. They might be able to adapt the center staircase for public use but, again, they might not feel like its a big enough issue to address. [/quote']
One of the chefs on the Royal told us they are making some design changes on the Regal that the crew recommended. Who knows how far changes will go.
Burt
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They have the Pub Lunch from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM on sea days.
The menu offerings were the day I was there are as follows:
Bangers and Mash
Fish and Chips
Ploughman's Lunch ( which appeared to be like a cheese/veggie/cracker plate)
and
Kidney Pie?? (not sure on that one exactly, but something like that)
Maybe they were out of it that day. If it was a last sea day, they could be out of some things. When I went to the Barbecue at night at Trident Grille, it was night 6, and they were out of chicken wings.
They weren't offered on the big menu on the board by the bar, but I didn't read the menu at the table. I should have asked. :o We were one of the first tables served on the last sea day sitting by the piano.
Burt
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Southport Raw Bar. Casual, fun, water view and delicious!
LOL, we were there the night before we eat at the Quaterback grill. It is our other favorite seafood restaurant and hit it everytime we come to Ft. Lauderdale. Great food with a nice view. They don't have the $15.00 Maine lobster, but otherwise equally as good.
I know, I know, it seems like we eat a lot of seafood, but we live in landlocked Oklahoma. When we get a chance for good fresh seafood, we load up. You will see less tourist and more locals at Quarterback and Southport.
Burt
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I forgot in my initial posting to mention the Pub Lunc.
We went there, seated ourselves, and the waiter came over immediately. Ordered the Bangers and Mash, and the Fish and Chips. Both were excellent in my opinion, and we enjoyed our lunch.:)
Did they have two Pub lunches? They didn't offer Bangers and Mash the day we ate there. I sat with an English friend who wondered why as well.
Burt
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We've tried several of those places, but last week before or cruise on the Royal ,Sally and I went to the Quarterdeck Bar and Grill on Dania Beach. It's a fun family friendly restaurant about a 10 minute drive from the Airport that sits over the water on a pier. And funny enough it is very near the port. It is more of a family Bar/Grill atmosphere, and we had the best steamed 1.25 lb Maine lobster for $15.00 that we have eaten in a long time. Very fresh and very good. I think your family will enjoy the relaxed atmosphere over the water.
Burt
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Good review OP. I have to laugh because I think you had a better experience getting on board than most. Our transport to the ship was stuck in front of the terminal for 45 minutes before we could get out. No problem for us cost wise because it was a rental car transfer van, but we were hearing a lot of complaints about $60 cab fares.
Sally immediately pulled me to the Elite line (she just has a nose for it) where for some reason we were redirected into a second line that didn’t move for 10 minutes. When Sally had had enough, she asked the Princess gentlemen why he pushed us aside in a line that was going nowhere. He disappeared for a few minutes and then came back and told Sally that her card was blue. Then he walked off. Well after the earth shook for a minute, Sally ordered me to keep up as she walked quickly into the Elite line that was going through security. Heaven help anyone got in her way, but thankfully nobody did. Once we got up to the counter and received our ship cards, they were indeed Black Elite cards. The Princess Representative lied to my wife and she doesn’t take the lightly. However, I told her things will go better on the rest of the cruise and they did. That by far was the worst experience of the cruise. Still, Princess has a lot of work to do on embarkation.
I wanted to add to your comments on the Buffet. While we thought the taste of the food was so so (same as other Princess ship), we at no time ever felt it was crowded and there were always a lot empty tables available. Our favorite place to enjoy our meal was the outside seating on the aft. It was very roomy with a pleasant relaxed atmosphere. That wait service in the Buffet was the best service of the whole ship. Princess has designed the buffet nicely. We never stood in any long lines, and never felt crowded going to the different venues. Also, Princess is obviously looking after passenger health because you will burn off quite a few calories walking, what seem like the entire length of the ship, to the dessert bar.
Someone asked about the deck area outside Crooners Bar. It is a very nice area, but I think it is rarely used simply because access from Crooners Bar is not obvious. If you don’t know where the doors are, you will likely not used tthe deck area because they are hidden from normal view.
All in all a very nice ship. I’m not sure we will sail her again because we like large balconies with some cover and that is rare on this ship. I also like to use the sauna and that cost extra on the Royal. But I think there will be a good following for the ship.
One little nit-noid for me is the Pub Lunch in the Crown Grill. I enjoy this lunch on other Princess ships because the food is somewhat authentic English pub food in a somewhat authentic atmosphere. The group I was with agreed the food wasn’t very good on the Royal and the ship jazz band kind of took away from the English Pub atmosphere. Jazz in a pub? How hard would it be for the ship pianist to play some pub themed music? I will skip The Pub lunch if we sail the Royal again.
The seafood bucket on the other hand was a lot of fun and pretty good. Our only complaint is they only provided it on formal nights. It wasn’t that big a deal for me to slop through a bucket of clams and crab legs in a tux, but my very lovely wife Sally wasn’t so keen about it in her beautiful dress. Still, it was worth the $20 for me.
Best meal on the ship for us was steak on the Crown Grill. We are from Oklahoma and take pride in our beef. We have eaten in the Crown Grill many times over the years, but by far this was the best meal I have ever eaten on any of our 20 cruises. I was told later by one chef that Princess brought in a well-known chef for the Crown Grill and it showed. I say that despite the terrible service we had during the meal. But as has been said by many others, bad service was standard at all the dining areas. We just didn’t expect in the Crown. However, you will not go wrong with the Sterling Silver Beef Chop. YOU HERE THAT? It’s calling my name again. Buuurt! Buurt!, we have a rare chop ready JUST for you. LOL
We will remember this cruise fondly. It’s a pretty good ship with a lot of fun to offer. Princess is trying a few things on it and some will probably stick. But all in all, I don’t see very many folks regreting at least one cruise on the Royal.
Burt
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In the times we have done it, the boats leave from Port Arthur, which is quite a way from Nawiliwili. May I suggest Tropical Biplanes? It is an island tour on an open cockpit biplane, and is a hoot!!!
We did it in 2011, and the pictures and story are on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions
I can't believe I've never heard of this or seen their biplane flying over. I'm all in next time we stay in Kauia. We have done both the Helicopter and G8 around the Napali coast and it is quite good. But the biplane would be the best.
Burt
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I think this is pretty common. Some of the doors are harder to open than others – or have a tight fit on the seals, so they don’t tend to slide. If you have an easy one, just close the door till the last 4 inches and pull the inside handle down to lock it in-place. You might not have it all the way closed, but it will stop it from sliding back and forth – and to go back in the room, just pull the handle back up and slide the door.
That's a pretty good idea there. Of course the open door police will have a fit, but given the choices of the door slamming open and shut as the ship moves back and forth, this is a good compromise solution.
Kind of funny, the ship staff likely gets complaints the doors are too easy to open or too hard. They can't win. Personally I like the Celebrity design better, When the handle is up, the door is on wheels and can be moved. When the handle is down, the wheels are retracted and the door is fixed where ever it sits.
Burt
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We had a problem of not being able to secure the sliding door shut from the outside while enjoying the balcony. As a result, the door would slide open as the ship leaned with the seas. We've never had this problem before as doors on other ships can be latched from the outside. Was this just a problem in our room B737, or do all the Royal doors have the same design? And if they do have the same design, how have some of you solve the problem of the door sliding open while sitting on the balcony?
Thanks
Burt
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Great! We're in B736!
We were looking forward to spending a lot of time on our big aft balcony but are a little concerned because of all of the reports of soot.
How did you find it?
Actually the balcony is only have covered, about five to six feet I would say. Compared to the rest of the ship, it is plenty of cover for getting out of the rain and mid afternoon sun to read a book.
The cover didn't seem to help the soot problem as much as you would think. We had soot up to the door. The best way we found to prevent soot on the chairs is place them next to the door facing the cabin. Then fold the chair back down into the seat. Also, don't go out bare footed.
The the cabin steward will clean your balcony everyday, so morning is mainly the problem. However, we had some friends visit for a few minutes about 3:00 in the afternoon. We were only on the balcony for five minutes at most, but ended up throwing away our drinks from the floating soot. That was strange because we typically didn't have a problem during the day.
Rain at night prevents soot from getting on the balconies and cleans them as well.
We still ended up enjoying the balcony, but it was a hassle to make sure an not get the soot on our clothes or white Princess robes.
Have a great trip, we sure did.
Burt
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What cabin were you in?
If I tell you, then everyone will want it. Oh well, B737.
Burt
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In many respects, whether or not something comes off as whining can only be judged in the abstract after the fact. .
Wow, that was a lot to say that whining is only whining if the cruise company ignores you. While I'm not sure you really had a point, I agree that the market will weight out the whiners from the losers. LOL
The Royal is a very nice ship, but each of us have expectations and if new ships don't can't carry out our expectations, we have to weigh whether those expectations are worth sailing that ship again. For example, I enjoy a nice hot sauna after a good workout in the ship gym. The Royal is the first ship Ive sailed that not only doesn't provide a sauna near the gym facilities, but also requires an extra $155 where it is located. Am I being a whiner because of the change in Princess designes and policies? I don't know, but it is certainly something to consider when comparing two ships of the same price on the same intinerary.
We certainly can't fix small balconies, but I wonder how many folks really found that a problem. I can't say because my wonderful TA got us one of the few large covered balconies on the Baja deck. I hope I never have to whine about small balconies, but there are so many ships with big balconies that it may be a long time before we are forced to experience them.
Will we sail the Royal again? Hmm, sure wish they had a sauna near the gym.
Burt
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Not on the Royal.
At least not as of last weeks sailings. I personally know of one person who brought 6 bottles of wine on board without any questions. They weren't hiding it either because they were fully expecting to pay the extra fee. The embarkation was so chaotic that I think extra wine and liquor were the least of the priorities.
Burt
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Good review, most of it was subjective, but still good. I have to laugh at the review of softserve and Gelato icecream.
Except for the buffet, we thought the food overall was better than most Princess ships. The buffet is about the same of past cruises for us. That is also subjective.
Factual, the soot problem is a real problem. We couldn't use our balcony as a result. However, we were told Princess will have that fixed in just a few months.
The staff service was our number one complaint. There is another thread about it going on, so I won't spend a lot of time on it. But we felt it problematic enough that it took away from some of our cruise experience. It's one thing if it is just single trip experience, but if the service on the Royal is indicative of the future Princess cruises, it will change our cruising selection habits.
Burt
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Our criticism isn’t the slow service; it is more about feeling comfortable being waited on. Dinner for us and our friends is generally an event to spend time socializing. It is not unusual for us to spend two or more hours in the dining room. We were in the Crown Grill for almost three hours last week.
Our concern is that the staffs hurried efforts make us feel uncomfortable for demanding too much of their time. In the past we enjoyed getting to know our waiters and their assistances so we could include them as much as possible with conversation and light hearted discussions. Now we feel guilty asking for a refill of wine.
It is probably a sign of things to come, but my comments for the Cruise Companies is that if I’m willing to pay extra for food and service in the specialty restaurants, I expect a service from the staff equal to the quality of the food they present. That might be asking for a lot on the Royal because last week they cooked the best steak I ever ate on a cruise. Our whole table said their same of their steaks.
Burt
Rude Passengers
in Princess Cruises
Posted
Interesting, as a SM, coach, youth leader and father, I learned to start a greeting with a hand shake because it introduces a calming tone. I found it expecially helpful with many learning disabled youth. Something about a kind touch that settles the spirit.
I agree that touching is less acceptable in todays culture of fear, but there are still acceptable protocols of touch. In fact, experts say that touch is the most acute sense of the five senses for communication. Sadly it is the least used.
I'm sure a person could touch with the intention of being rude, but it's just a rude to assume that an accidental touch between strangers had that intention. I read the OPs post and think I might have been the one in the elevator who touched her. I don't ride the elevator very much, but I'm not afraid to touch a person who is going to bump into me.
Burt