Royal Princess

[Janteach]

Would love to know peoples perspective of the Royal - have never sailed on a ship this small. have been to alaska once before on the island princess.

[spunkie4]

We sailed on the Royal in April. It was a wonderful experience. The entertainment was different (same shows, but you are so close to the dancers, etc., ) since the Royal does not have a large theater and there are only assigned dining times. I am glad we were able to sail on the Royal before it is reassigned to P&O.

 

Shirley

[Pam in CA]

Would love to know peoples perspective of the Royal - have never sailed on a ship this small. have been to alaska once before on the island princess.

Intimate, elegant, easy to get to know the other passengers and the staff. Service is generally superior to that on larger ships; food is excellent. Some activities are more limited due to fewer passengers but as an overall experience, most people thoroughly enjoy being on a small ship. It's not for everyone.

[Toto2Kansas]

It's not for everyone.

 

This is so true. Most of the passengers we have talked to onboard the smaller ships absolutely love it, but there are always a few that seem to go bonkers out of their minds with bordom on these little ladies. We had a couple on our last Pacific Princess cruise, and they loudly let everyone know they were hateing every minute of it as they couldn't find anything that interested them to do.

The rest of us love the elegance and smaller size of the ship, and the fact that many times with the ships movement, which we seem to actually be able to feel during some sea conditions, we enjoy knowing we are actually on a ship and not a floating shopping mall. ;) IMHO of course!

[Occy]

Well said, I cldn't have put it better myself. We sailed on the Royal 18 months ago during a Mtl. to NY cruise. We just loved her for all reasons that you mentioned Toto2 especially "knowing we are actually on a ship and not a floating shopping mall". After saling on smaller ships since the early '60ties, unfortunately I do think the days of the smaller ships are numbered, which is really sad.

[FredS]

It has the best library of any of the ships we have been on. We were on it in Jan for an Asia cruise. The food was OK but not the best that we have had.

[KroozFoolz]

We were on Royal Princess for 14 days in April and absolutely loved the ship!

I am so glad we had the opportunity to experience a cruise on this ship before the transfer to P&O next year. I just wish we could do one of her Alaskan sailings this summer but alas it is not to be.

It may not be for everyone, but it definitely was a great one for us.

 

Here is the link to some pictures we took on the ship:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/577503272wzYZAz

[BridgeMates]

Thanks for the pictures. We're going on the Royal in November. Ship looks very luxurious. Even more excited now. Six months is a long time to wait.

[Occy]

Thanks for the pictures. We're going on the Royal in November. Ship looks very luxurious. Even more excited now. Six months is a long time to wait.

 

Believe me, it will fly by and definitely worth the wait. You'll love her.

[gooch47]

It definitely is a personal preference type of thing. The Amazon cruise was our first experience on a smaller ship (well, the first since the days of our first cruises) and we didn't care for it. I can't even put my finger on why.

 

We didn't care for the show room. I know, we should have tried it, but we didn't. The one time we were in there it seemed like you would have had trouble seeing over the people in front of you because of the flat floor. But don't flame me, I don't know for sure because we didn't go to any shows.

 

The buffet was small, of course, with correspondingly small selections available.

 

But service was great, we had a perfectly located cabin and we enjoyed most of the stops (except the two we missed because I was sick).

[Water Princess]

I am in total agreement with everyone...Royal Princess was a most wonderful experience. I thought it was what cruising should be! It was intimate, the service more than attentive and I found the other passengers friendlier!

 

We did the Holylands...Venice to Athens last November, which is pretty port intensive but the free time we did have, we thoroughly enjoyed the ship and its amenities!

 

We enjoyed it so much so that when planning a cruise this year we only looked for those on small ships...

Go for it - you won't be sorry!

[capriccio]

We were on the Royal Princess Ft. Lauderdale to Manaus cruise up the Amazon in January. Here are some of my thoughts on our experience:

 

• I loved the small size and the ability to walk everywhere quickly. The public areas are beautiful – we particularly liked the Royal Lounge and its wall of windows overlooking the bow.
  

 

• The crew from the stewards to the Captain and everyone in between were personable and conscientious.
  

 

• The Cabaret Lounge – scene of the port lectures, entertainment shows, and movies required you to get there early in order to get a seat in the first row on the floor or the first row on the higher level (just one step up) in order to really appreciate the show or fully view the screen.
  

 

• Tendering never required a long wait.
  

 

• The Panorama Buffet – which includes a covered outdoor area at the aft of the ship – was much more manageable than any Horizon Court we've seen. The breakfast and lunch buffets were plentiful and varied.
  

 

• I wish I could be more positive about the Main Dining Room. We had a table for 2 as requested (only traditional dining; no anytime dining) – it was by a window (but dark out so you didn't see much). The tables are so close together (as noted on this board before) that it was next to impossible to chat with our waiters – they had no where to stand. The claustrophobic feeling was a definite detraction.
  

 

• Food quality is obviously very subjective but we found it all over the place: from downright poor (cold, no salt at all, poorly made pastas, etc.) to very good (lamb, some beef dishes, souffles, cold soups, ice cream, etc.). Sterlings and Sabatinis were good to very good but not great. But I've read enough reviews to realize that this can vary from cruise to cruise - and we never went hungry!
  

 

• We know that the capability for great was there because we went to the Chef's Table. I called as soon as we got on and they were clueless as to whether it would be offered; I checked 2 days later and they said they hadn't decided to offer it or not; two days after that our waiter asked if we'd be interested – based on all the wine we'd ordered no doubt :) . I informed him that we'd signed up and he checked and said yes we were on the list. It was never advertised in the Patter. The food, wine and company were all extremely enjoyable.
  

 

• The internet connection at the aft of the ship was horrible – and only marginally better forward in the Internet Cafe in the Royal Lounge.
  

 

• Our biggest issue - also very subjective - was that there are no mini-suites on the Royal Princess - and that's what we always reserve. I thought a balcony cabin would be sufficient but 14 days was at least 7 days too many. We had a beautifully situated, quiet aft balcony cabin (7121) but the cabin and, more importantly, the bathroom were just too small. The small bath had sufficient storage space but no matter how much you read about the shower on these boards you won't believe it until you experience it yourself! Suffice to say there is no way I could do a longer cruise (how do folks manage on the round the world cruise?) with that shower! We did feel the motion more at the aft. We had a couple of days in the Caribbean where we were rocking and rolling but it didn't bother us too much (didn't take anything for it).
  

 

All that said, I wouldn't hesitate to book a mini-suite on one of the other small ships -- to us that would be the best of both worlds.

[whale-watcher]

We have spent 12 days on the royal and 14 days on the Tahitian, and much prefer this size ship (especially for port intensive itineraries). Lack of anytime dining and limited buffet service at dinner are the two main drawbacks for us, but we would sail again without hesitation.

[DebitMan]

We liked the size of the ship so much we are moving to HAL after 19 Princess cruises - just to get on another small ship for 7 nights.

[Colo Cruiser]

Would love to know peoples perspective of the Royal - have never sailed on a ship this small. have been to alaska once before on the island princess.

 

We don't care for the smaller ships.

[CSloan]

We were on Royal Princess for 14 days in April and absolutely loved the ship!

I am so glad we had the opportunity to experience a cruise on this ship before the transfer to P&O next year. I just wish we could do one of her Alaskan sailings this summer but alas it is not to be.

It may not be for everyone, but it definitely was a great one for us.

 

Here is the link to some pictures we took on the ship:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/577503272wzYZAz

 

Thanks for sharing the photos! We'll be on the Royal in November - Tahiti to Hawaii. Really looking forward to it. I'm glad to see they still do the Baked Alaska! We were just on RCCL, and they stopped serving it. We've been on the Pacific Princess a few years ago, so I think the layout of the ship is about the same.

[houch]

We were on the Royal last Nov Holy Land Athens to Rome and loved it. Had an aft balcony which was awesome. The shower was no different than on any other ship I have been on. Sure they are small but you can still reach all your body parts and even bend over to pick up dropped soap. When I shave my legs I stick my foot out of the curtin on the toilet seat, works slick! As far as motion in an aft cabin, we had calm seas the whole cruise!

Plenty good selections in the buffet, do try the Belgian waffles, yum yum.

Great service by our waiters and they had no problem chatting with us even with the tables closer together than I have seen on other ships. I never got a crowded, closedin feeling and I do have a bit of claustraphobia.

I did go to one variety show with the Princess dancers, I was not in the first row, thus couldn't see the dancers lower legs and feet. I always enjoy these shows so was a bit disapointed, only went that once.

Fewer shops than on the larger ships but I still found what I needed. Casino smaller with less machines, but I never had a problem finding one to play on.

It is a beautiful ship and the staff was so friendly, you really get to know them as they are all doing more than one job, but they still have time to visit with you. Everything more convenient on smaller ships.

We had 2 sea days in a row and I never got bored. I would do this size ship again.

[kool kruiser]

Well, I love the small ships and I also love the big ships (:D) but for different reasons.

 

I agree that the Royal is stunningly beautiful, relaxing,calm and very relaxing. As for food, this can vary from cruise to cruise and is a little difficult to generalise. Last October, we found some dining room dishes superb but some not that great.The buffet was fine and the aft dining space (part in shade and part in sun) really good. On the other hand, in my opinion the entertainment, in general, compared to the big ships, was mediocre at best. For the first time ever, we gave up on the production shows as the troupe and production values were so poor.

 

Would we go on a small ship again ? Yes, for the atmosphere, to chill out and for the different destinations. Indeed, we are booked on the Pacific in the Med for 2011 already. However, this year it's the Emerald in the Caribbean. Very different cruising experiences, both great in their own way.