just off Royal Princess

[caber]

this is a short review of our 2 nighter aboard Royal.

we boarded at 12 after a short wait. I was not over impressed with the outside, only because I prefer the look of the grand class ships. The amount of balconies on Royal makes her look top heavy, just my opinion. The inside is stunning.

 

we were in a deluxe balcony. Next time I. Would book a normal balcony as the deluxe is more cramped. You have the sofa but the dressing table space is condensed in the other side. The bathroom is bigger than grand class. The balconies on both are smaller than grand class.

 

The staff were great, with a lot coming from the ruby.

 

there was a bit of a mix up when we arrived. We were told we were not getting our mini bar set up and our 1 formal, 1 smart casual night on the personaliser had changed to 2 casual. There was a lot of complaints and Princess sorted it. We got the mini bar set up and our second night was formal.

 

The sun shone for the sailaway and we were dancing on deck. The horns played the love boat theme.

 

Guernsey was cloudy at first but dry. We tendered.

 

We had the champagne waterfall in the evening.

the show in the theatre was Beatle maniacs. They had us dancing in our seats. It was a good show. We dined in Sabatinis and the main dining room. Both meals were up to the usual standard.

 

This morning we disembarked and went to our hotel bit went back later for the tour and lunch. The meal was excellent and was served with wine.

 

We are boarding Crown Princess tomorrow for a relaxing Mediterranean cruise.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the comments

[TorontoTL]

That sounds great, it is nice that the bathrooms are bigger than on the older Princess ships. Thanks for your review.

[FlynnRider78]

Thanks for your review.. Hope you have a great time on Crown

[san diego sue]

Thank you so much for your review. I am now glad we have a standard balcony cabin. I had wanted a deluxe cabin but from your description, will be happy with our choice.

 

 

[strummer]

Thanks for the review

 

Did you eat anywhere else apart from the MDR?? Any reviews of new Alfredo's menu etc?

[MustangGT]

Thanks for the review! I'm very interested in the Promenade. Can you walk the length of the ship? I know it's not a true wrap-around promenade. Are there chairs or loungers along the Promenade?

[caber]

we didn,t try alfredos but menu has srarters and varied mains.

 

there is a track for jogging and walking, divided by a line which is on a higher deck. 7 times round is a mile. The promenade deck has comfortable wooden loungers.

[big al]

How was the pool deck & water shows? How about the larger atrium & piazza? Thanks..

 

Big Al

[Pia1913]

Thank you so much for your review. I am now glad we have a standard balcony cabin. I had wanted a deluxe cabin but from your description, will be happy with our choice.

 

 

 

Me too. :D And I don't really need a bigger bathroom. Prefer cabin space.

[jbobst]

I think I saw somewhere that the deluxe balcony room bathrooms had a large shower without the bath tub. Can you confirm that for me?

 

One problem I've noticed with cruise ships is that in some of the junior or mini suites, they include a small bathtub with the shower IN the tub. I really hate that setup. I so wish a cruise ship would give us nice two person showers (or at least larger one person showers) and leave out the tub all together. I think they did this in the deluxe balconies? That would be great if that is the case!

 

By the way, did you get any pictures of the inside of the bathroom...or the ship?

 

Thanks!

[dides]

By the way, did you get any pictures of the inside of the bathroom...or the ship?

 

If not, I spotted this bathroom picture elsewhere:

 

 

(credit: Cruise Mandy)

[WendyG]

Thank you so much for your review. I am now glad we have a standard balcony cabin. I had wanted a deluxe cabin but from your description, will be happy with our choice.

 

 

 

Hey Gloria!

 

When are you going on the Royal??? Thanksgiving??? :D

[Pink-belle]

Thanks for the review Caber, its nearly our turn. Glad you also enjoyed the lunch.

Have a great time on the Crown, we left her in good order for you.

[spyro1952]

Caber, thanks for your review. I'm sure it's a lot to take in in 2 days but you answered all my questions. I have a deluxe aft balcony booked for 2014 from Copenhagen to NY. I'm going to see if I can get a peak of one when I do the TA in October. For one person, I don't need a sofa and if the aft balconies are small, I don't think it's worth the price they're asking right now. :)

[skynight]

From the ads they show a deluxe balcony cabin has a full length closet. Do you know if a regular balcony cabin has a full length closet, or is it short like the Grand?

[britichick]

Hi, thank you for your report, i wondered if you knew which restaurants are open for lunch?

 

 

Send from device_name using Cruise Critic your_app_name App

[Pia1913]

Hey Gloria!

 

When are you going on the Royal??? Thanksgiving??? :D

 

She's with me on September 27th.

[The Wilkies]

Thanks for the review! I'm very interested in the Promenade. Can you walk the length of the ship? I know it's not a true wrap-around promenade. Are there chairs or loungers along the Promenade?

 

We were lucky enough to receive an invitation to tour the ship/have lunch and have just got back home.

 

First, the positives

 

Very well organised visit

The lunch was excellent

The Horizon Court layout is much better

 

Now the negatives

 

The staterooms appear to be much smaller. We normally book at BA cabin on Caribe and they are definitely bigger than on the Royal.

 

The balconies are very small, even on mini and full suites. Think this is because the balconies are flat against the ship so all balconies are the same. Normally Caribe and Dolphin are much bigger. Wonder how they could cope with Balcony Dining.

 

Promenade deck. No you can't walk round, in fact, much of this deck seems to be "crew only".

 

There appears to be only 2 main entertainment areas - the Princess Theatre and the Vista Lounge. There is no Explorers Lounge (or equivalent). How will they cope with more passengers and less room for entertainment!

 

Deck 7 (the main entertainment deck) is largely open plan, Wheelhouse Bar for example is part of the Steakhouse.

 

Those are my main "moans". Extremely disappointed with the new ship. Of course, it was only a 4 hour visit and no doubt will have missed a lot, but my husband and I really don't like it.

 

For those who have booked, I hope you are not a balcony in the starboard midships areas which is very much overlooked by the Sea Walk.

 

Interestingly, when we were having lunch our waiter asked our opinion of the new ship. His response was the size of the cabins was the thing most commented on. On the coach returning to the car park, that was the only thing the driver mentioned - quote "have been told the cabins are very small". He's right.

 

Really look forward to the reviews from the first full cruises. It does take a while to get orientated on new ships and I only hope that my negative points prove unfounded.

[AndyTheK]

Thanks for the review. Nice to get a passenger's eye view.

 

Take good care o the Crown... we're on her for the cruise after yours.

[JimmyVWine]

The staterooms appear to be much smaller....

 

Interestingly, when we were having lunch our waiter asked our opinion of the new ship. His response was the size of the cabins was the thing most commented on. On the coach returning to the car park, that was the only thing the driver mentioned - quote "have been told the cabins are very small". He's right.

 

I was afraid of that by the way that the deck plan on the Princess website does not list square footage when you click on "Details" for any specific cabin. If you go to the deck plan of every other ship, at a minimum you get a range of square footage. For Royal--nothing. I figured they were hiding the fact that the cabins do not measure up, literally.

 

That said, the photos of the public spaces that are floating around the web look outstanding. Is it true, though, that there is no public access to the bow on any deck? It appears that way from the aerial photo. http://www.royalprincesspresspictures.co.uk/v/nr/dl/10732446202/RoyalPrincess-2026.jpg?ppwd=royalprincessnaming

[cmst220]

thanks for review look forward to seeing her for real on sunday

[caber]

the photo posted of the bathroom is correct. It is just a little bigger all round.

 

We missed the water show as we were dining in Sabatinis. As we had only one full day and it was a port day . I don't know what restaurant they use for lunch but breakfast is in Concerto on deck 6. Gelato was very good. I made a mess eating my huge cone.:p. Everyone we spoke to agreed the balconies were much smaller.

 

I. Am writing this by phone in our hotel room. Excuse the mistakes.

[Who Knew]

Gelato was very good. I made a mess eating my huge cone

 

Ummm, I can't wait to try it!! This and the pastry area of the buffet may be the two things I'm looking forward to the most, lol!

[caber]

they had a chocolate fountain with strawberries etc. In the pastry shop in the horizon today at lunch. Wonderful.:D