Royal Princess- Lack of a Walkable Promenade Deck

[pris993]

we are on the Royal in 2017 for the TA, this will be our first time on on the Royal ... partly because no promenade deck... it is one our favorite places to hang out... near the sea, quiet for the most part... do enjoy the walk as well. But on a fall TA, weather really dictates to what extent I will enjoy being outside while at sea... so we have booked the Royal and will see what we think personally.

 

Everyone is different... we did a 15 day cruise on the Queen Mary 2, round trip to Quebec City from NY last year... did because many say the QM2 is an ocean liner and something special to experience. Well, we did experience it... would not go again... layout of the ship was not great... much prefer the Queen Victoria by contrast. The Queen Victoria, also Cunard, has a nice layout and floor plans which are convenient & make for good flow of traffic through the ship; getting off and on the QM2 was a nightmare took hours... they only use one gangway... we had a nice cruise but we were not impressed with the QM2.

 

So we will see with the Royal; we have cruised Celebrity which has a similar design and we are not wild about it. HAL has built its new ship in the same fashion... change is not easy. Love the old traditional ships.

 

Suspect the cruise lines are trying to get folks out of their cabins (small balconies) so that we are in money making areas of the ship. We like peace and quiet and the sound of the sea... that is why we cruise.

[peety3]

An Open Posting to Princess Cruises-

No, this is merely a post on Cruise Critic. If you want to contact Princess Cruises, there are several ways to do so, but this is not one that they indicate.

[Grego]

Sorry to hear about your decision to ditch Princess over a seemingly small issue. The Regal Princess has expanded the walkable area on deck 7 however you are not able to do a full circle. You must either walk through the ship to the other side or reverse course....but that is true with other ships if you don't want to climb the forward stairs.

 

We rather enjoy the walking/jogging track on deck 18 because it gives a great view with no obstructions. If the Sun is an issue, the early morning or early evening strolls would be perfect. Seeing that you are sailing in the Caribbean, I would guess you would have the sunscreen thing figured out.

 

Enjoy your next voyage on whatever ship has what you require.

[hijinks]

The Regal Princess has expanded the walkable area on deck 7 however you are not able to do a full circle.

 

 

I wouldn't even call it walkable. There isn't enough room for two people to pass without yielding.

[Astro Flyer]

Checking the OP's posts, their only post on this thread was over 3 years ago. Since then they've sailed twice on the Crown's 28-day cruise from LA roundtrip to HI & Tahiti in October 2015 & are currently on the 10/20/16 sailing.

 

So their statement to look for other cruise lines because of the lack of a walkable promenade deck didn't keep them from sailing Princess again despite their open posting to Princess.

[PrincessLuver]

An Open Posting to Princess Cruises- The lack of a walkable promenade deck on the Royal Princess will result in us cancelling our scheduled December cruise.

 

As background, my wife and I have been on 14 Princess Cruises over the last 20 years all over the world (Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Panama, Norway and elsewhere). Regardless of our itinerary, one of the most important things to us to do on every Princess cruise was our daily exercise walks on the covered promenade deck.

 

I was very disappointed to learn that the Royal Princess does not have a walker friendly promenade deck for people like us. I understand that it is cut off in the front and back of the ship and is too narrow in parts to do exercise walks. For us, the jogging trail at the top of the ship does not work due to my wife's sun sensitivity plus it not being the same quiet ambience of a promenade deck.

 

 

As a result of this Royal Princess design feature, we will for the first time in years start looking at other cruise lines. We may continuing to go on some of the older Princess Ships, but that fleet is aging. Our hearts are broken over this as we were one cruise away from Elite Status. We were looking forward to the other innovations of the Royal Princess class of ships. However, for us, this promenade issue is a deal breaker as it is a very important part of our cruise we thought would never be taken away.

 

Dear Princess.....the Royal is one of our favorite Princess ships and we are going to continue booking because we love it.....great job!!!! :):)

[CruisewhenWecan]

I guess everyone has something that's important to them. It's really a shame that the OP won't give it one cruise, get their elite status and then post about how unacceptable things are, if they are. I am getting tired of negative posts from those who haven't even been on the ship, particularly when those who have sailed her, rave about how great it is.

 

I had similar thoughts when I was onboard the Royal last week for the last part of a 2 week TA; all the negative reviews and comments, I was thinking this sure is a nice ship; glad I didn't let all them darn comments stop me from booking this ship!

:eek:

[WannaCruise365]

I was disappointed that the Royal does not have the sauna and steam room available at no extra charge in the fitness center, but with all the amenities others have talked about, we cant wait to sail her for 20 days! Very soon!

[Grego]

Checking the OP's posts, their only post on this thread was over 3 years ago. Since then they've sailed twice on the Crown's 28-day cruise from LA roundtrip to HI & Tahiti in October 2015 & are currently on the 10/20/16 sailing.

 

So their statement to look for other cruise lines because of the lack of a walkable promenade deck didn't keep them from sailing Princess again despite their open posting to Princess.

 

Agreed. I haven't found any one specific reason not to sail on any ship. Life is full of tradeoffs and I love some of the changes in the Royal class ships that offsets the lack of a true promenade deck.

[Grego]

Dear Princess.....the Royal is one of our favorite Princess ships and we are going to continue booking because we love it.....great job!!!! :):)

 

You said it all.....thanks. Our feelings as well. Obviously since we have been on them 7 times.

[mevs904]

We completely understand the OP's disappointment. For reasons that other posters have mentioned we love walking on the promanade deck, especially when the ship is underway. Walking on a treadmill is nowhere near the same experience. We loved sailing on the Coral to Alaska and have booked another cruise on her for the Panama Canal.

It is disappointing to us that the newer ship designs eliminate the promanade deck and increase the interior malls. We don't cruise to experience a pseudo "Central Park" or to go shopping. That being said, we are currently looking to book a cruise on the Regal so we can see for ourselves how much the lack of a promanade deck affects our enjoyment of the cruise. We hope to be open-minded and to explore the other features that the Regal offers.

For the record, our favorite cruise line is Disney. All of their ships have great promanade decks and as two adults cruising without children we have had wonderful experiences with them. (Of course, we also enjoy cruising Disney with our grandchildren.)

[whirledpeas]

We completely understand the OP's disappointment. For reasons that other posters have mentioned we love walking on the promanade deck, especially when the ship is underway. Walking on a treadmill is nowhere near the same experience. We loved sailing on the Coral to Alaska and have booked another cruise on her for the Panama Canal.

It is disappointing to us that the newer ship designs eliminate the promanade deck and increase the interior malls. We don't cruise to experience a pseudo "Central Park" or to go shopping. That being said, we are currently looking to book a cruise on the Regal so we can see for ourselves how much the lack of a promanade deck affects our enjoyment of the cruise. We hope to be open-minded and to explore the other features that the Regal offers.

 

hello! i also like to run/walk the promenade deck. I run the straights and walk around the ends. a great way to get a good workout in. when we were on the Royal last time (we just hit Elite status, this will be our first trip) i just went back and forth on the promenade on one side. Nothing says you have to go around the ship. Or go inside at the end and come out the other side. I agree that walking on that deck is a unique cruise experience and i also bemoan the demise of it. But i can also run on the jogger track. Some of the ships actually DO go all the way around. You just have to go up and down some steps (about 20 on each side). wonder if this ship is like that?

[k9x8]

We left the Royal this past Sunday. Metal gates blocked access to the stretch behind the lifeboats. We enjoyed lounging out there. The only thing lacking was bar service.

[PtownGirlz-NH]

I am so happy this thread was started. Thank you!! We are platinum with Princess, in fact Princess has been the ONLY line we have been on. I am a teacher and have a very specific week that we can cruise. The Royal and the Regal are the only ships that are in the Caribbean that particular week.

 

There are two non-negotiables for us; a balcony and a promenade deck. We are out of luck with both of those with respect to the Royal and Regal. The balconies on them are so small and not anything close we to we expect from Princess. Not having the promenade deck on the same deck as all the major social decks was a deal breaker for us.

 

We are saddened that we had to book another cruise line. We are sailing on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We would much prefer to be sailing on a Princess ship but it will never be the Regal or Royal or any other new ship they roll out that does not have what we want.

 

I have wanted to write Princess and tell them, so thank you very much for this thread!

 

Enjoy your next cruise!

[Commodore]

I remember when Promenade decks were wide deck areas with lots of comfortable padded loungers from which one could relax and watch the ocean while chatting with friends, strangers or reading a good book. On a Sea Princess Mexican Riviera cruise years ago, strangers would stop to chat as I sat there reading, other people were playing shuffleboard nearby, and all of us stopped what we were doing when whales or dolphins were sighted. Promenade deck was a great place to spend time.

 

Except for a few older Princess ships, that's no longer the case. Gone are the loungers and for the most part, chairs. Shuffleboard is somewhere on an upper deck. Promenade deck hasn't been the same for years. On many Princess ships, it's not even wrap-around.

 

Some are lamenting the loss of Promenade deck with the Royal Princess. For me, it's been gone for years. It's great we have choices because out there somewhere are ships with a real Promenade deck.

100% agree with you. 2 years ago We were looking for a cruise to go to Israel and Princess did not have it so we booked Celebrity. We are Elite with Princess and that was our first and last cruise with Celebrity. I am going daily to the sauna on Princess and I am sorry that on the Royal I have to pay, but I will not change for another cruise line because of that. I am booked for a TA on the Royal april 2017.:)

[Cruiser411]

I am so happy this thread was started. Thank you!! We are platinum with Princess, in fact Princess has been the ONLY line we have been on. I am a teacher and have a very specific week that we can cruise. The Royal and the Regal are the only ships that are in the Caribbean that particular week.

 

There are two non-negotiables for us; a balcony and a promenade deck. We are out of luck with both of those with respect to the Royal and Regal. The balconies on them are so small and not anything close we to we expect from Princess. Not having the promenade deck on the same deck as all the major social decks was a deal breaker for us.

 

We are saddened that we had to book another cruise line. We are sailing on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We would much prefer to be sailing on a Princess ship but it will never be the Regal or Royal or any other new ship they roll out that does not have what we want.

 

I have wanted to write Princess and tell them, so thank you very much for this thread!

 

Enjoy your next cruise!

 

You do know that Oasis doesn't have a proper outside Promenade deck either. It's a running track that runs behind the lifeboats and only offers a few chairs to sit in. :rolleyes:

Edited December 11, 2016 by Cruiser411

[sunsetbeachgal]

I am so happy this thread was started. Thank you!! We are platinum with Princess, in fact Princess has been the ONLY line we have been on. I am a teacher and have a very specific week that we can cruise. The Royal and the Regal are the only ships that are in the Caribbean that particular week.

 

 

 

There are two non-negotiables for us; a balcony and a promenade deck. We are out of luck with both of those with respect to the Royal and Regal. The balconies on them are so small and not anything close we to we expect from Princess. Not having the promenade deck on the same deck as all the major social decks was a deal breaker for us.

 

 

 

We are saddened that we had to book another cruise line. We are sailing on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. We would much prefer to be sailing on a Princess ship but it will never be the Regal or Royal or any other new ship they roll out that does not have what we want.

 

 

 

I have wanted to write Princess and tell them, so thank you very much for this thread!

 

 

 

Enjoy your next cruise!

 

 

I hope you find success with the Oasis. I cruised the Regal Princess in late October on a ten night repositioning cruise then two weeks Later cruised on the Oasis Thanksgiving week with family. I also like a good promenade deck but the one on the Oasis is dark and has absolutely no view for most of it as lifeboats completely block the view except for a few small areas. I much prefer walking on the track on the upper deck on the Regal and looking out over the ocean. Yes I Agree that balconies are wider on the Oasis.

 

The two big differences in the ship was the entertainment was better on the Oasis as they have ice show, diving show, comedian, parades, a full length musical and numerous bands in venues throughout the ship. But, the food was superior on Princess. Especially the buffet as compared to the wonderful buffet on the Regal. The buffet on the Oasis was not as clean as the Regal and the variety and quality of food was not even close. I also thought the dining room food was better on Princess and of course the pizza!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited December 11, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[myfuzzy]

Bringing this thread back to life, I have to be the only one who LOVES the promenade on the Regal and Royal.

 

Definition of Promenade......to take a LEISURELY walk, ride or drive in public. Walk, STROLL, wander, saunter, amble.

 

No where in the definition do the words....run, sprint, track come into play.

 

I for one, won't even go near the "promenade" deck on the older ships because I hate the fact of the thumps, people running in front of me, yelling "excuse me" so they can run past. I am afraid that if I stand up or back up without first looking both ways, I will be knocked over by a runner. Sitting and trying to enjoy the view or read a book is totally unacceptable with runners running by all the time.

 

Thank you Princess for the Regal and Royal and the nice quiet, relaxing promenade deck

[caribill]

we booked Celebrity. We are Elite with Princess and that was our first and last cruise with Celebrity.

 

Can you tell more about what was so bad about Celebrity?

[Commodore]

Can you tell more about what was so bad about Celebrity?

The only good thing about Celebrity is the pool near the Sauna, the rest is not interesting for me as the anytime dining which is non existant and the cruise director who is alone with 1 employee. the food also is a lot better on Princess.

[bamelin]

I'd just like to point out that some ships are going the opposite way.

 

Look at MSC's Seaside: http://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/seaside.jpg

 

Massive promenade deck. Some of Carnivals ships like Carnival Magic have also widened promenades with restaurants and whirlpools on them ...

[FritzG]

We avoided the Royal and the Regal because we loved walking the Promenade deck, and we were sure that it would be a real issue for us. However, having sailed long cruises on both the Royal and Regal in 2015 and 2016 we have to say that we didn't miss walking around Promenade very much at all. We walked around the upper decks daily, and overall, we loved both ships. We felt that the positive changes on these ships far outweighed the negatives.

[JimmyVWine]

I'd just like to point out that some ships are going the opposite way.

 

Look at MSC's Seaside: http://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/seaside.jpg

 

Massive promenade deck. Some of Carnivals ships like Carnival Magic have also widened promenades with restaurants and whirlpools on them ...

 

 

 

And ships like Norwegian's Breakaway have figured out a way to monetize the Promenade with the "Waterfront" feature. While not a true wrap-around Promenade, it seems to me to be a brilliant idea that allows for a lengthy Promenade, views out to the ocean instead of views inward toward a shopping mall, and a significant source of revenue. When I go on a cruise I want to connect with the ocean, not be diverted away from it, which is why I love Promenades so much.

 

 

 

 

 

The NCL approach seems like the best compromise.

[msmoger]

And ships like Norwegian's Breakaway have figured out a way to monetize the Promenade with the "Waterfront" feature. While not a true wrap-around Promenade, it seems to me to be a brilliant idea that allows for a lengthy Promenade, views out to the ocean instead of views inward toward a shopping mall, and a significant source of revenue. When I go on a cruise I want to connect with the ocean, not be diverted away from it, which is why I love Promenades so much.

 

The NCL approach seems like the best compromise.

 

 

Having sailed on The Breakaway I have to agree with you. However, this setup fits the NCL model, with it's many for fee establishments, more than the Princess model. In addition, as much as I enjoyed this feature as a way to get my daily exercise, I'll bite the bullet and forgo it since I much prefer the Princess product.

 

Also, assuming one is a fan of the Princess Atrium concept, which I am, this setup would be difficult to configure on a Royal Class ship. In other words, it would be difficult for Princess to monetize this configuration in the way NCL has.

[bamelin]

I think it doesn't nessecarily have to be monetized although certainly opportunities are there.

 

Like Carnival had a fee pub on Carnival Magic on the promenade deck. Even without monetization specific venues, why not build some venues buried deep in the ship on an expanded promenade deck?

 

I'm thinking of doing a Royal cruise but I'm sort of bummed out at the minimal outdoor space particularly for eating el fresco.