Wow is Royal that bad???

[Irene7]

Well, my family will be cruising on the Royal next year and we will make up our own minds. Reviews, especially early reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. The layout of this ship is different from the traditional princess ships and some might find it an issue. Since this will be our first Princess cruise, I'm sure we will like it just fine.

 

As long as the food is good and the service is good, layout is not issue for me. Looking forward to our trip to New England/Canada!:D

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

We were on the seven-day maiden voyage of the Royal Princess from Southampton to Barcelona in June and had a wonderful time. The ship is not perfect, but it has many positive features. We are also booked on the maiden voyage of the Regal Princess for June 2014.

 

Chuck

[Irene7]

I thought I would chime in here and offer my opinion on the Royal. We sailed her in August on a completely full ship with 800 kids on board. We had an amazing time!! She is a wonderful ship that offers so much! Is she perfect? No. Does she have some flaws? Well we all do, don't we.

 

I am glad when people offer their opinions, that is part of what makes CC a great resource, not just for info, but to hear people's experiences and thoughts.

 

So glad you had a great time. May I ask you a questions? I know what the dining dress codes are in the main dining rooms and alternative dining venues, however, can you tell me about Horrizon Bistro for dinner dining and the general dress code just being out and about on the ship. :)

[ronl]

I was just wondering how bad are the elavertors after the life boat drill with out the main staircase how long does it take to drop off your life vest are the people pushing to get in the elvators?

[PrincessMelody]

I can't wait to cruise the Royal! I don't care how much negativity is out there about her, I plan to go with an open mind...and ready to have a fantastic cruise!! :D

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

The Royal is a new class of ship, its not a Grand class or a Sun class ship,

 

it is not a RCI ship its a Princess ship,

 

so The Royal is what it is, it will not change, it has no flow rider, no mid stair case,

 

It is a Princess ship, it offers many more features than others in the fleet have,

 

it is not the perfect cruise ship, look at it features, check them against

 

your requirements, then if the ports, price are right book the cruise.

 

yours Shogun

[dorisis]

Johnny Jet's site gives 20 reasons to sail on the Royal.mLots of photos too.

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

I can't wait to cruise the Royal! I don't care how much negativity is out there about her, I plan to go with an open mind...and ready to have a fantastic cruise!! :D

 

I think this said it all, some just like to be negative :D

[e2011]

No, its really that good...

[homeinboca]

So glad you had a great time. May I ask you a questions? I know what the dining dress codes are in the main dining rooms and alternative dining venues, however, can you tell me about Horrizon Bistro for dinner dining and the general dress code just being out and about on the ship. :)

 

Hi Irene,

 

We had two formal nights and the participation rate was very high for people wearing formal wear. We chose not to bring formal wear for this trip and ate in the speciality restaurants both times as we do respect the MDR rules. We were perfectly comfortable being about the ship on formal nights dressed fairly casually. This was a summer cruise and the weather was quite warm. We also ate in the HC for dinner and the selection was amazing for dinner.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Ron

[pcsunlover]

Johnny Jet's site gives 20 reasons to sail on the Royal.mLots of photos too.

 

Thank you for posting this. I like to look at the member reviews and live from's on Cruise Critic about the Royal too, whether they're positive or negative. At least then you're getting valuable input from people who have been or are currently on the ship, rather than a list of reasons why somebody would never sail on her.

[whatcruiseisnext]

I was just wondering how bad are the elavertors after the life boat drill with out the main staircase how long does it take to drop off your life vest are the people pushing to get in the elvators?

 

 

The crew center staricase was opened up for the muster drill and would also be opened in an emergency.

 

We loved the Royal and will not hesitate to book her....or the Regal......again

[Happy2cruise]

I can't wait to cruise the Royal! I don't care how much negativity is out there about her, I plan to go with an open mind...and ready to have a fantastic cruise!! :D

Agree with you and only have 20 days to go. I feel someone's negative is someone's positive and someone's positive is someone else's negative;);)

[dchip]

Agree with you and only have 20 days to go. I feel someone's negative is someone's positive and someone's positive is someone else's negative;);)

 

Absolutely!! My concern is crowded pools. We are on the first 3 Caribbean sailings. The couple we are traveling with could care less about the pools!!

 

Cheers, Denise

[pcsunlover]

Absolutely!! My concern is crowded pools. We are on the first 3 Caribbean sailings. The couple we are traveling with could care less about the pools!!

 

Cheers, Denise

 

I love the pools too, and hope they won't be too crowded. I'd really appreciate it if you would post your thoughts about them when you return. :)

[dchip]

I love the pools too, and hope they won't be too crowded. I'd really appreciate it if you would post your thoughts about them when you return. :)

 

The first cruise is only five days. The second cruise, we have a sun loving group of about 500 guys on the ship which could skew the average :D The third cruise might be your "normal" hot weather cruise.

 

I will definitely come back with my thoughts on the Royal and the pools. Let me also say, I can't wait to see the new Piazza, to eat in Alfredo's, to check out the IC and HC, to cruise on a ship bigger than any we have cruised on in the past.

 

Cheers, Denise

[MauiLvrs]

...The Royal is what it is, it will not change, it has no flow rider, no mid stair case,

It is a Princess ship, it offers many more features than others in the fleet have...

yours Shogun

I think that it would be more accurate to say that they have different features instead of more when one considers all the features that were removed.

 

For us ... the ones that were added don't really matter ... and the ones that were removed really do.

 

Fortunately for us, all of those "negative posts" illuminated the fact that we would have been very disappointed had we book the Regal as planned.

[stevenr597]

The Royal Princess is absolutely gorgeous! Staterooms are lovely. Food in Both Horizon Court and main dining room is wonderful. Entertainment was great, especially the new production shows. Great dance band on board.

 

we had completed a cruise on the Royal Princess this past August. Agree and Disagree with the above message:

 

1) Yes the ship is gorgeous

2) The Rooms are well designed

3) The Piazza is a great meeting place

4) The Horizon Court has great food

5) Quality of entertainment is great

 

Disagree:

1) Many of the rooms and the balconies are too small

2) Absence of a central staircase was a big mistake

3) Two few pools

4) Cabanas take up to much space around the pools

5) Shows, while good, are too short (about 30 minutes0

6) Horizon Court is very big, and their is no logical system to how the food is set up. Absence of signs identifying stations is a big problem

7) Service and quality of food in the dining room, as well as variety is way below average. Probably one of the worst aspects of the ship

8) Ship, especially on days at sea can be croweded, especially around the pools

 

Would we sale on this ship again. Probably not, would prefer Solstice Class Celebrity Ships

[Avalon35]

we had completed a cruise on the Royal Princess this past August. Agree and Disagree with the above message:

 

1) Yes the ship is gorgeous

2) The Rooms are well designed

3) The Piazza is a great meeting place

4) The Horizon Court has great food

5) Quality of entertainment is great

 

Disagree:

1) Many of the rooms and the balconies are too small

2) Absence of a central staircase was a big mistake

3) Two few pools

4) Cabanas take up to much space around the pools

5) Shows, while good, are too short (about 30 minutes0

6) Horizon Court is very big, and their is no logical system to how the food is set up. Absence of signs identifying stations is a big problem

7) Service and quality of food in the dining room, as well as variety is way below average. Probably one of the worst aspects of the ship

8) Ship, especially on days at sea can be croweded, especially around the pools

 

Would we sale on this ship again. Probably not, would prefer Solstice Class Celebrity Ships

You mentioned the Solstice class. I would be interested to hear specific comparisons between Solstice and Royal/Regal, as Celebrity does similar itineraries. I do have trouble trying to figure out the promotions as it seems there are lengthy discussions on them on the celebrity board. And it seems there are many individually priced dining venues. And you can't get discounted basic cruise fare. So, it seems somewhat comparable costwise. And thoughts re: cabins? There isn't a mini suite size cabin which we really like. Overall, I like the Princess product but would be interested in other thoughts as we are not elite, etc on Princess.