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Review - Royal Princess Maiden Caribbean Sailing (Long)

JerryinBWB

By JerryinBWB,
in Princess Cruises

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JerryinBWB

JerryinBWB

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Much has been written, both pro and con, about the Royal Princess - - thus I am hesitant to add more. However, I have learned so much from Cruise Critic, I feel I must share my thoughts in hopes someone may gain something from my perspective. This was the 5-day Oct 29-Nov 3 Inaugural Caribbean sailing of the Royal Princess. This was my 22nd cruise with 5 cruise lines.

 

Caveats: Just my opinions here. Others clearly may have different points of view. That is OK. I am not saying I am right and they are wrong - just providing my thoughts.

 

Three quick stories about encounters I had on board.

1) I met a lady on board who was on her 27th Princess cruise. She said she was so disappointed and shared with me her concerns, starting with no Q-tips for suite passengers, followed by balcony size concerns, and more. I am in no way agreeing or disagreeing with her. She seemed truly disappointed by a number of things.

2) Within two minutes I bumped into another person who said something like this: "I don't see how anyone could complain about anything on this ship. This is truly amazing." I am in no way agreeing or disagreeing with him. He seemed truly happy about his cruise experience.

3) I met a young man (30's) on his first cruise. I mentioned that if he took another cruise, he would be able to compare and decide if the second cruise was better or not as good. He said, "Why would I do that? I would just try to determine if any cruise or vacation I went on was a good experience or not. I don't see the value in doing much comparison." I am in no way agreeing or disagreeing with him. He did seem to have an interesting point of view.

I tell you about these three encounters because they are fairly typical of the kinds of things you can hear, positives and negatives from the first two and an interesting perspective from the third.

 

Now here is my theory. It is just a theory; could be right or wrong, but it is my theory based on interacting with these three people as well as many, many more people on the ship, and reading many things here on Cruise Critic.

 

The more seasoned Princess cruisers, Platinum and Elite for example, have come to enjoy Princess for any number of reasons. This is demonstrated by their continuing to cruise on Princess. That is what made them Platinum or Elite, after all. They all know, in detail, a great deal about Princess. They can tell you what balconies are the largest, which ones are the smallest, which ones are covered, partially covered, or not covered. They know which cabins are best to get, which ones are less desirable. They are experts on dining venues, processes, procedures, and on and on and on. And in large measure - - - they expected Royal Princess to deliver ALL the things they have come to know and understand AND be new and modern and provide even more "bells and whistles" than the older ships. That is not what Royal Princess is all about. In fact, it is a new ship that has some of what we like about the older ships, but does not have some of what we like. It has changed some things. It does have new "bells and whistles" and, I think, should be evaluated for what it is - - a new class of Princess ship. The fundamental question is therefore NOT, is it better or worse. The fundamental question IS, can I have a wonderful experience on this ship even though it is a change from what I have experienced before.

 

My Bottom Line: There were things I thought were not so great, some things I thought were superb, but unquestionably I WOULD sail on this ship again - - if it were sailing the itinerary I wanted at a reasonable price. The specifics are below.

 

Embarkation: We arrived by car at Port Everglades Cruise Terminal Gate at 10:45 AM. We were in our cabin at 11:40 AM. That included the walk from our car to the terminal and a brief wait until boarding began. Going through security was quick and efficient. No one seemed to care at all about the wine I had in my carry-on. We had a bottle per person, but it seemed as if we could have had the whole liquor store; not really sure. We stood in no lines to get our cruise card. The cards were ready and that process took just moments. Others may have had a different experience. That was ours.

 

The cabin: Shower was larger. I really liked that, and my wife says having the small seat/ledge is much better for her from a leg-shaving perspective. The other part of the bathroom seemed perhaps slightly smaller, but very adequate. The new sink is an improvement, in my view. We had plenty of storage in the bathroom. The toilet paper holder is a NON-ISSUE. No it is not well positioned, but the solutions are obvious and immediate. This subject requires no other mention. Cabin storage, hang up area, safe, etc seemed to be about the same as we remember from other ships. Television is a big improvement. Not to be unkind, but only someone really technology incapable would have trouble with it, and it provides so much more information and capability - - - weather, movies, TV, news, individual information, music, etc. We did not use it a lot, but it was always available when we wanted to use it. No known outages. We heard one person say they did not like the TV because all they wanted was just to watch TV, not access all that other stuff. I thought that saying "my TV has too many capabilities" was a bit of a stretch toward finding something to complain about. Bedding was great. No more need to ask for egg crate. A note: the cabin steward said that for those who prefer twin bed configuration, the same bedding is not available so they would need to ask for egg crate if that is an issue. Hair dryer was in the drawer and not on the wall. According to my wife it still does not put out a lot of oomph.

 

Sanctuary: I went directly to the Sanctuary but missed getting a week reservation by a few folks. I did tour the area, and it looks great, but I cannot really comment from experience. The attendant said that he recommended folks go up to the Retreat, get a lounger, get in line for daily use passes to the Sanctuary and if they were too late, they could at least still have their loungers in the Retreat. Just an idea provided for info.

 

Sail-a-way: Lots of fun, as always with the folks in the condos and houses waving to us as we departed. Filming from a helicopter included the ship turning in circles while the camera man in the helicopter took photos, movie, etc. The playing of Love Boat theme on the ships horn was actually kind of a neat thing when we pushed off from the dock. Captain played it again mid-sail-a-way.

 

Dining Room: We had anytime seating. Went to DR at what was about 2d seating time the first night. We waited about three minutes to be seated. No problems at all. Service for us was excellent. We liked the food that night, but food is so subjective I will not discuss in detail. We went to DR one other night; also good service and the food was fine. No wait at all to get in.

 

Horizon Court: A great improvement. We ate there two nights, breakfasts, and some lunches. Seating was immediately available for every visit. The variety of food is good. The spaciousness of the entire facility - - Bistro and Court -- is a great improvement. Yes, I liked the Pastry area, too.

 

Entertainment: This is of course a very subjective area, but we thought that collectively the entertainment was as good, if not better, than on any previous Princess ship. We are officially senior citizens so bed time normally comes fairly early for us, but we stayed up until at least 1:00 AM every night of the cruise. The bands, Steel, Orphea, Volume were great. The comedian, Carlos Oscar, was very good. Cory Simon was very good in Crooners each evening. We attended the Welcome Aboard show and the final show - Colors of the World, I think it was called - - really enjoyed the final show. Our experience through the years has been that some shows are OK, some are not. This one was really good.

 

The Princess Theatre: Again, subjective. Overall, the theatre is an improvement. The seats are fine for me. Others have disagreed. There is no table in the arm rest and no one coming around trying to sell you drinks. I am able to go through an entire 30-45 minute show without alcohol so this is not an issue for me. There appear to be no bad sight lines in the theatre. We arrived 3 minutes before the Welcome Aboard show and got seats down front. We went about 15 minutes before the final show and got seats down front. I am sure someone else had a different experience but ours was great. The new technological improvements in the theatre including integration of theatre lighting with stage show lighting, the vertical-moving stage with increased video capability, sound enhancements, etc, etc. outweigh the loss of armrest tables for me. Others will disagree.

 

Princess Cays: There seemed to be about the same stuff going on as usual at Princess Cays. Nothing different that is related to Royal Princess so I will not comment with one exception. Trying to get everyone off the ship by tender in a timely fashion is a problem. It does take a while. If there is an itinerary with multiple tender ports, this might be a negative because of the increased passenger total.

 

Skywalk: This is another non-issue for me. The skywalk neither significantly enhanced my cruise experience nor significantly detracted from my cruise experience. It is there. Go do it. Then move on. It being there doesn't seem to be a negative or a positive. But what about the balconies below, you say? We met a couple who had a balcony directly below the skywalk. They said that it was no issue for them, and that they had pretty much forgotten it was there after a short while. Can people on the Skywalk see onto balconies below. This couple said that mattered not at all to them. Others will disagree just as folks prefer covered or uncovered balconies on other ships. I really do not think the Skywalk lives up to the hype, but I don't see any downside to it - my opinion.

 

Fountain Show: The fountain shows - there are at least three different short shows - occurred late in the evening and I think not every night. For me, they are a bit like the Skywalk, maybe slightly better. I kind of enjoyed seeing the shows, but having done it once did not need to return. The bigger question is whether the space could have been better utilized for something else. The fountain space is utilized at times when the fountain is not on - - so most of the time - - as a place for lounge chairs, so provides additional seating near the pools. It is not a "stand alone" fountain. The jets come out of the deck that is most of the time used for loungers. Would a larger pool instead of lounger space have been good? Perhaps. I heard several folks express that view. I suppose that this is an issue for those who cruise to spend in a pool, less an issue for those for whom the pool experience is not a priority.

 

Princess Live: Games and shows were as usual. Seats were uncomfortable. Overall, just OK for us, but we did not have the chance on this short cruise to go there often.

 

Grand Turk: Of all the ports on Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, this one is not a great one for me. This is again subjective and this 5-day cruise is atypical because it only went to Princess Cays and Grand Turk. Most other itineraries stop other places. I would make this stop a priority in selecting an itinerary, but if someone has Grand Turk questions, I will happily answer. I have been there twice. Took a tour of the island once, hung out at Margaritaville the other time.

 

Piazza: Tremendous improvement. The area is large, has so many things within a few steps. The IC was never crowded when we were there. Alfredo's continues to be an excellent choice for lunch or dinner. We ate dinner there one evening. The additional space in the Piazza is perhaps why we did not get that "we are trying to sell you something" again feeling that we get on other ships. The tables may have been out, but they did not make things crowded. Some of the shops are actually not right on the piazza, but in another area a few steps away. Passenger services is not on the Piazza so those lines of folks were not in the way.

 

Elevators/Steps: The mid-ship elevator/no steps deal is actually a negative. Once you have been on a day or two, you will find alternatives, but the first day when everyone is trying to use the elevators is filled with negative comments. At busy times, having no steps is a real annoyance.

 

Balconies: Yes, they are not the same size as on older ships. Choose your cabin wisely and you can gain a few extra feet, but generally the balconies are smaller. Is this a show-stopper? This is actually one of the reasons we went on this 5-day cruise - - to do some quick evaluation. This will be a big issue for some. It is an issue for me, but not a show stopper. My thinking goes something like this ------ do all the other "better" things on board overcome the fact that my balcony is smaller? For me, Yes.

 

Disembarkation: Amazingly, but not surprising, I heard several complaints about disembarkation. We left our cabin, walked off the ship, no waiting anywhere. We had bags and were through with the Customs check and on our way in minutes. I am sure someone else had a negative experience. Ours was positive. It is not always this way, but probably has little if anything to do with the ship.

 

Other Things: The Library seems small. The Casino is smaller than on some other ships, too, it seemed, but less smoky. Some people seemed to win, some seemed to lose; probably about the same as any ship. I lost. Crew: Again, there will be many different experiences. For us, the cabin steward was excellent, the crew members we encountered were friendly without exception. We found an old friend, Luis, working in Crooners. He seemed to remember us and provided great service. Fitness Center seemed smaller but had all the usual machines and I never had to wait for any of them. Probably a lot I have not mentioned, but will stop here. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

My Bottom Line: There were things I thought were not so great (missing center stairs, smaller balconies), some things I thought were superb (Horizon Court, Piazza), but unquestionably I WOULD sail on this ship again - - if it were sailing the itinerary I wanted at a reasonable price. Having reached the end, I feel a bit more like a Princess cheerleader. That was not my intent. I really wanted to provide an honest opinion about the cruise. But the truth is that we had a great time, really enjoyed it. We have cruises booked in the coming months on Ruby and Emerald Princess and I am sure we will have a great time, but I am also sure we will miss the overall improved experience the Royal Princess provides. Port intensive itineraries that allow me to go ashore each day and see wonderful things (Mediterranean, Baltics come to mind) in between visits to the IC, Piazza, and Horizon Court would be great. Hope something here is useful to someone. Ask questions as needed.

Edited by JerryinBWB
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CI66774

CI66774

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Jerry,

 

Thanks for your informative, well-balanced review. Some of the reviews I've read sound as if people expect a luxury experience at a mass market price. It's sort of like when I went on the Disney Fantasy last year. Knew it was going to be loud and kids everyone. There were things that didn't measure up and other things that were wonderful. Didn't expect luxury - just a nice trip. Overall, I had a blast (as I've had on every cruise I've taken). I suppose some people will complain about anything because that's just how they always have been (or have become). Thanks again for your review.

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cattolica

cattolica

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Thank you for a great post. It was a pleasure to read.

 

We never choose our cruises based on ship. We will be sailing very soon on the Royal. Just looking forward to being on a ship. Our trip was not based on which ship.....just timing and price. I know we are going to have a great time as we always do.

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lx200gps

lx200gps

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Great review Thanks very much.

 

We're boarding this Sunday and you have me a lot worried about the Sanctuary. You said you boarded very early, yet still missed getting a week booking? Did you wait a while after boarding before heading up, or did you go right away.

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ltcal94

ltcal94

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I appreciate your review and in fact I believe that we will start to see more positive feedback of the ship as it's starts it Caribbean schedule of 7 day cruises with a more typical mix of cruise passengers. I am really looking forward to enjoying my upcoming cruise on the Royal Princess.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

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JerryinBWB

JerryinBWB

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Enjoyed your honest and fair review. We're scheduled to sail RP in January and I was getting nervous reading the negative reviews. I will miss the "proper" promenade deck for sure.

 

Yes, an all-the-way-around promenade deck would be great, but there are other places to exercise. The top deck has a place to do laps. It is a bit windier but doable. I forgot to mention the promenade deck in my review, and we did miss it ourselves, but it is not a really horrible thing. You will still have a great cruise.

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JerryinBWB

JerryinBWB

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Great review Thanks very much.

 

We're boarding this Sunday and you have me a lot worried about the Sanctuary. You said you boarded very early, yet still missed getting a week booking? Did you wait a while after boarding before heading up, or did you go right away.

 

I actually sent my wife to the cabin and I went to the Sanctuary. I was probably third or fourth in line when the "whole cruise" reservations were full. So my advice is get on early and go straight there. Good Luck.

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JerryinBWB

JerryinBWB

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Jerry, terrific review. I agree with you 98%. :) Yes, there are some negatives and it's not perfect but there are many really good, positive things to like about the Royal.

 

Pam, I had an interesting conversation with a crew member about cruises that have large numbers of Elite cruisers on board. I won't bore you with the details, but he said that the TA with so many Elites made for a different "vibe" than other cruises. I did not take his comments as anything to be offended by, but just interesting info. Sort of like the difference between the demographics on a November cruise and a July cruise sort of thing. This cruise did not have the typical November demographic I don't think, because it was the Inaugural and because so many folks wanted to see the new ship.

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kellor

kellor

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Great review and information - Thank you - we are scheduled to be on this ship next year! Did you get a chance to check out the new spa area and if so, did you enjoy it and was it worth the money? Lori

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CruisingJs

CruisingJs

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Jerry, you did a great job on this review. As someone who was on the cruise with you, I agree with your take on most things. The ship is beautiful, the Piazza amazing. There were so many great things to see and do that the shortcomings didn't bother me. You didn't mention Gelato. We shared this thing called Brownie Blast that was decadent and delicious. I thought it was interesting that you could get Gelato with a punch of your coffee card. We also watched them film the morning show in Princess Live, which was kind of fun, but you're right that the seats are uncomfortable. I was also very impressed with the crew. I think they put the cream of the crop on that ship.

 

I forgot to mention that the Retreat area is beautiful and if you can't get into the Sanctuary that is a great alternative. There is also plenty of shade in there.

Edited by CruisingJs
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FireFighter115

FireFighter115

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Thanks for the review, but I must COMPLAIN IT WAS WAY TOO LONG!!!!

 

After reading some of the other reviews I had thought that we had made a mistake choosing the Royal. We are cruising with two other couples that are first time cruisers who are not complainers, and living vicariously through their first time experiences will be awesome.

 

We would have a great time even if it was on a tug in the North Sea in February.

 

FF115

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SeaCBear

SeaCBear

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Thanks for writing this - I enjoyed your review very much, and I really agree with your comments about passengers who have sailed Princess many times before. Understandably, many will have certain expectations based on past Princess cruises, and may be disappointed when some aspects of the ship and the cruise are different.

 

We have only sailed with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (and Viking). So I will not have a problem with things I have never had on any other cruise - like an aft pool, or a complete promenade deck. The lack of a central staircase sounds like poor planning, but as we are at the aft it probably will not be a major issue for us.

 

What I WILL miss is the option of purchasing a beverage (alcohol) package (I was told by a Princess exec that a package will be available very soon, but that was in June, and I am still waiting), and although Princess announced a few weeks ago that it would be possible by the end of October to make specialty restaurant reservations online in advance for the Royal, that functionality does not yet appear to be available.

 

But I digress. :o Thanks again for your balanced review.

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