2013 Christmas Cruise on Royal Princess - A Photo Review!

Sincity · January 5, 2014

Great review and your camera takes fantastic pics. Hopefully, we'll be either on the Royal or Regal this year.

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

We took an open-air cab to Sapphire Beach. Another family on the cab was headed to Coki Beach and asked us why we chose Sapphire and if we'd been there before. We told them we were going because it was very pretty and we enjoyed it a few years ago. They asked if we knew anything about Coki, and my dad chimed in that it's more of a local's beach and that it has a bit of a reputation for a high crime rate. "Don't let him stop you if that's where you want to go - it's been about ten years since we've been there." "Oh, no. Sapphire Beach sounds good - we're going with you!" They wanted to share the cab back with us, but they were leaving in two hours, and we wished to stay longer than that.

Disclaimer: I talked to some people later who went to Coki Beach and were very complimentary, suggesting that we go next time. It has been about ten years since we've visited, but we had a really bad experience when we did. It might be worth checking out again.

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

It was a bit difficult to find the chair guy, as we arrived late, and the beach was rather full (not to mention it was Christmas day and we were in port with the Norwegian Epic and Allure of the Seas). But after we got settled, it was nice. That is until the Jersey Griswold Family Reunion arrived. There were 21 of them, and they just blew my mind. As soon as they got there, they rented a paddle board and a kayak and had drinks in hand. I just don't know how they kept up with each other.

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Edited January 5, 2014 by LittleMissMagic

carib · January 5, 2014

We decided to try out the deck 7 sun chairs. What I really like about the Royal Princess is that deck 7 has an uncovered sun deck. While it would be a lot cooler if it wrapped around, it's fun to be able to be in the sun on such a low deck. And the wind is much better down there, too.

12.24.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Many don't realize how much sun there is on deck 7. That's an advantage on the Royal often overlooked. Most promenade decks on other ships are in the shade and not very wide.

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

I almost stepped on this guy... he freaked me out!

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Bimmer09 · January 5, 2014

Cute little italian outfits...

12.23.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

I almost forgot to tell you about our wait staff! Our waitress was Angelika from the Ukraine, and she was great. She was a little socially awkward, but she was good at her job, and you could tell that she was going to really move up in the industry.

12.23.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Victoria- I was on the Ruby January 2013 and had a great pair of servers-Nata and Michael-we asked Vitor the head waiter for the same table each night so we could banter with them. Angelika served the nearby tables each night (AT dining) but was sent over to our table to serve the latter courses when our team was used to help out on a 10 top one evening. Yes, she is very shy but super diligent and I am not surprised to see her moved to the Royal.

Thanks for reminding me of her. She was very sweet.

Norris in snowy Chicago

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

This is called the "painkiller." It's nutmeg - very interesting!

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Edited January 5, 2014 by LittleMissMagic

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

Before dinner, Rachel and I went to play a game in the Vista Lounge that was listed as "Family Bongo." Sounded like fun... maybe an interesting twist on Bingo. Well, it was a TYPO! It was family bingo, and "family" is a real stretch because I guarantee you that not many under 20 knew any of the songs that they played short excerpts of.

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Some sort of seafood medley appetizer, don't ask me.

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Tonight, we celebrated Mom's birthday.

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.25.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Waynetor · January 5, 2014

Great review - we are in Ft. Lauderdale now waiting to board in a few hours. Hope everyone is able to make it with all the storms up north. i

whataboutport · January 5, 2014

Fantastic review! I just stumbled upon it and read all 7 pages! Can't wait for more. Great job.

lynwar · January 5, 2014

I always look forward to the St. Thomas Harbor. It's one of my favorite spots. I enjoyed seeing the aft of the Epic, which is about as close as I'll get to her. lol. My church friend and we were cruising the same week, only she left on the Saturday and we left on the Sunday, but, we were in St. Thomas the same day. Of course, we didn't see each other because she was at Havensight and we were at Crown Bay, plus she had an excursion planned. About 5PM I did get to see the Epic leaving across the top or opening of the Crown Bay Harbor and took a picture. Ha, the ship is about the size of an ant. I took about 3 photos to show the progression. I do prefer the Havensight pier. One of these years we'll go to the top of Paradise Point.

It looks like you are having a great time. I'm enjoying my time on the Royal again.

Lynne

AtlWired · January 5, 2014

It's true, we usually root for anyone playing Clemson...unless it's Georgia and we will hope Clemson beats them again this year. It's tough to be a gamecock fan (although they've been pretty good lately), especially living in Atlanta :)

Victoria, I've been on several princess cruises and thought family bingo was bingo with kids, but sounds fun. I definitely want to try it and never would have if there wasn't that typo:)

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

So this cruise, I kept a little journal (actually, it was in a sketchbook so that I could draw things if I wished.... I'm a nerd!) and wrote down a list of things we did each day. But sometimes I would get behind and have to go back and recall and catch things up. I'm not very good at regular journaling... that is why I keep sketchbooks and not a journals. Somehow in all of this recalling, I wrote down the Illusionist for two days! One of those was the first evening after Princess Cays, and the other was this evening. I'm pretty sure that I actually saw him on the evening of December 23, but I forgot to write about him then, so I'll catch you up now.

Master Illusionist David Cats Presents the Magic Hotel

I like magic. I loved that movie "Now You See Me" (though that might have had something to do with Jesse Eisenberg...). I don't really look to tear the tricks apart and see how they work because I don't care. I just want to watch magic. Well, David Cats had an interesting opening act. It was rather impressive and entertaining, making himself and his illusionist disappear. His show used this gimmicky audio on how to be a magician ("Step 1: Put a Rabbit in a Hat"... stuff like that) which he did cooler tricks with. I figured it was a good way to mask that he wasn't that great of an illusionist. Then he got into these lame card acts where they used a video camera to project what his hands were doing on a screen, and that was just ridiculously boring. I had to work not to fall asleep. And it was really obvious that he was hiding things in his sleeves because I don't know how many times he rolled and unrolled them during the show. His final act went back to the more entertaining disappear/reappear, but I don't think it was as interesting as the opening act. If you want to see some illusionist tricks, I suggest that you go in for his first number and then leave.

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

December 26, 2013 - St. Maarten

This morning, we awoke in St. Maarten. Rachel had her massage this morning, and she came back really happy saying it was the best massage she's had on a cruise ship and that she really liked her masseuse. After she returned, I went with her to get breakfast at Horizon Court.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

We got a bit of a late start leaving the ship, but who cares? We're on vacation time.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

We were docked beside the Allure. What a giant ship! I'd like to sail on her some day... if the prices ever become more reasonable (or justifiable).

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

The MSC Musica and Thompson Dream would dock in Genoa last spring! Brought back fond memories of watching the cruise ships arrive in the harbor from our villa!

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

We got into the little shopping center when Dad realized he'd left his wallet. Rachel and Mom were fine to go shopping while he went back to go get it. I tagged along with Dad because when I was walking on the pier, I really wished that I had time to stop and put my 11-16mm lens on my camera because I was envisioning some fun pier shots. The sky was beautiful, and you never know how long that lasts in the Caribbean, so I found Dad forgetting his wallet to be a blessing in disguise.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Getting a shot without people in the foreground just takes a lot of patience. I waited and waited and waited until the crowds cleared out.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Dad returned, and we went to catch up with Mom and Rachel.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

They weren't too difficult to find.

Rachel had already picked out two rings that she was deciding between and just couldn't make up her mind, which was fine since we didn't want to bring the ring to the beach anyway. There was an obvious choice which I pointed out to her, but she just couldn't decide yet.

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

Once we could finally pry Rachel out of the jewelry store, we shared a cab with a mother and her two children to Orient Beach. Well, they were headed to the Radisson Blu to meet up with family. They're one of those families that is so cute and lovey dovey that it kind of makes you want to vomit. The little boy kept trying to talk to the cab driver and saying, "What a beautiful island! I can't wait to tell all of my friends in second grade." There was a song playing with the chorus "I love you! I love you!" and the boy started singing "I love you!" and his mom and sister would say "I love you!" back. I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie.

The kids' mom asked my Dad if he had ever been to the French side before. "Oh, yeah." "Okay, so you know about what is at Orient, right?" "You mean the nudity? Oh, yeah! It's not that bad. Every once in a while an old topless woman walks by, but they're never the ones that you want to look at, anyway." She didn't talk to my dad anymore after that.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

It took a bit of walking to find chairs. Instead of having someone set them out for you, you just sit in them and then they'll come and charge you. They're really cushy, though, and easy to fall asleep in.

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

Orient is really developed, and there are all kinds of water rentals, parasailing, water trampolines, and even jetovators (which are insane).

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

LittleMissMagic · January 5, 2014

12.26.13 by vshingl, on Flickr

JLC@SD · January 5, 2014

Great review and fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them. We hope to be on the Royal Princess soon.

Cruzin-K · January 5, 2014

We were docked beside the Allure. What a giant ship! I'd like to sail on her some day... if the prices ever become more reasonable (or justifiable).

I'd love to read a review of yours for the Allure. Prices have come down a lot in the past few years. If they hadn't, I wouldn't be sailing on her in three more weeks :D We got a Boardwalk Balcony for under $900pp which I thought was a pretty good price.

2013 Christmas Cruise on Royal Princess - A Photo Review!

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