Royal Princess Review - Jan 19-26, 2014

[Acosmo]

I love early mornings in port before the masses arrive, you can get some great pictures. Even with all the ships in port, it never felt overly crowded.

 

We ended up staying on the beach right there instead of running out to Maho, "Chico" at Antoines restaurant took care of us, for $20, two loungers, an umbrella and a bucket of 6 Amstel beers. I asked him to replace two of the beers with Diet Coke and he was glad to oblige.

 

We had a chance to meet quite a few passengers from other ships, many were either on back to backs or were boarding another ship on Sunday in Ft Lauderdale.

 

One couple from Dublin, Ireland had spent the previous week in Orlando, were on Celebrity, and boarding the Allure on Sunday for a week before flying back to Ireland. A very fun couple, I wish they had been on our ship, we really enjoyed them.

 

 

 

And later in the day, there was plenty of shade/sun and water for everyone:

 

 

[melody hounddog]

Great review. I love your photos. Thanks for posting!

[Acosmo]

We were delayed leaving St Maarten due to a medical emergency that one of our shipmates posted about here on CC. From their post, everything turned out fine, Princess took good care of the passenger.

 

Here is what we saw on Allure as they sailed away, pretty funny!

 

 

 

 

 

[cancan]

Could you tell us what deck your cabin was on?

[Acosmo]

The rest of the cruise we just relaxed and enjoyed not having to be anywhere, layed in the sun, explored the ship, went to the Pub Lunch, talked to some people we had met throughout the cruise and pre-cruise at the hotel.

 

Due to our late flight out of Ft Lauderdale we asked for the last debarkation tags, Brown 4, debarking at 10:40.

 

On the last day we finished cleaning out the room, left our bags and went to breakfast. There was a beautiful sunrise over Ft Lauderdale but we left our cameras in the room and didn't catch it.

 

We gathered our carry-ons from the room and went to the sun deck to meander around, at 9:00-ish we decided to run around to some of the rooms and snap quick pictures of balconies that looked interesting or that people on here post questions about.

 

Most of the rooms were made up but the room stewards told us to go ahead and take pictures. The Deck Attendants were in their uniforms and were helping the room stewards to make up rooms, the stewards do have help for the turn-around on the last day before the new guests arrive.

 

This was our original balcony in reoomE109, Deluxe Balcony, Obstructed View.

 

 

 

 

 

Despite having a small balcony in M205, we really loved the space inside the room. E109 gets water from the window washing above and also from the windows being cleaned on the bridge. Here is a view of E109's balcony from M205:

 

[Acosmo]

Could you tell us what deck your cabin was on?

 

Certainly, it was Marina, just under Lido. But it was forward on the ship and we had Lido staterooms above us. No noise at all. :)

[Acosmo]

Some observations:

 

1. Boxed Wine was being served at the bars outside the Crown Grill and in the Retreat Pool bar, this was a bit of a surprise, I never expected to see it on a cruise ship. Not a problem to me but there has been discussion on the boards about the quality of boxed wines compared to bottles.

 

2. I had my very first experience in toilets not flushing easily on this cruise. They did flush eventually but I pushed and pushed on a couple in public areas as well as the one in our cabin and had issues a few times, not EVERY time, just here and there.

 

3. We missed the first Pub Lunch, and the second one was packed. Get there by 11:30 when they open or you may have to wait for a seat.

 

4. At the Pub Lunch you can get seconds or extras of everything they serve. The mushy peas are delish.

 

5. Laundry is on the aft section of each pax deck floor, on deck 15 there was one on each side of the ship. I only saw one other person in the room, I did laundry 3 times throughout the cruise.

 

6. Any card can be used in the light switch by the cabin door, it doesn't have to be your Princess card. We used a Hyatt points card but my Hallmark card would have worked, too.

 

7. I brought foaming bath gel along to use in the mini-suite tub but could have used the bath gel provided in the bottles in the showers. If you're washing small items in the sink, the shower gel works well as a soap. Unscrew the pump and work the bottle out of it's holder to pour some into the basin.

 

8. I loved the sinks, it seems I read complaints but I could wash/rinse my hair with no problems.

 

9. The hand-washing stations at all entrances to the buffet are a brilliant addition, however locating the paper towels in the center causes a wet floor from the sink to the towel dispenser. Maybe they'll move the dispensers closer to each of the basins.

 

 

A few little things that I noticed:

 

* No magnifying makeup mirror in the bathroom

 

* Surprised at the number of cracked tiles on the sun decks. The last day as we disembarked, maintenance was chiseling out the tiles for replacement.

 

* It seemed that some of our fellow passengers were looking for things on the ship to be unhappy with, comparing it to all the other Princess ships they've sailed. We were awed by the ship, the cleanliness, friendly crew; we would occasionally have conversations with passengers who felt like us and were enjoying every aspect and minute on the ship.

 

Well that's about all I have to offer, if you have questions feel free to ask. I'll be on and off over the next hour, have to go out and see what shoveling is left. :p

 

I do have some other pictures of the cabins/balconies we took on the last day. I'll probably post those in a separate thread.

 

Thanks to all for the encouragement to post this review and for reading it.

 

Bon Voyage to those of you sailing the Royal Princess, she's a beautiful ship!

[Mom33]

Thank you for your excellent review. I'm glad you decided to share your experience. The more views , the more informed we can be.:D

[Acosmo]

Thank you for your excellent review. I'm glad you decided to share your experience. The more views , the more informed we can be.:D

 

Thank you Mom33, I know the benefit I've gotten from reading the many reviews posted on CC.

[cds62]

Where is Antoine's located after getting off the water taxi? We will be looking to rent some chairs and umbrellas and that deal seems pretty good.

[Acosmo]

We plan on doing the MDR second formal night for the included lobster.

So the crab shack is only available on formal nights? a bit confused here.

 

Yes the lobster in the dining room was delicious, and the Crab Shack is only offered on formal nights. They also have a fondue night in the same location on a 3rd evening.

 

I just checked the Patters, Crab Shack was on Tuesday evening from 6:30 - 9:00, Horizon Court Aft. While we were there the servers told us that it would be open again on the second formal night, Friday. They also said there was a Fondue night.

 

In the Tuesday Patters, the Crab Shack is mentioned in a small blue square on the last page. I don't see either the Fondue night or the 2nd Crab Shack night mentioned anywhere on the other Patters. If you're interested in going I'd recommend that you go Tuesday and ask, if you're interested, in the other two dinners, fondue and 2nd Crab Shack.

[Acosmo]

Where is Antoine's located after getting off the water taxi? We will be looking to rent some chairs and umbrellas and that deal seems pretty good.

 

Antoines is half way down the concrete walkway that runs along the water. You'll be approached by MANY people offering you seats on the beach. We liked the approach Chico made, he started at $25 and we said we'd be back.

 

We were sort of kidding, but after we finished taking all of our pictures in town and came back, he was the least aggressive and spoke the nicest to us. He remembered us and said $20 since we came back to him. I think that he'd come down in price to anyone if you asked him for his best price. The seats on the loungers were padded, too, that was another small advantage.

 

His umbrellas were the only blue ones that had white fringe, Antoines restaurant is white and has steps up to the dining area. Another advantage to the site was that we were farther down the beach in a less crowded/congested area.

[janetz]

Excellent review and pictures. Thank you so much. :)

 

Great wine does now come in box! ;)

[Acosmo]

Excellent review and pictures. Thank you so much. :)

 

Great wine does now come in box! ;)

 

:):):) I always have Black Box at home. Thanks again for reading and commenting Janet.

[tobyt]

Thank you very much for this! I have been struggling with some of he negative feedback....nothing is perfect but it is a new ship and you are on vacation, what can be that bad?! If you are in the Northeast, be careful with this snow it is the heavy widow maker snow!

[marazad16]

Can never get enough trip reports! I appreciate your effort and looking forward to reading - thank you :)

[sunshine100]

Thanks for your review! I wish I was organized enough to do a review!! I have been on this ship twice now on 2 different sailings and I have to say to everyone that has an upcoming sailing, please, do not be worried!! We had excellent food, excellent entertainment and most of all, an excellent staff with great service!!! We can't wait to sail on her again!!! We are looking at the 10 day cruises in the fall or looking at sailing on Regal!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Loved your review and the photos are stunning!!

 

We loved, loved, loved our cruise on the Royal!!

 

Thanks!

Edited February 3, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[chamima]

Been meaning to ask this of those of you who've recently come back from the Royal.

Has anyone seen a Headwaiter named Rui?

 

We had him as our Headwaiter on the Emerald two years ago for 3 weeks and had heard he was on the Royal.

We sail in 2 weeks so I am hoping he really is there.

[Acosmo]

Thank you very much for this! I have been struggling with some of he negative feedback....nothing is perfect but it is a new ship and you are on vacation, what can be that bad?! If you are in the Northeast, be careful with this snow it is the heavy widow maker snow!

 

Can never get enough trip reports! I appreciate your effort and looking forward to reading - thank you :)

 

Thanks to all for reading, there have been so many reviews lately and I tried to write from a different perspective.

 

Toby, we are in the Northeast and you're right about the heavy snow! Tomorrow evening they're calling for more snow with a nice crispy coating of icy rain!

 

DH told me to add that during MUTS they come around with bags of popcorn, later they pushed carts around offering slices of pizza, and before the movie was over, warm cookies and milk. We were watching one of the Star Trek movies. This was one of his memorable moments from the cruise. :rolleyes: :)

[Acosmo]

Thanks for your review! I wish I was organized enough to do a review!! I have been on this ship twice now on 2 different sailings and I have to say to everyone that has an upcoming sailing, please, do not be worried!! We had excellent food, excellent entertainment and most of all, an excellent staff with great service!!! We can't wait to sail on her again!!! We are looking at the 10 day cruises in the fall or looking at sailing on Regal!

 

Loved your review and the photos are stunning!!

 

We loved, loved, loved our cruise on the Royal!!

 

Thanks!

 

So glad you liked it and the pictures, I used a little point and shoot camera that fits in my pocket. DH uses a big camera with all the lenses, his pics are better and there are more of them; I just don't have time to weed through all of them.

 

We were talking about the cruise this evening and agreed that 7 days wasn't long enough on this ship. A 10 day or back-to-back would have been ideal to get the full monty, but that's what brings us back to cruising and makes us dream about retirement-traveling.

[Acosmo]

Been meaning to ask this of those of you who've recently come back from the Royal.

Has anyone seen a Headwaiter named Rui?

 

We had him as our Headwaiter on the Emerald two years ago for 3 weeks and had heard he was on the Royal.

We sail in 2 weeks so I am hoping he really is there.

 

Our first Princess cruise was on the Emerald, what a wonderful 10 days we had on her! Although I don't know if Rui was on the ship, I hope you find him when you sail, it's always fun to find an old friend on the ships.

[marazad16]

Thanks to all for reading, there have been so many reviews lately and I tried to write from a different perspective.

 

Toby, we are in the Northeast and you're right about the heavy snow! Tomorrow evening they're calling for more snow with a nice crispy coating of icy rain!

 

DH told me to add that during MUTS they come around with bags of popcorn, later they pushed carts around offering slices of pizza, and before the movie was over, warm cookies and milk. We were watching one of the Star Trek movies. This was one of his memorable moments from the cruise. :rolleyes: :)

 

I'm right here with you with this heavy snow and more expected! Done yet? I would gladly trade for a Star Trek movie with milk and cookies ;)

[Acosmo]

I'm right here with you with this heavy snow and more expected! Done yet? I would gladly trade for a Star Trek movie with milk and cookies ;)

 

Gotta love it! The Canadians we met on the ship were talking about what they left behind and/or are returning to, sub-zero temps, feet, not inches, of snow. Almost, (almost), made me glad to come back to this weather, instead.

[Wish it were cruise time]

We are cruising in March and I have been reading everything I can about the Royal. Your review of your experience was much appreciated, thank you for your positive outlook! I'll be looking forward to your pictures. Thanks for taking the time to post. I know how much shoveling can be ;)