So sad...Royal one star reviews

[Cruise Junky]

Sounds like Princess is trying to become Celebrity. According to what I read, they are notorious for loud music in the atrium. This is the main reason we have not tried them. The other reason is the drink packages. Certainly these "free" drink packages cause the cruise price to increase. We don't really drink. Not alcohol, coffee, or soda. I hope Princess does not follow the Celebrity model of increasing prices and the offering a "free" drink package.

 

Celebrity posted this week that they've listened to their guests and the music has been turned down. And not all of their cruises have the price increased because if the free drink package. Ours certainly didn't

[Mom33]

JimmyVWine - all excellent points and well said. My review was of my vacation, not a clinical dissection of the ship compared to every cruise I've taken in the last few years. So I guess in all of the 293 current reviews we have lots of apples and oranges.

 

I'd still like to know how someone can have lots of mid-ranged stars in their review and still rate it a 1*. Is the review and rating system faulty in that regards?

 

.

 

I took a look at the first page of Member Reviews and calculated several of the ratings. It looks like most people on the page didn't do the math, as most overall ratings did not compute.

 

After you give your points to each category, you should total the points and then divide them by the number of categories you rated. This gives you the point average overall. It looks like most people just put a rating. If done the correct way, quite a few ratings go up. Even the ones.

[dmwnc1959]

Celebrity posted this week that they've listened to their guests and the music has been turned down.

 

Seems like such a simple thing. And how long has the 'complaining' been going on, a year? I wonder if they had to go through corporate to turn the volume knob down a notch or two?

[Mom33]

This is an open question to anyone that sailed the Royal this past winter season. I was on the March 2-9 sailing and in most evenings from about 5:45 till 9:00 pm they had a band playing in the Piazza called "Party Band Goodtimes Inc." On my sailing this band was playing at very loud levels, so loud that it was difficult to carry a conversation in Alfredo's one deck up. I even heard a couple in Sabatini's (a good distance away) complaining. Did anyone experience this? If I recall correctly I think Pescado Amarillo mentioned this also and stated that it blasted people away. I am wondering if my experience was limited to that one week or did others encounter the same. :confused:

 

I didn't encounter any problems during March 30-April 6.But I wasn't always in the Piazza.

[Cruise Junky]

Seems like such a simple thing. And how long has the 'complaining' been going on, a year? I wonder if they had to go through corporate to turn the volume knob down a notch or two?

 

I know, very odd

[dmwnc1959]

This is an open question to anyone that sailed the Royal this past winter season. I was on the March 2-9 sailing and in most evenings from about 5:45 till 9:00 pm they had a band playing in the Piazza called "Party Band Goodtimes Inc." On my sailing this band was playing at very loud levels, so loud that it was difficult to carry a conversation in Alfredo's one deck up. I even heard a couple in Sabatini's (a good distance away) complaining. Did anyone experience this? If I recall correctly I think Pescado Amarillo mentioned this also and stated that it blasted people away. I am wondering if my experience was limited to that one week or did others encounter the same. :confused:

 

I was on Royal Princess for two weeks (Dec. 1-15) and never really noticed the music to be overly (inappropriately) loud. The Party Band played mostly topside, and there were other (quieter) artists playing in the atrium. The one time I can remember it being loud was during The Beatlemaniacs show, but it wasn't deafening, just a LOT of fun!

[cindy144]

The music wasn't overbearing on the March 16-23 cruise. Very enjoyable and entertaining.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[dmwnc1959]

I would never say that you were disingenuous. If anyone has been "genuine" in all of this, it has been you. What I would say is that you were reporting on your personal experiences which did not include exposure to many of the areas that others find deficient. No problem there. But it has to color the review. You had a 5* cruise on a ship that many people consider to be a 1*-4* product. I don't see why people have such a hard time believing that to be possible, on both sides of the aisle. "I had a 5* experience" ≠ "The ship is 5*" and "I rate the ship at 1*" ≠ "No one could have a 5* cruise on that ship." Pretty simple.

 

WOW! Thanks for the kind words. Very much appreciated indeed.

 

And your logic is correct. But what have I found out, even in some of the earliest reviews, is that someone would take a horrible experience at Embarkation and rate the ship a 1* or 2* simply on that fact. Everything else would be great, but that one bad first experience tainted the entire cruise, and their review. My experience was similar on Ruby Princess, where several bad experiences onboard very early in the cruise set the tone for the rest of my week. I just never recovered, and I couldn't have written a fair review if my life depended on it.

[dmwnc1959]

dmwnc1959,

 

You offered your comments inside parentheses in the post above and I have a question out of curiosity. What do you like to do on a cruise? Apparently you do not use balconies, pools, gym, spa, dance venues, or the promenade. If your preferences lean towards a nice Piazza, restaurants, and other inside venues, I can see how you would really like the Royal. In contrast I am one of those that really enjoy the items listed by baldercash and thus my low opinion of the ship. While I knew that the Royal was missing many of these features there is nothing like experiencing them for yourself to truly assess. I had a good time on the Royal despite what I perceive as serious shortcomings but I am not inclined to sail on her again.

 

I have a check-list of things I want on a cruise ship, or things I want to accomplish while on vacation, which always includes: being on a ship that I personally feel is visually appealing, elegant, and relaxing, have a multitude of casual dining options, little places where I can enjoy some peace and quite, an itinerary that isn't port intensive, a diverse offering of entertainment including Live and on TV that I will enjoy or like, not having to wear a suit or dress up, and to be able to stand topside with the wind blowing against my face while watching the sunrises and sunsets.

 

Now, if my check list looked like yours and Baldercash's, and those things were absolutely CRITICAL to my enjoyment of a cruise, then I would by process of elimination have a list of ships that met those requirements. For both of you, and many others, that list doesn't include Royal Princess.

 

But as you said, those things on your list are not on mine. I loved Royal Princess, but would probably never sail a Celebrity Solstice-class or Holland-America Vista-class ship over Regal Princess or maybe even the Norwegian Breakaway.

 

.

Edited April 13, 2014 by dmwnc1959

[JPEvans]

We certainly experienced this on our 5-night cruise in October. When we returned for a few hours for a BVE in March, the party band was playing in the Piazza as passengers came on board. Standing, waiting for a mid-ship elevator, people were yelling back and forth about not being able to talk, let alone carry on a conversation.

 

 

 

This point, more than any other, has us scaling back our Royal Princess plans for next winter. I feel like the Royal Princess's best feature is its Piazza; the loud, nearly always present music renders it unusable. Happily, this is so easily corrected...but will it be?

 

 

It could possibly be the particular band that was overly loud. When I was on her in December I don't remember the band being overly loud. Could be different bands?

 

I do remember they alternated the band with the piano player in Cooners. That might of been a little much.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JPEvans]

When it comes to stars. I don't think a five start rating on CC is meant to be an actual 5 star rating. It's i think meant to really mean how much a reviewer like the whatever it is. When something has a true five star or diamond. Only a handful of places actually have those ratings. On Trip advisor the highest rated hotel in a city is usually never the hotel that is actually rated five star or diamond. If I'm correct the actual star ratings come from Mobil and diamond ratings come from triple A.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 14, 2014 by JPEvans

[bluesea321]

Celebrity posted this week that they've listened to their guests and the music has been turned down.

 

I sure hope that Princess does the same. I wrote a letter to Jan Swartz, the President of Princess, upon my return from the Royal. I listed the concerns I have about the ship, all well enumerated here so no need to rehash. One concern had to do with the loud music in the Piazza. About a week later I received a call from an assistant in Ms. Swartz office. She thank me for the letter and took time to discuss several of the issues with me, including the music. I have no idea what Princess will do past the Regal, it is a business and they will follow what is best for their bottom line, but I think with the lowest approval rating of the fleet some changes will be forthcoming.

 

For those that may be interest here are a couple of excerpts from my letter:

We hope that future ship designs retain the great characteristics of the Crowns while improving the overall passenger experience. We also hope that these improvements are not made at the expense of ship features which have proven to be quite successful and enjoyable for passengers like us. As I mentioned in my review, the Royal is the newest Princess ship but it has the lowest Cruise Critic rating of all 17 vessels in your fleet… should be the other way around. Even the Piazza proved to be a mixed bag (this one is easily fixable however). In the Crowns the music in the Piazza was subtle and enjoyable. The Royal had a club band which played at very loud levels making conversation virtually impossible in the area and at dinner time in Alfredo’s one floor up. While we enjoy this type of music, it is better suited for a club environment, not the Piazza.

[bluesea321]

I have a check-list of things I want on a cruise ship, or things I want to accomplish while on vacation, which always includes: being on a ship that I personally feel is visually appealing, elegant, and relaxing, have a multitude of casual dining options, little places where I can enjoy some peace and quite, an itinerary that isn't port intensive, a diverse offering of entertainment including Live and on TV that I will enjoy or like, not having to wear a suit or dress up, and to be able to stand topside with the wind blowing against my face while watching the sunrises and sunsets.

 

Now, if my check list looked like yours and Baldercash's, and those things were absolutely CRITICAL to my enjoyment of a cruise, then I would by process of elimination have a list of ships that met those requirements. For both of you, and many others, that list doesn't include Royal Princess.

 

But as you said, those things on your list are not on mine. I loved Royal Princess, but would probably never sail a Celebrity Solstice-class or Holland-America Vista-class ship over Regal Princess or maybe even the Norwegian Breakaway.

 

Thanks for your feedback. I may sail the Royal again for an itinerary, not the ship. Interesting how different people can be... I would prefer a more port-intensive itinerary like the Royal will do next winter.

[baldercash]

dmwnc1959 I have followed some of your reviews and appreciate your cruising experience and knowledge I have deliberately avoided posting contrary views on your threads and have learned much by reading them.

 

Your point that you cruised Royal in an inside cabin, don't use the pools or gym, spa, steam room sauna, are content to wait for elevators, don't dance, show up early to get a seat for a half hour show and don't use the promenade for anything but a short cut thus Royal is a 5* ship to sail on. ( My Edit / Interpretation of your post)

Then your appraisal is not disingenuous in anyway and is a very valid evaluation as the reader understands your cruising preferences.

However your cruise style may place you in a small percentile of cruisers.

 

Now there will be an influx of posters who will say that this is the way they cruise as well.

I am amazed that when a poster says something like I am disappointed the ship lost my luggage the number of people who will post and say they have never had that happen as though that negates the occurrence.

 

This seems to be a constant with the elevators as well, CC members post they are crowded, seem smaller, cramped, inadequate for the numbers wanting to use them, show up already full, some report taking them up so they can go down, move slow or are programed and function erratic, reports of cruisers coming close to blows and swearing or shouting, rushing the doors and cutting to the front and other rude behavior.

 

You stated you did not have a issue with the elevators so my question is by your statement are you inferring that there is no problem with the elevators on Royal that they are adequate for the load and a central stair case would not elevate the problems as it is a 5* in your evaluation.

 

Cheers

Edited April 14, 2014 by baldercash

[JimmyVWine]

After you give your points to each category, you should total the points and then divide them by the number of categories you rated. This gives you the point average overall. It looks like most people just put a rating. If done the correct way, quite a few ratings go up. Even the ones.

 

I don't agree with the bolded. This only works if you give equal weight to all categories. As Dave points out above, is it fair to give as much weight to "Embarkation" as you do to "Cabins" and "Dining"? There is no way I would weight "Spa and Fitness", "Family and "Children", "Shore Excursions" and "Embarkation" with the same emphasis as "Cabins", "Public Rooms", "Dining", "Service" or "Value for "Money". Heck. Some people up-rate a ship because it doesn't cater to children. How do you account for that when others down-grade a ship because it has limited children's options. At least with food, everyone is striving for high quality. But not everyone wants or expects the same thing when it comes to spas or teen centers.

Edited April 14, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[bluesea321]

I don't agree with the bolded. This only works if you give equal weight to all categories. As Dave points out above, is it fair to give as much weight to "Embarkation" as you do to "Cabins" and "Dining"? There is no way I would weight "Spa and Fitness", "Family and "Children", "Shore Excursions" and "Embarkation" with the same emphasis as "Cabins", "Public Rooms", "Dining", "Service" or "Value for "Money". Heck. Some people up-rate a ship because[/] it doesn't cater to children. How do you account for that when others down-grade a ship because it has limited children's options. At least with food, everyone is striving for high quality. But not everyone wants or expects the same thing when it comes to spas or teen centers.

 

To make matters more complicated, a category could mean one thing or another depending on the reviewer. For instance, the Royal has 1,780 cabins, 342 of which are inside (19%). Therefore 19% of the passengers could care less if the balconies are small or not.

[Mom33]

I don't agree with the bolded. This only works if you give equal weight to all categories. As Dave points out above, is it fair to give as much weight to "Embarkation" as you do to "Cabins" and "Dining"? There is no way I would weight "Spa and Fitness", "Family and "Children", "Shore Excursions" and "Embarkation" with the same emphasis as "Cabins", "Public Rooms", "Dining", "Service" or "Value for "Money". Heck. Some people up-rate a ship because it doesn't cater to children. How do you account for that when others down-grade a ship because it has limited children's options. At least with food, everyone is striving for high quality. But not everyone wants or expects the same thing when it comes to spas or teen centers.

 

But each time you rate a category you are giving it it's total weight. When you are asked for the overall rating, you should be averaging all the points. Otherwise what is the point of having individual ratings or any rating at all for that matter.

[JimmyVWine]

When you are asked for the overall rating, you should be averaging all the points.

 

That simply isn't true. Restaurant critics don't average out: Greeting, bar service, wine service, decor, appetizers, mains, desserts, price and noise level. They award stars based on their overall impression of the establishment. So too here. People are asked to give their overall impression of the ship.

[baldercash]

A post script,

 

dmwnc1959 I just recalled that when you were running your live Royal thread I posted and asked if you would write and post a Members review after your return and that I would be very interested in reading it and that I was especially interested in you ratings.

If you did do a posted review I will take the time to review it.

 

The live threads become tedious with a post from the cruiser and then 5 or so posts from members saying lovely, I am envious, enjoy reading, ..... Don't mind the ones who ask a question for you to follow up with but just too much chaff to winnow through.

 

Cheers

[dmwnc1959]

You stated you did not have a issue with the elevators so my question is by your statement are you inferring that there is no problem with the elevators on Royal that they are adequate for the load and a central stair case would no elevate the problems as it is a 5* in your evaluation.

 

Cheers

 

As we all know, everyone's experiences and the way they handle those experiences can be as different between night and day.

 

On one occasion while waiting on an elevator a guest (unknown to me) and I starting playing Elevator Poker: you look at the decks the elevators are currently on and make a poker hand, as in three elevators on Deck 3 is three of a kind, two elevators on Deck 6 and two on Deck 8 would be two pair. The elevator showed up in about a minute and as were boarding I said 'that was fun!'. Her reply, said sarcastically, was that we had to have something to do while waiting.

 

My tolerance, and level of patience, is pretty high. Now, I did experience on Royal Princess several different occasions when the elevators showed up FULL. I looked at everyone on the elevator, jokingly said 'OK, everybody off!' as I was swinging my thumb over my shoulder, they would laugh as the doors closed, and I waited for the next elevator. Yet during the entire two weeks I was aboard Royal Princess I can honestly say that I never had to wait 5 minutes or 15 minutes like some have indicated. It just never happened to me. But that's not to say it didn't happen to someone else. And my experiences on Royal Princess mirrored those of when I was on Ruby Princess. Same wait times, same crowded elevators.

 

My mind set, albeit this has been beaten up by many, is that I'm on vacation and I don't have to be anywhere right now. And I've had waits just as long, or longer, at land-based hotels.

 

The single biggest issue that was of concern to me is that the elevators, and the guests that rush them in some weird panic to get aboard, are a huge challenge for those on scooters. I found myself on more than one occasion blocking access to the elevator to allow those on scooters or wheelchairs to get on first. I wasn't very popular, but those times when a couple of people can get into an elevator a scooter can not. And it's those passengers I saw having a difficult time of it.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that waiting in an elevator, on a cruise ship, has really never exceeded my level of patience. For others, they want it to show up the instant they push the button. If they remembered to even push the button in the first place. ;)

[Mom33]

That simply isn't true. Restaurant critics don't average out: Greeting, bar service, wine service, decor, appetizers, mains, desserts, price and noise level. They award stars based on their overall impression of the establishment. So too here. People are asked to give their overall impression of the ship.

 

Then why does CC ask us to rate several aspects of the cruise before arriving at the overall impression? We are asked to rate embarkation, dining, service, etc.If we do not use one of the categories, we do not rate it. It serves no purpose to ask for these ratings if the only rating they really want is the overall impression.

[JPEvans]

As for crowded elevators. If anyone has sailed the Allure of the Seas will experience crowded elevators also.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruise Junky]

Then why does CC ask us to rate several aspects of the cruise before arriving at the overall impression? We are asked to rate embarkation, dining, service, etc.If we do not use one of the categories, we do not rate it. It serves no purpose to ask for these ratings if the only rating they really want is the overall impression.

 

Of course it serves a purpose. First of all if I'm not interested in Entertainment I'm going to read the reviews and discount anything that shows low scoring in Entertainment. It also serves Cruise Critic when they put their annual lists together of which ship has the best Entertainment, Cabins, Dining, etc...

[dmwnc1959]

A post script,

 

dmwnc1959 I just recalled that when you were running your live Royal thread I posted and asked if you would write and post a Members review after your return and that I would be very interested in reading it and that I was especially interested in you ratings.

If you did do a posted review I will take the time to review it.

 

The live threads become tedious with a post from the cruiser and then 5 or so posts from members saying lovely, I am envious, enjoy reading, ..... Don't mind the ones who ask a question for you to follow up with but just too much chaff to winnow through.

 

Cheers

 

 

My Live thread, long winded!?!?! ;)

 

As for the review I wrote it is a bit long. Keep in mind that this is a review of my cruise and my personal cuise experiences aboard Royal Princess. YMMV. Hopefully you'll find it informative...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=246787

 

:D

[baldercash]

My Live thread, long winded!?!?! ;)

 

As for the review I wrote it is a bit long. Keep in mind that this is a review of my cruise and my personal cuise experiences aboard Royal Princess. YMMV. Hopefully you'll find it informative...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=246787

 

:D

 

Read your review very balanced and unbiased.

You mentioned issues of concern for some but had no impact on you.

I could see how someone with a negative bent could easily turn a positive review like yours into a negative. I have used the phrase" It is to be expected" in reviews to negate a negative aspect yet go on to praise the whole.

A very informative review and I support your ratings not that it matters but for those whose ire I raise on these boards I have just agreed with a 5*+ review of the Royal.

Edited April 14, 2014 by baldercash