So sad...Royal one star reviews

[JPEvans]

When I cruised the Royal my cabin was cool. As were all my friends who sailed with me. So the AC issues must be isolated issues. Also the card thing is something fairly new. I've had that on both the Royal and the Carnival Breeze. I solved that issue by putting a store loyalty card into the slot so I didn't have to use my sign and sail card.

 

I'm under the impression that the soot issues were being caused by the MUTS screen, and it was causing the soot not to lift high enough to clear the back of the ship.

 

I also heard the narrow balconies were because the designers wanted a stream lined look to the ship.

 

 

 

 

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[bluesea321]

Loreni, for whatever they are worth I have added some comments in red below:

 

I had not heard about soot on the "promenade platforms" before. When there is a head wind (or little wind at all) the soot blows back. With a strong cross wind like we had one day the soot tends to go sideways also. Soot rained on us pretty heavily that day and judging by the stains on the chair cushions that was not the only time. Obviously the other side would have been OK but in the sun so we left. Some people have reported soot on the jogging track as well. On the soot issue I think you will find people reporting all over the place - little or no problem to lots of problems - and I think this is due to the wind conditions which clearly affect the fallout. I think scrubbers or some sort of baffling would be about the only solution baring a combustion change. I can't see ever setting foot on this ship. I am also an engineer as is DH and we wonder about some of the design problems with this ship. The soot and the power failures We had a power failure on our cruise as well at 2 am one morning which awoke everyone as the Captain came on the loudspeaker so clearly something is amiss here. and the warm staterooms indicated design flaws. One reviewer wrote that their stateroom would not get below the high 70's at night and Guest Services said that there would be no repair of this because it was operating within spec. My room was cool enough but we do not like very cold. I heard that there are parts of the ship that run much warmer than others and if so this is another engineering flaw. So even with the forced restrictions on using electricity in the room, and claiming high 70's is appropriate sleeping temperature, they still had power failures.

 

We also have nicer restaurants and atrium like places at home, so the connection to the sea is the main reason we sail. A convenient way of visiting far away places is nice too. And it is possible to easily have both on other ships. The Royal's itinerary in the Caribbean is certainly nothing special. I did a 10 day Caribbean cruise on the Ruby some years back and want to do the companion 10 day leg (different ports) but in order to do that in 2015 I would have to go on the Royal again - not sure if I want to do that or not - if I do it would be for the nice ports and beaches. It's European itinerary was just OK. So there really is no compelling reason for us to even consider this ship, and lots of reasons not to.

 

Again note the heavy-handedness and the element of coercion on this ship. You have to put a card into a slot to get lights and air conditioning. I think the A/C part is not correct. The A/C in our room seemed to run whether the card was there or not and we never came back to a warm room - it is only the lights that go out. No real problem for us but one can defeat that easily by putting any card in the slot or so I heard. If you fear walking into a dark room I guess you could leave the curtains open, the card slot is right by the door so the hall lighting keeps you from walking into a dark room. However I took my card out early a couple of times only to realize that I had left something and it got real dark in a hurry - wonder if this has been a safety issue for anyone. but then the room will be even hotter. Want a quick nap in comfort...not gonna happen because you need to wait for the room to cool. You can't spend money napping. Want a nice cool place? Come back to the Piazza and spend some money. Or you could try the balcony, but we have made sure you won't find it very enjoyable....so, come back to the Piazza and spend some money. Well I can't spend any money in the Piazza if I'm not on the ship, and I won't be.

[Loreni]

I also heard the narrow balconies were because the designers wanted a stream lined look to the ship.

 

 

 

 

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Maybe. But also consider that the new balcony furniture on all the Princess ships is less comfortable than the old. And the tiny tables they introduced were too small for (free) room service meals. It isn't as pleasant or easy to spend hours on your balcony reading your Kindle and ordering free room service. Could just be coincidental. Or it could be that they want us off the balconies and spending money. Miserable furniture and teeny balconies are certainly not very subtle signals. Maybe this explains some of the visceral reaction to this ship. Some people bristle when they feel prodded like this.

[kendon]

You have the right to rate the Royal as you deem appropriate. For me your 5+ rating is very difficult to understand but that is your prerogative and I respect it. This long thread was started by someone who could not understand why anyone would give the Royal a 1. Those that give it a 1 have the same prerogative as those like you that give it a 5. You are not disingenuous any more so than those 1 reviewers. You and them are just expressing an opinion. It is the composite of all the opinions, the 65% approval rating, that is troublesome here and no doubt to the execs at Santa Clarita, especially when other new ships like the X Reflection get 90%.

 

I started the thread. It's not because I don't understand how someone may not care for the ship/cruise, but because I couldn't understand the "1" rating which is the lowest and the poorest. I think some of them may have even given it a ".001" if it was an option. Really???? Was it that bad to give it a "1"? That's what I didn't get. In all fairness, to each his own...but a brand new ship on a more than reputable cruise line given the lowest rating...why?

[bluesea321]

I also heard the narrow balconies were because the designers wanted a stream lined look to the ship.

 

This makes sense as the ship is indeed streamlined and nice looking but what a lousy way to streamline a ship. In St. Maarten we were docked next to the Allure of the Seas, not streamlined at all but with wonderful looking balconies with real furniture (too bad that RCI has an inside mall in the middle of that ship). Three extra feet of balcony on the Royal would have made a big difference. Considering that the beam of the ship is 125 feet, the additional 6 feet would have hardly mattered. As it is now the balconies are recessed from the sides of the ship by perhaps 6-8 feet on each side. I could not measure this of course, but looking out from my balcony (forward of the life boats) I could estimate the distance. I would hope for changes in future designs but as others have said this is a business and they will change if the product does not sell as desired.

[Loreni]

Loreni, for whatever they are worth I have added some comments in red below:

 

That is good to know about the air conditioning. I don't like walking into a dark room, especially after the incident on HAL. Yes, it is easy enough to circumvent the issue with the lights. So why did Princess even bother with this heavy handed approach.

 

I hear you cannot leave the bathroom light on without having the bedroom light also be on. If this is true, it could be because some people liked to leave the bathroom lights on all night. Now that this is not an option, I guess we'd need to bring night lights for safely and so we don't have to wake our partners up if we go to the bathroom.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Loreni

[Coral]

 

I also heard the narrow balconies were because the designers wanted a stream lined look to the ship.

 

 

 

They could have streamlined the ship and still make the balconies larger by making everything several feet wider, couldn't they?

 

The designers/Princess knew that this would probably upset many customers as they choose not to show the balconies off in all of their pre-release promos.

[Loreni]

They could have streamlined the ship and still make the balconies larger by making everything several feet wider, couldn't they?

 

The designers/Princess knew that this would probably upset many customers as they choose not to show the balconies off in all of their pre-release promos.

 

Did they think we would never find out? They must not think their passengers are very bright.

 

I don't remember many detailed pictures of the promenade in the pre-release promos either

[bluesea321]

I started the thread. It's not because I don't understand how someone may not care for the ship/cruise, but because I couldn't understand the "1" rating which is the lowest and the poorest. I think some of them may have even given it a ".001" if it was an option. Really???? Was it that bad to give it a "1"? That's what I didn't get. In all fairness, to each his own...but a brand new ship on a more than reputable cruise line given the lowest rating...why?

 

For whatever it is worth I think it is "the nature of the beast" - some people really liked the ship and give it a 5+ which CC defines as perfection - some did not like the ship at all and give it the lowest rating. This is not unique to CC or the Royal. Other rating websites have the same dichotomy. Does anyone really think that the Royal is perfect?

[toledo_cruiser]

I hear you cannot leave the bathroom light on without having the bedroom light also be on. If this is true, it could be because some people liked to leave the bathroom lights on all night. Now that this is not an option, I guess we'd need to bring night lights for safely and so we don't have to wake our partners up if we go to the bathroom.

 

Not true. We left our bathroom light on each night. The bedroom light is on a different circuit.

 

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[toledo_cruiser]

This makes sense as the ship is indeed streamlined and nice looking but what a lousy way to streamline a ship. In St. Maarten we were docked next to the Allure of the Seas, not streamlined at all but with wonderful looking balconies with real furniture (too bad that RCI has an inside mall in the middle of that ship). Three extra feet of balcony on the Royal would have made a big difference. Considering that the beam of the ship is 125 feet, the additional 6 feet would have hardly mattered. As it is now the balconies are recessed from the sides of the ship by perhaps 6-8 feet on each side. I could not measure this of course, but looking out from my balcony (forward of the life boats) I could estimate the distance. I would hope for changes in future designs but as others have said this is a business and they will change if the product does not sell as desired.

 

We noticed the balconies on the Allure as well. It made for some interesting conversation with the couple in the cabin next to us.

 

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[pcsunlover]

That is good to know about the air conditioning. I don't like walking into a dark room, especially after the incident on HAL. Yes, it is easy enough to circumvent the issue with the lights. So why did Princess even bother with this heavy handed approach.

 

I hear you cannot leave the bathroom light on without having the bedroom light also be on. If this is true, it could be because some people liked to leave the bathroom lights on all night. Now that this is not an option, I guess we'd need to bring night lights for safely and so we don't have to wake our partners up if we go to the bathroom.

 

We used an old hotel key card to keep in the slot.

 

Our room stayed very cool all the time.

 

We had a minisuite. You can leave the bathroom light on without turning the bedroom lights on. The switch for the bathroom is right outside the bathroom door. The switches controlling the rest of the room are just inside the door to the cabin. My husband was up around 5:30 - 6:00am every morning to go workout. He used the bathroom and never turned any other lights on so he wouldn't disturb me.

 

But, we didn't leave the bathroom light on all night. We found that the light from our iphone, which we were were using as a clock, illuminated the room enough for us to see our way to the bathroom to turn the light on as needed.

[Loreni]

We used an old hotel key card to keep in the slot.

 

Our room stayed very cool all the time.

 

We had a minisuite. You can leave the bathroom light on without turning the bedroom lights on. The switch for the bathroom is right outside the bathroom door. The switches controlling the rest of the room are just inside the door to the cabin. My husband was up around 5:30 - 6:00am every morning to go workout. He used the bathroom and never turned any other lights on so he wouldn't disturb me.

 

But, we didn't leave the bathroom light on all night. We found that the light from our iphone, which we were were using as a clock, illuminated the room enough for us to see our way to the bathroom to turn the light on as needed.

 

That is good to know!

[avalon1025]

While on the Celebrity Silhouette last month in St Marten, we were dock along side the Royal. I never paid much attention to the talk that of the balcony size on the Royal, but seeing them and how small they were and all (i mean all) the seats facing out across the whole ship really made the point that those balconies are tiny compared to competing ships. Our standard AQ balcony on Silhouette was huge in comparison. I would be hard pressed to pay for a size facing suite on that ship

[baldercash]

I stated earlier I have learned more about CC posters then about Royal on this thread and that has been confirmed for me.

 

I really enjoy the input of posters like Johnny V and PA who have a wealth of cruise and world experience and are very analytical and logical in their assertions they often give me pause to ponder and challenge my personal assumptions.

 

The Royal does seem to be an enigma that causes many cruisers to give no quarter when personal opinion is challenged.

I enjoy reading any informative review be it positive or negative.

If someone can post a 5* review and I glean some fact or item about the ship or line that justified the rating that I was not aware of or a negative review that informs me of a deficiency or problem that I might encounter while on board I am well pleased.

 

As some have stated CC is not about posting about how wonderful ones vacation was but supplying new insight and review of the ship.

 

I don't think some reviewers realize saying the elevators seem to be smaller and slow but it does not bother them as they are content to wait or take the stairs is equivalent to saying the dinning room is understaffed and service is slow but I am content to wait or I go to the buffet so no real issue with the dinning experience.

Edited April 12, 2014 by baldercash

[kywildcatfanone]

We used an old hotel key card to keep in the slot.

 

Our room stayed very cool all the time.

 

 

We did the same thing. Kept our key from our pre night stay and used it in the slot. The cabin steward would slide it out when he finished cleaning, but when I went back to the room, I would insert it again and the room temp was good all week.

[bluesea321]

In response to a comment by kendon, the originator of this thread, I mentioned that high and low reviews are “the nature of the beast” in rating websites. Some people really like what they are reviewing while others do not. The following are excerpts from a Royal review of a March sailing. The excerpts were cut and pasted verbatim below. I decided not to show the member’s name or the title but if anyone is interested in reading the whole review, including the positives, at the moment it is #7 from the top when sorted by “newest to oldest”.

 

Excerpts:

 

We were on deck 12 mid-ship in a mini suite it was a nice cabin but every time we would dock to an island there was this never ending bang noise that we could hear early in the morning it woke us up and we are not an early risers but I couldn’t believe how annoying this was.

 

In the afternoon there is just no hope for lounge chairs, forget it, you have to be one of those people that throws a towel in the morning…

 

Club 6 could do much better, music there is so repetitive and from a great song he would jump to 70ties songs that are not good always plaid Katy Perry one new song and maybe Rhianna and lots of oldies, what’s up with that, no freestyle and some salsa but only a couple, as young people would be dancing that’s when he would change the music to a really bad one and everyone would leave and to me it looked like he tried so hard to keep people off the dance floor, it was ridiculous, we only liked first night as it was new to us but then it became all the same..

 

We have tried Crown Grill and it had good stakes but some of us had still pretty rear stakes so it was sent back.

 

They take a lot of pictures on this ship so after few days you end up with a lot of photos which they print whether you like it or not and then if you want to buy it’s like $25 each 8x10 photo, there is no package unless you buy a huge poster photo then they give you one 8x10 free (big deal), way too expensive, we bought 5 photos by the end and paid $125 no discount nothing but the photos have already been printed, they waist too much paper, so many other photos that they took were thrown out.

 

Sanctuary we booked a day before… the service was okay this one server was slow as if it was his first day on the ship, took him a while to get to us he had to be told my management, I don’t think it was worth it being there and there is no pool in that area, we paid $40 for half a day and if you don’t have a beverage package you have to pay $4 per none alcoholic drink and if you want to order refreshments it is $4 pp. delivery charge, okay not worth it!

 

This person gave the Royal an overall rating of 5+, perfection. A rating of 5+ was given in each category with the exception of “Entertainment” and “Value-for-Money” which were given a 5. Interesting!!!

 

As baldercash said before, if one can glean some fact or item from a review, it was worth reading. An individual rating per se means little. What is of significance is the composite of all the ratings, by now nearly 300 of them, and we know where that stands.

[JPEvans]

 

They take a lot of pictures on this ship so after few days you end up with a lot of photos which they print whether you like it or not and then if you want to buy it’s like $25 each 8x10 photo, there is no package unless you buy a huge poster photo then they give you one 8x10 free (big deal), way too expensive, we bought 5 photos by the end and paid $125 no discount nothing but the photos have already been printed, they waist too much paper, so many other photos that they took were thrown out.

 

I work a part time job at Walgreens, to pay for my cruise addiction. :p

Photos are very cheap to do nowadays. It's one of the most highly profitable

Items in the store. It probably cost a couple pennies to print an 8x10

That is sold on a ship for $25.

[slc22]

...some people really liked the ship and give it a 5+ which CC defines as perfection ... Does anyone really think that the Royal is perfect?

 

I rated it a 5 (perfect as you say) because my week on the Royal was a perfect vacation. I loved the ship, the itinerary, the entertainment, the service, the food even. I didn't want to go home. That's a 5 in my eyes !

 

The lovely Royal spoiled me. I was on the Sapphire a month later, and found myself comparing it to the Royal, and the Royal was winning. I would have rated the Sapphire a 4, or maybe a 3.75, in comparison to my week on the Royal. My Sapphire trip was a nice cruise, but missing the Wow factor of the Royal. Missing the larger, grander Piazza with all the entertainment offered on the Royal.

 

I understand we all have different wants on a ship. Mine were more than satisfied on the Royal.

Edited April 13, 2014 by slc22

[bluesea321]

I rated it a 5 (perfect as you say) because my week on the Royal was a perfect vacation. I loved the ship, the itinerary, the entertainment, the service, the food even. I didn't want to go home. That's a 5 in my eyes !

 

The lovely Royal spoiled me. I was on the Sapphire a month later, and found myself comparing it to the Royal, and the Royal was winning. I would have rated the Sapphire a 4, or maybe a 3.75, in comparison to my week on the Royal. My Sapphire trip was a nice cruise, but missing the Wow factor of the Royal. Missing the larger, grander Piazza with all the entertainment offered on the Royal.

 

I understand we all have different wants on a ship. Mine were more than satisfied on the Royal.

 

I am glad that you had a great time on the ship. :)

[pcsunlover]

We did the same thing. Kept our key from our pre night stay and used it in the slot. The cabin steward would slide it out when he finished cleaning, but when I went back to the room, I would insert it again and the room temp was good all week.

 

Yep, that's exactly what we did. Used the hotel key card from our pre night stay, and did the same thing after our steward was done cleaning. :)

[baldercash]

I rated it a 5 (perfect as you say) because my week on the Royal was a perfect vacation. I loved the ship, the itinerary, the entertainment, the service, the food even. I didn't want to go home. That's a 5 in my eyes !

 

The lovely Royal spoiled me. I was on the Sapphire a month later, and found myself comparing it to the Royal, and the Royal was winning. I would have rated the Sapphire a 4, or maybe a 3.75, in comparison to my week on the Royal. My Sapphire trip was a nice cruise, but missing the Wow factor of the Royal. Missing the larger, grander Piazza with all the entertainment offered on the Royal.

 

I understand we all have different wants on a ship. Mine were more than satisfied on the Royal.

 

I am pleased you enjoyed your cruise and found Royal to be perfection actually 65% of those who cruise Royal are satisfied with their cruise not sure what the percentage is that find her cruising perfection.

 

What are your thoughts on those that find cruising Royal less then a perfect 5* and more of a 1*?

35% of those who post reviews apparently are not satisfied with her which places her as the poorest rated cruise ship in the Princess fleet.

Do you think their complaints about Royal having deficiencies, disappointing or not a good value unfounded?

 

Your post implies Royal has spoiled you and raised your expectations, will sailing the other ships in the Princess fleet from now on be less enjoyable?

[jagmanss1]

Reviews, no matter which ship or line, are totally subjective. Some people seem to have extremely high expectations for service while others are just more "accepting" While I do read the reviews, most time I take the criticism with a grain of salt. Can't wait to experience Royal Princess in Feb of 2015.

 

I will add however that the OP is right in wanting to know why a 1* rating, I mean c'mon it's a cruise people.... I plan on making the best of it no matter... Your on a cruise, How bad can that possibly be....

 

Really! I have been following this thread and all I hear now is blah! Blah! Blah!

 

Sorry but IMHO if your main concern is a wrap around promanade deck, or the lack of mid ship stairs.... Walk or jog to the aft or forward stairs.... There is your lack of exercise you didn't get.... Really that's a deal breaker! I just don't get it.... If you miss a 3 foot if that differnce on your balcony then you cruise way too much and don't appreciate it anymore and should probably do a land based vacation....

 

IMHO The Royal Princess offers so much more and and a different experience than other Princess ships and is not the same ole same ole... So What! It's a cruise....

 

Really No cruise or ship deserves a 1* period

 

If you think it does then How sad for you.... C'mon people enjoy life and enjoy that you are able to cruise, Life can be worse than lack of this and that on a ship... Life and vacation is what you make of it not the lack of certain things....

 

Just sayin' and IMHO

[Cruiselover1951]

FWIW: I have read pretty much all the reviews of the Royal, and yet my wife and me are slated to be in one of the infamous aft OS and have been appropriately warned about the soot issue and downsizing issues - and yet my wife and I have decided to stay with our reservation because despite sometimes having amazing suites with large dining areas and what nots in our suite, and some times not on previous cruises, loving it either way, we are just happy that we can afford a suite and the best stateroom on any given ship. Without exception, we have always read terrible 1* reviews about every single ship we have traveled (this is our 11th cruise on Princess), and without exception had a wonderful experience none-the-less. As a matter of fact, we have traveled Seven Seas to see how it was to "step up", and believe me, the "luxury, no tip, all inclusive" ships have their problems as well, and we came back to a Princess suite where we felt more comfortable no matter what the ship, and continue to do so. We have never had a bad experience on Princess, and all these 1 star reviews not withstanding, we have no doubt that we will have a wonderful experience and vacation on the Royal on our TA trip coming up 4/27/14. But the points made that no ship is perfect, no matter what the line and luxury level definitely is true, there are always plusses and minusses, but when you are on any cruise with the love of your life through decades with the single purpose of being together and having a good time, you have to be either extremely unlucky or just have a "happiness deficiency gene" if you no matter what the minor shortcomings are, do not have a great vacation!! JMHO!

Edited April 13, 2014 by Cruiselover1951

[toledo_cruiser]

This makes sense as the ship is indeed streamlined and nice looking but what a lousy way to streamline a ship. In St. Maarten we were docked next to the Allure of the Seas, not streamlined at all but with wonderful looking balconies with real furniture (too bad that RCI has an inside mall in the middle of that ship). Three extra feet of balcony on the Royal would have made a big difference. Considering that the beam of the ship is 125 feet, the additional 6 feet would have hardly mattered. As it is now the balconies are recessed from the sides of the ship by perhaps 6-8 feet on each side. I could not measure this of course, but looking out from my balcony (forward of the life boats) I could estimate the distance. I would hope for changes in future designs but as others have said this is a business and they will change if the product does not sell as desired.

 

We were on the 3/30 Royal sailing. Here is a pic of the Allure of the Seas from St. Maarten. While some of the cabins are obviously suites, even the smaller cabin balconies appear deep enough for recliners. I know nothing about RC categories, but there appears to be a large suite about a third of the way down from the top and centered. There are people sitting around a table. Even the balconies in the lower right appear much deeper than those on the Royal.

 

BTW, we still enjoyed our cruise. We just didn't spend as much time on our balcony as we usually do.

Edited April 13, 2014 by toledocruisers