LIVE - Royal Princess Transatlantic & Baltic day by day

[GweninTX]

Thank you for this live thread. Sailing the Royal in June and enjoy reading everything you are experiencing. You mentioned how the "free" specialty dinner was handled, but how was the credit for the shore excursion posted on your account? Looking forward to your Baltic posts!

The 3 for free are just posted as monetary credits on your folio. You could use them any way you wanted to. No designation.

[tiqittaq foo]

Can you advise whether we have a choice of which Specialty Dining room (Sabitini or Crown Grill) for the 3 for Free or it is per-assigned. Thank you

[caribill]

Can you advise whether we have a choice of which Specialty Dining room (Sabitini or Crown Grill) for the 3 for Free or it is per-assigned. Thank you

 

There have been posts saying the restaurant, day, and time are pre-assigned.

 

You may or may not be able to have any of that changed once you get to your cabin and learn what was assigned.

[IECalCruiser]

Gwen, Have enjoyed traveling with you. Don't know if you remember my posts on the Roll Call. We had originally planed on taking the TA on the Royal with you, but decided late last year to book a Grand Med on the Regal this fall instead. Glad you are enjoying Royal :)

[GweninTX]

Good morning! We lost another hour of sleep last night. This installment is from the Princess bus on the way to Paris! We got up at 5:45, had a quick bite in the HC and went to the Princess theatre to wait for our tour group to leave. It is a beautiful sunny day and looks like we will have a great day. We have made one comfort stop on the way - 3 hours to Paris. There are a few storm clouds, but I am hoping they go away. Our friends went to Normandy today, so it will be fun to hear about their tour. We are with our friends, Robbyn and Bob and will make the day more fun.

 

We left at 7:45 and it took 3 hours by toll road to get Paris from LeHavre. We stopped once on the way for a health break. The weather held up beautifully all day long with gorgeous sunshine. We took a quick tour around and were left in front of the L'Arc de Triomphe and had time to shop at the Champs-Elys. Yesterday was a holiday honoring veterans - armistice day and they had huge bandstands built for the occasion. Prices were very high and we did a lot of looking and not much buying!

 

We then toured some more by bus and got to see a lot of the elegant houses on the Pont Neuf, the Louvre museum, Notre Dame and the Tulleries gardens. At 1:00 we were taken to the large boat that we cruised on for 2 hours and had the most delicious lunch and lots of wine. A woman entertained us while we ate and she had a beautiful voice. The boat was large - it held about 250 people and was very elegant. The views were magnificent and of course the company at our table made it even better! The company was called Bateaux Parisiens and we went on the Grand Voyage - 12 well known sites to see from our beautiful boat. The pictures we got to take of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberte were amazing. The statue of Liberte was given by the American community to Paris in 1889 and was the centenary of the French Revolution. It is an exact copy of the one in New York. We are so glad we did the tour and highly recommend it if you get to Paris . We then stopped for a little more shopping and picture taking and then the entire bus lapsed into a food and wine induced coma for the ride back to the ship. It was a very long day, but I am so glad we went to Paris!

 

We got on board very quickly and decided to take a chance on getting to the main dining room a little late. Jerry changed out of his jeans and off we went. So glad they were accommodating and we had a nice evening meal with our friends Sheila and Stu. We then tried the Rick Kliburn quartet in the Vista Lounge, but did not care for his material , so we went to the Princess theatre for the 8:30 show. Very good singer from London's West end, Nik Page. We were pooped from our long day in Paris so went to the room and watched a Bones rerun and fell asleep. Rotterdam/Amsterdam tomorrow. We arrive at 11:00 so we can sleep in the morning.

[Fletch1]

It's fabulous reading about your travels Gwen. Glad you enjoyed Paris...sounds very rushed but that's normal for cruise ports I suppose.

 

Looking so forward to your reports on the Baltic ports as we hope to head that way next year.

 

Enjoy!!

[judylou]

Sounds like you are having a fabulous time. Looking forward to hearing more!

[TorontoTL]

Still loving your trip reports Gwen. We did the river tour on the Bateaux Parisienne when we were in Paris many years ago. What a wonderful way to see some gorgeous Paris sites. The food and drink were lovely as well, highly recommended to anyone going to Paris.

[EV2008]

Hi GweninTX, love reading your daily updates, if by chance could you report on the weather in the Baltics, we are booked for next June and would like to know the temps. Thanks

[Woobstr112G]

Your day in Paris sounds great:). I have a distance question. Do you happen to know if the distance from Le Havre to Normandy is about the same (i.e. 3 hour bus ride) as it was from the port to Paris?

 

Bob

[pascalburns]

looks like rain in Rotterdam.:)

[Ethel5]

Your day in Paris sounds great:). I have a distance question. Do you happen to know if the distance from Le Havre to Normandy is about the same (i.e. 3 hour bus ride) as it was from the port to Paris?

 

Bob

 

Not Gwen.......but we opted to go to Normandy and it's a lot shorter. We used Overlord Tours and they picked us up at the ship. We spent the whole day touring the WWII areas, the American Cemetery etc. A lot of the areas were seen in "Saving Pvt Ryan." It was an amazing, moving experience.

Edited May 10, 2014 by Ethel5

[Cruise Junky]

Your day in Paris sounds great:). I have a distance question. Do you happen to know if the distance from Le Havre to Normandy is about the same (i.e. 3 hour bus ride) as it was from the port to Paris?

 

Bob

 

Le Havre is in Normandy. Are you specifically referring to the Beaches? I'd say about an hour

[johnmik1]

Not Gwen.......but we opted to go to Normandy and it's a lot shorter. We used Overlord Tours and they picked us up at the ship. We spent the whole day touring the WWII areas, the American Cemetery etc. A lot of the areas were seen in "Saving Pvt Ryan." It was an amazing, moving experience.

 

The only scenes in Saving Private Ryan that were filmed in France were the beginning and ending scenes filmed at the cemetery.The rest of the movie was filmed in Ireland.

[Ethel5]

The only scenes in Saving Private Ryan that were filmed in France were the beginning and ending scenes filmed at the cemetery.The rest of the movie was filmed in Ireland.

 

I didn't mean to imply that the only things we saw were in the movie. We went to a tiny church where two American medics were treating the wounded and a farm where they hid Americans etc. Very informative tour. We also were given the choice of an authentic French 2 hour lunch or a short stop at McDonalds and more sights. We opted for Mickey D's which was another new experience...they sell beer and ladies are allowed in the men's room. LOL

[johnmik1]

I didn't mean to imply that the only things we saw were in the movie. We went to a tiny church where two American medics were treating the wounded and a farm where they hid Americans etc. Very informative tour. We also were given the choice of an authentic French 2 hour lunch or a short stop at McDonalds and more sights. We opted for Mickey D's which was another new experience...they sell beer and ladies are allowed in the men's room. LOL

 

We did the ships Normandy tour and was surprised when I was told that the movie was filmed in Ireland as it was so realistic.

[GweninTX]

Your day in Paris sounds great:). I have a distance question. Do you happen to know if the distance from Le Havre to Normandy is about the same (i.e. 3 hour bus ride) as it was from the port to Paris?

 

Bob

LeHavre to Normandy is a shorter day, the travel time is only 90 minutes to Normandy. Our friends really enjoyed their day tour there, but I am still so glad we went to Paris!

[GweninTX]

Rain, rain, go away for good! We woke up to a very gray, drizzly rain which proceeded to get worse as the morning progressed. We slept in this morning till 8:15 AM and went to breakfast in the HC about 9:00. It was packed with people at that time, but what is amazing about the new design, is it is never crowded. The views are good from any of the seats and we never have a problem with either a seat or getting food. We see lots of our friends and visit for a while.

 

The rain is coming down steadily at this point. They also have to turn the ship around completely and back down the ship channel for 30 miles. We were supposed to arrive at 11:00, but this is obviously not going to happen! I am hosting a tour group of 8 to Amsterdam and we are meeting at Vines at 11:00. We wait and wait and the Captain comes on the PA and tells us there is an issue with our doors and the dock. We saw him by the doors about 11:45 and he is very angry about the whole situation. We finally get the clearance about noon to depart the gangway. It is a madhouse at this point because everyone wants off this ship. We decided to take some sandwiches from the IC since we got such a late start - this was a very good idea and almost everyone was doing the same.

 

When we got to the door to scan our room cards, we were told to put on our coats and put up umbrellas if we had them as it was raining hard. They were not exaggerating, it was coming down in sheets of rain hard. It was also very windy, this is looking really bad. It was a madhouse of wet cruisers and guides trying to find their parties. Ours is nowhere to be seen - we look and look. Finally we find him about 12:30 and he had to park about a block away - so off we walked. The tour company was Holland Stopovers and our guide was Hans. He was a retired gentleman who did this part time and usually did walking tours, not van tours. We had a nice van, but the defrost system could not handle 9 hot, breathing bodies. I always take a hand towel from our room in the backpack and it was a lifesaver today. We passed it around to keep the fog off the inside of the windows.

 

We headed out of Rotterdam towards Amsterdam on a very nice highway. Hans was very preoccupied with the traffic and the rain and was not very talkative. I sat in the front and asked him about our plans for the day. He then tells me that the flower fields in Lisse are over and they had a very warm winter and the blooms were gone in late February. Gee, it would have been nice if they would have sent me an email and let me know as this was one thing I had told her I did not want to miss. First strike!

 

We then get to Zaanse Schans - the windmill village. Still pouring rain. Some in our group did not have waterproof jackets our footwear, thankfully we had both. A friend I met in the morning did not have either and I loaned her one of our 2 rain umbrellas. My luck - the one I kept was a brand new Totes umbrella I had bought and would not work at all. He had 4 umbrellas in his van and the one I got was broken - strike 2. This place is probably very charming in the sunshine, but was not so much in the rain. We did get to see lots of windmills, some still working. We also got to watch a craftsman make a pair of wooden shoes. We then went into a cheese store and sampled the cheeses. Very tasty. We also walked amongst the dikes and the sheep grazing with their babies. Hans herds us from stop to stop, but tells us very little and we have to ask him questions to get him to talk. Hard to believe that this is his profession on retirement! The rain starts and stops several times and shows some signs of clearing.

 

We then head to downtown Amsterdam where the tour boat is. We have a hard time parking and if it had not been for the guys, Hans would have returned the van with the sides scratched up. One of our ladies cannot walk very well and we were not told how much walking was involved and Hans cannot tell us how far away the dock is. There is much discussion of meters and minutes, but he is clueless. Then poor Sheila slipped on the wet bricks and takes a hard tumble. She is luckily OK and we start out walking. Hans gets way ahead of us and I have a very stern and pointed talk with Hans about staying with us. He listens, and agrees, but still does not stay with our slow group. I about got hit by a train and Jerry about got flattened by a speeding motor scooter. We are not doing well and no one is happy at this point. We finally make it to the dock and I figured Hans had already bought our tickets, of course not and the boat ride coming up is full and we would have had to wait 45 minutes for the next one with available space. Strike 3. I am angry and our invalids are mad as they walked a long way because we were all looking forward to the boat ride. We feel it would be cutting it too close to wait that long for the 5:00 boat so we decline. He suggests a walk downtown instead to see the historic sites and the red light district. He also suggests a coffee or marijuana stop - Strike 4. I know it is legal here, but I found it in very poor taste to offer it to US citizens on a cruise ship where it is illegal. Thankfully we were smart not too take him up on the marijuana as there were drug dogs at the ship sniffing all of us as we went thru the scanner. Our tour of the red light district is very interesting - the guys enjoyed it way more than the women did. Lynn & Terry decided she could not handle the walk and so they asked for the car keys to the van and walked back at a pace she could handle.

 

When we return to the van it has finally stopped raining. I asked about a partial refund since we missed the boat tour and the flower fields and he was 30 minutes late arriving. For sure the price of the boat tour should be refunded, Hans is not happy and neither am I. He said he would return 5 euro apiece for the boat tour, we saw a sign that said the adult price of the boat tour is 9.75 euro PP. He disagreed and I told him, well there went his tip! He said really and I said really! We are both unhappy on our ride back to the ship. He then stops to plug in his Tom Tom navigator. I noticed he had used it to get out of the dock area in the morning, but did not realize he was lost without it. He cannot find it anywhere. We all start looking everywhere for it as he is panicking at this point. Finally someone asks if it could be I his door pocket, thank God it is and he gets it plugged in and we can head to the ship. Hans is a very careful driver - this is a polite way of saying he drives like an old Grandma - 10 km per hour under whatever is posted. Cars and trucks are whizzing around us both on the way out and back. We are all happy to see the ship and finally arrive back at 6:30. We all get our things and Hans gets no tip - too bad for Hans! I will be writing an email to the tour company advising that Hans is not a very good driving tour guide. I will also put a review on Trip Advisor that will warn others not to use this company or Hans!

 

We are all starving and wet. We decide to change clothes quickly and meet in the dining room. Sheila had pre-ordered her food, so we decided to go to the Concerto dining room on deck 5. When we arrived another couple we knew was joining us. We had a great meal and great company. My favorite appetizer - goat cheese soufflé - yum! It was the captains dinner and had very strange entrees. The hit of the entrees was the fried chicken - go figure! But the peanut butter chocolate ice cream was so good, it made me forget some of our miserable tour that day.

 

After dinner I wanted to go play "Name that tune". I can name the name of almost any song, but I am terrible with who performed it. But since this was called "Name that Tune" I was hoping we did not need to know the artist. WRONG - when I asked he said I had to know the artist too, I told our friends I would rather go to the Princess theatre and watch the last showing there. We left Princess Live and headed to the theatre. We are so glad as the show was a young man who was the best violin player I have ever seen - Michael Bacala. Do not miss his performance if you see his name in the patter. High energy and very talented! He sold lots of CDs afterwards!

 

We are ready for bed and to be able to sleep in on our last sea day - stay tuned!

[GweninTX]

Hi GweninTX, love reading your daily updates, if by chance could you report on the weather in the Baltics, we are booked for next June and would like to know the temps. Thanks

 

Yes, I will be glad to, I will continue my day by day thru the Baltic's. I would highly advise water PROOF jackets for the trip! They have been the best thing we have brought. Average temps each day have been mid 50's to low 60's. The temperature on ship has been nice - no freezing theaters and never hot either.

[Fletch1]

Rain, rain, go away for good! We woke up to a very gray, drizzly rain which proceeded to get worse as the morning progressed. We slept in this morning till 8:15 AM and went to breakfast in the HC about 9:00. It was packed with people at that time, but what is amazing about the new design, is it is never crowded. The views are good from any of the seats and we never have a problem with either a seat or getting food. We see lots of our friends and visit for a while.

 

The rain is coming down steadily at this point. They also have to turn the ship around completely and back down the ship channel for 30 miles. We were supposed to arrive at 11:00, but this is obviously not going to happen! I am hosting a tour group of 8 to Amsterdam and we are meeting at Vines at 11:00. We wait and wait and the Captain comes on the PA and tells us there is an issue with our doors and the dock. We saw him by the doors about 11:45 and he is very angry about the whole situation. We finally get the clearance about noon to depart the gangway. It is a madhouse at this point because everyone wants off this ship. We decided to take some sandwiches from the IC since we got such a late start - this was a very good idea and almost everyone was doing the same.

 

When we got to the door to scan our room cards, we were told to put on our coats and put up umbrellas if we had them as it was raining hard. They were not exaggerating, it was coming down in sheets of rain hard. It was also very windy, this is looking really bad. It was a madhouse of wet cruisers and guides trying to find their parties. Ours is nowhere to be seen - we look and look. Finally we find him about 12:30 and he had to park about a block away - so off we walked. The tour company was Holland Stopovers and our guide was Hans. He was a retired gentleman who did this part time and usually did walking tours, not van tours. We had a nice van, but the defrost system could not handle 9 hot, breathing bodies. I always take a hand towel from our room in the backpack and it was a lifesaver today. We passed it around to keep the fog off the inside of the windows.

 

We headed out of Rotterdam towards Amsterdam on a very nice highway. Hans was very preoccupied with the traffic and the rain and was not very talkative. I sat in the front and asked him about our plans for the day. He then tells me that the flower fields in Lisse are over and they had a very warm winter and the blooms were gone in late February. Gee, it would have been nice if they would have sent me an email and let me know as this was one thing I had told her I did not want to miss. First strike!

 

We then get to Zaanse Schans - the windmill village. Still pouring rain. Some in our group did not have waterproof jackets our footwear, thankfully we had both. A friend I met in the morning did not have either and I loaned her one of our 2 rain umbrellas. My luck - the one I kept was a brand new Totes umbrella I had bought and would not work at all. He had 4 umbrellas in his van and the one I got was broken - strike 2. This place is probably very charming in the sunshine, but was not so much in the rain. We did get to see lots of windmills, some still working. We also got to watch a craftsman make a pair of wooden shoes. We then went into a cheese store and sampled the cheeses. Very tasty. We also walked amongst the dikes and the sheep grazing with their babies. Hans herds us from stop to stop, but tells us very little and we have to ask him questions to get him to talk. Hard to believe that this is his profession on retirement! The rain starts and stops several times and shows some signs of clearing.

 

We then head to downtown Amsterdam where the tour boat is. We have a hard time parking and if it had not been for the guys, Hans would have returned the van with the sides scratched up. One of our ladies cannot walk very well and we were not told how much walking was involved and Hans cannot tell us how far away the dock is. There is much discussion of meters and minutes, but he is clueless. Then poor Sheila slipped on the wet bricks and takes a hard tumble. She is luckily OK and we start out walking. Hans gets way ahead of us and I have a very stern and pointed talk with Hans about staying with us. He listens, and agrees, but still does not stay with our slow group. I about got hit by a train and Jerry about got flattened by a speeding motor scooter. We are not doing well and no one is happy at this point. We finally make it to the dock and I figured Hans had already bought our tickets, of course not and the boat ride coming up is full and we would have had to wait 45 minutes for the next one with available space. Strike 3. I am angry and our invalids are mad as they walked a long way because we were all looking forward to the boat ride. We feel it would be cutting it too close to wait that long for the 5:00 boat so we decline. He suggests a walk downtown instead to see the historic sites and the red light district. He also suggests a coffee or marijuana stop - Strike 4. I know it is legal here, but I found it in very poor taste to offer it to US citizens on a cruise ship where it is illegal. Thankfully we were smart not too take him up on the marijuana as there were drug dogs at the ship sniffing all of us as we went thru the scanner. Our tour of the red light district is very interesting - the guys enjoyed it way more than the women did. Lynn & Terry decided she could not handle the walk and so they asked for the car keys to the van and walked back at a pace she could handle.

 

When we return to the van it has finally stopped raining. I asked about a partial refund since we missed the boat tour and the flower fields and he was 30 minutes late arriving. For sure the price of the boat tour should be refunded, Hans is not happy and neither am I. He said he would return 5 euro apiece for the boat tour, we saw a sign that said the adult price of the boat tour is 9.75 euro PP. He disagreed and I told him, well there went his tip! He said really and I said really! We are both unhappy on our ride back to the ship. He then stops to plug in his Tom Tom navigator. I noticed he had used it to get out of the dock area in the morning, but did not realize he was lost without it. He cannot find it anywhere. We all start looking everywhere for it as he is panicking at this point. Finally someone asks if it could be I his door pocket, thank God it is and he gets it plugged in and we can head to the ship. Hans is a very careful driver - this is a polite way of saying he drives like an old Grandma - 10 km per hour under whatever is posted. Cars and trucks are whizzing around us both on the way out and back. We are all happy to see the ship and finally arrive back at 6:30. We all get our things and Hans gets no tip - too bad for Hans! I will be writing an email to the tour company advising that Hans is not a very good driving tour guide. I will also put a review on Trip Advisor that will warn others not to use this company or Hans!

 

We are all starving and wet. We decide to change clothes quickly and meet in the dining room. Sheila had pre-ordered her food, so we decided to go to the Concerto dining room on deck 5. When we arrived another couple we knew was joining us. We had a great meal and great company. My favorite appetizer - goat cheese soufflé - yum! It was the captains dinner and had very strange entrees. The hit of the entrees was the fried chicken - go figure! But the peanut butter chocolate ice cream was so good, it made me forget some of our miserable tour that day.

 

After dinner I wanted to go play "Name that tune". I can name the name of almost any song, but I am terrible with who performed it. But since this was called "Name that Tune" I was hoping we did not need to know the artist. WRONG - when I asked he said I had to know the artist too, I told our friends I would rather go to the Princess theatre and watch the last showing there. We left Princess Live and headed to the theatre. We are so glad as the show was a young man who was the best violin player I have ever seen - Michael Bacala. Do not miss his performance if you see his name in the patter. High energy and very talented! He sold lots of CDs afterwards!

 

We are ready for bed and to be able to sleep in on our last sea day - stay tuned!

 

 

WOW...what a disappointment and bad experience in such a great city. I am glad you identified the tour company and will be posting on Tripadvisor. I put a lot of trust into that website based on people's honest opinions and reviews. Please post a short review on Cruise Critic as well.

 

Hopefully, your next tour will be a more favorable experience.

[Donder1]

Gwenin TX, What a mess!

 

We take both private and ship tours. Your post reminds me of the security and ease associated with ship tours. Yes, they can be much larger but, at least, one has peace of mind that these tours will have been vetted and, if you are late, the ship will wait. You all were very lucky you made it back given the Bozo you had for a tour guide.I particularly feel for those in your group with disability/walking issues.

 

Sorry you had such a lousy experience.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Donder1

[GweninTX]

We were just confirmed that we get to keep our balcony room for the Baltic! When we left TX and last talked tour Ta we had been assigned an inside room for the Baltic and would have to move on turnaround day and move to C431. Our room steward told me this leaning he was showing me in our current room for the Baltic and we would not be moving. I called the front desk and they confirms it! YIPPEE - maybe Princess reads my daily posts and knows how much I love my current room and the ship! Whatever Karma brought it on and I am happy! I am not sure how much we will use the balcony on the next 11 days, but I am thrilled! I just had to share with my readers!

[GweninTX]

Gwenin TX, What a mess!

 

We take both private and ship tours. Your post reminds me of the security and ease associated with ship tours. Yes, they can be much larger but, at least, one has peace of mind that these tours will have been vetted and, if you are late, the ship will wait. You all were very lucky you made it back given the Bozo you had for a tour guide.I particularly feel for those in your group with disability/walking issues.

 

Sorry you had such a lousy experience.

 

Honestly, this is our first bad experience with a private guide. We have always had great ones, I guess there is a first. I prefer them to the large busses of humanity Princess uses, but sometimes it pays to use Princess. I would have never used a private guide for Paris. Too far and too big a risk of something going wrong!

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry about the DUD of a tour.

Enjoy the rest of the cruise. :)

[chamima]

We were just confirmed that we get to keep our balcony room for the Baltic! When we left TX and last talked tour Ta we had been assigned an inside room for the Baltic and would have to move on turnaround day and move to C431. Our room steward told me this leaning he was showing me in our current room for the Baltic and we would not be moving. I called the front desk and they confirms it! YIPPEE - maybe Princess reads my daily posts and knows how much I love my current room and the ship! Whatever Karma brought it on and I am happy! I am not sure how much we will use the balcony on the next 11 days, but I am thrilled! I just had to share with my readers!

 

 

YAY!!!

Not only do you get to keep a balcony but you don't have to pack up your stuff and move!

It'll give you a relaxing last evening on the first cruise and a relaxing first morning on the second.

Also, if you're interested, because you're in the same room B2B you can have room service breakfast on turnaround morning.