Been Sailing Smaller - Now Royal?

[diane.in.ny]

We have had several sailings on the Coral and Island, at about 92,000 gross tonnage and 2,000 passengers. We love the ships and like even smaller, having sailed on the Pacific Princess. We have sailed once on the Star (109,000 and 2,600) and thought she was huge but I admit that was a long time ago and don't remember the experience too much.

 

Now we are booked on the Royal (141,000 gross tonnage and 3,500 pax) for a 21 day Med cruise because we really like the itinerary.

 

I have to admit we are a bit nervous about going on such a large ship. Will we be overwhelmed by the size? By the number of passengers?

 

We have a mini-suite close to the mid-ship elevators to minimize walking (for my DH) from one end to the other.

 

Some info on how we cruise:

We love to take advantage of our balcony and have one of the larger ones under the Skywalk.

We go to shows, play trivia, go to lectures and also like the casino.

We love walking outside and know there is no promenade deck (Princess messed up the Island :mad:) so will have to make use of the outdoor track which is no big deal for us.

We typically stay on board at ports we have been to, enjoying the quiet ship and very non-busy events offered. Or we disembark late and just wander around town. We are pretty low-key cruisers.

 

So I guess what I'm really asking is what makes the Royal so special besides the fact she is new? I hear wonderful things about her and we are really looking forward to the itinerary. I guess I need someone to help me with the major differences between the Royal and the smaller ships, besides the size of course. What else does she have to offer? I know she has a 24-hr International Cafe. And the food selection on the buffet is excellent.

 

But what about what goes on during the day? Are there more entertainment venues? More lectures? More classes/demonstrations? How is the library? Are there quiet places inside to sit and enjoy the view? And from mid-ship Aloha deck, how long should it take to get the furthest venue? :)

Edited November 30, 2016 by diane.in.ny

[AKman2495]

Yes, the Royal is a lot bigger. It is wider but not much longer than the coral. The biggest difference is that it has more accommodation decks-i.e., decks with staterooms.

 

Because we don't normally prowl those decks, the biggest change is that you have to ride the elevator a few seconds longer to get to your destination.

 

Although the ship is bigger, it still has an intimate feel-even in the bigger atrium. Up on the open decks you'll feel the extra width and height, but it is not overwhelming. THe do have the ability to do light and fountain shows u on the upper decks, which, if possible, you should catch at least once.

 

There are additional rooms to check out and enjoy (or not as many of the complainers will tell you). The theater is wider, but again, not greatly so.

 

Some of the lounges are different too. But it is a different ship-so what.

 

We did a 15 day Europe/Trans Atlantic on her just over a year ago and found her to be a comfortable ship.

 

The only real complaint is that they have the ping pong tables way up on deck 17 or 18 and it is windy up there. We tried to play one day and you would hot the ball into the wind and it would come back to you!

 

Enjoy the ship for what she is and don't be afraid of the size

[CleoChase]

We are on the Royal right now. I miss the Wheelhouse bar. The one on here is part of the hallway, not the intimate space on other Princess ships. Got to say the ship reminds me of Celebrity ships. It really looks like Princess was trying to be a Solstice class ship. It's okay, but it is not my favorite Princess ship. I do like the way the traditional dining room is divided into smaller areas.

 

 

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[wheezedr]

We did a 21 day Med on her this past May and enjoyed it enough to be going on her again in 10 days in the southern Caribbean. While she carries substantially more passengers we never felt crowded. Once you get the layout of the buffet it actually flows better than on smaller princess ships ( we are elite and have been on a large part of the fleet). The atrium had ongoing entertainment for much of the day, yet still lots of seating. Do not miss Alfredo for pizza and other dishes. Also nice that brewed and speciality coffees were available at other than the IC. There is a coffee station in the dessert area of the Horizon court. We missed the center staircase but that has been put in during recent drydock.

 

Do not know your port plans but the med is very port intensive. We had 17 ports in 21 days, Naples was the only doubleheader. Even though we have been to Europe many other times you can usually find a new activity in most of these ports. Used ships tours for transportation twice but otherwise did everything on our own. Hope you can get into turkey if that is on your list as we were the last princess cruise in this year.

[easyboy]

There are more outlets in the expanded atrium. Aside from IC, Vines and Crooner, there are additional seating area on deck 6 like Bellini's bar to enjoy the mid-afternoon and early evening entertainment at the Piazza.

There is no more wrap around promenade area on deck 7. But there are a lot more area to walk around inside the ship.

What we like to frequent most is the Horizon Bistro, an extension of the Horizon Court, where we indulge in light but delicious meal.

 

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Edited November 30, 2016 by easyboy

[diane.in.ny]

All sounds great. Thank you!

 

And I find very interesting the point about the ship being wider vs longer than the Coral. I just looked up the info. The Royal is about 150 feet longer. Not as much as I would have thought.

 

The Coral beam is 106 feet and the Royal beam is 126 feet (excluding bridge and seawalk/bar). That is a big increase ... almost 20%.

[diane.in.ny]

Do not know your port plans but the med is very port intensive. We had 17 ports in 21 days, Naples was the only doubleheader. Even though we have been to Europe many other times you can usually find a new activity in most of these ports. Used ships tours for transportation twice but otherwise did everything on our own. Hope you can get into turkey if that is on your list as we were the last princess cruise in this year.

 

This will be our third time to the Med. I agree ... with POC so close, it is very port intensive. However, my husband tires easily which is why we pick and choose our time off the ship. For instance, we once spent 4 days in Athens pre-cruise so now don't get off the ship when it stops there.

 

We have 15 POC and, like you, a double on Naples and also Toulon so we'll stay on board at least once. We do stop in Istanbul and Kusadasi, both places we've been to before. Although the weather wasn't great when we were in Istanbul so if the weather is good this time, might be persuaded to go ashore. (We did Istanbul on our own and it was great.)

 

I can usually persuade my husband I want to get off if there are good beaches. So back to Mykonos means getting off the ship. :D

 

Basically, we just like to relax and take things slow. We'll stroll through Toulon, maybe Ajaccio, Dubrovnik and Naples (been there before). Just need to see how the day moves us. :)

[wheezedr]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Be prepared for last minute glitches. As we had never been to Mykonos and were to be porting at the dock north of town I was going to split the day with a shuttle into town as well as a walk to the beach just north of the dock. In the evening prior to arrival it was announced we would be dropping anchor and tendering into town instead. Took a quick search but found a nice beach easy to reach by bus, so all worked out. Had to use Plan B a couple of times on the cruise but that adds to the intrigue.

[elliair]

We were on the Royal about 3 weeks ago and she's a beautiful ship. We wouldn't hesitate to cruise on her again. We too sailed on smaller ships, and we were not intimidated by the Royal. Do go to Alfredos for lunch or dinner. No extra charge. The food is wonderful. DH ordered the calzone and I ordered the eggplant stuffed with angel hair pasta. They also serve pizzas and a ravioli dish. We also did the crab shack and was pleased with that. Don't be intimated by the Royal, it's doesn't feel any larger than any other ship we've been on.

[nukesubsailor]

We love the Royal and Regal. The Horizon Court & Bistro is a quantum leap better than on any other class of Princess ship. We also enjoy the Princess Live studio venue for games etc. Then there is the fact that they have done something on the Royal class which has eliminated our biggest complaint about the other ships----the photo display and sales have their own area that is out of the way. Now you can walk forward or aft inside on deck 7 with out all the crowding from the photo display racks and people searching for photos of themselves.

As others have said, despite carrying more passengers, the ship doesn't feel any more crowded.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We also love the Regal and Royal. Alfredos, the Horizon Court and the International Cafe are favorites. I have never eaten dinner at a buffet on a ship until these ships! The quality and variety are excellent. I also love having a coffee and sitting in the Piazza. These ships are beautiful!

 

 

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[diane.in.ny]

Thanks everyone!

 

Exactly the type of response I hoped to receive from CC members.

 

I'm now getting very excited about experiencing this ship. :D

[riclop]

We have had several sailings on the Coral and Island, at about 92,000 gross tonnage and 2,000 passengers. We love the ships and like even smaller, having sailed on the Pacific Princess. We have sailed once on the Star (109,000 and 2,600) and thought she was huge but I admit that was a long time ago and don't remember the experience too much.

 

Now we are booked on the Royal (141,000 gross tonnage and 3,500 pax) for a 21 day Med cruise because we really like the itinerary.

 

I have to admit we are a bit nervous about going on such a large ship. Will we be overwhelmed by the size? By the number of passengers?

 

We have a mini-suite close to the mid-ship elevators to minimize walking (for my DH) from one end to the other.

 

Some info on how we cruise:

We love to take advantage of our balcony and have one of the larger ones under the Skywalk.

We go to shows, play trivia, go to lectures and also like the casino.

We love walking outside and know there is no promenade deck (Princess messed up the Island :mad:) so will have to make use of the outdoor track which is no big deal for us.

We typically stay on board at ports we have been to, enjoying the quiet ship and very non-busy events offered. Or we disembark late and just wander around town. We are pretty low-key cruisers.

 

So I guess what I'm really asking is what makes the Royal so special besides the fact she is new? I hear wonderful things about her and we are really looking forward to the itinerary. I guess I need someone to help me with the major differences between the Royal and the smaller ships, besides the size of course. What else does she have to offer? I know she has a 24-hr International Cafe. And the food selection on the buffet is excellent.

 

But what about what goes on during the day? Are there more entertainment venues? More lectures? More classes/demonstrations? How is the library? Are there quiet places inside to sit and enjoy the view? And from mid-ship Aloha deck, how long should it take to get the furthest venue? :)

 

It is much better then any other Princess ship by far.

[elycelynne]

My largest ship to date has been HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam, with a passenger capacity of approximately 2100. I was a little apprehensive about moving up in size, but I'm looking forward to what I hope will be more plentiful activities.

[2pbears]

We normally prefer smaller ships, however, that said we would sail on the Royal again as there were some things that we really liked about the ship.

 

The lack of a wrap around promenade deck was not a big deal for us because the walking track up on the 17th floor is so awesome. Perfect vantage point for a nice walk!

 

My biggest concern for you would be the midship elevators. We found that during peak times we had to walk either to the front of the ship, the aft, or take the stairs as the elevators were jammed with so many passengers. However, since you tend to disembark later than most hopefully the crowds will have thinned out before you need to leave the ship. Dinner time could still be an issue.

 

One thing we have found on any ship we have sailed is that there is always a solution to most problems that arise if you are willing to be flexible and work around it. Relax and enjoy your cruise.