Royal Princess- try it, you will like it they said

[floridalover5623]

We do a lot of long crushes too and have done at least 4 on Royal/Regal and even though there are no drink holders in the main theater which is a "common complaint" among the complainers, we hardly ever see anyone order drinks at the early shows so I really do not think it is that big a deal and Princess knows that!!! Last thing I think about when I book a cruise is "where am I going to put my drinks"....oy vey!!! :rolleyes:

 

It even makes it more difficult to clean up after the show since most people just shove them under the seats & can't be seen.

The waiters must love the new ships. :rolleyes:

[richsea]

I was kind of leery about booking Royal after reading so many negative comments since her debut. On Princess we have sailed Crown, Emerald, & Star. But we did book Royal & sailed last month and liked the ship a lot. Like every ship we've been on, there are things we liked & disliked.

 

The smaller balcony, which I originally dreaded the most, turned out to be so bad. Still enough room to watch the ocean or read a book while having a cocktail.

 

I did miss the aft adult pool of the other ships, but really liked the retreat pool forward. That area was an improvement over Star.

 

Loved the large piazza and the many places around it to relax with a book or cocktail, or just meet new friends.

 

Loved Princess Live; great addition.

 

Loved Alfredo's; friendly service and delicious food. A great alternative to Horizon.

 

Horizon Court was the biggest improvement compared to the cramped buffet on other Princess ships we've sailed.

 

Don't know if this is unique to Royal, but I liked that even though we did not have a beverage package, I never once had to sign for a drink, & could check my account on my phone for an up to the minute look at my balance.

 

We did think that the hot tubs were the tiniest of any ship we've sailed.

 

In short, I would not hesitate to book Royal or Regal.

[chrysalis]

I was kind of leery about booking Royal after reading so many negative comments since her debut. On Princess we have sailed Crown, Emerald, & Star. But we did book Royal & sailed last month and liked the ship a lot. Like every ship we've been on, there are things we liked & disliked.

 

The smaller balcony, which I originally dreaded the most, turned out to be so bad. Still enough room to watch the ocean or read a book while having a cocktail.

 

I did miss the aft adult pool of the other ships, but really liked the retreat pool forward. That area was an improvement over Star.

 

Loved the large piazza and the many places around it to relax with a book or cocktail, or just meet new friends.

 

Loved Princess Live; great addition.

 

Loved Alfredo's; friendly service and delicious food. A great alternative to Horizon.

 

Horizon Court was the biggest improvement compared to the cramped buffet on other Princess ships we've sailed.

 

Don't know if this is unique to Royal, but I liked that even though we did not have a beverage package, I never once had to sign for a drink, & could check my account on my phone for an up to the minute look at my balance.

 

We did think that the hot tubs were the tiniest of any ship we've sailed.

 

In short, I would not hesitate to book Royal or Regal.

 

 

Balcony...."so bad" or NOT so bad?

[floridalover5623]

Balcony...."so bad" or NOT so bad?

 

Bad- just plain bad.

[jeromep]

Not so.

X's new Edge class ships are downsized versus the recent S Class builds.

Edge Class - 117,000 GT

S Class - 122,500 GT

That isn't a huge difference in GT. That's 5,500 GT less for the S class. It is very possible that the tonnage difference can be attributed to lighter materials, better design of engineering and service spaces, etc. All the major shipyards and naval architects are being pushed to make ships lighter, mostly to save fuel, reduce operating costs, etc.

 

Without going out and looking at numbers, how many fewer passengers are on the new S class than on the Edge class ships over at X. The real measure of size of cruise ship is number of passengers, and to a lesser extent square footage of passenger space available.

 

Either way, most lines are moving toward ships which have larger numbers of passengers, which usually requires a larger vessel.

[richsea]

Balcony...."so bad" or NOT so bad?

 

Oops, sorry about that!

 

NOT so bad. Granted, you couldn't add a footstool due to lack of room, but that didn't bother me, but I'm there are those who disagree.

[Woobstr112G]

Yup - but that doesn't mean I don't miss them.

 

Ditto.....:):):)

 

Bob

[easyboy]

We do a lot of long crushes too and have done at least 4 on Royal/Regal and even though there are no drink holders in the main theater which is a "common complaint" among the complainers, we hardly ever see anyone order drinks at the early shows so I really do not think it is that big a deal and Princess knows that!!! Last thing I think about when I book a cruise is "where am I going to put my drinks"....oy vey!!! :rolleyes:

Not complaining about the drink holders. But it is discouraging to order drinks and hold your glass till finished. Maybe those with AIBP will.

[caribill]

We do a lot of long crushes too and have done at least 4 on Royal/Regal and even though there are no drink holders in the main theater which is a "common complaint" among the complainers, we hardly ever see anyone order drinks at the early shows so I really do not think it is that big a deal and Princess knows that!!! Last thing I think about when I book a cruise is "where am I going to put my drinks"....oy vey!!! :rolleyes:

 

Maybe they do not order the drinks because they know there are no drink holders to put them in.

[PrincessLuver]

Maybe they do not order the drinks because they know there are no drink holders to put them in.

 

We have never been in any Princess theaters, except when there is a party with free drinks, where we see people order a lot of drinks....not a common behavior IMHO on Princess ships....it really is a red herring when it comes to the ridiculous complaints about the Royal class ships....they are great (the ships not the fake complaints)!!! :):D:cool:

Edited February 13, 2017 by PrincessLuver

[san diego sue]

Have been on the Royal twice and just got off two weeks on the Regal.

Wish the balconies were larger but loved everything else.

Had been recently on the Ruby and that felt more crowded than the Regal.

Loved the large Piazza. My husband enjoyed the movies on demand.

The more modern bathroom and showers a big improvement. Easiest disembarkation ever for a large passenger count ship. Entertainment was superb

and food is subjective (we liked it) so won't go into that.

The service we received seemed to be a step above the other Princess ships(and we have now been on all of them except the Sun and Sea Princess.

Wish we get one of these new ships on the West Coast.

[Woobstr112G]

We have never been in any Princess theaters, except when there is a party with free drinks, where we see people order a lot of drinks....not a common behavior IMHO on Princess ships....it really is a red herring when it comes to the ridiculous complaints about the Royal class ships....they are great (the ships not the fake complaints)!!! :):D:cool:

 

I would characterize them as individual opinions rather than fake complaints.....

 

Bob

[floridalover5623]

Wish we get one of these new ships on the West Coast.

 

NO way. We're keeping them in the Caribbean where they belong. :D

[Woobstr112G]

We have never been in any Princess theaters, except when there is a party with free drinks, where we see people order a lot of drinks....not a common behavior IMHO on Princess ships....it really is a red herring when it comes to the ridiculous complaints about the Royal class ships....they are great (the ships not the fake complaints)!!! :):D:cool:

 

Why are they ridiculous complaints.....:confused:

 

Bob

[abbydancer2003]

Why are they ridiculous complaints.....:confused:

 

Bob

 

My thoughts exactly. While some of the complaints are ones that I think are not important, others do (for example I don't really care about the center staircase or aft pool), and those that I think are deal breakers (promenade deck and dance floors) others don't.

 

Just because something isn't important to you, doesn't mean it's not important to somebody.

[Lucky TGO]

I was on the Royal Princess for three 20 day cruises. My wife and I still prefer the Emerald Princess. Just our opinion. :)

Tony

[mevs904]

We sailed for the first time on the Royal last month. It was generally a very positive experience. The Horizon Court was a great improvement and we didn't feel that the shopping areas were too intrusive, but wouldn't want to see any more area given to shopping. The Retreat Pool area was also very enjoyable. We also adapted to the smaller balcony, but, in retrospect probably used it less because it was smaller.

For us the biggest negative was the loss of a complete, covered promanade deck. The running track on the upper deck is nowhere near the same experience. It was frustrating not being able to get out to the water except for the tiny little areas on deck 7. We definitely mentioned this in our feedback survey.

The bottom line is that we will sail the Royal again in the future, but are also looking forward to our Coral cruise next March. Then it will be back to the mediocre Horizon Court, oh well.

One other comment that we made on our survey was that we hoped that Princess would never start building ships with huge internal shopping malls. We sailed on one RCI ship like that and will never do it again. We hate the concept and think that those ships look ugly, like floating milk cartons.

[mevs904]

Couldn't find a place to edit my previous post. Just wanted to add that we took the Ultimate Ship's Tour on the Royal and loved it!

[bamelin]

I've sailed on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas, Star Princess and Carnival Magic.

 

Explorer, I really liked the Main Street USA concept. I gather though many of the mega ships with huge shopping areas are essentially greater expansions of this concept.

 

Carnival Magic had huge cabins and a spectacular spa with great ocean views. While the ship in general was super crowded, the promenade deck was wonderful with sit down bar, and whirlpools.

 

Star Princess ... at first I didn't like her but then I discovered great intimate areas like the aft pool and promenade deck. I was on Caribe deck so my balcony was incredible (huge!). Loved the disco at the top of the ship in the crow nest. Of the three ships I've mentioned, star felt the most "like a ship" in the sense of being the right size, having the right amount of passengers for the ship size, lots of opportunities to be near and see the water, and few annoying monetization areas. While Star wasn't as flashy as the other ships, she had a quiet grace ... the focus was on the water and relaxing areas around the ship, not the buybuybuy feeling I got on Explorer of the Seas and Carnival Magic.

 

With that said I'm considering Royal for a TA in April. The expanded indoor areas I may appreciate on what will be a colder cruise.