Suites on the Royal Princess

[vivacious redhead]

I have studied every thread I could find about the new Royal Princess, including the wonderful live thread/review from Cathy, but not one word from someone who has been in one of the suites. We will be in one of the owner's suites aft, on the Aug. 24th Barcelona to Athens sailing. We prefer the aft suites, because we had one on the front of a ship one time, and the wind was so strong, that you could not go out on the deck, while it was moving! We'll never do that again! Half the fun of having a suite is being able to sit out on the deck when coming into and out of the ports, or just sitting out on the deck while at sea and reading a book. The suites were supposed to have been totally refurbished on the Royal. I would really appreciate hearing from someone who has been in one of these new suites. Do they have privacy? Is the decor tastefully done, or gaudy? Are the bathrooms roomy? etc.

[Aussie Gal]

I believe they are exactly the same as the suites on both the Pacific Princess and the Tahitian Princess which are very roomy with huge balconies.

 

I know there are no mini suites on that ship which is a pity as they are a wonderful size on both the P.P and the T.P.

 

I would try and find a report from someone who has cruised in a suite on one of those ships. If you look at the Pacific Islands Board you may find some more information regarding the suites.

 

Jennie

[friend of Eeyore]

wait for my posting when I get home.... I promise lots of details!!

 

What aft suite will you be in? Maybe a picture, if I can....

 

-Cathy

[vivacious redhead]

Cathy, were you in an owner's suite? We will be in the OS/7114. There are owners suites on Decks 6, 7, and 8. I wasn't sure which deck to choose, so I picked the one in the middle! From the deck plans, it looks like they are all about the same size. I know that higher up is supposed to be better, but I don't like the top deck suites, because people can look down at you from above.

Christie

[old grey mare]

Are the balconies covered or uncovered on the Royal?

[old grey mare]

Are the balconies covered or uncovered on the Royal?

[vivacious redhead]

By looking at the side view of the Royal, it looks like the aft suites are not covered. I am waiting to hear from someone who has actually stayed in one of these suites.

[friend of Eeyore]

Cathy, were you in an owner's suite? We will be in the OS/7114. There are owners suites on Decks 6, 7, and 8. I wasn't sure which deck to choose, so I picked the one in the middle! From the deck plans, it looks like they are all about the same size. I know that higher up is supposed to be better, but I don't like the top deck suites, because people can look down at you from above.

Christie

We were in an owner's suite. I've quoted myself below from my "live from" thread, so you can see all that we had. I haven't posted any pictures yet, and won't probably for a day or more. We were in 6088 - sorry no pictures of yours. I believe they are mostly the same, though the ones on 6 have larger balconies.

Are the balconies covered or uncovered on the Royal?

By looking at the side view of the Royal, it looks like the aft suites are not covered. I am waiting to hear from someone who has actually stayed in one of these suites.

The aft suites are half-covered. You have a covering above you, and still get the sun (so you could carefully sunbathe in the buff if you chose to), but the outer port of the balcony is uncovered - you can look up to other balconies, and even see the back sun deck behind the buffet. You can also see the cameras up there, covering the back (to see fires, I think). So, you wouldn't want to stand out naked by the railing, since you could be seen.

 

Due to the metallic railing (it's actually part of the hull - no railings to slither through), there's a cut-in at the side. (I'll try to post a picture later, so you can understand, but basically the hull goes all around the ship, with an opening cut in for the balconies. Between each balcony, the hull goes up and down, with part of the balcony deck still behind the metal.)(And if I'm using incorrect terminology, don't jump on me - this is just from my visual view.) So although you can lean out and see your neighbors leaning out, I don't believe you could peek around the corner, like you can on other ships.

 

Anyway, here's my update about my suite:

Through happy circumstances, we were in a suite this cruise. Our first suite experience, and probably our last for a long, long, time. We were in one of the aft OS (owner suite) staterooms, on the 6th deck (6088). DH says that it (and it's twin) are the best on the ship, I think due to the size of the balcony.

 

I don't have any pictures on my computer yet, so I can't post pictures yet. But, suffice it to say, it was gorgeous, and HUGE. Walking into the entry area, you are walking on marble flooring (or fake marble), with a half bath to the right. Then, you enter carpet, and the living area. The first, main, room has a sofa sitting area (sofa, two chairs, coffee table, end tables), a dining area (round table, 4 chairs), and an entertainment center (tv, stereo, dvd player). We actually didn't use this tv all week, except when we had the bridge cam station on (you can hear the hallway announcements on the tv when that station is on). On the coffee table is a fresh flower arrangement all week, and on the dining table is an ice bucket tray, and fresh fruit (refillable all week).

 

Through an wall opening is the sleeping area. Double bed (maybe queen size???), writing desk, night stands, tv, safe, and LOTS OF CLOSET SPACE. I'm usually impressed with the closet space in the balcony cabins, but this was huge! Three double doors with hangers (two shirt/pant double shelves, and one single dress-shelf, with small drawer cabinet inside), and 4 empty shelf areas. Also, a vanity area, with mirror and more cabinet space.

 

Then, the main bath, with a jacuzzi tub (though very tall to enter - no step, and only a handle on the side to help you in and out - I don't know how the frail, elderly, or short would handle it). This tub is your shower, also. We got the "upgraded" shower amenities, including a loofah sponge and eye-mask.

 

The balcony area was huge, with both a table & four chairs and 2 loungers and a table.

 

What other amenities??

*Suite stationary with our names

*Free internet (which is how I made all those updates - sorry, didn't spend my own money, though I appreciate the thanks :D)

*Free laundry - much appreciated on this port intensive, hot itinerary - we were going through 3 sets of clothes each day

*Free mini-bar set-up (which we were able to get changed to our requests very promptly and easily)

*Free hot-meal room delivery (we only did breakfast, although the lunch and dinner menus were in our room each day, and could have had delivered upon request

*We didn't get our "corsage and boutonnière" for the first formal night, though we didn't care. I don't know if it was not available due to the small ship

*Upgraded linens and pillow availability, though we used the pillows on the bed

*Robes (the nice ones) and slippers (never used)

*Daily canape delivery - if I forgot to order my chocolate covered strawberries, they delivered an assortment automatically (personally, I didn't like any but the strawberries, so I remembered to order those almost every day)

*tote bag

*access to the spa deck - the best view to the front of the ship, since if you stand on the deck to the "thelasso-therapy spa pool", you can see forward without glass - the Royal Lounge has a nice forward view, but it's all glassed in

*early tender tickets (we never actually used)

*welcome glass of champagne

 

That's all I can remember that we used, though they are all viewable on princess.com - just put "suite amenities" in the main search box, and click on the one that seems most obvious.

 

I'm tired, so that's all I'm updating now. I'll try to answer any more questions later.

[old grey mare]

Thanks for the info on the balconies. Booked on Amazon cruise 2008

[friend of Eeyore]

Okay - I'm not posting pictures directly here, but if you go to our home photo website, and then click on "2007 Med Cruise", the first mini-album there has pictures of suite 6088 on the Royal Princess. (The rest of the cruise is still being worked on - we'll have it up eventually! :D)

 

http://www.schrock.org/photos/

 

-Cathy

[Vacationv]

We really appreicate the pics of the suite on the Royal. We have the same suite booked on deck 8 over Christmas and it's hard to get much info on this ship. Do you think my two older teens would be bored to death on a holiday sailing on this ship? We usually cruise 14 days at Christmas on Celebrity but my wife and I want to try a smaller ship and the itinerary is very interesting this Christmas. Also, how does she ride? Do you feel the waves much in this suite and how about the noise? THANKS AGAIN!

[mipps]

thanks for the pics Cathy (and everyone elses comments)

 

DW "thanks for the naked at the railing warning"

 

pics that were helpful for us TP 6088

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/gvre/album/576460762352525891

 

:)

[friend of Eeyore]

We really appreicate the pics of the suite on the Royal. We have the same suite booked on deck 8 over Christmas and it's hard to get much info on this ship. Do you think my two older teens would be bored to death on a holiday sailing on this ship? We usually cruise 14 days at Christmas on Celebrity but my wife and I want to try a smaller ship and the itinerary is very interesting this Christmas. Also, how does she ride? Do you feel the waves much in this suite and how about the noise? THANKS AGAIN!

I don't know about teens and the ship - we don't have kids. I do know that the teens on our sailing seemed to be having a great time, but there were a lot of them, so they had plenty of kids to hang out with. I do know with more kids on the sailing (as a holiday sailing will probably have), they open a kids club; I also noticed that Sabatinis (or Sterling, I'm not sure which) had a sign for some sort of "teen club" on several nights.

 

I usually do feel the waves when they get high; I only noticed it on the ship once or twice this cruise (and once was so bad that the whole ship was swaying, and many people were green).

 

As for the noise, we did get a lot of vibration with high-speed sailing, and we did that a couple of nights on this itinerary. If you check out my "live from" thread (click here), you'll also see postings about the squeaking that came from the ceiling one night. It also occurred again the next time we went at high speed. (I peeked in a regular balcony room also, and all the rooms have the same ceiling. I guess ours was not put together tightly.)

 

-Cathy

[taxatty]

I don't know about teens and the ship - we don't have kids. I do know that the teens on our sailing seemed to be having a great time, but there were a lot of them, so they had plenty of kids to hang out with. I do know with more kids on the sailing (as a holiday sailing will probably have), they open a kids club; I also noticed that Sabatinis (or Sterling, I'm not sure which) had a sign for some sort of "teen club" on several nights.-Cathy

We had our DD(17) on our Royal Med. cruise--there were around 30 teens on board so the two teen counselors (older women) tried to entice them for nightly activities either in the card room or Sterling/Sabatinis (whichever one that wasn't open that night), but DD went a couple of times and hardly anyone showed up. It all depends on the cruise--we were once on a RCI New Year's cruise with around 200 teens on board and the same thing happened. It's just the luck of the draw. DD did have a good time at the late night disco each night, where despite what the Patter said, no one under 21 got kicked out at midnight.

Les

[chrysalis]

aft suite outside photo I took just before she became the "Royal"

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=41533&d=1176386900

[MemoryMerchant]

Thank you for your "write-up" and pictures of 6088. My wife and I have booked this suite for a 39 day vacation next April. I am impressed with what you have said concerning the room. On the "old" Royal, we had booked both the Royal and Princess Suites and found them to be very nice. However, your pictures show me how times and changed and Princess has upgraded. We love the "wrap-around" balcony. Many thanks.

 

MemoryMerchant:)