Royal Princess

Our Grand Mediterranean cruise was a long time in planning, we followed the construction of the Royal Princess from the beginning and eagerly awaited her completion, watched the sail out, christening, etc.  Embarkation and disembarkation went fast and efficient with minimal congestion.

Royal Princess is beautiful and opulent and in particular the Piazza elegantly decorated in cream, gold and wood tones which give a luxurious feel. The public areas are clean and well maintained. Automatic doors and wider entryways everywhere are wonderful. It feels like a luxury resort hotel on the water, which is really what all cruise ships should be. The service overall was wonderful. We were very pleased with the ship and the amenities, the style and grandeur of the Royal made us feel like we really were somewhere special.

Our stateroom was great, decent room size, plenty of storage, the bed comfortable, good quality linen and the in room movies were a great plus. We watched several movies that we had wanted to see. Our room was very close to the elevators and laundry which was very handy. Given the proximity it was extremely quiet and although we had neighbours on both sides we never heard them or their TV.  We found the crew very helpful and pleasant, especially our room stewardess. Christina was very courteous and supportive and always had a big smile and kept our room constantly refreshed and as requested she added a top sheet for us. Unlike previous Princess ships we have been on the staterooms now have power saving facility where you put your cruise card in the slot to turn on lights.

The production shows for the most part were good and with the larger theatre posed no problems getting a seat for the show.

It is truly a beautiful, massive ship with such splendour, but you really would not know there were that many people on board most of the time, and often you couldn’t even tell the ship was moving. We were never short of a table to sit at, or a chair to sit on. It didn’t matter if we were at the aft of the Horizon, or if we were outside at one of the bars or if we were in the piazza. There was always a place available to sit and take things in no matter where you happened to be.

In my opinion the lack of a Promenade deck that allows you to walk completely around the ship outdoors was disappointing. We have always enjoyed a stroll around the ship on our previous cruises, that’s part of the romance of a cruise ship and a relaxing way to walk off the evening meal after the show.

The only real criticism of the ship is the elevator due to the absence of mid stairs made for long walks to get to certain parts of the ship and overcrowded elevators, which although there were more of them, they were smaller. This was mainly an issue in and out of ports where you wait to find them crammed with people. We had to learn to cram people in elevators and as a joke my husband would say ‘shuffle in we can take another five people’ or joke and tell me to get up on his shoulders. This is not a deal breaker and by taking out the midship staircase gave Princess space for the beautiful new larger atrium or “piazza”.

The Horizon buffet has been redesigned and now divided into 2 parts, it is huge, and they have different food, so you really have to walk across the length of 2 full buffets to see the full selection. Because of the size a map with the day’s selections indicating which areas are open could be useful. In the buffet the food selections were good and the choices were plentiful and the inclusion of the Pastry shop for desserts was good. The Horizon Court staff was quick to get drinks and clear tables. I must say we actually felt there were more selection and better choices to eat at the buffet rather than the dining room for dinner.

We ate several times in the main dining room, Allegro where had opted for late sitting. We also ate there for breakfast on the first sea day. The food was excellent but found the variety lacking a little. We had originally booked for a table of 2 but made friends who we wanted to dine with and were easily accommodated. This and the noticeable decrease in the menu selection meant we only ate at our selected table 3 times so we missed the rapport you develop when you have the same waiters each evening. I attribute the decline in service to this fact. Most were friendly but the clearing of dirty dishes and the refilling of drinks was not up to prior standards, but I think being a new ship, it takes time for teams to settle into working out routines.

The wait staff mixed up orders a few times and were not as attentive as those in the Horizon. It was fine, but not as special as eating in the MDR. Whilst in the Allegro we saw passengers enjoy the opulent Chef’s Table which looked amazing and on our last sea day we had a tour of the galley with the Head Chef and Maître De.

We also ate in Symphony on Italian night, tried the English pub lunch in Wheelhouse and at the Crown Grill for an additional fee of $50 and really enjoyed them all. Alfredos was good as always, the Gelato shop with crepes and waffles and ice creams, was nice but not sure it was worth the fee when you could get soft serve ice cream at any time up stairs by the Sea Walk. The Sea Walk hangs over the ship and is quite fun, but after you’ve walked over it a couple times you’re kind of done with it. The Seaview bar was where we enjoyed our first cocktail onboard and we also enjoyed the Plaza Bar, Wheelhouse and Crooners several times.

On the first night we enjoyed “Movie Under the Stars” whilst enjoying good popcorn and afterwards pizza from the outdoor Prego Pizzeria whilst my husband enjoyed the burgers from Trident Grill a few times.

We went to the Internet Café a few times and found having the free ‘send a postcard’ option a good way to send brief updates to friends and family advising of our whereabouts. Because of this we didn’t have the need to buy a package of internet time and just paid for use as you go to collect important business emails. The layout of the photo shop was good and it was nice to be remembered by one of the photographers from a previous cruise when we boarded. I don’t know why Princess doesn’t offer the choice of having photos sent electronically or to be viewed in your cabin so they have such wastage of printing them all and not selling the majority.

The Royal Princess is a beautiful ship and we enjoyed our time onboard sailing through the Mediterranean. It has a fabulous crew and we enjoyed it and would most certainly recommend it to anyone.

The real gem of the Royal Princess is its staff with exceptional customer service who seems genuinely happy to be there. With Captain Tony Draper in command we were in good hands while on Royal Princess.

PS We loved the ship’s horn when it played The Love Boat theme.

Have you sailed on a Royal class ship with Princess? Did you find there was always somewhere private to relax despite the number of passengers onboard?

What are you waiting for? Share this post or leave a comment below. If you like this post and want to read more like this why not subscribe to our Newsletter? We won’t spam you or share your personal details. If you’re not doing so already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or click the Mix, Flipboard or other social media buttons below to share this post with others who might enjoy reading it.

*All opinions and photos are our own and we were not financially compensated for this post.