Royal Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,777 reviews

Great Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Royal Princess

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Royal Princess
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K&P<3Cruises
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2015
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony

This was our sixth cruise, fourth on Princess (Sapphire-Mexico, Ruby- Grand Med, Sapphire- Alaska, Royal- E. Caribbean) - the other two were on Carnival (to test if we liked 'cruising' for our first cruise and Disney because we kid-less adults love Disney). We enjoy the itineraries, excursions and classy affordability of Princess. Initially we were looking to go through the Panama Canal, but the duration was too much for us at this busy time of year, so instead we selected a quick and easy Caribbean cruise. Both our Carnival and Disney cruises were also to this part of the world so we have had some experience. While Disney service and amenities are tough to beat, I believe Princess provides a nice adult way to travel (we're in our mid-40s) with interesting things to do and see without a ton of kids running around (e.g. Carnival/Disney). Also - by taking this cruise we were able to try out the new Royal Princess boat. My hub read a ton of reviews on here complaining about all sorts of things regarding the Royal Princess so I felt obligated to put in my $.02 as well.

I loved it. I believe we've now been on several different sizes of the Princess line, and this certainly was the biggest, but it still seemed to feel intimate enough in the common areas (Atrium, Retreat/Sanctuary/ even MUTS with the three tiered seating). EATING/DRINKING: I enjoyed Vines and the International Café as well as Alfredo's for their convenience. treats, and service midship. We usually dined 'anytime' with and without others, we don't mind the company and the conversations can be so entertaining, plus if you're flexible you never have to wait. I thought the choices most nights were great, and I like that they don't give you US restaurant sized portions - nice moderate amount of food on each plate so you don't have to feel stuffed when you leave. We tried the buffet a couple of times, when we didn't want to dress for dinner and it was 'okay' but I never tend to expect much from the buffets on these ships - they have to pour out way too much food to make it spectacular. We also participated in two of the Stammtisch wine tastings (these are the smaller 5-10 person tastings in Vines (old world wines with cheese pairing and reds with chocolate) - both were awesome. We've done the other bigger tastings but of the few, they seem to use the same wines, so we branched out and weren't disappointed. Plus Ryan the host/sommelier was a hoot. The hub and I actually took the plunge and bought the all you can drink $49 per day drink cards (and we're not big drinkers on vacation, but after having a CRAZY bar bill on previous cruises we went for it - if only to get the 40% off bottles of wine and not to have a gazillion charges on the folio at the end!) - it ended up being pretty handy, espresso, soda, gelato, most wines, all beer and spirits covered by one little sticker. I think overall get got pretty close daily to the $49... ENTERTAINMENT: We went to our first theater 'show' on Princess this trip - a comedian, pretty funny. Can't comment on the other shows though as we typically go for the Movies Under the Stars more. I loved that they had the latest movies for MUTS and even more movies in the Princess Live theater to choose from. We saw pieces of Interstellar, Hobbit, Gone Girl, Imitation Game and other current huge movies in a great setting with blankets, pillows, popcorn and beautiful stars (perfect for Interstellar!). We participated in some bingo, the casino on this ship is pretty excellent as far as cruise ship casinos go (latest slot machines, decent amount of tables, bar etc.), and loved the trivia when we could get to it, even won a couple of Princess swag items for winning a trivia (woot!). There was trio of women who played string instruments who were phenomenal (contemporary to classics), and the cruise directors staff had some very musically inclined gentleman who led sing a longs that were a hoot. The only entertainment piece we wished was better was the star gazing. Instead of everyone lying on deck chairs looking up at the heavens, we crowded around Dave (cruise director staff who was awesome) and looked at his ipad for constellations. My hub and I were a bit late and therefore, missed the jumping off 'star cluster' and couldn't really figure out what he was talking about the rest of the time, plus there were about 50 people all trying to crowd and see his ipad so that was a bummer. FITNESS: I was determined to not gain a pound on this cruise, and there was plenty to keep me busy on sea and port days to help with that. I signed up for the 3 - 30 minute boot camp (for sea days) which was INTENSE and almost ended up being like personal training because only two of us signed up, and took the aerobox classes from Melissa (cruise director staff) whenever I could squeeze it in. We also took advantage of the top deck track and courts to play a little tennis and get a couple of 5ks in. Beautiful views, crazy cross winds up there (good thing they have nets). EXCURSIONS: always awesome - will write more on the excursion section. Haven't met one I didn't like yet. So far have yet to veer from the cruise sponsored excursions (even though we know they are probably twice as expensive) but we love the convenience of booking them ahead of time from the site and just getting off the boat and going. Plus the safety and security from booking through the boat can't be beat. When looking for them on the princess site, I always sort first by 'strenuous' to try and get some fitness in (and less shopping, don't care about that so much) - and even those that say 'must be in peak physical condition' are not that bad, and usually pretty darn interesting.

And... just so you don't think I'm a total Pollyanna Princess lover...

Cabin Review

Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin MF

Not sure which category of Mini-Suite we had - we were Aloha 227. Our steward was very sharp and we always had a clean space. I like the new flat screens and TV/Movie on demand programming in the rooms (vs. the smaller table top screens and movies only when they were 'on' programming of old). LOVE that you could get your fill of 5 Love Boat episodes (memories!) and all of the current and then some movies and shows. One bummer that has been mentioned is that the decks/balconies are smaller on these newer boats so made it less fun to hang out there to watch the water. Also - bring your own hair and body products unless you want a combo shampoo and conditioner and body wash (instead of a bar of soap).

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