I am mystified why the RP has such a low satisfaction rating compared to other Princess ships. Having read some fairly negative reviews, we, like others were anxious about our recent Eastern Caribbean cruise. Yes, the negatives such as lack of central stairs and small balconies have been well documented but overall she is a stunning ship delivering a very good product. We completed the alternative 10 day itinerary to the Southern Caribbean on the Emerald Princess 16 months ago and had a great experience, and our recent cruise on the Royal was equally as good if not better.

We flew BA from the UK two days before we sailed and stayed at The Embassy Suites. We took the Embassy shuttle to the pier for embarkation about 12.30 pm and were on board having lunch in Alfredos by 1.45 pm. We had read on cc that this was a good choice on embarkation day as it avoids the scrum of the buffet. I am surprised that many people still do not realise that this is a venue that is ‘free’ (apart from drinks). After a brief tour of the ship we headed back to our cabin to get ourselves organised for the lifeboat drill and were pleasantly surprised to find our cases already waiting for us.

We had chosen a mid-aft balcony cabin to take into account the lack of central stairs – we try and use the stairs, at least at the beginning of a cruise to offset some of the food intake. The cabin was as expected; yes the balcony was on the small side but big enough for us both to sit out. On the plus side, My DH was delighted with the large flat screen TV mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed and was able to catch up on several recently released movies. Our stateroom steward was well, ....... OK! He did his job but didn’t have the engagement or attention to detail that we have experienced with other stewards on other ships. Read more