Royal Princess Review
The best Princess cruise we have been on so far
Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Royal Princess
happyonaship
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s
Rating by category
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Value for Money
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Additional details
Sail Date: Jul 2016
Cabin: Deluxe Balcony
What we booked was the 14 day Western Mediterranean and Aegean Medley. We did not realize, at the time, that this was really 2 7-day cruises back-to-back rather than a single 14 day cruise. There were not any negative aspects to this: I had read that you have to get off the ship at the new embarkation point, but we were going ashore anyway (it was Civitavecchia for Rome) and so that did not make a difference. What did make a difference was that embarkation was unusually smooth and calm (only half the ship embarking) as was disembarkation. Also, two cruises, rather than one, boosted our Captain's Circle Membership up one level (!).
So we cruise Princess because we like traditional dining at a table for two. Vacation is our best time to actually see one another and we really enjoy the ritual of a fine dinner and conversation, just with ourselves. Princess was the first cruise line that told us, when we asked if we could have this, "No problem." That was five years ago and we cruised in the Mediterranean on the Ruby Princess. Now, as anyone who has made this request on Princess knows, it is not always "no problem." Older ships such as the Diamond Princess, do not have many tables for two (on one cruise were assigned a table for 8!) but in every case, once we approached the Maitre D, we were assigned a table for two for the remainder of the cruise. The Royal Princess being a new ship, there really is no problem getting a table for two with traditional dining and that is a great pleasure (more on that later).
The Royal Princess is a new ship. It is a beautiful ship. It is a huge ship. You really are somewhat dependent on the elevators because there are so many decks and it is far to climb, on the stairs, from the bottom to the top. Sometimes, yes, the elevators are slow. Sometimes, yes, the elevators are crowded. The problems happen mostly on the first or last day of a cruise (which is the same thing) or if everyone is rushing to get off at a port. But most of the time, there is not much of a wait and it is vacation. We were relaxed.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Balcony
Cabin DE
Our cabin was a little larger than the regular balcony cabin and there was certainly enough room. With the kinds of luggage restrictions we now experience from airlines, we both packed carefully, lightly and sensibly. The result was that there was way more than enough storage space, but just a bit of advice - there is much more space to hang clothes than for folded clothes. So, plan to hang shirts, t-shirts, anything that can be on a hangar and you will find you have lots of space. We stored our suitcases under the bed. It goes absolutely without saying that Roberto, our room steward, kept the room spotless and was always in and out at the most discrete times.
Port Reviews
Barcelona
We love Barcelona and spent a couple of days there before embarkation. We took a tour to Sagrada Familia, which we had not seen in ten years. It is still not finished, but what a wonderful place to check on, every so often. We also drove by other Gaudi architecture. We bought tickets, in advance, for the Picasso museum, also a wonderful place to visit.
Cartagena (Spain)
Cartegena was the big surprise of the trip. We had not expected much but took a "Best of Cartegena" tour, which was a good idea, since we knew nothing of the place prior to visiting. It is an ancient and interesting port.
Corfu
Cave Tour: This was an incredible and incredibly beautiful break from ancient art and architecture. The coast line is rocky and the water incredibly blue. The caves are beautiful, especially the Cave of the Blue Eye. You can understand so well when you visit here how the myths of the gods might have been inspired.
Athens (Piraeus)
We debarked in Athens and took a transfer to our hotel, the Intercontinental Athenaeum, which is really very nice. While waiting for our room to be ready, we decided to walk up to the Acropolis to see how bad the ticket line was. It was hot and the line was terrible. So we decided to go to the new Acropolis Museum instead. We thought we were following the signs toward it, but found ourselves in the tiny, cool and empty Museum of Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulos. It has collections of ancient as well as Byzantine art. No one else was there and the museum staff were totally welcoming, showing us around to all the exhibits and making sure we did not miss the window onto current excavations.
On Sunday, we went to the Acropolis Museum, again an amazing work of architecture perched on current excavations, which you can see through the glass floor. We arrived at 10 a.m., after a wonderful Greek breakfast at the nearby Arkadia restaurant. More than two hours flew by, but by about 1 p.m. the museum was getting very crowded and so we returned to our hotel. A great supper at Skoumbri on Drakou Avenue was the finale of our wonderful vacation.
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