After 20 plus cruises with various companies, Princess is still a favorite. First time on Royal Princess. Ship was beautiful and spacious, no lineups for any venue or dining. Sabatini's speciality restaurant was a romantic setting for two to enjoy an anniversary. The menu selection and food presentation was memorable. Alfredo's pizza was so great, we enjoyed several times. Make sure you try one of their signature pasta dishes. International cafe in piazza had delights all day and night. Best donuts ever! Main dining room had a different food theme nightly. Make sure you check the menu in advance to plan ahead for your evening meal. You may want to order 4 or 5 courses! The adult retreat pool area was our favortie hangout. Great place to relax and read, and enjoy a drink. Our balcony room was well laid out with sofa and table, mini fridge, blow dryer, great lighting and spacious closet. Even the shower seemed a little roomer, with a nice ledge for ladies to shave their legs! Room was super clean and our room steward was great. All staff we encountered were friendly and professional. Cruise director was fun. A great vacation! Looking forward to our next cruise. Read Less

Mothers 90th birthday, port is local/easy drive, like the ship overall, always enjoy the Riviera. We have sailed on the Royal 8 times and enjoy the ship. It's not as nice as the Emerald and such, as the layout of this ship is awkward. Having the open deck on 7, is quite enjoyable for most people.. They Royal forces you to stay inside, unless you go up to deck 16, which is often too windy/cold. Our full suite was filthy, with multiple non working lights. It took 4 days to get the lights all working, but we had a filthy room the whole time. The steward did NOT change the sheets in the babies crib,leaving crumbs etc for the baby to sleep on.. He did NOT provide us with the amenities that are given with a suite.. We spent too many hours reporting things, showing repair crew what was wrong etc... C102. We did have CLUB CLASS dining, which was nice as there is no wait. We requested a waiter that was not in CC and they brought him over.. He provided excellent service throughout the cruise. Encore is a great show, the others are so so... Read Less

Crazy world out there but on our cruise we were treated like princesses! With the new medallions, all the crew knew our names and who we belonged with. And we could find each other, generally. Embarking and disembarking was so easy with doing all the paper work before getting to the ship and having the medallions on. They say there were over 3000 passengers but we didn't see them! Except for the excellent shows shows in the Princess Theater, we never saw a crowd! I don't know where they all were. Lots of space to be quiet. Very few children. Lots of entertainment all day& evening. All the helpers at the Medallion desk were knowledgeable and friendly, didn't make us feel like we were asking silly questions! And they were all entertainers. Morning specialty coffee at the horizon buffet made by Adrian was so special and perfect every cup! Delightful and happy every early morning till late. Dinners in the Concerto Dining room with Danilo, tho he thought he was "Bond, James Bond!" and Ronald was just formal enough. We enjoyed stretching with Tai chi &Zumba. And Bingo with Fortuna Luck was a hoot! As well as all the trivia games. With all that said, we care about all the crew on the Royal Princess, wish them and their family's well. It was over all wonderful! Read Less

BREAKFAST Most of the food in the buffet was COLD. The toast, English muffins, and bagels were run through an automated toaster when the buffet was opened and were served for the next several hours. Fried eggs were also cooked earlier and the warming pans delivered either cold or luke warm eggs. The only made to order item were the omelets, and they were great! LUNCH & DINNER Again much of what was served was cold. There was a good variety of meat served, but it was way overcooked, dry, and tastless. MAIN DINING ROOMS Very little variety and again luke warm fish and meat (overcooked). Nothing special except on the two formal nights. If you did not bring your formal atire, no filet or lobster. We should have ignored the formal attire since the "Smart Casual" requirement was not enforced. We saw shorts, flip-flops, sweat pants, ripped jeans, and T-shirts. "Any Time Dining" was a myth. You need to make a reservation in advance and each time we tried we could only get a time of 5:30 or after 7:15. ENTERTAINMENT All venues, especially the central plaza or atrium, were so loud you could not get out of or walk by fast enough. What they lacked in talent they made up for in volume. CHARGES FOR WHAT OTHER LINES GIVE OUT FOR FREE Bottled water, soft drinks, playing cards, all are charged to your account. The Library and game room is a joke. We have seen larger facilities on river cruise boats. Internet fees are also high when compared with other cruise lines. The only free coffee we found was at the buffet which was far away from our stateroom. NEWS AND TELEVISION No CNN or ESPN. Fox News may be fine for the ultra right and MSNBC for the left. But, that was your only choices. They did have Euro Sports and CNBC. Having sailed with Oceania eleven times, I missed the free four page USA Today that was delivered free to my stateroom daily. Also available on Oceania is a free full version of the USA Today in the Concierge Lounge. You cannot even buy one on Princess. OTHER Prices in the boutiques were mostly outrageous. $30 for a logo plastic water bottle or $24 for an insulated coffee cup. Part of the problem with this ship is it's size. Elevator wait times on s ship with 3,700 passengers is often very long. Read Less

The price was great and the port was close enough to drive there. The room was large enough and kept clean by the steward at all times. He provided the requested ice the whole trip. The food was good if not super in buffet and servers there were very friendly and attentive. We will probably book this trip again in a few years and will watch prices on Princess cruises closely. Thinking about their Alaska trip in the near future. Entertainment was the highlight of the trip...the stock singers and dancers were much better than the usual groups are. The comedy act on two different nights was excellent. The crowd had a great time with him...his first name was AJ and I cannot remember his last name. It was my first time on Princess and I will try them again. Read Less

EXCELLENT IMPROVEMENT BY PRINCESS CRUISE LINES AS AN ELITE MEMBER We never thought princess would have outstanding service & abundance of variety & quality food. They had 4 or 5 different buffet line that never seems to be crowed we planned to do anytime dining but after tasting the quality food in the lido we had enjoyed our meals at the buffet. The royal princess decor was beautiful and clean ship always someone taking care of business. The entertainment was excellent with dancer's and singers along with the comedy & other shows. The crew activities and clowning around was entertaining we really enjoyed the dance off in the pizza....along with the captains toast & elite party. The water show was interesting just like they have in las vegas but smaller but enjoyable. Embarkation & debarkcation was wellorgainzed and prove to be effective in leaving the royal princess we are looking forward in sailing on the royal princess again. Read Less

My mom, her four children and their spouses celebrated mom on the Royal Princess. We all enjoyed the amazing shows, attended Leo Rossi’s fun and informative lectures, and enjoyed two wine tastings. All the servers and staff were friendly and fun!! Our waiter Frederand Corpuz, Assistant waiter, Lee Cruz and our stateroom stewart Agnelo we’re so helpful, friendly and fun!! Great experience. We will be sailing on Princess in the future. The only improvement that I see would be on Wifi coverage. We tried to order food and drinks at the pool on the app. After receiving our food cold and waiting 40 minutes for drinks. I went the bar and was told they never received our order. We used the app prior in the ship and had no problems. We took two shore excursions and both were informative, beautiful and fun. The guides were friendly and fun. Thank you. Read Less

My wife was invited by Princess Players Club with an unbelievable price for this cruise and we could not refuse. First time with medallion, best feature for starters is door unlocked came down to my cabin with a bowl of fries and a drink while riding my scooter so no fiddling with cruise card just open door. I found one very big downside to this beautiful ship, NO usb charging ports in the room. I use a scooter and found plenty of room in the passages, as well plenty of places to leave it to go for dinner. The ship was very clean and in very good condition. The best part was the hotel staff was a very senior group our steward had been with Princess over 20 years. The dinning room was very busy but there was very little waiting. One thingI would like to see is The food in the buffet be a different style than what style that was in the dinning room that way if you didn't like what was in the dinning room you could go-to the buffet. Overall the ship and crew were unbeatable would use this ship again without hesitation. Read Less

Overall score would be closer to 4 than 3 stars. Royal Princess was a solid traditional cruise ship and experience for their great service and good food. As a couple in their mid 30's, we felt we were the youngest on the ship and most of the activities/clientele weren't really catered to us(which is fine because we expected this) but I would not recommend this cruise line for anyone under 40 years due to that. For a lazy, relaxing, no frills get away... this cruise will check all the boxes regardless of age. Departed to Mexican Riviera 2/22/20 for 7 nights in a deluxe Balcony for $524 pp. Booked last 'minute' in mid January. Itinerary was great except it was cold/chilly due to overcast weather the two days leaving LA and the two days returning back to LA. Weather in Mexico was sunny but not hot enough to go into the water comfortably. As this was a 'traditional' ship with plenty of deck space, we barely utilized it due to us not bringing any jackets/sweaters. Medallion and embarkation were highlights on this trip. Made checking in easier, purchasing, ordering room service, getting drinks a complete breeze. Ship was clean. Cabins could of used a deep clean in the cabins. Bathroom was a good size. The ship layout was rather confusing and zig zagged all over the place. Balcony was small as expected but plenty of space for a cup of coffee or a sunset photo. MDR was another highlight on this trip. The food and service were great, above my expectations. Multiple entrees/desserts every time and prompt, courteous service by Ryan & Alla. Production show was solid. We saw colors but hand to stand through due to no space. Comedian AJ Jamaal was okay. I thought he would be funnier but his jokes catered to a much older audience. All entertainment on the ship catered towards eating or drinking or some other game/session around the main Piazza room. It was either horse racing, zumba, or champagne party. If you have a 7:15 MDR seating most likely it will be tough for you to get to most of the main 'activity' events. My wife and I did win the raffle for the SPA so that was exciting as well! Service was great all around. Our cabin steward came by two times a day but diminished in quality over time towards the end of the cruise. We did our own shore excursions which was the best choice. Cabo - 'Glass Bottom Boat' Paid $20 USD for a private boat tour at the cabo dock to Los Arcos. Went to The Office restaurant on Medano beach which was very pricey for Mexico but was delicious. Best 'pulpo' octupus I've ever had. Mazatlan - Hidden gem of the trip. Booked Maria's Happy horses for 30 minute ride for $15 USD PP. Ended up being a 45 minute trip with great photos. Booked direct through her on her website. Can ask locally on the beach as well for her. Ate at Malokay and Lety's for a whole fried red snapper for super cheap and hung out on the chairs which were included for a purchase. Puerto Vallarta - Pretty tourist town. Plenty of restaurants and bars along the restaurant to drink and hang out in the Malecon. Went to St Guadalupe and Hilton for a day pass. All in all it was a good trip. First time to Mexican Riviera(prefer caribbean) and first time on Princess. I got a good value for the trip and had a good time due to the good food and service. Couldn't ask for much more. Due to my demographic and needs, I'd prefer a little bit more excitement and buzz on the ship to keep me occupied than just bingo and trivia. Here is a more indepth review with photos: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2739251-princess-first-timer-review-royal-princess/ Read Less

Loved our first Princess Cruise! The princess crew are so amazing and made our trip so awesome. My favourite part was the traditional dining. Thanks to Freddie and Jose for being so fun and hard working. Also, our room was spotless every day thanks to Denys. Marcus was an excellent cruise director and we enjoyed the games he directed. The cooking and cocktail making demonstrations in the piazza were so funny and even the officers interacted with the guests throughout the cruise. We did the excursion to Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta was such a fun day. It felt like going to Fantasy Island. The food was so great. The movies under the stars and shows were terrific. We liked the medallions for ordering food or beverages, paying for merchandise, and unlocking our door. My only wish is for free wifi. We give this cruise a 10 and would definitely recommend Princess. Read Less

I recently came back from the Royal Princess five day cruise to Cabo. I have to say I will never cruise with Princess again. The room NEVER stopped shaking - five days 24hours - because I beleive it was next to an engine room or something. My folks were one floor directly above me yet had very minor rocking. Everything was sub par and/or downright unacceptable for what we paid. My room was filthy, nothing worked consistently (TV stopped working - Bad Gateway), fridge never got cold, the Medallion App NEVER worked (constantly crashed or lose my info.), wifi was terribly slow, bed sheets dirty, etc. Very difficult to get anyone on the phone (room service, cleaning or registration desk), it would ring then go to VM!? Many of the service employees had extremely poor or indifferent attitudes/service, example: I orded the 5 for 4 beer package and it took forever for them to bring it to my room and when they did arrive, it was five warm beers laying on a tray, no bottle opener, ice or even a glass and the lady acted as though she was angry that she had to bring it to my room - stupid me still gave her a tip. There were several warning signs the cruise was going to bad. Firstly brother in law lost his sunglasses during embarking because the poorly trained "security" threw around his bags on the xray machince and were very rude about it when he asked for help to find his glasses, which he beleived may have been stuck inside the machine. They just wanted him to leave the area and basically ignored him. Sad thing is we we celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary but it was impossible to communicate with them because the app doesn't work, phones don't work and you can't use your cell phone. And to top it all off, the Stewards/help barely speak English. Nice guy but impossible to understand him and most of the staff that interacts with guests. All the American employees are in management and don't directly deal with travelers directly - you hear them on the PA but rarely see them. The drink situation is an absolute joke. Every morning I would have to march up to the 16th Deck and wait in line (because there are only two drink stations in the entire buffet area for 3,000+ curisers) to get water that tasted like it came out of a hose or cup of terrible tasting coffee. They make it extremely difficult because they would rather you pay for everything, even water. And all the food was average at best, pretty much what you would find at a $10 Vegas buffet. Hence I ate alot of salads and fruit. Also I'd be very careful in the casino and anytime staff is counting money, they are poorly trained, don't know the games like you'd find from dealers in Vegas and frequently screw up the deal, count or don't know the rules - I witnessed several instances where cruisers litterally were screaming at the dealers for costing them money. Also the machines are set up so its a real pain to cash out, so you end up playing until you lose. It was ugly, so I didn't gamble much. The highlight of the trip was of course getting OFF the SHIP in CABO, which we really enjoyed. Next time we pay half the cost to fly down and stay at an all inclusive resort for a week, which are much, much nicer than the dirty ship. List goes on, but I am done and glad it's over. Read Less

I wanted to take my mom on her first cruise and picked this one because it was short and close to home. Newer ship with Medallion Class. Great app (when it works...it was a little spotty) but still useful. Your cabin door automatically open when you approach, you can order food/drinks anywhere, locate your friends on the ship, pay for purchases in the shops etc. Cabin was roomy and clean. Beds were comfy...although a little soft for my taste. Balcony was beautiful. Bathroom is very small but not a deal breaker. Our A530 cabin had the BEST view of Los Arcos when we docked in Cabo. Also saw grey whales on the way into port. Pick that side of the ship when choosing a stateroom. The Cabo marina area is mostly bars, restaurants and touristy shopping which we avoided. The excursion we picked was Tamarindo Farms Organic Farm to Table experience. We made pico de gallo and guacamole and had a wonderful lunch. This was the highlight of the tour. After lunch were supposed to tour a "glass blowing factory" but ended up at an art gallery in San Jose Del Cabo. All in all a good day. On the second day in port we decided to stay on ship ( since you have to be back on board by noon). Got a spot at the adult pool and enjoyed a sunny afternoon and more whale watching as we left port. When the ship is moving it gets windy out there! Enjoyed the movies at sea, bingo, excellent entertainment (Encore show and Cheaza -the Whitney Houston tribute singer), anytime dining had wonderful choices every night. Make a reservation in am if you don't want to wait for a table. I would recommend this cruise for someone who wants to see what cruising is all about. Read Less

This was our third cruise on the Royal since October 2019. I got an email from Princess about the Renew Your Vows and Breaking a Guinness World Record for this 5 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas. Jumped right on. So I won’t repeat comments from those previous reviews from our cruise on the Royal on October and December 2019. All was the same. Great food and service and no complaints. We didn’t know what to anticipate and, as usual, Princess exceeded our expectations for the Vow Renewal. This was an unbelievable time. We had to send in a copy of our marriage license before the cruise for the Guinness Authenticators to validate a legitimate renewal. Upon arrival in our cabin, an itinerary for the ceremony, an ID card and list of gifts greeted us. We gathered in the Wheelhouse Lounge at 11:30 am. Ship staff was in dress blues with white gloves. Classy. We were given corsages and boutonnieres. They had delivered a pair to our room, however we had left early and missed them. They had plenty of extras. We were escorted to dedicated elevators and taken to our station for the ceremony. It was held on deck 16, the pool area. It had been closed to all except Vow Renewal couples. We were on the platform above the pools. The deck area around and behind the pool was full of couples, as well. I estimate 800 people so 400 couples. This ceremony was being synchronized with two other Princess ships; the Regal and the Crown. Both were in the Caribbean. The MUTS had a countdown time and we waited for all ships to begin at the same time. We had to wait over an hour, but the weather was great and there were was a duet singing 1960 and 1970 love songs. A very nice atmosphere. Everyone was excited. Our Vows were led by the Captain and his wife. The intended host was to be the first couple winning the dating game, but she broke her leg and could not travel. Gavin McCloud, the captain on the Love Boat TV show led the ceremony on the Regal. Afterwards there was complimentary Champaign for all. It took about 45 minutes to determine if we broke the World’s Record. Suddenly the ship horn started playing the “Love Boat” theme song. The previous record for the most couples renewing at the same time was 1201 set in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We beat that and totaled 1443 for all three ships. There were almost 3 thousand folks participating. My wife and I wore matching Hawaiian shirts, but there were tuxedos, wedding dresses, veils and fancy duds everywhere. At the end of the ceremony, a man jumped into the pool with his tuxedo on. Princess photography took some good pictures of us. We also were given a chit for two free glasses of rose wine and two free drinks. We had hoped a video would be made for purchase, but alas, it was not. We enjoyed the remaining days of this lovely cruise. We spent two days in Cabo San Lucas with the best weather we have ever had there. Slight wind and not hot. Calm seas on this part of the Pacific ,as usual. We had a couple beers at our favorite cantina, the Tequila Shark located right at the entrance to the tender pier. We shopped at the large arcade just to the left of the pier. On an excursion to Todos Santos we again shopped and had a meal at the Hotel California. The community here is improving buildings and tourist amenities. Our guide was Armando, who is superb. We’ve had him several times over the years. For a special meal we ate at Sabatini’s on board the ship. Lobster Three Ways is wonderful. Service is very good here. Not all ships offer the Lobster in their Sabatini’s. No one I asked seems to know why. Too bad. A very nice surprising cruise. Well do it again if offered. Princess made it special. Read Less

This was a 4 day cruise. Great intro cruise to try our the ship. Everything was great. Great food, rooms, events, entertainment, and decor. The cruise went to Catalina Island and Enscanda Mexico. I could skip Enscanada, but that's just my preference. The entertainment each night was great. I enjoyed the Movie under the stars movies. THe movies were great and very recent. The decor of the ship was very nice. The staff were all very helpful and greeted all the time. Main ones learned our names and greeted by name. The pool seemed nice but I never had a good day to use it. The food was great and plentiful. I enjoyed the traditional dining 5pm. The servers got to know us well and were helpful on giving us suggestions. I also did buffet. Great buffet even when Now this is my 1st cruise ever, so no other cruises to compare. Read Less

We picked this short cruise largely because we hadn't been to the 2 ports on the cruise before. We coupled it with the 2 previous Royal Princess cruises before on a B2B2B basis. It stopped at Avalon, Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. Catalina was very picturesque and a great stopover point. We rented a golf cart and drove around the island for a couple of hours, which was great fun. We rented the golf cart from Island Rentals for a total cost of $80 for the 2 hours (less than most tours). We could have had a 3rd hour for free, but felt we saw most of what was available to see. The normal price was $50/hour, but because I am a U.S. Navy vet they discounted the cost by $20. Vets and active service members can get this discount simply by asking. The carts are a little difficult to drive in as much as when you stop they die and have to be restarted (at least the one we had did). Eventually I got use to it, but no way am I willing to trade in my own UTV one one of these beasts. Still a great deal of fun and a great way to see the island. Ensenada was a surprise after hearing so much negative things about the town. We actually found it to be a great port. An antique car show was going on at the time and we enjoyed that as well. The people were friendly and the merchants weren't as pushy as in many of the other ports of call. The Royal is a beautiful ship and the staff and employees are friendly and very helpful. The food was also great, both in the buffet and the dining room. We also enjoyed Alfredro's Pizzeria and the waiter Avinash was fun to talk to. The "Ice Cream Lady" serving cones on the deck was also fun to joke and talk with. It is people like these that keep us coming back to Princess. What we didn't know when we booked this cruise was the fact that about a dozen of the San Francisco 49'ers football players would be on board with their fans. Apparently the team does this frequently as a service to their fans. Neither me or my wife are big football fans so those efforts were essentially wasted on us, but their fans certainly seemed to enjoy all the attention they got from the players. Unfortunately this seemed to encourage too much drinking with many of women in particular becoming loud, drunk and a bit obnoxious. We avoided them so it wasn't a major problem for us though. The cruise director, Marcus Prince Juanta was one of the best we've had. He was entertaining, but wasn't so silly as some of the others we have had. He was virtually everywhere in all of the activities and always added to those events in a good way. We decided to take the Princess shuttle to the airport after the cruise. While it was a little more expensive than some other forms of transportation at $34.00/person, but the convenience of it made it worth it to us. The production shows weren't really very entertaining and the dancers and singers weren't that great either. That was the only area of the cruise I would mark below a five. Over the years the entertainment on all of the Princess ships seems to have degraded and music is always too loud throughout the ship. The loud music is the most common complaint we hear from many of the passengers. The music is frequently so loud in the Piazza area that it makes conversion with your shipmates nearly impossible. It would be nice if they would simply turn down the volume by about one half. Read Less

Embarkation was smooth and quick. We already had our medallions so I strongly suggest getting them shipped ahead of time and getting docs uploaded to ocean ready. We packed a backpack so we could immediately get in the jacuzzi as soon as we boarded. This was my boyfriend's first cruise and my first on Princess. Our rooms were ready by 1 so were able to shower immediately. Muster drill was easy and we were given instructions by our excellent room steward Dennis. We had a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck and it was spacious and clean. The balcony was so nice to enjoy fresh air. The bed was oh so comfortable!! We both had the best sleep than ever in the past few months. I was happy to see I could order the mattress on Princess' website. We opted for traditional dining at 715 and our wait staff, Panyang and Melissa, were spectacular. They were so efficient in taking our order, filling glasses, remembering our bar orders and cooks of steaks. We dined here 3 nights and 1 night at the Crown Grill which is definitely worth the money. The food was excellent portions and the cook of the steaks were perfect since I like mine rare and my boyfriend prefers medium rare. The staff definitely made great suggestions and made our anniversary feel special. We ate at the buffet a few times and definitely liked the options. We usually get small portions of a few items and then go back to more of those we really liked. I would also suggest eating breakfast in the dining room which I enjoyed since the menu has great options, portions are perfect so you don't feel like you are over indulging and they have many great pastry options. We took advantage of the 24 hour room service and loved how the sandwiches are all small portions so we were able to order multiple ones. The app was easy to use to place the order and everything came as selected. We also used the app to schedule breakfast to be delivered so we could have coffee, yogurt and mimosas while we were getting ready. Being on the balcony drinking my morning coffee and enjoying my view was such a perfect way to start the day. As for entertainment we enjoyed all the bars especially the crooners bar when there was live piano. The mariachi entertainment was also very pretty to hear at the wheelhouse bar. All drinks were delicious and promptly served. The trivia in Princess live was very fun. The club was also very fun and I enjoyed the Latin hour night which played a little bit of everything. We spent a lot of time at the casino and enjoyed the fun 21, blackjack and roulette tables. Many of the dealers were fun to talk to and we enjoyed playing until the wee hours. The jacuzzi was very clean and I loved the powerful jets. Zumba class was so much fun and I enjoyed that it was in the piazza rather than a fitness class area. The songs were great picks and the routines were very energetic. Wish I could have Nat as my daily teacher. We took some pictures but I loved that the photographers were not pushy. We ended up purchasing 2 of our photos and loved how they came out. The medallion says worked to open the door and I loved how the message always said happy anniversary. We used the portals located by the elevators and the ocean compass app to find each other on the ship. The app was very easy to use and I rarely had any issues with connection. I also used the journey view to see what events were happening ingredients and when. It made it easy to plan what to do next rather than having to refer to our princess patter. The shops were fun to browse and I enjoyed participating in a free diamond studs raffle. I did purchase Princess cut cubic zirconia studs which was much more in line with my budget. The ports were fun and easy to get to. The tender to catalina was easy to get on and hardly any wait. It was my boyfriend's first time and he liked how easy it was to walk and get around. We enjoyed breakfast and shopping. Ensenada was also fun even though it was overcast and started to rain a little later in the afternoon. We opted to purchase the buggy excursion through Princess which was a great choice. The guides Gil, Gerardo and Mike were all great! The buggy was in great condition and fun to drive. We took advantage of plowing through the puddles and definitely got muddy and soaked. The views in the hills were pretty and the trail was just long enough to enjoy a great ride. Our bus gave us the option to be dropped off on Primera so we could enjoy some tacos. It was easy to walk back to the ship. Disembarkation was also just as easy. We opted to leave our luggage out the night before and meet at the disembarkation meetup spot for our color tag. We chose to enjoy a sit down breakfast in the dining room which was great choice to enjoy our last meal. Overall we were impressed with the ship and how well taken care of it is. The staff are all genuinely friendly and always went above and beyond to make us feel special. I love cruises because how easy it is book and choices of activities in board you can do or just do nothing at all. My boyfriend cannot wait to go on our next cruise and we definitely will be booking with Princess again! Read Less

Princess Cruise Line Feb 6th 4 Night Cruise to Ensenada and Catalina from Los Angeles San Pedro port on the Royal Princess. We are classically NCL cruisers. This was our first Princess Cruise and truth be told we received it for free from Caesars Casino. We got a balcony cabin A414 and added the drink package. We did no specialty dinning as we had just wanted to experience the base cruise. We selected a shorter cruise as it was our hometown port and we wanted to see what a short getaway cruise might be like. We hadn’t done anything less then 7 days in 15 years. As for our cruising experience we have done 12 cruises together out of many ports. Us and foreign. So basically, we have seen a lot of ships and ports. Cruise Things we liked and didn’t like… minus Casino The Things we liked 1. Alfredo’s, the pizza was fantastic and was included in your cruise fare. 2. International Café Open 24 hours: Sandwiches and sides in the afternoon and evening. With coffee and pastries in the morning. This was a nice option for that late-night snack when all else is closed down. 3. Adult pool in the back always had space at the bar. If you are looking for a drink, they are not super-fast but it’s a good location. 4. The atrium was very pretty in a classy way. Style wasn’t necessarily modern but if you like that classic look they did a great job. 5. Embarkation at the LA port of San Pedro was quite possibly the quickest I have ever had 6. Parking was super close at this port. Again, a feature of the port I know, but let’s not ignore it! I forgot my phone in my car and could easily just go fetch it. 7. Medallion opening your stateroom door. Super easy. 8. Tons of hangers. The most hangers I have ever had in a room. The Things That we didn’t like so much 1. Soda package availability, with the International Café being the only place open 24 hours you think they might be able to fill your soda package cup, no they don’t do that. There is no place that is 24 hours that allows you to fill or get your cup filled. 2. Tiny Elevators, maybe NCL just has huge elevators but dang these were tiny. 3. Stateroom hallways didn’t indicate ODD vs EVEN numbers in a way that you could see from a distance. I consistently saw passengers and myself have to walk all the way to the hallway only to have to head to the other side. Some clear markers here would certainly help the frustration. 4. All the live music choices were of the classy or old style in nature. Even if they did a current number, they did it with some string players and made it sound like something from the big band era. Wasn’t impressed with this part of the entertainment. I don’t mind that style of entertainment, but I like a variety. The singers in main room were good but again suffered from material variety. 5. For all the good of the medallion you quite often had to had it to the bartender as it was too busy for them to detect you. Thus, eliminating some of its nice features. If you knew you had to hand it to them so often you wouldn’t have bought the watch like holder for it. The lanyard holder was just fine. 6. It seemed to me that the room steward unlocked my balcony every day. This causes the temperature control in the room to shut off. I had to make a habit of checking it every time our room got cleaned. It never failed. The handle that I never opened was always unlocked. Casino Review Things We Liked About the Casino on the Royal Princess 1. Hard to get you money stolen as the machines will take cash but not return cash, only credit to your casino bank. So, if people try to cash out your machine, they need to know your pin, and even then, since this is a ticketless casino it just goes back on your own account. Plus, if you walk away after a timer goes it will auto transfer to your account. 2. Actual windows in the casino! This was a nice feature on sea days. Really reminded you that you were at sea and not in Vegas! 3. For a 2013 build they had reasonable selection of new and old machines. My guess is that in 2018 when they refurbished the ship to add the medallion class hardware to it that they swapped some machines out. Either way nice variety. 4. The slot host was very accessible. He had a special host table under that horrid stairwell. Additionally, he and some assistants did a fine job running a few side games and trying to get the people involved in fun activities in the casino. Creating activities around everything is something princess seems to do, and the casino was no different. 5. Still needs a 5th best thing…. Things We Didn’t Like About the Casino on the Royal Princess 1. Smoking in the casino with no real separation. I know not all cruise ships will have a glass wall divider or no smoking at all but still is something I would like to improve. 2. The payback seems low. I know this sounds like I want my money but really it just seemed low. 3. The layout was horrific. Very tight and circular in the slots area surrounding a spiral staircase that created an awkward floor layout that was hard to navigate, let alone flag down a waiter. If they remove that staircase you could have a reasonable layout. As it stands its bad, and that staircase is hardly used as there are stairs and elevators right outside the casino, and this staircase only traverses one floor. Consolation… The tables are ok spaced. 4. No cash machines to break bills for tip money! If you are used to NCL that has large casinos with cash machines this isn’t it. So, bring tip money if you need it as its very hard to break bills here. Yes, you can go down to deck 5 and break bills at the guest services desk but what a pain. 5. On last night of the cruise everyone gets in super long line to cash out their shipboard gambling account. And this is not for money you owe but what they owe you. Its mostly a cashless game here with your credits going back onto your account when you leave a machine. This creates a nightmare at the end of a trip. Ports Catalina We did the Avalon casino behind the scenes tour. This was great and very informative about just not the casino but the entire islands history. The town itself was great to just walk around. This was a tender port but one of the easiest tender ports I have been on. Ensenada We did a winery tour. Had some fantastic wines and a very good day considering it was raining. Read Less

The port of calls were certainly limited on this cruise with two days in Cabo only with the second day on the short side. Nevertheless, it was a great get away cruise. We'd sailed on the Royal previously to Alaska and even on the previous 7 night cruise to this one on a B2B basis. The Royal is a beautiful and well designed ship. The beef steaks and roasts were much better than usual in both the dining room and the buffet. Many times in the past we have found the beef to be somewhat tough and not having a lot of flavor on the Princess ships, but on this trip we were very happy with the quality of the meat. It was flavorful, tender and cooked perfectly to my rare preferences. This cruise was over the Super Bowl weekend and many of the cruisers took the cruise in order to watch the game on the "Movies Under the Stars" big screen. The ship had tailgate parties and a lot of activities centered around that particular event which have been the reason for the shorter than normal length of the cruise. As usual the workers and staff were exceptional. Marcus Prince Juanta. the cruise director, was the BEST. He was entertaining, personable and didn't have to wear PJs and act silly to entertain the cruisers. Avinash in the Alfredro's Pizzeria and Zelenir (ice cream cone lady) were lots of fun to talk with. We felt the entertainment in the theatre was lacking a bit. We would have preferred a little more diversity in the type of shows. My own preference would be less of the production type shows, dancing and singers and more in the form of Cirque du Soleil, hypnotists, comedians, etc. The comedian Steve White was great though. Because the E626 cabin is quite a bit aft we did experience some slight noise, but it wasn't enough to bother us. And at times we could feel a little vibration when sitting in the buffet next to the windows, but again it wasn't enough to really bother us. Overall we found the Royal to be a great ship which is well maintained. Read Less

Cruised same itinerary last February aboard the Royal Princess. This year, the Royal Princess was a completely newer and larger ship. Both cruises (inside room only) were complimentary through a casino promotion . Last year for a small fee was able to upgrade to a cabin with a window. Window rooms do not exist on the 'new' Royal Princess, so this year had to upgrade to a balcony room for a much larger fee. The only choices for room types are inside, balcony, or some sort of suite. My positive and negatives are: Positive: Bravo to Princess for providing a fantastic and very large, private, and partly covered outdoor smoking area on deck 17 at the rear of the ship. This area had patio-style couches and wicker chairs, wooden tables and chairs, and lots of loungers. It was also serviced by a wait staffer as early as 6am who would bring coffee and hot tea. This is not a walk-around deck, so no other passengers were walking by to be offended by those that were smoking. Negative: Forget about going to "Churchills" to smoke. Small, inadequately furnished room with very poor wait staff. Positive: You will never go hungry. Food abounds at all times of the day. Best kept secret is Alfredo's Pizza. Looks like a specialty dining room but has complimentary pizza and other small Italian dishes. It rates five stars and was the best food consumed during the entire cruise. Also look for the complimentary fish and chips served once during the cruise in the Crown Grill. Was happy to see a "New Grounds" coffee counter near the buffet area which avoided having to walk all the way to the front of the ship. Also afternoon tea was a fun experience in the dining room. Negative: Buffet area was confusingly arranged and seemed to cater to foreign appetites. Dinners in main dining rooms was adequate, but not memorable. Also, found that our 'anytime' dining room was not really ANYTIME at all. They took reservations which is something new. Just showing up (anytime) might mean you would have to wait hours to be seated. This necessitates calling every afternoon to book your evening dinner reservation. Other positives: Always something going on, so never a dull moment aboard the ship. Great movies playing in cabins and very comfortable mattresses. Ship was large and beautifully decorated, although somewhat in subdued tones with lots of wood. Other negatives: Casino was tight. General store that sold liquor and cigarettes small and in a weird location. Perfume shop had very small selection, and jewelry store was way too expensive. Our cabin steward gets a bad review. He was not servicing room until late into the afternoon. In general, I would not cruise aboard Princess if I had to pay full fare. Read Less

British-flagged Royal Princess ship carries its prestige name as a dignitary ship because the cuisines are the best among its current 18-ship fleet. 1,300 cruise staff from 53 different countries are doing great jobs to keep nearly 3,600 guests happy. Below are the most passengers from the top 7 countries on the voyage: 3,340 from the U.S.A. (美国) 181 from Canada (加拿大) 19 from the United Kingdom(英国) 13 Mexico (墨西哥) 10 from Philippines (菲律宾) 7 from India (印度) 7 from Ukraine (乌克兰) I like Hammam that is a Turkish-style steam bath with an infused aroma that enhances well-being. The warm marble queen-size slab is a smoothing aqddition to any massage. A steam room from the top two hotels in Los Angeles just can't match. If you like seafoods, you can try the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar and try a Treasure Chest Sampler at $20, which comprises of five (5) items: 1/2 Dozen Fresh Shucked Oysters; Sashimi Trio, 6 pieces; Ahi Tuna Poke; Alasken Crab Cocktail and two Oysters Shooter (one is Grey Goose and the other Tekila). The six shucked WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS provided by RESTIGE OYSTERS, INC. CERTIFIED OYSTERS FROM TX, USA is fresh and tasteful , and it is one of the best fresh oysters you can find. The sampler is worth your money because I had a half dozens of oysters at an upscale French restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $18.00 and found the quality and tastefulness of the WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS on this cruise ship are far better, in addition to other four (4) items of seafoods. Please don't miss the last day cruise-lunch buffet at the Horizon Court where you will find a variety of amazing seafoods such as Shucked Oysters referenced above, Giant Cocktail Shrimps, Giant Clams etc. It is worth mentioning that the French onion soup in the evening dining restaurants is the best - it is very difficult to find it in Los Angeles - you definitely can't get it on both Sky Princess (10/2019) and Majesty Princess (03/2018) when I was on the ships. The Elite Lounge foods from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily is also the best since I have not yet seen for many years. If you like seafoods, you can try the Treasure Chest Sampler at $20, which comprises of five (5) items: 1/2 Dozen Fresh Shucked Oysters; Sashimi Trio, 6 pieces; Ahi Tuna Poke; Alaska Crab Cocktail and two Oysters Shooter (one is Grey Goose and the other Tequila). The six shucked WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS provided by RESTIGE OYSTERS, INC. CERTIFIED OYSTERS FROM TX, USA is fresh and tasteful, and it is one of the best fresh oysters you can find. The sampler is worth your money because I had a half dozens of oysters at an upscale French restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $18.00 and found the quality and tastefulness of the WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS on this cruise ship are far better, in addition to other four (4) items of seafoods. The last-day cruise lunch seafoods buffet is the best with high quality seafoods such as the wild oysters referenced above, giant cocktail shrimps and clams etc. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we were looking for a shorter trip to a warmer area on the West Coast. We had a deluxe balcony cabin mid aft. It was smooth sailing, quiet and we enjoyed the verandah. I went to the fitness center every AM and then had breakfast either at the Horizon Bistro or MDR. Meals were okay, tea was fun, but we liked the pizza at Alfredo's.The dinner at the Crown Grill was well worth it--best meal all cruise. The International Cafe had coffee drinks, pastries, good salads and sandwiches. We did not participate in the activities per say, but enjoyed the Sanctuary and the Enclave. Skipped the comedian, but went to Colors of the World (just okay) and the singer, Cheaza (she was really good!) The service was friendly EXCEPT for the front desk at the Lotus Spa. I guess she thought she was the Ice Princess and was entitled to be rude. I didn't really want to book any services there anyway. In Cabo, we went on the Zodiac whale watch tour and would rate that 5 stars. Highly recommended. We do not think we would go again, but try a smaller ship for any future cruises. Apparently cruising w/3600 others is not for us. Read Less

We had over 50 CC members sign up for our Meet & Mingle scheduled for our first sed day. I had prearranged the time and place with a Princess representative and kept her updated as our anticipated crowd grew over time, contacting her just days before departure to keep her ‘in the loop’. I requested for a few ‘key staff’ if available to answer any questions and to get better acquainted with each other. NONE attended. The Meet and Mingle was otherwise fun lasting well over an hour. We set aside a later time and date for a ‘Slot Pull’ at the Casino. Due to the Super Bowl being the same day as the M&M, we decided to hold it on the last sea-day of our short five-day cruise. Though not as well attended as I had hoped, we were very lucky, with each participant over tripling their initial investment. The five days went quick. We were blessed with good weather for our overnight in Cabo San Lucas. As far as I could tell everyone had a real good time. I know I did! As an aside… This was my first Cruise on a 'Medallion Enabled' Princess Ship. The pre-cruise preparation for the Medallion is redundant and cumbersome. Having to enter everything over after already giving it to the Princess website is a waste of time. The instructions for their 'scan' app for our passports were unclear and/or the scan mechanism was faulty requiring many, man, retries. Even after we finally succeeded for both of us, only one worked at check-in requiring a wait while they re-scanned the passport. I talked with others who shared similar frustrations. Read Less

We were hoping to get out of the cold weather, but found California and Mexico to be considerably colder in late January than we expected. Fortunately coming from cold Montana we were use to the chill. We'd been on the Royal Princess before and found it still be a very beautiful and well maintained ship. All the staff and workers on the ship were very friendly and helpful, but that is a common attribute on all Princess ships. We flew into Los Angles and took the Go Shuttle to our Best Western Plus hotel in San Pedro. We usually used Super Shuttle for our transportation to our motel, but they have since went out of business. I believe that Go Shuttle must simply have a contract with Uber or Lift because they were located in that area and we were pickup up in Toyota RAV4 SUV rather than the usual shuttle area. If you use this service be sure to get good directions to the pickup area because it took us a lot of walking and asking questions to find them. No one seemed to recognize the name "Go Shuttle" at the airport. It was by far the cheapest service we could find at $39.95 for both me and my wife. Food was excellent throughout the ship. We thought the beef steaks and roast were considerably better than on our previous cruises on Princess, but the fruit wasn't all that great, but that was probably due to the time of the year. We were a bit disappointed with the theatre shows and would like to see more diversity in the type of shows. The comedian Carlos Oscar was very good, but the production shows "Colors of the World" and Encore" were both a big disappointment. Marcus Prince Juanta was possibly the best cruise director we have ever had, funny, but not silly like so many others. Rolando and his assistant in the Concerto Dining Room were both great as was Avinash in Alfredro's Pizzeria. And Zelenir from Brazil serving up the ice cream cones around the swimming pool was exceptionally nice to talk to. Getting to know and talking to people like these simply make our cruises great ones. We often prefer smaller ships, but overall the Royal Princess is a great ship and one of the most beautiful in our opinion. Read Less

Overall we enjoyed the Royal Princess. The staff is excellent with the exception of our room steward who was just average. We returned to our cabin several times later in the day, and it had not been serviced. This also happened at evening turn down. The ship is beautiful and our suite well appointed, however it was very worn with stains on the carpet and couch. The bathroom was "very" dirty and our balcony was filthy!! Most of the public areas were clean except the buffet seating areas which could have used a scrubbing. The food was excellent in both the MDR and buffet's. Serve was also excellent in both places. The entertainment from the ship's dancer's/singer's were somewhat lacking. Music was very loud and show themes were sometimes disjointed and dark. Comedian, guest singer and musicians were good. Entertainment in the Piazza was good. The sales consultants in the Faucets store were very pushy to the point of being rude when you didn't but anything. Internet was good all the times we used it. Really liked the "on demand" tv/movie selection Medallion worked well and was easy to use. Read Less

I chose this cruise as it was Mexican Rivera. The itinerary was changed to give us less time in Cabo which was annoying as we had booked a tour with Princess that was a drive away from the city. Tour was rushed and not enough time was given to explore Cabo. Not worth the money. The food was average. I will say there was better choice in the Buffet and the food tasted better than the dining room. It was just finding a seat that was more difficult. We ordered room service breakfast one morning and it came stone cold. The staff were just putting in time. They were efficient but did not seem overly friendly. The Pub lunch was awful. I wanted to have an experience at the spa but you had to book and entire week package. All other spas I have been to, you can get access to the amenities if you book a treatment. When I suggested this I got a rude response. They need to have a day package where you can visit the enclave only. The entertainers throughout the ship were amazing. Activities were great. The highlight was spending time in the Sanctuary. Great staff and peaceful surroundings. Worth the small extra fee. The cabins were spacious. Nice bathtub. Very comfy beds. They need to pay attention to cleaning the balcony. I had booked a Princess cruise for the British Isles before going on this Mexican cruise. The itinerary is one I wanted but I don't think I will cruise with Princess after that one. I certainly see a difference between Celebrity and Princess. Read Less