Royal Princess Review
The Royal was ok; think we were hoping for more!
Rating by category
Additional details
Our cruise was the first on the Royal class ships, but not our first on Princess. We are Platinum (9 cruises) level. We had a smooth embarkation and love the fact Princess has your cabin ready when you embark. We normally choose a Suite category to stay in; we enjoy the larger space and the amenities.
The ship itself is gorgeous. The largest cruise ship we have sailed on to date; yet it wasn't that hard to become familiar with. We loved the enlarged size of the Piazza; lots of lovely places to sit and enjoy the afternoon/evening entertainment. We truly missed the Explorers Lounge and all what takes place there. We didn't care for Princess Live area and never went there for anything as it just didn't look inviting or relaxing!
The Horizon Court area in our opinion is too big. You get lost walking around in circles and by the time you find what you want to eat and have it on your plate and get to a table your food is cold. Service in this area was very poor to non-existent. Most days we had to literally flag down a server to get a drink for us; they were having to much of a good time chatting with each other!
Cabin Review
Penthouse Suite with Balcony
Our cabin was at the very front of the ship. We could see the crew pool from our bedroom window. The bedroom was HUGE; almost too much wasted space really. Loads of closet and drawer space for storing everything. It was really nice to wake up in the morning and be able to pull the blind up on the window and look out at the ocean from our bed. The bathroom was also very spacious; but the tub was a tad bit narrow in width. The living room area was adequate for the two of us, but no room for entertaining guests. The balcony was longer and very narrow. Just enough room for two chairs with a foot rest and tiny tables. What was very irritating was the almost constant loud banging noises coming from somewhere below. It must have been the thrusters, anchor and stabilizers...on calmer days it was not as noticeable. For this reason I would not book this suite again!
Port Reviews
St. Lucia
We loved the cute little area right off the ship; nice little village atmosphere with quaint shops!
Barbados
In the terminal a group of school children were singing/dancing/playing instruments for Christmas. This was a very special treat!
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
Nice area to shop with many shops/bars/dining right off the dock.
St. Thomas
The new area the ships dock at is not that great in my opinion. Only a handful of shops and not really any place to sit and truly relax in the shade.
Antigua
I never feel safe in Antigua; the shopping area right of the dock in my opinion is dirty and needs to be cleaned up!