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ROYAL PRINCESS.

Saint-Tropez

This was the Royal Princess, Left Vancouver on 5/2/22 for a 12 night Alaska cruise.  Princess changed the ship a few months before.  This was the 1st cruise for the Royal in over 2 years and as such, there were a few bumps.  The first couple of days the MDR dinner took over 2 hours, then it smoothed out and became more on target.  The staff were EXCELLENT!  All seemed to be excited to have a job and working again.  The ship was clean and sparkled.  Everyone on board had a positive attitude.  We required Distilled water for CPAP machines and it was in our cabin when we arrived.  Our cabin steward was very responsive to our needs.  We are not high maintenance cruisers, and any requests we made, he took care of.  Everything worked in our cabin and we had no issues.  The only 2 items that we were not happy with was the quality and quantity of the food in the MDR and buffet.  Not enough choices and quality was  not that great.  A minor issue in the bathroom: The butt-clinging shower curtain was a nuisance.  Alaska was awesome!  If you can only do one excursion, take the Greatest Catch trip in Ketchikan.  You will be amazed!  See how real Bering Sea fishermen make their living.  That is a must do!

Kusadasi

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary, which did not disappoint until the last three ports were cancelled due to weather.The ports were:First half of cruise: Guernsey, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Greenock, Orkney, Invergorden, Edinburgh, LeHavre, Second half of cruise: Rotterdam, Hamburg..cancelled: Bergen Norway, Belfast and Newfoundland because of extreme weather conditions.Better safe than sorry is the phrase to remember when on the high seas!

We flew from the West Coast of the U.S via princess EZAir on Delta Airlines and landed mid morning at Heathrow. Absolutely NO problems w/the flight. I reserved a driver from BA Transfers on line before leaving home. Very easy to set up and the price seemed reasonable for the service..who wants to schlep bags after  such a long, LONG flight in a strange city? NOT US. The driver was on time w/a sign  w/our name and took us directly to our hotel. He loaded and unloaded our bags.

  We stayed 3 days in London at the Grosvenor Hotel near Victoria Station. We both LOVED everything about this hotel. I wrote a complete review on TripAdvisor with my Cruise Critic name: Monterey Girll. I reserved tickets for a Buckingham Palace and Gardens Tour for our first day in London before leaving home. It was less than a mile from the Grosvenor. The tour was actually kind of disappointing. Or maybe I was expecting too much. Either way, I was glad we went but I won't go again. There is a kind of outdoor pavilion where you can buy food after the palace tour. Food was just OK.  The next  day we bought OYSTER cards for travel on the Tube. Kind of like a credit card that you can refill as needed  or get any remaining money back before you leave town.It saves you money and time. We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. You get off and walk a bit in a tunnel and wa-la, there is an entrance to the museum. Very handy on a cold, wet day. Wandered around the clothing, jewelry and silver exhibits. Had a quick bite there in a kind of cafeteria which was OK. Later saw a lovely dining room in the museum where they were serving lunch. I should have done more homework on where to eat in the museum before we left home.Would definitely like to go back someday and explore more of the museum and eat in that lovely dining room. From there we walked to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain and surrounding area.I know it was designed and built for kids but honesty, I was underwhelmed. It looked like a giant cement circular slip and slide. No statuary or bubbling fountains. Again, I was glad we went but I won't go again.  We had breakfast every day at our hotel. (See my TripAdvisor review of the Grosvenor Hotel) We had dinner one night at a pub across the street called Shakespeare.My fish and chips were perfect. Husband had a kind of French dip sandwich and fries that he also liked., plus a pint. Next night we walked about a block to another pub called Bag O'Nails, which to be honest , the name was what attracted us. I think it must be run by the same people as Shakespeare. Same menu but this place is not nearly as large.OK food.

 FINALLY, after over a year of planning, we were leaving on our much anticipated cruise!! Booked another driver from BA Transfers who took us from London to Southampton with no problems. Lots of luggage handlers at the pier to take our bags which was much appreciated. Embarkation was very smooth and well organized. I think we were walking on to the ship in about 20 minutes or less.I also think our room was cleaned and  ready..just waited a very short time for our FOUR bags to arrive. (Don't judge!!) 

 Of course everyone is always directed to the buffet on embarkation day.The buffet area was very large and well run. Usually these  buffet places are packed and chaotic the first day. We were able to find a place to sit and eat and had drinks served within minutes. If we were not off the ship, we had lunch either here or outside at the hamburger grill near the pool. The buffet area was immaculate and the dining area adjacent was also kept very clean.IMO, there was always something good to eat for lunch and the desserts were  excellent.  On two occasions we also ate dinner at the buffet. Just didn't feel like getting dressed up for FOUR formal nights. One formal for each cruise would have been plenty. Or simply do away w/formal nights altogether.. 

Our evening meals were  honestly just OK. I understand that when serving thousands of people that you can't get too creative about what is served.The portions seemed smaller, or should I say *more like normal* than cruises in the past, which everyone I talked to agreed it was a good idea. We felt everything was quite bland. Many of the cuts of meat were more fat and gristle than meat. It took an incredibly long time to get served our meals in the dining room, especially on the second half of the cruise. 45 minutes wait for our appetizer every night ? 20 minutes for after dinner coffee, etc to even be offered? I absolutely do not blame our servers who were hustling nonstop. We blame it on the regular dining rooms being very understaffed.We wondered if wait staff is being diverted to these money making specialty restaurants at the regular dining room 's expense? Speaking of which..we ate dinner one night at the crown Grill. Totally worth the cover charge, in our opinion. The service and food were beyond reproach. The only gripe I had about the Crown Grill is about the guy who came to our table to pitch the wine and food pairing event. He was everywhere! He even came to our table in the regular dining room and the bar we were seated at . We felt like we were in Mexico where the condo salesmen hound you everywhere you go. I know it was his job to do so but enough is enough! We also ate lunch one day at the sushi bar for a fun change of pace. They have a $20.00 special which provided plenty of food for the two of us to share., There are also several little things you can order for free if you buy a drink. I had FREE steamed edame beans added to our lunch special. Delish.

 It took so long to get thru our meals..sometimes 2 1/2 hours, we never made any of the shows.We had "anytime dining" and were always seated by 5:30 at a table for 4 or 6. Still don't know what the hold up was but we always missed the early show. We were off the ship in every port so we were just too tired to make the late show. Likewise, never on board for the enrichment programs and activities. I did go to the library and found NO books in English. Very disappointed. A lovely room with pretty much nothing in it. Next time I will bring my own books. We tried to download some books while in port but the connection was either nonexistent or just too darn slow to make it worthwhile . Lesson learned there. We did enjoy listening to the various musical entertainment in the public rooms. Never actually saw a movie on the Big Screen outdoors but again, enjoyed listening to music broadcasts out there while we were having burgers and fries for lunch.BTW, the outdoor movies are shown in your cabin the next day. The movie selection on the TV was actually quite decent. Our favorite bar was Crooners and our favorite server was Glady, who worked there most evenings. Given the northerly itinerary, I was surprised not to find an indoor pool. Until our cruise was diverted south, it was just too cold to use the outdoor pools. Some people braved the cold and wind and sometimes rain, but not me! I joined the "Enclave" in the spa area which was a mistake. I have used and enjoyed the Persian Gardens on other ships and thought this would be pretty much the same.I blame myself for not paying for a one day pass to see if I liked it before paying for the second half of the cruise.   There was a largish kind of hot tub pool w/various water features, heated tile lounges, misting showers, two heated waterbed type loungers and a couple steam rooms and I think a hot sauna. Trouble is this was all in a windowless area where  the walls and ceiling are painted black. I was usually in there alone which was just plain creepy.The dressing room was bright and clean w/loads of windows. Go figure. We both had haircuts on board. Mine was fantastic and I was very happy with the service and the results. Husband not thrilled with what he thought was a butcher job. I thought he looked great. Guess it's a matter of opinion and the luck of the draw when it comes to hair stylists. Neither of us used the gym , although my husband walked the track every morning.

  It was usually cold everywhere we went with  few exceptions. Bring layers to include at least a warm jacket, hat and scarf. Gloves would also be good.We took privately arranged tours in almost every port. I have made these arrangements for small groups of fellow Cruise Critic members in the past but not this cruise. This time I left the work to others and was very satisfied with the prices, our guides and their tours. We were NEVER late coming back to the ship but we had to wait to leave port a couple hours once for a very late ship sponsored excursion. Please don't be afraid to  join a private excursion you see on the Cruise Critic site. And join as soon as you see one you think you would like even if the cruise is months and months off. These private excursions fill up fast. If you snooze, you loose! They are always, ALWAYS cheaper and less crowded and more personal. My only advice would be not to go real far away when the ship will be leaving port early . As a rule of thumb, we always planned  TO BE BACK ON BOARD at least 2 hours before the all aboard time to allow for unseen delays  and we have  always gotten back in plenty of time.  Just remember that these private tour companies would not be in business long if they were late and their clients missed the ship! Their livelihood depends on us cruise passengers and our good reviews. If you want any info about any of the ports and private tours we used, please feel free to email me. I am happy to share the names of the companies and guides we used.

 We would definitely go on this cruise itinerary again.We pretty much got good value for our money. We loved every port and wish we could have visited all that were scheduled. Maybe another time if the weather cooperates. I probably would NOT cruise on the Royal Princess for this itinerary again. This ship seems better suited to warmer climates.

Two cruises in one! British Isles and Norway Adventure

We chose this cruise to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary and to have an opportunity to visit Berlin, Germany (via Hamburg port of call) and St. John, Newfoundland/Labrador, Canada. We had been to Rotterdam/Amsterdam, Bergen and Belfast in our earlier travels. While we were quite disappointed in not visiting St. John again on this voyage (our scheduled itinerary in our earlier cruise with Princess also cancelled Corner Brook, Newfoundland due to bad weather at that time), Captain Draper made the right decision to change the itinerary after Hamburg/Berlin last Sept 13 because of an intense temperate low pressure system forecast in the North Atlantic for the ensuing days endangering the safety of guests and crew with high winds and heavy seas caused by Hurricanes Florence and Helene.

Before this cruise, visiting Santiago De Compostela in Spain was one in our travel bucket list. While in Vigo, Spain, we took the opportunity to take excursion to Santiago De Compostela, the 3rd most visited pilgrimage shrine in the Roman Catholic institutions after Jerusalem and Rome. To be able to visit this place, a popular pilgrimage site since the 15th century was a blessing for my wife and me.

As well, prior to this cruise, we had been endeavouring to take a cruise with Azores Islands as a destination. To have an opportunity to visit the historical and beautiful Ponta Delgada in the island of Sao Miguel, the most visited of the 9 Azores Islands, 900 miles west of Lisbon, was an extra bonus for us. The 9-hour shore excursion we took was wortth the penny we paid for this tour.

So itinerary-wise, because of this change in itinerary dictated by the safety of guests and crew mentioned, enabled us to have three itineraries in one voyage!

This cruise was our 4th sailing with Royal Princess. So we were also looking forward to have a relaxing, enjoyable and memorable cruise with the ship's public areas, cabin (our stateroom with a balcony was our home away from home on this voyage), dining, entertainment, activities, destination lectures, enrichment classes, and above all the friendliness, tactfulness and helpfulness of staff we dealt with, which we were not disappointed.

On a cruise, one can be active or lazy. Given our age (78 and 72) and years of cruising experience, apart from getting off the ship in every port of call, we opted not to participate in many activities we used to do. Yet, we found the relaxation we needed even by keeping ourselves together most of the time in our stateroom, balcony and entertainment venues/programs.

Withi this cruise, not only we celebrated our 49th anniversary quietly on the ship, but we also visited historical, beautiful and fascinating places, and enjoyed the dining, entertainment, actiivites, service and amenities of Royal Princess.

A revised itinerary that worked well for my wife and me

I chose this cruise to go to Hamburg and Belfast.  Unfortunately there was a storm that cancelled Bergen, Belfast and St Johns.  This is the second time we tried to go to Belfast and there was a storm in the way.  Someday we will get to go to the Titanic Museum.  We really like the smaller ships.  Very disappointed in the food after 22 cruises on Princess.  Lots of people were complaining about the food.  Vowing never to cruise on Princess again.  They used to offer a strip steak if there was nothing you wanted on the main menu.  Now it is a hamburger.  Not enough variety. Wait staff was very good!  We need more dishes from Curtis Stone.  I only saw the Seafood Stew, Pot Pie and Pork belly.  They need to work on the activities at sea.  On all transatlantic previously there were 2 enrichment lecturers.  There was just one on this trip.  Very boring activities.  Most seem to be connected with Princess making money.  THEY ARE TURNING PRINCESS INTO CARNIVAL.  Not a good thing.  You have cut Princess down instead of making it better it is getting worse with every cruise.

Nice ship but too big for us.

Been on many cruises and several transatlantic crossing.

The ship was nicely laid out and the food was good/average.

Entertainment was fair and there should have been more enrichment lectures.

Our itinerary was changed because of weather related issues, it happens and Princess gave OBC and future cruise credits.  Princess did the right thing.  Safety and customer service was handled correctly by the cruise line.

Noticed that this ship seemed to go to bed by 11PM, what was open on board was quiet and very few passengers.

When debarking in Brooklyn, one of my suitcases was never found at the pier or on the ship.

It is to easy for anyone to walk off with somebody's luggage, there or any other pier.

Princess will only reimburse $250 maximum for lost luggage, purchased travel insurance, so will get back additional $$ but still the aggravation of your personal belongings missing forever.

First Time Princess

Royal Princess Review September 10, 2018

Embarkation

The taxi driver dropped us curbside at the Southampton Cruise Terminal, and our bags were immediately whisked away. Unlike many terminals, you check in first, prior to going through security. The lines moved quickly and we were checked in within twenty minutes of our arrival. After being checked in, you’re given a number and told to relax in the waiting room until your number is called to go through security and board the ship. 

My wife normally packs a small paring knife in her checked luggage for slicing up fruit in our stateroom. Security noticed the knife when the bags were being x-rayed, and we were summoned to security to locate the knife and dispose of it. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After we disposed of the knife, we were taken directly to the gangway to board the ship, and therefore we missed the entire waiting room process.

Cabin

Our balcony stateroom Emerald 428 on Deck 8, is listed as having an obstructed view. I read a number of reviews of this cabin before booking it, that said it didn’t have an obstructed view. Obviously, I was a little nervous to see for myself. The balcony it actually a little larger than most because of the shape of the ship. There’s a lifeboat to the left, on the deck below which is why I assume it’s listed as having an obstructed view, but I wouldn’t consider it an obstructed view at all.

We liked the layout of the room and our stateroom position midship. We also liked the 42” flat panel LED television on the wall at the foot of the bed. We were very close to the midship elevators and it was a convenient location to get to everything.

Our sliding door to access the balcony was extremely difficult to open, it took both of us to slide it open.

Our cabin steward Renaldo started off sensational but service rapidly declined as the cruise progressed.

Ship

This was our 28th cruise and our third with Princess. Although we have Diamond Status with Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society, and Elite Status with Celebrity’s Captain’s Club, now we mostly book our cruises based on itinerary and the price. 

One of the best thing about the Royal Princess, is the self-service Laundromats on each deck. We had been in the U.K. a week before boarding, and it was wonderful to wash and dry a couple of loads of laundry after we boarded.

Although, the ship was built in 2013 and is only five years old, it feels much older in every way. The décor in general feels very outdated. It’s quite worn for such a new ship. We noticed boarding how rusted the hull is. The carpets, the furnishings, almost every aspect of the ship shows signs of excess wear and tear.

Dining

What really shocked us, was that a newer ship would be built to such old standards. In a world of competing mega-ships that offer dozens of dining options, the Royal Princess is like a twenty-year old ship trying to adapt itself to modern day standards.

There are only three Specialty Restaurant options, Crown Grill (Steakhouse), Sabatini’s (Italian), Crab Shack (Seafood). Only Sabatini’s is housed in a purpose-built restaurant space. The Crown Grill is in a pub space, and the Crab Shack is hosted in a roped off section of the Horizon Court (Buffet) area. On this fifteen-night cruise, the Crab Shack option was only offered on two nights. The Crab Shack menu was wonderful and the food was exceptional. However, the ambience was terrible sitting amongst the buffet guests. The Sabatini’s menu offered a poor selection of Italian specialties, and the Crown Grill was by far the best of the three specialty restaurants. We celebrated my wife’s birthday at the Crown Grill and it did not disappoint, her Ribeye was incredible, and my Filet Mignon was exquisite.

The main dining room menu options for dinner were some of the worst we’ve see in our thirty-four years of cruising. The food was mostly mediocre to poor, with the deserts being the highlight of most of the dinners each night. The rolls and bread were extremely hard, maybe it’s a European thing, but we prefer softer bakery items. There are three main dining rooms, The Symphony, The Concerto, and the Allegro. We had “Anytime Dining”, and which dining rooms we could eat in at which times was very confusing. Getting a table for two was extremely difficult. There were only a handful of real tables for two in each dining room, the majority of the time we were seated in areas where long tables were pulled a foot or two apart, and you were seated 18” from the person next to you. This is not what I consider a table for two. Also, the staff encouraged you to share tables, and shamed you for asking for a table for two. This is also the first cruise we’ve been on where the waiters are constantly trying to upsell something. The dining rooms were severely understaffed. Our waiter one evening had five two tops and three five tops. One waiter trying to serve 25 guests with “Anytime” dining results in a disaster. Assistant waiters were in very short supply. The food was rarely ever hot. Often, we watched our dinner sit on the waiter’s station for 10-15 minutes prior to the them delivering it to our table. On numerous occasions, my wife sent her dinner back as it was cold. This goes back to the ship trying to operate “Anytime” Dining using the old Traditional Dining model, and not like a regular restaurant where diners come and go.

The Allegro Dining Room is the only dining room that served Breakfast and Lunch. Guest began lining up thirty minutes or more before this dining room opened, to get a table. Once the dining room was full, there were long lines and long waits. A second dining room should have been opened, as no one should have to wait in line to have breakfast or lunch. We have always preferred to eat breakfast and lunch in the dining room, as it is generally served hotter than the luke warm food at the buffet. Again, we were disappointed as the food almost always arrived cold. The breakfast and dinner menus in the Allegro were no more inspiring than the dinner menus. The breakfast menu was always the same, on the left with one or two special items on the right side that differed every day. Many fundamental breakfast items were missing, like waffles, French Toast, and Eggs Benedict.

The Horizon Court Buffet was adequate, but it offered typical smorgasbord fare that was faintly warm and never hot. There was one Omelet station, but you had to really search for it, and very few cooking stations where chefs offered anything fresh or custom.

I can understand an old ship being retrofit to accommodate “Anytime Dining” but with ships the same age like the NCL Breakaway & Getaway being outfitted with twenty-one restaurants, the Royal Princess dining options are quite archaic. 

Service

With the exception of our stateroom steward who went above and beyond, the staff and crew were unenthusiastic. They went through the motions, but mostly they made you feel as if you were bothering them, if you made a request. This was particularly true in the dining rooms. The majority of the staff did not have a very good command of the English language. On a few occasions the staff was downright rude. One night my wife moved her fork from where it was placed, and the waiter said “What’s wrong, are you left handed or something”?

Itinerary

We chose this particular cruise especially for the itinerary. Following the first two ports, Rotterdam and Hamburg, the captain informed us that the next three ports were being cancelled, due to inclement weather concerns. Bergen Norway, Belfast Northern Ireland, and St John’s Newfoundland were quickly replaced with two new ports, Vigo Spain and Ponta Delgado, and the ship would cross the Atlantic on a more southernly course, arriving in New York on schedule. 

We docked in Vigo on a Sunday when absolutely nothing was open. Ponta Delgada was better than Vigo but still these ports paled in comparison to our original itinerary. After we sailed from Ponta Delgada, we received a notice that each guest would receive a $200 credit for the disruption to our schedule. While this was a welcome gesture, you really can’t put a price on missing destinations that you had dreamed of visiting all your life. I suppose the only positive, was the few days of warmer than expected weather. Sadly, we hadn’t packed shorts or any cooler garments, knowing this was going to be a cool weather cruise.

The Ship

Much of this I’ve already covered in some form. As is the case with most cruise ships, the hot tubs were far from hot. There’s no covered pool which is disappointing, and I never wrapped my head around the area they call the “Retreat”. It’s an exclusive area where you can rent an expensive cabana, but there’s no pool? The areas for walking are extremely limited and the outside deck on level seven is restricted to crew only. There’s a tiny walking/running track at the stern of the ship, that requires seven laps to equal a mile.

Entertainment

The entertainment onboard was poor to begin with, and the change in itinerary only complicated the already weak lineup. We have an entertainer friend that works on cruise ships year-round for a living. He tells us that Disney pays the best, with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity not too far behind. However, he says that Princess and their sister companies, Carnival and Holland America pay their entertainers 50% less. It was very obvious on this cruise.

The Transatlantic Crossing

Since this was our first Transatlantic voyage, we were a little nervous. On our five days crossing the Atlantic, the weather was fairly good. Only the third day Saturday, did we have rough seas, and on our last day it was cold and gloomy, with scattered rain. 

The morning of our final day at sea, a guest had medical complications, and the Coast Guard in Boston had to send a helicopter with airplane support to extract the guest.

Disembarkation 

We walked off with our own luggage as we had an early flight out of JFK, and the ships transfers wouldn’t guarantee you’d arrive in time for any flight before 2:00pm. Walking off went smoothly and quickly. Getting a taxi sucked. We had 20 people in front of us, and 100 behind us, and we waited over an hour. On average one taxi pulled up every five minutes? Why there was a shortage of taxis, I have no idea. We taxied to the nearby Jay Street Metro station, and took the subway to JFK, arriving at 10:20am, in plenty of time for our 12:27pm flight.

Wrap up

We’ve lived in Las Vegas for twenty-one years and have seen the cost cutting that’s gone on here locally for the past two decades. Everything is all about the bottom line. The cruise industry is no different, and each cruise we take, we notice the cost cutting, less staff doing more, and the decline of service and quality. Now that tips are automatically added to your bill, I have to wonder if the staff even gets them any longer, or if they’re all just on salary now. Without the old-style tipping process, there’s really no incentive for them to give you great service? I understand why mandatory gratuities were put in place, as many guests used to stiff the crew. There’s really no good scenario either way. 

Some cruise lines are worse than others and it was certainly noticeable this time with Princess. Sadly, nothing stays the same.

I’m not going to say explicitly that we will never sail with Princess again. Sometimes it the management or the crew of a specific ship and not necessarily the cruise line as a whole? However, Princess is not going to be high on our list for any vacation in the near future.

Norway and Atlantic Passage Cruise Gone South

Planned cruise months in advance and I must say a complete waste of money. Buffet staff was great, food was great, room attendant excellent but that was it. Entertainment was a joke, it was brutal. The onboard entertainers were the worse talent I have ever seen. They tried to sing Opera and it was a nightmare.The best act was a singer from New Zealand. They change the itenary so we miss Norway,  belfast and new Foundland Canada, reason due to storm Helen. When you look at map and the new ports they took Vigo Spain and Azores their claim was ludicrous, if it was so bad why were we still in Northern Atlantic.They gave us a $200 credit,  who cares. What was worse was ESPN went down sept 18 and I was told 5 different stories by the staff at guest services and I challenge them until a supervisor got involved. Resolution I had to purchase a internet plan to stream an event. I told the manager I needed 6mbps to stream and he said the current speed was 15mbps. I bought the $99 plan for 200 minutes,  which you have to go to logout.com to log off, go figure. The data speed was actually 1.6mbps a total sham. I called the internet cafe and the story was it is satellite internet, they are 400 users on , every excuse that I was not buying.  The event stream was a disaster. Pure dishonesty and I outright expose their internet as a racket. Ship boutiques worse I have seen. The selection was so poor, I was irritated to my core. One staffer said it best, the Royal Princess was for older people as 80% off the cruisers probably was over 70. First and last, I will be going back to Norwegian. Worse $4000 spent and a lesson learnt.

A ruined vacation

All in all, we really enjoyed it, but Princess would do well to take a few statistics classes. 

When we checked in at Southampton, woo, hoo, we’re platinum, you know. This is our eighth Princess Cruise (and could be our last if the keep playing those godawful reworded 70s Love Boat theme-song safety messages - thank GOD they stopped after the first day) so roll on the bennies!

Let’s skid sideways through the special quickie check in lanes and get this party started!!

The line for elite/suite/platinum/not-sure-what-else looked like Disneyworld suddenly decided to throw a half price sale. 

The Princess person guiding people in apologetically said they had a rush of elite guests.  Um...maybe. Or the boat is loaded with them.  

I’m no idjit.  Where’s the steerage lanes?

Waaaay down ther...I waddled with increasing speed towards the line that could’ve had tumbleweeds blowing through it.   Then I started doing my “come hither” dance at my other half.  It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done.  Splaying limbs, expressions of a Maori warrior communicating half the British armed forces are bivouacked over yonder hill, I’m certain I’m adorable in all my middle aged glory. 

So my beloved and a few other canny people moved to the unimportant people line, which ended in the same place. I figured, even if they sent ten premiums through for every one pauper, hell, we’d still be in our stateroom hours ahead.  We joined the remarkably short queue of commoners. 

As did several people from the premium lanes when they heard what we were doing - and those bods were halfway through the line already.  Ducking under the rope that separated their highnesses from the likes of us, they now had mere feet to get to the head of the line rather than wrapping around like the Haunted Mansion awaited them. 

The young woman in the Princess uniform at the front was trying to send more premiums than commoners through, but as we inched forward, the guy behind us cried, “We’re platinums!”  

I couldn’t help myself, I could see this young lady pulling him from the line ahead of us and hell, it was my idea in the first place, I was the Moses who lead this line of premiums into the General Area.  

Which, as I write that, sounds really snotty. Yes, we did jump the premium line, but honestly, it was set up in such a way that anyone could.  You just had to think about it. 

So I snorted and said “so are we!”

Well, that rattled her some...elite passengers from all directions, so she didn’t stop to think we’d walked through the almost empty third-class lane.   “Oh, of course.  Please, step this way,” much, I’m sure, to the annoyance of the next up in the elite lane. 

This, in turn, got us earlier tickets to get through the security checkpoint.  I kinda feel bad but really, it was there for anyone to do. 

Next comment:  The other thing Princess would do well to change about this cruise is the ice cream.  Last cruise, the ice cream bar by the pool had sugar free which they happily dispensed at no charge along with the sugary soft serve 12 hours a day.

I skip dessert at night...no hardship, sugar free mango cheesecake didn’t sound appealing, but a bowl of ice cream sure did.  I’m thankfully not diabetic but after my bariatric surgery I find I can only tolerate small amounts of sugar. 

So we get poolside, only to be informed if I’d like sugar free, they’d be happy to help me at the gelato bar** on deck five.  

Okay.  Couple issues with this. 

1.  The Royal Princess is one of the largest ships in Princess’ fleet. And Princess doesn’t really redesign their ships, they more accordion them - they stuff extra decks in.   I try to limit my elevator usage to one per day.  The pool is on 16.  Gelato is on 5. Bed is on 11...

2. The gelato bar** is always followed by asterisks.  Just like the Crown Grill**, Sabatini’s Italian Resturante**and the snooty tooty Lotus Spa**.  Yep.  You guessed it.  “May I have your cruise card for a moment, please?”  Cha-CHING!  Smarmy smile, as that automatically incurred a 17.5% tip on toppa the cost. Thank you, madame.

We can afford the charge, of course, it’s the idea of the thing. 

But I’m especially cheesed off for the child diabetics on these cruises who can’t just sneak an ice cream like any other kid can.  Instead, they have to choose to either mess with their blood sugar or have their folio rat them out - they can’t even pay cash outta their allowance.  What fun is that?  

So for my sugar intolerance, I get an extra $50 charge (yes, fifty bucks.  Don’t judge me. I don’t judge YOUR dessert consumption and two scoops are nearly $3 each. Over 15 days, that’s what? One a day?  Like YOU have ONE dessert a day?  

Please.)

This will get too long if I add everything that happened, so if you’re a glutton for punishment, I kept a semi-regular log at examiningmisadventures.com.

The Northern Atlantic became the mid-Atlantic halfway through...

To start with the is our 2nd cruise with Royal Princess, 16 with total with Princess. We chose this cruise based on great pricing on this one as it was in the storm season. Food was exceptional and the Captain Tony Draper was an outstanding communicator with a very strong customer orientation. Leaving Hamburg Germany the captain announce that the weather was not going to be  great therefore we had to drop the original three ports Bergen, Belfast and St John to avoided a big storm and head south to Vigo Spain and Porta Delgada.  Now  for the ship.  Excellent onboard entertainment and the ship was in great condition. The pizza at Alfredo's on the sixth deckr was the best we ever had. They will customize your pizza, have a great menu and, best of all, there is no extra charge. Ports were nice and we took   Amsterdam  excursion .Very  good. The production shows were outstanding. Princess offers great itineraries and opportunities to chill out, relax and reconnect. While there are lots of things to do onboard with a packed list of activity choices, it is not an adventure cruise line where you do rock-climbing, water-sliding and zip-lining. The Royal Princess is a beautiful relatively new ship (4 yrs) and accommodates over 3560 passengers. Great for seniors, couples, viewing the world, gourmet dining and just plain relaxing. Has for our cabin we were in inside B405 this first time being that the weather would be cold on the sea days. Cabin was OK but never again because due to missing all the port calls and departure.

North Transatlantic crossing 15 days,  Sept 10, 2018

Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego)

Our trip began with five days in Paris at the Novetel Les Halles.  Because we booked the hotel a little late we were not able to book the transfer from the hotel to Le Havre.  Instead our transfer was from the Gare Montparnasse which necessitated quick Sunday morning taxi ride arranged by the hotel.  A friendly Princess Representative quickly assisted with boarding the coach and we were on our way to Le Havre.  Once in Le Havre luggage was gathered, cruise cards obtained, French Boarder Control navigated and we were boarding the Royal Princess in under 10 minutes. 

When we travel we look forward to the unexpected experiences.  Our goal is to be prepared but also ready to enjoy changes to plans.  On another cruise, a strike in Le Havre necessitated a change in itinerary to Belgium which became one of the highlights of that trip.   We were looking forward to Bergen, Belfast, and Newfoundland this cruise.  Weather has a way of changing plans.  In an effort to keep the passengers, crew, and ship safe Princess quickly put together alternative ports and excursions in Vigo, Spain and Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal.  We must applaud them for their effort to keep us safe but also to offer us unexpected experiences.  Not only did passengers receive a $200 onboard credit but also a very generous 20% future cruise credit for fare paid between South Hampton and New York due to the change in itinerary.  What a great reason to book another cruise(s) with those ports.

The crew on the Royal Princess was top notch.  Each crew member was friendly and helpful.  The behavior of several passengers towards crew was cringe worthy.  However, the Royal Princess crew handled the situations with grace and dignity.  

Fixed dinning was our choice this time and each meal was enjoyed at a leisurely pace rather than the goal of many chain restaurants to reseat the table every 35 – 45 minutes.  Our wait staff allowed us to enjoy each course before bringing the next.  The food each breakfast and dinner was well prepared and delicious.  The waiter and assistant anticipated our needs and worked hard to make every meal enjoyable.  We mentioned that Indian food was a favorite and one evening we were surprised with an Indian feast prepared just for us!  

The Stateroom Steward freshened our stateroom quickly during our breakfast.  The bathroom was always cleaned with fresh linens twice a day.  Each day she made the effort to greet us and ask whether we needed anything.

Vines became the favorite place to enjoy a glass of wine before and after dinner.  The staff at Vines was outstanding.  After our first visit at the beginning of the cruise we were greeted by name each time we visited.   Due to the change in itinerary some of Vines patron’s favorite items became scarce.  Rocky, the Vines Bartender, used his contacts at the other bars on board to find adequate supplies of customer favorites.  

All too soon, the cruise came to an end.  The UN General Assembly made the transfer to the Hilton Midtown a bit slower.  The coach driver kept us entertained and informed about the sites along the way.  The Hilton Midtown was in an excellent location.  The Princess Representative worked hard to make sure that we were at the airport in adequate time despite the scarcity of taxis, heavy traffic, and closed streets.  

We look forward to sailing with Princess Cruises again.

Extraordinary Transatlantic Cruise

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