The Royal Princess is a gorgeous ship. There are 19 decks. The entertainment is good. The pianist, Ray Coussins in the piano bar is a very accomplished pianist. He is an older gentleman. He asks for requests but never knows the songs. He tells the same stories night after night. One performance is enjoyable, the second was repetitious and the third annoying as he plays the exact same songs and tells the same stories. We really enjoyed him the first night. They had a Beatles impersonator band that put on a great performance in the theatre when we left Liverpool. The next night they played in the Atrium for dancing and the passengers were three deep watching from the staircase. The dance floor was really crowded. There are other bands and groups that are playing throughout the cruise in the atrium.
The first production show was Colour Our World. Colourful, well choreographed and very enjoyable. The lead voices were excellent! They brought on local entertainment in Dublin and Greenock that was very good. Another performance starring the singers and dancers is called The Secret Silk. Another enjoyable show. In order to get a seat, you need to get to the theatre at least 25 minutes before showtime.
Food in the dining room has been good except the first night. If you’ve travelled Princess before the first night they always offer prime rib. It was tough but we ploughed through it. The second night was formal night, so we ate in the Horizon Court. I don’t like buffet’s, but Royal Princess has the best buffet I’ve ever had on any cruise line! It’s very well staffed. The layout is the most efficient I’ve seen on any ship. Breakfast, Horizon Bistro (light chairs and white tables) closest to the pool is a continental breakfast. Horizon Court (dark chairs and black marble tables) has a full breakfast. They bring water, coffee, juice, cutlery and napkins to your table. There are sinks and soap to properly wash your hands before you enter. They also have the hand sanitizer, double protection!
Favorite dish dining room third night: seafood skewer with mango salsa!
Tonight, we went to the Crown Grill for dinner. It’s a specialty restaurant where they have a surcharge. It’s formal night tonight and you don’t need to dress formal in specialty restaurants. We go to a specialty restaurant or the buffet on formal nights, if we are travelling with people who don’t like to dress formal. If our travelling companions like to dress and we have room in our luggage for formal clothes, we eat in the dining room where the dress code is enforced. Cheryl and Dave did not want to pack good clothes as they take up room in your suitcase and need to dry clean them when you return home.
The food in the Crown Grill was excellent. We all had different appetizers, four had French onion soup, Jean had shrimp bisque and I had salad. They were all tasty. For dinner four of us had beef tenderloin, Cec had crown roast of lamb and Jean had the Sea Bass. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Lexie wanted the “dessert sampler” which isn’t even shown on the menu. They cruise a lot with Princess and she had it on another Princess ship. It is a small portion of five desserts. She took a picture that I’ll post when I get home.
The laundry put a nasty stain on the cuff of one of Dave’s good shirts. We took it to guest relations and didn’t get a great response from the agent on duty. We were nice however, I have his card and if they have ruined his shirt I will take it further. While we were at the desk, we noticed a sheet that said “Bingo 309 cards sold, $4,454.00 Net Proceeds”!
Right now (2100 hrs), the ship’s position is at the northern tip of Scotland. The Faroe Islands are further north. Tomorrow we are in Invergordon, Scotland. We’ve booked an all day ship tour to Loch Ness that includes lunch and a drive through the highlands and the city of Inverness. We leave at 8:00 and return at 4:45. The rain stopped in the early morning but it’s chilly outside. It’s a great relief from the heat of the south. Another great day at sea!
