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| Christened by the Duchess of Cambridge |
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| The dress she wore when she christened the ship She was pregnant with George at the time |
The following is my synopsis of the ship for those who are booked on the Canada New England sailings in September and anyone who sails the Royal Princess when she comes to the West Coast next year. Her home port will be Los Angeles where she will do Mexico and California Coastal. In May she will sail one day to Alaska from Vancouver. I really like the layout of the ship; however, the balconies are very small! These are my opinions and observations.
The Royal Princess is a gorgeous ship. 19 decks high. The atrium is on deck 5 but is open to deck 7. A lot of entertainment and activities are in the atrium. You can see and hear everything from deck 6 and 7. At night bands perform on deck 5 but can be enjoyed from decks 6 and 7 midship. It’s a great concept. There is a sea walk that goes over the port side of the ship on deck 16. You can see below to the sea. I don’t like heights, but I enjoyed walking over it.
There is an adult’s area pool if you are looking for quiet place to go. There is also The Sanctuarythat is an adult only pay area. If you want a spot at the Sanctuary, you need to reserve it on day one as soon as you get on. In the warmer climates it books quickly. You are assigned your own private Cabana with a refrigerator and flat screen TV. There are comfortable loungers with thick covers and they give you light spa fare and refreshing drinks. I’ve never paid for the Sanctuary, but some people really enjoy it.
Movies Under the Stars and Fountain shows! Lots of movies and concerts are shown on the huge outdoor screen on the pool deck. They have blankets and popcorn. If it’s cool take a couple of blankets as they are quite small. At the fountain pool they have a “water colour Fantasy” water and light show.
Princess Live is a TV studio where they have interactive game shows and sometimes trivia.
Princess Theatre is where all the production, headliner and speakers are featured. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, but it fills quickly so get there at least 25 minutes before showtime to ensure a seat. It’s forward and accessed through the casino on deck 6 or through the shops on deck 7. There are four exits, much better than most cruise ships.
Princess Casino is on deck 6. There is smoking on one side, however if you don’t smoke the smoke smell is throughout the casino. They have non-smoking nights, but I didn’t smell a difference.
Churchill’s is right outside the Casino. I think it’s a cigar bar, but I never opened the door to check.
Vista Lounge is aft deck and lots of activities, entertainers and movies are shown there.
Dining:
Breakfast – 6 AM to 11:30 PM daily in the Horizon Bistro (Continental) and Horizon Court Buffet (full breakfast). They staff it well and bring cutlery, water, coffee and juice to your table. One dining room serves breakfast everyday from 7 AM until 9 AM. Fresh cooked and great service. International Café is open 24 hours and has lots of sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, panini’s, cookies, cakes and other treats. If you want coffee, a latte or another fancy coffee there is a charge, but the food is free. We heard the breakfast sandwiches were made to order and very good.
Lunch – 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM in the Horizon Bistro & Horizon Court. On Sea Days one of the dining rooms will be open. Check the Princess Patter for dining rom and times. On Embarkation Day they open one dining room for lunch. They do not tell you it’s open but look at every dining room if you want a quiet lunch with service and white tablecloths. It’s open from 12 – 1:30. The best surprise for lunch is Alfredo’s Pizzeria! It’s midship deck 6 and serves hand tossed Neapolitan-style fresh out of the oven pizza. You can also get calzone, pizza baguette and baked pastas. They offer antipasti for starters and they also serve desserts. It was a delicious place for lunch with table service and great ocean views! If you like sushi, go to the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar. There is no charge for lunch, snacks or dinner in Alfredo’s.
Dinner – set time or anytime dining, there are three dining rooms, Concerto, Symphony and Allegro. You will be assigned to one of them upon embarkation. If you are assigned Allegro, it’s a little difficult to find. Use the AFT elevators to deck 6. Deck 6 doesn’t go through, so you must go up to deck 7, walk aft and then walk down a to deck 6.
Room Service is available 24 hours a day. The menu is in your stateroom book and you order it using the button on the phone. You can get snacks or full meals including alcohol delivered directly to your stateroom. For some reason they charge $3.00 for pizza delivered to your room. They charge for Assorted Canapes, Vegetable platters and other party food, but sandwiches, burgers, dinners are free of charge. I always tip the delivery person.
Gelato is wonderful ice cream take out on Deck 5, however there is a charge. By the pool you can get Swirl ice cream (soft serve). Trident Grill is by the pool area too and offers hamburgers and hot dogs during the day, no additional charge. We never went to either of these venues.
Specialty Dining (additional charge):
Crown Grill, my favorite steak house. I had the tenderloin and it was awesome. The vegetables are served family style, so you can take what you want. Service is superb.
Sabatini’s a Tuscan inspired specialty restaurant. I’ve eaten here on other ships and it never disappoints. On this cruise, one night they had a dinner and wine pairing Cheryl and Dave thoroughly enjoyed. Dave said they got some of their “wine facts” wrong! They thought it was funny. Dave also told us restaurants make the most profit on the second cheapest wine. When people eat out they never order the cheapest wine but the second cheapest, so the restaurants have their highest profit margin on the second cheapest! I’m guessing I’ve fallen for that at some time.
Crab Shack is open on a few nights on your cruise. It’s located in the Horizon Bistro and they have fresh crab. Watch the Princess Patter if you want to try this. I’ve never tried it but will on another cruise. On this cruise it was only offered once! Maybe they are out of crab.
Ultimate Balcony Dinner is available if you have a balcony and want a quiet dinner for two on your balcony. It comes with wine, flowers and you pre-order your entrée.
Before you sail, make any specialty reservations online if you want to celebrate a special occasion as some of these venues fill before sailing. On formal night you do not need to dress formal in the specialty dining rooms or Horizon Court.
Before you sail, you can order bottled water online. I ordered 12 / 500 ML bottles for US $8.00! If you wait until you sail, the same bottles are $2.00 per bottle. If you want to refill your water bottle, go to the gym on deck 17, there is a drinking fountain that makes it very easy to refill water bottles.
Internet:
If you want internet access they usually offer a special before you sail and on day one of your cruise. You will not get the speed you get at home. It will be very slow and can disconnect. Skype and other heavy broadband sites are blocked. I could not upload my pictures to the cloud. If you want to get on the internet, you create an account and make sure you follow the instructions to log off. If you don’t your minutes will still be counted! If you aren’t sure, go to the internet café and they will help you.
Cell Phones:
Princess has a free app “Princess at Sea”. You should upload the app on your Apple or Android cell phone before you leave home. When you board, put your phone in airplane mode and then open wi-fi and connect to Royal Princess. You can read the events of the day, review your shipboard account, order breakfast in your room and message anyone else on the ship who has the app on their phone. It makes it very easy to locate friends using their free messaging service. Always make sure you do not attach to “Marine Cell Service at sea”, the charges are horrific! This will not happen if you are in airplane mode. When the ship is docked, and the engines are off you can connect to local cellular networks like AT&T, Verizon, Vodaphone, Telus, Rogers etc., but make sure you have a roaming package before you leave home. Even in Canadian waters when the ship is sailing you will attach to Marine Cell!
Every adult can carry on one 750 ML bottle of wine on board without charge. If you want to bring on more, they charge $15.00 corkage before you board. They want you to consume in your room.
