We booked a cabin in the most perfect of locations (for us)- Lido Deck. Our first instinct was to book on the back of Marina Deck, but for G to get to a hot tub, he would have had to 1.) walk up the aft stairs and through the buffet; or 2.) walk to mid ship and take an elevator up one floor. We would have sorely noticed the absence of mid-ship stairs above Deck 7. As it is, we haven't noticed that at all.
Same with balconies...I know that the balcony size has been significantly reduced on the Royal Princess, but our inside cabin is nicer than what we have on the Emerald Princess. The lighting is so much better...but they really needed to have all the cabin ceiling lights on one switch and the dressing area lights on another.
Having to put a card in to make the lights work...no issue. We used the key card from our pre-cruise night at the LQ, and just tuck it behind the switch plate when we leave the cabin.
Love the shelf in the shower for leg shaving. Why did they make it so wide that the shower curtain won't stay tucked in the shower pan?
Love the removable shower head and the unlimited hot water; hate the low flow shower head. It's fine for five days or a week, but we'll get that washer removed for a several month stay.
The toilet paper holder location wouldn't be so bad if the toilet paper wasn't so thin. When you pull the tissue at an angle (the only way) it tears. So much has been made of this, but, really, who cares? We put a roll on that bottom shelf and were good to go (so to speak). ;-)
The bathroom sink is the BEST! I was able to rinse out my size 11 Teva Toachi 2s in it yesterday after our walk on the beach in Grand Turk with room to spare. Love this! The handle on the faucet to close the stopper is too close to the mirror, but we can work with it.
G misses the top shelf in the cubbies in the dressing area (it's blocked off). But, in general, the four extra drawers we get have greatly improved our cabin storage.
The TV is amazing. The inside cabins have 32" Samsungs; the balcony cabins and suites have Viewsonics. We've been told that the Viewsonics are junk, and that's why there have been so many issues with them. The Regal Princess will have all Samsungs. We've not had a single issue, and are THRILLED with the choice in programming. I've never seen anything like it on a cruise ship. I cannot wait until we have this for a long cruise.
Mattress, linens, pillows, towels...perfection.
Our cabin was extremely quiet, both from ship noise and fellow passenger noise perspective. I'd read where there was inadequate soundproofing between the cabins; we didn't find that to be the case at all.
Room service: we've only called one time, for chocolate covered strawberries and to change out a few minibar items. The phone was answered promptly and service was almost immediate.
I would love more pools and hot tubs, a covered pool area, no MUTS during the day- but it's not going to happen. So be it.
The Princess Theater makes for a wonderful entertainment experience. The seats are no tighter than on the Emerald Princess. We don't miss the pull out trays for drinks because we never drink in there, but I have to think that the lack of them hurts drinks sales. We always enter and leave on Deck 6, and it's always fast. The lighting, the sound, even the LED backdrop (usually I hate that sort of non-traditional thing) is wonderful. We never went to a show there that was full- though we usually tried to get to an early show if possible.
I've only been in Princess Live for Zumba. It doesn't thrill me, but then we don't enjoy the kinds of entertainment that are usually offered there (game shows and passenger talent shows). I love the Princess Live Cafe, only because it had Cherry meringue cookies yesterday (yum!), those funky chairs outside Princess Live are surprisingly comfy, and the hallway adjacent to it is not as tight as it looks in the professional photos.
The Wheelhouse Bar just isn't the same. We don't dance, so it's not an issue, but I can understand why many are very disappointed. And as much as we enjoyed listening to Ray Cousins on the piano, that doesn't make for a very peaceful dinner in the Crown Grill.
The Vista Lounge, even with its ridiculous chair situation, is an improvement over Club Fusion on the Emerald Princess. But those chairs that, in the professional photos are shown turned backs to the stage really aren't that way...they're right up against the back of the bench seating in front of them. This doesn't work, plain and simple. We only saw one show in here- vocalist Mark Preston's second show, but it was comfortable...since we arrived in time to sit in the bench seating.
We've only been in the Concerto (Deck 6 midship) and Symphony (Deck 5 midship) Dining Rooms. They're typical Princess dining rooms, but for dinner they're opening the doors to enter the dining rooms on both sides, which is an improvement. It still feels like they've cut down on the through ways to reach tables, but it works.
Love the Piazza, but scheduling entertainment there consecutively instead of concurrently as they would if there were several different venues means fewer options to choose from.
Love the IC (plenty of seating) and Alfredo's. Went into Celebrations once; I'm the only person I've ever seen in there. Bellinis, suspended over the Piazza, vibrates. It's a weird sensation. I didn't go to the Ocean Terrace.
PSD and Shore Excursions locations are perfect. Sabatinis loses something when it's not up high on the back of the ship as on the Emerald Princess, but it's appearance is beautiful and elegant
There were never any sales tables set up in the evening in the Piazza. Please, Princess, don't change that!!!
Edited to add: yes there were, tonight, the final night of the cruise, in the photo area. For some reason, they felt they had to have two tables set up with photos of the ship. Bah humbug. But speaking of the photo gallery...
I dislike the photo gallery. It's too plain for the space, and the displays block the views of the ocean. Big thumbs down.
The casino was always packed, but we used Club 6 to move from the front of the ship to mid ship. The casino was smoky, but it's only noticeable near the shops on Deck 7 if you hang over the railing (and I'm pretty sensitive to smoke). Churchills is the real caution...the smoke reaks well outside its doors.
Club 6 is a disappointment as a venue for the Elite lounge. It reminds me of when it is held in the Explorers Lounge on the Island and Coral. No atmosphere, no views. Ho hum.
Shockingly, we don't really miss the Promenade Deck. I love the seating areas out there...when they're dry. We still pop out there every evening to watch the ocean go by.
The Horizon Court Buffet and Bistro is the most amazing buffet I've ever seen on a ship. The Horizon Terrace is wonderful. A pool would be better, of course, but it's very nice.
I'm disappointed in the hand washing sinks in the buffet. They should have had four sinks instead of two, more open instead of tucked away. This could have been so much better. Still, we use them every time we walk by.
We never used the fitness center. I like the location; with no cabins under it I had anticipated it would be open 24 hours a day, but it's still open 7am to 10pm. I will really miss the free sauna and steam room if we're on here for an extended period of time. I like the jogging/walking track concept, but it's awfully windy and hot up there. The exercise equipment is fantastic. The sports court and golf/croquet areas are nice.
There are a much higher number of loungers on the open decks than on other Princess ships. However, few of them have shade other than at certain times of day and the huge majority aren't near a pool. The hot tubs were not too hot or cold; there just aren't enough of them and/or they aren't large enough for our taste.
I never ventured into the Lotus Spa. I did visit the Sanctuary on embarkation day and it's everything they said it would be.
The elevators and fountains...well, you know my feelings on them.
We've listened to a lot of our fellow passengers, and there have been many concerns, but most of them relate to the quality of service, not the ship itself. Certain crew members bowled us over; others not so much. The single worst service seemed to come from the bar waiters in the Elite Lounge, which was really different than what we've found on other ships. If there was a bar supervisor in there, we never met him/her. Quite a change from the Emerald Princess where we've know who the bar supervisor was on Day 1 of a cruise.
Except for the pool areas, the Royal Princess feels far less crowded than the Emerald Princess. In fact, in the Piazza, there's more the feel of the Island Princess. We kept asking ourselves, "Where is everyone?" It's a nice change after the Super Grand Class ships.
Those are most of my thoughts for now. We're going to miss the Royal Princess and look forward to sailing on her again next year. She's not a perfect ship, but, for us, we foresee many enjoyable Royal Princess cruises in our future.
Photos: Royal Princess pool areas on a sunny sea day afternoon