First of all, it is important to accept that this ship is huge, with twice as many passengers as our beloved Sun class ships and is almost 20 years newer. That obviously means that the comparisons are in some respects unfair, but have to be made anyway.
First of all, the cabin – as that is where we inevitably spend the most time. We are familiar with the cabin layout of the Sun class ships (of course) and also the Emerald and Diamond Princess. On the latter, the upper cabins are somewhat stepped, meaning a larger balcony on three decks. It was surprising therefore to find that the cabin layout on the Royal was identical to the Emerald and the balcony the same size as the Sun class – meaning, small. The only difference is that the view out is better as the railing tops an all glass panel, rather than a mess of ironwork.
Inside, the layout will be familiar to the Emerald cruisers, with the walk in wardrobe. As mentioned previously, the power socket arrangement was less than satisfactory. There was one fewer socket on the desk and no power point at all on the opposite side of the cabin and no UK socket. That can be frustrating.
The large flat screen TV is located on the wall opposite the foot of the bed – which is ideal. However, the TV system itself has been updated and there are pluses and minuses. (We gather that the system has been updated on the Sun Princess - and the Sea Princess is due for a refit shortly.)
Disappointingly, there was no Channel 24 – the sports channel – so there was no chance of watching live F1 GPs. The half dozen live channels were a mish-mash of news channels. Considering it was round GB, no local BBC news channel, just the world news, so no weather updates - except the Carribbean!
The remote was as simple as it is possible to be, but no sleep timer – something we find invaluable, as many programmes send you to sleep anyway…
There was no ‘ship’s information’ channel, just the bridge cam. Regular travellers will know that some announcements are made directly to all speakers on the ship – such as the warning about noro-virus – from the Captain. Other announcements (usually from the front desk/customer services) are given out in the corridors but finding the bridge cam channel to hear them in the cabin is so slow, that by the time you have found it, the announcement is over. The alternative is of course to open the cabin door, but that is not always a good idea!
Those who have been travelling a while will also know that many of the TV offerings have been around for years. The film “How to Steal a Million” has been on every single cruise we have done and most of the ‘Discovery Channel’ items have also been around for years, but at least you can choose what you want to watch and more importantly, when.
The new system gives access to everything on the ship’s hard drive. The occasional live shows are also written to the hard drive such as the Folkloric ones, but not the entertainment acts/shows. The traditional ‘Wake Show’ is also available and the port lectures and port information.
Walking out of our cabin and into the corridor, there are a couple of doglegs, so you have no idea just how long this ship is. Now this is interesting – and frustrating - as anyone situated in the centre section of the ship naturally heads to the nearest set of stairs/lifts, but this is where the Royal starts to fall down.
Forward and aft lifts/staircases, all OK, but the centre has lifts only. No staircase. This inevitably means very long waits, as being on deck 10, it was 3 to 5 floors down and 5 or 6 floors up on most expeditions.
The interior design of the ship is very frustrating as passenger flow at times is dreadful, with loads of people trying to squeeze down fairly narrow thoroughfares. This was particularly so after shows in the Vista lounge or in the theatre.
Exiting the theatre on floor 6 funnels you straight into the casino and on floor 7 straight through the shop. A cynic would accuse Princess of trying to squeeze more dollars out of the passengers.
Theatre
This is magnificent, but, if you have 4,000 passengers, and about 700 or 800 seats (I’m guessing here as I don’t seem to be able to find out the exact number) then a popular act such as the Beatles Tribute, scheduled for just 2 shows inevitably means a lot of people would miss out. Other less attractive acts or shows may have been scheduled with 3 performances. There may be a reason for this of course, but I have no idea what that might be.
The theatre being modern emphasises the huge gap between the older ships and the new ones. The backdrops, lights, moving scenery, lifts etc., are incredible. On entering, the theatre colours may well change from night to night. As in any theatre though, sitting to the sides may mean missing out on some of the action. I’m surprised they don’t use the overhead cameras and the screens, to show the actual keyboards for example. They used it for David Cats illusionist shows, so it can be done.
With a 12 day cruise, they certainly crammed in the shows as I think we had 4 production shows. With the Sea Princess, that is all we had in 50 days – with virtually no scenery or flashy lighting at all…
Deck 7
The Vista lounge at the rear of the ship seemed to be half way between the entertainment lounge of the Emerald, which only has two levels and the Sun Vista lounge, which is properly tiered. As with the theatre, the stage setting can include scenery/props which we saw on the Olde English Pub Night. Despite that, viewing is not as good as on the smaller ships as the height difference from back to front is such that the view is obscured of any performer where it is crucial to see the lower body.
Between the Vista and the centre of the ship, there is the Wheelhouse bar area which again, has music, but the ‘Club 6’ so called nightclub seemed somewhat squashed. The live Studio was interesting as it has sophisticated cameras including a ‘fly by wire’ overhead camera. Both Club 6 and also the studio venues could be used for trivia – but with only 2 sea days and no team organised, we gave it a miss.
Plaza/Atrium
Much is made of this central area and it is much larger and flows much better than the smaller ships. Because it is a marble floor and is so large, then it rightly serves as a focal point with passengers able to sit and relax, enjoy a drink and/or a snack or a gelato. That comes at a cost. $3.60 for a three scoop serving or one clip off your coffee card.
The band that played here were extremely good and dancing was encouraged, but no sign of any New Vogue dancing on this cruise! Occasionally, they used it for dance class and even a taster for a production show and a lecture.
The front desk is opposite the tour desk and close to the Spa and also Sabatinis (surcharge) restaurant.
On deck 6, if the band isn’t playing downstairs, there is a pianist and that seemed quite popular, but like the band, it was often for a relatively short time.
The Seafood bar didn’t seem to be doing much trade (another extra cost dining option) and we never did get to Alfredo’s pizza eatery.
For full details of the layout, your best bet is the Princess Cruises website, ship deck plans, so the pics I have posted are only samples and are in no way comprehensive.
Sure, it is all spankingly modern, but with just 12 days on board and just 2 sea days, we never really settled in too well. I have to say that we did come across one or two staff in the Atrium who weren’t as open, warm and friendly as on the Sea/Dawn, but that may well be that they do not consider it a priority to forge a relationship on such a short cruise.
Next post will inevitably be about the food… 
No comments:
Post a Comment