Better than I expected

Item: Royal Princess
Rating: 4.2
Author: ironman68

Royal Princess Cruise Review to Europe

ironman68

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

British Isles (roundtrip from Le Havre)

Sail date: June 29, 2018

Ship: Royal Princess

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 405

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We were first time cruisers. This made Europe MUCH less tiring than an overland trip! We loved going to sleep and waking up in the next port.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Our assigned dining room gave ridiculously small amounts of food. We needed snacks after dinner...and we don’t eat that much. Have really low expectations for coffee. Our family likes the pizza, though it often gets poor reviews. We like thin crust. The wine onboard was REALLY bad if you got a reasonably priced glass. The buffet had a lot of variety and lunch choices and dinner were a lot better than breakfast. We were VERY HAPPILY SURPRISED at all the fresh fruits and raw veggies available.

Ice Cream Bar

4 out of 5

SMALL portions but yummy. Tasted like frozen pudding.

Horizon Court

3 out of 5

Service not great. Desserts were literally awful...my kids wouldn’t eat them. (Ice cream bar by pool was good though). Good variety, some of it was pretty mediocre. The Mongolian grill was great at dinner. Lots of seafood available. Lots of raw veggies and fruits available. Breakfast was kind of sad.

Allegro Dining Room

2 out of 5

Service was good. Food was ...meh. And we always left hungry!!!!

Alfredo's Pizzeria

4 out of 5

They do personal pizzas, nice size portions. It wasn’t crowded at all.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Passenger Services

2 out of 5

Rude and incredibly unhelpful is how I would describe the help desk. And I’m pretty easy going.

Hot Tubs

3 out of 5

Was surprised that they didn’t fill up

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

We had to get our own drinks pretty often in the buffet room. There was staff, but they weren’t too motivated.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

I was shocked by how much roomier the buffet cabin was than I expected. Also the bed was ridiculously comfy and I usually sleep on a couch for bad back. AC was seriously lacking; wish we had brought a small fan.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

The dress code was enforced in our dining room...we were surprised when my husband was asked to change one evening. Just a heads up.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Guernsey, UK

5 out of 5

My husband and I did the bike ride with teenage daughters. This was terrific—one of our favorite parts of trip. The bike ride was easy for us...lots of stops, but we are in good physical condition.

Thumbs Up 0

Cobh (Cork), Ireland

5 out of 5

Dublin, Ireland

5 out of 5

Belfast, Northern Ireland

3 out of 5

It was a little sketchy...seemed less safe than the other places.

Thumbs Up 2

Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland

5 out of 5

Edinburgh (South Queensferry)

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

3 Comments

sarahisaacs 6 years ago

Thanks for the details! Leaving in 9 days on Royal Princess!

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syd68h 6 years ago

In terms of food quantity in the main dining room I have heard a lot of cruise veterans say that it is absolutely fine (and sometimes expected) to order a couple of dishes in the main dining room. 1 or 2 appetizers a few main courses and so on. Many people will even order appetizer sizes of main course dishes to get more of a variety if there is a lot of food from the menu that they want to try. Eat what you like, your on vacation! Hope this helps you for your next cruise!

Thumbs Up 2

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SammyAddison 6 years ago

Cool 😎

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Other reviews of this sailing

Fantastic British Isle is a must