Royal Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Reflections on the British Isles Cruise abord the Royal princess August 5-17 2018 I will attempt to give as thorough a review as possible so bear with the length.EMBARKATION: I arrived at 8:00am at the Port so I could see how everything was organised and take photos before everyone arrived. The Port was clean and the princess staff was available and friendly even at 8am more than two hours before the first (normal) people would be able to hand over their luggage. They brought the standard princess "Port cart" which for those who don't know consists of juice, coffee, pastrys and such. A staff made an announcement around 10:00 that the Porter's were now ready to take the luggage but we had to walk with our luggage back down to the first floor to give them over (and wait a bit as they were not quite ready) Checkin began at 10:45 to filter all the suite guests and elite members through before general checkin at 11:00. At check-in you received a number which was called for you to go through security without the need to stand in line. The security line opened at 11:30 and was slightly chaotic with a large rush of people coming as the announcement of numbers over the loadspeakers was very difficult to understand. Upon going through security you were quickly on the ship and there were crew members available to ask directions and take you to staterooms (or the buffet). DEBARKATION(Port of call) Debarkation was fast and civilized when compared with the general state of chaos on other ships. Before the ship docks anyone wishing to go ashore congregates in one of the dining rooms and recieves a number with the place they are in line based on when they arriced. Once the ship is pierside they call groups of 50 until the room is empty. They do there best to not have a long line at times using as many as 4 gangways. REBARKATION: (getting back on the ship following a Port of call) Was usually fast with inevitable lines close to sailing times. They had refreshments sometimes and warm towels at most ports. (The obligatory hand sanitizer dispenser made an appearance as well) TENDERING: I only had a couple tender ports during my cruise and they were executed okay but not to the caliber of quality I was expecting from princess. They used the lifeboat/tender combos which are okay but became uncomfortable during the swells we experienced in one Port and did not allow for wheelchairs or scooters (especially during the rough seas) ENTERTAINMENT/SHOWS: The theater is small in proportion to the amount of people on the ship. For the stageshows: The first show of the evening (usually begining around 8:00-8:30pm) fills up fast and will fill up fully around 15 minutes before showtime. Plan to arrive 25-35 minutes beforehand to find a seat in the center section. The late show (10:00) is far less crowded and seats are available with some searching until around 10 minutes before showtime. The wings are open for walk ins well past the shows start. The singers and dancers were talented and the costume were exemplary, the only parts which were not high end theater quality was the size of the cast and the backgrounds and sets which were understandably small due to it being on a ship which made shows follow an act of one person singing and then a large dancing act over and over. By far my favorite thing to do in the evening was to go to the gameshow(s) in princess live they are a one hour long stunt of fun and comedy. There was always one gameshow each night and sometimes two. Music was all over the ship in some way. Live music was commonplace in the Piazza and could be found occasionally in the crown grille area. The large screen on the top deck has impressive viewing angles and resolution and I could see it all the way from a hill in Port when looking back at the ship. SERVICE: Especially good on the Royal, waiters were very attentive both at the buffet where you were regularly refilled with drinks and in the main dining room where excellent service was taken to a new level. I can't speak enough about the service and smiles in the dining room, it was quality to the point of being very apologetic and genunly aphalled that his assistant waiter had served it to us. Drinks service in the theater or lounges began well before the first people were seated. I lost my sunglasses and thank goodness I had my name on them because a message was waiting when I returned to my cabin that my sunglasses had been found and were waiting for me at guest services. Food: The food in the dining room was great and the worst thing at dinner was always the dinner rolls (as it should be) the appetizers were small to medium sized and generally consisted of two salad options, a meat items, a cooked soup, a cold 'soup' which was served in a glass and generally fruity, a cut fruit option was available but not usually listed, a seafood appetizer appeared occasionally. Entrées were good and creative generally with 1 fish option, 2 beef options, 1 vegetarian option. 1 exotic meat(lamb, boar, etc) and one or two chicken dishes. Desserts were usually just okay with just a few standouts from the entire cruise. At the buffet food was fresh and featured some similar dishes to the dining room (especially soups) and was a legend buffet with good selection. The desserts in the buffets pastry shop were not to my liking and I saw many half eaten desserts being cleared away. The Prego pizzarria was good for what it is but if your looking for a more specialty pizza you have to go down to alfredos they only carry margarita and pepperoni upstairs as well as a pizza of the day. The soft serve kiosk was in my opinion unnacaptable and the soft serve tasted watery and off texture. I have yet to find a satisfactory ice cream abord a princess ship. The scoop ice cream in the dining room and the pastry shop were both more cream and less Frozen and were solid like they melted and were refroze. The trident grill (known on the ship as "that burger place" by many) was pumping out the food fast and furious and delicious with a veritety of hot dogs sausages as well as burgers and veggie burgers and fresh fries they had something for most. They also have many toppings such as cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and pickles. STATEROOMS: rooms for families as well as couples worked well on the ship and each room had a reasonable number of outlets, (2 plugs at desk, one behind nightstand, and one marked for razors only in the bathroom. Which is said to work for charging phones in the bathroom for say music in the shower. Chocolates on the pillow is a nice princess touch I'm glad they kept (they considered doing away with it a while back) as well as the minifridge which while it was lacking a freezer section was empty of items for sale and was actually cold to the point I would eat fish stored in the thing. Some general info and critiques I have are as follows: 1. When you push one button to call her elevators they should all be called so you don't have to run round to all the elevators pushing every button. 2. The air conditioning needs an update as it's slow and doesn't get more than 4 or 5 degrees cooler or warmer than hallway air. -if the temperature is close to your desired temperature outside and you have a balcony you can open the balcony door and open your staterooms door and it will suck outside air into the room. 3. There is no way to view out the front of the ship without paying to go into the sanctuary or purchasing a cabin with a front view balcony. 4. Some "shows" in the princess theater are just bands and it would be nice to know that the Irish themed show they had abord was just a band similar to what I'd just come back from in the pub. 5. It was a crew turn around this week and around 200 crew members joined the ship to replace the ones leaving. Crew turnaround will continue until the royal wraps up its summer season in a few more weeks and sails transatlantic to begin its winter season. 6. Cruise director Matt O’ Brien signed his next SIX contracts which will put him on the royal until 2022 (with vacations) If your still reading this you must be really interested or freaking out about your cruise. In any case I have a ton more to share and photos as well so just post in the Royal princess chat or message me and I will happily answer. Hopefully this was helpful and informative, Happy Sailin

Not the first time I’ve cruised on Royal Princess, but she gets better every trip. The food was superb, with the great friendly service that goes with it. Entertainment was a credit to them, well done Matt O and all that help and support him. Amazing performers, lots of energy

I love sailing with Princess. The ship is beautiful and the staff are always very nice and helpful. The British Isles were beautiful and would recommend this cruise.

Overall the cruise went smoothly and was very enjoyable.

Arnold in the crooners bar knew my name and drink after 2 visits. I would also commend the tour excursion of food and drink in Belfast. It was sublime. The tour in Paris was awful. We had 40 minutes in the Louvre because we were late to and from lunch. We basically ran to the Mona Lisa and Venus and that was it.

We had a wonderful time...really no complaints except or debarkation excursion was almost an hour late leaving which messed up our excursion...not enough time to see Windsor...lines were very long and we were Kate...excursion said it lasted till 1 but bus left at 12;30 to get us back to the airport so we had very little time...in fact a lot of people didn’t do the castle because of the lines and timing...they just explored the shops instead...which was fine if you didn’t care about seeing Windsor castle...the only real disappointment

We always go Princess. They cater to the more mature acting adult

Everything was really good. We weren't expecting such a hard sell for some of the items. This was the first Princess cruise that I had been on where it seemed everything cost extra. For example, the adult deck lounge chair area was an extra cost, seafood night was an extra cost. They really come after you on embarkation day for the spa treatments etc. Felt a little overwhelmed with all the extra stuff. The spa was something we really wanted, they had us sold twice, but they just couldn't seem to stop themselves from trying to push the price up until we finally had to walk away without purchasing anything. Don't get me wrong, we loved our cruise and the time we had together on this trip, Just not what I have come to expect from a Princess Cruise.

Didn't have time on ships excursions to complete itinerary as advertised. Always too short on time so never saw inside of castles, and other items of interest. This was upsetting, I really wanted to visit and enjoy.

We enjoyed this cruise very much thanks to the diversity of the various Ports of Call, the excursions, our tour guides, the service, and the life-long friends we made. It's much quieter than other cruise lines even for a teen I believe it's much more comfortable and calmer on this boat.

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.

Crews are very courteous, special mention to our waiters from Concerto Restaurant, Freddie Ong & Wilbert Quispe, the waiters at the Buffet dining and Phareed, the housekeeping guy who always keep our cabin clean & fresh.

The only criticism is that on tender days, Princess dropped the ball on getting people back to the boat. They need to coordinate with the local town to have adequate passenger ferries available in the last 2 hours before sailing. We waited over 2 hours in the heat @ Guernsey, and over an hour in Edinborough for the ships 3 or 4 rescue boats (which seat only 220) to ferry thousands of people. Both nights we missed our dining time with friends, despite being at the dock in plenty of time. Other than that, Princess was an excellent choice.

Although this was our first cruise, by the end of it, we had booked another and shook our heads wondering what we had been doing going to all inclusive resorts when we could have been cruising! We loved the Royal Princess and thoroughly enjoyed the ports of call on its 12 day British Isle cruise. All staff were so accommodating and the food and entertainment was excellent. We look forward to the Regal Princess and our Baltic cruise in 2019!

Ship is absolutely gorgeous. Food was excellent throughout the ship. You must try the pizza!! Accessible cabin was better than expected. Loved the gizmo that covers the patio door track when door is open.

Only comment is not about cruise but the Great Britain Cars, service we hired to take us to Gatwick, they NEVER showed up. so BEWARE and NEVER pay in advance like we did, they ignore our emails for refund.

Loved the cruise and the tours we took. The ship is beautiful and love the design. I was disappointed in the service in the Symphony Dining Room - anytime dining. Seems they have cut back on the number of servers than in the past. The two tender ports have VERY long lines to get back to boat -- luckily it wasn't bad weather or the experience would have been so much worse.

Lovely cruise, great staff, food was just ok, long lines for tinder boats, ship decor felt dated even though it was only 7 years old

My husband and I recently completed our 12day cruise with Princess and I want to share with you our experience during the cruise, specifically, my dietary concerns. I have celiac disease for the last 18 years and experience severe physical symptoms when I am exposed to any gluten. Because of this, I now use a new method to check if gluten is contained in food before I consume the food. I use a NIMA that allows me to get instant feedback if the food I am served contains gluten. I met with the headwaiters of the main dining room (Symphony) as well as the specialty dining rooms Crown Grill and Sabatinis) and made them aware of my dietary restrictions and needs. Several days into the cruise after eating at Sabatinis I experienced symptoms though I had not tested the food with the NIMA because all the ingredients were gluten free. Now, it became apparent to me that I should start testing my meals. A few days later I was served a crab appetizer in the main dining room and it tested positive though there were no ingredients in the dish that had gluten. It was apparent to me at this time that the dish was cross contaminated in the kitchen. Several nights later I was in the Crown Grill and tested an Onion Soup with the NIMA and it found “high gluten”. Hristo from the main dining room happened to be at my table to bring me the next day’s menu and witnessed the testing and brought me a different soup from the main dining room that he insisted was gluten free and it too tested positive for gluten. I experienced distressing and uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms the last 5 days of my cruise. On our last night we ate again at Sabatinis and I had a shrimp with vegetable dish – all gluten free ingredients, as stated by the headwaiter and it too tested positive for gluten. The head waiter argued with me that my meal had to be gluten free because all the ingredients were gluten free and I tried to explain to him that though he was correct, the food is getting cross contaminated in the kitchen. He made me feel as if I was the problem and not the food that contained gluten which just added to my distress, I was near tears. My husband and I met with the Head Front Desk Supervisor, Dinish, who listened with concern and asked questions. I explained how the NIMA works and that it is something Princess should look into to protect their customers who have celiac disease. It was apparent Princess could not provide a safe gluten free diet for those customers who must not and cannot eat gluten without it negatively impact their health and their quality of life on an expensive 12day cruise. Three of our meals at the specialty dining were a bust because of the ship’s failure to provide a gluten free meal to me at an additional cost. I believe that expense along with the multiple conflicts over food warranted some type of compensation from Princess and Dinish said he would get back with us. Two days later and two hours before we were to disembark, since we had not heard anything from Dinish, we went to the front desk and was told “Dinish has nothing more to say to us…….he has filled out his report”. This action is just unacceptable! We prebooked another cruise on Princess the day after we started the cruise but if I have no assurances from Princess that they can provide me a safe gluten free diet, I cannot and I will not subject myself to this emotionally stressful and physically harmful setting. To further add to this situation, the chefs at the two specialty dining rooms as well as the main dining room, never offered to speak with me though I asked several times if they would. I have cruised on Holland America multiple times and have never had this experience. I’ve met with the chefs and they made me feel safe and provided me with gluten free meals throughout each cruise. I foolishly expected the same experience with Princess Cruises (both owned by Carnival). I would like to hear what Princess Cruises will do to provide gluten free meals for me in the future, should I elect to go on another cruise. Additionally, I would like to see some form of compensation for all the challenging and exhausting experiences I had to deal with while trying to enjoy an expensive and long awaited trip to Scotland and Ireland with my husband.

Stingy on the alcoholic drinks and on just about everything on the ship sucked. The performances were not that good and some of the crew staff were rude to passengers. The ports of call were horrible besides Dublin. To have fun you had to pay 300 more dollars to do an excursion or get a taxi some place. Then when you get to the excursion you have no time to enjoy it. We will no longer be doing cruises with princess any more.