Royal Princess Ship Review

I've just returned from Southampton after being invited down by Princess Cruises to attend the naming ceremony of their new ship the Royal Princess. I was invited down the day before so got to enjoy both lunch and dinner onboard and had a great chance to review the ship overnight.

To quickly summarise I was really impressed with almost all elements of the ship. I had a few small gripes, (which I'll discuss below), but in the main I really liked her. It was pretty clear Princess intended the ship for the 50's plus market, I wouldn't describe her as family friendly by any stretch of the imagination, but in chasing this demographic I think they've hit the nail right on the head.
The ship is really stylish, elegant and contemporary. In fact, even though Princess Cruises are only a four star brand I think the Royal Princess could give a lot of Celebrity's ships, (a five star brand), a run for their money.
Read on to see what you think of the ship as well..........................

The main Atrium and hub of the ship.

These first few photos are of the main atrium onboard and act as the hub and lynch pin of the whole ship, everything that happens onboard will happen here. That leads us to the first of my, (very minor), criticisms. On almost every other cruise ship I've ever been on all the bars and cafes are spread out around the ship, meaning whilst you may have a bit of a walk from one bar to the next you can always find a quiet corner of the ship to relax in.

 Not so on the Royal Princess. 

All the 'action' happens in the one spot so you've now choice but to be surrounded by the rest of the passengers and unless you go up to a bar on the lido or sun deck, (which you can't do in cold or bad weather), you'll always be surrounded by people. 

This does mean that the atrium always has a lively, vibrant atmosphere but quiet it is not. 

As I say, only a minor criticism and some people might enjoy it but I like a quiet spot to retreat to some times.

In terms of the decor I've read a few negative reviews so far describing her as 'beige'. Whilst these pictures may reflect that I would have described her as neutral instead. There's lots of crystal, glass, pale woods and polished marble all around you so the overall impression I was left with was an elegant 'glitzy and glamorous' ship.

Again just off from the the atrium is Alfredos the pizzeria onboard. I didn't get to sample one of their pizzas but if they're anything like they are on the other Princess ships this will be a popular spot onboard. 

These are a few photos of Bellinis, a champagne bar on deck six, again, just off the atrium.

If you've a sweet tooth you like this. It's called the pastry shop and is the largest patisserie at sea! Again it's situated just off the main atrium.

It did however feel a bit too big to me. I know cruise lines like to be able to say they have the first/biggest at sea but designing a cake shop around that concept felt a bit silly - No arguments with it's presence in the atrium, I just felt the size was unnecessary - What do you think?

I've tried something new on this review for you. I've always based my ship reviews around the photos I've taken, (after all a picture tells a thousand words), but I've added quite a few videos for you on this review.

I've not really tried this before so if my commentaries are a little rambling or the picture a bit wobbly please forgive me but hopefully they'll convey a small sense of what it was like to be there.

This is Sabatinis, one of the speciality dining venues on all Princess ships. It specialises in Italian dining and fine wines and whilst I didn't get to experience the food the restaurant itself was beautiful with big rural murals on all the walls. I can see dining in here being a very pleasurable experience.

The Lotus spa. 

I've never really spent a lot of time, (or any), in the spas of any of the ships I've cruised on so I sort of skipped over all the treatment rooms but the Enclave, located in the heart of the spa was amazing and I could have easily spent hour after relaxing hour there!

This is either a badly damaged radiator they haven't taken down yet or an example of some of the artwork in the Spa.  Which is it do you think?

The enclave, at the heart of the spa...............

It's a heated pool with a warm shower falling down into the middle of it............

Which you can just make out in this picture here............

It also has several relaxation recliners - Hot stone slabs molded to your bodies contours.......

And so onto the second of my Royal Princess videos. As you'd expect this one is of the enclave, (sorry about the sound quality, the shower in the background was a bit noisy). 

What do you think? I could spend a few hours in here chilling out - Couldn't you?

And onto the Princess casino.................

And the third of my royal Princess tour videos. This one is of the Princess Casino which, whilst very big, was filled with slot machines. I'm not a gambler myself so I'll have to leave it to more experienced heads to decide; what do you prefer? Slots or gaming tables?

The Theatre. I really liked this and although I didn't get to see any shows in here, (it wasn't used during the launch), the seats were comfy, the decor was very modern and upbeat and there were no pillars obscuring anyones views.  

I'm not sure if this photo will work on my blog but I'm going to give it a go, (you may need to click it to enlarge it). It's a panorama shot taken from the stage so you can see how the tiered seating works. 

And another shorter video this time just giving you a 360 view of the theatre. 

Churchill's is the cigar and whisky bar on the Royal Princess. It's a bit strange walking in as it's been a long time since I've smelt cigarette smoke indoors so I'd probably avoid this bar if you're a non-smoker but for the smokers amongst you this looks like a nice little bar to mark on your map.

As you can see you have a lot of choice of whiskeys.......

Comfy seating................

And cigars.................

And for some reason wi-fi and laptops. I'm not sure why Princess felt it was necessary to include three laptops in the whisky bar but if you fancy checking Facebook whilst having a cigarette onboard then now you can!

The next video is of Club 6, the nightclub located on, yep you've guessed it, deck 6. If any area on the ship reveals Princess Cruises intended market  I think it would have to be the night club. As you can see from the above video the dance floor area, in comparison to the amount of seating is very small. Clearly they're not expecting many guests on the Royal Princess to be up to the wee small hours, dancing the night away.

And so we get to it at last. The much vaunted seawalk. I said at the start of this post that I was really impressed with the ship apart from one or two things. The seawalk is one of those things I'm afraid.

To start with it's actually quite small for the amount of adverting Princess have given it, extending only 8ft over the side of the ship.

It's not even as though the entire walkway is glass. The majority of it is opaque with only small square panels spaced every so often giving you access to the view below you.  

My main problem though is that it feels gimmicky and forced. The Royal Princess is a beautiful, elegant and above all traditional cruise ship. It doesn't need things like this to sell it as though it were a Royal Caribbean or NCL ship. Her charm lies in a different direction.

And if that wasn't bad enough anyone who happens to look inwards whist on the Seawalk has a great view into all of the mini suites directly opposite it............

As well as most of the balcony cabins all the way down. 

Sorry Princess but no, just no.

However I loved these couch areas up on Lido deck. If you want to take in some sun but don't want to recline on a lounger then these are a great alternative. 

Another innovative first that I really enjoyed and thought was well placed was this stage area in the centre of the deck. It can be used as both a stage for outdoor performances and, when not in use, turns into a fountain. 

(Just be careful walking over it before it starts - You have been warned)

Another area of the ship I loved was the adult only retreat towards the back of the ship. These cabanas look amazing and can be rented for $130 per day or $80 per half day. 

Well can I imagine myself lounging by the pool on a sea day in one of these - Bliss!

And finally the ultimate spa package. There are two of these 'huts' that can be rented for the princessly sum of of $3,000 per day for up to four people but for that money you get all the Dom Perignon you can drink plus all the massages you can take. 

There are worse ways to relax I suppose. 

OK here it is, you knew it had to be coming - What was the food like?

In a word, excellent, simply excellent. 

OK that was three but it was worth repeating myself. The food was great, the waiting staff friendly, attentive  and helpful and the surroundings were opulent, luxurious and elegant.

I had to disembark after lunch to get  back on for the evening event so took the opportunity to capture the seawalk from below so you can see just how far it juts out from the ship. 

As the ship was full of guests my cabin was the only one I got to see and whilst the balcony wasn't huge I thought there was plenty of room in the cabin and that it was clean, fresh, well appointed and laid out well with the TV mounted on the walls opposite the bed/beds.

I really loved this. Decorating the corridors outside the cabins are photos of the different destinations Princess ships have visited taken by past guests - As you can see they're all credited with the name of the passenger and the ship they were on when it was taken.

Who's that handsome fellow?

Dinner that evening - It's a hard job but I suppose someone has to do it.

This video was taken of the seawalk in the evening so I could show you what it looks like lit up with all it's neon's. I was again, quite critical of it however Princess Cruises vindicate themselves to some extent in the next video........ 

This video shows the lido deck in the early morning, ( I got up early to avoid all the crowds for you). In it you'll see the Seawalk has a counterpart on the opposite side of the ship. However instead of walking out in a tunnel it's a solid area with a bar in the middle and seats arranged around the holes you look down. This set up not only looks a lot better, it gives the balconies below a lot more privacy. I really wish Princess had done this on both sides of the ship.

Have you ever turned on your cruise ship TV in the morning to watch the cruise director talk about the upcoming day? Well on the Royal Princess you can come along and watch the show as it goes out live.

A few more photos of what I'm choosing to call the 'good' Seawalk. What do you think? Which side do you prefer?

Some final shots of the Lido deck as seen from the Sun deck with a great one of Movies Under the Stars - That screen really is huge!

And to finish some shots of Concerto, one of the main dining rooms. I believe this one is reserved for guests on open dining.

So that's the Royal Princess. What did you think? I was really impressed with her. I wouldn't necessarily book a cruise on her myself but then I like the huge modern cruise ships like the Allure or the Epic. The Royal is what she is, a very classy, elegant but above all traditional cruise ship. I think anyone that's been cruising for awhile will be very happy on her and feel very at home whilst anyone that's new new to cruising will easily fall for her charms.

Yes I had a couple of grumbles. The Seawalk and the fact that everything is focused on the atrium but in the grand scheme of things these are very minor grumbles and as I said at the start of this review - 

for a four star cruise ship I think she'll be giving a lot of five star cruise ships a run for their money.

Feel free to add your own comments below and let me know what you think of her. Have I been fair or do you disagree? Let me know here............

Happy cruising