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Royal Princess Review, 1/3-1/10/26 This will be a little long, because I appreciate reading detailed reviews and hope someone else will, too. Overall, this was a wonderful cruise and I don’t have any huge complaints. We are a family of 4 (adults mid-40s, twin kids age 13) Parking—we parked in the lot at San Pedro Cruise Terminal. $161 for the week. We were very close to the cruise terminal, parking was easy. We stayed at the DoubleTree the night before and they do offer parking and a shuttle, but we knew that we wanted to go straight home on disembarkation day. On disembarkation day we were in the car at 8:00 and able to hop right on the freeway. I’m glad we didn’t have to wait for a shuttle. Boarding—I was very happy I paid the $10 to have medallions shipped beforehand. The Green line was about 30 minutes to get onto the ship and the Blue line was long; I heard it took about 2 hours for some people! We did get there at 10:30ish for 11:00-2:00 boarding. Stateroom—we had a deluxe balcony on deck 9, midship, starboard side. We are a family of 4. The deluxe balcony has a sofa bed and the pullman bed comes out of the ceiling over the sofa bed. This was tight but it worked for us. A regular balcony for 4 requires the pullman beds to come out of the ceiling over the main bed—no thanks. Mini suite would be great but it was around $1000 more and we did this cruise on the cheap. Ship—was fine? I didn’t notice some of the smell issues others had, although the casino smoke was overwhelming. I did not like the layout of this ship at all. Not enough public spaces overlooking the water; some of the prime spots on deck 7 were almost completely obstructed by lifeboats. I was constantly confused and losing my way. I see so many people say they love the Royal class ships but I’m not sure why…and I definitely wouldn’t take one on an Alaska cruise! Now, the only ship I have to compare to is HAL’s Koningsdam, and I was really missing the Crows Nest and covered pool. It was really windy on the 2 sea days back and there weren’t really good public areas to be looking at the water. And library! The Royal library and game collection was small and sad. Activities staff was great; we loved the trivia and game shows. The singing/dancing shows were not for us. Ship was over 100% capacity at more than 3800 passengers. Food—was really good for us. The MDR was horrifically slow—we went once to Allegro MDR (you reserve a time on the day of) and more to Concerto (walk in). We didn’t face long walk in waits but we went on the earlier side, 5:45ish. When we came out the walkin line was very long. Service was slow and off—like the wrong waiter would come to the table, someone would bring menus when we had already gotten appetizers and were waiting on main dishes, afternoon tea took about 30 minutes out of the 45 minutes scheduled to get the actual tea. MDR staff seemed overworked and not very friendly. This did not ruin our cruise by any means! We ate in the buffet for breakfast and a few nights for dinner. Buffet waiters didn’t come around offering water, coffee, etc. We went to the waiter stands and just served ourselves. There is only one self-serve water/juice/tea/coffee station. Food quality and selection was great! Excursions—we did a historic walking tour in Puerto Vallarta that totally exceeded expectations. This was a ship excursion. The guide was great and we would walk a while and then have 15-30 minutes to explore on our own and meet back. It was 90 minutes of walking spread out over 4 hours. Cabo—we did a ship excursion so we could get on the tenders quickly—Best of Cabo—went to San Jose del Cabo and a glass blowing factory. Again, amazing tour guides! Really enjoyed this; wish we had spent more time in San Jose del Cabo. There was a drink stop at a restaurant that was a waste of time. Mazatlan—we did a pulmonia tour booked through Viator. It was okay. We saw a lot of city highlights. Tour guide was good for the first two hours but then we wound up at a crappy, overpriced restaurant that we didn’t feel we had a choice going to. If I do this trip again I’d probably do a beach day or excursion at Stone Island. Teen club was excellent. They had a nice balance of structured activities (scavenger hunt, ping pong tournament, chess tournament, game shows) and free time, like board games and video games. My kids are on the younger side of teen club. One stayed in the club most of the time and the other would spend the first 2 hours in teen club and then go duck hunting with a friend group he made. The teen club operates in 3 hour blocks of time mostly. Medallions—really great for families! We could see where our kids were and they could scan in at any elevator map and see where we were. Overall, I want to sail Princess again, but not on this ship. I might want to try Discovery (the newest of the Royal class), or the new Sun/Star, or the older ones.
- Our multigenerational family sailed on the Royal Princess Christmas cruise and overall it was a great time. 7 adults ranging from 26 to 79 years old. - Cabins: We had 7 people in 4 inside cabins on deck 11, forward. The cabins were quite small, but we felt that there was plenty of storage space (and we did not pack light for this, lol) I had the matching jammies to distribute to the group, Christmas Hawaiian shirts, Santa hats, plus mine and my husband's stuff. Plenty of room. The cabins were showing their age some - our steward worked hard, did a great job, and seemed to ALWAYS be around the area (so easy to get ahold of - does he even sleep?) but there was some dinge that seemed to be permanent. Also, several times during the cruise, our entire row of cabins would have toilet flushing issues. Ew! - Parking: at the port in San Pedro was easy and embarkation was going smoothly until we were almost to the counter and.....full stop. The Princess people backed away from the counters like they were lava and we all got to wait and wait and wait until whatever it was got resolved. The well oiled machine was grinding a few gears as we had multiple Princess personnel barking conflicting orders at the guests. But then we went up the ramp and all was well with the world. - Crew: ALL of the Princess crew (with one notable exception) were outstanding. That exception seemed to delight in being rude to everyone we saw him interact with and we noted it on our survey. Princess is lucky to have so many great crew members because everyone else we interacted with were super! And our Cruise Director, Jodie (?Spelling) was everywhere - she even took our pictures in front of the tree - what a special, fun person! - Entertainment: The main shows were good enough - I'm a teacher, so I would give most of them a "B" or "B+". The musical acts ranged from excellent to cringey. The beauty of lots of venues and short sets is that if you don't like one act, it's easy to find another! We LOVED the Christmas programming. - Other passengers: this sailing was full - I think they said around 4000 passengers, 700 kids. Most of the time, we avoided the crowds. We took the stairs a lot because the elevators were brutal and not everyone is very well versed on elevator etiquette. Most passengers were well-behaved and we did not see any feral children. We encountered only a few entitled, pushy people in the week - not bad since I run into more than that at home. - Food: We ate in the MDR every night and thought the food was fine: a couple of nights it was even very good! One of our young adults is autistic and ate beef everyday, whether it was the striploin steak, chateaubriand, prime rib....It came out medium rare each time and the quality was just fine (he has some texture issues if it is too fatty or has a lot of gristle and he had no issues at all) so I would say we had a very good experience that way. All of the fish was good except for one piece one night that was kind of dry. The soups were tasty but could have been warmer and the salads were okay. Nobody complained about their entree, so I call that a win with a good sized group! Desserts were pretty decent overall. We got one of everything and passed them around (yes, we are that family, lol) There were hits and misses, but that is okay. Food service was good, but you needed to send up a flair for a second glass of wine until the night we got STANLEY as our assistant waiter. Blessed Stanley kept our glasses full and we were so grateful we mentioned him on the survey too. - Princess Plus package: we all had it and appreciated the fact that we could have lattes, cocktails, bottled water whenever we wanted without worrying about it. We used Ocean Now each day for food, water bottles, and beer while in the cabin. The wifi and app worked pretty good too. - Ports: booked our own private whale watching adventure in Cabo on a private boat for less than what the Princess excursion with a bunch of our "friends" would have cost. It was a spectacular way to celebrate our anniversary! Tendering was okay - no real drama there. Mazatlan was a wander, shoot pictures, eat and drink day. Fun. We ran the port gauntlet and caught an Uber to the Romantic Zone in PV and hit a bunch of our favorite places. We usually rent a condo in PV for a couple of weeks so we knew where we wanted to go with the kids. - Last two sea days were rocking and rolling - the white bags were all over the place and one of our young adults discovered that they get seasick. - Disembarkation: was a cinch! We took our time, ate breakfast, and relaxed til they kicked us off. By then, no lines and easy to find our bags. Then we piled into our vehicle and drove off. - 5 of us got sick the last day or two: 1 double ear infection, 4 colds (2 with coughs, 1 with sinus, 1 with mild runny nose). Yay? So what was the brown (literally) on this trip? The ship had some real musty areas, especially around the restrooms (carpet and plumbing - ew!), and speaking of plumbing, there was always a sink and/or toilet not working at EVERY single restroom I entered, including our cabin multiple times. Another fail: We had reserved a table for 8 at 7:00 pm in Allegro each night. I had a screenshot of the confirmation. First night - NOPE. Princess lost the reservation - what??? I talked to multiple people onboard and my TA contacted Princess as well and they could not rectify it because it was a full ship - that was almost unforgivable in my book! My darling autistic young adult took one for the team and stood in line EVERY NIGHT at Concerto and texted us when he got near the front of the line so we could still enjoy ourselves and eat before 9:00 pm. We discovered that 5 out of 7 of us adore cruising, so we booked NCL's Jade out of San Diego for Spring Break. I might give Princess another chance someday, but right now, I'm not ready to give them a second chance yet. We've tried Carnival and Holland America and are still looking for our Goldilocks line that is just right.
We booked this cruise for the excellent itinerary with 2 overnight stops! Ship is nice, clean, good service. Food is a 7. Only big complaint is noise. Outdoor TV at the pool is VERY loud, bleeding into many other outdoor spaces. Beautiful atrium is great for live music, but when there’s other activities, the host yelling into the microphone invades all mid ship public areas. Lastly, piped in music is way off… Macklemore rap and Van Halen at breakfast in dining room, 5am in atrium for coffee and it’s party music. Sitting with coffee now at 6am, listening to CC Music Factory singing “Everybody Dance Now, Gonna Make you Sweat”, which is one of my favorite songs, but not with morning coffee! Pro tip: rear ship outdoor deck 16 is quiet, and you can sit and read, play games or cards in the Symphony dining room in the daytime till they start setting up for dinner. I think we are just better suited to the HAL experience. This is more like halfway between Carnival and HAL.
We just got back from our cruise and overall it was probably the best one we’ve been on. There were a few minor inconveniences though, things that might bother some cruisers more than others. I’ll start with the pro’s- 1) the embarkation was top notch. We’ve been on a lot of cruises and this was the smoothest I’ve ever seen. We were off our shuttle and sitting inside having a drink in less than 20 minutes. 2) every staff member we encountered (except maybe 1 or 2 having a bad day) were super friendly and accommodating. 3) the specialty restaurants were wonderful. We especially loved the steakhouse. 4) there were a lot of activities throughout the day. Plenty of options to keep you entertained. 5) enough lounge chairs to lay in the sun without having to fight for one. My biggest complaint has to do with the spa… so here are the cons- 1) the spa seems to be poorly managed. For one thing, they are too busy trying to sell additional products to let you enjoy the services you paid for. After spending $500 on a couples massage, they spent 20 minutes trying to sell lotions and finally ended with saying “you don’t care about your skin” when we refused to buy. Also, we purchased the thermal retreat for the week. On day 1 when we went in, all 8 heated chairs had stuff on them, but no person was laying on them. After about 15 minutes, I went out and asked the workers if they could move something since they weren’t being actively used. The employee told me they reserving them was not allowed and that I could move stuff off. I felt like they should be the ones to move stuff, but finally went ahead and moved a ship towel off 1 chair. Again, there were still no people on any chair, just their stuff while they were in the steamer or pool. Right as I was about to lay down, a man came out of the steamer, yelling at me for taking his chair. I don’t feel the employees handled the situation very well. They should make sure everyone is on the same page as far as what is or is not allowed. It was so upsetting that we never returned to the spa, money wasted for our package that we didn’t use. 2) the room carpet and furniture is run down and stained. The couch is not one that you can sit on. 3) we were in the aft, which was a beautiful spot. But the soot from the smoke stack came directly onto it. So the balcony floor and furniture were covered in black that then transferred to skin & clothes. Once we realized this, we just made sure to put towels down before sitting. But something to be aware of. 4) our bathroom smelled like sewer pretty bad. It would usually dissipate after we put water down the shower drain, but it was annoying
From the moment you step aboard, we want you to feel welcomed and right at home. And with attentive service from a friendly staff that knows what hospitality means, you’ll find your Princess® ship truly is your home away from home.
Experience the Ultimate Night of Sleep at Sea
With your overall wellness in mind, we’ve collaborated with a board-certified sleep expert to create the ultimate in blissful comfort. Our luxurious new beds feature a scientifically engineered mattress and bed springs, a plush two-inch pillow top, European-inspired duvets and 100% luxurious Jacquard-woven linens-to assure that at the end of your voyage, you come home feeling refreshed and renewed.
The Princess Luxury Bed is available across the fleet except for Regal Princess, where most staterooms have been updated. On Regal Princess all Full Suites and Club Class staterooms have been updated and we are continuing to convert the few remaining beds.
Photos, floor plan diagrams, amenities, and furnishings represent typical arrangements and may vary by ship and stateroom.
Indulge your appetite whenever you wish on board Princess®. Every hour, our chefs are busy baking, grilling and sautéing great-tasting fare from scratch. Princess offers unparalleled inclusive dining options throughout the ship with a wide range of culinary delights to suit any palate, from endless buffet choice to gourmet pizza, frosty treats, decadent desserts and much more.
Speciality Dining
Dining on board a Princess® cruise ship is a joyful celebration and our speciality restaurants always deliver an extraordinary experience. They are among the best at sea – or anywhere. We serve dishes made with the freshest ingredients, and our menus reflect regional flavours from around the world. You'll find our speciality restaurants are the perfect place to celebrate any occasion.
From fitness to pop choir classes, wine tasting to art classes, Royal Princess offers a wide variety of enrichment classes for passengers to enjoy.
On every Princess ship, you'll find so many ways to play, day or night. Explore The Shops of Princess, celebrate cultures at our Festivals of the World or learn a new talent — our onboard activities will keep you engaged every moment of your cruise holiday.
Original musicals, dazzling magic shows, feature films, top comedians and nightclubs that get your feet movin’ and groovin’. There’s something happening around every corner; luckily, you have a whole cruise of days and nights to experience it all.
Whether you are looking to soak up the views and work up a sweat while having an invigorating gym session, or to just sit back and relax as you get your nails and hair done in the salon, the ship offers a wide range of health, beauty and fitness options.
Royal Princess’ youth and teen centre is fully equipped with everything from the latest video games and movies, arts and crafts and a DJ booth – plus a dedicated outdoor space for each age group. Catering for children aged 3-17, kids can have fun making new friends whilst you take advantage of some of the adults-only facilities available onboard.
