Royal Princess - the end

Well, it's nearly time to get the cases out again for Nautica so I had better finish off my tale of Royal Princess.
The day after we disembarked, I had won a day visit to explore the ship and have lunch, courtesy of Cruise.co.uk

Since she had kindly given me a bed for the week, I took my friend as my guest as we set off again on the ferry and walked round to the Ocean Terminal. Today it was a very different experience from our preview cruise. The official naming was to be on the Thursday and many of the high-profile guests were arriving this day so security was much higher. We had to show our passes three times on the way to the Ocean Terminal and as we arrived there the blue carpet was lined with ship's officers, making our entrance feel very special. 

After checking in we were given our special commemorative lanyard  (which we were allowed to keep) and passes as well as a guide book for our self-guided tour and a meeting place for lunch. Since we had already seen all the public areas, we took our time, had a coffee in the buffet and then went to join the tours to see the show cabins.

I have to say the least impressive was the owner's suite, which had a beautiful large corner balcony - totally overlooked from the sports deck above!

By now it was time to start thinking about heading down for lunch. This  was a superb four courses with wine. While we were eating the Captain and Head of Princess Cruises came to say a few words. As we slowly made our way off, security men with sniffer dogs were carefully going all around the atrium.

It was a lovely day and thoroughly enjoyed by us both. I stayed down in Southampton, because the following day was the naming ceremony. We chose to watch this from across the water at Hythe Marina where, with good binoculars, you could see the whole proceedings.

That evening was the grand fireworks display. The maiden cruise proper on Sunday however was, to me, a real anti-climax! No fireworks, no fireboats - nothing. In fact I think we had a much nicer send-off when we sailed on the preview cruise on the 9th June.

Royal Princess - episode 3

We had opted for Freedom Dining - mainly because we thought two friends would be joining us for dinner - but this never happened. It was my first time on Freedom dining and, in the event, we were rarely ready before 8.30 pm anyway so could just have easily opted for fixed dining, not that it really mattered on such a short cruise.

We were seated on a table for 8, close to the galley door - in the Concerto Dining Room on Fiesta Deck. I have to say the food was superb to my mind- that is the starter and main course. The deserts come in a separate menu because they are the same every night! Not good!  I tend to work backwards - so I know how much room I have to leave!  Not that much as it happened.  The company was good, but I would not like a new table every night as I am sure you would cover the same ground every time. It was a nice enough dining room but no "Wow" factor and I didn't like the large amount of bench seating but there was a pretty "bauble" feature at the entrance.

So - what to do after dinner. This is where we felt the entertainment fell down. There was no show the first night, and a Beatles tribute the second night - not my scene!  The shows/quizzes etc in the "TV Studio" were good but not very long. I was bored! Aside from finding a bar to drink in I was not impressed. The only other "activity" was shopping. The shop are was large with an excellent range of Maiden Season souvenirs, as well as the usual clothing, handbags, jewellery and duty free.

The following morning we arrived in Guernsey - Hurray! I finally made it ashore here. The passengers on the next 2 night preview cruise didn't make is ashore due to rough seas, as has happened to me before, so we were very lucky. Of course the main attraction for tendering ashore was to be able to take photos of the ship from the tenders!

 

 

It was a misty grey day in St Peter Port but I could see how pretty it would look in sunshine. The tendering went extremely smoothly, but the of course the ship was only half full, and only about half of those bothered to go ashore.

 

That evening we packed once again ready to disembark early the following morning. Then it was time to go and see the Champagne Fountain - a Princess tradition but a first for me. Somehow even that seemed a bit of a anti-climax. After dinner, my friend when the Beatles show while I wandered round again with my camera. Then we both retired to our cabin to raid the mini-bar!

 

 

So, in conclusion, some stunning décor, but not really my kind of ship. I feel you would need to spend much more on the Spa, Sanctuary and other dining venues to gain the most from a cruise on Royal Princess. Having said that, I am very glad to have sailed on, and even better - I had a day visit the following day............

Royal Princess - episode 2

Having partially unpacked we headed first to the buffet restaurant. On the way up it was good to note the high quality furnishing and décor.  This was my first time on a Princess ship so much of what I am about to mention maybe normal, but I was seeing it through first-time Princess eyes.

 

 

The buffet area was impressive. It was divided into three areas – the Bistro, pastry area and main buffet. As well as normal juices and drinks, there was proper coffee on sale for an additional cost. Waiters were happy to get all drinks, even water, and the choice of food was very good indeed – almost too much choice in fact ! 

We then headed out to the main open deck. First impressions – stunning, with a feature fountain that can be switched off to provide a dance floor, or give coloured, musical water displays at night.

 

There was a small kiosk supplying free ice cream and plenty of varied seating, from rattan chairs in the shade to reclining beds to watch Movies Under the Stars, or ordinary sun beds. Of particular interest were the two Sea Walks – a glass-floored walkway each side of the ship, extending out from the hull so they were directly over the water some 10 or so decks below.

 

Dominating everything was a huge sea screen and the decks and sun beds were arranged in tiers to reflect this. Walking up and forward we came to the Retreat – a beautiful adult-only pool and seating area with six twin cabanas. These were all free to use and I can imagine the demand for them well exceeding supply. Towels and books at dawn!!

Forward again and we came to The Sanctuary - a spa deck with, aside from the customary juice, water and comfy day beds, a few private “rooms” with sofas, TV and tables. I’m not sure of the cost for the day of these but it included spa treatments of choice such as a massage.

Walking aft from the main sun deck, and we came to the sports and gym areas. A nice touch was some gym equipment fixed to the deck outdoors. I have seen this before on German ships. At the stern, you can look down on the huge private balconies of the top suites – not so private then for them!

 

We slowly worked our way back down to the main atrium with its twin spiral staircases. All around the sides of this were various bars and restaurants, such as Alfredo’s Italian restaurant and Gelato’s for ice creams etc. On the lowest deck off the atrium was the Reception Deck, Tours Office and, unusually, the spa. The latter was truly beautiful with some unique features such as the Enclave. After exploring it was time for muster drill – our venue was the theatre – small for such a large ship but I guess with so much else going on I suppose it only needs to seat smaller numbers. It was beautifully decorated in muted shades of mushroom and soft purples.  

After muster and unpacking (my case had finally arrived) it was time to head up on deck for sailaway. This was my first disappointment, but I freely admit I am not the typical passenger. I like to face forward on a ship to see where I am going – and the only places to do this were fronted by blue glass – no photos there then!  Secondly – I am not a fan of noisy “fun” sailaways and prefer a quieter spot to reflect on where I am going and what I am going to see. OK, this was just a preview cruise so it didn’t matter but had I been on a “proper” cruise, there were few places to get away from the extremely loud music and sea screen, especially as the only remotely forward-facing view was from the top of the Sea Walks and so right by the loud speakers!  Nonetheless, the weather pulled out all the stops, the sun shone, the cold wind died away and everyone was determined to enjoy what was, to all intents and purposes – the maiden departure. It was a Sunday and small boats came out to escort us down Southampton Water and viewpoints such as Calshot were packed with sightseers. As Royal Princess slowly lifted off the berth and out toward the open sea, she sounded her signature horn, which plays the first few bars of The Love Boat theme. The old steamship Shieldhall was stationed just down from the berth with passengers eager to see the new ship properly. These was a wonderful exchange of whistles – the Love Boat interspersed with Shieldhall’s whooping siren.

The ship was only half full of fare-paying passengers on this sailing and it was clear there was still a lot of snagging and finishing going on.

 

Dinner and beyond will have to wait till my next instalment.