A magnificent ship – 18 stories tall!
What I really liked about this ship:
The ship’s horn plays the theme to the “Love Boat” when it is about to set sail from a port. (The “Love Boat,” by the way, was a Princess ship, and “Love Boat” reruns are available on the stateroom tv.)
There is an alternate route around the casino, so no one is forced to walk through it to get from one end of deck 6 to the other. Instead, you can choose to walk through Club 6. (Where trivia was often played.)
Coffee Card – My favorite Princess Drink Package. 15 specialty coffees on a punch card which can be SHARED or even used on a future cruise if there are any left over, and unlimited fresh brewed premium coffee and tea for the cardholder only during the voyage that the card is purchased (no punch required). NOTE: I sailed on Princess in 2022, and they did not use the punch card. Instead, the number of coffees were credited to the medallion app instead. *** NOTE – Princess discontinued this coffee card Package in March 2023. They do offer their Princess Plus package which includes the coffee OR guests can just purchase individual coffees – no more coffee package as of March 2023. Hopefully, they will reinstate this.
International Cafe’ – Offers complimentary pastries, sandwiches, desserts, etc. Selections change throughout the day. Specialty coffees and teas are extra unless you purchased the coffee card. They will even put coffee in a paper to-go cup for ease of carrying it around the ship.
Another great complimentary dining venue is Alfredo’s Pizza. YUM! Real Italian Pizza made to order.
Gelato’s was not a complimentary dining venue; however, Royal Princess allowed these treats to be purchased with a punch of the coffee card. I don’t know if this is standard on other Princess ships or not. I had never seen it done before, but I sure did like it. One Banana Split, please!
Anytime dining- We love to eat early, so there is no line. (Except for us early birds who line up at the door before they open.) But early birds are seated quickly. People who like to eat later had to stand in line and get a pager for dinner. We often requested a table for two and were seated in a circular section in the center of the main dining room.
BREAD! The main dining room always had several varieties from which to choose.
Sky Walk – a glass floor that is suspended out over the ocean.
Dedicated walking track.
Golf Simulator
A show theater with lots of unobstructed views.
Horizons Food Court – This is a wonderful buffet experience. Never felt crowded. No need to fight for a place to sit. Plenty of servers to bring tea, water, juice – so no need to wait in line at a self-service beverage station unless you just want to. And multiple serving stations including omelet stations at breakfast, and there was a stir-fry option several evenings.
Look at all those yogurt toppings!
Shooting Simulator – What a blast! (pun intended) this was my first experience shooting clay pigeons. I was actually pretty good at it.
We found this quiet little outdoor seating area. Nice and shady in the afternoon or morning (depending on which direction we were traveling.)
It was just outside this indoor seating area. So if all the chairs were full outside, we could enjoy the view from the windows inside and stalk the people sitting outside – ready to pounce when chairs became available.
Movies Under the Stars: This is one of my favorite venues on many ships. In the evening, there are blankets if needed and fresh popcorn, and the pool deck chairs are covered with comfy toppers. (the movie screen is about where I am standing to take the photo. The chairs below are in the viewing area.)
Aft View Seating Area
A Dancing Fountain Splash Pad. At times it would be choreographed to music. This area also doubled as a stage for outdoor bands and productions.
Self-Service Laundromats. Not all ships have them, but it’s great when they do. There was a vending machine to insert a room card for purchasing tokens for the machines. $3 to wash, $3 to dry and $1.50 for detergent. They even had a sign posted with the approximate running times for the washers and dryers.
What was really different?
The SPA was on deck 5. On most ships we have been on, the spa gets prime real estate with the absolute best views onboard on an upper deck. On the Royal Princess, those views are reserved for people who pay for private chair rentals in the “Reservation Only” section of the Sanctuary. The spa probably gets more visibility in this location as all guests pass it when getting off the elevator on deck 5 forward.
Each of the elevators have a quote in the carpet. This one sums it up pretty well…..
I’m not saying you have to travel like I do to “live,” but each person should make an effort to explore somewhere new – whether it is another country or a historic landmark or natural landscape in your own city. So, go out and “live” a little!