At the beginning of June, we were lucky enough to be invited along with other bloggers to visit the Royal Princess cruise ship while in Southampton.

We’ve sailed on P&O Britannia so had experienced a Royal Class ship previously, but this was to be our first ever Princess experience. And wow, what an amazing experience it was! Just to put it out there now – we really liked Royal Princess

 

Quick Facts:
3,560 Guests
1083 feet long
217 feet high
19 Decks 

 

About our visit

At around 9am, we arrived at Ocean terminal to be greeted by the Princess team and once we had been given our passes we made our way upstairs to wait with the other bloggers that would be on the visit also.

Once everyone was ready we made our way onboard Royal Princess via the crew gangway, after a security check, and photos, we were on!

 

First Impressions of Royal Princess

We entered directly in to The Piazza (main Atrium) – and WOW! What an amazing atrium it was too! The Piazza on Royal Princess is the social hub of the ship combining entertainment, shopping, guest services and food and drink outlets all in one multi-level area.

The spectacular and glamorous Piazza would be a great space to spend your evening drinking and dining while making new friends.

 

 

Accommodation

We were shown around a selection of cabins, being bloggers everyone was trying to take lots of pictures of each room (sorry if we got in your way).

What stood out was how well presented they all were – you had ample space in all cabins, even the 166 sq ft Interior rooms felt open and roomy.  Royal Princess doesn’t have Outside/window cabins but does future a large number of Balcony cabins.

 

Guest rooms in numbers – A total of 1,780 which comprise of:
1,438 with balcony (all outside staterooms feature a balcony)
36 suites
314 Mini Suites
358 Deluxe Balcony cabins
730 Balcony cabins
342 Inside cabins
780 additional/upper berths
Wheelchair Accessible Cabins: 36

 

We were also lucky enough to be shown around a Corner Suite, accessible Penthouse Suite and a Mini Suite – these suites really are worth pushing the boat out for (excuse the pun).  Suite and mini suite guests have extra amenities and feature larger TV’s and access to the Concierge Lounge.  Take a look at some of the Suite pictures below:

 

Theatre and behind the scenes

At the front on the ship you will find the Princess Theater, which is where you can find large scale production shows that Princess are well known for.  Did you know these shows can cost in excess of one million dollars to produce?!

The Princess Theater is tiered over 2 levels and with no pillars to obstruct the view; which is a great bonus.

We were also invited back stage to see the dressing room and props used and we even got to meet Ronaldo the red dragon from their latest production, created in partnership with Oscar-winning composer, Stephen Schwartz titled ‘The Secret Silk’.

Looking around at all the props and costumes, it was incredible what they can do in such a small space and with so little time – sometimes under 20 seconds to change outfits.

 

Bars and Dining

The International Café can be found on the lower level of The Piazza and serves tea, coffees, panini’s and pastries.  Also, on this level is where you will find the Italian specialty restaurant Sabatini’s.

On the second level of the Piazza you will find Alfredo’s Pizzeria and Bellini’s bar. Continuing up a level you will find Crooners Bar.

The Royal Princess has three main dining rooms on board, Allegro, Concerto and Symphony and for those who want something more casual there is the Horizon buffet area.

The food in the buffet area looked excellent with some very tasty looking deserts and cookies.

 

Up on Deck

The weather was on our side and the sun was shining over Southampton and Royal Princess was looking her best – it was a beautiful day to be exploring!

Up on deck you can enjoy Movies under the Stars on her large sea screen, take a dip in one of the pools and if brave enough take the SeaWalk – this area extends over the edge of the ship with 1-inch thick glass flooring panels giving you the feeling you are walking on water!

At the forward end of the ship you will find the Retreat pool with its cabanas or if you want extra exclusiveness, you can pay an additional fee for the Sanctuary, a beautifully set out, peaceful area at the very front – Lotus spa treatments are also available in this area.

 

Spa & Fitness

The large gym on board means you can cycle, run or cross train away those extra calories that always manage to cling on to you while cruising!

Up on deck there is also a walking/running track, outdoor gym equipment, a multipurpose arena and if you prefer things more leisurely you can go to the putting green.

Located back down on deck 5 is the fabulous looking Lotus spa, which has many facilities such as a sauna, steam room, hydro pool, hot beds and water beds as well as relaxation and treatment rooms.

Kids and Teens Clubs

Princess Cruises have their Youth and Teen Center located on the aft end of Deck 17, having teamed up with Discovery Communications to offer their ‘Camp Discovery’.

The 3 areas are bright and fun, separated in to:

• The Tree House (3-7):  Offering a climbing area, soft seating and a large TV which is used for Movie nights and video games.
• The Lodge (8-12): Themed to look like a log cabin, this area has plenty of seating and table space as well as table football, Skee-ball and computers.
• The Beach House (13-17): This casual area is somewhere for the teens to get together and meet, coming and going as they please.  A beach theme with many computer stations, they will never get bored here.

 

Lunch at the Concerto

Our 3-course luncheon was served in Concerto dining room by the very funny and charming Mario.  We both went for the Cold Smoked Salmon and Crayfish Tails, followed by Chateaubriand of Beef Tenderloin and a Milk Chocolate-Hazelnut Soufflé – all were absolutely stunning.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal; the food was of high quality and we could easily eat here every evening if this experience was anything to go by.

 

Finial thoughts

Having never stepped foot on a Princes Cruises ship before, this was a test to see if we could be convinced to give it a try.  On leaving the terminal we both turned to each other and said we would love to try Princess again.

There is nothing more disheartening than leaving a ship after a visit, seeing lucky cruisers boarding ready to start their adventure. They are very lucky cruisers as the Royal Princess is a beautiful ship and all the staff we spoke to on board were fabulous too.

We look forward to cruising on Princess Cruises so that we too can “Come back new”.

For more information or to book a cruise visit www.princess.com, call 0344 338 8663 or contact your local travel agent.

 

If you woule like a better look around check out our video tour:

Thank you to Princess Cruises UK for inviting us and showing us around the Royal Princess on the 6^th of June 2018 and providing lunch.

All pictures (other than the Featured Image which is courtesy of Princess Cruises) and opinions are own and based on the day we spend on board.